When it comes to some of the friendships that I have come to love on television, there are a few who have truly stood the test of time. Some of my personal favorites are Daryl and Carol from The Walking Dead, Steve & Dustin from Stranger Things, Troy and Abed from Community, and many others. But, one that has won my heart recently is the pairing of Ted and Rebecca, played by Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham, from the Apple TV+ show, Ted Lasso.
While their friendship had a rocky start, over the last two seasons, it’s evolved into something awesome and wholesome. And, today, I am here to prove as to why their friendship is one of the best on TV right now.
Their Friendship Had A Natural Progression That Doesn’t Feel Forced
The whole Ted Lasso cast is amazing, but these two really are some of my favorites for this specific reason. At the beginning of Ted Lasso, Rebecca didn’t intend on making friends with Ted. In fact, her whole entire motive was that she wanted to hire Ted so that he could fail miserably at his job, and completely ruin the Richmond Club to get revenge on her former husband.
But, over time, she starts to learn the error of her ways and see just how kind Ted truly is, despite all of her bad intentions. Soon, they start to build up a rapport, and she starts to like Ted for who he really is. In Season 2, they are much more comfortable with each other, to the point where they’re willing to share personal information about each other.
While I always love a good enemies-to-friends story, theirs feels like one of the most realistic out of the many I have watched. The growth of respect for each other didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of trust and vulnerability to get there, but now, we have this beautiful friendship.
They Fully Accept Their Mistakes And Confide In One Another
One of my favorite parts about this friendship in Ted Lasso is that once they get to a point where they are comfortable with each other, they own up to their own mistakes.
A perfect example of this is when Rebecca tells Ted what her true intentions were with hiring him, but he forgives her so easily it makes you want to cry, because he truly feels that she is a better person than that - which was most certainly one of the most heartwarming moments of Season 1.
And, it’s not just on Rebecca either. Ted has confided in her many times during Season 2 about some of his own personal issues, from the struggles with the team to his life back home and everything in-between, because now that they’ve come clean to each other, they feel comfortable enough to speak about how they feel.
Ted even makes a joke about this to her in the Season 2 finale of the show, saying that she “drops a bommer” of a secret each year, to which she responds, “see you next year.” It’s great that she even acknowledges it herself, showing how much she’s grown.
They Hype Each Other Up
One of my favorite parts about Jason Sudeikis’ character in Ted Lasso is that he hypes you up, no matter what. Even if your day is going terribly, he will make a joke to try and brighten your day, and he’s done that so many times with Rebecca it’s almost laughable.
At this point, though, Rebecca has done that for him as well - especially during football games. One of my favorite parts of her character is that after she’s gotten past the revenge scheme, she seems to actually enjoy football as a spectator, not just as an owner, and roots for Ted from her spot next to Keeley (her own personal confidante and P.R. genius).
It’s great to see her change from secretly rooting for the team to fail to wanting them to do the best they can.
But They Also Know When To Be There For Each Other During Their Dark Times
In Ted Lasso, there are a surprising amount of moments where it’s not just a comedy anymore - it’s about humanity and the daily experiences that people go through. This is shown the most with the friendship of Rebecca and Ted.
In the first season, one of the best moments is when Ted goes outside to comfort Rebecca after her husband suddenly shows up at a charity fundraiser, trying to tell her that the best way to get back at him is to be able to show herself smiling and happy, to kill him with kindness.
The same happens for Rebecca with Ted. The first time we see Ted have a panic attack, who was the person who looked for him first? It was Rebecca, because she was concerned about him. Even in Season 2, when he had a panic attack again during one of the games, she went to go search for him and make sure he was okay.
Another moment I loved is when she went out of her way to include him in her Christmas day festivities, because she knew he would be lonely without his family. That just shows that they really do care about each other.
They Bring Out The Best In Each Other
All in all, I think what I’m trying to get at is that they really do bring out the best in each other, from beginning to end in Ted Lasso. They support each other through their dark times, try to make each other laugh, and succeed together.
Rebecca was going down a dark path of revenge before she met Ted, who put her on the straight and narrow. This, in turn, leads to her trying to be there for him, and bring out the best that Ted has to offer, inspiring him to work harder so that Richmond can be just as good as they used to be years ago.
Honorable Mention: Ted Makes Rebecca Biscuits Everyday And I’m Jealous
Okay, this is silly, but come on - you can’t tell me that you haven’t craved those amazing biscuits that Ted makes for Rebecca on Ted Lasso.
Those little sweet treats look delicious and I am so jealous that Hannah Waddingham gets to eat them all the time. Also, again, it just proves how awesome of a best friend he is - he brings her food everyday! Now that’s something special.
While Season 2 of Ted Lasso has come to a close with so many questions, Ted Lasso will return for Season 3, hopefully within the next year - maybe for a final time, but who knows? What I do know is that we will be getting more of these two adorable best friends, and more moments for us to enjoy. Now, if I could just get my hands on those biscuits, I could die happy.
