Ted Lasso Review: Inverting the Pyramid of Success (Season 2 Episode 12)

Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 12, “Inverting the Pyramid of Success,” does an admirable job of trying to wrap up the myriad loose ends of the season and while most of the nearly hour-long installment is successful, there’s one thing that feels…well, less than great. 

Yes, obviously, I’m talking about Nate. And I wish I had a better idea of how I felt about him — and the plot in which he features. His season-long downward spiral has been building for weeks, yet it somehow still feels as though Ted Lasso has given us precious little explanation or context for his actions. (Or any indication that Nate feels even feels the slightest bit bad about any of them.)

This episode features what is ostensibly Nate’s worst behavior — he’s clearly not sorry that he blabbed to the press about Ted’s panic attack, he’s inexplicably furious at Ted for not paying what he sees as enough attention to him, and he ultimately abandons AFC Richmond to go work for Rebecca’s terrible ex — yet once again shows us a character that’s almost completely unaware of how wrong and terrible his actions are.

Are we really meant to believe this is all simply because he never got enough praise and validation from his father? And, somehow, in his mind, that’s made all this okay? 

It’s unfortunate that the fallout (both professional and personal) from Ted’s psychological issues getting splashed all over the papers is never really fully explored — in part, thanks for Nate’s stupid whiny baby self, who refuses to own up to what he did. (I’m petty enough to admit that the awkward fear on his face as the Greyhound team threatened to do some grievous physical injury to the man that outed their coach made me smile..)

But because so much of this story is about Nate, we lose sight of Ted in it for a bit. It can’t be easy for a man who’s actually pretty private, who already suffers from panic attacks, to know the whole world is reading about his most painful secrets, and that many of them are mocking him for them. (Nate sucks so much for putting him in this position, is what I’m saying.)

Seeing the team, the Richmond staff, and the other local regulars be so supportive of Ted is lovely (even the guy who only ever calls him wanker!) and a true testament to how much he’s made himself part of this community, as both a coach and a person. But some part of me (and, again, maybe it’s the petty part) really just wanted the satisfaction of him getting to confront Nate, so that someone somewhere might have to admit that everything Ted’s forced to go through is just so very wrong. 

Elsewhere, for all that Ted Lasso Season 2 has apparently loved making us anxious about Roy and Keeley for no reason, the finale just doubles down on all the reasons these two are right for one another. No matter what gets thrown at them, they apparently just keep on being the television couple of our dreams — listening, talking out their fears, supporting one another, and constantly lifting each other up.

From Roy’s frustrated realization that he’d forgiven Jamie for telling Keeley he loved her to her confidence that they’ll easily be able to survive six weeks apart, this couple is rapidly becoming the gold standard for TV romances everywhere. What other man could possibly swallow his excision from a Vanity Fair feature not only with such complete grace but with genuine joy for his partner?

I think we forget sometimes how new and different this sort of relationship is for both these people. It’s why we see Roy immediately assume Keeley wants to break up when tells him to go on holiday without her, and why she immediately freaks out when he’s not part of her magazine spread. 

In their previous relationships, those things may have — probably could have — been deal-breakers. Here, they’re not. Even if neither of them (or us as viewers for that matter) has truly learned to trust that fact just yet.

As we look back on Season 2, and what worked and what didn’t, I can’t stop thinking about the name of this episode and what it means for our characters in a larger sense. In sports terms, the Pyramid of Success was created by UCLA’s John Wooden, one of the most famous — and successful — college basketball coaches of all time. 

But Wooden wasn’t primarily interested in winning titles. (Though he certainly did more than his fair share of that.) He was interested in shaping men. And in his world, success isn’t solely or even mostly about winning. It’s about the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that you did your best.

Because you can lose and still be successful. And winning isn’t all that matters. And that’s the lesson that Nate seems most reluctant to learn. Ah, well, maybe next season.

Stray Thoughts and Observations

• I love that Beard instantly knows exactly what Nate did, but respects Ted enough not to call him out on it.
• The puppy mascot competition!!! I can’t!! 
• Did I cry when Dani saw the new AFC Richmond mascot (the tiny helmet!!) and kicked that goal? Yes, yes I did. Football is life.
• Rupert! is! a! monster! I desperately need to know what he said to Nate at Rebecca’s dad’s funeral.
• I’m glad Sam is staying, but I also feel like we could have used the time spent on this “surprise, seemingly conscientious billionaires are secretly huge jerks” subplot on literally anything else (i.e. Nate’s downward spiral). It’s also a real weak ending to the Sam/Rebecca relationship if that’s in fact what this was?
• How long do we think it’ll be before Trent Crimm, now independent, gets a job with the club? They need a press wranger now Keeley’s qui don’t they?

What did you think of this episode of Ted Lasso? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Ted Lasso Season 2 is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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