With its brilliant first season, Ted Lasso immediately established itself as one of the best comedy shows on television, surprising people not only with its hilarity but with its heartfelt, feel-good storytelling that managed to tackle deeper issues. The quality of the show was not its only surprise, though. Throughout season 1, there are numerous twists and shocks ranging from small and personal to large scale.
Whether these shocks be related to events in one of the many great characters' lives or if they affect the greater world of AFC Richmond, this delightful show about football, hope, and belief continually shocked fans in its first season.
Nate's Promotion
Back at the start of season 1, before he became the absolute worst person in Ted Lasso, Nate was the shy and often mistreated kit-man for AFC Richmond. Then he met Ted Lasso and became part of the family, eventually earning himself a promotion.
This promotion exemplifies the idea of family that Ted perpetrates throughout AFC Richmond, bringing everybody together and getting them to celebrate Nate 'the Great' and his promotion, which was, at the time, thoroughly deserved and a delightful surprise. In hindsight, it may have been a huge mistake.
Rupert's Antics
Before Nate emerged as the real villain of Ted Lasso season 2, it was undeniably Rupert Manion who held the title of worst person in the entire show, with his treatment of Rebecca, in particular, making him wholly hatable.
Throughout season 1, Rupert popped up to surprise audiences with his antics and his life developments. From his million pound donation to the children's charity to his undermining Rebecca at the same event to his announcement of having a child with other Rebecca, all the way to his constant infidelity that came to light during his marriage, he is truly deplorable.
Ted Makes The Biscuits Himself
One of the constants in Ted Lasso's first season is the delivery of biscuits to Rebecca from Ted. In the first two episodes of the show, she frantically tries to figure out where Ted gets them from.
At the end of the brilliant second episode, titled "Biscuits," it gets revealed that Ted handmakes the biscuits, a touching moment that sums up Ted's personality. It was juxtaposed with Rebecca sending 'incriminating' photos of Ted and Keeley to newspapers, which adds to the reveal.
Jamie Goes Back To Manchester City
Jamie Tartt has undergone quite the journey in Ted Lasso, maturing a lot over two seasons both as an individual and in his dynamics with other characters. He is the cause of a good few surprises, one of which being his return to Manchester City.
The dominating Premier League club got returned their confident, skillful player by Rebecca, in yet another move designed to destroy AFC Richmond. It got teased following Jamie's substitution by Ted, but it was still a surprise to see it unfold, especially given his role in Richmond's relegation.
Roy & Keeley
At the start of Ted Lasso, the main couple in the show was Keeley and Jamie Tartt, and while it was natural and sensical, it was slightly surprising when they broke up, even more so when such a beautiful connection arose between her and Roy.
The two are one of the best duos with one of the best dynamics in the entire show, despite their fairly opposing personalities. Both separately and as individuals, they are highlights of season 1, and while it came as a surprise to start with, their relationship should not be broken, as they are one of, if not the best couple in the show.
Roy's 'Personal Business'
Roy Kent takes some goading before he starts to unravel, but one of the discoveries made by Keeley and audiences in season 1 is his love of privacy and how he thoroughly enjoys his time spent with yoga mums.
Roy being Roy does not necessarily care what anyone thinks about this, but he likes his life to be private; that being the whole reason he enjoys gossiping about reality TV and drinking wine with the women, they have no idea who he is and will not pester him. It is a hilarious shock for fans that shows a whole new side of the typical hard man Roy Kent.
Rebecca's Original Intentions
The first episode of Ted Lasso does a fantastic job of establishing some of the central characters and what motivates them, as well as the world of AFC Richmond, a world which Rebecca shockingly makes clear she wants to destroy.
Going into the show blind makes this a big shock in the opening episode, yet a shock that makes total sense given what Rebecca had and continues to go through at that point of her life. Her telling the truth to Ted is less surprising, that was always coming, but the powerful emotion emanating from the scene and Ted's forgiveness is so perfect.
Ted's Panic Attacks & Personal Issues
For a show that is so comedic and so feel-good for such huge chunks, Ted Lasso is not afraid to deal with serious issues of varying degrees, and one of the best ways the show does that is through Ted and his mental health.
Ted'smarital issues get teased at the start of the season before being laid out in full by way of his divorce. His panic attack in Liverpool comes as one of the show's most surprising yet harrowing moments. It shows the cracks in Ted's often unwavering bombardment of hope and belief and makes him even more relatable to many, with his outburst at Nate and panic attack grounding him and the show in a harsh reality. It is also one of many scenes that showcases how brilliant of a job Jason Sudeikis does performing the role of Ted Lasso.
Manchester City's Second (& Jamie's Dad's Reaction)
Audiences and characters alike try not to get too hopeful about Richmond's chances of survival in the Premier League relegation battle as they face the powerhouse Manchester City in their final game, as it is the hope that kills.
Nevertheless, the show brilliantly lures fans into believing, as Danny Rojas seemingly scores a last-ditch equalizer to keep them in the league. In a matter of seconds, though, that jubilation turns to heartbreak as Jamie Tartt does the unthinkable and makes an extra , allowing Man City to score and so sending AFC Richmond to the Championship. Alongside this shock twist, fans get a glimpse into Jamie's troubled personal life, with his father lambasting him for ing the ball instead of scoring the goal himself.