Spoilers ahead for Ted Lasso, "Man City."
After flirting on Bantr, Bossgirl and LDN152 finally set a time and place to meet — dinner at Le Tucci at 8 p.m. And though Rebecca almost took off when she saw who her dating app dream man was, Sam and Rebecca stuck it out and went on a date. And though it seemed like it would all be over with a kiss on her doorstep, when Rebecca saw Sam talking about taking chances after AFC Richmond lost to Manchester City, she texted him. So where do the Richmond owner and Sam go from here?
In an episode heavy with mental health issues and complicated relationships with fathers, Rebecca and Sam meeting up at the end was a bright spot. But when I spoke to Toheeb Jimoh about Sam's blossoming relationship with Rebecca, he acknowledged that, while it's exciting, it's not without its obstacles.
"It's a tough decision, whether they actually want to go for it," Jimoh says, noting the fact that she's his boss and their age difference of 20 years. "When they're together and it's just the two of them, you can just fall into that. And they have a soul connection," he continues. "But then, there's everything else ... there's the whole other real world to deal with."
"You get to watch them navigate through that and decide whether or not they want to bring walls up or break those walls down," he teases.
Besides Rebecca's emotional barriers, the two also have to contend with everyone at AFC Richmond knowing about their love connection. Keeley has been coaching Rebecca through her conversations with LDN152, prompting her to say yes to dinner. Sam's teammates know that he formed a connection with Bossgirl, and excitedly cheer him on with each reply. So what will happen when the AFC Richmond players get over the Man City loss and ask how Sam's date went? Jimoh laughs, joking that Sam's going to have to deny everything by saying, "nothing happened."
"You're gonna get to see the fallout," Jimoh says. "It's going to be fun."
As for this new dynamic between himself and his costar Hannah Waddingham, Jimoh has been having fun with that as well. "I've had some of my best days on set professionally working with Hannah this season," he says. "We have a sort of upgraded version of [the Sam and Rebecca relationship] in our real lives. Like the first thing I do when I go on set is go into hair and makeup and give Hannah Waddingham a big hug. She's just like the goofiest kid."
"It's weird because people look at her and she's like glorious Hannah Waddingham — incredible singer, formidably talented actress," he says about the Emmy-nominated actor. "And you turn up on set and she's just like in a Zara tracksuit and trainers. Rolling pins in her hair and telling really terrible jokes. That's the Hannah that I get to work with."
"If people really got to know Hannah properly, they would love her even more than they actually do."
While the Ted Lasso audience is in love with Waddingham and Jimoh's performances, Rebecca and Sam are quite smitten with each other. And this couple, perhaps unlike AFC Richmond, is worth rooting for.
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Images: Apple TV+