Ted Lasso season 2, episode 5, “Rainbow,” contains a plethora of Easter eggs that pay homage to some of the greatest rom-coms of all time. Apple TV’s scripted sports show centers on the coaching journey of Ted (Jason Sudeikis), an American unexpectedly recruited to coach an English Premier League team. While Ted appears ill-suited for the job and often ridiculed in the initial episodes, his infectious enthusiasm begins to envelop those around him at his new club, AFC Richmond.
Season 2 of Ted Lasso sees many central characters undergoing significant development, and episode 5 is no different. “Rainbow” centers around Ted attempting to woo ex-club captain Roy (Brett Goldstein) back into the fold as a member of his coaching staff. While Roy initially refuses, he eventually realizes that he yearns to be part of the action at AFC Richmond football club, walking out on Soccer Saturday to make an emotional return to the club in the process.
Perhaps unsurprisingly due to the sentimental nature of the episode, “Rainbow” is crammed with rom-com references. These primarily form the basis of the episode’s dialogue, quoting numerous famous romantic comedy characters, with some nods less subtle than others. Here’s every rom-com Easter egg in Ted Lasso season 2, episode 5.
Ted Lasso’s Rom-Communism Speech
In case the premise of episode 5 was unclear, Ted, less than five minutes in, launches into explaining “rom-communism” to the AFC Richmond squad. Ted’s rom-communist manifesto is simple: if the beautiful yet fragile characters immortalized in romantic comedies can go through struggles and still end up happy, then so can the team despite their poor form. The introduction of rom-communism spawns an impassioned listing of the best actors from the rom-com genre, with Mission Impossible‘s Tom Cruise, Kate Hudson, and even Jennifer Lopez being thrown in the mix. As Ted states, “believing in rom-communism is about believing that everything is going to work out in the end,” and this mirrors not only classic rom-com tropes but the conclusion of episode 5 as well.
Four Weddings & A Funeral
Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) is back on the dating scene in season 2 of Ted Lasso, and episode 5 shows her flirting with a mystery man on the fictional dating service Bantr (presumably inspired by a mix of Tinder and Grindr). Rebecca’s mystery suitor quotes a line from famous poet Rainer Maria Rilke, which causes her to swoon while texting on Ted Lasso‘s fictional dating app. The Rilke reference is a subtle nod to the rom-com classic Four Weddings and a Funeral, in which W.H. Auden’s timeless poem “Funeral Blues (Stop All The Clocks)” is read aloud during the funeral scene. Rilke was the mentor and most singular influence of W.H. Auden’s works, and in this instance, leaves Ted Lasso fans with a very niche rom-com easter egg indeed.
Pretty Woman
Nate (Nick Mohammed) has his own issues in episode 5, running parallel to Ted attempting to convince Roy to coach. Nate wants to take his parents to their favorite restaurant, A Taste Of Athens, and get them a window seat for their anniversary. The only problem is that unlike reality star Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), Nate carries very little natural gravitas, so he is always seated at the restaurant’s rear. He calls upon Keeley (Juno Temple) and Rebecca to help him appear more confident and get the window seat reserved – which he does after a wardrobe change and some vocabulary coaching. The scene where Nate is given a poor table before forcing the restaurant staff to seat him at the window is reminiscent of Julia Roberts’ Vivian in Pretty Woman, where she is pre-judged by retail staff before returning with enough money to buy the whole store’s inventory.
She’s All That
The scene where Ted first approaches Roy regarding returning to Richmond as a coach takes place in a kebab shop. Rom-com lovers would be forgiven for thinking the Middle Eastern cuisine diner feels familiar, evoking memories of the falafel restaurant in She’s All That that Rachel Leigh Cook works at. While not a romantic comedy per se, the color scheme and layout also almost exactly match the main restaurant used in Amelia Dimoldenberg’s acclaimed web series Chicken Shop Date, which plays on classic romance tropes.
When Harry Met Sally & Titanic
One of the more overt references in “Rainbow” is the elderly couples’ monologue, which mirrors the direction style in When Harry Met Sally. In Rob Reiner’s classic, the fourth wall is broken several times, and Ted Lasso mirrors this with the scene in which the couple recalls how they met and their life together, all whilst holding eye contact with the audience. The elderly Richmond fans also weave in yet another romance reference, claiming Titanic director James Cameron stole their love story and are still in litigation as a result.
Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason & Jerry Maguire
Renée Zellweger’s rom-coms crop up several times in the latest episode of Ted Lasso. In addition to being mentioned in the rom-communism scene, Zellweger also gets a nod when Roy runs out of the Soccer Saturday studio and hails a taxi as he races to make the AFC Richmond game. This is reminiscent of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, where Bridget rushes after her lover in a taxi before chaos ensues and she is drenched in water by a passing truck, just as Roy’s weak knee gives out following his excursions after the taxi ride. Zellweger’s other rom-com reference included is in the final scene of “Rainbow,” where Brett Goldstein’s Roy Kent tells Ted, “You had me at coach…” emulating Jerry Maguire‘s most iconic moment.
Quick-Fire Rom-Com Quoting
While some rom-com references in season 2, episode 5 of Ted Lasso are quite veiled, nothing can disguise the foundation of “Rainbow” in the scene where Ted and Roy speak after Isaac’s (Kola Bokinni) successful training match. The emotional kitchen sink is thrown at Roy in this Ted Lasso episode as Ted tries to convince him to help coach AFC Richmond, quoting a mash of iconic rom-com lines comprised mainly from Notting Hill, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride, and Jerry Maguire.
About The Author
