Ted Lasso S3 Finale cleverly avoids classic karate kid villain tactics

It’s very easy to see a “Cobra Kai”-style dynamic between Rupert and Cartrick, especially since the former has already used similar tactics with Nate (Nick Mohammed) as an evil mentor and, in general, of borderline supervillain, billowing black coat and everything else too life seems . Although Cartrick has been portrayed as an unpleasant and bitter man with a host of personal problems in his previous appearances on the series, he is still a highly skilled, professional football coach at the highest level. So it comes to reality when Rupert tries to force Cartrick to hurt Jamie on purpose, and the coach promptly (and profanely) refuses to play dirty. This immediately leads to a physical altercation and the crowd turns against Rupert, who is forced to leave the premises and the show in a brutal walk of shame as the crowd hurls insults at him.

Ted Lasso isn’t always the most realistic show out there, but Rupert’s leg-sweeping and utterly failing moment is quite a believable result. There’s no way a self-respecting Premier League manager would order his players to hurt people, especially when the owner Darth Vader came at him and gave him clear orders. Coaching jobs come and go, but even a far more immoral coach than Cartrick would probably understand that this look could easily destroy a man’s credibility for good.