Warning: Reviews of Ted Lasso season 4 episode 6 will contain spoilers.

Ted Lasso co-creator Bill Lawrence is nothing if not a student of classic television, and episode 6 of season 4 is nothing if not a throwback to classic holiday episodes through and through. Since the show already tackled a Christmas episode back in season 2, this week’s installment takes a break from the drama on the pitch and centers around New Year’s Eve. At this point in the season, it’s safe to say that we need to have a conversation about what audiences expect from Ted Lasso overall, and whether the show’s return is doing so successfully.

You could go into the show simply wanting to hang out with these characters you’ve loved so much since 2020, and seeing the new characters bounce off one another. In this regard, episode 6 of season 4 is great. Once again, Ted (Jason Sudeikis) spends the majority of the episode away from the Richmond women’s team, instead spending New Year’s Eve with Michelle (Andrea Anders) at Mae’s pub. Meanwhile, the team attends a yacht party hosted by Zelda (Tracey Ullman), and coach Chilton (Tanya Reynolds) has to decide whether to show up or not, lest the team reject her for her harsh past behavior (the show has already skipped over the period where she was suspended). But the highlight of the episode is, improbably, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), Keeley (Juno Temple), and Roy (Brett Goldstein) attending the launch party of the new vodka brand from, you guessed it, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster).

The return of Jamie brings a great deal of humor at his expense, but it stirs up reminders of the close bond between him and Roy, which reached its apex last season. It would be absurd for Ted Lasso to try and fit Jamie into a larger role this year since the show is so crowded already, but episode 6 of season 4 does a nice job of bringing him back and adding some much needed chaotic energy. But the backdrop of these scenes is the romantic tension between Keeley and Roy, and Rebecca’s regret over fumbling her relationship with Matthijs (Matteo van der Grijn). I still don’t know how to feel about the constant back-and-forth with Keeley and Roy but I can’t help but root for them each to find happiness. Of course, Goldstein steals the show in the back half after Roy blows out his knee while dancing with Jamie. It’d be the easiest thing in the world for Ted Lasso to sew even more doubt into this love triangle if we’d known anything about the hot doctor Roy’s been seeing. Why haven’t we seen any dates between them, or heard him speaking to Ted or Beard (Brendan Hunt) about her? The final reveal of him saying he loves Keeley is well done (classic sitcom setup for Keeley to only hear the first part but walk away at the truth of it) but, again, I’m not losing any sleep over Roy’s potential lost romance if I don’t know anything about her.

Speaking of not knowing certain characters, here’s where the two differing sides come out in episode 6. Season 4 has built up the Richmond women’s team and done next to nothing with the characters within it. Sure, it’s fun to hang out with them at the yacht party, feeling like outsiders amongst the snobby elite. But how much more have we learned about any of them – including Chilton! – in the weeks since their introductions? Sure, we see a sweet scene between Alice and her lovely female partner, but when the dramatic highpoint of your storyline revolves around Gemma (Abbie Hern) acknowledging that they didn’t get along during their playing days – something we already knew quite well – you’re missing many opportunities. Give me something about Lizzie (Faye Marsay) balancing sport and single motherhood. Give me any kind of backstory between the twins (Aisling Sharkey and Rex Hayes) and their rivalry. Give me anything but more Coach Beard and his romantic foibles.

Episode 6 swings back around to Ted and Michelle, and their separate journeys trying to find love again. Bill Lawrence wants us to believe that the two will find some way back together but smartly underplays that happening – at least, for now. My primary takeaway is that Ted Lasso simply wants us to remember that he had a fun flirtation with the stage manager last week, to keep it front and center when they somehow reunite. And possibly, god help us, to set up another love triangle with Ted in the center.

TV has morphed so rapidly in recent years that fans have caught on to a distressing trend, where the majority of a season is spent unnecessarily building up to a climactic moment that should have happened earlier. I hope that Ted Lasso season 4 isn’t treating the women’s team in this way, where future seasons will be spent developing the characters more deeply. But with episode 6, and all the aforementioned missed opportunities already, I have a feeling I already know which way we’re headed. If the show simply wanted to come back to hang out with Ted and explore the complexities of women’s sports in a modern world, that’s fine, but it’s not impossible to create some character depth along the way as well.