I know a lot of people were like “Ted Lasso is all about second chances! … except for Rupert, fuck that guy”. And that’s funny as a joke, but one of the things I adored about this season is that Rupert DID get a second chance. And he fucking blew it.
Rebecca calls him out on being a shitty husband and father, and tells him to do better. She calls him out for using football as the means to an end and reminds him of how he once loved it just for the sport. And what two things bring about Rupert’s downfall in the finale? The fact that he kept sleeping with his employees and the fact that he tried to get his manager to play dirty in order to win a match. Rebecca offered him second chances - not with her, but to become a better person, and it was his explicit rejection of those chances that sealed his fate.
Ted Lasso has never been subtle about the message that anyone can change and anyone can use a second chance. Rupert isn’t an exception to that, he’s an example of what happens when you don’t take that second chance.
