Ted Lasso Has Already Found Its Roy Kent Replacement

Ted Lasso has seemingly effortlessly found its new Roy Kent in Season 4. Alice Chilton fills much of the role that Roy previously played alongside Ted in Apple TV’s Emmy award-winning series: she is serious, skeptical of his methods, and much less interested in his relentless optimism than the people already (somewhat) used to it.

The Kent-Chilton comparison has limits, but those differences also help explain why Alice works so well as a character. Roy remains very much part of the show, it’s just that he no longer spends much of his time alongside Ted because the two are now coaching different AFC Richmond teams, both of which will be playable in EA Sports FC 27. Alice has instead become Ted’s new foil within his own coaching staff, challenging his methods from close range and giving Season 4 a new version of one of the show’s most reliable sources of humor: clashes between sharply contrasting personalities.

How Ted Lasso Season 4 Set Alice Chilton Up as Its New Roy Kent

The resemblance was apparent before the show had much time to develop Alice. Apple TV’s promotional material for Ted Lasso Season 4 repeatedly emphasized the contrast between her stern demeanor and Ted’s cheerfulness, while the opening episodes quickly established her lack of patience for his approach. Even so, Ted immediately convinced her to stay on as his assistant after she missed out on the head coaching job, despite having already coached Richmond’s women’s team before his arrival. The circumstances put her at odds with him from the outset, much like Roy’s initial reaction to his new boss’s unconventional methods in Season 1.

Alice has since become more than just someone for Ted to clash with. She and Beard round out Season 4’s central coaching staff, although Alice brings experience the other two do not have: she played professionally and already knows Richmond’s women’s team. That often leaves her with practical knowledge Ted lacks despite being her boss. The arrangement recalls Ted’s early relationship with Roy, especially when Alice cuts through his optimism and forces him to confront the realities of the job. Her skepticism, however, has a more personal source. Ted had to earn Roy’s respect; with Alice, he is also dealing with the resentment that came from taking a position she understandably believed could have been hers.

Alice Chilton Is Already More Than Roy Kent 2.0

That resentment is also where the Roy comparison starts to break down. As Ted Lasso Season 4 reveals more of Alice outside Richmond, her hard-edged coaching persona increasingly looks like something she adopts rather than simply who she is. Her relationship with Camille makes that especially clear. At home, Alice can be nervous, affectionate, and openly vulnerable. Roy certainly has a softer side, too, but his bluntness tends to follow him everywhere and is largely who he is, while Alice seems to reserve hers for football/soccer.

By Episode 9, the fourth season of Apple TV’s feel-good show has developed Alice considerably, providing much more context for her reserved personality. Repeated injuries ended her playing career before she was ready to leave it behind, and moving into coaching clearly has not resolved all the anger surrounding that loss. Some of it eventually spills over into how she treats Richmond’s players, suggesting that her severity stems at least partly from her complicated relationship with the sport. Ted is therefore dealing with more than another experienced football figure who finds his methods ridiculous. Alice also has to determine her place in the game now that she can no longer play it. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s similar to what Roy has been going through in Season 2.

Season 4 has thus found its Roy Kent replacement without simply turning Alice into another Roy. She has inherited much of the role he once played for Ted: the experienced football voice at his side, a counterweight to his optimism, and a colleague willing to push back when his approach falls short. But Alice occupies that role for largely different reasons, which helps establish her as her own, unique character while simultaneously freeing up Roy for a decidedly different arc.

Release Date

August 14, 2020

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Bill Lawrence, Jason Sudeikis

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  Hannah Waddingham

  Rebecca Welton

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  Jeremy Swift

  Leslie Higgins

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