Quote:
Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague
To me it's felt like he's been a side character for pretty much the whole season. There was the stuff with his ex and their couples' counselor but that wasn't any more central than any other storyline going on this year.
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My wife and I think this is deliberate and very much part of the show’s central tenets. One of the early messages was “hurt people hurt people” (people in pain are likely to hurt other people). This is evident with a few characters: Rebecca trying to sabotage the team; Jamie hurting Keeley, Nate, Sam and others. Even Roy has his issues, though arguably the person he was hurting the most was himself. In season 2 it was Nate - his insecurity caused him to lash out (obviously first at Will, then later at Ted and the team)
After three years with Ted, all of those characters have grown a ton, and now we’re seeing more of the effect of Ted’s influence rather than his actual influence. This part of the story would have been impossible without him, but he’s not really necessary anymore. It actually became really clear in the season 2 Christmas episode when everyone went to the Higgins’ house. Ted wasn’t active in that story but the actions of everyone involved in that story have his fingerprints all over them.
It also leads to what I think will be the finale, where I think Ted has to leave to be with Henry and everyone he leaves will be better from having known him.