Ted Lasso (Season 3), Episode 3 Recap & Ending Explained: Well, who would have thought a Ted Lasso episode would end with a Leonard Cohen song? Not me, for sure. Now I have a yes-no relationship with this show. No, I didn’t type that wrong because I think “love-hate” is too strong for this context. Anyway, Ted Lasso as a show has issues, and I have talked about it extensively over the last two weeks. But it clearly has a pull, as I still keep watching the show, and that has absolutely nothing to do with work commitment.
Alright, enough chitter-chatter for now; let us get right into the business. The best possible way to describe this episode is a food platter, where the things that work, work really well; and the one that doesn’t really doesn’t. Considering this might be the final season, I understand the urgency of giving Richmond a Leicester City of 2015-16 story but even then, the meteoric rise of Richmond thanks to a certain “Zava” scoring goals from half-line seems a tad bit unrealistic.
Ted Lasso (Season 3), Episode 3 Recap:
Despite being named after its central character, Ted Lasso, the show is never only about the man himself. Just like Ted, who genuinely cares about everyone around him as well as not around him (hello, ex-wife Michelle), the show also does the same. In this season as well, there are several distinguishable story arcs featuring our beloved characters along with Rupert, the villain, and friend turned enemy Nathan. I am going to shed light on those one by one.
Ted Lasso as a show has always been woke enough to do the right thing and bring pertinent social issues into the fold, all while running its usual carnival of wholesomeness that goes out of hands more often than not. Just a month after Czech midfielder Jakub Jankto proudly declares that “he doesn’t want to hide anymore” and comes out as gay, we find Richmond left winger Colin waking up with Michael, who is clearly the boyfriend. Colin is still in the closet but might just come out soon enough. I am curious to see how this story is handled.
The Bad Doctor
Richmond is having a great season, but their head coach, Ted Lasso, not so much. If you remember, the very reason Ted crossed the Atlantic to take a job in a land alien to him was his split with his ex-wife Michelle. To make matters worse, Michelle is now dating Dr. Jacob, who happens to be the same marriage counselor Ted and Michelle sought to solve their marriage woes. Real good job, Doc.
Things get really awkward when Ted calls the landline to give his best wishes to his son for a football game, and Dr. Jacob accidentally picks up and makes a Donald Trump impression. He tries to cut through the tension by telling Ted that he can call him “Jake,” but Ted settles on Dr. Jacob as he has a bone to pick. We feel for you, Ted. I’m glad he has Dr. Sharon to help him get through this.
Later, at Sam’s restaurant, Ted meets Sassy, Rebecca’s best friend with whom he had sort of an on-and-off thing going on. I am not so sure about what it was, really, but the duo has always hit it up whenever their stars have aligned. We don’t get to see much of them, but I have a feeling we will get that at some point in the season.
The Good Psychic
Richmond’s owner is having a hard time on the personal front as well. Her ex has moved on, her last relationship did not work out despite the guy being as nice as Sam Obisanya, and of course, Richmond’s journey has been really turbulent so far.
Possibly that’s why we see Rebecca visiting a psychic at her mother’s request. The Psychic appears to be a strange but overall nice lady, and Rebecca participates in the act despite all her skepticism. However, things soon turn sour for her when the Psychic predicts she is going to have a green matchbox which will eventually lead her to have a “family.” Getting hit like that at her weak spot, Rebecca storms off.
But something does happen at Sam’s restaurant. I will come to that eventually, but for now, let us give some attention to our Superstar.
He Came and Conquered
Last week, I compared Zava with Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Well, it may seem that the character has been modeled on the latter. But on the field, he turned out to be an Erling Haaland instead. Sorry for dropping names at random, especially if you are not a football fan but a Ted Lasso fan, However, how could I not use such an appropriate real-life example?
Given it’s Ted Lasso, Zava producing a Zlatan-esque performance would not really make sense, so I am glad the creators have given it a rather positive spin. However, Zava scoring a goal from half-line seconds after touching the ball for Richmond is where I draw the line. But that can’t stop Richmond from rising to the (almost) top of the table with a never-ending winning streak, with Zava scoring every single game. Thanks to him, Richmond even managed a Fergie-time victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United for the first time in history.
Zava’s off-the-field persona turns out to be sort of crazy cult leader kind, but with good intentions. Most Richmond players, especially Dani Rojas, happily join the cult. Even Roy, Ted, and Coach Beard have no problem hailing the enigma. The only sore thumb in the middle of all these is good-ol Jamie Tart, who finds himself in the middle of a bad patch on the field where he can’t just put the ball inside the goal. And he is obviously jealous of Zava, who has taken his place as the “main deal,” making him pretty much invisible.
Ted Lasso (Season 3), Episode 3 Ending Explained:
With Richmond in such a high, happy state, Sam invites the team and everyone associated with it to his “soon-to-be” opened African restaurant. To make things memorable, he gives everyone who is present a very interesting memorabilia – A GREEN MATCHBOX; do I really need to explain further?
Why did Roy decide to help Jamie?
While everyone is having a really good time, Roy spots a morose Jamie, drinking alone at a table. He walks up to him and politely tries to make Jamie realize why it is necessary to (basically) “suck it up,” considering his team is performing great. Surprising Jamie, Roy confesses that he actually believes Jamie is a great player who could have been something if he did not become a “primadonna” (although Roy being Roy, calls it “Pre Madona”). Roy offers to personally train Jamie to help him get back his old groove. The path, however, is not going to be easy for Jamie as it starts with him cleaning the wall of Sam’s restaurant after accidentally making a mess.
I am no advocate for bromance. In fact, I pretty much detest the word and the unnecessary romanticism around it. Still, at this point, a Roy and Jamie friendship properly developing seems like a much more exciting prospect than Roy and Kealey’s relationship or the ruins of it. Jamie’s current state of mind is also an interesting aspect to explore story-wise, and there is no one better than Roy Kent to realize what Jamie is going through properly. Roy has been there himself, after all.
And The Final Scene
When the night falls, and the party wraps up, we see Trent Crimm walking past an alley and spots Colin making out with Michael. The two of them were in Sam’s restaurant, where Colin obviously introduced Michael to his teammates as a “good friend.” Anyway, Crimm takes a glance and then walks by as if nothing happened, and Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” fades away in the background.
Crimm being a media person showing this nonchalant attitude to something “that sensational” only shows what a true gentleman he really is, as it is really a matter of bother in an ideal world. Of course, it would have been “sensationalized” in the world we live in, 8/10 times.
Some Tidbits
# Kelly’s friend Shandy is pretty much in the whole episode as she has become an associate of Richmond. But I don’t really see the point of the character when we already have Sassy. And we love Sassy.
# Meanwhile, West Ham has been doing really great under the “Wonder Kid” (that’s what I’m gonna call him, just for fun) and sitting a spot ahead of Richmond in second place. We are gonna get an inevitable, high-voltage Richmond vs. West Ham clash, and although I am pretty much certain Zava is going to go all guns blazing. But what I am really hoping for is an interesting, evenly-balanced outcome with some wholesome twist.
