Ted Lasso (Season 3) Episode 9: Recap & Ending, Explained

Ted Lasso (Season 3) Episode 9: That episode is finally here. No, not the big Richmond versus West Ham rematch- which I believe they are saving up for the season finale. I am talking about Colin Hughes, whose LGBTQ story arc was introduced earlier in the season, and he finally reveals his sexuality to everyone in this one.

Both Ted Lasso (the show) and AFC Richmond have been on a hot streak of late, and this episode is no exception, either. My only complaint would probably be not focusing on our Coach Lasso at all, especially after where last week’s episode ended; particularly when they did incorporate other storylines while not taking the light away from Colin.

Ted Lasso (Season 3) Episode 9 Recap:

Richmond has never looked better as a footballing unit, and the trio of Ted, Beard, and Roy couldn’t be happier about that. Everyone on the team is understandably over the moon- except Captain Issac and Colin. Picking up from what happened last week, Issac now knows Colin’s secret, and he refuses to have any word or anything with Colin, no matter how hard the latter tries. The team is not aware of what is going on, and both of them are wisely keeping it to themselves. We are going to come back here eventually, but let us cover the other fronts first.

How is Keeley Jones doing?

Checking on Keeley first, she is doing better than I expected- for which we probably need to give the credit to Rebecca, “the boss.” However, she is cringing at herself for sending a flurry of texts to Jack, who is clearly ghosting her- much better than how Ana De Armas ghosted Chris Evans in Apple TV’s latest disaster. Anyway, when Ted informs that he wouldn’t be available for any press conference for Richmond’s latest game against Brighton & Hove Albion FC; Keeley floats the idea of making Roy do the press conference instead.

Roy gets schooled by Rebecca.

Roy doesn’t attend the press conference and sends Beard instead, which obviously goes haywire. While Keeley dismisses it with Roy being Roy, Rebecca decides to take the matter rather seriously and gives Roy an earful. It was sort of funny to see the mighty Roy Kent being schooled, I must say. Rebecca’s words may have been from the standpoint of a boss, but we all know that there is plenty of mutual respect between the two, and this actually gets Roy thinking. We are going to come back to this in a while.

Rupert tries to corrupt Nate, the great

Rupert, you piece of shit! I really liked how the writer of the show dealt with the character of Nate this season. Instead of making a villain out of him, the show’s attempt to put him under a much more logical, sympathetic spectrum has worked wonders. And the guy has finally got a girlfriend, who happens to be someone as amazing as Jade. I had no clue about what Rupert had in mind when he walked into Nate’s office at the same time when Jade arrived for a surprise lunch with her man. When Nate introduces Jade, Rupert uses his signature charming persona- which Jade fails to see, but we all know this dude is up to no good.

His real douchebaggery comes much later in the episode when he asks Nate for a guy’s night out after a successful West Ham game. But when Rupert introduces Nate to two young women and invites him to join the three of them in a private room, Nate realizes that it is not quite a guy’s night out after all. As we see Nate taking a very important rain check, we realize that Nate is still “great” after all.

Ted Lasso (Season 3) Episode 9 Ending, Explained:

How does everyone react to Colin’s secret?

Things suddenly start to look bleak for Richmond at their home game against Brighton. They concede one in the first half due to an uncharacteristic error by Captain Isaac. Colin, who is usually dependable on the pitch, also seems to have something inside his mind which is affecting his game.

The real trouble occurs after the first half ended. When the Richmond players were going back to the dressing room, a frustrated fan screamed the derogatory f-word, particularly sensitive to gay people. This seems like pouring hot coal into an already burning fire. A fuming Isaac straight up goes to the stand and attacks the fan- which obviously ends with a red card. Richmond is a man down and a goal down at the end of the first half; a position where we were not supposed to be considering their recent form.

At the dressing room, everyone other than Colin and Isaac jumps into the dissection of what happened. A still very angry Isaac defends his action, and when his teammates ask why he couldn’t ignore it, he replies back that what if one of them were gay? Seeing speculation about Isaac being gay amongst his teammates, Colin comes clean with his sexual orientation in front of everybody.

I knew the Richmond players and support staff wouldn’t have any problem with one of their teammates being gay in 2023. Still, I absolutely loved the fact that instead of a “you are gay, so what we don’t care” narrative- they chose a “we do care, and you are not alone” approach, led by none other than the coach himself. While the team comes strong in support of Colin, Roy goes to Issac and has a heart-to-heart, and he seems to appear surprisingly calm.

When Richmond gets back on the pitch in the second half, they seem like a completely different team from the first. They ended the game with a 2-1 victory thanks to an inspiring performance of who else but Colin Hughes? We also get a Colin and Isaac scene where the latter goes to Colin’s place, revealing the reason for not talking was Colin not trusting him enough to tell such a big thing. The two friends eventually end up on the familiar couch with the joystick in their hands- like nothing ever happened.

The real cherry on top comes when Roy appears in the post-game press conference instead of Ted and surprises everyone by being at his calmest self and answering every question with utmost sincerity. While he does condemn what Isaac did, he also brings in an analogy and addresses the fact that what the fan did was wrong, and Football is humans as well. Rebecca’s words did leave a lasting impact on him after all.

Our Take:

The adorable rivalry between Jamie and Sam regarding who is going to be the captain in Isaac’s absence was really cute. Sam deservingly gets the armband, but that doesn’t stop Jamie from being the de-facto leader.
Trent continues to appear supportive of Colin, especially when Colin needs it the most.
Somehow, the funny bits of the Higgins character are not scoring much this season. Just an observation, that’s all.

Ted Lasso (Season 3) Episode 9: Recap & Ending, Explained – How does everyone react to Colin’s secret?