“Ted Lasso”—Season 3 Episode 4 Review
Ladies and gents, the time has come for the matchup of the century– AFC Richmond vs. West Ham.
This will likely be the first of two times the teams face each other, and also the first time anyone has seen Nate since he betrayed Richmond for West Ham.
But before any of that happens– the episode opens with audiences seeing a new side of Jamie Tartt (both physically and emotionally.)
He’s agreed to let Roy coach him in hopes of rising to Zava’s level and leading the team to a championship.
This partnership between Jamie and Roy has the potential to be a major highlight of season three since previously they’ve always held animosity toward each other.
It’s funny to see how they still bicker, but clearly hold a newfound respect and affection for one another.
Speaking of affection– poor lovesick Ted. He unsurprisingly spent a night with Sassy, and asked her in the morning if she wanted to go on an official date.
Sassy replies by saying she wants to keep things casual and that Ted is kind of a mess, and leaves him alone again.
It’s becoming harder to tell with every episode if Jason Sudeikis will ever give his character a happy ending.
Keeley gets a separate storyline for this episode where she and Shandy recruit Richmond players to film promotional videos for her dating app, Bantr. When Jamie films his bit, Shandy presses Keeley for information about Jamie so she can decide whether or not to pursue him.
Keeley gives a somewhat vague answer about how he used to have many flaws but she’s not so sure he does anymore while giving him a wistful glance.
Woah, woah, woah– what is going on here? Keeley and Jamie should be left in season one where they belong!
Keeley quickly shifts her focus to making a good impression on her boss, Jack, whom she’ll be meeting for the first time at the Richmond vs. West Ham match.
Jack (Jodi Balfour) turns out to be a woman who helps Keeley out with lady troubles in the bathroom, and the two of them share a nice connection.
Now to the bulk of the episode– Nate’s interactions with the team (or lack thereof.)
Nate and Ted ended up alone in an elevator together, but Nate faced the wall and tried to avoid him entirely. This might signal that Nate actually feels shame for what he’s done to Ted because it was completely unwarranted.
In order to get the team fired up for the match, Beard and Roy pull up video footage of Nate ripping the famous “Believe” sign in half. The players are shocked, and give Nate a bombastic side eye as they arrive on the pitch.
However– the plan backfires and the team plays recklessly and violently. Richmond ends up losing 4-1, but Ted isn’t mad.
They tried something, and it didn’t work. Life goes on.
Ted not only has to move on from the loss of the match, but also his wife officially being with their ex-therapist Dr. Jacob.
The episode ends with a FaceTime between Michelle and Ted, where he expresses his feelings (yes!) and says no matter what it looks like, he still wants to make their family work.
It’s very mature of him, and it’s clear Michelle feels bad for how she treated him. This situation seems eerily familiar to a real breakup Jason Sudeikis went through recently with a certain Ms. Wilde…
Hopefully that FaceTime was the closure Ted needs to move on from Michelle and find his London girl.
Rating: 4.5/5
Kaitlyn Murphy is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email kvm6255@psu.edu.
