'Ted Lasso' season 3, episode 8 review in conversation: 'We'll Never Have Paris'

This week’s Ted Lasso sees Ted reunite with his son, but when the questionable Doctor Jacob whisks Michelle away to Paris, Coach Lasso is more focused on the status of his ex-wife’s relationship than he is on spending time with Henry. Meanwhile, Nate wants to define the status of his relationship, and Keeley’s relationship takes a hit when an intimate video from her past is leaked. Read on for our discussion of Ted Lasso season 3, episode 8, ‘We’ll Never Have Paris.’

AFC Richmond are climbing the league table since the successful introduction of Total Football, but the team’s streak of victories over the past month appears to be the last thing on their gaffer’s mind as Ted is finally forced to come face to face with Doctor Jacob, the marriage counselor who somehow came out the other side of the Lasso divorce rather unethically dating Ted’s ex-wife Michelle. When the couple stop by Richmond to drop off Henry with Ted, it’s revealed that the final destination for the weekend getaway is not, in fact, the English countryside, but instead, Paris. This news was a surprise to Michelle as well as Ted, and the surprise leads Ted, who knows this is his wife’s long-imagined romantic fantasy, to spiral, fearing an impending proposal.

Ted becomes so obsessed with the idea that it threatens to dominate the entire visit – rather than focusing on his son, or on the team’s training, he only wants to talk about the prospect of Jake and Michelle’s engagement. The Diamond Dogs are called up, but when the gang – including new member Trent – refuse to validate Ted’s thinking, he turns instead to Rebecca, and asks her to hire a private investigator to stalk the couple. Ted’s at a loss when even Rebecca, his usual partner in crazy, tries to talk him down from his ledge, but eventually, in order to placate him, she does agree to help.

With a free day ahead of them, Ted and Beard reluctantly agree to take Henry to see a football match elsewhere in town – at West Ham, in fact, where Henry and Ted enthusiastically greet a confused Nate from the stands. Beard, decked out in full Richmond regalia, is much less happy to be there, but his support for the Lasso family is strong – the relationship between Beard and Henry, especially, is one of the episode’s standout elements. With the show framing Beard as a trusted adult who’s been in the boy’s life since he was born, the use of “Hey Jude” as a vehicle to express concern and advice when Henry worried about his father’s distance feels genuinely touching where it so easily could have been cheesy. And although Rebecca convinces Ted to drop his focus on Michelle’s engagement and redirect his attention to his son, it’s clear that Ted is relieved when there’s no ring on his ex-wife’s finger by the end of the weekend. In fact, Michelle doesn’t seem particularly excited by Paris, or Jake himself, after all, and we’re left wondering if perhaps the end of the series will not only see Ted return home to his son in America, but also to his wife.

Also in this week’s episode, Keeley continues to not be able to catch a break – it feels like the plan for Ted Lasso season 3 is truly for us to see her hit rock bottom. After last week’s love-bombing resolution, things seem strong with Jack at the start of the hour, but once Keeley becomes the victim of a mass celebrity nudes leak, the red flags are flying high. Jack promises to “take care” of the situation, but the leak, which includes a video of Keeley that she took for a former partner, quickly comes to represent different things to each of the women. For Keeley, the issue is the violation of her privacy, but when Jack’s way of handling things includes asking Keeley to post an apology statement that even the uptight Barbara doesn’t seem to approve of, it’s clear that she thinks the act of making the video in the first place is what was unacceptable, and wants Keeley to feel ashamed of it.

While Rebecca validates Keeley’s thoughts on the matter, the same topic of fault and blame is debated by the boys as the news of the leak breaks in the Richmond dressing room. Jamie, captaining one side of the argument, says that he has always deleted everything he gets sent like that, in order to protect people’s privacy, and that there’s no excuse not to, and Colin, heading up the other side, insists that he should not have to and that it isn’t the responsibility of the recipient. But when the boys discover Keeley herself was involved, Isaac ends the discussion and commands them all to delete any compromising photos or videos of women they may be storing on their phones. Unfortunately, when Colin is reluctant to complete the task – especially in front of others – Isaac takes his phone to do it himself and discovers Colin’s secret, thus setting up the next big personal issue Ted Lasso will tackle in upcoming episodes.

And as if Keeley wasn’t already having a tough enough time, Roy is unable to offer her some plain sympathy or support without making it about him and his twisted up feelings. Choosing to ask her who the video was for, after all that’s happened, just because he wants to hurt himself over the idea of it (as it’s quite clear that he knows who it was for and just wants to hear her say it) is the action of someone who’s totally lost track of any sort of boundaries or emotional regulation, and Keeley can’t quite seem to believe what she’s hearing. It’s honestly hard to imagine the ex-couple overcoming this moment in order to reconcile by the end of the season, as everyone expects them to. Even with Jack presumably out of the picture, it feels like Roy and Keeley have passed the point of no return. Whether or not Jamie stands a chance romantically is yet to be seen, but his wholehearted support of Keeley, and his apology to her – he was, after all, the recipient of the video, and the person who actually got hacked, despite his precautions – leave him the winner of this episode in terms of good behaviour. Boy, did she need that hug.

On a lighter note, with Keeley down one girlfriend, Nate’s up one – he and Jade make things official after she lets him stew in his own awkwardness for a while about asking the question. Sure, there’s absolutely no progress made in regards to Nate’s actual redemption arc – that is, how he acts towards either the new football players he has power over, or the existing characters he’s wronged. In fact, he once again leans into Rupert’s animosity against Ted. But the juxtaposition of the Diamond Dogs and Nate’s attempt at creating a circle of trust at West Ham – the Love Hounds – tells us that he’s craving what he had at Richmond. Jade’s approach to handling his quirks does seem to be helping him to chill out, and their love story continues to be enjoyable, but we need more if Nate’s to find his place at Richmond again before the end of the season.

Catch up with our Ted Lasso conversation reviews so far and read on for our in-depth conversation about ‘We’ll Never Have Paris.’

‘Ted Lasso’ season 3, episode 8 review in conversation

Natalie: So, this episode was more understated than I was expecting, at the end of the day. But I also think the things that happened here have really huge roles to play as the season moves on to its final act. The pot was set to simmer on the stove, you know what I mean?

Megan: Yeah, there are a few arcs set up in this episode where I can see how they might play out going forwards, though I am prepared to be very wrong with my guesses.

Natalie: There are only three real major tracks here, which seems minimal after the last few episodes. There’s Ted, Michelle and Henry, Nate and Jade, and the fallout of Keeley’s sex tape – which you guessed rightly about last week. That incident has a few ripples and is the main thread, really, as it affects different people in different ways – sadly none of them to do with the actual football. We do get a match update though – Total Football with Jamie as Richmond’s lynchpin playmaker is working. They’ve had four wins in a row, and according to the whiteboard, they’ve played 25, won 10 (6 of those were with Zava), drawn 9 and lost 6. So since Zava left, they’ve had a couple of draws but mostly losses. When Zava quit, they were on 24 points and in the week leading up to Arsenal, they were on 26, so they’d eked out 2 draws somewhere in between the Man City and Arsenal matches – possibly goalless draws that no one feels that happy about. But since Arsenal, they’ve gained 13 points! So a draw and then four wins, including a 90+5 win over Spurs. The Ted Lasso writers really want to make sure you know that Spurs are very Spursy in this universe. Sorry.

Megan: I don’t need this right now, as I sit here in my Spurs hoodie. Sad and alone.

Natalie: It’s like they have a crystal ball and looked into the future to match up with the current results.

Megan: I don’t think they needed a crystal ball to know Spurs would mess up at the last minute, that’s just a given, but the episode did sync up eerily well with their match against Liverpool. Sigh. Let’s talk about the fact that the Everton curse from season 1 is well and truly broken instead – Richmond beat them away too!

Natalie: Roy must be pleased. Jamie wasn’t there the first time that happened, but maybe this time he got to go to karaoke too.

Megan: I hope so. It feels criminal that we’ve not heard him sing yet. We’re running out of episodes to get that.

Natalie: Roy probably actually had a mope, given the events of their last Everton away. Would have been an interesting moment to revisit and reflect on, for him.

Megan: True. Especially if someone like Jamie had noticed he was moodier than usual and asked him about it. Roy did open up about Keeley seeing someone new back in Amsterdam, maybe they’re at that stage of friendship now.

Natalie: I think Jamie could force him to sing. I believe he has that power. Would it be good? No. But it would be cathartic.

Megan: He got him on a bike. A karaoke stage feels like the logical next step. I know that Phil can sing, but I’m not sure if Phil doing a Manchester accent as Jamie can sing. I’m sad we’ll likely never find out.

Natalie: Accents don’t matter that much in singing, there are a lot of extremely famous and talented singers from Manchester. Jamie’s accent is somewhat based on Liam Gallagher’s, so I think he could pull something off.

Megan: That’s true, I think I’ve been scarred by too many social media videos of real life footballers singing really badly. In my head, they are all awful at it. I need Jamie to fix that misconception.

Natalie: Anyway, Roy unfortunately continues to not sing and generally takes a bit of a back seat in the story here. And the times he does rise from that seat are somewhat stressful. Timeline wise, we are now into early or mid February of the following year, 2022. We’ve passed Christmas, all that stuff, and Roy and Keeley must have been broken up for at least 6 months now, if not more. Jack and Keeley have been dating for around 2 months, since the missed Man City match lamb poo incident. They probably spent Sexy Christmas together.

Megan: I wonder how over the top Jack was at Christmas, I imagine she whisked Keeley away somewhere extravagant.

Natalie: Roy probably spent it sad and alone. Though at least he’s got Phoebe, who has been SHOCKINGLY absent from this season.

Megan: Yes! We don’t always see loads of her, she does tend to pop in for only a few episodes a season, but I would have expected more. I really hope we’ll get at least one last scene with her before the end.

Natalie: They keep refusing to show me Roy in his own home. Maybe he just sleeps in his car now.

Megan: Or his office. It’s probably what he thinks he deserves.

Natalie: But we do return to Keeley’s place this episode, for the first time since that break-up scene, and what struck me immediately about it is how different her bedroom is. She’s got a new bed with a brown silk headboard, not the pink velvet.

Megan: A post break-up makeover? She’s clearly not gone off pink as a general rule, it’s everywhere else in her life.

Natalie: Yeah. Sometimes beds can be a bit sentimental, I guess. But the whole vibe is different from when Roy was staying there.

Megan: Maybe she just really wanted it to feel like a new room, to exorcise the place of any sadness.

Natalie: Well, this new one is absolutely covered in animal print. Like someone else’s bedroom we know.

Megan: Foreshadowing? Or just a fondness for patterns they both share. Who can say.

Natalie: A taste that they share but that Roy does not is a fair assessment. But you never know. I think what’s interesting about Keeley and Jamie’s styling is how much they do feel connected, especially this season. Part of that is you know, that aforementioned shared taste. They enjoy the same kind of things, they’re both into socialising, self-care, grooming, and their style leans towards bright colours and maximalism. It means they have a lot in common to connect on, but it also kind of makes me tilt my head at the fact that Ted Lasso has effectively replaced Keeley with Jamie in Roy’s life, as the fluffy pink smiley shiny person who he hangs around with all the time, juxtaposed against his black thundercloud vibes. Bit of a tangent, as there is not a lot of Roy and Jamie content in this episode, but I am Keeping My Eye On It, because the three of them are clearly still tumbling through space and time into whatever their final formation is. And that’s certainly made clear in this episode.

Megan: Yeah I think Roy gravitates to those kinds of people, even when he’s pretending to be too grumpy for it.

Natalie: We can’t forget that Roy was first drawn to Keeley because he was a bit annoyed at her teasing him. Like, he’d seen her round, thinks she’s smart and lovely and fit, but literally, their relationship starts with Keeley saying, “I could push all your buttons,” and then doing so.

Megan: He likes to be needled and challenged.

Natalie: It awakens interest in him, for sure. I don’t know if he would ever admit to liking it, he gets mad when she winds him up, but he is attracted to it. It fires him up. And in terms of their overall general vibe, Jamie and Keeley are basically very sexy twins who also used to fuck each other.

Megan: What. A. Sentence.

Natalie: It’s just quite interesting,

Megan: You’re not wrong, but wow.

Natalie: Obviously Roy didn’t see any good heartedness in Jamie back in season 1, but also just as obviously, Keeley did, as this episode delves into more details about their past love story. But Jamie now? If he and Keeley ganged up on Roy he would simply not survive it. I’m keen for the season to move forward and give us scenes of the three of them together.

Megan: Yes! We know it’ll happen from the trailer, but I’d love for us to get there already.

Natalie: I hope there are some fun ones. The one in the trailer looks sad.

Megan: True. And they’ve all spent far too long feeling sad this season so far. They deserve fun.

Natalie: Anyway, the point is, Jamie and Keeley both like to shag on leopard print. They should do that together some time. But they better not film it. If Roy is curious about it, he’ll have to be there in the room too. For internet security reasons.

Megan: I think so, yes. That’s just good sense. For now the only people shagging on Keeley’s leopard print are her and Jack, or at least they would be if their phones would stop interrupting them.

Natalie: Look, before we even get into the sex tape of it all, I was already concerned when Jack started talking about the polo match. I am glad that Jack was so keen to take Keeley because I worried that the next problem was going to be about the poshness. Like “Oh, you wouldn’t want to go to that,” and Jack not wanting to show off her Essex Page 3 girlfriend. That didn’t seem to be an issue here, but I was ready for it to be.

Megan: That’s valid. I definitely think that when she does later cancel it isn’t for Keeley’s benefit like she says, it’s entirely for Jack’s, but polo is next level posh, so it’s definitely something I could see Jack wanting to keep Keeley away from. What’s interesting to me is that Jack kind of likes to style herself as a bit of a rebel I think? But actually deep down she is pretty conforming and concerned about what others think in a way I wouldn’t have initially suspected.

Natalie: That actually makes total sense to me because it is really quite common with the ultrarich. People can’t be that rich and not ultimately have some inherent conservatism or classism. You sometimes just have to scratch a bit deeper to find it. But this stuff made more sense to me in terms of her incompatibility with Keeley than the love bombing. I think this was quite carefully done, the part with the uni friend later as well. Ted Lasso treads delicately in not taking it to an outright classist place, but the aroma of it is around from the moment Jack mentioned polo. Ultrarich kids can afford to “play” at being rebels and free thinkers. The ones who genuinely ARE don’t tend to get into venture capitalism. They go off the grid and fund charities or something.

Megan: Yeah, it just really shows the divide between Keeley and Jack. And again it’s different to the kind of wealthy Roy is, because he has the same background as Keeley. I think Jack is fine with Keeley’s past when it’s very much in the past and Jack can show her off as a new project that Jack helped launch. Keeley is very good with people from all different backgrounds and at setting them at ease, so she won’t embarrass Jack at events, but it’s a different matter when her past is right there in the headlines for everyone to watch.

Natalie: Oh yeah, I mean. The outfit she buys for the polo is telling us that story in the costuming. It’s the Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman brown polka dot pattern dress. And an Eliza Doolittle hat.

Megan: Subtle. Very subtle.

Natalie: It’s a LOUD Pygmalion message. So yeah, Former Whatever is one thing, Current Wanktape Star is another. And the commentary from everyone else in Keeley’s life, including Rebecca, is not shaming.

Megan: Jack’s initial reaction made me think she was going to be alright about it. She was very reassuring, pulled Keeley out of her spiral, didn’t seem to be judging and told her she was going to fix it. I didn’t love the framing of Jack being this person that just fixes things for Keeley – I want her to do that for herself – but I wasn’t expecting Jack’s later stance, if I’m honest.

Natalie: Yeah. You have to wonder how genuine that first calming was, whether it was sincere in the moment, or whether that is how Jack genuinely felt until family talked her into feeling otherwise – if she was swayed by their opinion.

Megan: Oh that’s true. She might have thought it was okay until her dad rang. I think she’s quite under his thumb.

Natalie: In this case, I actually think that Jack saying she will fix it was a valid solution, with her wealth and resources. Keeley couldn’t get the video taken down herself, but this did seem like a practical thing that Jack could fix or make go away without it being a saviour thing.

Megan: Yeah, that’s fair. I probably just went into this episode a little on edge about Jack after last week!

Natalie: I certainly hoped for the best at this point, but when the real stuff came out, I didn’t feel that shocked. Just, if I was making Ted Lasso, I probably would have threaded in some hints of this kind of thing being the true issue with Jack. I guess the gifts were all about mindless wealth and presumption, but if we are meant to side against Jack, I might have seeded the ground with stuff related to this earlier, rather than diverting with a somewhat different issue. Maybe the issue is just that billionaires are all terrible?

Megan: Even the ones who aren’t out there doing active day to day harm can’t help but be twats because their wealth makes them shitty. I can buy that as a theme.

Natalie: Yeah, everyone in Ted Lasso is rich, but very few of them are on Jack’s level. Rebecca’s from a somewhat wealthy family and she got a very good divorce settlement with the club but she was not a born billionaire – even Rupert wasn’t a born billionaire – and Rebecca clearly thinks Jack is extreme in her behaviour.

Megan: Another person who is supportive of Keeley in this episode is Barbara. She was very kind, the way she expressed her sympathy over what happened and Keeley seemed genuinely touched. And she clearly thought the statement was bullshit, even if she didn’t outright say the word.

Natalie: I believe more than ever that Babs still has something big to offer Keeley. Like, whatever happens next, these two are the ones who are going to matter as business-friends or whatever. Because the way she acted here when she gave Keeley that statement, yeah. She knew it was wrong and she did not agree with it. I don’t know how much power she has here, or how much spine, but she knows it’s shit. She’s not judging Keeley for it in the way we learn Jack does.

Megan: No, she is just very quietly supportive and kind. I do think Babs has seen Jack act this way before maybe. Initially I thought perhaps she was just a bit jealous that Keeley and Jack had such an easy relationship from the start, but now I wonder if there was an element of she’s seen this before, and knows how it ends. Either way I have come very full circle on Babs. She can still be a snob, but she’s a good egg.

Natalie: The statement itself was an extremely conservative take, both in the dictionary meaning of that word and the political. Most people in this day and age would talk about invasion of privacy. Putting the blame back on the hacked person is pretty archaic!

Megan: It really was. I was so shocked when she read it out loud because regardless of Jack’s actual thoughts that’s just not the kind of statement that people make these days. In the past when celebs have had nudes leaked, they have all expressed anger and outrage at their privacy being violated like that.

Natalie: Keeley had also been lurking the comments on what looks like Reddit, and people are talking about how she probably leaked it herself. Her image is still very much tied to that cheap model vibe, it seems, so I bet the icky statement writer was leaning into that element, the whole “I am a bad, dirty woman, I am guilty.”

Megan: Keeley’s voice breaking while she reads that out loud was honestly really awful. Given her past she must be so used to hearing people shame her, and she’s probably had to work hard to not let it bother her, but to hear it from the woman she’s dating is so brutal. Even if it wasn’t Jack’s words, Jack still okay-ed that being sent over to Keeley. That has to hurt, reading those words and thinking “Wow, is this what she thinks?” I think that’s another tick in the box for Jamie actually. Jack is obviously outright shaming her, and while Roy generally doesn’t, he has those Jamie-related hang ups that make him act inappropriately. But Jamie has never been shown to be anything but super supportive of Keeley and her past.

Natalie: Literally no one else in Keeley’s life is shaming her for this, but Jamie is probably the best support she gets, and I honestly think it would still be that way even if he wasn’t the recipient of the video.

Megan: I agree.

Natalie: He was incredibly proud to be with her when she was a glamour model, and from what we learn in this episode about his general ethos towards women and being sent nudes – which I am quite sure is not a new ethos, I think he held himself to these standards even when he was “the bad guy” in season 1 – he saw her as a fully realised person the whole time. And like, of course I think Roy did too, and so did Rebecca. No one ever acted like they judged her for her career. But Jamie was thrilled to be with her back when she was modelling. He wasn’t grossly possessive or jealous or anything of her doing that work.

Megan: No, I feel that ethos is very much one he has learned from having a very nice mum, who was probably also very firm with him about the right way to act towards and treat women. I think Jamie probably understood why Keeley enjoyed her career more than others did – I could see him having fun discussing shoots and things with her, so he probably fully embraced it. Roy and Rebecca didn’t judge, but were probably less interested in the ins and outs. But also, when they come into her life she is phasing that side of her career out anyway, so it may have come up less.

Natalie: The episode is very firm in making sure that everyone who matters has basically the correct opinions on this, that Keeley should not be ashamed or embarrassed. And also that she herself does not FEEL ashamed or embarrassed. So to see that statement and the angle Jack wants her to take is so gross.

Megan: It’s funny. Before this episode, I would not have thought this would be the thing that Jack would fuck up over. I wouldn’t have pictured her taking this line. But the second it happened, I just thought, “Oh. Yeah. Of course she would feel this way,” because of the wealth and class divide we discussed above. But I was so furious when Keeley read those words out loud. I vocally told Jack to fuck right off when I heard them.

Natalie: I think it’s also the fact she mentioned jealousy last week.

Megan: Yeah, she probably doesn’t like the idea of other people seeing Keeley like that.

Natalie: Like she is morally outraged in that rich-person way about the impropriety, and it’s fueled by Keeley having a past. I’d had a feeling that the thing that would split her and Jack up would be something to do with Roy or Jamie – spending time with one of them, or something, some ultimatum about not seeing them. I feel like her casual mention of jealousy is a secret part of this. But yeah. “I hope you can forgive me while I learn and grow.” Literally what the fuck.

Megan: And the “I should never have made this video in the first place.” Sure, she may blame lawyers, but that is clearly very much in line with Jack’s views. Honestly I was ready to hunt her down and headbutt her for that.

Natalie: It’s such a fucking tricky situation, the “shouldn’t have done it in the first place” thing. It’s very victim-blamey. If I was in that situation as a famous person, I would not do something like that purely because of this exact risk, the risk of it being misused. But that misuse is kind of the cyber crime version you could compare to saying “If she didn’t want people to grab her arse in a bar she shouldn’t have worn such a short skirt.” Like, my first impulse actually is to say “People shouldn’t take nudes and send them online!” but it’s not because of the morality of taking the nude for a partner, it’s only because the risk or fear of leaks and abuse feels overwhelming. Society is trash. And this is a debate the Ted Lasso writers effectively give us in detail when the team discusses the matter, but they do it much, much more obnoxiously.

Megan: Yeah and the thing is, there’s a difference between choosing not to do that out of personal fear, and society judging all women for doing it.

Natalie: Yeah, it felt like the message in Jack’s statement was “I should never have made it because it’s gross and dirty to do that.” Not “I should never have let a private thing become a risk of hacking.”

Megan: I really loved the way they handled the dressing room scene. Because for all that these boys are shown to generally be wholesome and good, they are still footballers. They’re not being outright awful, but they are having a laddish conversation in a way that feels very real.

Natalie: Some of them are pretty awful, to be honest, but they self regulate well. I’m kind of glad the show didn’t try and make them all perfect. It is obviously extremely important to me that Jamie was the one leading the discussion and firmly voicing the right attitude long before he knew it was Keeley. And of course Isaac, Jamie, Sam and Dani are all correct.

Megan: Colin was probably the worst, with his reference to going home to have a wank about them, though it was very obviously part of his performative straightness. It didn’t make his attitude any less gross, but you as a viewer have an understanding of why he’s doing it.

Natalie: Yeah, his commitment to the closet is why the debate really started, but he’s not the only one saying things. I do think that his attitude on the topic is actually not just a performance though, once it gets into the ethics of what should and shouldn’t be done. And to me that’s very fucking stupid of him, with what he has to risk.

Megan: Yes, I think he generally agrees that he should be allowed to keep the photos once he’s got them. And yeah, you beat me to it, really fucking stupid Colin! If you’d been hacked, the headlines would not be about Keeley right now. I very much enjoyed the joke “What is the opposite of clever?” “The Sun” as an aside.

Natalie: I very much appreciated the structure of this conversation. It was a bit of a PSA, it was a bit clunky, but it unpacked so much.

Megan: And everyone’s response felt very true to them – there was nobody that felt out of character.

Natalie: I have always been on Team “Jamie is a Good Boyfriend, or even Fling, Even Before He Was Redeemed,” and he did not let me down. Sam offering his exes the chance to delete anything they want… I cannot imagine Sam getting sent nudes or making videos, but good for him. Sorry about Candy Crush.

Megan: I don’t think Sam would ever ask for them, but I’m sure he’d be very grateful if he got sent them. I do have questions about O’Brien’s photo of someone defecating. But I do not actually want to know the answer.

Natalie: Let’s not.

Megan: He started it.

Natalie: Van Damme being oblivious to why this would matter, Jan being kind of harsh, Colin being very prickly, all fits. And Isaac is a fucking king.

Megan: He was very good in this, I was applauding him.

Natalie: I don’t think Will has to burn his painting, but I appreciate Jamie’s commitment to protecting his partners. Or other people’s.

Megan: I think tasteful artistic paintings can probably be spared.

Natalie: The thing is, Colin’s statement, “I shouldn’t have to delete my photos just because they MIGHT get stolen. It’s my stuff, don’t touch it,” IS an answer I might also theoretically agree with, but it’s also like, not how the world works? People SHOULDN’T rob your house, but you still have locks on your doors. Like he IS right, but it’s not a helpful kind of right, if that makes sense? There’s a lot of things that SHOULD be a certain way, but they aren’t, and you can’t just ignore that. You have to work with reality.

Megan: And unfortunately Colin’s reality right now means that there is a heightened risk to him with his personal life, if that gets out before he is personally ready for it.

Natalie: He’s fucking stupid.

Megan: It’s funny because he’s clearly so careful and paranoid most of the time, but he really wants to keep the dick pics he’s been sent.

Natalie: Did you find it odd that they were being euphemistic about “pictures and videos”? Like, when Isaac says delete everything you’ve been sent, they obviously don’t mean selfies or pictures of puppies or videos of fireworks. They mean nudes. But they don’t say it. Like, someone really silly, with no media literacy, could and will take this to mean delete every single picture or video file on the phone. Like, everything. But they’re talking very specifically about nudes and sex stuff and I don’t really get why they had veiled the language so much.

Megan: Given they make it very obvious exactly what is happening in the video with Keeley, it is really weird they’re so coy in this scene. I guess maybe they wanted to tread that line between realistic somewhat gross behaviour, but not so bad it permanently clouds any of the himbos who we are supposed to think are still very good boys.

Natalie: The only one that was a bit left field was sonograms. How many people is Reynolds impregnating? But I guess that’s also a hackable risk if you don’t want people to know about your 16 lovechildren.

Megan: I mean, footballers do have a lot of children. It’s nice to have confirmation that at least someone at Richmond is keeping that tradition going. I did appreciate the realism of everyone suddenly changing their tune when they heard Keeley was affected. Because for better or worse that’s a common thing, right? When men don’t get an issue, people try and say “Well imagine it was your mum or your sister” and then they’re like “Ohhhhh, of course.” And the fact is, it shouldn’t take you personally knowing a woman for you to care about their rights but sadly that is so often what gets men to think differently.

Natalie: Yeah, it isn’t so much that I liked the fact that this is what made them shut up and take it seriously, but you’re right, this is what would make them shut up and take it seriously. It shouldn’t be needed, but it is spot on. I just EXTREMELY appreciate that Jamie was the one leading the conversation in the right direction BEFORE it was about someone he loved. He has correct morals, which I never doubted, but it’s always nice to see.

Megan: Yes! He didn’t need it to be about Keeley to believe in the principle, unlike some of them. He’s just good.

Natalie: The way it cuts between his focus and Roy’s, who’s just been judging them all silently – well, judging most of them, probably approving of Isaac and Jamie and Sam. But cutting to his reaction when hearing it was about Keeley, making sure Jamie stays in the frame with him, then going back to Jamie, who watches Roy respond and leave…

Megan: Yes! The show is not subtle over how much it wants us to know the three of them are extremely connected.

Natalie: I am actually pretty curious about what Jamie was wondering about Roy at this moment. I’m sure they both wondered if the leak was something they personally received, but Jamie very much dwells on Roy. I wonder if he’s worried about Roy being upset again, about the reminder that Jamie and Keeley used to be together. But then, the wistful moment of everyone sitting down and deleting their nudes, the shots of everyone painfully bidding farewell to the various sexy pictures in their phones…Very silly, yet weirdly serious. What did Jamie spot on Will’s phone to get that look! Threesome stuff, I assume.

Megan: Either photos from the threesome, or follow up photos the couple have sent him since as a fond memory of their night together.

Natalie: I liked the part where Jamie and Sam got to walk out early like the kids in class who finished their worksheets early, and how Richard had to stay behind very, very late after school.

Megan: Jamie and Sam are the teacher’s pets, at least in this instance. Isaac is the teacher, so he has to stay and make sure nobody cheats.

Natalie: He very much suspects that Colin is trying to “cheat,” and honestly, this is such a bitter little diversion from the main plot that it left me preemptively exhausted for next week. I understand that Colin is stressed about opening his pics in front of the team. I understand he’s trying to still obey Isaac’s rules while not massively agreeing with the morals of them, but also feeling such a bigger risk. And I understand that he’s extremely stressed about being in the closet. But seeing the impact of that ongoing stress on him and how this situation makes him lash out so nastily is… Well it’s a far cry from the smart boy who was keen to borrow Jamie’s Leather and Cookies Lynx a few minutes ago. They’re showing the build up of this burden for him – with Trent he was sad, but today he’s just pissed off. I think it’s a pretty great way of showing how shit his situation is, but I’m not stoked on where this is all going with Isaac, to be honest.

Megan: Yeah, it’s rough. I think it does go a fair way to showing why everything is so difficult for Colin. The constant performative straightness, what that does to his brain and how he acts, how careful he has to be ALL THE TIME. It does a good job at that, but I’ve been confident, ever since Isaac’s not great “sounds a bit gay bruv” comment that the conflict around Colin being gay, if they don’t go the public coming out route, would be between him and Isaac. I’ve also been fairly confident that Isaac isn’t actually going to be homophobic. I’ve assumed since then that Isaac will be hurt that Colin never trusted him enough to tell him, but that Colin will assume their rift is for homophobic reasons, and I’m not looking forward to that. As we’ve discussed, I don’t want a rushed public coming out storyline, so coming out to the team is what I’d prefer. But the reason I don’t want the rushed public coming out is because that would involve too much conflict and potential nastiness for them to handle in the time they have left. If he’s only coming out to the team, I actually don’t really want any conflict about it, because I think it would be fine. I suppose this episode does a good job of showing us that they are still silly boys who say silly things sometimes, but that could happen without this potential angst.

Natalie: The Colin and Isaac situation can only really go two ways. Either Isaac is genuinely a bit homophobic and is coming to terms with it, or this is all “Can’t believe you didn’t tell me, I’m betrayed” that gets played like he’s homophobic until the big reveal that he’s hurt that Colin didn’t think he could trust him. And I want neither of those, but the second option is so stale. We have seen this shit before a million times, and Ted Lasso literally just did this “Oh, is he a threat?” thing with Trent. The threat/relief switcheroo is very tired. And also, Isaac being hurt that Colin didn’t tell him should NOT end in Colin being like, “Sorry I didn’t trust you man.” Colin is 100% valid to have kept it locked down from everyone if that’s how he felt safest, even if he assumed it would be fine. But I think Billy and Kola were great here, Billy’s face shifting from fuck off to like, open terror, like, “Yep, you’ve seen it, now you know…” and Kola’s processing nodding. I really hope Ted Lasso surprises me with how this is handled.

Megan: That would be a slight twist. Colin calling Isaac out for being hurt, saying he has no right to that hurt, and Isaac being the one to apologise in the end could actually be a different take, and a slightly more empowering one for Colin and queer people who feel they have to stay in the closet for safety or other reasons. I don’t feel confident that’s the way the show will go, but that would be preferred.

Natalie: Yeah, I think something in that zone could work, but I just don’t want to watch a whole episode next week of Colin and Isaac having some weird “is he homophobic” standoff. Because unless Ted Lasso is willing to leave characters in a place of discomfort and disconnect, we know that this will end warmly.

Megan: I think Kola and Billy really will smash the delivery of whatever they’re given, I just would prefer like three minutes of standoff, five minutes of Colin telling Isaac off, and then best buddies, rather than a whole episode of angst.

Natalie: I would almost be more interested in Ted Lasso unpacking some actual subconscious homophobia, have some guys address their ingrained responses. But that feels like it would be a really big betrayal of the Richmond dressing room values, even if some of the guys are dumb as shit. Like, realistically, “Isaac’s a bit homophobic actually” is just not the plot they’ll do…

Megan: No, I don’t for a second think that’s going to be the plot.

Natalie: But if done well, it might have actually had more interesting things to say than the old “Can’t believe you didn’t trust me.” So yeah, I think Colin making sure Isaac knows his choice was a valid one, no matter how hurt Isaac feels, is the only outcome I’d accept right now. This is more what I’d say when we do the actual preview for 3.09, but as it’s valid here, the fact that it’s named after La Cage Aux Folles makes me wonder if Isaac will be playing the Jean-Michel role here and maybe make a big misstep in how he asks Colin to handle this, before finally realising that was a horrible thing to ask and apologising. So maybe it WILL feature some kind of homophobic covering up from Isaac. I don’t know. It’s left hanging here, this is just something that’s left fraught until next time.

Megan: This episode has left me feeling very nervous about a lot of things actually. This is one of them, but way more than usual I came out of this episode feeling tense. I’m not used to that with Ted Lasso!

Natalie: I definitely like it when things aren’t all resolved in one episode, but I’m a bit confused about what plots might pick back up again or not. This one, however, it’s absolutely going to feed into next time.

Megan: Yeah that’s the thing this season – there have been a few threads or characters where you just don’t know what will or won’t be picked back up. Zava and Shandy for instance – I did think we’d be seeing both of them again, but now I’m less convinced. I feel like we’re not going to see anything more of the issues raised by Sam last week, but we probably should, to be honest. But this will definitely come back.

Natalie: The little button on the whole himbo handling of the nudes – Richard alone at the end of the day, saying goodbye and thank you to each and every picture he’s got, almost in tears, long after the others have left – I’ve said it before, but him being French as a personality trait should not work as well as it does. It is so funny.

Megan: He’s utterly ridiculous, and I really love him. Anyway, while this has all been going on, Keeley is back at Richmond being consoled by Rebecca, who was PERFECT in this scene. I was not expecting the throwaway teacher comment, I’ll be honest. They glossed over that pretty quickly. But in general this scene was so soothing after the awfulness of the Jack statement.

Natalie: She is so great. Absolutely amazing. The teacher thing didn’t shock me all that much – they’ve made it pretty clear that Keeley has a lot of shit like that in her past. But it did make me think of how these nude leaks are so much more dangerous for kids in the current day. Keeley may have taken that photo on an actual camera, being in her 30s now, or maybe sent it via email. But kids now with their smartphones… The idea of a 15 year old having a nudes scandal inside a high school is a true horror of the present/future. And it’s all well and good to say well they shouldn’t take them, but teenagers have sex and they will do this. What a nightmare.

Megan: God. I feel old for saying it, but I’m really glad I was a teenager before smartphones. Only just, because I’m very youthful, but that is such a relief.

Natalie: I agree. It sounds so fucking bad. But Rebecca is on board with Keeley not being ashamed before she even knows about the stupid statement. What the episode is trying to say, I think, is very much in what Keeley asks Rebecca to do here – restructure society so women aren’t condemned this way. The issue being talked about is not whether Keeley should or shouldn’t have sent a video to her boyfriend due to the risk of it being stolen. It’s the implied criticism of her for owning her sexuality at all.

Megan: Yeah, and I think it does it really well, both in showing the differing views – the himbos, Jack – but also in very clearly showing that they are the ones in the wrong, and nothing Keeley did was bad or should be judged.

Natalie: Like, even if she was at “fault” for it being leaked, like if she was very careless, saying “I’m embarrassed the public are seeing it” is not the same as “I am embarrassed for making it for the person it was meant for,” which she repeatedly says she’s not.

Megan: Yes! It’s very different. She has no regrets about making it, nor should she. She just hates that it’s out there for others to see now.

Natalie: And she also talks about the fact that she’s done erotic modelling, that lots of people have seen her topless, and how that is something she has no problem with as it was her choice.

Megan: Yeah, it is so different to to have had photos taken of you in a photoshoot, where you knew where they were going to end up, and to have a private video you made for your partner leaked.

Natalie: Keeley talking about her tits being on the internet with her consent really made me think about Ted in the pilot, because I’ve always thought Keeley was judging him for having taped over them, and that’s why she fucked with him about the sign being crooked.

Megan: Yes! I don’t think she was offended by him covering up, but that she thought he was a bit pathetic for it, hence the fucking around.

Natalie: Because let’s just think about that for a second. Some people might think “Oh, it’s so gross that Jamie had her posters up in his locker.” But it wasn’t. She didn’t mind. She was proud of herself and Jamie was immensely proud to be with her. And we know it wasn’t in a lecherous, exploitative way either – given what he’s said in this episode, you can bet he had her permission to hang the posters.

Megan: I agree. I think she is proud of her past and proud of her body. If she didn’t like those photos being up, she is someone who would have told Jamie to take them down, and if she had told him, he would have done it instantly. But that was her job back then, and he was proud of her and wanted to see her all the time and show off things that she was happy for him to share.

Natalie: Even Roy started dating Keeley when that work was somewhat in her past. But Jamie was dating Keeley Jones The Glamour Model for however long before they split. And this episode tells us that even back then, he had this very clear distinction between Keeley’s work that she was happy to share with the world, and his and Keeley’s private sex life. He did not treat private images of her body like a commodity he could show off, and he wasn’t jealous or possessive over people seeing her nude in the images that she had created for work. Jamie at his “worst” still had that principle of deleting the photos and stuff like that, protecting her private nudes, and he respected the difference between those pics and her modelling.

Megan: Yeah. And I think people might have made assumptions that he had treated her like she was a commodity or whatever, given the fact that apparently there are people out there who are only just realising Jamie’s had good qualities all along. But I think it was always clear he didn’t, and this episode just explicitly confirms it.

Natalie: I love that Keeley brought that up with Rebecca – the difference between the modelling and this breach, that those pictures were her choice. Aside from being totally and utterly correct in terms of the principle of the things for Keeley now, it adds all this flavour and depth and context to the past episodes where she’s dating Jamie.

Megan: Yeah it was really well done. And I love that Rebecca asks what she can do to help, instead of bulldozing through and writing bullshit statements.

Natalie: Rebecca also doesn’t skirt around the masturbation topic, which I appreciated, because I think that is a huge element of the judgement occuring. I almost think a partnered sex tape would have been less scandalous, because people are insane about the idea of girls masturbating. And Ted Lasso has featured Keeley wanking before, obviously, but there’s a lot unsaid here on that topic that nevertheless feels very loud.

Megan: Weirdly, I think you’re right. I think people are so stupid about women masturbating. There were things I didn’t love about this episode, but just the way they approached this topic and had the different characters react to it was done really well, I think.

Natalie: The fact that Rebecca was so shameless about humping the couch is one way to go about it, but I loved her so much for it, LOL.

Megan: Blaming it on the non-existent dog! I did like that after last week, where Rebecca was being a bit cautious about Jack, she immediately was like “Oh Jack didn’t write this! This was definitely lawyers!” and told Keeley she should talk to Jack about it and give her a chance to do better.

Natalie: Yes, she trusted Keeley’s judgement on feeling good about Jack, and so she seems willing to assume the best.

Megan: I think it helps to show that even last week where she was being cautious, it wasn’t about trying to get Keeley to break up with Jack or anything, she just wants to be open and honest about her concerns, and then leave it to Keeley to address if she wants to.

Natalie: Keeping in mind this episode is at least a month on from the last episode, if not longer, Jack has had time to prove herself and hold back from the love bombing. So they’ve had time for Rebecca to stop projecting Rupert issues onto Keeley’s relationship.

Megan: Yeah that’s true. She might have been behaving for a month or more now in that respect. Which Keeley would have told Rebecca about.

Natalie: And she may have met Jack more times, all of that. “Caked in lawyer ick” was very funny to me – I do so love Rebecca.

Megan: She has such a way with words, always. But I also loved that she immediately knew Keeley wouldn’t want to say any of that.

Natalie: Yeah, there’s this constant push-pull with Jack and with everyone else of like, “Of course you shouldn’t feel ashamed of doing something intimate for your boyfriend, the only people who did wrong are the hackers,” and the idea that she should be ashamed for doing it full stop.

Megan: Even the himbos don’t think taking photos or whatever is bad and something to be ashamed of. They just think if the photos do get out there, then that’s part of the risk you take. It just makes Jack’s reaction throughout feel even more wrong and out of touch.

Natalie: Yeah. The attitude “If you put naked pictures anywhere accessible to the internet you’re asking for it and have to accept the consequences” is gross, but they all appreciate the nudes when they’re getting them!

Megan: I also feel like some of them would have zero shame about their own photos getting out, to be honest. Richard especially. What do they expect, he’s French!

Natalie: Yeah, but they know, or should know, that it’s different for women.

Megan: Some of them definitely know. Others possibly do not, but should.

Natalie: Jamie knows, which is all that really matters to me, especially as this was obviously not something Keeley had to teach him or ask of him.

Megan: Agreed. I think it definitely predated her.

Natalie: He knows because he’s decent and I love when we get more elements of his inherent long-term decency. Just because he was being a twat in the dressing room doesn’t mean he was a twat in all aspects of life, and as discussed, Keeley fucking adored him, and had reasons for being with him, so. One element that highlights how incredibly Jamie handles things in this episode is how less than incredibly Roy handles it. It’s pretty unfortunate. When they hear Keeley was involved, you see both Roy and Jamie react, and I think they’re both having the same thought – “Am I to blame for this?” Neither had seen the content yet, but they both probably wondered what kind of thing might have possibly leaked and could it possibly be something of theirs. Because if Keeley likes to send nudes, I’m sure she sent a few to Roy too.

Megan: Yeah I definitely think that’s likely. I feel like Roy probably wouldn’t send them back, he’s got too much shame for that. Jamie probably did though.

Natalie: Absolutely. Roy would have probably explained that he didn’t feel like he could do it but Keeley didn’t mind if he did or not, whereas Jamie absolutely sent her wanking videos back.

Megan: I found the scene with Roy super frustrating to watch, for a couple of reasons. First of all, I was confused about whether or not the Ted Lasso writers were gunning for a twist – as in, until he asks, were we as the audience mean to assume the tape was for him? Was him asking meant to be a surprise or twist in itself, in that, this is how we learn it wasn’t for him? If that was the aim, it didn’t work, because it was very clearly not, from the moment we see it.

Natalie: Yeah, I agree, it wasn’t ever going to be for him. He wouldn’t be into that vibe, I don’t think, and she didn’t style herself like that when they were together. It was incredibly obvious to me whose girlfriend Keeley was in that video, you know what I mean? But on that point, the kindest possible read I have on Roy asking Keeley that fucking question is that he had not seen any the specific video yet and he was asking her “Was it something I could have been hacked for?” Like, “Who was it for” meant “Was this my fault?” That is the most generous read on that question I can drum up, and I don’t actually believe it’s what happened. I think if that was what he was asking, he would have asked that in those words. Like “I didn’t watch it, please tell me if it’s anything I am to blame for or anything I can do anything about.”

Megan: I do think that is a possibility. That if he knew that Keeley would feel violated over this whole thing, he did not want to watch the video and as such didn’t know if it was something he played a role in, because he didn’t know if he was the intended recipient.

Natalie: To be clear I don’t think it is a possibility. It is just my most generous interpretation of what someone else might think if not wanting Roy to be the bad guy here. But I absolutely do not think that’s what was intended by the Ted Lasso writers.

Megan: I do think you’re right and he would have asked more explicitly if that was the case, or explained more once she reacted to his stupid way of asking. So yeah, I actually don’t think this is what’s actually happening either.

Natalie: Here is the thing. The way he asks it, and her response. He knows he’s fucked up, and if he had a reasonable explanation he would have fucking explained.

Megan: Yeah, exactly.

Natalie: Like, “Shit, that sounded bad, I just wanted to check if it’s something I could have locked down better.” Or even “I just wanted to know if I have to go murder Jamie.” Like, he would have explained why he was asking, not just said “Shit I’m really sorry.” If he meant anything other than what he meant – which was a sort of an obsessive helpless nosiness that he doesn’t seem to be able to control – if he had a “good” reason for asking, he would have corrected himself when he saw how horrified she was. But he doesn’t. He just curses himself out. What the fuck, Roy.

Megan: He knows immediately it was a stupid question to ask, and he should never have done it. Normally he never vocalises what he’s really feeling. Hell of a time to change that Roy, seriously.

Natalie: And let’s be clear here – we all know who he was asking about. He wasn’t asking about whether it was for a new partner. This wasn’t him fishing about Jack. What he was asking, for whatever reason he had in his fucked up head, was so obviously “I want to know if that was for Jamie.”

Megan: Oh, he knew it was for Jamie. And it’s rough because Jamie is so often the thing that came between them.

Natalie: Why? Why is he still comparing their relationships? I mean, he’s just heard all of Jamie’s thoughts on this matter – he was in the dressing room listening to Jamie’s opinions. He isn’t asking this because he is wanting to go throttle Jamie for leaking it. He isn’t even aggro about it. He is just prying about whether Jamie and Keeley sent wank videos to each other. He wanted to hear her confirm it. It’s extremely good OT3 ship fodder, but it is a whole mountain of fucked up.

Megan: This is the bit I find the most frustrating, because I don’t think Roy is angry at Jamie. Partly because of his dressing room speech, partly because I think he’s spent enough time with Jamie now to genuinely know he’s a good boy and to care about him, even if he might not ever say it. And I assume it’s not like he thinks it’s a recent video that would mean Keeley and Jamie had hooked up or whatever since she and Roy had broken up. So Roy learning that yes, back when they were dating, at times Keeley sent Jamie videos isn’t likely to be shocking. Why does he need her to say it?

Natalie: In some ways, I wonder if this scene was included purely to make sure the audience knows that it wasn’t a video she sent to Roy. As in, going back to that “most generous interpretation” idea – that we were meant to assume it was for Roy and then shock! Surprise! This is how we learn it’s not – but done only for exposition reasons? But no. Surely not. They can’t seriously have done it just because the GA might have thought it was for Roy. They could have delivered that info to us in any other way if they wanted to confirm it before the end of the episode. They certainly didn’t have to make Roy slip up like this.

Megan: Yeah. I’m just not sure what I’m supposed to take from it. So whatever later scenes we have with Roy and Keeley, I really hope he explains himself!

Natalie: The conversation was going pretty well before that, but I’m just not sure what the hell this was about. Maybe foreshadowing for him having to cope with it if Jamie and Keeley get back together, or look like they’re together, because they’re so close?

Megan: Yeah. If, for instance, paparazzi are lurking around Keeley’s house and they get a photo of the scene at the end, Roy would probably have a reaction to that, regardless of whether or not Keeley and Jamie actually get back together.

Natalie: Also, this might sound weird, but I’m wondering whether the show thinks they’re pulling some bait and switches that we’re just too in tune with Jamie to fall for, so they aren’t landing? Like in episode 2, the hallway thing – they couldn’t fool me for a second there, but it seems like plenty of people online did get surprised by it? Then later in this episode, when Keeley comes to the door, maybe some people thought that was going to be Roy? Like “Oh, will he turn up and apologise?” But it’s not, it’s Jamie, giving her all she needs. And again, this did not shock me. This was not a twist. So here, if this thing with Roy was meant to be for the benefit of the audience going like “OMG ! It wasn’t Roy?” I’m just like… no.

Megan: I’ll be interested to see if anyone did think that, because it never crossed my mind.

Natalie: You said you were frustrated for a few reasons. How did you think the chat was going before he asked that question? And most of all – even with all we have just discussed – why do you think he asked it?

Megan: Before then, I thought it was going well, but I did kind of want to shake them both, because their whole break up came from Roy and his stupid fucking insecurities and they are still both so awkward with each other and it just makes me mad because it’s all Roy’s fault for being such a mess. So I was pleased to see them interact in a way that was going alright, and had some genuine emotion and connection and kindness, and then Roy had to go and fuck it up. I think he asked because he is still insecure about not being good enough for Keeley, about not being right for her, and about being replaced by someone better. And I think he genuinely now knows that Jamie is a good person, and that even though Roy loves Keeley, that actually maybe Jamie would be better for her than he would. Which isn’t actually Roy’s decision to make, but that’s a separate issue. I still don’t think it makes sense, because knowing Keeley sent Jamie nudes in the past doesn’t actually mean they’re going to get back together in the future, but I think it was just some weird thing where he likes to hurt himself about Keeley and Jamie and this was his latest way of doing it. So I think it’s all tied up with Roy’s insecurities and self loathing, especially where Keeley and Jamie are concerned, but I don’t really think it makes sense in this current scene, the way it played out. Which was probably the biggest part of the frustration. What about you? Where have you landed? Help me make it make sense.

Natalie: “He likes to hurt himself about Jamie and Keeley and this was his latest way of doing it” is probably better than anything I can come up with, because it’s absolutely true. I know what I don’t think. I don’t think he was asking for info about her current relationship in a roundabout way.

Megan: Agreed.

Natalie: I don’t think he was asking “Was it for me?” And I don’t think he was asking “Which prick before me was it for so I can go kill them for being careless,” like protectiveness.

Megan: Also agreed.

Natalie: Something in him felt compelled to ask this, and he really considered it, thought about whether or not he was gonna do it, and still decided he needed to ask. Remember when we talked in episode 3 about Roy offering to coach Jamie, and how he processes in real time if something just occurred to him? Like “Fuck! I have to coach you!” And how it wasn’t that, then?

Megan: Ohhhh.

Natalie: This scene also wasn’t real time processing. This was something he had been thinking about. It may have even been why he had the nice part of the conversation. That’s a horrible read, and I hate it, but this wasn’t Roy asking impulsively, you know what I mean? It’s like this is all he can think about and he HAS to ask. It isn’t delivered like his “in the moment” realisations. Saying it’s the only reason he checked up on her is awful, I’m sure it wasn’t, but it’s probably what she is going to take from it.

Megan: I think the nice part of the conversation was genuine, like I think he saw Keeley and wanted to make sure she was okay. But then they were still talking, and the silence happened and he filled it with the niggling question he’d been asking himself since he heard. The opportunity was there, and the question was in his head. And he opened his stupid mouth and asked.

Natalie: It was clearly pressing on him and pressing on him, like “I have to ask because if I don’t I won’t cope.” But the fact that this is where his mind goes when Keeley is in this situation is just so dark and weird.

Megan: And frustrating.

Natalie: Like, Roy is obviously not in a good place. At all. And the show is making it hard to interpret, because like, for example, the Dick Strings were a comedy thing, not “Roy is fucked up.” But in the drama version of Ted Lasso, Roy is fucked up. And if he’s fucked up enough to lose track of what is appropriate here, or what he should filter or keep to himself, then he’s definitely not in the right place to give Keeley the support she needs.

Megan: Yeah. And I think this is where no scenes with Keeley or Phoebe makes it difficult, because those are the characters he lets himself be vulnerable around normally. And he has done that with Jamie, but we haven’t seen enough of that I think.

Natalie: I still think Jamie could be fundamental in getting them back together but it would mean Jamie and Roy talking about how Roy can be better for Keeley. But I have more to say about this later. Jamie being in the fucking middle. It’s like Roy said in season 1, “Every time I think about her, all I think about is Jamie fսcking Tartt.” This has never gone away.

Megan: No. And we all know the obvious solution to that problem, but I’m still not sure it’ll go there.

Natalie: Jamie has always been extremely present in their relationship, all through season 1 and season 2 as well, and it’s just so fucking weird at this point that I don’t understand how to solve this whole “Jamie’s always there between us” thing other than literally putting Jamie between them. Or all of them deciding to be single best friends, I guess. Because Jamie isn’t a problem at this point. He’s a beloved friend. Roy and Keeley cannot get back together if Roy is being insecure about Keeley and Jamie.

Megan: Right?! Like, it just wouldn’t work.

Natalie: It would be so wrong.

Megan: And I think Keeley and Jamie getting together would be hard from a Roy and Jamie friendship side of things, unless that’s Roy’s growth – learning that he can be friends with Jamie even if he ends up with Keeley. But I think Jamie would be too anxious to go there and risk the Roy of it all. So that doesn’t quite work for me either. Frustrating!

Natalie: At this point, I would prefer Jamie and Keeley got together and Roy begged both of them for forgiveness for being such a headcase, and they eventually let him date them both after he’s shown he can deal with them loving each other.

Megan: He does have some begging and apologising to do, that’s for sure. Whatever way Ted Lasso takes it, he owes Keeley so many explanations.

Natalie: If Jamie finds out Roy asked that, he’s going to be so mad.

Megan: As he should be!

Natalie: This may be another moment of Jamie schooling Roy on emotional maturity.

Megan: Yeah, I could see that happening. Like, Keeley telling Jamie everything that happened, and Jamie comforting her then immediately going to knock some sense into Roy.

Natalie: I truly think Roy has more to learn from Jamie than Jamie does from Roy. Kind of always, but especially now.

Megan: I agree. And I think Roy has been realising that more this season, too. They can divide their coaching in half. Roy teaches Jamie some football stuff first, and then Jamie spends the second half teaching Roy how to do emotions right.

Natalie: Maybe Jamie can get Phoebe in on it.

Megan: Ohhh, smart. Yeah, they’d be unstoppable.

Natalie: The thing about Roy is that he is a grown ass 40 year old man, and it’s tiring that even when he realises a thing is true, he refuses to change his opinion on it. Like, I don’t think it is conscious, so much. But Jamie is an easy example. He assumes the worst of Jamie all the time, when Jamie does not deserve it. Because Roy’s brain just refuses to write over old information. Even if he knows something, in his gut and heart, he pretends he doesn’t. He is avoidant of the truth, and of change, in such unhealthy ways.

Megan: No, and I think there are some moments where his instincts are spot on, and he gets it right, like in “Man City,” but those moments where he gets it right makes it even more frustrating, because he ignores the instincts the rest of the time and then makes stupid decisions because of it.

Natalie: Another example – in season 1, he knew how much trouble he was in physically. He knew. But he refused to act like he knew. He was taking care of his body in a way that showed he knew how much he was flagging, but he refused to look head on at what that meant. He refused to look head on at Jamie being a good person, like his assumption in 3.02 that Jamie was checking if he could ask Keeley out rather than checking on HIM. He won’t accept change head on, and his insistence on dwelling in feelings that are attached to things or ideas that just aren’t true makes him treat people badly.

Megan: In season 2, I think he knew he should have started coaching Jamie properly earlier on, but he stubbornly stuck to it.

Natalie: So yeah, he can realise this season that Jamie has more to teach him, but I fear he’s not going to accept it. Like he can know it and also refuse to know it. That’s the point I’m making. Roy realising that Jamie has so much to offer him is meaningless unless Roy decides he’s going to be honest with himself about it.

Megan: Yeah. He’s a bit one step forwards, five steps back, Roy. Because there have been moments this season of realisation and honesty, and then it’s like he gets scared by it and backtracks. Telling Trent and Ted about Chelsea, telling Jamie about his grandad. He has opened up, but then doesn’t quite see it through to being healthier day to day.

Natalie: The last couple of episodes, obviously he’s given himself over to Jamie in terms of some vulnerability and friendship but he doesn’t express anything to Jamie about how he feels. I mean we don’t know, within the 18 hours they spent alone together in Amsterdam, all we see him say is he thinks Keeley has a girlfriend. I don’t think he sat there over stroopwafels and told Jamie how insecure Jamie makes him feel or anything like that. And episode 7 was just a mess for Roy, but if you want to take it as seriously as possible, we could be seeing him go a bit off the rails in terms of his behaviour with the coaching. But this one… Honestly, when he asks Keeley that question, he does really consider whether or not to do it. He does his whole chin-tilt thinking thing. He pauses, thinks, and asks. And I don’t think it’s out of character for him, but I do think it’s a sign that he’s lost touch with his emotional regulation almost entirely. Like, I believe this of a Roy Kent who is a fucking mess, that his inner workings are so out of whack that he can justify this to himself, that he feels like he truly will implode if he doesn’t ask. That he can be this selfish or twisted, choosing to feed how this makes him feel over how wrong it is to put that on Keeley. I believe it of him, for sure, but I think he’s in an incredibly dark place, to get to the point of considering this and feeling or choosing the need to push on it.

Megan: Yeah I think all of that tracks. It’s just made harder when they blur the line so much between broken, vulnerable Roy, and then the dick string jokes and 4AM rope beatings. Because the latter are, I’m sure, just being done for the comedic bit, but then they make the drama element so much darker than I think they mean it to be. Unless it is intentional, and it’s going to get even darker before the end.

Natalie: This is a moment I can’t really see just being let go if Roy and Keeley make up. She is so upset that he has asked her this and made it about himself, she almost can’t believe it. I would not blame her at all if they never got back together, even though I think they might. And their reunion clearly needs to include some sort of like “I swear to stop being stupid about Jamie” clause. But Keeley is already drained and this just saps a bit more of her energy.

Megan: Yeah, anything she got from her time with Rebecca just leaves again after this, and she just seems so sad and lost in her next scene at home.

Natalie: Really sapped of life. I have no idea what her little bead arranging is all about but seeing her so listless is depressing. Did you feel hopeful about Jack here in how she handled things, or suspicious? She seems to be saying all the right things, but given how it ends I feel like she was trying to placate Keeley while internally still being firmly in line with the lawyers and her dad.

Megan: They’re sprinkles to go on her ice cream! But she clearly stopped eating and started creating art instead. I felt, like Rebecca, willing to give Jack the benefit of the doubt again here. And I think Keeley is too. I wanted Keeley to have all the support she needed, so I think I hoped Jack would be okay again. But I wasn’t completely convinced. I do however believe Jack about Babs being a party animal. I would like to see that.

Natalie: Keeley seems to want to be distracted from the things that don’t quite add up – if Jack knows the statement is shit, why did she even pass it on? But she lets it go, seeming to prefer the idea that Jack is on her side, like Rebecca hoped.

Megan: Yeah, she’s willing to let herself believe Jack, probably because dealing with Jack being shitty would be too much on top of everything else. But I think you’re right, deep down she knows it’s all very off.

Natalie: Pretending none of this happened for a few hours is a nice idea on the surface, but it’s also a deflection. I also think Jack ragging on Barbara here is more of a sign to me that Babs is incredibly good and valuable and that she knows Jack is dodgy.

Megan: Plot twist: Barbara is actually hired by Jack’s dad, who isn’t actually the bad guy here. This is all Jack, and Babs was hired to keep an eye on her. Although that all feels very Succession, which is a different story entirely. I do think Barbara has told Jack off before, as firmly as she can given their status. And Jack knows she won’t approve.

Natalie: Ultimately I do think Barbara will turn out to be sensitive and empathetic with clear vision here, whether it’s in a big or small way. But the “popular girls” laughing at Boring Babs is like… it pings something for me. Keeley had been trying to connect with her and somewhat succeeding but when Jack arrived, she instantly drew Keeley in on poking fun at her. And I think Babs will very much end up being the one in Keeley’s corner.

Megan: Especially because I think Keeley was genuinely touched by Barbara earlier. The first person she likely spoke to about all of this after Jack, and someone who isn’t the most naturally nice. Jack does give off mean girl vibes, and Keeley really doesn’t, but she is kind of being pulled into it by her.

Natalie: I don’t know how much time and effort it’s worth, trying to analyse Jack and work out her motives here, because at the end of the day I think she’s going to turn out to be the bad guy billionaire with these horrible points of view. But along the way, I do have to wonder. I don’t particularly think she’s a scheming lying faker, but I also don’t think this is about responding to outside pressure either. It’s more like she’s willing to go along with sympathy for Keeley, saying the statement was shit, all that stuff, until really pressed, when she’s like “Well yeah I do judge it.” It’s some compartmentalised doublethink stuff, and again I think it is very easy for the ultrarich in particular to genuinely believe that they care about a thing and then, when pressed, realise that deep down, hanging on to their money and status and image matters more.

Megan: I also think that until the point where it explodes, Keeley’s not said much other than how embarrassed and upset she is. She hasn’t expressed that she’s not ashamed of the video itself, or of her past. So maybe Jack can fall easily into the comforter role and believes that they just need to tone the language down a bit, but she herself thinks Keeley is generally on board with the idea of apologising and admitting regret. Like, in this conversation about cancelling the polo because she doesn’t think Keeley will want photos taken? Maybe she genuinely does assume that Keeley “knows” she was stupid for for doing it, because Jack is used to being right and can’t imagine that Keeley would feel differently. That’s a more generous read. But I think it is more likely that she tries to go along and then realises that she can’t for the reasons you’ve said.

Natalie: Yeah, that’s kind of a big question I have. How sincere was that polo cancellation? Was it genuinely done for the reason she said? Or was that a lie?

Megan: Despite what I’ve just said, I think it was 100% for Jack’s sake, for her image. Now she may have thought that Keeley would be on board, because she assumed Keeley felt ashamed. But I think it was Jack not wanting awkward questions or for people to see her with Keeley right now.

Natalie: Because on one hand, yeah, maybe Keeley wouldn’t want to walk a red carpet, but on the other, maybe showing up and not giving a fuck is better.

Megan: That is way more Keeley’s vibe I think.

Natalie: But the way it’s done here is like, “Oh, silly Keeley for not remembering that.” So Keeley acts grateful for Jack doing something that Keeley hadn’t considered would be rough on her or whatever, but if asked “How do you want to do this?” Keeley might have a different answer. Jack is very much telling her how she should feel, in subtle ways. And it’s extremely obvious, especially with the polo outfit referencing that Pygmalion story not once but twice.

Megan: I actually think Keeley seems a bit shaken by Jack saying “I didn’t think you’d want that.” Again, I think Keeley deep down is reading the signs and suspects it was more about what Jack wanted, but is again playing along rather than having the real conversation. Her face really falls when Jack says it, and she looks really small.

Natalie: It’s another thing that Jack has told her – “Oh, that would be embarrassing for you,” framed as protection.

Megan: Yeah, and again her assuming what Keeley is feeling.

Natalie: I’m just trying to work out how much of an act Jack is putting on, with the whole “Shit, I forgot to tell you, I thought this is what you’d want.” Basically how conscious or subconscious her behaviour is. It’s all well and good saying “I should have asked” – it sounds like the right thing to say – but like, she didn’t. And Keeley saying “I didn’t think about that…” How much is Jack thinking Keeley should feel that way, the same as her, and how much is Jack actively manipulating Keeley because she knows she doesn’t? Like how innocent is the shitty assumption?

Megan: I think Jack likes to do a bit of white knighting, so I think she could potentially not be doing this super consciously. Like she just falls naturally into wanting to “fix” things the way she thinks they should be fixed. And so maybe it’s not fully an act, like, her maliciously trying to trick or lie. But later, when we find out exactly what she thinks, it becomes clear that her actions leading up to this didn’t actually have Keeley’s best interests at heart. And that’s why they keep clashing or approaching things differently, because Jack is genuinely out of step with Keeley but doesn’t realise. I think either way, Jack is shitty and in the wrong here, but I think it could maybe be not intentionally manipulative.

Natalie: What’s clear is that she definitely WANTS Keeley. She’d like to pretend all this isn’t happening instead of dealing with it properly, and she wants to distract Keeley with sex, and other things like avoiding the issue. But when they see her uni friend at mini golf, I have like, all the questions. It all doesn’t make a massive amount of sense. Because this avoidance of saying they’re together COULD be about the sex tape, “I don’t want to be seen as dating that slutty WAG,” and that could also be the reason for the cancellation of polo, she doesn’t want to be seen with Keeley anywhere that matters. But I also wondered if, despite stuff at the office, Jack isn’t actually out as queer in her high society, and the idea of showing off her girlfriend to Uncle Bernie was something she always wanted to get out of, or planned to lie about? I’m not convinced on this, for the record. But she was very happy to promote Keeley as a PR whiz and friend, not like, “I don’t know her.” What was your impression of how she acted?

Megan: See I did wonder about the latter, about her not being out. But I think the Uncle Bernie invite negates that. Because she definitely didn’t have to invite Keeley to that, and I don’t think she thinks she would have been able to get away with introducing Keeley as a friend there. Not unless she gave Keeley a heads up about not being out beforehand, which I think Keeley would be really understanding about, because she isn’t a dick. I also think Jack has been pretty open with Keeley – kissing her in public, telling the office, so I don’t think she’s closeted.

Natalie: No, neither, really. It was just weird.

Megan: So I think it probably is to do with not wanting her uni friend to know that Keeley and her are dating, likely because of the sex tape, if the friend were to see it later? But I’m not sure it quite adds up given she is happy to recommend her business.

Natalie: Yeah, it might just be a bit of clunky writing honestly. I guess Jack couldn’t really throw Keeley into the bushes, so she had to cover in the politest way possible.

Megan: But I suppose Keeley is also known for having a PR firm now, and maybe Jack was trying to put distance between her and Keeley more generally, like…”this is just a professional friendship”. By mentioning Keeley’s firm she clearly puts Keeley in a work friend box, not a friend friend.

Natalie: She also didn’t say that she is the investor. She made it sound more detached. I don’t know if Jack is already planning to end things at this point in the episode, but yeah, I think she very much doesn’t want to be known to be having sex with or choosing to date a women with what she considers to be a dirty past, and she is trying to put that distance there to discourage prying.

Megan: Yeah she might very well be of two minds, and waiting to see both how Keeley reacts to the rewritten statement – which I assume she knows she’ll be getting – and also how the public responds to Keeley posting the statement. After that she would probably make a decision about staying with Keeley or not.

Natalie: Yeah, she could be hedging her bets, thinking about her dad’s advice, all that. All these things that fit with the idea of her seeming cool but truly being beholden to money and class.

Megan: And I think she really wants to be seen as cool too. Her style and behaviour makes that clear to me. But when it matters, the money and class wins.

Natalie: As they go on with the golf, you again see Keeley kind of clock the bad vibes and then act all peppy again. In most of the Jack scenes, Keeley is seeing those red flags but either choosing to ignore them, or trying to make the best of it, or maybe dismissing her concerns. But she is very much clocking them.

Megan: Yeah, and I’m sure she’s trying to rationalise them in some way – like “Oh it’s just weird for Jack because I’m her girlfriend, and people are talking about me and that must be a bit awkward,” or “Oh she’s just protecting me” or, “Well this is a weird situation,” I guess you don’t know how to act. But I think she knows. I think she’s known since the statement that Jack is not okay about it. I do admire how good Keeley is at rolling with stuff. Like, it’s depressing too, because you have to think about why she got so good at it, but when she says hello to Alyssa and interacts with her even though she’s obviously hurt, she doesn’t let it show, she puts on a game face and acts normally.

Natalie: Yeah. It sucks because she had been less performative, for lack of a better word lately, but now it is back. She does have a naturally “big” personality, (like Jamie) but she’s also good at being On, and we have seen many moments of her faking positive energy.

Megan: Yeah, and this is that again, but she does it very well so most people won’t know. Jack probably doesn’t notice, because it turns out she sucks.

Natalie: When they have that final scene together at home, it becomes pretty apparent that Keeley is seeing through all this. It’s worn away at her and any good faith interpretations, for us as the audience and for Keeley, all fall away. Even when Jack comes over after the phone call and says “We’ve got a better version, because the last one was so shit,” it is very clear she is pandering and Keeley knows it. Keeley knows by now that Jack agrees with this corporate shaming, it’s just a matter of waiting for Jack to outright say it.

Megan: And when she does say it, she does not hold back. She blurts out every single thing she has clearly been holding back since it broke. Also she turns off Sex and the City to do it, and we know Keeley hates to be interrupted when she’s watching that.

Natalie: Yeah, that parallel was not lost on me. But Jack just turning it off like that was a lot ruder than Roy sexily reading his book.

Megan: Roy wasn’t trying to interrupt, he just wanted to be close to Keeley while having his mind blown by Dan Brown.

Natalie: What a fucking idiot he is. But better an idiot than whatever the hell Jack is.

Megan: He’s a well-meaning repressed idiot. She’s apparently just awful. I was so excited by her just a few short weeks ago. How things change.

Natalie: I don’t think she’s totally evil, but she has flaws that are pretty classic of a snooty rich person for starters. And this kind of judgement is something that maybe, if they really loved each other, they could get past. But they’ve only been together two months and Jack seems pretty set in her opinions. Could she change? Maybe, if this show was all about Jack and Keeley. But I think this is just the fatal flaw in this relationship.

Megan: Yeah, there is a version of this story where they break up, Jack goes on a journey, realises the error of her ways and that she’s being a slutshamey snob, does the work and wins Keeley back. But I don’t think that’s what we’ll be getting somehow.

Natalie: No. So she will just have to go on and find a posher girlfriend who doesn’t masturbate.

Megan: Young Rebecca might have been a contender, until the sofa incident. Alas, she’s missed her chance.

Natalie: It becomes evident that the things Jack was trying to pass off as like, “Well I don’t think this, it’s just the stupid old white men think this” are very much things that she also, at her core, believes. That it doesn’t look good for Jack to be dating someone whose company she’s funding, who also has “porn” online. Keeley already did soft porn consensually, so I’m not sure how that plays into her whole angle. Maybe that level of lowbrow was cool and edgy, but Keeley being long distance intimate with someone she loved is a step too far.

Megan: Yeah, it’s just such a weird line from Jack. I suppose we don’t see how graphic the video is, but there is probably a bit of a line between tits on the internet, and someone’s vagina or orgasm, in terms of what snobs find acceptable. But even despite that, the fact that she puts the blame here on Keeley for making it, and not people for leaking it, and other people for judging, is just hard to overcome.

Natalie: There’s something niggling at me to do with class in that regard, too. Like that upper class people are more sexually repressed, and sexual freedom has always been seen as lowbrow and lower class. That the very idea of being more open with your body or pleasure is just indecent, that you must treat anything to do with it as base, and humiliating. Yes, obviously the video is more graphic than the Page 3 pictures, but polishing up a glamour model into a good investment could be seen as an interesting project, an edgy spin to the brand. I can see Jack selling her dad on that investment. But taking her image to these more sexually explicit levels, regardless of the fact it wasn’t Keeley’s choice, is too controversial for them. When Jack talks about limiting the damage, the “We” is clearly her family, her team, her money, and they’re limiting the damage by trying to make Keeley say she’s ashamed and wrong. Like “get her under control.”

Megan: Yeah. Keeley thought, at the start, that Jack was going to take care of it to help and protect Keeley. But actually, she’s taking care of it to protect her own name.

Natalie: And Keeley calls her out quite directly, saying that Jack is acting like the video being leaked is her fault. Which brings them to the very centre of the issue – Keeley sees the problem as the video being leaked, whereas Jack sees the problem as the video existing in the first place. And Keeley takes a hard line on disagreeing with that when Jack gets all bitchy and sarcastic and says maybe Keeley should not have made it. Saying it’s not something to be proud of. What does that even mean? Keeley and Jack seem to have been having fairly healthy and shameless sex. Maybe exchanging videos isn’t for everyone, but I would say it’s less for people who have hang-ups and shame. Jack is trying to make Keeley feel shame, but that isn’t how Keeley feels about sex at all.

Megan: Maybe it feeds into the jealousy side of things too. Other people seeing Keeley orgasm isn’t okay for Jack. That’s a pretty shitty attitude, but I could see it.

Natalie: Oh yeah, I am absolutely sure that Jack’s mention of jealousy plays in here. As a big Jamie/Keeley shipper, knowing without question that the video was for Jamie and hearing her say “I don’t regret making or sending it” was extremely good for me, because I think it would be easy to say like, “Well, that relationship failed, so the stuff that happened within it is stuff I wish I hadn’t ever done.” But instead she’s saying “I stand by what I did, and what it meant at the time.”

Megan: Yeah, regardless of whether or not anything happens with them going forwards, the relationship meant something to Keeley, it was important, every element of it was important, and she wouldn’t change that.

Natalie: She obviously never for a second thinks Jamie leaked it, as we see later, and if she had suspected it, I think she would have said so here.

Megan: Yeah.

Natalie: Basically, her saying that she does not regret being with him, or what they had and how they connected with each other meant a lot to me, because she was fierce about it. It is very clear even from the few seconds of that video that she adored the hell out of him, that the relationship had value to her and still does.

Megan: Yeah, she is really fucking firm with Jack on that.

Natalie: Honestly even if a guy did screw her over in that regard, she would be valid in saying “I don’t regret my choices, it’s not my fault he turned out to be untrustworthy.” But she’s not saying that, she’s just saying “I don’t regret my choices,” full stop, and we know she’s saying it about someone who is maybe Ted Lasso’s biggest sweetheart at this point. She knows who she is talking about, and her firmness about it speaks to his strength of character as well as her own love for him, and her own autonomy of course.

Megan: Yeah, it all goes to confirm what we already knew to be true, that Keeley and Jamie’s relationship was real and serious. It wasn’t just a fling for them.

Natalie: It also establishes that this video wasn’t a one time deal. When Keeley was so strong in her defence of that choice, Jack says, “Well are there more?” Keeley says, “I don’t know.” As in, “Yes, I’ve made more than one video, so I don’t know if more will leak.” Whether they were all for Jamie or other boyfriends we don’t know, but the concept of this being something Keeley was comfortable doing is too much for Jack, apparently, so she decides to leave. When Keeley asks whether she’s coming back, Keeley herself doesn’t seem too keen on the idea. Very different from her fight with Roy when she cried and cursed herself for making him upset. There was a set to her face that felt a bit good riddance-y to me. She is still upset about it and probably very hurt that Jack has acted like this, but I think she knows that she’s not cool with Jack’s beliefs, and is judging her in turn. Like, Jack may think she has the moral high ground, but in reality Keeley does, and I think she sees that here.

Megan: Yeah, I definitely took it to mean she has made more than one, but she doesn’t know whether or not they’ll leak too. She’s clearly very comfortable with herself, why wouldn’t she do that? Why shouldn’t she? And yeah, I think the hurt and upset is that Jack acted this way. I don’t think she’s heartbroken that it’s quite clearly over. Or at least clearly to me anyway, I suppose we could be surprised, but I can’t see the two of them still being an item by next week’s episode.

Natalie: I am almost positive we won’t physically see Jack again, just hear about her doing shitty things in the wake of this relationship breakdown. The episode maybe wants us to think we will see her again when Keeley’s doorbell goes the next morning, that Jack has come back. Or like I said before, maybe they want us to think it’s Roy. But it’s not. It’s Jamie. And aside from all the other things this scene brought up for me, what it made me think about is the fact that I really genuinely can’t work out what moments in this show are meant to be misdirects anymore. I said this before, but like, were we meant to be shocked? Are we meant to be surprised that Jamie is a) the video recipient and b) the best source of comfort for Keeley? Maybe this is just a thing that normal people can anticipate, but some of the ways I’ve seen moments of Ted Lasso be received just confused the hell out of me. Maybe this is a normal amount of media literacy and there’s just some poor comprehension going on elsewhere. I don’t know. Jamie felt inevitable to me, and I mean last week, you literally predicted that this issue was about a sex tape concerning them and that the hug between them in the trailer was about that. You were right, but it isn’t so much that I’m sitting here crowing over it, and more commenting that the show has got me confused, at this point, about what it thinks it’s doing to misdirect. What I’m trying to work out is if the show thinks it’s putting in twists and surprises that aren’t working for me because I just would never assume the alternatives, or if these things are intended to feel as inevitable to everyone as they do to me. Anyway, as if it was going to be Jack. I’m kind of okay with Ted Lasso’s message being “never trust a billionaire to put a personal relationship above status and image.”

Megan: I agree. And I mean, like I said way back with the hallway scene, there have been times where I was like “Do I expect this to happen, or do I just want this to happen?” like Jamie going after Roy instead of Keeley, so in those moments I have second guessed myself a little bit, but none of the misdirect attempts have been an actual surprise to me. And then scenes like Roy’s also confused me, because I do think that regardless of Roy’s motivations as a character, the writers did have him ask to make it clear to everyone that the video wasn’t meant for him. But I never thought it was, so I’m not sure why they thought the audience would need that. I will say, to be fair to them, that seeing the trailer moment might have fed into me knowing this would be Jamie, not Jack. But I do think even without having seen that, I still would have known it wouldn’t be Jack. I think that would have been clear without the trailer.

Natalie: This misdirect, if it was one – Keeley at home, the doorbell ringing, the idea of her being upset about someone else and maybe thinking they’re at the door, only to find it’s Jamie – also took me straight back to the events of 1.08, and that is an absolutely crucial moment to reflect on when talking about everything that’s going on here – how messy she and Roy are about Jamie always being in the middle of things, and also Jamie’s perspective on their breakup. Because honestly, Roy and Keeley became so beloved so quickly that I don’t think too many people spent too much time dwelling on how messy their getting together was, and how it must have seemed to Jamie. And he gets to air that here. Looking back, we saw Roy and Keeley having a hot first kiss in 1.07, after weeks of tension. She and Jamie would have been broken up for around six weeks, after dating however long, probably a fair while. In 1.08, Keeley isn’t 100% sure what that kiss meant to Roy. She asks him for coffee and he – quite regretfully, not at all dismissively – says “I can’t tonight, I’m busy.” The show then puts in a weird vibe by having Gail the physio, say “He’s lying,” – it’s about her murder podcast, but it feeds the uncertainty of the moment for Keeley. She feels insecure about where she stands, thinks Roy may be lying, and Roy doesn’t offer a raincheck. And yeah, Roy is pretty bad at elaborating on his feelings, but he is also on a massage table getting his legs beat up. So Keeley does not trust Roy’s obvious interest in her and she doesn’t take his regretful “I can’t tonight, I’m busy” at face value, especially when he doesn’t reply to her text. Keeley’s insecurity is understandable, but also unfair. Roy admits later that he should have been more clear, spelling out how he wanted to take things slow between them, but if I had to put someone at “fault” here, I would blame Keeley for assuming negative things, things that she made up in her head, about Roy’s behaviour, and then acting impulsively because of them. Because she’s still upset about it when the doorbell rings, and back then, the very first time, we thought, “Oh, maybe it’s Roy!” But it isn’t. It’s Jamie, coming over to see her after a West Ham away game he’s just had with City. And he isn’t there to hook up. He isn’t there trying anything. He’s just there to give her a genuinely heartfelt thank you for how she’s cared for him and helped him, one he never got to give her before due to his leaving Richmond being so fast and messy. It is one of my favourite Jamie moments of all of Ted Lasso and one I feel like no one talks about very much, but he does this on his own, due to having reflected on things after being upset that Ted sent him away, or so he thinks. The last time he’d seen Keeley, in 1.06, she was advising him to “stop getting in his own way,” as he mentions. He recognises the things that she’s helped him work on, and appreciates her for always believing he was a good person. She accuses him, playfully, of coming over to see if he could hook up, and he denies it and goes to leave, but then she does invite him to hook up, and he goes for it. Because why wouldn’t he? He loves her, and it feels like there is a good vibe going between them. The next day, Roy asks Keeley out properly, like, “Sorry I was busy last night, let’s go out today.” He wasn’t messing her around, he just has no time to bullshit. He said what he meant then, and he says it again today. He didn’t realise she needed the extra reassurance, because he assumed they were both on the same page. And Keeley has to admit to him that she fucked Jamie last night, because she felt weird about Roy not spelling out why he was busy, and she “didn’t know what Roy wanted but knew exactly what Jamie wanted.” Which is, for the record, a WILD misrepresentation of Jamie’s actions, acting like he came over for a hook-up when the opposite is true. The result of that confession is Roy taking a day to be upset about the fact she did this – and to be clear, he’s obviously fine with the fact they used to sleep together, he has that funny moment like “Yes I am aware of that,” but he is upset that she did this LAST NIGHT after what felt to him like they’d already started something. As he puts it, “So you fucked him to get back at me for something I didn’t even know I did?” And Keeley is like…. “No… ugh… yes. Yes, that is exactly what I did.” Then the Diamond Dogs tell Roy he has no right to be upset about it, and so on. This is all chalked up to something Roy needs to not be mad about, and then the funny moment later of Keeley still being insecure about what his deal is and Roy having to admit about the yoga mums. But between the sexy press conference and the yoga mums and how fast Keeley and Roy became couple goals, people forget how fucking weird and not very nice it was for Keeley to have done that, and how that act puts the insecurity about Jamie in Roy’s head in a way that it wasn’t there before, just because Jamie was Keeley’s ex. Like it’s not, and never was, “Oh, she dated him in the past.” It’s “If I fuck up, she will just go to him,” and Roy continues to carry that idea for their whole relationship. And that’s before we even get into Jamie’s very valid point of view here, that he thought maybe he and Keeley were getting back together. Because – and sorry to throw you under the bus – we talked about this before doing the article, and I said “I think people forget how messy and not great Roy and Keeley started out, because of how fast they seem to become amazing. People remember it all a lot softer and nicer, and ignore the fact that Keeley fucked Jamie to get back at Roy just because he said he was busy.” And even you said, like, “Oh, I don’t think that’s what she did,” and I had to remind you that is literally the words used in Ted Lasso season 1. You had softened it in your memory.

Megan: Yeah, I literally forgot she had said that. In my head I was like “No she was just feeling insecure right? And Jamie was there and she needed a confidence boost!” And you had to be like “Megan, here is the actual script.”

Natalie: Yeah, so this entire situation with Jamie and Roy and Keeley in this episode is bringing me right back there to that other doorbell moment. The insanity Roy has about Jamie isn’t about him being Keeley’s distant ex, it’s always been related to that moment, I think. That night after their first kiss, the fact that Roy didn’t do good enough by her and so she went and fucked Jamie. Their beginning always had Jamie-weirdness right in the middle of it. You literally can’t unpick him from their relationship. He is in the foundations of it.

Megan: In some ways, the weirdness would have been a lot easier for Roy when he hated Jamie, he could just put it down to “Oh, that guy’s a prick, so I hate having to think about him.” But now he knows Jamie actually isn’t, so having Jamie be there between them in some haunting way will just feed into Roy’s anxiety and conviction that he isn’t good enough for Keeley, that it’s going to go badly, and that she deserves someone like Jamie. And then by acting out, breaking up with her, asking stupid fucking questions, it ends up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. And then it’s still there in season 2, the weirdness, before Jamie even comes back to the team. That moment after Roy catches her wanking to his press conference, and she brings up Jamie, and he even pauses mid-snog to ask what she said to Jamie, sorry, the Prince Prick of All Pricks. They can’t escape him, so they really should just embrace him.

Natalie: And then from Jamie’s perspective, even before this episode I had thought about the aftermath of their break up. Keeley is so sweet to him as a friend, then chooses to reconnect with him sexually at a moment when he honestly wasn’t trying for it. He was just trying to be kind to her. So yeah, she used him and clearly didn’t spell out “Oh, this is a one time thing.” I’m pretty sure that when she sent him off afterwards, she was keeping that door open in case Roy turned out to be not what she thought. Like “Oh, Jamie’s good for that.” But the fact she misrepresented Jamie to Roy – “I didn’t know what you wanted and I knew exactly what he wanted” – as if he’d come begging for it, is also proven wrong here. Because it turns out that Jamie thought that Keeley asking him to hook up meant they would be getting back together. In season 1, the lens is “Roy and Keeley are Goals, and Jamie is a Prick.” People were not thinking of his perspective. But I always found him entirely lovely in 1.08, and I had thought about this situation for him long before this episode had him confirm it. So how about you? How is this all looking and feeling to you now, kind of looking back at all that season 1 drama with a sympathetic Jamie perspective, now that we know for sure how he felt?

Megan: I mean firstly, I think you’re right in that people don’t talk about that 1.08 scene with Jamie enough for what it tells us about him, because it always just gets pulled into the Roy and Keeley stuff. But honestly, this is why I don’t get why people think Jamie’s “redemption” starts in season 2. I think it starts with curse breaking fire, and then this scene shows us who he really is, without the posturing we see at Richmond, and why someone like Keeley would care for him. So it drives me mad sometimes that people don’t seem to acknowledge that the Jamie we see in season 1 is the same person we see throughout season 2 and now season 3. People who think that him being a good guy and having emotional intelligence came from nowhere really haven’t been watching. But hearing about Jamie’s side of it is actually really sad. Because obviously at this point in season 1, he’s very separate from everyone else, so from our point of view he just comes in, says some lovely things, has sex with Keeley, and then leaves again so Keeley and Roy can have their conflict and resolution. But I can imagine that he spent that time expecting Keeley to text or call him again, and then all of a sudden, maybe he sees some tweet about Roy and Keeley dating, and that must have fucking sucked. And I hadn’t really thought of it before now, before this scene, exactly what that must have looked and felt like to him, and it genuinely was quite shitty of Keeley, someone who is normally very good at thinking about how other people might be feeling. She was clearly feeling pretty awful and insecure and angry, so not really thinking about anyone else, but that doesn’t make it okay. It also makes Jamie going back to Keeley for advice at the end of season 1 after this very confusing moment for him – and going through with asking for the advice even though Roy was there – even more impressive of him. And like we’ve said so many times before, including in this very article, I was always sure we were meant to think Jamie and Keeley’s relationship was serious but it is so nice to finally have this verbalised confirmation of how much it meant to Jamie, and how all-in he was.

Natalie: When he said “At first I thought you were going out to make me jealous,” like… you could take that as arrogant and self-centred and he rolls his eyes at himself for it. But honestly, what if him showing up to Keeley’s in the season 1 finale and finding Roy there was the way he found out? And again, Keeley admitted to Roy that she used Jamie to get back at him. If Jamie knows her well, and knows she kind of has that capacity or mindset for petty revenge – even the silly stuff we have heard about her shitting in her friend’s locker at school…

Megan: He wasn’t wrong!

Natalie: He knows she’s capable of doing that. A more immature Keeley absolutely could have dated Roy to piss off Jamie. It isn’t as unreasonable as it might sound here. He obviously owns his mistake in thinking it, and the way Juno Temple’s microexpressions change through this scene is amazing – she has so many great facial movements this episode – but the fact we got these admissions from him as a part of hearing about how the leak may have come from his account all adds to the level of empathy I have for him about their break up. His apology for being the person who was probably hacked (honestly, I would have assumed it was taken from the cloud, so it could have been her OR him) was so incredibly whole-hearted and thorough in terms of his explanation and remorse, even though Keeley firmly and immediately refused to blame him. I get the sense that even if he hadn’t deleted anything, Keeley would have still said it wasn’t his fault, it was the hacker’s. She obviously never assumed that Jamie wasn’t still the level of careful or trustworthy she would expect him to have been when she first sent the video, and the precautions he talks about are not things she even asked him to take. But he knows he failed his own principles, the ones that he spelled out in the dressing room, because he had not done all of the deleting immediately.

Megan: Yeah, I definitely think Keeley wouldn’t have thought it was his fault in the same way she knows it’s not her fault. That way she tells him not to apologise so firmly makes perfect sense after she’s spent a whole episode pissed off that Jack thinks she needs to apologise. I didn’t think Jamie’s apology was needed, and she definitely doesn’t, but as you say he’s so careful about that stuff that the second he realised it was a video meant for him he needs to go over and make amends.

Natalie: As usual, when Jamie talks about his feelings or makes an apology, he is beautifully forward – another quality he’s had since season 1, seen to a great extent during 1.06 and 1.08. He always says more than the minimum of what he needs to, and always says it very well. Like explaining how his initial wipe was out of anger – that would probably be when he also deleted her number. Honestly, no one on Ted Lasso is more emotionally available than Jamie and this was yet another example. He expresses his feelings so incredibly well, he goes above and beyond, every time.

Megan: Yes! As soon as he talked about deleting all the stuff from her, I knew immediately that would have been when he deleted her number too. He’s SO good at sharing how he feels, and like, being in the moment with it too. His words in moments like this very rarely seem rehearsed, and he’ll go off on a slight tangent because it’s what he’s thinking and feeling there at that second. He’s so genuine with it.

Natalie: It is one of the main ways he’s juxtaposed against Roy – Jamie’s honest and elaborate self expression versus Roy’s… Royness. And that’s seen in moments with Keeley, or moments between Roy and Jamie themselves.

Megan: Yeah. And look, Roy’s Royness really makes sense, given he was basically brought up from age nine onwards in such a culture of toxic masculinity and closed off behaviour, whereas Jamie is of another generation, and would have had his mum who, thank God for her, because it seems like she did so many things right where he’s concerned. So it’s understandable from Roy, and you can see him trying, but when compared with Jamie, you really see the gap between them there. And as you say, how much Roy could learn from Jamie.

Natalie: In this episode, Rebecca is obviously an amazing friend to Keeley, but in terms of the people who have romantic and sexual connections to Keeley having some sense of visceral emotional response to seeing her like this – Jack, Roy and Jamie – Jamie leaves the other two in the fucking dust.

Megan: He does. Jack is obviously just fucking awful, Roy is, as ever, his own worst enemy and gets in his own way, but Jamie does exactly what Keeley needs.

Natalie: And again, I do also truly think he would have been the most supportive person even if the video had been not one of his. He wouldn’t have the guilt element but he would have been the most ‘in her corner’ about it, without the insane hang ups Roy has.

Megan: Yeah.

Natalie: I just really love how the episode frames him as having these principles. We know he was supportive and appreciative of her topless modelling and he felt fine sharing those pictures with the world – he had SO many pictures of her in his locker! – while at the same time being so protective of their private sex life. Keeley wasn’t exactly a porn star, but there’s a lot of conversations about that kind of thing, the partners of sex workers, porn stars, OnlyFans models – what a supportive partner looks like to a person doing that work. I honestly think Jamie was nailing that element of their relationship when they dated. Yeah, maybe papering his locker with her picture was a bit childishly braggy, but I also always found it so sweet. He was SO into her and so proud to be with her. And as you mentioned earlier this was not seen by her as a violation. She knew about it and she was happy enough for him to flaunt it.

Megan: Yeah and I never saw that as a negative of Jamie’s, him having those pictures up. Just a sign of how keen he was on her.

Natalie: Knowing how he felt about protecting her as a private person while also being happy to show off her public nude work, all of those feelings being balanced concurrently in a decent way? He’s just really great. With the scene at her door, there are so many soft little elements to it that just make me feel so much love. Like, when she sees that it’s him, she is so happy? She knows he’s the person who had the video, and like we’ve said a million times, it’s very clear every step of the way she doesn’t blame him for the leak or suspect him doing anything shitty. But she is genuinely delighted to see him, possibly because she knows he isn’t going to give her a hard time like Jack and Roy. And compared to the dead-eyed misery she had a few moments earlier in bed alone, he lights her up.

Megan: I think it’s to Keeley’s credit that after a few days of people mostly being weird, stupidly shitty, or outright awful, she’s still happy to see another person come and check in on her. She’s not become guarded or hardened about it. And that is going to be partly down to it being Jamie, but I also think it’s a bit down to her as a person, just wanting to mostly see the best in people. Sometimes that doesn’t work out, like with Shandy, but it’s still a good quality of hers for the most part. Her face when he talks about his password was a nice little moment of levity amongst it all. Oh Jamie. He might not be the most himbo, but he has his moments.

Natalie: For Keeley, even though she doesn’t blame Jamie at all, I think it really helps her to hear someone else so passionately declaring how much this isn’t her fault. Jamie blaming himself so obsessively after all his claims that the only person to blame in any situation like this is the hacker is really sad, but the fact he needs to tell her how much he did believe in protecting her and how his stupid emotions may have been the reason he failed to do so… Just everything he says, he needs her to know how much he truly would never have wanted to put her at risk, but also how much guilt he feels for probably being the one to do so if it was stolen during the time he hadn’t deleted it yet or taken from his email… His entire shouldering of all the blame, the profuse level of his apologising. Even though Keeley doesn’t think he is to blame, hearing someone not blame or shame her for it or make her feel uncomfortable means so much. I could have done without the password crack though. I don’t think he is that stupid, and I think it minimises the fact that hackers will get this stuff anyway. Like a) given it happened to so many people, not just Keeley, I don’t think this leak happened because Jamie had a weak password, and b) he is just not that stupid, he isn’t. But the show has to get its jokes in apparently.

Megan: Look I don’t either really, but the way she asked it startled a laugh out of me. I also actually, weirdly until that moment still thought the leak came from her, and he just recognised it as being the video he sent. Like I still thought it was a cloud hack or something, and so it surprised me to hear we’re supposed to think it was from an email.

Natalie: I am not 100% sold on it being from his email. There are many ways it could have happened. Her cloud, his cloud. But I think it’s him being like, “Fuck, here’s a way it might have happened,” just finding some way to be culpable. Also, Jamie plays football professionally. He knows how to spell pass. But anyway. His apology is so wholehearted – that this has happened to her, that he had any part in it, everything – and it doesn’t ask anything of her, it doesn’t want anything from her, it is just fully in support of her, that Keeley cannot help herself from just jumping on him in a massive hug.

Megan: Honestly, the hug killed me. Both the way she jumped into it so hard that it rocked him back, and the way he just accepts it immediately and then he closes his eyes… It’s heartbreaking. He’s so very longing, but there’s no expectation or anything, he just wants to be there for her.

Natalie: The way he re-settles his arms tighter is what truly ended me. I have always wanted them to be closer friends, as exes, than I think they have been canonically so far. I think there’s a lot of affection there, she’s been so kind to him, but he’s still been kind of shy around her all the while, like “Can’t get too close.” I’d have liked to see them be closer, more casual and comfortable. But the point I am making is that I feel fairly sure he hasn’t held her since that night in 1.08, the sort of partner episode to this scene. I don’t think they’ve been Hug Friends. We are now at the point – February 2022 – where they’ve been broken up for two years, so yeah, I don’t think he’s touched her in almost two years, and I think he is still either very, very in love with her, or just has general love for her in a way he does not define. But I do really think he’s still in love with her. Safe to say, I don’t think the Ted Lasso writers are going to pack him off with another romance before the end of the season like I was first worried about.

Megan: No, whatever happens with the Roy-Jamie-Keeley of it all, I don’t think that’s going to happen in the final four episodes.

Natalie: Well, the hug is where we leave Keeley this episode, and things could go a few ways from here, both with Jamie and Roy and with her work. With the boys, I don’t know. We might get a repeat of 1.08, Keeley trying to hook up with Jamie. Before this, I’d have said, “Oh, he will say no and try and fix her and Roy.” But honestly with what Roy said, words need to be had there. If Jamie and Keeley still love each other, maybe they should just be together and Roy can suffer. Jamie is really looking like a better partner and person.

Megan: I don’t know if Keeley is in a place where she would want sex right now, and I do think he might say no more for her sake than anything else – like realising she’s a bit vulnerable and sad and thinking it wouldn’t be right. So I would be surprised if we find out in the next episode that they’ve slept together.

Natalie: I would too, but you never know.

Megan: I do think it might be interesting for the angle of someone taking a photo of them hugging and it gets online and we see Roy react, because I think that would give him a chance to do better, and for him and Jamie to talk about it all. The sex tape was my correct guess last week, this might be my likely guess for what’s next.

Natalie: I don’t trust Roy to do that much better at this point, but if he and Keeley are going to get back together he’s going to have to be okay with Jamie existing near Keeley.

Megan: Yeah, that’s for sure.

Natalie: I think it would be nice for Keeley to bring Jamie inside and just spend the day cuddling him and making art out of sprinkles together. I’d like to see this take their friendship up a notch.

Megan: Yeah I would enjoy that. Them just having a nice friendship day, not thinking about awful people and awful things.

Natalie: I’d also be happy with Ted Lasso ending in a Jamie/Keeley endgame, which I’ve said before. Like, I don’t think they should get together today, due to this. But I would be happy with Keeley deciding that she does still love Jamie and Roy having to cope. Then I can imagine down the line, Roy trying to do what it takes to be good enough for both of them. Roy’s brain is not healthy in terms of this stuff. He is still just not able to deal with Jamie and Keeley, and it makes him into the worst version of himself, and given that he cares about both Jamie and Keeley as individuals when they aren’t standing next to each other, I kind of need this to be addressed if the show is going back to Keeley/Roy. Jamie is now one of the people Roy cares about the most, whether or not he will admit it in words. This isn’t sustainable, for him to be so fucking nuts over it.

Megan: Yeah, and it does feel like with Roy, they so often show him doing the work and recognising what he needs to do better about, and what he needs to reflect on, and then for like the next three episodes they just use him for weird over the top comedy gags, or show him regress in weird ways. So it makes it tough, especially since in the past, Phoebe and Keeley were the two people who he showed that progression and growth around the most, so not letting them have many scenes together this season has made a difference. But he has to get over the Jamie weirdness. He has to. Even if at the beginning of their relationship Keeley was at fault for the way she acted in 1.08, Roy now needs to be the one to grow up about it.

Natalie: I can’t imagine Keeley letting Jamie leave after that hug, like “Right, bye!” I feel sure she would ask him in.

Megan: Yeah, I think so! Make him a cup of tea, have a nice chat about how awful people are.

Natalie: So I hope there isn’t a big time jump next week. I don’t think there will be, due to the Colin and Isaac teaser.

Megan: No I think they’ll keep it fairly immediate this time round.

Natalie: If we pick up where we left off, we may see more of Jamie and Keeley. But we really need to see them and Roy all deal with this dynamic because like I said it feels unextractable. It’s just… I always assumed that Jamie, with his joy for life, would be the person to show Roy how to not be so fucking miserable and push him back to Keeley. Like “Oh, you two are so good.” Parent trap them, as we’ve said.

Megan: Yeah.

Natalie: But with this incident, with what Roy said… it’s not unforgivable, but it isn’t simple. It brings it all back to this issue of Roy being a freak about Jamie and that infecting his vibe with Keeley. I just did not think this was going to be a factor anymore. I still thought you know, Jamie is very central to them, he’s always been a part of it, but not this toxicity again. This feels like a bigger hurdle, and I am curious if the show will act on that or just let it go.

Megan: No, it definitely makes it harder. And given the Roy and Keeley scene we know is coming that is set in Jamie’s childhood bedroom, I feel sure he is going to be a huge part of their story going forwards, whatever the circumstances. I don’t think what Roy said is unforgivable, but I do need to see a real conversation about everything that’s between them happen, and to feel like Roy is finally, finally able to accept and acknowledge Jamie’s importance – to him and to Keeley – and not be hung up on it.

Natalie: It does still make me feel that Jamie is so involved, the easiest way for Roy to deal with that kind of emotion is to literally make him involved. Like I said, if he’s going to always be in the middle of them, just fucking put him in the middle of them.

Megan: Honestly, yes. It really really would, and I wish someone would for once realise that is the best way to solve a love triangle. Maybe Ted Lasso will be the show to do it.

Natalie: Roy does not have to be jealous. He can just have them both and appreciate their love for each other.

Megan: Yeah.

Natalie: As the episodes go on, I see more and more people saying this. Obviously we’ve always thought it, but every week, the general audience says it more. It is becoming something that feels very obvious or inevitable, like “if they’re not doing this, I don’t see what they are doing.”

Megan: It really does feel like the only natural conclusion of where they’ve taken these three characters so far. I just hope Ted Lasso will actually go there.

Natalie: I do have another concern about Roy and Keeley getting back together, and it’s to do with the whole KJPR story. There have been criticisms this season about Keeley’s story being so separated, and to some people, pointless. I haven’t agreed with that, because Keeley is a lead character and she deserves her own story. But now that I sort of see the writing on the wall – due to this stuff with Jack, I think KJPR is going to crash and burn, it will fail or fold or be unfunded or Keeley will give it up, she might start again from the ground up, her own firm that’s all her choices – I am unfortunately starting to agree with the pointless element. We didn’t predict that Keeley’s career plotline would be such an exercise in failure. We thought she might be a workaholic and the impending issues with Roy, the disconnect felt in the season 2 finale, would come from that. We never predicted this level of defeat. It’s all been her feeling out of her depth, incompetent, the Shandy mistake, and then ultimately the misstep of getting with Jack only to have Jack now erratically probably pull her support of the company. We defended her getting with Jack as we thought they would handle things well, but I now no longer think that and I do think KJPR will end. And if it does, it’s like, what was this all for? Keeley Jones was not a character I needed to see hit rock bottom. Not when all this career stuff has just been things that have made her feel belittled and humiliated at every turn. There have been no real wins for her. The company is allegedly ‘killing it,’ but we’ve seen none of that, none of her success with clients. We have only seen things with bad outcomes. I trusted that this story had value, and it now seems like it doesn’t. It seems like the outcome is that Keeley got in over her head, failed, and may have to start over with less hubris. That’s not even exactly how I feel about it, but it’s how I think it’ll look.

Megan: Yeah I agree. At first I got annoyed by the criticism of Keeley having such a separate arc, because you know what, I liked the idea that she was getting a plot that was entirely about her, and that had nothing to do with her relationship to any of the men on the show. And I didn’t actually mind the initial missteps and struggles! They felt realistic, given Keeley had been thrown into running her own company, and they felt relatable to me. Even the Shandy arc – I made a bad judgement in hiring once that led to an inevitable firing, it sucked, and I found that storyline really relatable. But for me the caveat was that KJPR needed to ultimately succeed. Struggling and then getting better and eventually doing well is fine, Keeley’s arc basically ending with her making so many bad decisions that she failed is really not okay to me.

Natalie: And if this is the case, then it’s going to happen concurrently with the Roy reunion. And the offer of this investment and PR firm was where the cracks started for them – Keeley not being able to come to Marbella, Roy feeling like Keeley is off shining on her own and not having time for him. The reasons they gave for breaking up. Of course there’s the angle that like, well, Keeley thought it was all worth it and all that, but I worry that if KJPR fails, it’ll look like, well, what the fuck was the point of the break up? Like, is it going to be Keeley getting back with Roy while also realising she took on too much, or made too many mistakes? Like she wasn’t ready for what was offered? Because at the end of season 2 it was all framed as such a positive for her, a real testament to her ideas and approach to business as she started to make a name for herself. What we’ve had instead is a story about her insecurity, failures, mistakes and ill advised relationship. I don’t blame her for trusting Jack, Jack is the one who sucks here, but it could all add up to Keeley looking naive in certain ways.

Megan: And I don’t really want her going back to Roy OR Jamie to feel like it’s because everything else in her life went tits up, and she’s sad and lonely and feels helpless and one of those two comes in and like, saves her or whatever. Like, I don’t want a big brave football boy – regardless of which one – coming in and patting silly Keeley Jones on the head and telling her it’s okay that she failed, they love her anyway and will take care of her. I don’t actually think that’s how it would go, I’m being hyperbolic, but it will feel a bit like that to me nonetheless.

Natalie: And if this is how it goes, I’m now kind of angry about it, about how much story was given to this in terms of having Keeley separated from the team and other characters. It all feels wasteful. If the endgame for Keeley is for her to get back with Roy and to start a new PR firm that she built herself from the ground up, why the fuck did we have to have the failure firm first? Why couldn’t they just have let the Bantr investment actually be a good thing, a credit to her prior achievements, not something false or doomed to fail? I really didn’t need to see her fail this much. No one thought Keeley getting recognition and other people valuing her PR success to the point of thinking she’s a good investment would turn into a story about how bad she is at running a PR firm, then getting it taken away because she slept with, and then angered, the money. The idea of her season 2 success story is very tarnished to me now, it didn’t need to have happened like this and it’s making me really worried that her reuniting with Roy will look like the reason they allegedly broke up was not a reason that ended up mattering, and in fact was something that just brought Keeley down more. It would be much more satisfying for me if this was about Roy learning to deal better with Keeley’s shine – basking in it, recognising and cherishing his place in her busy life, finding other ways to expel his needy energy and not drain her. Like for her not to have to compromise her career. And I don’t think that’s exactly how it will look on paper, but I feel concerned that them getting back together as a final beat, and Keeley starting over as a final beat, probably with something a lot smaller and less busy than KJPR, will send the wrong message that Keeley was doing “too much” and really didn’t have room for Roy, and now she does, and all her setbacks made her realise how much she needs his love, or whatever, as opposed to Keeley fucking smashing it as she should, never having wanted to break up, and Roy learning to handle himself and believe in their love despite Keeley’s other priorities. The plot should have been – if they always planned to get her and Roy together again – things that kept her around and had moments of tension with him. Keeping her around Richmond characters would not have meant making her always at the club itself and the sidekick to Rebecca or whatever. There could have been things that showed the progress of her PR firm via people we care about – her as the main character going out to do a shoe advert with Isaac or something, a random himbo is the sidekick on a Keeley PR plot that dealt with her overcoming an issue on a photoshoot or whatever. You could still do a vague Shandy plot in there if you really wanted to, her making a bad hire and dealing with the firing. As Richmond’s publicist she could have been involved in the Sam story if that episode had made any sense, from a PR perspective. She could have been involved in the Trent story too, I think. What I am trying to say is that I thought the level of separation – her really off on her own – had a point. If the point is that Keeley’s firm is going to close and she starts over on her own as the Independent Woman, with what her firm should have always been? They didn’t need a season to bring her to that. They could have just given her the firm she was always meant to have and not had this first attempt utterly fail. The idea of her aptitude and success is very tarnished and it didn’t need to have happened. They really could have just made her work life mostly successful and showed some hiccups along the way as she worked with clients – including people we know like team members – and also built up the tension with Roy and Jamie by keeping her around them.

Megan: You could even still have the video leak happen! Even without Jack and her awful reaction you could still tell a very similar story, I’m sure there are no shortage of in-world people that could have slutshamed Keeley while she was still more closely connected to Richmond. I don’t know if they thought that all of this would have been too similar to her season 2 storyline, and wouldn’t have created enough drama and conflict, and that they thought she deserved her own separate arc. And the thing is yes, she does, but not if what we’ve discussed above is what ends up happening.

Natalie: Roy dealing with Keeley being Jamie’s publicist and going to events with him and stuff, rather than keeping Roy and Keeley basically totally apart with no moments of tension or hope or worry about their future. And yeah, her and Roy having reconciliation at the same vague time as Keeley being like “That was all a mistake and I’ll do it my way at my pace” is like… what was any of it for? Basically, I was supportive of Keeley’s isolated storyline because I respect her as a lead character of Ted Lasso, but if it was all an exercise in failure that brings her back to square one, I’m pretty angry about it now. And I feel they should have just let the investment be a good thing, let the firm succeed, and kept her stories more related to characters we know and love rather than watching random new people make her feel small every episode. There’s plenty of stories that could have shown her slight missteps or growing pains as a boss while actually digging into her overall success as she does stuff that involves Richmond’s PR and sponsors. Given that she still represents them and also seems to be keen to do the individual players’ PR as their private publicist, like how Isaac asked. There was so much there, she could have had a himbo of the week plot that was all about her being an amazing PR manager. And it absolutely could have built in some version of the tension with Roy and Jamie by having her work with Jamie, and letting her interact with Roy. We’ll have to see how it all plays out, but I feel fairly confident that it will come across badly in the end, like some really weird, probably unintended implications that just feel really bad to the big picture to me. And I’m annoyed about it. But if I’m finding the ultimate outcome of the OT3 hard to predict, it’s NOTHING on the Ted story, to the point that I genuinely think that they may have changed their minds about what they wanted for him mid-season. Not about Ted going back to America. That’s gotta be a solid since-day-one plan. They’re absolutely SCREAMING the messaging that he should be going back to America because his child is fucking exhausted by his life right now. But honestly, if the ultimate endgame is “Ted and Michelle will give things another try because Michelle realises the couples therapist gave her nefarious advice and they go to a better one” – like, he just goes home and gets remarried – I will laugh and laugh and laugh. Talk about square one. It could be a kind of interesting outcome, in some ways, but I truly do not know what clues Ted Lasso thinks it is putting in here. And once again, if this is going to a Tedbecca place, Ted having one of the matchbooks in his pocket is not like, The Big Clue they think it is compared to the weird emotional beats of Ted and Michelle connecting over things and Jake being left in the dust. What a fucking weird episode this was for Ted. Truly crazy behaviour here, and a very clear sign he is not over his ex. I hope Ted never stops calling him Doctor Jacob, just keeps rubbing it in his face. “I know what you did, you cretin.”

Megan: The Doctor Jacob thing is so fucking funny to me. I think it’s one of those times where Ted is being, honestly, a bit of a prick, but in his folksy charm way that means you cannot call him out on it, because he’s not doing anything wrong on paper. But also, he’s actually not doing anything wrong full stop, Doctor Jacob sucks.

Natalie: I prefer to think it’s calculated rather than him being unable to shake the habit.

Megan: I definitely think it is. I have honestly thought it could end up going back to a Ted and Michelle place since the end of season 2 and their text exchange, and I don’t mind it as an outcome. People do divorce and end up back together again, and in Ted’s case he, as you say, is clearly not over Michelle. In Michelle’s case I do think she’s seen that Ted has changed in ways that might mean she could fall back in love with him. My one hesitancy there is that’s going to be really fucking confusing for Henry, a kid who is already extremely over it, but if the season ended with Ted back in America and back with Michelle then I think Henry would be happy with that at least. And Ted and Michelle clearly do really get each other. The constant back and forth with references and quotes and the way they get each other’s humour. You get a real sense here of how they would have worked as a couple.

Natalie: I mean, if Jamie and Keeley end up together, maybe the theme all along was people remembering the reasons they loved each other deeply after doing the necessary work. Like if all Ted’s weird behaviour was due to never dealing with his dad, so on and so on. But yeah, there is a very loud, very obvious sense that Ted and Michelle have natural in-jokes and chemistry and just a close read of one another while Jake is awkward. Of course when you’ve known someone that long, you KNOW them deeply. It doesn’t HAVE to mean getting back together. But what we are shown is a fairly typical example of how stories on screen show the New Wrong Partner not gelling with the Exes Who Should Be Together. It’s quite tropey. But then again, Ted Lasso subverts tropes. It’s a weird one.

Megan: Yeah, this could all just mean they’re learning to be friends again, and the new version of their family, and now that Ted is being more open about his emotions, that side of things is easier too, and Michelle is remembering how he’s also just a fun guy to hang out with even if they aren’t together.

Natalie: Even if they do not reunite, I do not think Doctor Jacob is here for the long haul.

Megan: No, I agree there.

Natalie: It’s framed very much like he’s annoying and he sucks.

Megan: Even Michelle doesn’t seem to be that interested in him.

Natalie: By the end of the episode, not at all! Of course you get the compulsory moment of Dad and New Guy both trying to fulfil the kid’s needs, with the coins. A pretty classic example too. And the impression that Henry really isn’t that keen on him. The thing about that moment is that I am sure they did it because of some special secret meaning to what is in Ted’s pocket – it didn’t really serve any other purpose aside from both men rushing to fill Henry’s needs. And like I said, if I am meant to be measuring the Tedbecca inevitability via shit like this, I refuse to engage with it at this point. They can pull off Tedbecca if they show me the actual dynamic of Tedbecca working. Not vases of sunflowers in restaurants and pocket trash.

Megan: Same. Look, coincidence linked to a psychic prediction is not chemistry, it’s not evidence of compatibility. It’s just a matchbook.

Natalie: I’m pretty annoyed at the Ted Lasso fandom noise that is trying to insist that shit like this has more legitimate meaning than the way people talk to each other. And while Tedbecca have really good scenes this week, the main emotional beats are about Ted being hung up on Michelle. I cannot see that just evaporating in the next few episodes.

Megan: Yeah, even if Ted and Michelle don’t end up back together, watching them together you can get a sense of how their relationship worked and what it would have looked like day to day. I have no idea, based on the scenes we see of Ted and Rebecca, what an actual romantic relationship would look like for them, because they’ve never framed it in that way.

Natalie: I’m sure it would be a good one if they did end up together eventually, but pocket trash does not equal a moment of them realising they have feelings for each other. And given how Ted acts about Michelle at this point, I don’t see him just pivoting to realising he doesn’t love her and does actually love Rebecca.

Megan: And it’s also like… Okay, if we have a final scene in the last episode of Ted and Rebecca having an epiphany about each other and kissing at an airport and agreeing to try long distance or something – honestly, if I was someone who shipped them, I would be pissed off if that was all I got! But maybe knowing they’re together in the end is enough for those fans.

Natalie: Let’s not continue to speculate for now. Just, as I said, pocket trash means NOTHING to me if there is deep emotional resonance in a story that’s pulling Ted back towards Michelle, and that is what the actual text is saying, when, despite everyone rightly criticising Ted for his obsession, the final takeaway is that she did NOT get engaged, Paris wasn’t as good as she thought (subtext: because Jake sucks) and Michelle ignoring Jake to gaze piningly at Ted. There is a blatant message here, and the thing about the Tedbecca of it all is if that couple IS the plan, the show has had too many misdirects to make Tedbecca feel good to me.

Megan: Agreed.

Natalie: There is a point where misdirects are a betrayal of your audience’s intelligence, and I worry it’s teetering on that edge. So right now I am just not dealing with trying to triple-guess them, and instead read the story that seems like the intended takeaway to normal viewers. Which is the Ted and Michelle story. If they did get back together, would you feel like this was a square one, or a full circle? Do you think it would work with the overall story of Ted Lasso, Ted’s journey?

Megan: I do think it would. I think both points of views – square one or full circle – are valid, but I could see it as full circle if they do it well. Because I have never been someone who has viewed Richmond as Ted’s new home and new family. I think if you have watched three seasons of Ted Lasso and felt like that was the point, then him getting back with Michelle might feel like going back to square one and you might ask what was the point of Richmond. But I always saw it as a stepping stone for Ted, a place for him to go and change other people’s lives while sorting his own head out so he could move forwards in his own life. That’s very much what I always thought the point of the story was. I hadn’t always thought that would be moving forwards with Michelle, but I have always felt sure he’d end up back in Kansas moving forwards with Henry. So for me I can very easily see how it would feel full circle for him and Michelle to get back together.

Natalie: Yeah, I do agree that it depends on if you ever saw Ted’s move as permanent, which I never did. I saw him as the Mary Poppins, in part because they’ve always been so vocal on it being this fixed three season arc.

Megan: Same. I never thought he’d stay.

Natalie: He comes in, he changes lives, he figures out the shit that made him run away from home, he goes home. Even that fucking pinball machine in the pub, the Wizard of Oz? There’s no place like home, Kansas, etc. THAT is the kind of visual clues I can see them putting in on purpose.

Megan: I like Ted Lasso best when it’s very clear and intentional with its storytelling, and I’ve always thought this particular outcome was clear and intentional.

Natalie: Yeah. I know that other people feel like a found family narrative is ruined when it splits apart at the end, that Ted should not lose all this. But I never, ever had the impression he would stay, so the process of like, assuming he would stay and then realising or getting scared of like, “Oh shit, are the intentions for him to leave?” I could not relate to that. Not to mention the lifespan of an average Premier League manager! Unless you’re Pep, LOL

Megan: In this day and age though, they can just Facetime each other! And they’re all very rich, they can go visit him! For this particular found family, geographical distance isn’t a big deal. And yeah, I was going to say LOL, maybe knowing how short-lived so many Prem managers contracts are clouded my ability to see Ted’s stay as permanent. Pep is the exception. Because he’s exceptional.

Natalie: Yeah, this isn’t Arya Stark sailing off the edge of the map in the Game of Thrones finale. He’s not lost to them forever. Anyway. Michelle looked pretty stressed, but in an awkward way, about telling Ted about going to Default Paris. Almost to me like she wasn’t that keen – like having to tell Ted about it, she knew sort of what it had meant – that she’d wanted to go with him, all that. I feel like this was maybe not actually a good surprise for her, learning Jake had planned this? But it was loaded. She knew Ted would be weird about it, and that made her feel weird about it, and that it would probably affect her enjoyment of it. Also, it’s clear that Jake is an Insufferable Tourist type traveller, which would be so fucking annoying. Maybe I’m projecting. I don’t like surprises and if I had been planning to drive or hike around the Lake District or whatever, I would be geared up for that. Not Paris.

Megan: Yeah and also you would have packed for that!

Natalie: Very different clothes for starters!

Megan: Like, I don’t mind a bit of a surprise, but the clothes for the English countryside are very different from outfits for museums and fancy restaurants and the Eiffel tower. I wonder if Michelle knows Ted well enough to know that he might immediately think “oh shit, he’s going to propose there” or if she just knew he’d feel weird about the intensity. Maybe they had always planned to go to Paris together one day and it never happened, and Michelle knew it would hurt. Either way yeah, she was very hesitant to say.

Natalie: Yeah, but I also really feel like she didn’t seem that keen for it herself. Like, not just because of hurting Ted – she seemed a bit cringey about it herself.

Megan: Her and Jake do seem very stilted and awkward, and part of that might just be the contrast with her and Ted, but I do wonder if she’s kind of known they are on the way out but didn’t want to dump him before this trip, or was trying to pretend it was all fine actually – something we know she does.

Natalie: If they don’t break up soon, then I have NO idea what this episode was selling with its vibes. But Ted is painted as very charming, Michelle is very in tune with him and – importantly – charmed, and Jake just is a clown of nothingness. Anyway, Henry gets to spend the time in London with the team, which is fun. Child labour is always a good time. I assume he spent a LOT of time there in the pre-season.

Megan: I loved this scene. Will is SO FUNNY. Just sitting back and chilling while Henry runs around placing towels. And the shot of Roy, Beard and Trent watching kills me. “In late stage capitalism, what’s the difference?” “Word.” Oh Trent, how did they enjoy life without you? You complete them.

Natalie: Truly one of the season’s best choices, bringing him into the office. He’s a king. I love that Roy tries to be open, supportive and a good friend, inviting Ted to talk about his feelings… Until they put a Diamond Dogs label on it, at which point he refuses. Roy. You are a Diamond Dog. I am sorry. But sticking a name on the club does not make talking about things the way you just offered any less Doggy. Get over it.

Megan: Right?! Oh Roy. And it’s not like he’s not listening and reacting anyway! You’ve done a gorilla impression Roy, why is a dog so much worse?

Natalie: He is absolutely eavesdropping and contributing, yes. It’s actually a good example, if you were to take this seriously, of how Roy is often okay with Things, but not the Idea of Things. Like he’s okay with Jamie until someone’s like “Oh do you like Jamie?” “NO.” Or whatever.

Megan: Yes! When he’s acting on instinct and just existing in the moment and doing things he’s fine! But if you make him think about it, or like, address it with him, he freaks out.

Natalie: This episode really had Ted make some wild choices and spiral in some wild ways. This assumption about the proposal is… pretty intense. The episode absolutely has everyone around him tell him that he is being insane, which is good. But what do you tend to think when the central character of a show is doing Wrong Choices all episode? Do you tend to think, “Oh, they are the hero and will be proven right?” Or generally, what do you think about arcs like this, where the hero is being a goddamn fool? What’s the takeaway for this behaviour from Ted? Because he is extremely wrong and everyone else is extremely right, obviously. Do you enjoy plots where the hero is this wrong?

Megan: I don’t mind them in isolation. Nobody is perfect, and this is a weird weekend for Ted. I can imagine it is quite awkward to see your marriage counsellor for the first time since your last session with him, because he is now dating the ex wife he was counselling you with. Like, that’s pretty fucking rough! So I think Ted’s spiralling is understandable. What I do struggle with a bit this season is that Ted has been wrong more often than he has been right. The first half of the season, he was so distracted from Richmond and the team suffered because of it. And this episode I feel like he’s so caught up on the Jake and Michelle Paris trip that he’s kind of neglecting Henry, who is obviously worrying about him. So yeah, in general I don’t mind a hero being wrong, but Ted this season has not been great.

Natalie: This episode is a very strange spiral, and there’s all sorts of things that could be said about narrative reward, too. Like, should he be “allowed” to get back with Michelle if he’s so unhealthy? That kind of thing. I’m not sure what to think of it. It feels very late in the game to lean so hard into how much Ted has not moved on. But as always with the Diamond Dogs, I love how the others go about talking the person with a problem, often an outlandish or irrational concern, off their ledge. And I especially love Trent being included – though he’s been here since August and it’s now February, has he not seen this before? Roy is SO disappointed his best friend Trent has bought into the club. Once again, Roy, what did you think that chat you had about Chelsea and happiness was about? Buddy, it was peak Diamond Dog principles. You want what the Diamond Dogs have to offer. You just don’t want to woof.

Megan: He could growl instead of barking! He growls all the time!

Natalie: He’s so stupid.

Megan: I love him, but yes.

Natalie: Higgins being so mad at Ted for making him run.

Megan: Higgins killed me! Although, asking if Jake at least asked Ted permission first. Come on now Leslie.

Natalie: So awkward. He was lightheaded.

Megan: That is true. I’ll let him off.

Natalie: Other than that, they’re all so correct. Trent was so uncertain but he did great. Nothing on earth could have readied me for that woof. I thought he would deadpan it with low, spoken intonation.

Megan: I am not surprised Trent is very good at Diamond Dogging. It feels very on brand for him. I do love that they all know that Roy listens, Ted looking over to get his opinion – and still inviting him to share at the end. It might have been useful for Roy if this session had happened after news of the leak had broken, so they could have maybe talked him out of his later stupidity. But oh well. As it is Ted is clearly not remotely convinced by their words, and clearly thinks maybe in Rebecca he’ll have a more messy ally.

Natalie: Yeah, he took “find out before you flip out” to a very strange place. Rebecca is a total freak, obviously. He probably thought she would match his crazy. But no, yet another person telling him that he’s unhinged.

Megan: She normally does, is the thing, so honestly the fact that she also thought he was being insane really is a sign he needed to stop.

Natalie: I am sorry Ted but what is a PI going to do? Follow them around and get pictures of the proposal so Ted can know before Michelle tells him? It’s so stalkery!

Megan: Like, if Rebecca Welton thinks you’re overreacting, you really need to look at your life and your choices.

Natalie: Like, what the fuck!

Megan: Right?! Like…does he think he’ll be better prepared if he knows in advance? What is your end goal here? Is his next request of Rebecca going to be “can you hire me an assassin?” Like…she probably could. To be fair.

Natalie: I think the end goal is just to know in advance, have his private reaction, be ready to face it.

Megan: Yeah, practised his “Oh wow, I’m so happy for you” face. But he can do that without confirmation, since he’s already so sure he’s right.

Natalie: I do understand the benefit of preparing for bad news so you don’t make your reaction into another person’s problem. But not via a PI.

Megan: Honestly, this level of spiralling really shows exactly how not over Michelle he is. Like, this isn’t “wistfully thinking of what ifs now and again” levels of not over her. This is intense.

Natalie: Yeah, this is all very iffy from a “narrative reward for your growth” place. But who knows.

Megan: I’d say Roy and Ted are probably the two biggest male leads in the show, and it wasn’t a great episode for either of them in terms of regression, but at least Ted makes Roy’s shitty question seem way less awful in comparison. Roy’s is like, normal human bad. Ted’s is…

Natalie: Look, they’re both bad. But if Roy tried to hire a PI to follow Keeley, I would hire an assassin.

Megan: Yes.

Natalie: Ted isn’t generally creepy, he’s just really lost his head. And he’s allegedly doing it to make sure he can react well, like, for a “good” reason, but oh my God. I like Rebecca’s approach to Paris. Many elements are overrated, Oscar Wilde’s grave is not. Ted not knowing Oscar Wilde was dead – implying he doesn’t know the context or history of Oscar Wilde, and WHY he was a mind ahead of his time – is Ted’s biggest pop culture/UK fail to date. Offensive. Genuinely offensive.

Megan: Yes. I was perhaps more offended by that than I was by the PI stalking.

Natalie: Look. We shouldn’t say it. But.

Megan: I feel like if Richard had heard Rebecca refer to La Tour Eiffel as just a lamp post with a good publicist, he would be as offended.

Natalie: She’s right and she should say it, but I would love to see them fight over it.

Megan: God yes. He would end up screaming in French, but maybe she can speak it too. It would be glorious. Anyway, she does agree to make the call, and I suppose she knows divorce can make you do crazy things. See: all of season 1 and the first half of this season. But Michelle is not Rupert. She deserves better.

Natalie: Ted does say one thing that I feel is more loaded – “I just need to know what’s going on with him,” – and I honestly think that Paris aside, if you did get a PI to audit Jake’s work and life, you could find stuff that proved he did therapy crime. The one thing about the potential of Jake doing therapy crime though is the lack of space to let Michelle handle that trauma. Like, she isn’t a lead, but if you found out your therapist manipulated you into divorce, you would not just be like “What a jerk, hahaha bye.” You’d have your own whole journey about how violating that is. But we don’t have time for that, LOL.

Megan: Yeah, I think that is valid. Like, Ted is acting insane here, but I still think Jacob is an actual shitty dude, masquerading as a hapless hand washer.

Natalie: When Rebecca said she would make the call, do you think she actually did it, or just said it to get Ted to calm down and never actually planned to do it? Who she should have been calling is Sharon. Like, “Emergency!”

Megan: I mean yes, that would have been the best solution. I think Rebecca maybe sourced someone who could potentially do the job, but then in her later call with Ted she hopes she can persuade him not to actually go ahead with it.

Natalie: There was a clever bit in her office that was kind of one of those things that seemed cute in the moment but later makes you go “Ohhhh, that was a part of that,” which is the fact that Ted is up here freaking out instead of out on the grass with Henry and the team, making that memory with his son. We got to see Henry playing with the team from the window, and maybe Ted has played around with Henry and the lads before, but he is missing time with his son to do this shit. He’s not cherishing every second, or whatever.

Megan: Yep. That would honestly have been the best thing for Ted right now. Spending time with Henry would distract him from everything else, and probably remind him what’s actually important. I did love seeing all of the players cheering Henry on though. I would happily have watched an entire episode of Henry Being At Richmond instead of Ted’s freakout. Because the little snippets we do see are delightful.

Natalie: I hope Ted kept him occupied during the great Nude Delete-a-thon though.

Megan: Oh God.

Natalie: I would have liked to see Henry and Roy interact. Maybe Jamie in the mix there too.

Megan: I would like more of Jamie interacting with children generally, so yes please.

Natalie: Henry following Jamie around and Roy having to be polite to Jamie about doing a good job and stuff. Something about Jamie having hero worship for Roy, and Roy seeing that with Henry and Jamie, and Jamie being like “don’t spoil the little lad’s vision of me.” Anyway.

Megan: There’s still time. Or maybe we’ll get Jamie meeting Phoebe. Ted does at least stop freaking out long enough to read Henry a bedtime story, and I LOVE that they used Marcus Rashford’s book here.

Natalie: The fact that Marcus exists within the Ted universe makes me have a whole lot more thoughts about that Sam plot. But I won’t get into it. More happily, it feeds my headcanon of Jamie’s one-sided rivalry with him, being a United academy boy with such a young debut for England when Jamie was a City boy who didn’t get an early call up. God, he would have just been so jealous.

Megan: Yes! It really does track! If Jamie ever finds out about this, he’ll have to write his own book for Ted to read to Henry, just to keep up.

Natalie: Phil Dunster did recently say he can see Jamie being the ambassador for a football charity later in life. I think he could do a whole bunch of outreach about the issues that have affected him, including stuff for kids. But he better hurry up. Anyway, Ted trying to pry about Jake to Henry is kind of sad. I don’t think it’s dodgy or anything. As a parent I think it is very fair to be like, “How do you feel about him?” But it didn’t feel very neutral of Ted either, it felt, you know, quite upset.

Megan: Henry is a pretty perceptive kid, so I think if he’d been less tired he might have picked up on it more. I think the issue is it’s fair enough for Ted to make sure Jake is treating his kid okay, but for us as viewers it’s a bit harder because it feels very tied into his Michelle spiral. But at the same time honestly, Jacob has shown to have some quite dubious ethics. So it really is pretty fair for Ted to be suspicious of his place in Henry’s life.

Natalie: Yeah, honestly, the way Ted talks about it is very much more about that spiral, tonally. Not an upfront putting Henry’s feelings first conversation. It’s more him trying to gauge the situation. Asking how Henry feels about him is so valid, but it felt slightly more like digging to see how replaced he’d been, but I think it was kind of great to see Ted musing on the concept of you know, it being good for Henry to have lots of people in his life excited to be around him and care for him, given the way that feeds into the strongest part of this story for me – Henry and Beard.

Megan: Beard honestly showed up for Henry in this episode way more than Ted did. He was great!

Natalie: We haven’t got to see them together before, not properly, but this was an absolutely perfect example of portraying a lifelong relationship for the first time. Absolutely no doubt that Beard and Henry are very close and have been since Henry was born, they know each other super well, and this day could have been just about Ted and Henry, but no, Beard is there making pancakes.

Megan: Yes, we didn’t need to have seen their past, because the way this scene played out it was so clear how present Beard has always been in Henry’s life.

Natalie: That’s a man excited to be around Henry, you know?

Megan: Yup! He could perhaps have thought of a more child friendly activity for them to do, but to be fair to Beard, Henry is a child who watched IT and decided to do a sewer tour off the back of it. So maybe Beard’s instincts weren’t completely off base with the Jack the Ripper tour.

Natalie: I love the moment of them trying to rationalise the lack of sense in going to the football, and Henry being like “eh.” For some reason Ted verbalising that, “You don’t care, you’re just a little boy, ambivalent as all heck” got to me.

Megan: And Henry’s face in response to that is great! He’s got a little bit of pre-teen edge to him, I love it.

Natalie: Obviously we kind of knew this was the moment from the trailer where they would go to West Ham, so my favourite part was Beard saying he would have to stop at home first. So he could change into his full Richmond uniform. We knew he was wearing it to the match, but this framing made it ten times better.

Megan: I back it. I would do the exact same thing. Sometimes petty is good actually.

Natalie:Would you stick your arms up and flip off the crowd though?

Megan: I think it would depend on the crowd, and how likely they’d be to beat me up. But I do have an antagonistic streak in me, so maybe. It’s funny, we never actually saw Henry and Nate interact on screen before did we?

Natalie: I can’t remember seeing Henry and Nate meet, but if he spent a lot of holidays and the summer between season 1 and 2 there as well, he could have gotten to know Nate well.

Megan: Nate isn’t bad with kids, his niece likes him, so maybe he and Henry got on in the past.

Natalie: I kind of imagined Ted going to Kansas in the summer break originally, until the season 3 premiere showed that Henry came to him during the period Ted would have been working on preseason.

Megan: Honestly I had too, but I don’t know when else Henry and Nate would have really hung out.

Natalie: If that happened after season 1 as well, after the relegation, Nate would have been in a pretty good place as the new assistant coach, despite just being relegated. So he may have hung out with him in the office during that visit. It makes Nate’s words in the season 2 finale, about Ted going back to Kansas to parent his son hit a bit harder if he had known Henry, and observed him and Ted together. Or maybe Henry hasn’t met him that much after all, and just heard a lot of stories from Ted. Either way, Henry is really just absolutely oblivious to the beef, or maybe he’s choosing to be. He is absolutely old enough to google stuff. What if he knows all about the Nate drama from the press? Plot twist.

Megan: Okay, that would be so interesting! Like, what if he knows about the drama, but likes Nate and thinks him and Ted should make up. And this is Henry parent trapping Ted and Nate. But like, friend trapping.

Natalie: He’s a child mastermind.

Megan: He and Phoebe can never meet. They would be too powerful.

Natalie: It won’t happen. Roy would not want her to get influenced by a Lasso. He’s so angry about what has been done to him by a Lasso. He would try and save Phoebe from it.

Megan: No, he knows how dangerous that can be. I love the different faces in this scene. Nate is confused, Disco amused, Henry ecstatic, Beard deadpan. And Ted… Ted cracks me up.

Natalie: There’s a lot I have to say about how Nate responds to this, but it’s more something I will talk about from his perspective.

Megan: Yeah.

Natalie: Beard is just so fucking mad, and he’s horrified Ted bought Henry that shirt.

Megan: If he could have found a way to wear more Richmond stuff he would have, but sadly short of painting the crest on his cheeks there’s not much more Beard can do.

Natalie: As he makes clear to Mae, when she tries to ban them from the Crown and Anchor.

Megan: It wasn’t his idea! Don’t take it out on him!

Natalie: The fact Beard does not exactly lower his voice when saying “You think I wanted to fucking be there?” is another thing that does make me think that Henry, if not a mastermind, is very aware he was pushing them to do something they weren’t keen on, and not just because they needed a break from football. Henry is like… 10? He is aware of football and its rivalries. He isn’t a baby oblivious to personal dynamics either.

Megan: He knows what he’s doing, the little shit.

Natalie: Phoebe’s younger than him and she is aware of shit. Henry knew that he was being pushy.

Megan: Definitely. As an aside, I am horrified by his pint of milk. Horrified. Pubs here have so many other child friendly options that aren’t milk.

Natalie: Americans love to just drink the fucking milk. That much milk is so disgusting to me. Who does he think he is, Erling Haaland?

Megan: Same. It is hideous. Just have a squash! Or a watered down orange juice. Jesus Christ Henry.

Natalie: The thing about getting kids to drink milk that especially sickens me is the food pairings. Like some milk and.. cookies? I guess. But milk as a side to fish and chips? Absolutely get fucked.

Megan: It’s sickening. Let’s move on so I don’t throw up. This is worse than O’Brien’s defecation photos.

Natalie: The whole “Hey Jude” situation could have come across as really, really, really cheesy, but they just about nailed it, I think because it was such a rare moment of open compassion from Beard. But the whole thing with you know, Henry being like “Hey Dad! The Beatles!” and Ted being like “Sorry kid, gotta go stalk your mom…” It’s quite pointed, that Ted is not focusing on the right things.

Megan: Yeah. That was brutal. Like he’s there trying to connect with his dad, and Ted’s just…not there. And Beard is very clearly judging Ted, while also just being so good to Henry. He sees so much.

Natalie: I appreciated Beard very much here, and the fact is, “Hey Jude” is a great song. It’s massively overused, absolutely ubiquitous. But this time, they actually used it for the actual thing it is about. And it is quite on the nose, but they do pull it off.

Megan: Yeah that was a really nice touch. It did last maybe a bit longer than I needed, but in general it worked.

Natalie: It had to last long enough for Ted to have that phone call, I guess. And give him time to still get back and participate.

Megan: Luckily the na na na nas do go on a bit. It’s also just a popular song at football matches, so it fits Ted Lasso thematically there too.

Natalie: One of the strongest moments for me here was the silent beat of Henry looking over at Ted hunched on the bench and Beard sighing. It’s a very very difficult thing, for a kid to be somewhat aware that their parent is unwell or struggling. It really felt like a loaded moment of a kid feeling the weight of a mentally ill parent. Even though he does not know the details or the language, I think this was more than just “I miss my dad.” It’s that he knows his dad is someone to worry about. Given what happened to Ted and HIS dad, Ted needs to take care of that shit and not traumatise his child by sorting himself out and not burdening Henry with his issues. Like, the kid looked heavy there. Luckily Rebecca is able to convince Ted that he is using his energy wrongly and that he should not care about Michelle getting engaged, that time with her is over and his time with Henry is now and he is missing it. It’s good that she got through to him. No idea if she did ever get any intel, but she managed to talk him out of the approach in general.

Megan: Yeah, like yes, part of it is going to be about Henry missing his dad, and wishing he was around all the time, but I also think he is really aware that Ted is not doing okay. Rebecca was so good this episode, with Keeley yes, but also with Ted and with managing him. I do wonder if… So, obviously jumping ahead a bit, we know Michelle isn’t wearing a ring so the assumption is he didn’t propose. But there’s a world in which he did propose and she said no. Or even she said yes, but hides the ring from Ted. I don’t want the latter, but the former could be interesting – especially if the PI saw that and told Rebecca. And then Rebecca would have told Ted if he’d asked, but if that was the case and she said no, I think it’s best for Ted’s spiralling that he doesn’t know that. Either way, I am relieved she talked him out of his spiral and got him to go hang out with that sad, lonely son of his.

Natalie: I genuinely have no idea if the part of the conversation we don’t hear, when he’s on the bench, is them discussing info, even if it’s “we didn’t find anything,” or if it was her distracting him. It does seem like the way she says “you know you don’t have to do this” is that she does have stuff but wants to give him a final chance to say no. The point is, we do not know what was shared there, but this was an important scene for them, that she is the person who got through to him and called him out. I have no idea what sort of meaning or implication it has for their relationship, but it does seem to matter that it was her. I do think her crazy is a part of it. We can’t forget that Ted knows the truth about what she did to him in season 1, so it’s always like, they have these big secrets they’ve kept from the world about how insane they can be. So that’s why he could be open with her about his level of crazy scheming, and maybe not feel judged for it. All the Diamond Dogs would have judged him badly, but she can understand his level of erraticness, I guess.

Megan: Honestly yes I think this is it. Like, it’s why he felt he could go to her, yes, but also I do think they get each other really well. I’ve never doubted that they are important to each other, and really do have a very strong connection. I just don’t get romantic or sexual chemistry there. But when it comes to understanding him, and why he’s acting this way, she gets it, completely.

Natalie: Her helping him with this did not feel like a clue about their own romance, but it did feel incredibly deep in terms of their unconditional love.

Megan: Yeah, that’s exactly it.

Natalie: And then it turns out that Michelle is NOT engaged, or at least not wearing the ring. I think it’s implying “Not Engaged,” though, and that Paris was just “okay?” Like, yes, we could go all Ted about it and wonder if she is trying to save his feelings by lying and hiding the ring. But I truly don’t think that was the implication.

Megan: No same, I get the distinct impression that it was just fine, at best. And they definitely aren’t now engaged.

Natalie: She seemed to have no idea what was going on with the backpack tugging. If she was hiding the ring she’d have known why he was looking, it would be on her mind.

Megan: Oh yeah that is very true! She is baffled.

Natalie: And the whole vibe I got was like “Paris (and Jake) were Fine, Whatever.” Like the idea of Paris she liked was more about “Paris with Ted.” And that all these little moments are showing their inherent connections, like her also sharing the Dave Grohl pillow drumming story. The basic takeaway here is that they’re not engaged and that Paris wasn’t that great, meaning JAKE isn’t all that great. And that Ted and Michelle can’t stop smiling at each other and laughing together. Plus that taxi moment of Henry totally blanking Jake, and Michelle looking back to Ted like that. The messaging being sent here, to me, is that they will get back together. It really is how it looks. And if it’s not that, it’s a VERY weird vibe to play up as a misdirect. But again, I’m going out of my mind with suspicion on what Ted Lasso thinks it is doing at any given moment with misdirects.

Megan: Yeah, honestly this feels like Ted and Michelle is so incredibly inevitable, and if they suddenly pull a different endgame relationship out of the hat it’ll be so Game of Thrones of them. I do find Henry blanking Jacob interesting. Prior to this episode when Henry mentions Jacob he’s seemed fine, not really pro or anti. But this is more hostile. I wonder if he just resents leaving Ted, but Jacob still being there.

Natalie: I don’t think he’s ever shown any strong affection for Jake, it very much feels like Paris being “alright.” But the active blanking… it could be that issue of like, “You’re fine but I’m sad about my dad,” but I feel like we are very much meant to take from this that Jake is not someone who is like, a valuable part of Henry’s life as some step-parents can be.

Megan: Yeah, I think so.

Natalie: The signs point to Jake being a goner. Which, good. But I’m truly wondering why the fuck her new boyfriend had to be their therapist if they’re not delving into the ethics of it.

Megan: Jack and Jake, both gone by next week? Signs point to probably. Jake might last a little longer I guess.

Natalie: Ted could have just been upset about her new boyfriend. It could even be someone else they knew like I don’t know, the family dentist. Why do the therapist angle unless you’re going to DO it?

Megan: The cynic in me says maybe so the audience right from the get go is anti Jake and thinks it’s wrong. But it does feel like you should address it more.

Natalie: There have been a lot of stories in Ted Lasso where the audience, or a part of the audience, feels stronger, ethically, than the show does about an issue. Quite a few, actually. Sam and Rebecca being a huge example. But this feels SO weird to not get into the ethics of, if it is just gonna be Michelle being like “Eh, wasn’t working out.” Like it’s such an extreme thing to just… include. The show is, right now, framing it as not as bad as it actually is, and I don’t get it. Maybe we will get into it, I don’t know. But of all the things to treat casually, this is just… very fucking weird to me. Bring back Doctor Sharon! I need some scenes that define the in-universe morals more, LOL.

Megan: Yes! I mean I do think both Jack and Keeley, and Jacob and Michelle being more obviously wrong shows how much healthier and non-problematic the way Rebecca and Sam’s relationship happened. So thank you for that at least! But it’s very confusing what we’re meant to think.

Natalie: I think Jack and Keeley could have been fine, power wise, if Jack wasn’t a dickhead. But I guess that’s always the risk, if you have a power imbalance, the person might be a dickhead and use it against you. We will have to wait and see Jack’s actual next moves – or hear about them – but I feel like they won’t be pretty, even if I don’t think Keeley will immediately close the company. But Jake…. just so weird, and I need to see Sharon spell out some shit to Ted about whether this is acceptable or not, but I assume those conversations were had in their therapy that we saw glimpses of. Anyway, I would like to have a few more reasons to stop second guessing intentions, because it isn’t a fun “what will happen” way, it’s in a “this won’t feel satisfying if it doesn’t feel inevitable” way and I don’t trust what they think they’re showing about the inevitability of Ted’s story. But there are quite a few more hours of TV left, if all the rest are each one hour. The shakiness of the inevitability is also something I can talk about with Nate’s arc, because I honestly don’t know what we’re meant to think at this point about his situation. This episode DID have some small hints that the dark dichotomy is still there, that no matter how he acts with Jade, there’s a weird toxicity about his whole deal with Ted and coaching, but it’s very minor, and we’ve now had three Nate episodes where the primary focus on him becoming Jade’s boyfriend. He seems like a pretty good boyfriend, with reasonable levels of insecurity about the whole “what are we” thing, and I’m genuinely interested in how Jade “handles” him. But no matter how many warm feelings they might be trying to evoke for him here, it has absolutely nothing to do with his redemption. Zero. I don’t understand if their plan is to like, sell us on Nate’s lovability in other areas and that’s… it? And sort of understate the peacemaking with Ted because the audience knows he’s a nice boyfriend, therefore he’s a good person? That is not going to work for me. They need to be showing any of his change or growth in terms of how he handles power in order to do that. It does feel inevitable to me that he will be “redeemed,” but like, they’re not showing me what I need to see in order to buy it or to care. And I don’t understand if they think this “enough,” or if this is being done knowingly, that they’ll turn around and show us this big disparity between Nate outside of work and Nate at work. Like I’ve said before, possibly there’s something that Jade will witness and ask about. Because I don’t actually think Jade’s role in the story is “the girl who fixes Nate.” I think she’s the peer who witnesses the issues. And she might be like… what is this all about? She’s not there to change him, she’s there as a witness to his change or his issues. And I do think that’s a good tactic for Ted Lasso to take with him. But they need to like.. show it? And now I’m like, well maybe it isn’t that after all.

Megan: I have to assume we’re going to get more in the last four episodes, because otherwise right now all I seem to be getting is “Look, Nate is actually very nice to some other people in his life, therefore bullying Will, leaking Ted’s private health details, and everything he did to Keeley is water under the bridge!” And that isn’t going to cut it with me actually! Because I never doubted that in his personal life, away from the club, Nate was probably still pretty decent. But so much of his shitty behaviour came about because of the weird hang-ups he had around power and hierarchy at work. I don’t care that “personal life Nate” is decent, I care that he makes amends for the shitty way he treated his co-workers and underlings.

Natalie: There is absolutely nothing we are being shown here that speaks to Nate’s relationship with power and the way he has issues handling himself within any kind of hierarchy.

Megan: Nope, none at all.

Natalie: Him being nice to a woman who doesn’t know about that side of his personality is not a redemption arc. I really want to assume this is going somewhere, that these things will be in some way confronting. Again, Jade is a fantastic character to witness that kind of stuff or to be the person who asks the questions that makes Nate lay out what he thinks. Not changing FOR her, but… you know what I mean?

Megan: Yeah, she’s just very blunt and hates bullshit and weird power moves. So she is someone who could really push Nate to assess what he’s done, and actually want to address it.

Natalie: I’ve said before that this feels like lulling into a false sense of security or something – “Nate is nice!” And it just… I assume that there has to be at least one Big Nate Episode coming up that absolutely slams all of these things together, but I don’t understand why they haven’t actually teased anything about his Different Faces, if that makes sense. Like how he is with Rupert, the team, as well as his family and Jade. Show US how much of a double life he’s living, or if he IS changing. Show him making different decisions from the ones he made before. I’m absolutely fine with Nate doing his growing on his own, realising how wrong he was and trying to emulate Ted or other people or just do better. Like give us a repeat of a player failing and Nate having a different response than the dumb-dumb line. Quietly just doing the work to change those harsh flaws. But we need to see it. We need to have seen it before now, if it is meant to be happening. I wonder if it’s NOT meant to be happening, and he is still a very harsh coach, and that’s the big reveal, like “Oh you seem so nice,” then seeing how he wields power. But absolutely cutting out that element of his story from view is not good, in my opinion.

Megan: Yeah because so far, we had the really mean shit in episode 1, which the players did not seem to enjoy, and then in episode 4 we obviously had him giving the pre match talk, though with no sound, and everyone seemed focused and engaged, and him clearly having effective communications with the players during the match, but we really don’t know anything about how he’s actually been with them since episode 1. And if he’s started to get better for whatever reason – maybe the negative reaction to his press conference versus Ted’s approach really did get to him – I really need to actually see that. Because if the next time we see him at West Ham after this episode he is just good and decent now, I won’t accept that he has redeemed if they don’t actually show us the work he did to get there. Anyway, the point is, he and Jade seem to have the beginnings of a very nice relationship, and she is great, but it’s not doing anything for me in terms of how I view Nate.

Natalie: What I think we are seeing with Jade and this relationship is Nate getting more honest about expressing his insecurities as they occur, rather than festering. And she kind of just accepts them, tells him when it’s weird, but doesn’t like, “punish” him for it like he fears in spirals. Like when he admits to showering and shaving and using the toilet next door. She asks if he snuck out and back, shows him she’s not ashamed of NOT doing that, and they answer each other honestly. This is a good quality – maybe Nate shouldn’t have the insecurities in the first place, but he is gaining the ability to be like “I know I’m being weird about this,” whereas bottling up his irrational insecurities is part of what caused the harm before. But again, how he acts with his girlfriend is not really something that translates to the rest of his life.

Megan: Yeah that is true, and it’ll be good for a future Nate not being a dick and fucking things up because he gets too in his head. But it doesn’t help me with past Nate, or as you say present everywhere else Nate. Jade is really great throughout this episode, and I get the sense that Nate’s weirdness is actually a plus for her. She thinks it’s very interesting.

Natalie: I also like that she just leaves him to sort himself out. Like he asks “what are we,” but then talks it all the way around to saying he doesn’t mind either way. She knows this is not the truth. And she’s not messing with him. But she’s just like, “I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing until you don’t act like this is a fraught thing to say.” And, jumping ahead, at the end, when she does casually say what he wants to hear, like it’s natural for her, his response is really smooth, like he doesn’t act all shocked or even “grateful,” – wrong word but you know what I mean. He’s not thanking her for going out with him or being with him, he’s just like “Oh yeah, cool.” It’s a pretty sexy moment. So his level of insecure weird moments clearly isn’t at a punishing level, because she wouldn’t want to be around someone who is constantly like, “do you like me, thank you so much for liking me.” He just still has these moments of uncertainty and I think the whole DTR conversation is a pretty classic one for any person. He just kind of talks himself into a circle. She follows his lead about the whole labels not mattering thing while also knowing he’s talking bullshit, but it isn’t game playing. It’s just like, “I’m going to revisit this when you’re not stuck in your head about it.” Because later when she does do it, she pokes fun at the whole if you’re into labels thing.

Megan: Yeah she knows exactly what he’s asking, and what he wants the answer to be, and she’s not being a dick about it, but she’s also not going to like, feed into his insecurities. She’s just going to wait for him to figure it out and be normal.

Natalie: Yeah, either over-validating him or poking fun in the initial moment would not have been good. Honestly, her ability to just look at him and wait for him to be normal is an extremely good quality in the role they need her to play, like it’s a good writing choice that the character has this personality. Obviously, because she was constructed to play this part in his life. But it just works well and she’s not the usual type of Girlfriend character. Personality wise. Anyway, the actual reason for this plot occurring in this episode is so we can see Nate struggle without other friends, juxtaposing Trent’s induction into the Diamond Dogs against his lack of Diamond Dogs. And like, I’m glad he called that off swiftly and firmly, but the fact he thought it could work at all is just… I mean it makes me have a lot of questions again about his life at West Ham. He’s willing to appear as insecure earnest Nate in front of these guys, which maybe says to me he does act softer at work? But the big clue about what has or hasn’t changed is his continued attachment to Rupert. What were your thoughts when it shows he invited Rupert to this meeting, with apparent full confidence in their closeness?

Megan: He was so confident Rupert was going to come along that I assumed it was actually a really important meeting about strategy or something. And then the second he introduced the concept of Love Hounds…I was like. “Nate? Seriously? In what world did you think Rupert would EVER come along to this? How did you even ask him? How did Rupert react that made you think this was a remote possibility?” This whole scene was excruciating for me to watch, as someone who is not good with second hand embarrassment, but I will say that Roger did seem very nervous around Nate, which suggests if he does have softer moments at work, he probably still has moments of being a dick. I did find it interesting that Nate said “she’s hesitant to label our relationship” which is not how I would have described that conversation, but I suppose I can see why Nate might think that.

Natalie: I don’t think Nate listens to himself very well. Like, he asked the question to Jade very weirdly, he didn’t give her a chance to suggest any answers, then he talks back into a circle where he said HE didn’t want to label it. And she was like “Alright, I’ll follow your lead.” Nate does not process it quite the same.

Megan: Right? He preempted her not wanting to label it and so basically answered his own weirdly asked question.

Natalie: Yeah, and I think her basically taking him at face value is a pretty good way to train him into being more direct. But anyway, Nate wants friends to speak openly with about his personal issues, and that is not the West Ham vibe. It’s placed directly after the Diamond Dogs meeting scene, as a comparison to how much Nate is missing out on, which does slightly make me worry that we WILL get Nate back at Richmond because he is in need of more friends or something. Like, back in the Diamond Dogs. We’ve already gone over all the reasons we don’t want him back at Richmond, but it probably feels like he should have more friends. Not Rupert though.

Megan: He could be friends with the Diamond Dogs outside of work. Maybe they could Facetime him into the meetings and he otherwise stays away from Richmond still. Maybe Jade has some normal friends he can meet. Alternatively there will be a LOT of people working at West Ham. Surely some of them are decent.

Natalie: We don’t really have time to show Nate making friends and caring about those people.

Megan: No it’s true, but we have to assume they exist so he should go and find them offscreen.

Natalie: I really enjoyed Nate’s lack of delusion, after his initial delusion of the Love Hounds working, like his immediate awareness that this is not going to work and these people aren’t the kind of men he wants to get closer to or whatever, but his faith in Rupert does really concern me. This element is the thing that makes me feel like we will get some big reveal of Nate’s whole light side dark side dichotomy, Jade being surprised by it or whatever. Because the thing about this episode, the thing that’s ACTUALLY about Nate’s redemption or whatever, is Ted’s visit to the match and how Nate handles that. And ultimately, although he doesn’t DO anything bad, he has the opportunity to kind of be true to himself or to take the harsher line, the “we are enemies” line that Rupert is assuming, and he goes with Rupert on it. It makes me wonder what’s happened since we saw Nate disapproving of Rupert’s affair with Miss Kakes, and also get upset at himself for not shaking Ted’s hand. We do see that tug of war here – will Nate take steps towards making amends, or will he double down on his adversarial stance? And here he doubles down.

Megan: Interestingly, I kind of feel like his first answer might have been one that Rupert would actually respect more. Like, I don’t think Rupert is someone who sees himself as a protector, having to save Nate from Ted. I DO think he wants to keep Ted and Nate apart so Nate can’t apologise to him, but his text could be read as seeing Nate as too weak to handle Ted’s presence. So replying to say he thought it was funny would show Nate isn’t fazed, and that might be something Rupert would respect more. As it is, his actual answer makes it seem like he needs Rupert’s protection. But it does make me want to know how he and Rupert are interacting these days, especially given the invite to Love Hounds.

Natalie: I’m not sure it’s quite that – more something about Ted doing sabotage or mindfuckery. Not so much like “Oh I will protect you Nate,” more like, “Ted is spying, or whatever, or trying to get into your head.”

Megan: Yeah I think that probably is more likely.

Natalie: Anyway, I don’t even know if Nate’s answer about it being funny was how he actually felt, or if it’s his first pass at a harsher answer for Rupert. I have no idea how he felt when they saw him and waved. But given that he regrets not shaking hands, he could have waved back at a little boy!

Megan: His face when he turns back around, before he starts clapping at the end of the match he does have a bit of a pleased smile going on. Maybe he would have turned and waved if the match hadn’t finished, but like… Right?! Be nice to Henry, Nate! Just wave!

Natalie: I think he was processing what he thought it meant. Like maybe he immediately assumed the worst, nasty thoughts of Ted trying to fuck with him, then was like, “Look, being honest with myself about him, I’m sure it’s not that.”

Megan: Yeah, I think that’s probably true. He’s not really sure what to think, and his initial instinct is assuming the worst, but I think he knows deep down that isn’t Ted.

Natalie: Yeah, he may have had some delusions, but realistically he can’t think that Ted is using Henry to fuck with him. We know he definitely doesn’t think that. He just still leans towards Rupert’s support and responds like he agrees Ted did something wrong. It’s a choice that shows there is still a lot going on there that we haven’t seen, stuff I think we should have been seeing. It’s funny because there’s a lot of chat about “why can’t people forgive Nate when they forgave Jamie,” and there is baggage I don’t even want to open there, about how wrong what either of them did was. But I do think the real answer is that we checked in with Jamie constantly. After his first bad spell at Richmond, we checked back in on him in nearly every episode after, and we were seeing him making better choices. Like coming over to express gratitude to Keeley, like trying to work out if Ted is playing mind games with him, like making that extra pass, like all his point of view scenes about his failings in the start of season 2. We kept following his progress, and his storyline was always ABOUT showing his changing approach to his mistakes. It wasn’t like we watched him go off and be lovely to his gran for five episodes and fell in love with him outside his main arc. His main arc kept being his main arc, and that is NOT what is happening with Nate. I don’t understand why they’re hiding his main arc.

Megan: Yes I think this is such a crucial point in that debate. Aside from the fact that it is just two very different characters in very different situations, Jamie was there every week, visibly showing how good he was being, and also showing how the other characters reacted to him. Because I think that’s what’s important – if we want Nate to make amends, we need to see him interacting with the people he needs to make amends with. And we’re not seeing any of that, so why would we forgive him?

Natalie: I HAVE to assume something is going to Blow Up about it, but that’s not a great way of getting us on his side.

Megan: No, and not many episodes left for a resolution to that blow up.

Natalie: Maybe his endgame won’t be as complete a redemption as some people assume, and it’ll be more of just a first step.

Megan: Yeah that could work actually, and be quite realistic.

Natalie: As I already mentioned, the way Jade later slips in calling Nate her boyfriend is a really nice moment and it’s good to see Nate not being totally weird about it, more playful, teasing her back – like, refreshingly normal, actually. I said all along we need to see this guy interacting with a peer of some sort and it’s definitely showing that outside of all the weirdness, he’s acting like a mature adult man. But that moment is all sparked by him dwelling on Ted’s visit to the game, reading news articles about it while Jade says he should celebrate. For once it doesn’t feel like he’s hate-clicking. More like he’s still working through disbelief about Ted being there to be friendly, but not unhappy about realising it must be true. Which again makes me ask… why the Rupert text?

Megan: No, he seems a bit more wistful and thoughtful, rather than jealous or angry.

Natalie: I mean I kind of know why, but it’s just an example of him not being true to himself I guess.

Megan: I think the Rupert text might just be because he knows Rupert has expectations of him where Ted is concerned, and he doesn’t want Nate apologising, or them reconciling.

Natalie: I mean that’s still just Nate cowing to what Rupert wants him to be rather than being true to himself. I think Nate feels like what he did was unforgivable and was also maybe finding it hard to reconcile that Ted supports him, like we know he struggles to believe peoples best intentions.

Megan: Yeah. He might not be able to stand up to Rupert yet, but I feel like there will have to be some sort of confrontation between the two of them before the end for Nate to be on that redemption arc.

Natalie: But it’s obviously disappointing to see him choose to send that second text rather than a different one, and give himself over to the Rupert version of things. But yeah. We just got shown that he’s still kind of playing that middle and also genuinely trusting Rupert, which concerns me more, with the Love Hounds.

Megan: Yeah. I suppose one way Jade could have a positive influence without directly intervening is it could help him rethink what he assumes people’s intentions are and lead to him trusting they have positive motivations. Because he couldn’t read her, but it turned out she did want to date him, and likes him despite the weirdness.

Natalie: The phone call to Miss Kakes, Rupert not coming, was one of the show’s funny jokes, but if taken seriously, it means Nate trusts him and doesn’t see all the shady things he’s done. Like, Nate does not see him as one of the World’s Evil People. It feels like he really… needs to do that. Maybe he’ll be horrible about Jade – or try to fuck her – but I kind of hope it isn’t that

Megan: Yeah. If there is anyone Nate assumes the worst of, you’d think it would be Rupert. But apparently not yet. I don’t think I want another “woman treated badly by men” storyline, so I hope he doesn’t go after Jade. Though I think she can stand up for herself.

Natalie: The main sort of “coding” we’ve had about Rupert’s evil is the way he fucks around on his partners. That doesn’t have much to do with running a football club. And honestly, he may not have been “bad” at that job, or even an unethical boss to his staff, just a terrible man. But the main thing for me here is that his evil is more to do with hurting Rebecca. He obviously pandered to Nate to get him away from Richmond, maybe with the intention of causing that rift and weakening Ted’s office. Or maybe just because he genuinely thought Nate was that good full stop – and he is obviously doing well. But Rupert being sleazy to Jade doesn’t really address the whole “I see your bad motivations” thing that Nate needs to have, about how Rupert has been playing HIM, and how much of what’s been done was done with the intent of hurting Rebecca or Richmond. All that stuff at the start of the season with feeding Nate’s ego and also making him feel threatened, the way he was playing Nate then, we need to kind of see Nate address that. I mean it feels like it is a must-have thing, not just something that’s never addressed. But it’s really hard to judge when we’ve had no glimpses of his ongoing doubts, more highs and lows of how he’s treated at West Ham. It’s really not been the arc I wanted to see so far, even though I genuinely love Jade.

Megan: Yeah, it’s a shame because I really do enjoy seeing more of her, and I like their relationship so far. It’s just not actually getting to the root of the issues I have with Nate, and the behaviours I want to see addressed.

Natalie: There’s not a lot more to say about it, we’ve said the same thing every week basically since 3.01, that we are not actually tracking his so-called redemption arc. Maybe the Ted Lasso writers see it all differently, I’ll be interested to see how they speak about it once the season is finished. Anyway, there’s no hint about his story in the next episode, but it could contain things next week that make this all make sense. No hints as to what might be happening aside from Colin and Isaac, which we discussed, and the fact that Roy is apparently asked to do a press conference. So whatever Ted, Jamie, Nate, Keeley and all the rest are up to remains a mystery.

Megan: I am extremely curious as to what the press conference might be about. Watch this space I guess, but I can’t imagine it’s a prospect Roy relishes!

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‘Ted Lasso’ season 3, episode 8 in conversation: Find out before you flip out

‘Ted Lasso’ season 3, episode 8 review in conversation

‘Ted Lasso’ season 3 is streaming on Apple TV+ now. New episodes air Tuesdays at 9pm ET.

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‘Ted Lasso’ season 3, episode 8 review in conversation

‘Ted Lasso’ season 3 is streaming on Apple TV+ now. New episodes air Tuesdays at 9pm ET.

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