Ted Lasso – Big Week

By starrymag | April 10, 2023

By: Kelly Kearney

 

 

After Zava gave Richmond a boost in their game, this week the Greyhounds face their old friend turned foe, Nick, and his boss Rupert’s West Ham. Everyone is on edge and it doesn’t help that someone ripped down their “Believe” sign. It all comes to a head when Trent Crimm provides the evidence the team needs to find that killer instinct, but is that going to influence a winning attitude? In “Big Week” Ted faces his hardest match of the season while trying to ignore the disappointment of getting knifed in the back by at least two people trusted–Nate and his ex, Michelle, and her new marriage counselor boyfriend.

 

Ted’s Mess of a Life

After last week’s promise to train Jamie (Phil Dunster) to be better than his new competition, Zava, Roy (Brett Goldstein) shows up at the star striker’s door bright and early. It’s 4 A.M. and he is interrupting the pantsless Tartt’s sleep. It’s time for a run, so Jamie better cover that bare backend because Roy is going to turn this boy into a real goal-scoring man. Ted (Jason Sudeikis) is also getting a sort of rude awakening when he opens his eyes to Sassy (Ellie Taylor) getting dressed while he ponders the definition of their relationship. He realizes these hookups could lead to something more so he asks Sassy out on a date. Her response leaves him puzzled. She calls him a mess because it is obvious by the fact he never stops talking about it, that he is still struggling with his divorce. She knows all about those sorts of messes and admits that when her husband filed for divorce she wound up drinking herself into a stupor and coming on to her Uber driver. She likes their friends-with-benefits situation and isn’t keen on changing it right now. She admits she is also a bit of a mess, although a more evolved one from where Ted is right now, and she’s just not interested in anything long-term or serious. Ted takes the rejection well because it’s very hard to be mad at Sassy–who is both honest about her feelings while being careful with Ted’s. It’s the mess part of her response that has him questioning what she means when he heads into work to get ready for the big match against West Ham.

 

The Big Wig At The Big Game

The match against Rupert’s (Anthony Head) team is occupying everyone’s attention but most of all of Rebecca’s (Hannah Waddingham), who chooses to focus on Keeley (Juno Temple) and her new business instead. She heads into her BFF’s office and vents about the things Rupert has been saying about Richmond, and Keeley listens to her concerns but also has her own business to run. Enter her new hire and friend, Shandy (Ambreen Razia), who is now in charge of BANTR’s campaign ads. Shandy is tasked with gathering the men on the football team for a new campaign geared to boost their sign-ups for the app. The idea is to get users interested in chatting up famous celebrities like Jamie Tartt for a date. The campaign involves all of the single players and that tidbit piques Rebecca’s interest. When Shandy starts rattling off which players are involved she says Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) has deleted his BANTR account and Rebecca does her best to seem uninterested in that but the restrained panic on her face says otherwise. Shandy leaves just as CFO Barbara (Katy Wix) walks in to request two tickets to the Richmond West Ham game on Saturday. The company’s top investor, Jack Daniels, is coming into town, and taking them to a game could only help build a stronger alliance between the money and the PR firm it supports. Keeley has no idea who this Jack Daniels is until Barbara reminds her that this person is their boss, and in front of Rebecca– a boss lady herself, this revelation is a bit embarrassing. Keeley plays off the confusion like the name just slipped her mind but Rebecca can tell her best friend is a little off her game. She steps in to save the day by offering Barbara the tickets to make sure Jack has a good time.

Over in the coach’s office, Ted shows up with “mess” on his mind but walks right into a different sort of mess brewing between Roy Kent, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift). His coaching team is worried about the West Ham game and they don’t think Richmond can beat them. It all has to do with Nate (Nick Mohammed) and the fact their ex-Kitman turned West Ham coach knows the ins and outs of Ted’s team and probably how to manipulate their weak spots. While their lack of faith is concerning, Ted has an even more pressing topic to discuss: Sassy and whether or not she is right and he is a mess. It’s another topic for the Diamond Dogs and that’s Roy’s cue to bail, leaving Higgins and Beard to tell Ted they agree with Sassy but, not for the same reasons she thinks he’s a mess. This prompts Roy to return to the office and to join the others in telling Ted they think the key factor in his mess is his lack of anger towards Nate– the guy who stabbed them all, but most importantly him, in the back. Coach Beard tries and fails to get Ted to realize that Nate actually hurt him when he left the way he did but, Coach Lasso isn’t interested in talking about Nate and ignores that topic altogether. The problem is, ignoring it isn’t going to help them beat this rival team, and if they only win one match this season–at least according to Rebecca, it better be this one.

 

Nate Strikes Out

While the Diamond Dogs are trying to stoke the fires of that Ted/Nate rift, inside the locker room Zava (Maximilian Osinski) is giving a speech About ignoring the predictions of the media. It seems everyone has West Ham beating Richmond, and Zava with the help of Jamie does not want that to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Jamie and Zava both tell the team they just need to stay focused and do the job they’ve been trained to do. That’s when Isaac (Kola Bokinni) – the team’s captain, gets up to remind everyone that the key to their success is belief in themselves. He gets up to smack the yellow sign that hangs above Ted Lasso’s door but like a bad omen, it rips in two. it seems like it had been ripped before and haphazardly stuck back on the wall as if nothing had happened. The players had no idea the sign was ripped or who did it but, thankfully they have a world-class journalist shadowing their team and he knows just how to dig up dirt and find out who was behind the vandalism.

Meanwhile, their ex-teammate and current rival coach, Nate, shows up at the restaurant he brought his parents to last season, and sure enough, he comes face to face with the same hostess, Jade, (Edtya Budnik) who is still not biting on the date bait he’s tossing out. She isn’t impressed with his celebrity status, but the owner of the restaurant is and practically bows at Nate’s feet, offering to comp, “The Wonder Kid’s” meal. Nate leaves the restaurant with a lifetime of free meals but still no date from the hostess he’s crushing on. Back at his office, Nate scans through social media reading the news about their upcoming game and the coach for the Greyhounds who he once called a friend.  He’s feeling guilty about the way he left things with Ted and expresses his concerns to Rupert about coming face to face. He tells Rupert he feels like he might owe Ted an apology but his new boss disagrees he should, telling Nate to cordially shake the man’s hand and then do what he is meant to do: beat Ted lasso and bring home a win for West Ham. After all, was Nate going to live in Ted’s Shadow forever? This is his chance to prove himself and Rupert thinks Nate has what it takes. His little speech puts a smile on Nate’s face because Rupert gives him the kind of respect and attention he thought was lacking in his relationship with Ted. Little does he know the Kansas City coach is tying himself in knots about the rift between them while Rupert simply sees Nate as a weapon he can use against his ex-wife Rebecca.

Roll the Tape!

Speaking of his rift, over at Richmond the coaches learn who was behind the sign-gate thanks to Trent Crimm’s (James Lance) skills as an investigative journalist. He was able to gather up all the video footage from the locker room, and it’s no surprise who they see tearing down the team’s inspirational sign. It’s Nate, of course, and after a few failing attempts at pulling the sign down, we see him frustratingly rip it in two. It’s a petty move that just proves how unsure of himself as a coach Nate really is. This narcissistic attitude of his is all a farce because his defection was all based on his need for Ted’s attention and has very little to do with winning the match. With the video evidence in hand, the coaches are livid over what their former friend has done and immediately want to tell the team to fire them up before the big game. Ted disagrees and continues to avoid the Nate issue by making Roy and Beard promise they will not share the details of the video with the team.

Without knowing who was behind the vandalism the Greyhounds are looking forward to the match but also to the ad campaign for BANTR. Shandy records each with an anonymous pitch for the dating app but one player seems to really catch her attention. Keeley notices who her friend has an interest in because she is also interested in the person Jamie Tartt is becoming. When the two broke up it was because Jamie’s attitude and ego were bigger than his love for his girlfriend, and once Roy entered into the equation Keeley moved on, or did she? Now she seems to be questioning that choice as she watches Jamie mature and surprisingly remain single since their breakup. That might not last long since Shandy asks her boss if it’s okay if she hooks up with the star athlete, and since she has no claim to him, Keeley acts like she is fine with it.

It’s the day of the game and Keeley and Rebecca head to the stadium where they meet Barbara and Shandy with the tickets. It’s clear Keeley is nervous about meeting her boss, Jack, and worried about making a good impression. When she heads to the bathroom before the game she has an unwelcoming surprise in the stall; it’s that time of the month and she’s all out of tampons. Luckily there’s a helpful woman in the stall next to her. The woman is sporting a very bedazzled pair of tennis shoes and offers the rambling Keeley a tampon. What ensues is a hilarious look at what women go through to put in a tampon in the tight quarters of a public restroom while Keeley and all of her quirky personality come flooding out of her from the neighboring stall. It’s not the most professional discussion which becomes an issue when Keeley exits the bathroom and meets Jack Danvers (Jodi Balfour), her boss, and the woman in the bedazzled shoes. Jack seems okay with the revelation because what woman hasn’t had a surprise period and relied on her fellow woman to save the day? She just wants to enjoy the football match, but Keeley is feeling awkward knowing her bathroom talk wasn’t exactly the first impression she was hoping to make.

It’s game time, and while the match is important the biggest storyline is the reunion between Nate and Ted. When Ted boards the elevator heading down to the pitch, everyone gets off except for Nate– who is hiding in the back hoping his former boss doesn’t notice him. It’s pretty hard not to when they are the only two in such tight quarters. Even harder for Nate, who is trying to hold on to his attitude but Ted is making it hard since he’s acting like there is no bad blood between them. When Nate feels prompted to say what we can assume is an apology for how he left Richmond, the elevator doors open and Rupert is standing there to whisk his new coach away. The two wind up meeting later on the pitch where Ted, again, unsteadies Nate by cordially shaking his hand and saying, “Let’s have fun out there.” Nate’s successes rely solely on his animosity towards Ted which is tough to keep up with while the smiley American coach keeps being so kind to him. Nate’s only response is an emotionless stare, but he is the only one glaring at Ted. His assistant coaches are also staring daggers at him as they watch Ted play nice with the guy who vandalized their space and stabbed them all in the back. They still can’t believe Ted isn’t angry at Nate and think his refusal to acknowledge what he’s done could be inadvertently hurting the team’s mojo. They don’t know who was behind that ripped-up sign but the discovery has them all down in the dumps.

 

Fired Up

After the game’s first half, things are not going well for team Richmond. Jamie isn’t playing as well as he can, and Zava is also frustrated. The star of the team this week seems to be Zoreaux, their new goalie, who is not only blocking goals but feeling empowered by his decision to now be referred to by his last name only.  After a brief stint of going by the name Van Damme–his favorite action-film star no thanks to the fact nobody ever pronounces Zoreaux correctly, Richmond’s goalie has embraced his true identity and it’s making him a better player. Unfortunately, all the blocks do not stop West Ham from putting two goals up on the scoreboard while Ted’s team doesn’t get any.

Ted skips the halftime locker room talk when he runs into a panicked Rebecca who is trying her hardest not to pressure Ted for a win but her overabundance of praise choked through a forced smile is evidence of how upset she is. The thought of losing to Rupert again is driving her nuts but she values Ted too much to say so. Instead, she aggressively tells the coach she believes in him probably to avoid sending him into a panic attack. Rebecca just isn’t great at burying her emotions but, extra comedy points for watching her try!

Back in the locker room, Ted walks in to find the team angry and fired up over the video of Nate ripping down their poster. Beard and Kent ignored Ted’s wishes and went behind his back to inspire the Greyhounds to fight West Ham. According to Roy, the losing team was practically in a coma and this newfound rage is exactly what they needed to beat Nate. It’s a risk they took knowing Ted is usually right, and rage doesn’t provoke winning attitudes. So, it should be no surprise that is exactly what happens when the Greyhounds return to the pitch. They enter the stadium shooting eye daggers at Nate and collecting one red card penalty after another. They’ve dropped all professionalism for a full-blown riot on the field and it is all thanks to that tape. There are fights and fouls, with the entire second half being wasted in referee calls and very little actual football. In the end, the Greyhounds walk off the field in shame, losing 4 to 1 to their rival team and giving Nate his most sought-after win. Speaking of the traitor, he walks off the pitch after refusing to shake Ted’s hand and the cameras do not miss his rude attitude.

 

Taking A Stand

It’s not just the Greyhounds who had a tough day, Jack didn’t enjoy the violence and it’s just adding to Keeley’s panic over pleasing her big-money boss. Things get even worse when Jack overhears her have to reprimand an out-of-pocket Shandy who took it upon herself to change the entire BANTR logo. It now reads, “Wanna bang a celebrity???” which is not only trending but unleashed a triple number of sign-ups in the last hour. The problem is this new PR angle goes against Keeley’s idea for BANTR and it also makes her look like she doesn’t have control over her company. She quietly tells Shandy to change it back but the damage might be done when she sees Jack eavesdropping on their entire conversation. While Keeley is doing girl-boss things, her mentor, Rebecca, is making her way through the executive levels of the stadium when she happens to spot her ex, hitting on his assistant Ms. Kakes (Rosie Lou), behind a cracked door. Rupert is up to his old cheating tricks again, and when she runs into him outside with his new wife Bex (Keeley Hazell) she whispers in his ear that she saw him and his wife and daughter deserve better. It takes the wind out of whatever bragging sails he was about to unleash on her, and he walks away knowing his team might’ve beaten hers, in the end, he is still a loser.

In Richmond’s offices, Beard and Roy now get why Ted didn’t want the team to see the tape. They led the Greyhounds with anger and not passion for the game, and now they feel awful their choice cost them the game. An understanding Ted refers to what they did as “over-correcting” but they just wish he would yell at them for it. That’s not who Ted is, and he refuses to give them the tongue-lashing they think they’ve earned. Instead, he reminds them that this is just one game and they have a lot more football to play this season. While Richmond’s coaches are down in the dumps, Nate is flying high and smiling through his interviews with the press. That is until they ask him why he rudely refused to shake the losing coach’s hand. He is thrown off by the question and mumbles some excuse about not seeing Ted in his excitement but the entire response is awkward and childish. We can assume a country that takes pride in proper etiquette won’t love Nate’s reasons for his poor sportsmanship. While the media might not love that post-game snubbing Rupert still loves a win and he sends his assistant/mistress with a VIP private club pass for Nate as thank you for a job well done. Later, when Nate shows up at the club he is showered with praise, drinks, and the attention of one very interested celebrity model named Anastasia (Elee Nova) that Rupert shoves in his path. This woman is no hostess, but now that West Ham’s coach is a winner, the women seem more interested in the man who last week, couldn’t even get a hostess to notice him. As he chats the celebrity up, he can’t help but notice his married boss hanging all over his mistress. Fame comes with some uncomfortable challenges to the morals he is being asked to ignore.

While Nate is celebrating his win, Ted is at home drinking away the loss. Instead of winding up in a scotch-induced stupor, he puts the drink down to dial Michelle’s (Andrea Anders) number for a Facetime chat. It’s the first time, maybe in the history of their marriage, that Ted has an honest discussion about how he feels over the Dr. Jake news. He drops the smile to admit he was hurt by the secret and how he found out accidentally. He reminds Michelle that they are still family regardless of the fact they are divorced, and it’s all thanks to their little boy, who will keep them tied together for the rest of their lives.