Ted Lasso‘s titular coach suffers a devastating personal blow in Wednesday’s episode. When he calls home to Kansas to wish his son Henry good luck ahead of his soccer game, he finds out that ex-wife Michelle has moved on with their former marriage counselor, Dr. Jacob.
Initially, Ted doesn’t know how to process his feelings, which results in a panic attack out on the pitch. We eventually see him work through some of his resentment with Dr. Fieldstone, but the relationship clearly rubs him the wrong way — and for good reason. As you’ll recall, Ted in Season 1 relayed to Coach Beard how he and Michelle started seeing Dr. Jacob after Michelle had already gone to see him on her own. Once he started going with her, he felt like it was two against one; Dr. Jacob always seemed to took Michelle’s side. And now they’re dating.
Naturally, Ted feels betrayed. But how might that bitterness fester moving forward? For that answer, we turn to the man himself, series co-creator and star Jason Sudeikis:
“When an ex moves on, that’s a very human experience,” he tells TVLine. “I think the one thing that maybe eliminates some of the processes that people go through when that happens is that [Ted and Michelle] are an ocean and half a country apart.
Now, if Ted was still living in Kansas, might he be doing some 7 pm drive-bys to see if Dr. Jacob’s car is in the driveway? Probably,” Sudeikis says with a grin. “He’s still human, even though he’s virtuous in many ways — more so, certainly, than myself. You know, you fall prey to those things, so I think you’ll see the process of him going through those things, including exploring, as you labeled it, a betrayal by Michelle, [as well as] what that relationship [with Dr. Jacob] turns into, and how Ted responds to that.”
Among other notable developments in Episode 3…
* With Zava on the team, Richmond quickly climbs from 17th to third place, right behind Rupert’s West Ham United and Manchester City. But relying on Zava to score every goal rubs Jamie the wrong way. He used to be the best player on the team; now he’s not. Roy tells Jamie as much, then offers to train him to be an even better footballer than Zava.
* Rebecca pays a visit to Deborah’s psychic, who tells her that she’s going to be a mom! Initially, she doesn’t believe a word of it — but all that changes once Sam hands Rebecca a little green matchbook. We spoke to Hannah Waddingham and Toheeb Jimoh about all that, which you can read here.
* Colin is confirmed as a member of the LGBTQ+ community upon the introduction of a new love interest, Michael. But Colin remains closeted, and when Michael shows up for the soft opening of Sam’s restaurant, Colin introduces him to the team as his “pal” and “wingman.” Later that night, upon leaving the restaurant, Trent Crimm spots Colin and Michael making out in a nearby alley. Only time will tell what Trent chooses to do with this information.
What did you think of Ted Lasso Season 3, Episode 3: “4-5-1”? Sound off in Comments.
