How long will it be before Nate returns to AFC Richmond with his tail between his legs?
Ted Lasso Season 3 Episode 4 dug deeper into Nate’s machinations before revealing that he’s not happy at West Ham.
Leaving AFC Richmond high and dry was the only way forward for Nate, but if “Big Week” proved anything, he’s just a pawn in Rupert’s games to mess with his ex-wife.
Nate’s actions have been confusing to many viewers, and it’s clear that he needs validation in all aspects of his life, or he will go into a tailspin.
Unfortunately, that’s the reason for his actions, but we can’t forget that Rupert has been in his ear and steering him to do certain things.
Ripping the poster was a horrible act, and after witnessing the team’s reaction in the second half of the game, it’s clear why Ted’s less chaotic approach to leading the team works better.
In hindsight, there should have been more significant ramifications for Kent and Beard, but Ted was happy enough that they’d learned a lesson by going against his wishes.
Ted does get a lot of flack for his lack of actions in some scenarios, but he took the right approach throughout this huge episode.
The media would have misconstrued anything he did. Rupert has this grip on the media and influence that would have made AFC Richmond out to be the people to blame.
Granted, the team doesn’t have to do much to change public opinion of them after the second half of that game.
It’s been such a clean sweep for AFC Richmond that the players probably felt they were untouchable due to Zava and his different way of playing football.
The game’s events will have far-reaching effects on the team as we head into the second half of Ted Lasso Season 3.
Truthfully, it was hard to believe AFC Richmond would beat West Ham this early into the season, but the show has been playing with expectations so far, so I didn’t want to rule it out, either.
Nate’s body language when he was brought into the exclusive club as Rupert was all over his assistant was very telling, and I now think Nate will find a way to either get rid of Rupert or find a way back to AFC Richmond.
Nate knows he’s been mean and that these significant career milestones haven’t made him any happier, so maybe he’ll be satisfied with the sense that he can change the culture at West Ham.
Rebecca: Oh, listen to what Rupert said in this one. “I truly look forward to seeing my old club again. Richmond are top-class.”
Keeley: Ugh, what a soggy, wet piece of shit.
Rebecca: Thank you.
Taking down Rupert would be a great way for him to get into good graces with Ted, Rebecca, and the rest of his former team.
Rebecca finding Rupert all over his assistant was a moderate surprise. After what he put Rebecca through, it was inevitable he would continue to be a terrible person.
You only have to look at how he fawns over Bex whenever Rebecca is nearby. I enjoyed Bex having the playful banter with Rebecca about someone they both know very well.
Rebecca could have destroyed Rupert in full view of the media and Bex with what she saw, but Rebecca knows first-hand what it was like to learn of her husband’s misdeeds in the press and be ridiculed for it.
I saw you with your assistant. Your daughter deserves better, and so does Bex. Stop fսcking around.
Rebecca
Rebecca doesn’t want that for Bex, and there was much more power in her whispering to the man who’s made her life hell that she knows what he’s been up to than yelling it from the rooftops.
Will it stop Rupert’s high and mighty tone every time they’re in one another’s presence? I doubt it, but it’s fun to give Rebecca this power that she could destroy his personal and professional life if he messes with her again.
There was such an emphasis on Rebecca’s want to beat out her ex-husband’s team, and it almost made it obvious it wouldn’t be happening this soon.
Ted’s journey throughout “Big Week” continued to prepare for his exit from London to return to the U.S.
Ted: Am I a mess?
Rebecca: Of course you are. That’s why we get along. And I wish I could tell you to ignore Sass, but she’s usually right.
Ted: So, Sassy already told you about the… Of course. Girl talk.
Rebecca: Girl talk.
In public, he’s one of the most comical people, but behind closed doors, we see him struggle with being away from his son and coming to terms with all the big events he’s missing.
I don’t think Ted and Sassy have a romantic spark. Ted was probably trying to romance Sassy to see if someone would like to go to that relationship stage with him.
His confidence has been knocked by the bombshell that Michelle is getting closer to their marriage counselor. It’s a natural reaction, but it was impressive that he finally communicated with his ex-wife.
He tends to bottle things up and mask his feelings with humor, and you could tell his vulnerability struck a chord with Michelle during their chat.
Was Michelle surprised he was talking about the future in which they co-parent their son, or was she surprised he was being open and honest with her?
I guess we’ll find out as the season progresses.
This brings me to Keeley. She knows first impressions are everything, and she didn’t make the best impression on Jack, largely thanks to Shandy.
Shandy is fun and bubbly, but she’s moving up the ranks a little too quickly and making unilateral decisions about campaigns that she shouldn’t have the power to do this soon.
Shandy: Anyway, good news. Bantr’s trending.
Keeley: It is?
Shandy: Yeah. Pretty sure the change to the bio line helped.
Keeley: What are you talking about? Who did this?
Shandy: I did. This afternoon, when I uploaded the vids. You’re welcome.
Keeley: Shandy.
Shandy: Yeah.
Keeley: This… This is the opposite of what Bantr is trying to do.
Shandy: Are you joking? They’re gonna love it. I’ve literally tripled their subscribers in an hour.
Keeley: You need to change this back, now. Please.
Branding is everything, and changing Bantr’s tagline to “bang a celebrity” or whatever was tacky.
She’s been given free rein by Keeley, and I expect that will change in a big way in the coming episodes based on her reaction to Keeley telling her to change the tagline.
It didn’t help that Shandy doubled down, saying that sign-ups had tripled in the last hour. Plenty of people would be interested in getting to know celebrities on a more personal level, so of course the sign-ups would reflect that.
There’s no other dating app in the Ted Lasso universe that matches non-celebrities with celebrities, so there’s that.
Another thing that shocked me was how Keeley started to recognize the changes in Jamie. He’s worked on himself and has become a much better person.
It’s an interesting scenario because it seems all of the parts Keeley hated about Jamie are gone. It looked like she was wondering what her relationship with Jamie would have been like if he had been that caring when they were together.
Shandy knows Keeley was in a relationship with Jamie because it seems like she has secret information about everyone, so it was a major red flag that she was talking about sleeping with him to Keeley.
It’s hard not to think that Shandy is trying to make big moves to make herself a firm fixture at KJPR and AFC Richmond.
Keeley will probably regret bringing her friend into the mix, and there might be a power struggle between them very soon.
“Big Week” was another solid episode of this Apple TV+ dramedy. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
What are your thoughts on Nate? Do you think he knows he isn’t happy and will take action to better things at West Ham?
Were you surprised Rebecca didn’t expose Rupert’s affair?
What do you think will happen to Ted?
Are you surprised at Shandy’s actions?
Hit the comments below.
Catch new episodes of Ted Lasso Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.