I like to give the people what they want. Perhaps I’m a people pleaser, like Ted Lasso.
One of the more consistently popular posts on this fancy schmancy blog is my “Star Wars Rebels” viewing guide, which frankly does more heavy lifting than I would prefer.
There’s a lot of other writing here, my people. Branch out. (Please!)
Anyway, to help ease the burden on that poor Rebels post, I thought it advisable to do another viewing guide or two, and with “Ted Lasso,” one of my all-time favorite shows set to make its (hopefully) triumphant return this summer, and because I often encounter people who don’t seem keen on ingesting the entirety of the program start to finish, I’ve lifted some of the highlights from the show and provided an outline below.
Essentially, this is my ideal way to consume the show if you don’t think wikipedia summaries are good enough, but you don’t want to commit to watching the whole darn thing.
Let’s be honest, some of the episodes are better or more important to the overarching narrative than others. And that’s okay! You’ve still got time to watch (or rewatch!) the entire run if you want (and I recommend that you do so!), but hey, if you’re thinking, “It’s time I saw what the fuss was about,” or “Man, I really want to rewatch some of it,” but don’t want to go whole hog, this is the guide for you.
If you’re new to the series, the case for “Ted Lasso” is the case for kindness and sincerity. That might sound a little boring at the outset, but I think what most people who have opened themselves to the show have discovered is that there is a surprising freshness to it. That’s probably (certainly?) an indictment of modern society in general, though it’s also what ultimately makes the show work. When you go in expecting cynicism and sarcasm, and the characters instead behave in a different (albeit still realistic) manner, the show can become a little less predictable, and well, that keeps the narrative interesting.
The secret sauce of kindness, then, is what gives the show its vitality, in sharp contrast to any feared boredom. And as a result, it becomes very much worth engaging with, PARTICULARLY if you feel a little tired of negativity (I want to acknowledge that this show, and its kindness, was a soothing balm for many of us during the pandemic).
With this guide, you’ll get the best moments from the show, the best episodes, and most of the key plot elements (though some of the plot will get trimmed here – it’s the nature of the process). I apologize to fans if your favorite episode doesn’t get included. Again, this is the nature of the process. And it’s just one dude’s list. Your list can be different and that’s cool.
With all that said, let’s get started with the DEFINITIVE (j/k) Ted Lasso viewing guide.
Barbecue sauce.
Season 1
Season 1, Episode 1 (“Pilot”)
The premise of the show — fish out of water! — is very clearly outlined in its first episode, and some of the smaller gags and brief character interactions will pay off further down the line, so while it’s a touch slower and less tonally assured than later episodes, it’s still a solid introduction for all newcomers. It’s fun to rewatch having seen where all these folks end up later on.
Season 1, Episode 3 (“Trent Crimm: The Independent”)
I think “Biscuits” is fun, but less necessary than this one. The saccharine-like tone and optimistic messaging of the show are not for everyone. Likewise, the humor, silly both in its intent and execution, is not something each viewer will enjoy. This episode becomes a bit of a litmus test then, because it is a quintessential Ted Lasso episode on both scores, and this is where a lot of the relationships and even the soccer action begin to blossom. For me, the equation on this chapter is simple: More insight into both Ted and Roy as well as a proper introduction to Trent = What’s not to love?
Season 1, Episode 4 (“For the Children”)
The Jamie-Roy relationship figures prominently throughout the show, and while it runs out of some steam a little in Season 3, here is where we get some excellent payoff to the tension that had been brewing through the first three episodes. We also begin to see how and why Ted’s run might ultimately be successful with Richmond, thanks in part to his unrelenting ability to disarm people. Finally, we have the genesis of Roy-ley, which for better and worse is probably the defining romantic relationship on the show.
Season 1, Episode 6 (“Two Aces”)
The end of Ted’s marriage and the benching of Jamie occur offscreen if you skip Episode 5, but this episode deals with some of the fallout of each action and keeps you caught up. “Two Aces” also introduces Dani Rojas, an absurdly optimistic striker who immediately becomes a fun threat to Jamie’s dominance and shakes up the chemistry on the team. The team building that occurs afterward is entertaining, as is the twist we get in the wake of that. Football is life!
Season 1, Episode 7 (“Make Rebecca Great Again”)
Here we get to see characters like Roy, Rebecca, and Nate really show out and display some of their better characteristics, and the running gag with Keeley is hilarious. We also finally get to see Ted as something more than a caricature or cardboard cutout. There’s this lingering cynical question about Ted and how a person can behave so relentlessly appropriately, and we truly get to start the work of peeling back those layers here.
Season 1, Episode 8 (“The Diamond Dogs”)
This is another must-watch highlight of the series. People justifiably point to the dart game with Ted as being one of their favorite scenes, and it is truly great, providing a well earned scene of triumph and a summation of why “The Ted Lasso Way” is a thing so many people have embraced. The misattributed Walt Whitman quote is now the mantra of anyone rejecting arrogance mixed with ignorance. But this episode also provides several wonderful examples of positive male role-modeling, where men find strength in being vulnerable and facing their challenges head-on.
Season 1, Episode 9 (“All Apologies”)
Given the cliffhanger from the previous episode, it makes sense to embrace the resolution to that here. The theme of the episode this week centers around doing what’s difficult (in keeping with the Diamond Dogs discussions the week prior), where several characters (Rebecca and Ted in particular) must course-correct to make things right with the people around them.
Season 1, Episode 10 (“The Hope That Kills You”)
The scenes depicting the actual football/soccer receive some of the loudest critiques from non-fans, and this episode is heavy on those, depicting the most important match of the season in detail. Thusly, it’s tempting to think of this one as disposable. In the end, I think the football is fine, and as said, the outcome of this match is highly consequential for the fortunes of everyone involved. I appreciated the denouement at the end, which reminds us that happy endings aren’t always possible, and it sets the table for Season 2 very well.
Season 2
Season 2, Episode 1 (“Goodbye Earl”)
We jump ahead quite a bit here, which is an interesting choice for the narrative. I think the idea of the death of a mascot sounds utterly ridiculous when you write it out, and it’s hard to envision it being a good idea on basically any level. It was certainly a risky choice. But what you get here is so dang endearing, with an actual appropriate level of sensitivity applied to the scenario, and it does serve as the proper entry point for our sports psychologist, Sharon, whose interplay with Ted in particular becomes monumentally important later on. This is in some ways the perfect “Ted Lasso” episode: emotional, sincere, and surprisingly bold.
Season 2, Episode 2 (“Lavender”)
Jamie and Roy are separately humbled, and Ted is faced with a choice on whether to attempt to bring Jamie back or not. Ted wrestling with that provides the bulk of the action here, and we’re left in an interesting place in the end. Roy’s choice, about whether to take a TV job or not, meets with hilarious results: him providing rare candor to a sports broadcast. Those scenes become short-lived, but they’re a joy to behold and we should embrace them for as long as we have them.
Season 2, Episode 3 (“Do the Right-est Thing”)
We needed some resolution for Sam and Jamie, and this episode is all about giving us that, in addition to some great air-time for Sam in general.
Season 2, Episode 4 (“Carol of the Bells”)
Do we really need this episode? Within the context of a larger narrative, of course not. This is a total one-off. But as an ambassador for the show itself and all of its characters, this episode (and the one coming after it) are 100% essential. Kindness conquers all.
Season 2, Episode 5 (“Rainbow”)
Higgins started the show off as this one-note, sniveling henchman, and though he had long-since evolved into a fully realized person with positive traits prior to this point, it’s the one-two punch of “Carol of the Bells” and this episode that elevate him into a genuine delight. Ted and Roy’s dance around one another plays out in concert with Leslie’s interactions with his wife against a backdrop of romantic comedy cliches that all begin to ring strangely true. We also dive into some of Nate’s self-loathing, which is so important later on. You can really hang any frame of this episode in the Louvre. It’s all masterful, and it plays out so beautifully, I can’t imagine it ever being equaled again.
Season 2, Episode 6 (“The Signal”)
The sub plot of Ted’s panic attacks really comes home to roost here, where an in-game incident will end up informing much of the on-pitch and off-field drama for the rest of the next two seasons. You really appreciate that they didn’t just move on from Ted’s issues in Season 1 while also feeling for the character.
Season 2, Episode 8 (“Man City”)
We skip over “Headspace” here, and while we lose a little of Nate’s troubling downturn in the process, I think the general idea, of Nate’s discontent, is conveyed regardless. Here we really pick at the scabs that Jamie has accumulated to get to this point, which is welcome. I do love how the team closes rank following a difficult loss (hard to imagine them doing so in this way a season earlier), and Ted has an important breakthrough. The only downside here is the inclusion of Sam and Rebecca’s tryst, which is sorta icky and I’d rather imagine never happened at all. Ah well, onward we go.
Season 2, Episode 11 (“Midnight Train to Royston”)
Opinions are divided on “Beard After Hours,” which I’m skipping because it’s truly a one-off episode that doesn’t really advance the plot or the characters in a significant way. Yes, we learn more about how chaotic Beard and Jane are, but the show does just fine without Beard’s insane journey into the London underworld. Likewise, since I can’t get onboard with Sam-becca, I’m opting to skip “No Weddings and a Funeral” (though we must admit that we get good stuff there from lots of our favorites). Instead, we pick back up with some really good Sharon-Ted interactions, a humorous subplot involving Sam and an off-kilter Ghanaian billionaire trying to pry him away from Richmond, and fallout from Ted’s panic attack.
Season 2, Episode 12 (“Inverting the Pyramid of Success”)
The stuff hits the fan in this episode, so to speak. It’s a consequential episode, full of the good, meaty stuff we’ve been dancing around the whole season, but what I enjoy most about it is how bittersweet it is. Yes, we have real moments of sadness and conflict here, but also some genuine beats of joyful flight. Dani’s arc, in particular, is incredible and well earned. Nate’s outcome with Ted is heartbreaking … and likewise earned. It’s a smart way to end the season.
Season 3
Season 3, Episode 2 (“(I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea”)
This is the first time we’re skipping over a season opener, and it reflects on Season 3 as a whole, which is decidedly less focused and more meandering than the first two seasons. This episode begins our Zava diversion, which isn’t entirely necessary to the show, yet is still true to life in regards to how teams accommodate superstars. Also, it’s really funny. Here we also get some catchup with Roy and Keeley’s attempts at forging ahead apart from one another.
Season 3, Episode 3 (“4-5-1”)
Here’s where we really start to lay a lot of the groundwork for the rest of the season, with Ted’s concerns about his former therapist validated, Roy agreeing to give Jamie extra training, Rebecca’s interesting piece of forecasting received from her mother’s psychic, and Colin’s secret coming out. Bonus: Some fantastic Zava action, including one of my favorite gags from the entire series.
Season 3, Episode 5 (“Signs”)
In “Big Week,” we see the team learn of Nate’s antics at the end of Season 2, yet struggle to channel that properly and lose to Nate’s South Ham squad. We also meet Jack. “Signs” takes those outcomes to their natural conclusion, with Keeley and Jack predictably hitting it off and Richmond falling into a losing streak that ultimately leads to the end of our Zava diversion. We also get more of a return to humanity from Nate vis-a-vis his relationship with Jade. I’m not a huge fan of either episode, but “Signs” moves the narrative along a little better.
Season 3, Episode 6 (“Sunflowers”)
It retains the spirit of “Beard After Hours,” but it involves most of our recurring cast this time around and has more of a lasting impact. Whereas “Beard” was a silly one-off, here we get some lovely developments for Rebecca and Ted, one of whom finally finds luck in love and the other finally stops wallowing in favor of rolling up their sleeves to do some work. I think it was a necessary step for each. Coupled with the general wackiness one might assume for a night in Amsterdam, along with forward momentum for Colin’s story, this is again one of the series’ best efforts.
Season 3, Episode 8 (“We’ll Never Have Paris”)
There’s this unfortunate common theme in Season 3, where a pair of episodes might each do a fair bit of narrative and/or character work, but neither does enough on its own to really stand out. We saw it with Episodes 1-2 and Episodes 4-5, and here we see it again with Episodes 7-8. I enjoy the former, “The Strings That Bind Us,” where the team comes together to support Sam and his vandalized restaurant, much more than the latter, but it’s also unfortunately more disposable. Here we get important closure on Keeley’s fling with Jack and equally important groundwork laid for Colin’s coming out. We also get some more development on the Ted-Michelle-Jacob storyline and some Ted parenting, some of which we’ve skipped to this point. Finally, we have a decent lesson on the dangers of smart devices and living in the public eye.
Season 3, Episode 9 (“La Locker room Aux Folles”)
Much like Season 3 itself, the Colin-Isaac storyline is a little unevenly handled, and you’re left a little concerned that they’ll fumble it. But they eventually land the plane here, with some turbulence along the way. Nate’s relationship with Jade, one of the true heartbeats of Season 3, moves along quite nicely here, to the point that Nate feels pushed into a corner by Rupert.
Season 3, Episode 10 (“International Break”)
It’s good to see some continued fallout for Nate here, who hits rock bottom and begins the process of healing. It’s likewise narratively consistent that Sam receives disappointment re: the World Cup, and that his teammates support him through that, and we get another log on the fire for “Jack is an asshole.” Dani Rojas is hilarious in this episode, and the stuff surrounding the “Super League” is fun and ultimately allows Rebecca an opportunity to shine. She also comes through for Keeley. I have my mixed feelings about Season 3, but Rebecca really gets a lot of lovely development and is a true highlight.
Season 3, Episode 11 (“Mom City”)
The hijinx surrounding Nate’s decision to join his girlfriend at work culminate in Beard paying Nate a visit and having a truly great heart-to-heart with him. We also get a sense of resolution for Jamie and his father, with Roy, Keeley, and eventually Ted helping him through an anxiety attack. Speaking of Ted, the main thrust of the episode surrounds the surprise visit of his mom, necessitating a confrontation between the two over their lingering issues pertaining to Ted’s father’s suicide. This is meaty stuff, and it’s handled well.
Season 3, Episode 12 (“So Long, Farewell”)
It opens with an incredible and energetic gag, then maintains most of its momentum in drawing the season to a close. The thing about this show is that it’s often bittersweet, and in that way it mirrors life in an authentic way. Yes, the kindness is what makes the show feel full of life. But it doesn’t mean it solves all ills, and that’s an important takeaway. The original series ending, now simply the ending for Season 3, “So Long, Farewell” is the definition of bittersweet, offering a sense of closure that isn’t entirely fulfilling, yet it provides a necessary ending just the same. Some of our people are in a fantastic place. Others are not. Tearful goodbyes are abundant. It’s not perfect, but it get us where we need to be. There’s a lesson in there, methinks.