Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 recap – Isaac explodes and Roy steps up

Our Verdict

Colin's story comes to a heartwarming but inevitable conclusion.

As Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 begins, Richmond are in high spirits as the team joyfully embraces the idea of Total Football. Even Roy (Brett Goldstein) can’t help but smile at the fun the boys are having on the pitch. Unfortunately, not all of the Ted Lasso cast are in high spirits.

After discovering Colin’s (Billy Harris) secret last week, there’s something wrong with Isaac (Kola Bokinni), and he refuses to get a beer with his former best friend. So what’s wrong with the Richmond captain? Well, his and Colin’s story is as good a place as anywhere to begin our Ted Lasso recap. Warning, spoilers for our favourite comedy series ahead.

Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 recap – Colin comes out

Poor Colin’s so upset at his best friend seemingly turning against him that he goes and asks Trent (James Lance) for advice, who urges the younger man to be patient. Afterall, while Colin’s known’s gay for 20 years, Isaac has only known for a day or two.

Unfortuantely the friction between Isaac and Colin leads to Richmond falling apart on the pitch during a match against Brighton & Hove Albion F.C, and the crowd turn on the Greyhounds. Things come to a head when a fan shouts a homophobic slur at the team.

A furious Isaac enters the crowd and fights with the hateful fan, earning himself a red card. As halftime begins, the Greyhounds are now a man down, and things look bleak.

As the team try and work out what happens, Isaac storms out, leading the rest of the team to presume their captain is gay, and at this point, Colin decides to share his secret with the team. Everyone is, of course, as accepting as you’d expect, telling him they don’t care.

Ted, however, interrupts with one of his bits of folksy wisdom about the importance of caring, and the team decides that they don’t not care because they care about Colin (If that makes sense). In news that will surprise absolutely no one, this completely reverses the team’s fortunes, and they manage to turn things around on the pitch, beating Brighton 2-1. Colin even becomes a man of the match, with the commentators calling him a “man reborn”.

In the changing rooms, meanwhile, Roy consoles Isaac warning him that bottling up anger just fucks things up. This leads to the final scene of the episode, where Isaac goes to Colin’s house and admits that he was angry because he felt that his best friend didn’t trust him. Colin explains that deep down, he knew that Isaac would support him, and the pair make up.

I’m not sure how I expected Colin’s story to end, but I’m glad he got a happy ending. Is it a little trite that coming out seemingly turns him into a footballing ace? Maybe. Is it realistic that everyone on the team would be on his side? Probably not, unfortunately. But this is Ted Lasso. It was always going to wrap up like this.

Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 recap – Roy Kent versus Rebecca

Things aren’t going as well for poor Roy, though, who has to deal with his own issues in this episode. It begins when Rebecca (Hannah Waddinghm) asks him to do a press conference, something the grumpy git normally refuses to do. Rather than follow his boss’s orders, Roy gets Beard (Brendan Hunt) to cover for him, and it goes disastrously.

Beard spends the whole conference screaming at the press that Joe Walsh is the greatest guitarist of all time, forcing Rebecca to step in and smooth things over. Understandably pissed, Rebecca gives Roy a serious telling-off where she effectively calls him out on his habit of walking away when things aren’t easy.

Obviously, Rebecca’s not really talking about Roy dodging the press here; she’s talking about his personal problems and, most likely, Keeley (Juno Temple). Roy’s story then collides with Isaac, and the older coach shares some words of wisdom with the team captain, warning of the corrosive nature of anger.

This all culminates in Roy taking the press conference after Isaac attacks a fan and explaining to the media how important it is to remember that despite being top athletes, footballers are people at the end of the day, and we should treat them as such. It was a nice moment, and I liked that Roy delivered this message through the power of anecdote (just like Ted), but I will say Rebecca’s lecture to Roy came a bit out of left field.

We’ve just not had enough of Roy this season to tell he’s in a bad place, and this all feels a little like the writers telling us about it rather than showing it to us organically. It’s fine, I guess. I just wish there’d been a little more focus on Roy in the rest of the season to set up this surprise resolution.

Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 recap – Guy’s Night

Over at West Ham, Jade visits Nate (Nicholas Mohammed) and has the misfortune to run into the reptilian Rupert (Anthony Head). Rupert, of course, can’t help but try and charm Nate’s new beau, but she seems to see through him, and he slinks away after just a few moments.

Like a bad smell, Rupert returns to invite Nate out for a “guy’s night” after West Ham’s next win. Nate cheerfully goes along with his new boss, but when Rupert starts bringing over strange women, the former kit man slips away and returns to Jade.

Nate’s story only takes up a little bit of the episode, and how you feel about it will largely depend on where you stand on the whole Nate redemption arc the show’s been doing. I liked it, though. It was a low-key way of showing quite how far Nate’s come in the last few episodes.

He’d previously looked past Rupert’s philandering, even though it made him feel uncomfortable, but this time he doesn’t. Instead, when he sees what Rupert’s trying to do, he leaves and returns to what makes him happy, Jade, rather than try to get validation from his new boss.

Ted Lasso season 3 episode 9 highlight

• Issac choosing Sam to become the new Richmond captain, and Jamie gracefully accepted the decision
• Jack and Keeley officially breaking up, I’m sorry, but I’m glad that story’s finally over
• The entire Roy has a hair arse joke had me in hysterics. He just sounded so hurt. Bless him.
• Beard fainting when Roy complimented the team.
• Ted and Keeley actually having a conversation!

If you’re a member of the Richmond faithful, then check out our interview with Kola Bokinni and Billy Harris, discussing the team’s reaction to Colin’s secret. We’ve also got a list of the best TV series of all time, and we’re keeping an eye on all the shows affected but the 2023 Writers Strike.