Warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 3 OF TED LASSO SEASON 3.
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Welcome to our Ted Lasso Power Rankings! Each week of the 12-episode season, For The Win will chat about the latest episode to see who is thriving and who is straight up not having a good time in the Ted Lasso universe. Let’s dig into it.
This was a huge episode for one particular player on AFC Richmond: Colin Hughes, portrayed by actor Billy Harris.
Although he was often in the background as a tertiary character during the previous two seasons, the latest episode of Ted Lasso brings him to center stage in his reveal as the show’s first LGBTQ+ character. It was a strong decision to give Colin the justice that he deserves.
Ted Lasso co-creator Brendan Hunt spoke about including queer representation on the show (via Radio Times):
“It was just a matter of when we were going to finally get to that. It’s still a taboo in football, but there are more active players who are coming out … It’s just part of what’s happening in football. We may be a fake football club, but we’re trying to show a little bit of football reality here.”
According to Hunt, the showrunners have known for “a while” that Welsh wing Colin Hughes is gay.
Some careful viewers may have noticed that in the third episode of Season 2, Hughes mentions that Keeley’s dating app Bantr is spelled like the gay dating app Grindr.
REVIEW: Ted Lasso’s third season feels like the end — now we have to trust them to stick the landing
Watch Ted Lasso on Apple TV+Here is what else is happening:
9
Ted Lasso
It would suck so much to call your home phone number and hear your former marriage counselor — not to mention your ex-wife’s former therapist — on the other line greeting you with an awful impression of Donald Trump.
It’s even worse when you start connecting the dots and realize it means the person you hired to help fix your marriage is now (presumably) dating your ex-wife.
Quite simply, this is the kind of stuff where panic attacks are born.
8
Jamie Tartt
Sorry, Jamie. You’re no longer the face of the franchise! That may take some time to get used to, unfortunately, but it’s going to sting for a bit as Zava now becomes the featured player of AFC Richmond.
Jamie does get extra credit, however, for acknowledging the difference between being “ironic” and “hypocritical” when criticizing Zava.
7
Rebecca Welton
Rebecca goes to see a psychic in this episode and the reading is ominous! What exactly does that green matchbook represent? Is she going to have a family? This was a lot to process at once.
6
Keeley Jones
Keeley has made an obvious nepotism hire, bringing her friend Shandy back into her life. Who knows if this is a good idea for the longterm, but it seems like a lot of fun for now.
5
Roy Kent and Coach Beard
There isn’t much coaching that is required when you have a player as dominant as Zava on your club, so these guys can take a backseat for a bit.
4
Dani Rojas
No one seems happier about Zava’s arrival to AFC Richmond than his new teammate Dani Rojas. He notices that Zava is even “more down to Earth” than he ever could have imagined, which is a hilarious thing to say about one of the most arrogant people I’ve ever seen portrayed on TV.
3
Sam Obisanya
While this is a show about a football team, it’s always nice to see what these guys are up to when they’re not on the pitch. It was wonderful to see Sam Obisanya start a restaurant and bring a little taste of home to Richmond. It was even better to watch his teammates show so much support.
2
Zava
Zava tells the owner of his club that time (like gender and “many of the alphabets”) is a construct. What a fun first impression!
I’ll let his teammate, Sam Obisanya, explain AFC Richmond striker Zava, who has captured the admiration of (most of) his teammates on and off the pitch: “Some men have a charisma that transcends orientation: Paul Newman, Idris Albra, Norm McDonald.”
The club started playing better than ever once he arrived. But there is a reason he has transferred so many times, and it may be only a matter of time before his shtick no longer feels charming.
1
Colin Hughes
This episode introduces a strong new plot point: Welsh-born AFC Richmond wing Colin Hughes is gay.
As far as we know, his teammates have still not learned this about Colin. But throughout the episode, Colin continues to repeat his affirmations that he is a strong and capable man.
When Ted Lasso co-creator Brendan Hunt spoke about Colin, he added this (via Radio Times):
“When people go back and watch the show now after this revelation, they’ll be like, ‘Wow, he was hiding that for so long. Colin has to go that long not being who he is.’ I think that helps tell the story better.”
If he begins to feel more comfortable and eventually decides to share more personal details about his life, it would be wonderful to see Colin’s AFC Richmond embrace him for who he is and who he chooses to love.
Should he decide to come out publicly, it would be a big deal. No active player in the Premier League has ever done as much.
Hopefully, however, he gets to do it on his terms. At the end of the episode, journalist Trent Crimm caught Colin kissing his partner outside of Sam’s restaurant.
