Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 3, “Richmond’s Got Talent” Spoilers Ahead
After last week’s “Curiouser and Curiouser” gives us a brief introduction to the Lady Greyhounds, Ted Lasso officially rounds up the entire team in “Richmond’s Got Talent.” Three key members join: Abbie Hern’s Gemma, Faye Marsay’s Lizzie, and Shannon Hayes’ Shannon—yes, the Shannon we’ve always known—and we finally get our first game. Or, rather, a friendly match.
Written by Sasha Garron and directed by MJ Delaney, “Richmond’s Got Talent” is the kind of episode that emphasizes the adage that sometimes when it rains, it pours. Too often, before something happens, we get one too many mishaps that then make everything unnecessarily challenging. Time slips away from you, the little things become big things, and it starts to feel like everyone’s conspiring against you to make sure nothing goes your way. But as Higgins says last week while repeating his mother’s words, “Strong women stand up for themselves and stronger women stand up for others.” And that’s exactly what we get in the episode.
Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 3 Completes the Lady Greyhounds
If I loved the Lady Greyhounds less, I might be able to talk about them more. Now that we’ve got Gemma, Lizzie, and Shannon, the completion makes everything feel a lot more real and exciting. And if the underdog story with the Greyhounds made us weep in Season 1, it’s already obvious we’re in for a different kind of ride in Season 4.
It’s no surprise that there are reports that believe the team will fail, and it’s also not shocking that members of the shareholders are so rudely dismissive of the team. It’s also not shocking that their game isn’t televised and instead needs to be streamed. All of this factors into making the challenge feel even more significant in a time and place where women are doubted in every field. Sports, journalism, medicine—you name it. A well-qualified woman will always be inferior to a man, and I fear that’s not something that’ll change, no matter how much progress we make.
Still, there’s a lot to appreciate about how the Lady Greyhounds come out on top, even in a friendly game. There’s so much to cheer about when they’re decked out in kits made by Elodie Blomfield’s Phoebe and her friends. There’s so much to love about watching everyone cheer for Gemma’s winning goal. Ted Lasso, by default, is a hopeful show, but it’s never been unrealistic, and that’s where it shines. The show isn’t a fantasy that takes us into a happy world where things are infinitely better, but instead, it consistently makes a case for the importance of a community, and an episode like “Richmond’s Got Talent” is a perfect example of it.
This win isn’t so much about the goal, but it’s about the fact that Keeley Jones believes in this team despite the odds mounting before her. This win is as much for the team as it is for Keeley, because even in trying to protect her, Rebecca and Higgins shielding her from the report did more damage than good. But Keeley Jones is a woman on top. She’s a woman who’s not going to give up. She’s going to drive to the post office herself if she has to, or she’ll make every call necessary to get her team the kits they need. And, at the same time, she’s gonna cry because she’s just a girl, and sometimes you need to weep in your best friend’s arms when you’re having an awful day.
Because of everything we see with Keeley, and in a lot of ways, Alice, in how she sets aside her issues with Gemma, Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 3, “Richmond’s Got Talent,” becomes one to remember. There’s so much to appreciate about how the writing frames both of them as two sides of a coin, while we also see Rebecca going the extra mile to secure the Pinter and Sons sponsorship again. The team is only just beginning, but they’re already acting like one, and that detail alone is really interesting to think about this early on.
The Effort Always Matters
“Richmond’s Got Talent” goes out of its way to remind us how much is actually out of our control. From the blunders the team and Keeley face, to Roy not having the right words, and even time consistently slipping away from Rebecca. I have to wonder why we’re getting an entire episode where she and Matthijs struggle to lockdown a date and if that’ll have any repercussions in the future. There’s still a lot we don’t know about Matthijs, and it feels necessary that we learn when he’s clearly so important to one of our main characters.
More than anything, though, it’s Rebecca’s conversation with Elaine that matters because the choice to do something in person is a form of effort that speaks loudly. It showcases how desperately you want something and reveals why it’s so important to you. And unlike the Rebecca from Season 1 who wanted the team to fail to spite Rupert, this Rebecca will do everything in her power for it to succeed for her best friend. For herself. For all of them. She’ll go the extra mile, and that’s everything to remind us of how incredible her growth has been.
Are Roy and Keeley Back Together Yet?
Yes, I will be asking this weekly. I said I would in my review of “Curiouser and Curiouser,” and I’m a woman of my word.
But sigh. Not today, they aren’t. Still, it’s so beautiful to see just how much Roy’s trying to be her strength—how he clearly still holds her so close to his heart. And watching him fumble with his words in his best attempt to comfort her is Roy Kent at his best. It’s Roy Kent trying. It’s Roy Kent being a damn good man. Plus, the fact that he gets Phoebe involved is everything to me, considering how close she and Keeley were before the breakup.
This is also the episode where we’re told that his contract with AFC Richmond ends in a year, and it’s easy to wonder what that means and how we go forward. Will he renew it? Will he completely retire from football, including coaching? If his knee’s still giving him trouble, what does that mean in terms of…well, everything? Either way, I’m eager to find out.
“Richmond’s Got Talent” is a mostly solid episode that continues to be a light. Seeing Dani Rojas’ sister and knowing that she’s terrible at football? Wildly hilarious. Truly, in every way. The shot of Michelle and Henry cheering for the team? Incredible. There’s a lot of great moments we get in this one, and now that the team’s fully formed, it’ll be riveting to see where we go from here.
Ted Talks and Further Thoughts
- In what world does Ted Lasso not know who Susan Boyle is!??!?!?!? Like, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!!
- Ted meeting Matthijs was certainly something.
- Roy wanting to get up and fight when someone whistles for Keeley is sending me!!! Never change, my guy. Never change.
- It’s so lovely to not only see Phoebe again, but Roy’s sister, too!!!
- “He’s been dressing like he’s part of the Mission Impossible franchise since he was 14.”
- I cannot wait to see more of Alice and Gemma’s dynamic!
- I love that Keeley still has that article framed.
- Roy doesn’t know how not to be awkward with her
- “Life is so much more than football.” HA. But where is the lie?!
- Lizzie mothering the twins 😂
- Ted believing in Shannon even though Beard and Alice are opposed is the most Ted thing ever. It speaks to the season’s theme of taking chances.
- “You were her whole list.” OH!??!!!
- “Women don’t get friendlies. We either succeed or fail.” This line actually gutted me.
- Is Dee-Toks the new TikTok??
- Ted’s finally watching the Susan Boyle audition!
- These kits are so beautifully silly and so wholesome!
- RICHMOND SCORE!!
- “A stunning goal by whatever her name is.” OH MY GOD.
- HE WROTE HIS OWN REPORT?!!!!😭 Two words but oof. The impact is everything. Once more, with feeling, never change, Roy Kent. What a man, truly.
- I feel so icky about this waiter calling Rebecca a wh— while Susan Boyle sings as a needle drop?!!
Now streaming on Apple TV: What are your thoughts on Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 3, “Richmond’s Got Talent?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Apple TV