History Recap / TedLassoS3E01SmellsLikeMeanSpirit

This episode premiered on March 15th, 2023.

!!This episode provides examples of:

* YourMakeupIsRunning: Keeley's mascara leaves a noticeable stain on Rebecca's blouse when she cries over her breakup, and Higgins later reveals his own shirt still has the same stain from a previous incident, even after the shirt has been dry-cleaned six times. Both are briefly concerned about Keeley using such persistent pigments near her eyes.

* DownerBeginning: Overall, things are fairly downbeat in this season opener. Ted is depressed after Henry goes back to Kansas following his summer trip to London and keeps wondering why he's still in London at all. Rebecca is lashing out because of Rupert's ownership of West Ham. Roy, struggling with being in charge of tactics now, and Keeley, who is feeling overworked with her new company, have broken up. The Richmond players are out of sorts due to the public expecting them to be relegated again. Even Nate, who mostly relishes in his new job and continues to enjoy bullying other people, particularly his old team, is suffering from panic attacks, being manipulated by Rupert, and still neglected by his father.

* JerkassHasAPoint: While Nate does so in a rude way, his put-down of the [[SmugSnake reporter]] who questions his right to coach West Ham while subtly putting him down in public is pretty justified. After all, as we've seen, Nate ''is'' good at the tactical side of his job.

* PolitenessJudo: When Richmond is being savaged by the media and openly mocked by Nate, Rebecca implores Ted to fight back. Ted's response is to take the insults in stride and one-up them with a series of good-natured jokes at his own expense. It works tremendously, getting him dubbed "Ted Class-O" on social media.

* SelfDeprecation: Ted laughs off Nate's insults to the press by stating his surprise that all Nate had to say was that he was a shit coach, and proceeds to mock himself for a variety of things.

* InnocentlyInsensitive: As the rest of the squad express their frustration at being ranked as the favourites to go down, Jan Maas points out that statistically, most newly-promoted teams are relegated in their first season. He's correct, but this is the last thing the players want to hear, and he's genuinely confused as to why they all round on him for saying it.

* ThePeterPrinciple: The first signs that Nate is not cut out to be a football manager begin to show here. While he might be a tactical genius, he's completely incapable of training and motivating a team. His practices quickly devolve into physical and psychological torture, being little more than an excuse to bully his team. He's also terrible at talking to the press, resorting to mean-spirited quips at his old team over any meaningful analysis of his team's prospects.

* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Ted's run of self-deprecating jokes comes to a screeching halt when his joke about ''Film/FieldOfDreams'' falls flat, since baseball isn't a popular sport in England and thus the film isn't either.
* PrecisionFStrike: Subverted by Phoebe. She asks Roy for permission to say a bad word, then says "I think you're being stupid.". She's goddamn right.

* TastesLikePurple: Higgins notices Keeley left mascara tear stains on Rebecca and asks why she's "dressed like an umlaut". When Rebecca mentions Keeley, Higgins points out his own mascara stains and says his shirt's been through dry-cleaning six times.

** Rupert "mistakes" Nate's old mini for a cleaner's car and has it towed from the premier parking lot. The fact that he does it when Nate's in his office to see it happening, humiliating Nate and making him more malleable, all but spells it out that it was a deliberate ploy.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Dani is disappointed to learn ''Literature/PaddingtonBear'' doesn't actually write his own twitter account. Zorreaux is only kind of sure people write his twitter for him.

** When addressing the press, Nate insults reporters and lashes out at Ted and Richmond. Ted, on the other hand, is chummy with the press, provides support to one reporter going through a breakup, and uses SelfDeprecation defuse tension.

* IronicEcho: Rebecca slams her [=MacBook=] shut in frustration as she watches Nate's press conference in which he repeatedly insults Ted and Richmond. Nate has the exact same reaction after seeing Ted's press conference, in which he laughs off Nate's insults with self deprecating humour.
* ItsPersonal: Although Rebecca keeps trying to say Richmond needs to beat West Ham and go onto to win the league, it's clear that what she actually means is that she wants to beat Rupert on a personal level.

* JerkassBall: Rebecca grabs it in this episode due to all of the pundits predicting Richmond to finish last and praising Rupert, Nate, and West Ham.

* MarriedToTheJob: This is the reason why Roy and Keeley broke up: both are too preoccupied with their respective jobs that they decided it was best to separate.
* MassOhCrap: Rebecca, Higgins, and Keeley all beg Ted not to let Trent do his follow-along story. A minute later, Trent asks Rebecca if she's going to scout Zava, a player she can't afford, just to spite her ex-husband and Ted, Higgins, and Keeley beg her not to admit it. (She says yes, and Trent's down for it.)

* MotiveDecay: {{Discussed}} by Ted with Sharon and Coach Beard. He took the job at AFC Richmond because he wanted to give Michelle space in a last ditch effort to save their marriage. However, now that their relationship is completely done, he's still with the club even though it means being thousands of miles away from Henry.

* SoLastSeason: Rebecca points out to Ted that while their current squad may have been good enough to get promoted from the EFL Championship to the Premier League, being back in the top flight means they'll have to upgrade the roster if they want to avoid getting relegated again and make a serious run for the title.

* StrangeMindsThinkAlike: Dani and Richard both cross themselves after Colin reveals the geezer who cussed him out was a nun.

* TakingItWell: Roy and Keeley fear Phoebe will take the news of their breakup badly and even give her ice cream beforehand in anticipation of her being crushed. Much to their surprise, she accepts the news with no issues. Though she does later admit to Roy that she thinks their decision is stupid.

* MarriedToTheJob: This is the reason why Roy and Keeley broke up: both are too preoccupied with their respective jobs that they decided it was best to separate.
* MassOhCrap: Rebecca, Higgins, and Keeley all beg Ted not to let Trent do his follow-along story. A minute later, Trent asks Rebecca if she's going to scout Zava, a player she can't afford, just to spite her ex-husband and Ted, Higgins, and Keeley beg her not to admit it. (She says yes, and Trent's down for it.)

** To be fair, they're fucking awesome quips. Like, Nate's being an absolute jerk, but he's really good at being a bully. Like, he's the most meanest girl.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Keeley spends a lot of time trying to win Barbara over, despite the latter's desperately boring exterior. By the end of the season, Barbara will join Keeley in running KJPR without Jack.

* WhatTheHellHero: Part of Jaime offering empathy to Roy is asking why the hell he would dump Keeley.

* MassOhCrap: Rebecca, Higgins, and Keeley all beg Ted not to let Trent do his follow-along story. A minute later, Trent asks Rebecca if she's going to scout Java, a player she can't afford, just to spite her ex-husband and Ted, Higgins, and Keeley beg her not to admit it.

* BadBoss: Rupert starts Nate's tenure at West Ham by buying him a car, repeating the abusive patterns he displayed in the past with Rebecca. Love bomb to start, then distance and subtle insults.