Do the Right-est Thing
Jamie's return to Richmond has not been received well by the rest of the team. He tries to make a blanket apology to them all before training, but they don't accept it and confront him about all the ways he mistreated them in the past. Ted puts Jamie on the reserve team and tells him he'll need to earn his way back to being a starter, which proves more difficult than Jamie expects as many of the other players, particularly Sam, have improved dramatically since he left. Meanwhile, Sassy's daughter Nora has to stay with Rebecca for a few days. Nora accompanies Rebecca to work, where Keeley tells her about a new dating app she's promoting called Bantr, which aims to be less superficial than other dating apps by not allowing users to upload photos.
Sam tells his father about his new role as a spokesman for Dubai Air, Richmond's biggest sponsor. To his surprise, his father is upset by this news. Sam's father explains that Dubai Air is owned by Cerithium Oil, an oil company responsible for massive environmental destruction in Nigeria. Sam tells Rebecca and Keeley about the situation and asks to pull out of the campaign, to which they agree. Rebecca calls Richard Cole, the CEO of Cerithium Oil, and asks him to make the ad campaign go away quietly; he says that he will, but only if Rebecca fires Sam. Rebecca weighs the prospect of firing Sam against the risks of angering their biggest sponsor. Nora tells her that "sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if you lose." Rebecca emails Richard Cole informing him that she will not be firing Sam.
In the locker room before Saturday's match, Sam tapes over the Dubai Air logo on his uniform. He explains to the team that he can no longer wear their name on his chest due to Cerithium Oil's pollution of his home country. Isaac and Winchester, who are also Nigerian, tape over their logos as well, but Sam assures the rest of the team that he doesn't expect them all to do the same, only to understand why the three Nigerian players need to do this. However, Jamie stands up and asks Sam to throw him the tape, saying that they're a team and they all need to wear the same kit. Rebecca receives a reply from Richard Cole acquiescing to her terms. When the team reveals their taped-over jerseys, however, it becomes clear that their public protest will pose a problem for Richmond's relationship with its sponsor; nevertheless, Rebecca stands by the team and ignores Cole's attempts to call her.
After the game, Ted and Sam host a press conference. Ted states that while he didn't know the team was planning to stage a protest, he thinks it was brave of them. Trent Crimm asks Sam if he thinks his protest distracted the team and caused them to lose the game, but Sam says that he's not there to talk about football, he's there to talk about Cerithium Oil and how the Nigerian government has allowed their pollution to go unchecked for decades. Sam returns to the locker room and is surprised to find the rest of the team celebrating. They explain that even though they lost, it means they've finally broken the tie streak that has plagued them all season. Jamie calls for a toast to Sam and tells him that his actions took a lot of courage. Sam tells Jamie it's good to have him back. The whole team takes a picture with Nora and celebrates together.
Tropes featured in "Do the Right-est Thing" include:
- An Aesop: Nora teaches Rebecca one hell of a lesson.Nora: Sometimes you have to do the right thing, even if you lose.
- The Atoner: Throughout the episode, Jamie struggles to show his teammates that he’s changed since previously leaving Richmond. It’s ultimately Jamie being the first non-Nigerian to join in Sam’s protest of the club’s Dubai Air sponsorship that convinces them.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: After Roy insults Jamie live on air, his fellow Soccer Saturday pundits joke, "Don't hold back, Roy! Tell us how you really feel!" Roy responds by telling George, "You're a shit manager".
- Bittersweet Ending: Richmond still hasn't won a match yet this season. However, the players are still happy that they ended the draw streak and proud of their protest against Cerithium Oil. Plus, Jamie has proven he is sincere about turning over a new leaf and reconciles with Sam and the other players.
- Broken Win/Loss Streak: Richmond finally stops their dispiriting streak of drawn games... by losing. The team erupts in celebration that the streak is over anyway.
- Change the Uncomfortable Subject:
- Ted quickly changes the subject when Flo starts sharing details of their hookup, and again when she says that Nora is "an errant cobblestone away from her first period."
- When Colin mentions Grindr, Keeley simply says, "...Yeah," and changes the subject back to Bantr.
- Children Raise You: Nora gives Rebecca a life lesson about doing the right thing even if it means losing.
- Crossing the Burnt Bridge: While the fans welcome Jamie back to Richmond with open arms, the players themselves still resent him for all of his past behavior. Eventually, he turns to Sharon for advice on making amends with them.
- Description Cut: Chris Powell expresses his doubt as to whether Jamie's return will be received well by the Richmond fans. Cut to the pub where the crowd is gleefully chanting Jamie's name.
- Easily Forgiven: While Richmond's players take a whole to forgive Jamie, the fans forgive him instantly.
- Evil Costume Switch: Led Tasso ditches the orange-tinted glasses for a pair of opaque black sunglasses.
- Foreshadowing:
- Colin makes a passing comment comparing Bantr to Grindr, and gets a few uncomfortable looks in response.
- Nate takes a few moments to relish how the team are going to punish Jamie on his returns.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Jamie has a lot of trouble reintegrating into the team. There are a lot of awkward moments and it takes Ted's Genghis Gambit, plus Jamie joining in Sam's protest, for them to finally accept him.
- Friendship Moment: Jamie volunteering to join Sam in his protest, which inspires the other non-Nigerian players to do the same, repairs their relationship and Sam welcomes him back to the team.
- Genghis Gambit: Attempted by Ted to help reunify the team following Jamie's return. He introduces them to "Led Tasso", his mean-spirited, Drill Sergeant Nasty alter ego, and bullies the whole squad in training until Jamie stands up to "Led" and tells him to back off. It works to a small degree, but the real catalyst for the team's reacceptance of Jamie is his unselfish support of Sam's protest against Cerithium Oil.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Rebecca mentions to Nora that one perk of being in charge is having one's own private sanctum. Cue them entering Rebecca's manager studio where Keeley is sprawled out in Rebecca's chair with her feet on the desk.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Jamie wants to buy everyone's love by buying them PlayStation 5s. He says that there's nothing better to buy than love. Ted and Beard have to admit it's the wrong direction, but the right goal.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Sam is devastated to learn from his father that Richmond's sponsors, Dubai Air, are owned by a company responsible for decades of environmental destruction in his native Nigeria.
- Mythology Gag: Ted's "Led Tasso" persona is essentially Ted's previous Jerkass personality from the original NBC Sports Premier League advertisements the show is adapted from.
- Noodle Incident: When Sharon asks Ted if his "Led Tasso" Genghis Gambit has ever actually worked, Ted and Coach Beard have to think about it before bringing up a time it worked at a Chuck E. Cheese when one of their college players got his head stuck in a VR headset. Nothing else about that incident is expanded upon.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: The team aren’t happy that Jamie’s back, citing all of his previous misdeeds and the role he played in relegating Richmond.
- Papa Wolf: Although we don't get to actually meet the man, this episode firmly establishes Sam's father as a guiding light in his life.
- Queer Establishing Moment: Colin instantly compares the spelling of Bantr to the Real Life gay hookup app Grindr, starting fan speculations about his sexuality that wouldn't get answered until season 3.
- Spit Take: Rebecca does one with a biscuit when her friend Flo tells her about Ted's bedroom prowess.
- Shout-Out: When "Led Tasso" makes the team run a thousand laps, he tells the team that they'll get so dehydrated that they'll look like trees from a Tim Burton movie—and he means any Tim Burton movie, even Dumbo.
- Stunned Silence: After Colin blurts out that Bantr is spelled like Grindr, there's a moment of silence as Richard and Keeley process what he said.
- Tantrum Throwing: Led Tasso's signature move together with Flipping the Table.
- Too Much Information: Flo (Sassy Smurf) is happy to share, to Ted's ("As I recall, you finished on my—") and Rebecca's ("And so eager to please. It was fabulous.") dismay.
- What the Hell, Hero?:
- Nora lets Rebecca know she's not so Easily Forgiven for having not spoken to her in six years.
- Sam's father is furious to learn that he's done a photoshoot for Dubai Air, who's parent company has been polluting his home country for decades. In fairness, Sam didn't know that, and when he does learn, he's furious too.
