La Locker Room Aux Folles
Richmond continues to excel with Total Football; however, Isaac has stopped talking to Colin and rebuffs his attempts at conversation, straining their friendship. Trent advises Colin to give Isaac some time to process the news that Colin is gay. Across town, West Ham is enjoying their own success under Nate, who is visited at work by Jade. Rupert introduces himself to Jade, who immediately sees through his false charm. Rupert invites Nate out to Bones & Honey for a "guys' night" to celebrate West Ham's latest win, but when Nate gets there, he finds that Rupert has invited two beautiful women to spend the evening with them too. Nate lies about having another commitment and goes to Jade's flat instead.
Ted has to skip a press conference to attend a virtual parent-teacher meeting with Michelle, so Rebecca orders a reluctant Roy to fill in for Ted. However, Roy gets Beard to host the press conference instead, leading to chaos and infuriating Rebecca. Rebecca calls Roy into her office and berates him for his tendency to self-sabotage and give up on things as soon as they stop being fun or easy.
Richmond gears up for their next match against Brighton. Jack, who has been ghosting Keeley ever since their fight, texts to say that she'll be in Argentina for the next several months, forcing Keeley to accept that they have officially broken up. During the match, both Isaac and Colin make mistakes that turn the ball over to Brighton, who eventually score off of a wayward pass by Colin. Isaac and Colin nearly get into a fight, but are pulled apart by the rest of the team. As the team walks to the locker room at halftime, a fan shouts abuse at the players, including a homophobic slur. Isaac snaps and climbs into the stands to confront the fan, earning a red card.
In the locker room, the coaches and the rest of the team tell Isaac that while what the fan said was inexcusable, he should have ignored it instead of resorting to violence. Isaac angrily declares that he doesn't want to ignore it because any gay players who may be on the team shouldn't have to deal with that shit, and storms out of the locker room. Roy follows Isaac and gently tells him that he needs to deal with whatever it is he's really upset about before he screws it up irreparably. Back in the locker room, the rest of the team wonders why Isaac was so upset and comes to the conclusion that Isaac is gay. After a moment's hesitation, Colin speaks out and corrects them: Isaac isn't gay, he was defending Colin, who actually is gay. The team is accepting and tells him that they don't care, but Ted says that they should care—about who Colin is, what he's been going through, and how they can support him. The team returns to the pitch for the second half, where Colin puts in an inspired performance and assists with two goals that give Richmond the win.
After the match, Roy hosts the Richmond press conference. When asked why Isaac confronted the fan, Roy tells a story about being beaten up by one of his teammates for making a joke about being the real father of the teammate's child, not knowing that his wife had lost the pregnancy a month earlier. Roy says that players on a team aren't just footballers, they're people with things going on in their lives that no one else knows about, and so it's no one's business why Isaac did what he did. Isaac goes to Colin's house and asks what about him made Colin think he couldn't tell him. Colin explains that him not telling Isaac that he was gay was nothing personal—he was simply too afraid to take the risk even though he was almost certain Isaac would be supportive. Isaac apologizes, and Colin invites him in. Colin tells Isaac he loves him, and while Isaac can't say it back, he makes sure that Colin knows he loves him too.
Tropes featured in "La Locker Room Aux Folles" include:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Richard gives a sarcastic "Hah!" when Colin lightly needles him, but afterwards gives a genuine laugh.
- He has a similar reaction when Isaac makes a crack that Rebecca's "hairy arse" comment might have had a point had she been talking about Richard's butt.
- Analogy Backfire: After Colin comes out to the rest of the team and his teammates assure him that they don't care if he's gay, Ted attempts to clarify that they actually should care and be fully supportive of Colin and his struggles. He brings up a story about a childhood friend who was a huge Denver Broncos fan despite everyone else in Ted's hometown being Kansas City Chiefs fans, and even though Ted said he "didn't care" about his friend being a fan of a different team, his friend still ended up cheering for the Broncos all by himself with no one else to enjoy their games with him. The analogy backfires partly because nobody on the team is familiar enough with American football to know what he's talking about, but mainly because comparing being gay to being a Denver Broncos fan is rather sloppy and insensitive, which Ted realizes and apologizes for when Colin points that out.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Isaac asks the team, after they try to get him to move on from the fan's homophobic slur, "What if one of us is gay?". It's clear no one on the team, Ted and the other coaches included, had considered that.
- Artistic Licence – Sports: It is implied, given that at least one other match is being played at the same time, that the Richmond-Brighton game is being played at the traditional time of 3pm on a Saturday. Matches that take place at that time are never broadcast on TV (doing so is actually prohibited by law in the UK, and has been since the 1960s, in order to prevent the televising of top-flight matches from having an adverse effect on attendances of matches in lower divisions).
- Asshole Victim: Given how much of an obnoxious and homophobic asshole the Richmond "fan" was being in the stands, as well as the later revelation he mistreated Mae's niece, it's hard to feel any sympathy for him when Isaac fights him and Roy and Higgins have him kicked out of Nelson Road.
- Beneath the Mask: Rupert has been laying the charm on thick with Nate for the entire season. When Nate demonstrates his independence by bailing on their 'guy's night' (which would involve cheating on Jade and condoning Rupert's own infidelity) Rupert's expression turns contemptuous - demonstrating to Nate that his boss is is not the great guy he always imagined.
- Berserk Button: Isaac is incandescent with rage when the fan yells the homophobic slur
- Both Sides Have a Point:
- Ted compares being gay in the homophobic environment of sport to being a Denver Broncos fan, which Ted admits was not a great tactic. But then he follows up with his real point, that the team love and support Colin and what he must have been going through.
- Isaac and Colin's discussion has this. Isaac feels that after their years of friendship, Colin should have been able to trust Isaac with his secret and known that Isaac would have no problem with his sexuality. Colin points out that with homosexuality still being a hot button issue, there's no way he could have been 100% sure that Isaac would have accepted him. Plus, Isaac Cannot Keep a Secret, so telling him would likely have led to more people than he wanted finding out. They agree the other has good points and make up.
- The discussion about Isaac attacking the abusive fan has this as well. Summarised by the Soccer Saturday team: Clinton Morrison admits that he'd wanted to do the same thing a number of times throughout his career, but George Cantrick notes that unlike Isaac, he had the restraint not to do so, and that attacking a fan is a line you should never cross no matter what.
- Borrowed Catchphrase:
- Upon learning Roy skipped the press conference, Rebecca confronts him by shouting "Oi! Kent!", the same way Roy usually shouts at Jamie.
- Roy borrows Ted's signature style of winning the press over with a story from his past explaining the situation in a relatable way.
- Butt-Monkey: Downplayed. It's usually Colin that fills this role, but that won't work given that he's the focus of a major plotline. The role is therefore spread around a bit, with Jamie and Dani taking turns but mostly falling on Richard being the subject of the team's jokes.
- Call-Back:
- Rebecca angrily yells at Roy over his desire to stay in the comfortable bubble he made for himself and urges him to take a risk on something that sparks true passion. This is a role reversal of a moment they had in Season 2 after Roy heard Rebecca say that the man she was seeing at the time was fine, and he told her she deserved better than someone who was merely "fine".
- Back in "Headspace", Nate insulted Colin by comparing his play on the pitch to motel art and claiming he doesn't "inspire" people. After he helps lead Richmond to their comeback win here, Arlo White and Chris Powell call his performance "inspirational".
- Roy's speech about a former teammate at the post-game press conference is very similar to one Ted gave at the start of Season 2.
- Colin admits to Isaac that one of his reasons for not telling Isaac about his sexuality was the latter's inability to keep a secret. Isaac previously proved himself to be incapable of withholding sensitive information when he revealed to the rest of the team that Roy and Keeley broke up.
- The Cameo: Clinton Morrison is the latest ex-footballer to appear on Soccer Saturday following Paul Merson's cameo earlier in the season.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: Colin cites this as one of the reasons he didn't want to come out to Isaac. Isaac admits that it's true.
- Character Check: When Jade arrives at Nate's office with lunch and teasingly calls him "Mr Shelby", Nate rudely snaps that "It's Shelley" before realising it's Jade and acting in a more cordial manner.
- Character Development:
- By now Nate appears to have moved on from being a Mean Boss, chatting easily with Roger the Director of Football Operations at West Ham to the point where Roger feels happy to invite Nate out for drinks with his colleagues (and it's implied he only declines due to already having plans). He also defies Rupert when he sees that Rupert is still cheating on his wife (and trying to get Nate to do the same to Jade).
- Roy gives his first ever press conference, a massive step for a man who loathes talking to the press and hates sports journalism on principle. He manages to be measured and emotionally honest throughout — both things he famously finds difficult — and warmly accepts Trent Crimm's replacement at The Independent. His willingness to step out of his comfort zone and accept responsibility even when unpleasant become important later on.
- Coming-Out Story: Colin finally comes out to the team, though not to the public, because it's enough for him that they know and he doesn't need to be an icon to the public.
- Cry into Chest: After Nate finally realizes how awful Rupert is, he leaves the nightclub (and, we'll later learn, West Ham) and goes to Jade, giving her a long, wordless hug as he gets comfort and support.
- Discriminate and Switch: Initially, it seems like Isaac is giving Colin the cold shoulder because of homophobia. It turns out he's really just hurt that Colin kept his sexuality a secret from him despite being his best friend.
- Do Not Call Me "Paul": Zoreaux still insists that he be called Van Damme on the pitch.
- Domestic Abuse: Rupert continues the strategy of attempting to isolate Nate (having earlier gotten in the way of various possible reconciliations with Ted) by trying to ruin his relationship with Jade.
- Dude, Not Funny!: After a fan yells out a homophobic slur and enrages Isaac into a physical fight, Higgins tries to ease tension in the dressing room by joking that the offender was his father. His attempt at levity lands with a thud and leads to everyone glaring at him.
- Dumped via Text Message: Downplayed. When Jack finally responds to Keeley's many (many, many) texts, she just tells her that she's in Argentina and will be for several months. Keeley gets the message.
- Entitled Bastard: Discussed by Roy, regarding the Richmond "fan" who relentlessly heckled the team and ultimately referred to them with a homophobic slur. As Roy notes, some fans unfortunately believe that paying to view the match gives them the right to yell as much abuse at the players as they want.
- Everyone Has Standards: When Nate realizes that Rupert brought two women to the club so Nate could cheat on Jade with one of them, he makes up an excuse to leave. Also applies to George Cantrick, who for all his faults regards players physically attacking fans (regardless of the provocation) as a line not to be crossed.
- Excellent Judge of Character: Upon meeting Rupert, Jade instantly recognizes that Rupert's Nice Guy act is a farce. Nate doesn't believe her until he meets him at the pub later.
- A Father to His Men: Isaac continues to be very much the team's captain. When a "fan" yells out a homophobic slur against the team, Isaac (who knows that Colin is gay), rushes the stands to fight him even though he was still very hurt over Colin not coming out to him. Possibly downplayed in that he'd have done it even if he wasn't the captain, because Colin is his best friend.
- Forgiveness: Isaac is confused and hurt by Colin's refusal to come out to him, but he admits that Colin was right and apologizes. Colin immediately accepts.
- Friendship Moment: Once Colin and Isaac have a frank discussion over why Isaac has been distant and angry, the two settle down to play FIFA while Colin patiently answers Isaac's questions regarding his sexuality.Colin: I love you, boyo. [Beat] You can't say it, can you?
Isaac: No. But you know I do, right?
Colin: Yeah, I do. - Hate Sink: The "fan" who yelled out the slur is known to Mae as she banned him for treating her niece poorly. The Pub Regulars were already on Isaac's side even though they didn't know what had happened, but upon hearing this, they become even anrgier at the guy. He's also been showing up throughout the season, yelling abuse at the players in an awful way so that we cheer when Isaac finally snaps when he hears the slur.
- Heel Realization: Seeing that Rupert plans on having him and Nate cheat on their significant others finally makes Nate realize what kind of person he's aligned himself with.
- His Own Worst Enemy: Rebecca points out to Roy that his refusal to get out of his comfort zone is a detriment to his personal growth and he needs to stop getting in his own way.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Even after Jade voices her reservations about Rupert, Nate insists that he's a great guy. It's only when he meets Rupert at the pub later on and sees he brought a date for Nate that he realizes she was right.
- Hypocrite: George Cartrick's claim that Isaac isn't fit to be captain at Richmond doesn't land so well when the audience remembers that under his tenure as manager and coach, George - a sexist, homophobic, ableist, and all-round obnoxious character - permitted a culture of bullying and apathy at Richmond that did nothing but damage the team. Clearly he's not the ideal person to make judgements on those in leadership positions.
- I "Uh" You, Too: There's a platonic variation between Colin and Isaac at the end, after they reconcile.
- Innocently Insensitive:
- As Colin points out, Ted's attempt to make him feel better about his sexuality is to compare him being a gay man in a generally homophobic environment to Ted's friend who supports the Denver Broncos in the middle of Kansas City Chiefs territorynote . Ted concedes it probably wasn't the best metaphor.
- Isaac's questions to Colin about homosexuality at the end of the episode could be seen as highly offensive if it weren't for the fact that Isaac's knowledge is genuinely limited and he's making an honest attempt at better understanding his friend. It's also mitigated by the fact that Colin and Isaac are best friends, and as such, such conversational topics are more appropriate than they would be if Isaac was just asking a colleague about his sexuality.
- During his press conference, Roy shares a story about how he cracked a stupid joke about a teammate's child while at Sunderland, for which he was beaten into traction. When he apologized some years later, he learned that said teammate had lost the child about a month beforehand, and Roy had unknowingly pushed the teammate's Trauma Button thinking he was just having a bit of fun.
- Internal Reveal: Colin confesses his sexuality to the rest of the team after Isaac gets red carded when a fan uses a homophobic slur.
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- Roy points out to Jamie, and the rest of the players, that if he was able to do his weight training sets easily, then he's clearly not pushing himself hard enough and needs to do more.
- He was a total prick about it, but George Cartrick was right to point out that Isaac crossed a major line when he entered the stands to attack the fan who shouted the homophobic slur.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone's reaction when Isaac heads into the stands.
- Meaningful Appearance: The "fan" who yelled out the slur is pointedly the only person shown in the episode wearing Richmond's previous home shirt with the "Dubai Air" sponsorship logo on the front; every other fan shown wearing a Richmond shirt in the episode is wearing one of the "Bantr" sponsored jerseys. Whilst Richmond fans are generally shown wearing a mixture of the three home shirts in previous episodes, the "fan" being the only person in this episode wearing the sponsor that the team previously protested against serves to further highlight his Hate Sink status.
- Meaningful Name: For those acquainted with the relevant slang terms, the Bones & Honey club becomes this, given that Rupert fully intends to have sex with (ie. bone) a beautiful woman (ie. a honey) there.
- Mistaken for Gay:
- After Isaac's outburst, the rest of the Richmond players begin to suspect he took the fan's comments so personally because he's gay. This leads to Colin telling the team the truth.
- Beard points out that there are probably more people in the locker room who are gay. Some of the players look over at Jamie, who jokingly says he's flattered.
- Mistaken for Racist: Isaac spends the episode avoiding Colin because he's so hurt that Colin didn't tell him, giving the impression that he's upset at having learned Colin is gay.
- The Nicknamer: Roy doesn't know the names of any of the reporters in the press room so he uses descriptive nicknames like "5 O'Clock Shadow Head", "New Trent", and "Goblin King".
- Noodle Incident:
- We don't see what happened during Beard's press conference. All we see is that it devolved into a shouting match about whether Jimmy Page or Joe Walsh is the better guitarist.
- Mae reveals the fan Isaac fought was previously banned from The Crown & Anchor because he mistreated her niece in some way.
- Not So Above It All: Despite being one of the team's more humble players, Sam refuses to give up the captain's armband after Isaac gives it to him following his red card and ejection. When Jamie offers to take it instead, Sam pretends to agree only to give him the middle finger instead.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
- Colin finally reveals his sexuality to the the rest of the team, which happens offscreen as the scene instead focuses on Isaac and Roy's heart to heart.
- Richmond's second-half comeback to beat Brighton is not shown, all we know is that Colin led it.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- For once, Chris Powell makes a great point when Roy has to pull Isaac back. "Roy Kent, the voice of reason. What a world."
- The team are exasperated at Isaac's blow-up at the bigoted fan, but it's not until he's actually in tears in front of them that they realise something's up.
- Poor Communication Kills: Isaac's refusal to talk to Colin about the revelation that Colin is gay strains their friendship and leads to Isaac getting a red card for nearly fighting a fan.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Ted's comparison of Colin's sexuality to his friend being a Denver Broncos fan living in Kansas partly fails because Jamie and some of the others don't know who the Broncos are.
- Rage Breaking Point: Isaac has been furious all episode at Colin and lashing out on the field, but he loses it when a fan yells a homophobic slur while Isaac is walking into the locker room behind Colin.
- Repression Never Ends Well: Isaac spends much of the episode avoiding what he's really upset about—the idea that he may have made his best friend feel like he had to lie about his sexuality for years—and it culminates in him exploding with anger during the match and getting a red card. Roy gently calls him out on this and tells Isaac he needs to address what's really bothering him instead of pushing it down.
- Ripped from the Headlines: Isaac heading into the stands to confront a fan over his use of a homophobic slur would appear to be inspired by a similar incident from the 1994/95 Premier League season, in which Eric Cantona infamously dove into the crowd and assaulted a Crystal Palace fan after an alleged racial slur. As well as being charged with assault, Cantona was banned from playing football for eight months (a punishment which Isaac appears to escape here, given that he is seen to be still playing in subsequent episodes); the fan (who denied that his verbal abuse had been racial) was banned from the ground in question (Selhurst Park) for a year.
- Running Gag Stumbles: Over the past two seasons, various groups of characters have retreated to the Boot Room to conduct private personal (and often heated) conversations, only to discover that Will Kitman was there all along. Up until this episode, Will has reacted nervously and sworn to keep whatever secrets were revealed. In this episode, Will is so “over it” that he just casually keeps cleaning the boots in his hands and even offers his two cents worth of advice to Isaac and Roy, arguably two of the most physically threatening guys to ever play for AFC Richmond.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After his breakdown in the stands and the locker room, Isaac storms out to cry in the boot room.
- Secret-Keeper: Whilst Colin comes out to the rest of the team, he doesn’t do so publicly and later tells Isaac that he’s content with just the team knowing.
- Serious Business:
- Beard has an argument with the press corps over the merits of Joe Walsh (Beard) as opposed to Jimmy Page (the press corps). It is some of the most animated we have ever seen Beard. The reporters are just as invested in their position and even press Rebecca into joining the argument. She's so flustered at the intensity that she can only say: "the guy from Cream''note , much to Higgins' amusement.
- When Rebecca tells Roy to "Get your hairy arse into my office", Roy is angry that nobody on the team pointed out that he actually doesn't have a hairy ass, and he promises that he won't forget it. The team reacts with similar gravitas.
- Shout-Out:
- The title of the episode is a reference to the French play La Cage aux folles; the song "I Am What I Am", from the 1983 musical adaptation of the play, plays over the end credits.
- Jade is seen reading a copy of Kafka on the Shore in her flat before Nate arrives at her door.
- Sound-Effect Bleep: When a Richmond fan says a homophobic slur, the word itself is suddenly drowned out by crowd noises.
- T-Word Euphemism: When Sam informs everyone that Isaac confronted the fan after hearing him use the "f-word", Jamie is confused as to why Isaac was set off by the guy saying "fuck". Sam clarifies that it was "the other f-word". A stunned Jamie replies with "oh, fuck" when it dawns on him.
- Take That!: At the end of his argument with the press over Joe Walsh vs. Jimmy Page, Coach Beard claims that "Stairway to Heaven" is "a glorified fingering exercise."
- Throw the Dog a Bone: After everything Colin has been through, he finally gets to reveal his secret to the team and is supported by all of them, gets to be the hero of their comeback win against Brighton, and repairs his friendship with Isaac.
- Took a Level in Badass: Colin has long been established as the weakest of the starting players. Properly coming out to the team took such a weight off his mind that he was able to give a "man of the match" performance, being pivotal to Richmond's 2-1 win even though he didn't score either goal himself.
- Verbal Backspace: It takes Roy a few tries to get it right when Rebecca, his boss, tells him to do the press conference.Roy: Fuck no.
Rebecca and Keeley: [long stare]
Roy: I mean, why can't Ted do it?
Rebecca and Keeley: [long stare]
Roy: I mean, I'd love to. - What the Hell, Hero?:
- Played for Laughs when Rebecca orders Roy to "get [his] hairy arse" to her office in front of the team. As the team reacts like a bunch of school children seeing the teacher catch someone misbehaving, Roy chastises the team for not defending him as they all know his arse isn't hairy.Isaac: He's right. We're cowards.
- Rebecca rips into Roy for skiving off a press conference and making Beard handle it instead, leading to a shouting match over classic-rock guitarists. She tells him to stop avoiding actual responsibility and to step out of his comfort zone to achieve something new now that his playing career is over.
- Isaac confronts Colin about keeping his sexuality a secret, having been angered and offended that Colin didn't trust him enough to come out. After Colin explains his reasoning, Isaac accepts that Colin had very valid reasons in staying quiet and the two reconcile.
- Played for Laughs when Rebecca orders Roy to "get [his] hairy arse" to her office in front of the team. As the team reacts like a bunch of school children seeing the teacher catch someone misbehaving, Roy chastises the team for not defending him as they all know his arse isn't hairy.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Rebecca rightfully rips Roy a new asshole over foisting the press conference onto Beard, but she also points out that he's his own greatest obstacle and he should get out of his own way.
- You Are in Command Now: After his sending off, Isaac unceremoniously hands Sam the captain's armband for the second half. Jamie offers to take the armband himself, but Sam refuses.
- You Are Not Alone: The crux of Ted's speech about his friend who was the lone Denver Broncos fan in Kansas City (Chiefs territory), before he admits the metaphor is insensitive to the situation and makes it clear that his point is that the rest of the locker room supports Colin.
