Tear Jerker / Ted Lasso

Spoilers Off applies to Moments pages.

Ted Lasso is a comedy, but it's also a heartfelt character study that doesn't shy away from emotional moments.

Season 1

For the Children

• Keeley starts to realize how shallow and self-centered Jamie really is and lashes out by bidding on Roy in the player auction, which greatly offends Roy, who doesn't appreciate being used as a pawn.

Tan Lines

• Michelle, Ted's wife, finally confesses that her heart isn't in the marriage anymore but promises to keep trying. Realizing that this will only destroy their family, Ted agrees to a divorce despite how devastating it is to him.
  • Earlier, he sees her standing at the window in distress, and when she turns around she's in tears because the stress of pretending to be okay is just too hard for her. She confesses that she hopes she'll wake up one day and feel like she did in the beginning, "but maybe that's just what marriage is, right?".

Two Aces

• Keeley has to break the news to Rebecca the Rupert is dating a new girl also named Rebecca and rather than calling the new girl New Rebecca, they're calling her Old Rebecca. The news is devastating.
• Roy presents the team with a blanket and tells the story of how he'd been recruited into the Sunderland academy system at a young age and was terrified of being separated from his family in South London. His grandfather gave him the blanket to remind him of home and it turned out to be the last time they'd ever see each other as his grandfather passed away before he could return home on Christmas break.
• Jamie is the last of the players to go and presents them with a pair of cleats/boots his mother gave him. He tells them how his father left the family when he was a baby and it was his mother that got him into the game in the first place, not caring about a potential career but just so he could have fun. Jamie proceeded to play hard every match so she would be proud of him, but this led to him getting attention for his skills and his father coming back just so he could ride Jamie's coattails. His father became the quintessential Sports Dad who always berated Jamie for doing anything he considered "soft" and so Jamie vowed to do what ever he could to ensure his father could never call him that. He now realizes that this mindset made him forget all about making his mother proud and he doubts she would approve of his recent behavior.
  Jamie: I wonder if sometimes I forget about making her proud. I don't think she would be, lately.
• Rebecca makes a serious connection with the team, and so does Jamie. Higgins steps up and helps Ted's decursing plan, taking a small stand against Rebecca's destruction of the team. Everyone's on the same page. So it's that much more heart-breaking that Rebecca lets Man-City recall Jamie, undoing all the work Ted has done to help make him a better person. And then Ted slaps her in the face by finally revealing that the biscuits he gives her every morning are hand-made by him.
  Ted: And they're the best ones yet! Finally cracked the recipe!
• The story behind the haunted workout room involves how, in 1914, hundreds of aspiring athletes were lured to the field to try out for Richmond when it was really a plot by military recruiters, who got hundreds of them to go off and die in World War I.

Make Rebecca Great Again

• Rebecca's backstory gets fleshed out and it's revealed that she used to be a warm and loving person until Rupert's domineering personality hardened her and caused her to cut off contact with close friends. When reuniting with Flo, her best friend from school, Flo calls her out over how there's actually only so much she can blame on Rupert and that she wouldn't have transformed so completely if she didn't enjoy it. Flo also reveals how profoundly it hurt Nora, her daughter and Rebecca's goddaughter, who blamed herself for Rebecca no longer wanting to spend time with her.
  • Cutting their victims off from their support network is a classical trait of abusers. Rupert is a complete piece of shit.
• Ted's cheery personality finally cracks as he realizes that his marriage is finally over, resulting in a terrifying panic attack.

The Diamond Dogs

• While Ted's triumph over Rupert in the game of darts is both an awesome and heartwarming moment, his explanation of where he got his skills comes with the reveal that he had been very close to his father, who passed away when he was just a teenager. Rebecca is visibly moved by the admission.
• It's also the stuff Ted talks about right before he wins, about how he was aware that people judged him and how they thought about him, but that no one had stopped to ask him why he was the way that he was. Ted is WAY smarter than most people give him credit for.
• Higgins finally apologizes to Rebecca for not being brave enough to stand up to Rupert. Then Keeley comes in and confronts Rebecca for trying to destroy Ted through that photograph early in the season. Rebecca just gets her face thoroughly rubbed in the fact that by trying to hurt Rupert, she's actually been hurting everyone else.

All Apologies

• Rupert comes for a visit and gloats to Rebecca that he and Bex are expecting a baby. The audience realizes that Rebecca lost the chance to have children because Rupert refused to start a family and he twists the knife further by glibly saying that it's all about finding the right person.
  • He literally says "I suppose I just didn't want one with..." and intentionally doesn't finish the sentence (it would have ended with "you", meaning Rebecca), just changing gears and saying it's about finding the right person. This man is the scum of the earth.

The Hope that Kills You

• Roy getting injured after making a crucial tackle on Jamie. Not only did Roy sacrifice any hope of playing longer due to a career-ending injury, but it winds up being for nothing by the end of the match as Richmond still loses.
• AFC Richmond getting relegated. Definitely a downer note to end the series on. Especially given the Hope Spot where it looks like the team will advance with a tie. Just before Jamie helps give Manchester City the winning shot.
• The audience gets to see just how damaged Jamie really is, being unable to accept genuine compliments and being under the belittling thumb of a father who only started caring about him when he became a successful footballer. Ted sees Jamie seemingly sitting in the visiting treatment room by himself and decides to let bygones be bygones and talk to him. But before he opens the door, a shoe suddenly comes flying into view and almost hits Jamie in the head. Ted then sees Jamie's father appear and yell at him for not taking the shot himself before hitting him. After his dad leaves, Jamie turns and sees Ted just saw the whole thing. They just stare at each other for a few seconds before Ted decides to continue walking down the hall, clearly trying to process what he just saw.
  • The saddest part is that Jamie gets verbally abused and physically assaulted by his father because he finally decided to make the extra pass, something Ted Lasso's been trying to get him to do for the entire season. And after doing so, Jamie gets smacked around by his father for not giving the winning shot and passing it to another player. It crosses into the Heartwarming Moment when Ted congratulates Jamie for the extra pass, even though it caused AFC Richmond facing relegation. And you can tell from Jamie's face he's touched by the gesture after spending the entire episode believing Ted was just playing "mind games" with him.
  • Jamie hold back tears as he gets Ted's little soldier man.

Season 2

General

• Honestly... Nate's entire arc. Nearly every episode of the second season has a Nate highlight over on the Heartwarming page, and every single one of those ends up being a lesson Nate failed to learn.

Goodbye Earl

• A freak accident occurs during AFC Richmond's match against Nottingham Forest that results in Dani accidentally killing the team's greyhound mascot Earl during a penalty kick. Even though it was in no way his fault, Dani is completely devastated by what happened and spends 20 minutes in the shower crying, crossing himself, and praying in Spanish.

Lavender

• After seeing the rumors on Twitter that Jamie will be returning to Richmond because of him meeting with Ted at the pub, the entire team is upset and Sam, of all people, winds up yelling at Ted during training and storming off. Ted follows him into the locker room and Sam tells him about what the players saw and how he himself doesn't want Jamie back because of how miserable Jamie made him feel last season with his constant insults. Ted is able to clear up the misunderstanding with him, but later he does decide to bring Jamie back. The look on Sam's face is one of complete betrayal.

Carol of the Bells

• Ted tries to make the best of spending his first Christmas away from his son and his now-ex-wife by doing a video chat as they all open their presents, but it doesn't work out and he's left sitting alone on his couch, watching It's a Wonderful Life, and clearly depressed. Were it not for Rebecca arriving, it would have been a miserable Christmas for him.
• The episode shows in loving detail exactly how every member of the cast approaches having a warm, happy Christmas even when their initial plans were disrupted. For those who don't appear, it's made explicit that this is because they're at home with their own families. Conspicuously missing from this happy-family tableau is Jamie and Nate.

The Signal

• Ted has a panic attack near the end of the game, forcing him to leave the pitch. Rebecca tries to go after him to help, but only finds his coat discarded on the floor. We don't see him until the end of the episode, where we learn he went straight to Dr. Fieldstone's office and stayed there for hours until she returned. He then tearfully books an appointment.
  • Making it worse is that the attack happened right in the middle of what is Ted's greatest accomplishment as manager, a huge upset of Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup quarterfinals. Everyone, players, staff, and fans alike are jubilant, but Ted doesn't get to enjoy it with the rest of them.
  • Furthermore, the panic attack was (at least partially) brought on by a phone call that Ted received about Henry forgetting his school lunch, making him realized that he can no longer be an active parent to his own child.
• It's not gone into in much detail, but Colin's mantra from therapy ('I am a strong and capable man') ends with 'I am not a piece of shit', leaving the audience wondering why Colin needs to remind himself of this...
• We get our first taste of what an abusive Jerkass Nate’s father is when Nate casually recounts how his dad told both him and his primary-school girlfriend that they could both do better than each other. When they were eight years old. (To make matters worse, Nate seems to shrug this off without a blink, indicating that he’s accustomed to his dad’s emotional abuse.)

Headspace

• People who say hurtful things this episode:
  • Ted. He gives Sharon (what he thinks is) a The Reason You Suck speech, accusing her of only being in the job for the money. She later calls him on it and freely admits that it hurt her, and he apologizes, but still.
  • Nate. He berates Colin for some of the good-natured ribbing that Dani and Jamie also gave him and doubles down when Colin later tries to talk to him (though he does later apologize), and while he initially accepts some more from Will, one mean Twitter comment leads him to nastily tell him off.
    • What makes it worse is that Nate targeted the two most vulnerable people available to him. We're shown in both this episode and the previous one that Colin severely struggles with his self-worth and is insecure about his football abilities, meaning Nate's brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech undoubtedly hurts him a lot more than it would any of the other players. Meanwhile, Will wasn't even teasing Nate—he calls the Wonder Kid nickname "awesome"—but Nate lashes out at him anyway because he’s so sensitive about his own perceived misstep. Any other character would shrug off Nate's insults or angrily stand up to him, but both Will and Colin just silently accept their treatment and look like they're on the verge of tears when Nate's done with them.
  • Nate's dad. He virtually ignores his son when Nate comes into the room and only responds to his excitement about the win with a reminder to shut up and stay humble. Given that this is two days after the team’s victory and Nate has every right to be excited, it’s difficult to pass this off as Jerkass Has a Point - it’s obvious Mr Shelley just does not care about his son all that much.
• Keeley and Roy have their first real argument. He's become clingy since they started working together, and it really puts Keeley off. There's a bit of a blowup, and a moment when it looks like he might move out (but which quickly becomes an apology).
• Sam is hurt by Rebecca not responding to his request to meet in person.
  • Rebecca worries that things may have gone too far too quickly, doesn't know how to handle it, and is afraid of being hurt again.

Man City

• Early on, Jamie ignores several calls from his father, and when his phone screen is shown, the audience can see that his contact name has "dad" written in Scare Quotes. Jamie then overhears a heartwarming conversation between Sam and his own father, with Mr. Obisanya telling Sam he's proud of him and the two easily saying they love each other, leading to Jamie standing idly with a Thousand-Yard Stare, clearly weighing the differences between their relationships in his mind.
• After Richmond loses to Man City, Jamie's father comes into the full locker room to mock the team's performance and try to get Jamie to get his friends access to the pitch. Jamie, fed up with him constantly asking for favors and criticisms of both him and his teammates, tells him no. Mr. Tartt then gets belligerent and Jamie punches him in the face. While Coach Beard tosses Mr. Tartt out before he can retaliate, everyone is stunned at what they just witnessed and Jamie breaks down in tears as Roy gives him a Man Hug.
  • Seeing the normally brash, cocky Jamie reduced to quietly repeating, "Don't speak to me like that," while avoiding eye contact and holding himself as still as possible is a tearjerker all on its own. You can tell that Jamie is absolutely terrified of his father just from the tension in his body language.
  • During this, the rest of the team are standing by, too utterly shell-shocked to intervene. It's clear that their view of Jamie, whatever it was in the past, has completely changed. Sam and Ted in particular are completely horrified to learn that a parent could actually treat their child this way.
  • Even Nate, who had been callous towards the players' personal problems during the season and has been dealing with his own father-son relationship issues, just stands there in complete shock.
  • When Roy goes to hug him, Jamie flinches. Given that his father abused him physically as well as emotionally, not to mention his fraught relationship with Roy, he clearly expected to be hit rather than hugged.
  • Heck, the fact that it's Roy who takes the initiative the comfort Jamie- a man with whom he spent a large chunk of the first season at total loggerheads- is a tearjerker in of itself.
• After the above incident with Mr. Tartt, Ted makes a phone call to Sharon:
  Ted: My father killed himself when I was 16... I don't know if that's where maybe some of my issues stem from.
  • This also makes his line to Jamie from Lavender about how his father was harder on himself than him a lot Harsher in Hindsight.
• After the conversation with Sharon, Coach Beard approaches Ted and tells him he won't be riding back with the team, instead going alone to shake the events of the day off. Ted is understanding, tells him to "be careful out there", and gives him a few reminders for their plans the next day. Beard shrugs him off, and even flips him off as he leaves, suggesting something much deeper is troubling him.
  • Ted's behavior also sounds an awful lot like he's concerned that Beard might do something to hurt himself, which shows Ted's own trauma as the son of a suicide victim.

Beard After Hours

• Despite how surreal the entire episode is, it still gives insight into Coach Beard and how, despite his unflappable demeanor, he actually has some serious self-esteem issues. Throughout the episode, he hallucinates that Thierry Henry and Gary Lineker are watching him and criticizing him, saying that he's just Ted's lackey. Even though Beard tells Thierry Henry to shut up every time they appear, it's clear that this is something he struggles with.

No Weddings And A Funeral

• Ted initially gets ready for the funeral like the male lead of an 80s rom-com, rocking out to "Easy Lover" by Phil Collins (which he previously mentioned as being the ideal length for a man to get dressed to). Then he sees his son's photo on his dresser and his own reflection wearing funeral attire, which sends him into a panic attack. He later reveals that he didn't attend his own father's funeral, both due to the trauma of his father's suicide and his anger over the man having "quit" on his family by taking his own life.
• In a brilliantly edited scene, Ted and Rebecca go over their feelings about their fathers to Dr. Fieldstone and her mother, respectively. Ted tells Dr. Fieldstone that his father killed himself on the same day (maybe) Rebecca discovered that her father was cheating on her mother. They are both very angry with their fathers, but Ted ultimately forgives his where Rebecca doesn't forgive hers.
  • In Ted's case, he was at the house when his father shot himself (which Mr. Lasso presumably didn't know). Ted ran upstairs at the sound of the shot, and found the body. After calling 911, Ted had to drink one of his dad's beers before he could call his mother at work and tell her what happened.
  • When her mother reveals that she knew about the affairs and always did, Rebecca becomes furious. She tells her that she hates her. They make up by the end of the episode, but still...
  • Making it worse, Rebecca's mom is initially kind of happy. She prefers her daughter's hatred to her indifference.
• Roy acts flippantly toward death the entire episode, greatly upsetting Keeley. In the end, he explains that the death of his grandfather greatly affected him^note In "Two Aces", Roy said his grandfather dropped him off at Sunderland AFC Academy and comforted him when he was terrified of leaving home for the first time and that was the last time the two ever spoke as the man passed away before Roy could come home for a break and he spent a year desperately wishing he could talk to him one last time. But, he never received a spiritual visit and realized that everyone has only one life and that the time they spend on Earth is what matters.
• Despite being very happy, Rebecca breaks it off with Sam. She needs space to figure things out. Sam is gracious and accepting, but also very hurt (though he tries not to let her see it).

Midnight Train to Royston

• After having what was a pleasant goodbye outing with Sharon, Ted suddenly gets a text message from Trent Crimm, who informs him that Nate came to him with the truth about his panic attack during the FA Cup match against Tottenham and that he's written an article about it that will be published the next day. He asks Ted if he wants to make any comments that he can add to the article, but Ted declines. He's clearly too heartbroken by Nate's betrayal to even defend himself or try to spin the story to his advantage.
  • Trent even texts Ted an apology as he's informing him of all of this. It's clear that he really did not want this to happen and wishes he could just not publish the article. But it is his job as a journalist and he likely believes that Nate will just go to someone else with the story anyway.
• Regardless of what you think of his actions this season, seeing Nate spit at his own reflection after kissing Keeley is heartbreaking to watch. Nick Mohammed really sells Nate's guilt and self-loathing.

Inverting the Pyramid of Success

• Nate’s long awaited confrontation with Ted is this: as he shares that the reason he’s so angry with Ted is - after making him feel like the centre of Ted’s universe when Ted first came to Richmond - that he feels like Ted has abandoned him over the past year. Even his angry reference to Ted’s own son comes across less as mean-spirited, and more as envious that Henry gets to have Ted as a father. Watching Nate dash tears from his eyes while insulting Ted, he comes across less as the season’s villain he’s been set up as, and more as an angry child unable to properly express himself to his father.
  • What’s particularly painful to the audience is hearing Nate express his hurt and anger that Ted never displayed the photo of them together that Nate gave him for Christmas in his office - when we (and Ted) know that Ted has it up in his bedroom next to a picture of Henry.
  • Nate's father always moved the goalposts; nothing was ever good enough to make his father love him.
    Nate always moved the goalposts; nothing was ever good enough to prove Ted loved him.
• The fact that Nate's accusations are completely inconsistent, not only with reality but within his own worldview. Mere episodes earlier Nate was viciously angry about Ted "taking credit" for his false nine tactic, now he's viciously angry that Ted is "throwing him under the bus" by giving him the credit that he wanted. He accuses Ted of not caring but also gets angry every time someone mentions any kindness Ted shows him...the whole tirade makes it very clear that Ted is not the one Nate's angry with.
  • Additionally, Nate's worldview has become so warped that he doesn't even acknowledge Jan Maas admitting that Nate is completely correct about the false nine: it is a solid strategy that will work and the only reason it isn't at the moment is because the players aren't executing it correctly. Nate is so caught up in his ego that he can't even appreciate that the players believe in his plan and want to do their best by him.
• Nate repeating "I belong here" in a tone that tries to be smug and intimidating but comes out as raw terror and insecurity. Who is he trying to convince?
• Seeing that Nate ripped up the "Believe" sign and left it on Ted's desk before leaving Richmond. Since he's not tall enough to have reached the sign without any assistance, this means it was a calculated move to spite Ted on his part and not just a spur of the moment action made in anger. "Big Week" reveals that this was in fact deliberate on his part (though it took him multiple tries to actually reach it due to his short height).
• Ted's response throughout shows that he isn't angry, as he has every right to be, just honestly upset and confused as to why Nate betrayed him. And his only response to Nate's vicious tirade is to apologize for not showing him enough respect. Even after everything Nate has done, Ted still blames himself for their relationship falling apart.
• The fact that, by quitting Richmond to become the manager of West Ham United under Rupert, Nate didn't just betray Ted, he also betrayed Rebecca. After going through her Heel–Face Turn, Rebecca was nothing but nice to Nate. She supported Ted's decision to make him a coach and gave him lessons on how to be more confident without him even asking because she wanted him to grow as a person. Despite all of the support she gave and knowing what Rupert did to her, Nate has no qualms about disregarding all of it because he only cares about getting more power and attention for himself.

Season 3

Smells Like Mean Spirit

• The episode opens with Ted in the doldrums. He just got to spend six weeks with Henry, his son, but the time went by too quickly and he has to say good-bye. This leads him to start questioning why he's in London and at AFC Richmond, because of the hole Henry's absence leaves in his life. And the episode ends with Ted accidentally learning that his ex-wife has a new boyfriend who is now buying expensive gifts for Henry.
• All of the pundits predicting Richmond will get relegated again while West Ham will be a Top 4^note The top four finishers in the Premier League being the ones who qualify for the UEFA Champions League club has clearly gotten to Rebecca and she begins to lash out at Ted when she feels he's being too blasé about the team's outlook.
  • Rebecca's troubles come to the surface briefly when she confronts Ted about the sewer picture winding up online: everyone in sports media is laughing at Richmond...and, given the presser held at West Ham, she knows that Rupert is laughing at her. She has to beg Ted to fight back, which clearly hits him hard.
• Watching Rupert manipulate Nate: subtly steering what he says at the press conference and then deliberately humiliating him by "accidentally" mistaking Nate's car for that of a cleaner's and having it towed away in front of him. You really get the sense that this is how Rupert controls people, and Nate has no idea how much he's being manipulated.
• When Rebecca goes to meet Keeley for lunch, Keeley excitedly greets her and proudly shows off her new company...but when they're in the privacy of her office, she breaks down in tears almost immediately, showing how the stress of running a business is getting to her.
  Keeley: [sobbing] I'm so busy, I literally have to make time in my schedule to sit at my desk and cry.
• The reveal that Roy and Keeley have broken up due to their changing jobs hits hard, especially after seeing them try so hard to make things work last season. They're also shown to not be on the same page regarding the split (Keeley says they're "taking a break" while Roy simply says they're broken up), hinting at a deeper conflict that isn't addressed. Phoebe is shown to take the news remarkably well...because, since her parents split when she was four, "one of [her] core beliefs is that nothing lasts". That said, it's implied that Phoebe can tell that Roy and Keeley aren't on the same page and she's not happy about it, as she later tells Roy she thinks he's being stupid.
• Seeing Nate having a panic attack when he's giving his first press conference at West Ham. The accompanying flashbacks are a well-timed reminder that his turn to the dark side has been caused by multiple factors: including his harassment at the hands of the Greyhounds and the emotional abuse dealt out by his father.
  • To make matters worse, when Nate's asked how he's getting on with West Ham he talks about how he's "getting to know all about them...getting to like them...getting to hope" straight before getting a flashback to the Greyhounds bullying him.
  • It also stings to see Rebecca scoffing when Nate ducks out of shot to deal with his panic attack, in direct contrast to her concern when Ted suffered his attack. It's an unsettling hint that Rebecca's desire to beat Rupert is once again limiting her ability to show empathy to others.

(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea

• After Ted orders Roy to make peace with Trent Crimm, the audience learns exactly why Roy has always held Trent in such contempt. Roy takes Trent aside and produces an old newspaper clipping. The clipping consists of Trent's remarks after Roy's professional debut at 17 years old, in which Trent called Roy "an overhyped, so-called prodigy whose unbridled rage and mediocre talent rendered his Premier League debut a profound disappointment". Roy was utterly wrecked when he read that and it led to his hatred of Trent and the press/pundits in general. Meanwhile, Trent clearly regrets writing those words and apologizes to Roy, admitting that he was just trying to be edgy and make a name for himself without any care for how his articles affected the subjects.
• Following the draw against Chelsea, Ted asks Roy how it felt being back at his old stomping grounds and being embraced by the fans. Roy admits it didn't feel all that great and reveals the details of how his time there ended:
  Roy: Last season I was there, we played a match against Arsenal, and we fucking murdered 'em.
  Trent: I remember, 3-0.
  Roy: Yeah. But I played like shit. Right? I did. That was the first time, ever, I thought, "I can't keep up anymore. I'm not good enough." And that was all I could think about for the rest of the year. I knew it was only gonna get worse. So at the end of the season, I left. Everyone was shocked. The club was shocked. The fans. The press... I didn't wanna be one of them broken-down footballers just taking up space until they're dropped, years after they should have been.
  Ted: Yeah, well, a lot of folks think it's better to quit than to be fired, you know?
  Roy: Yeah. But going back there today, there's a part of me thinking maybe I should have stayed and just fucking enjoyed myself... But that's not who I am, I guess.
  • And while Roy is ostensibly talking about the end of his career at Chelsea, the subtext makes it clear that he's also talking about why he broke up with Keeley.
• The Reveal that Rebecca was the other woman who Rupert seduced while still married to his first wife. It puts the scene where Sassy reminds Rebecca that she hurt people while with Rupert in a much harsher light.

4-5-1

• The episode confirms that Colin is in fact a closeted gay man and the audience gets a glimpse into how he struggles with having to keep his sexuality a secret due to his fear of how his teammates would react. His mounting discomfort in the locker room as the players' comments about their admiration for Zava build to casually homophobic jokes, as well as his later introducing his boyfriend to them as his "wingman", is absolutely painful to watch, especially for viewers with similar experiences.
• Colin continues to struggle with self-confidence issues and is seen repeating "I am a strong and capable man" — the mantra Sharon taught him in Season 2 — when he feels low. This is made worse when the coaches decide to cut him from the starting lineup to make room for Zava.
• Rebecca goes to see her mother's psychic, Trish, and initially indulges her despite being skeptical. When Trish gives a few too many seemingly-random predictions, Rebecca turns to leave indignantly. Trish attempts to call her back by telling her she's going to have a family, then specifically clarifying she'll become a mother. Rebecca is visibly devastated, reminding the audience that Rebecca believes she lost the chance to have children due to Rupert claiming not to want them during their marriage. Rebecca tearfully lets out a "Fuck you" to Trish as she storms out.
• When Ted goes to call Henry before his soccer game, Michelle's new boyfriend, Jake, answers the phone...and he and Ted recognize each other's voices, leading to a deeply uncomfortable exchange with Michelle. This, combined with Ted's realization he no longer has Michelle's cell phone number memorized nearly leads Ted into another panic attack during the match. When he talks to Dr. Sharon later, Ted reveals exactly why he was so troubled: Jake was his and Michelle's marriage counselor. Ted remarks that the person who was supposed to help save his marriage (and who is part of the reason Ted was initially so distrustful of therapy as a concept) is now dating his ex has left him feeling horribly betrayed. Even Sassy is disturbed by this when Ted reveals this at Sam's restaurant, calling it "unethical" and validating Ted's feelings.
  • Not only is this a big slap in the face for Ted, but Dr Jake has violated one of the fundamental ethical standards of therapy by dating a patient: a standard which only exists because the therapist is in a position of power and influence over often-vulnerable patients. Not only was Jake a bad therapist to Ted, by dating Michelle he's also taking advantage of their therapist-patient relationship.
  • For Michelle, Ted AND Henry. Dr. Jake knows exactly the issues that went wrong in the Lasso household and not only did he violate ethics by dating a (former?) patient, he's violated the law. He's also clearly trying to buy Henry's affections with expensive toys, knowing that there's a possibility that Henry will show his father the presents and also knowing that Ted doesn't know about him and Michelle. This is an ethical and legal clusterfuck, and though he never would because he still loves Michelle and he loves Henry, Ted would be well within his rights to report Dr. Jake.

Big Week

• While the video of Nate struggling to destroy the "Believe" sign is funny (as it takes him multiple tries to even reach it due to his short height), it's also rather sad and pathetic to see him go through so much effort to accomplish the task as he's in a blind rage.
• Richmond's loss to West Ham, particularly when the audience knows what it means to Rebecca. The most upsetting thing of all? Between Roy and Beard showing the team the video of Nate (when they knew Ted didn't want it), and the team losing their temper and playing dirtily against West Ham, it's hard to claim that they didn't deserve that loss.
  • Making it worse, Richmond's violent play is cast into a whole new light when you remember that some team members used to be physically abusive towards Nate.
  • It's incredibly unsettling, even upsetting, to see the Richmond team play so dirtily against West Ham after The Reveal that Nate destroyed the "Believe" sign. To see the team we know and love exhibit such disproportionate anger against another team (who didn't even have anything to do with the incident) in response to a hurtful but ultimately harmless symbolic gesture is hard to watch.
  • Then's there's Nate's reaction to all of the chaos. He starts off happy and smug that Richmond is essentially beating themselves with their play, but as the violence continues to escalate it transforms into genuine shock and confusion as to why the players are acting like this.
• Seeing Nate constantly try to apologise to Ted, only to lose the opportunity from Rupert's constant malign influence on his life.
• The Reveal that Rupert is once again having an affair and betraying both Bex and his baby daughter. History Repeats...and this time, Bex has a baby with Rupert and is shown to be financially reliant upon him, so it's going to be that much harder for her to walk away than it was for Rebecca. It doesn't help that Rupert and Bex's relationship already seems to be getting more strained, as Bex is noticeably less cheerful than she was in her previous appearances and occasionally insults Rupert.

Sunflowers

• Colin opens up a bit to Trent about his struggles and how hard it is for him to stay in the closet and how maintaining a strict separation between professional and personal has ruined many relationships for him. However, he's reluctant to come out because doing so would turn him into a symbol and a role model when all he wants is to be himself and get to kiss his partner in public without much fuss like his teammates get to do.
  Colin: I know we can't fix every ache inside of us, but I shouldn't have to pretend it's not there, either.
• During their training, Jamie wants to take Roy to see a real Dutch windmill and purchases bikes for them to use. Roy reveals that he actually doesn't know how to ride one. Turns out Roy's grandfather was going to teach him during his first Christmas break back from Sunderland and when his grandfather died before the break, Roy never attempted to learn due to his grief. And as he's explaining this to Jamie, he suddenly realizes that never learning was actually disrespectful to his grandfather's wishes and feels worse about it.
• Jamie reveals to Roy that during one of the two times he visited Amsterdam, his father paid a prostitute to take his virginity — when Jamie was fourteen, which is statutory rape. When a horrified Roy points out how traumatizing that must have been, Jamie admits that he doesn't remember it that well, possibly because it was so traumatic.
  • Then Jamie goes on to describe the second time he visited the city with his mother. Even though that trip was much more pleasant, with the two of them going on several tours, visiting museums, and eating Dutch cuisine, the effects of Jamie's father's abuse prevented him from truly enjoying the experience.
• Although his own insecurities are ultimately to blame for the breakup, seeing Roy's face fall when he realises Keeley is seeing someone else is truly heartbreaking.

The Strings That Bind Us

• Sam's plot in this episode is one large Break the Cutie for him. He starts off the week excited because Ola is coming to town to watch a match and visit the restaurant. However, he soon learns from his restaurant staff that a boat of African refugees is on its way to the UK seeking asylum, but the bigoted Home Secretary Brinda Barot is trying to prevent its entry. Sam decides to use his platform on social media to appeal to Barot and get her to reconsider her position, but this results in her openly insulting and attacking him online. Things finally escalate to the point where Sam comes to the restaurant the morning of Ola's arrival and finds it completely vandalized by Barot's racist supporters, including the phrase "Shut Up and Dribble" being spray painted on the wall. This leads to Sam snapping in the locker room when Isaac confronts him about arriving late to training:
  Sam: I'll tell you what's wrong! The world is full of evil people who do shitty things, but I can't deal with that right now because I have to go kick a little ball around! Which those same people love me for! That is until I fuck up or I miss a penalty or I decide to fight back and then they're just gonna wanna ship me back to wherever I came from!
  • This leads to The Reveal that Ola has arrived to watch training and just witnessed Sam's entire tirade. Upon seeing his father, Sam just completely breaks down and sobs in his arms.
• The map Lloyd made for her is adorable in itself, but the fact that his wife knows Lloyd would lose it if Nate ever saw his old romantic gesture is heartbreaking. Despite the fact that it was a sweet, thoughtful, utterly romantic thing to do, apparently Lloyd doesn't want Nate (or Nicole as it's implied he doesn't know she knows about it) seeing that side of himself - most likely because it shows him as looking vulnerable or somehow foolish - highlighting the emotional distance between the two men. Not to mention it hints at Lloyd's own insecurities (which he appears to have passed on to his son).

We'll Never Have Paris

• After Colin leaves the locker room, Isaac follows him to make sure he deletes any sexy pictures he still has from previous girlfriends. Mistakenly believing Colin is being so guarded because he doesn't want to follow the order, Isaac takes Colin's phone away to delete them himself and sees that Colin was looking at a picture of a guy. He gives the phone back and walks away without a word, leaving a forlorn Colin on the couch, obviously fearing that his closest friendship on the team has just been ended.
• From the audience's perspective, it can be pretty heartbreaking to see otherwise lovely fan favorites like Colin be so dismissive around the morality of keeping someone's nudes after a breakup, and the damage leaked nudes can cause. Humans Are Flawed, indeed.
  • Can be doubled if you realize that, because Colin is trapped in the closet, those nudes may be the only mementos he has of past relationships, the only proof he has that people can and do love him.
• Keeley throughout much of this episode. Intimate videos of her are leaked without her consent and her new girlfriend ultimately show herself to be far more concerned with how this will affect her image than Keeley's wellbeing.
• While it's completely a result of his previous Mean Boss behavior and self-centeredness, Nate's failed attempt to recreate the Diamond Dogs at West Ham is still sad. For the first time onscreen, he's forced to face the fact that, for everything he's gained by joining West Ham, he also lost a lot by quitting Richmond and burning bridges with all of the friends he had there.

La Locker Room Aux Folles

• When asked by the press why Isaac attacked the fan, Roy instead tells them a story about his time at Sunderland. One of Roy's older teammates was about to have his first child with his wife. Then one day, Roy made an immature joke about how he was probably the baby's real father, which caused the guy to beat up Roy to the point he had to miss several matches due to his injuries. After recovering, Roy ran into the teammate, who had been cut for attacking him and couldn't get signed by another club because of the incident, to apologize for the joke. It was then Roy learned the reason the man reacted so badly was because his wife actually had a miscarriage a month before the incident and he was too upset to tell anyone.
  Roy: Look, I get that some people think if they buy a ticket, they've got the right to yell whatever abusive shit they want at footballers. But they're not just footballers, they're also people. And none of us know what is going on in each other's lives. So for Isaac to do what he did today, even though it was wrong, I give him love. And as for why he did what he did, that's none of my fucking business.
• After Isaac attacks the homophobic fan, Roy finds the overly-tough Isaac in tears admitting that he 'fucked up'. Not only has he embarrassed himself and caused the team to be a man down at the match, it's implied Isaac is also upset because he's aware that his own past attitudes have made Colin not trust him enough to come out to him.
• Although it's been clear to everyone else for a while that Rupert is a total slimebag, seeing Nate - who was earlier talking about how much he owes Rupert for the West Ham job and clearly feels that Rupert's approval means a lot to him - silently realise just what a piece of work his boss actually is is sad to see.

International Break

• While it thankfully turns out for the best, it's still devastating for Keeley to walk into the KJPR officers to find them being cleaned out and employees leaving. Barbara has to break it to her that they've lost their funding with Keeley realizing Jack never bothered to talk to her first about this. She can only slump behind her almost deserted office desk and cry.
• Lloyd Shelley's apology to Nate can be both this and heartwarming for anyone who's grown up with high parental expectations hanging over them. It's clear that Lloyd always meant the best for Nate, but - due to their different upbringings and Lloyd's inability to connect with his son - he was never able to properly share that love until now.
  Lloyd: You were given opportunities I never had. And so I expected a lot from you...And I'm sorry. I didn't know how to parent a genius. You're brilliant, son. You've always seen things other people couldn't, and that's a blessing. I know it must also be a curse too. But you're right. I pushed you to be the best at everything, even at violin. 'Cause I thought that's what I had to do. I thought that's what you wanted. Nathan, be successful, don't be successful. I never cared about any of that. I just want my son to be happy.

Mom City

• Jamie’s arc. Seeing the normally confident and snarky Jamie Tartt reduced to tears because of his loss of ambition is devastating.
• After being a topic of discussion by Jamie and others throughout the episode, we finally see James Tartt Sr. and it turns out he's now in a rehab facility, which only his friends knew about. While it's heartwarming to see him actually cheer Jamie on while he watches the match on TV and that he's taking steps to improve himself, it's also tragic because the amount of damage he's done to his son and Jamie's mother by this point means they might not ever truly reconcile.
• Coach Beard reveals why he's so loyal to Ted, and why he was so furious with Nate for betraying him.
  Beard: Ted and I met in collegiate football. I was the back-up punter; he was the back-up kicker. Neither one of us saw much action, but we'd hang around afterwards and got to talking. After college, we went our separate ways. He was dating Michelle, got into coaching...and I got into prison. When I got paroled, I had no money, my family didn't want anything to do with me, I had nowhere to go so I looked up Ted. He took me in, fed me, let me crash on his couch. And in return, I stole his car. Now, I didn't get far. And I would've gone straight back to prison if Ted didn't come down there and convince those cops that he gave me the car.
• Ted tearfully confronts Dottie over never helping him properly cope with his father’s suicide or her inability to grieve with him.

So Long, Farewell

• Ted decides to leave Richmond and return to Kansas so he can be with Henry. While it's heartwarming that Ted is now with his son full-time, it's also sad seeing him leave the life and friends he made during his time with the club. While everyone else understands why he's leaving, several of them, particularly Rebecca, make it clear they want him to stay.
• As Ted and Coach Beard prepare for their flight to take off, Beard tearfully admits to Ted that he doesn't want to leave Jane but that he's afraid that he'll be letting Ted down if he stays in England. Ted assures Beard he's not abandoning him if being with Jane makes him happy and they declare their platonic love for each other as Beard fakes a medical emergency so they'll take him off the plane.