A trip to Amsterdam could have brought all the characters together, but thanks to the scattered nature of Ted Lasso Season 3, it was more of the same.
Ted Lasso Season 3 Episode 6 excelled in many areas, but keeping many characters apart as they search for meaning is beginning to stretch very thin.
“Sunflowers” played with many different characters and conflicts to deliver an episode that was still highly satisfying, but the series needs to switch things up to avoid going stale.
We’ll start with Colin because he’s been on the periphery, and we’re slowly learning why.
He wanted to go out and experience all that Amsterdam’s gay scene had to offer without the prying eyes of the paparazzi or anyone knowing who he was.
Trent serving as a confidante for Colin was not on my bingo card, but you could tell he was happy to be talking to someone who understood what he wanted out of life.
It’s a friendship I never expected, but it makes sense, and hopefully, they can help each other in their own ways as the season progresses.
Trent: And that was the second time I came out to her. This time, however, she believed me. And now… we’re closer than ever.
Colin: And your daughter?
Trent: Yeah. She’s never been happier. My point is, it was really difficult to hold on to that secret. But I’m not a professional athlete. How do you do it?
Colin: Well… my whole life is two lives really. You got my work life. Like, no one at the club knows. I’d… I’d like to think they wouldn’t care, but… it’s just easier that way. Then you got my dating life. Some guys think it’s hot. Others say they don’t care, but eventually they get tired and they move on. Then the club brought in Dr. Sharon… and she helped me realize that I have… an ache. An ache for both my lives to be my only life. I don’t want to be a spokesperson. I don’t want a bunch of apologies. All I want is for when we win a match, to be able to kiss my fella the same way the guys get to kiss their girls. And I know we can’t fix every ache inside of us. But I shouldn’t have to pretend it’s not there either.
Colin’s arc this season hasn’t been about acceptance. It’s been about being able to do things that heterosexual footballers do without ending up in the headlines.
You could tell he was worried about anyone finding out about his sexuality, but what we learned throughout his journey on “Sunflowers” is that he wants to be able to have a love interest and not have that person define him.
I suspect Trent will mentor him and help him find the right time to open up more to his teammates about his personal life.
Trent could have outed Colin to recalibrate his career after being fired for revealing his source on Ted Lasso Season 2.
Colin: How’d you know? About me?
Trent: Well, I used my Holmesian powers of journalistic deduction. Saw you kissing a guy outside Sam’s restaurant.
Colin: Ah. Yeah.
I appreciate the series taking this friendship and storyline in a different direction because it would have been unfortunate witnessing Colin being outed without concern for what that would do to him.
Rebecca’s impromptu rom-com was also a surprise, leaving me with more questions than answers.
Her journey throughout the series has been deeply rooted in her finding her happiness after Rupert’s betrayal, but who would have thought she would still be looking for signs on a canal boat?
Not me, but Hannah Waddingham somehow manages to offer a nuanced performance no matter what material she’s given.
Rebecca’s search for happiness has been her driving force throughout the series, and I hope she manages to resolve it before the finale.
Her fast-paced love story on the canal boat was cute, but it didn’t strike me as anything that would leave Amsterdam unless, of course, Rebecca winds up pregnant.
The series hinted at her inability to get pregnant on Ted Lasso Season 3 Episode 5, but this show plays with expectations, so anything could happen.
Rebecca needed to blow off some steam after her searches for clues yielded no results, and by the end of the hour, she was chipper and seemed ready to return to the UK.
Rebecca: Should I be concerned that you’ve got a giant Tupperware box of women’s clothing in your floating house? These aren’t trophies, are they?
Man: No. It’s my former partner. She was tall, like you.
Rebecca: Oh, I’m sorry. Did she pass away?
Man: Unfortunately, no.
Ted’s predicament in his journey continued to be a draw, largely thanks to Jason Sudeikis selling every aspect of this story.
Ted has had this inner struggle for a while now. He’s not happy, and the mask is slowly slipping, and it’s hard not to wonder if he’ll have a full-fledged meltdown before the series wraps.
He feels the weight of Richmond’s success or lack thereof on his shoulders, and he won’t be able to settle until he gets the team back to its former glory.
Watching him in the restaurant was fascinating because, just when he thought he was about to get a little taste of home, he realized that the eatery was the most deceiving experience.
His battle about whether to take the drugs and the revelation that the tea was a dud was just what he needed to get his confidence back.
His plans for the team’s formation and tactics came to him without using drugs, and you could tell he felt a bit like his old self.
Certain things in life knock us down, but it’s how we get back up and move on that matters.
Ted was so against anything to do with drugs, and knowing he didn’t use marijuana to help find a new strategy was enough to assure him that he could fix the team.
It will be entertaining to watch this strategy implemented because there’s not much else the team can do at this stage. They’re in a lot of trouble.
Jamie: It’s Amsterdam. How do you not?
Roy: Never been here in my life.
Jamie: What? Never?
Roy: No.
Jamie: Not one stag party?
Roy: No.
Jamie: Not one international match?
Roy: No.
Jamie: Not one emergency flight diverted here because some EasyJet passenger was being a prick?
Roy: That never happens.
Jamie: It does. It does happen, if you’re being enough of a prick. Which I was.
Roy: It just looks like a Disney version of an old city. It all looks so fսcking fake.
Jamie: It’s not fake.
Roy: Come on. Windmills? Fake.
Jamie: I ain’t even from here, and I’m offended. Windmills are real, man. What are you talking about?
Roy: Yeah, I’ll believe it when I see it.
Jamie: We need bikes.
Roy: What? No.
Jamie and Roy’s journey to find a windmill was written and acted about as well as expected.
Roy is unquestionably using these teaching tactics on Jamie to conceal how he really feels, and it’s a much different way of handling things than you’d expect from someone like Roy.
These two men were supposed to be sworn enemies, but they have this mutual understanding of one another I never thought was possible.
The show has done an excellent job of subverting expectations with this bond, but I feel the love triangle will return before the end of the season.
I want the show to avoid that, but I can’t shake the feeling Keeley and Jack’s relationship will burn out quickly.
They have chemistry for days, but once the jet-setting trips end and the fact that they both have a lot of work to do sets in, problems might arise.
Did anyone else feel robbed that we didn’t get to watch their trip play out? It seemed odd to have Keeley in the first few minutes, only for her to disappear from the narrative.
Then again, there was an overload of storylines at play here on the longest episode of the series.
What are your thoughts on the series keeping many of the characters apart?
Did you expect there to be more pizazz with everyone in Amsterdam?
What’s your take on the friendship between Colin and Crimm?
Are you surprised Rebecca got a short-lived rom-com?
What do you think will happen to the team from here?
Hit the comments.
Ted Lasso continues Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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