Ted Lasso season 3 episode 2 recap: Who's the new dude in town?

Popular series Ted Lasso returned with a new episode on March 22, 2023, bringing back some exciting Premier League action, emotional drama, and a new intriguing character, who may as well be the selling point this season. Titled (I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea, this episode saw the introduction of Zava (Maximilian Osinski) and his eventual decision to join the club in the future.

This episode also marked AFC Richmond's first stand in the Premier League, something that went surprisingly well for the small club. The synopsis for the episode reads:

"News of a top player looking to move to London sends the English clubs into a frenzy; Richmond plays its first game back in the Premier League."

This episode also saw a cohesion within the team and how Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) has successfully converted the team into a family.

Disclaimer: This article contains major spoilers for the series.

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Ted Lasso season 3 episode 2 recap: "Sour yelling" to good effect

This episode of Ted Lasso begins with Keeley (Juno Temple) dealing with some problems in her company. The scene soon shifts to a heated discussion at the office regarding a star player, Zava, who has declared that he intends to leave his current club, Juventus, on a free transfer to join a Premier League side because his wife wanted to move to England after watching The Office.

The first scene also sees the introduction of Trent Crimm (James Lance), who intends to stay with the team and write a book about them. Even though Ted agrees to this, his team soon starts cold-shouldering the journalist, not letting him have any writing material. This hostile behavior towards him is spearheaded by Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), who has not let go of the grudge against Trent.

Meanwhile, the players catch Roy and Keely talking in the distance. Edwin (Sam Richardson) tells Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) that they have possibly broken up, going by their body language. Jamie soon confronts Roy and offers his emotional support, disgusting Roy in the process.

Roy eventually finds out that everyone is sympathetic to him, and Ted Lasso and Coach Beard are nearly in shambles hearing this news. After a significant amount of comical drama regarding Roy's breakup, the focus soon shifts to Zava.

As the opening day of the Premier League commences, AFC Richmond face Chelsea, one of the top-tier clubs in English Football. As the match begins, Keely and Rebecca (Hannah Waddinham) notice Zava in the stands. Zava had previously refused to speak to AFC Richmond as it was too insulting. He was, however, close to signing for Chelsea.

As the match progresses and Richmond goes down 1-0, Rebecca spots Rupert (Anthony Head) talking to Zava, possibly trying to poach him for West Ham United. This probes Rebecca to go and try to persuade the star footballer. However, her approaches are blocked by the bodyguard. She does, however, run into Rupert in the process.

In a fit of rage, Rebecca goes to the bathroom to confront Zava, where she tells him that he is overpaid and overrated. She returns and tells Keeley that she did the opposite of "sweet talk" by "sour yelling."

The match soon turns in favor of AFC Richmond after a smart counter-attack ends up in the back of the net following a deflection from Dani Rojas' (Christo Fernandez) face. Richmond does walk away with a point from Stamford Bridge, leaving coach Ted Lasso in a favorable position.

Soon, Zava is seen at a Chelsea press conference, where he reveals that he will not be signing for Chelsea, much to the shock of his fans and manager. He reveals that he will instead be joining AFC Richmond.

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Ted Lasso will continue the story next week with the arrival of Zava. The second episode is now streaming on Apple TV+.