Ted Lasso: 2×2 “Lavender”

Season 2 Episode 2 of Ted Lasso, “Lavender” was an amazing continuation to the series’s season premiere. Inklings of stories that we were introduced in the second season’s first episode are starting to take a more formative shape, and our beloved characters are presented with even more challenges, which has already set the tone of the season to a more dramatic one than the heartwarming beginnings of Season 1. 

Spoilers for 2×2 of Ted Lasso ahead!

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The episode picks up where episode 1 left off, with Jaime Tartt on the Love Island spoof reality program Lust Conquers All. He is sadly eliminated, and now we are set up with part of Jaime’s arc for the season: dealing with the consequences of his actions. His football team, Man City, doesn’t want him back, and reality TV does not seem appealing to him anymore after he left his team to pursue it. This is eating at Jaime, and he is another character that we now see in a struggle for identity. 

We then see more of Nate’s struggle for the season: being unnecessarily rude to Will, the new kit man. Viewers are left questioning what is causing Nate to be this way, because right now he is pretty unlikable after we just finished rooting for him for the whole first season. 

Most of this episode centers on Roy Kent, our favorite scruffy & scrappy ex-footballer turned kid’s coach. We see him drive off when Ted tries to greet him as he drops Keeley off, clearly not ready to be back at The Dogtrack. We see Keeley struggling because Roy is clearly not doing well, as he is not as vulnerable and honest as he had once built up the self-assurance to be. This confession from Keeley pushes Roy to try out the pundit job for Sky Sports.

We also see Ted trying to get through to Dr. Fieldstone a lot more in this episode. She rejects Ted’s offer of his famous biscuits, which shocks and confuses him. She doesn’t eat sugar. She reads him like a book immediately, noting that biscuits and folksy questions are his way of connecting with new people because it is disarming. This scene sets up the question of whether or not we will see an actual session between Dr. Fieldstone and Ted, which I am hoping for so that we can witness a huge breakthrough moment. This scene is followed by one of the most intriguing scenes of the episode between Ted and Rebecca. They are talking about their skepticism towards therapists and how friends are there to express anxieties and issues, but both fall silent as neither of them feels as though they can express their truth. Maybe it’s personal issues with opening up; maybe it’s a lack of trust for the other. 

We also see Jaime approach Keeley and talk about the idea of returning to AFC Richmond. She tells him to talk to Ted, and we then see Jaime and Ted in our favorite Richmond pub. Jaime sets his army man down, the one Ted gave him in the season one finale. He named the army man Ted, after Ted Danson (this reference, followed by the Cheers and The Good Place mention, made my entire watch party scream). Ted discourages Jaime from rejoining AFC Richmond because he burned so many bridges, but a photo of them together was snapped and tweeted and reached the rest of the team. This especially affects Sam, who feels betrayed by Ted. Sam feels hurt that Ted wouldn’t have even talked to the team about Jaime’s potential return, even though it was a huge miscommunication.

Meanwhile, Roy is getting back to his football roots with the Sky Sports pundit job, and before he goes on air, we see a familiar face—George, the coach Rebecca fired in the pilot. Will he be a recurring character this season, or was this just a cameo? Will he interact with Roy when they’re off the air?

Closer to the end of the episode, we feel that heartwarming charm that we all crave from this show. Dr. Fieldstone lets Ted call her Doc and finally reveals to him her favorite book. She is warming up to him, but you can tell his charm will not as easily sway her as Rebecca isn’t as easily influenced as she was in Season 1. She clearly has fences of her own that are harder for Ted to hop over. 

The end of the episode shows the return of Jaime Tartt. How are we, as viewers, supposed to feel about this? I feel heartbroken for Sam, who confided in Ted that he felt betrayed at even the idea of Jaime returning, especially since Ted seemed so confident that Jaime would not return. I feel excited for the future of the team, as Jaime is a talented athlete nonetheless.

How are we, as viewers, supposed to feel?

I am eager for Jaime’s redemption arc and happy that he is in an environment that allows for personal growth and even encourages it. I am hopeful that Jaime will sit down with Dr. Fieldstone and that we get to see it on screen; it could be both hysterical and heartbreaking based on what we know about his character. I feel confused by Ted’s actions because he told Jaime it was a bad idea to come back to Richmond. I am excitedly anxious to see where this goes. Is Ted purposefully making Sam angry to further the Sam/Roy parallels? Anger was Roy’s secret. Is this how they beat their streak of ties?

This season seems to be pointing out a lot more of Ted’s humanity rather than his usual sunshine and optimist personality: his skepticism of therapists, his desire to be needed, his clouded judgment between being a football coach and being a life coach, and times where he genuinely messes up. It’s slightly unnerving but refreshing to see because, of course, no one can be perfect, but it does feel strange to feel confused and almost hurt by a decision The Great Ted Lasso made. I just can’t help but think it will make this season even stronger. 

Ted Lasso is streaming now on Apple TV+ with new episodes every Friday.