Ted Lasso Season 3, Episode 7 spoilers ahead. The hit Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso tackles an issue that sports fans are very familiar with. In Episode 7 of the third season, Sam (Toheeb) Jimoh is getting ready for his father to visit from Nigeria. As he makes sure his restaurant, Ola’s is in the best condition possible, Chef Simi (Precious Mustapha) jokingly tells Sam he needs to be more worried about his father being allowed in the country due to Britain’s Home Secretary’s stance on immigration.
Later in the episode, Sam tweets a message to the home secretary, saying he hopes for better from the country’s leaders. This leads to her going into Laura Ingraham mode, tweeting, “Footballers should leave the politics to us and just shut up and dribble, and that “[Sam] should worry less about the safety of our nation and worry more about being a mediocre player on a mediocre team.” Ingraham tweeted something similar to LeBron James a few years ago.
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But unlike James, Sam tweeted back at the secretary by saying he’d “rather be a mediocre footballer than a world-class bigot.” This turned out to be a risky move for Sam as his restaurant is destroyed and the words “Shut up and dribble” are spray-painted on a wall. Sam is very angry and lashes out at the team when he’s in the locker room. As that is happening, Sam’s father (Nonso Anozie) arrives and Sam collapses into his arms.
Sam’s father calms him down and tells him don’t let the people who trashed the restaurant get to him. After AFC Richmond’s match against Arsenal, Sam lets his dad see the restaurant. And when they arrive, the entire team is there to help clean up, which leads to Sam and his father cooking dinner for everyone.
As for the rest of the AFC Richmond members, they are learning a new scheme to help them get out of a slump. Ted (Jason Sudeikis) decided to implement Total Football in the week before they play Arsenal. This leads to the team running a lot, learning new positions and being (literally) tied together by strings. As predicted, AFC Richmond is overwhelmed by the new scheme and trails Arsenal 3-0 at the half. But Jamie (Phil Dunster), who knows how to run Total Football, tells them how it could work, which is playing through him instead of playing to him. AFC Richmond loses 3-1 but shows hope that Total Football will work as the players get accustomed to it.
The episode also featured Jack (Jodi Balfour) and Keely (Juno Temple) getting more serious with their relationship. Jack seems to really like Keelely, giving her various gifts including filling her office with daises and hiding jewelry in baked goods. Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) warns Keeley about Jack’s strong approach as Rupert (Anthony Head) did the same thing with her when they were together. Keeley addresses the issue to Jack who says she wants Keelely to really like her. They seem to get on the same page at the end of the episode, but it’s something that could pop up again down the road.
And Nate (Nick Mohammed) is on his way to having a girlfriend. He is seen talking to his mom and sister about asking A Taste of Athens hostess Jade (Edyta Budnik) out on a date. After seeing a map his dad made to ask his mom out for the first time, Nate decides to make a pop-up box to ask Jake out. However, the box is destroyed after Nate trips and drops it in the street, but Nate asks Jade out anyway, and she says yes.
