Welcome to the recap and annotated finale for the penultimate episode of Ted Lasso’s Season Tree. In the previous episode, we saw many interesting things, such as Rebecca standing up against Edwin Akufo’s idea of creating a Super League, Roy confessing his feelings to Kelly, and some players representing their countries during the international break.
Ted Lasso Season 3, Episode 11, titled “Mom City” brings Ted’s mom to town. Jimmy returns home, AFC Richmond takes on Manchester City, and Nate is offered a move back to Richmond. Let’s see how it all went down.
Ted’s mother is in town, and Nate is invited back to Richmond
The episode begins with Ted leaving his apartment, ready to start his day off. As he walks down the street, he greets everyone and soon runs into an unexpected surprise. Sitting on the bench is a woman whom Ted doesn’t recognize at first, but then realizes – it’s his mother, Dottie.
Nate gets a job at Taste of Athens, and Isaac, Colin, and Will come to talk to him. The whole team has talked about it, and they want Nate back at AFC Richmond. However, Ted still doesn’t know about it, and Nate thinks going back isn’t a good idea. Isaac orders 75 kebabs from Nate.
Ted is confused and wants to know what his mother is doing in England. She has been in London for a week, living in a hostel with the Australians traveling through Europe. Therefore, Ted decided that from now on his mother would stay at his place. Ted has to go to work, and his mother decides to accompany him.
Sam, Roy and Jamie attend a press conference before the game against Manchester City. With only two games left in the season, this game is important as it can open the doors for Richmond to win the title. Jimmy acts strangely and makes unassuming, honest comments that make him look bad.
Ted introduces his mother to Rebecca. They seem to be getting along, and Dottie can’t wait to meet Dani Rojas. Ted appears nervous with his mother. Dottie met up with the team and began telling them stories about Ted; They all seem to enjoy her company. Rebecca and Ted talk about Dottie being there, and Ted admits that the whole situation is weird. He doesn’t understand why she just appeared out of nowhere. Rebecca assures him that as long as he provides Dottie with at least one good memory while he was in England, it will be a success. Also, Rebecca buys a horse.
Something is up with Jimmy, and Coach Bird against Nate returning to the club
Practice is about getting started, and the team is getting ready. Van Dam had to wear a mask because Danny injured him during the international match. Everyone makes fun of Van Damme except Jimmy. He thinks it’s better to be safe than to look cool. And he doesn’t look like Jimmy at all. Roy realizes that there must be something wrong with Jimmy, so the two have a little talk. Roy started yelling at Jimmy in the tone he always uses. But this time, Jimmy started screaming out of nowhere in the middle of Roy’s speech. Apparently, Jimmy suffers from depression. He cannot sleep or eat and feels as if he has “lost his wings”.
Leslie tells Ted that Nate will likely return to Richmond if he is invited. Ted is fine with that, and so is Roy. But the beard “will burn the place to the ground if they bring back Judas.” Everyone loves having Dottie around, and Ted is upset about it. He saw Roy Kelly and asked her to help him with Jimmy’s condition.
Ted, Bird and Dottie went to the bar. Ted tried to avoid his mother by pretending to play pinball. He gives May Ted some words of wisdom, which makes him think of his family. Meanwhile, Dottie asks Bird how Ted is doing.
Later in the evening, Dottie and Ted speak in a more solemn tone. Dottie gives Ted all the newspaper clippings featuring Ted’s journey as a coach. She is worried about Ted and wants to know if he still has panic attacks.
Jimmy goes to visit his mother, and Roy and Kelly follow
The team arrived in Manchester and settled in a hotel. Kelly visits Jimmy in his hotel room to help him deal with his stress. Jimmy has a lot going on. He’s playing at home for the first time since leaving, and his father won’t be happy about it. If Richmond won the next day, all his dreams would come true. Realizing all this made things even worse for him. Later, the whole team watches “You’ve Got Mail” with tears all over.
Jimmy snuck out of the hotel, with Roy and Kelly following. They end up at Jimmy’s mother’s house. Jimmy is clearly a “mama’s boy,” and Roy can’t believe it. Jimmy opens up to his mom. He feels that all he has done in his life is to prove to his father that he is nothing like him. But what this did to him made him numb from the inside. However, Jimmy’s mom is very proud of him for what he has accomplished and who he is. She assures Jimmy that he is amazing and has nothing to prove to his father.
Roy and Kelly find themselves in Jimmy’s childhood bedroom. They are surprised to see posters in the room, one with Roy and one with Kelly on it. Roy admits to Kelly that he does not want them to be just friends. Talking to his mom helped Jimmy, and he was ready for the next match. Dottie sent Ted a message, which made him realize even more how he had distanced himself from his family.
Richmond vs Manchester City
The match is about to start. As expected, most of the court booed Jimmy, but he was ready for it. Nate watches the game from the restaurant and supports AFC Richmond. Jam made a great pass – Cullen scored, and Richmond took the lead. We see Pep Guardiola directing Manchester City on how to proceed. After Richmond’s goal, Manchester City applied a lot of pressure, but Richmond was able to defend itself thanks to Van Damme’s great saves.
After a Manchester City corner kick, Jimmy defended Richmond’s goal with a great move. Unfortunately, he injures himself in the process. Jimmy tries to keep playing, but he’s in too much pain. He goes off the field to get medical help but refuses to be substituted. So Richmond continued playing with ten men, and Van Dam kept his dreams alive with his amazing saves. Meanwhile, Nate gets fired because he’s totally okay with it. He realized where his passion lies.
Jimmy was on the sidelines, turning around and looking to see his dad in the stands, but couldn’t find him. Ted gave Jimmy good advice. If hating his father isn’t motivating him as much as before, it might be time to try something different – to forgive him. Jimmy is back playing, more determined than ever.
Then something amazing happened. Jimmy passed several players and scored a goal. He decided not to celebrate against his former team. After that, he was substituted, and the whole stadium cheered and applauded him. It was an emotional moment that Jimmy could only hope for. It is also revealed that Jimmy’s dad is in rehab, which is why he wasn’t on the stands.
The match ended, and Richmond won. Ted shook hands with Pep Guardiola and exchanged a few words. Bird and Ted were overjoyed after that. Jimmy also said hello to his old coach.
Coach Bird forgives Nate, Ted confronts his mother, and Rebecca pays a surprise visit
After the match, the team celebrates a bit, but Isaac mentions that they still need to win one important game. Ted shows footage of the beard to Nate hiding inside the desk in Ted’s office for hours. Ted again provides us with some meaningful words of wisdom: ‘I hope that none or none of us will be judged by the actions of our weakest moment, but rather by the strength we display when and if we get a second. an opportunity.’ All of which made Bird think. Jimmy stayed in the locker room and put some ice on his ankle. He texts his father, and Roy and Kelly come to keep him company with his father.
Nate comes home writing Ted a letter of apology. He wrote 60 pages, and then an unexpected visitor showed up. Behind Nate’s door, there was a beard. Coach Bird got right to the point. Ted saved Bird’s life in more ways than one, so in honor of Ted, Bird decided to forgive Nate and offered him a job. It was an emotional scene.
Ted came home and wasn’t in the mood to have a small talk. He wanted to know what was wrong and why Dottie came. His mother assures him that everything is fine, but then Ted speaks his mind. Dottie spent her whole life painting everything and doing what was best for her son, but she never wanted to discuss her problems. But Ted knew his mom wasn’t feeling well, but he had to pretend like he did. And that’s what pisses him off after all these years.
Dottie finally said why she came. She wanted Ted to know that his son missed him. Ted became emotional upon hearing this because he already knew it and missed his son. But Ted is afraid to get close to Henry because eventually he will leave Henry and live his own life. And when that happens, Ted will be crushed. Dottie tells him that this is part of being a father.
The episode ends with Bex coming to see Rebecca. At her side is Mrs. Cax, Robert’s former assistant. Bex needs some advice from Rebecca, and it’s most likely something to do with Rupert. Dottie left and left the sunflower bread for Ted.
Later in Ted’s office, Rebecca comes to visit Ted. It is their tradition to drop some truth bombs at the end of the season. Rebecca can’t think of anything this time, but Ted has something to say. Although the episode ends there, Ted will likely announce that he is going home, and that he is going back to his son.
