Die Episode „4-5-1“ beginnt und endet mit einer Nebenfigur, mit der wir nicht viel Zeit verbracht haben. Colin (Billy Harris) war, wie viele der Spieler, die nicht Jamie oder Sam hießen, lange nur ein Hintergrund-Teamkollege. Das ändert sich hier. Denn plötzlich Teddy Lasso dringt in das „no homo“-Territorium vor, das weiterhin viele Umkleidekabinen auf der ganzen Welt heimsucht. Colin hat einen Jungen, den er regelmäßig sieht. (Ich werde nicht „Freund“ verwenden, da ihre koketten Texte eher auf eine FWB-Situation hindeuten.) Aufgrund der unmusikalischen Art und Weise, wie seine Teamkollegen auf alles, was auch nur annähernd homoerotisch ist, reagieren – was sowohl ha-ha lustig als auch ha-ha seltsam ist – findet Colin er hält diesen Teil von sich geheim.
„Ich bin ein starker und fähiger Mann“, sagt Colin zu sich selbst, ein Mantra, das sich illusorisch und immateriell anfühlt, egal ob es ihm hilft, sich selbst darin zu trainieren, seine Sexualität geheim zu halten, oder um damit fertig zu werden, aus dem Startteam gebootet zu werden Mach Platz für Zava. Es klingt hohl, auch wenn es klar ist, dass es zu einer emotionalen Krücke geworden ist, die ihm geholfen hat, damit fertig zu werden, sich zum Wohle des Teams in zwei Hälften zu spalten. Wir sind eindeutig dabei, Zeuge einer Nebenhandlung zu werden, in der das durchaus enden kann.
Am anderen Ende des Spektrums steht Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), die keine Narren duldet und keine Zeit für die von Plattitüden getriebene Arbeit einer Hellseherin hat, egal wie gut sie empfohlen wird. Das Faszinierende an Rebeccas medialem Besuch ist, dass er, selbst als er sich in scheinbar New-Age-mäßigen Mist neigte, nicht allzu unähnlich zu der Art von Therapie aussah, die Dr. Sharon Ted letztes Jahr angeboten hatte. Es macht Sinn, dass Rebecca nicht einmal dieses Maß an Selbstprüfung möchte. Je weniger sie darüber nachdenken muss, was sie in letzter Zeit motiviert, desto weniger muss sie neu abwägen, ob die Fortsetzung einer unnötigen Fehde mit ihrem Ex-Mann der beste Weg ist, ihr Leben zu führen, ihr Team zu führen.
She may even scoff at the palliative power of Kintsugi, the Japanese art of mending things and of embracing imperfections in order to create something beautiful, but as a metaphor it feels most apt as a coping mechanism for how she’s come to approach her life as of late. Of course, given what we find out later in the episode (a green match book!), it seems we, like Rebecca, need to take the psychic’s words at face value. That is, we may have just been spoiled as to what’s going to happen to Rebecca by the end of the season (series!): “You will have a family. You will be a mother.” Will it involve newly-minted restauranteur Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh)? Inquiring minds are dying to know.
But I’m just delaying the inevitable. Because, despite these various subplots, “4-5-1” was all about that single digit at the end of the episode’s title: Zava (Maximilian Osinski). The soccer superstar has deigned to join Richmond and from the moment he arrived (late, no less), he made it clear that he was there to boost his own ego, even as his behavior also suggests such self-serving moves often require him to soothe those around him and make them feel seen. It’s only Rebecca who’s not immediately won over, perhaps because she sees right through those moves.
Oh, and Jamie (Phil Dunster). The former Richmond It boy is clearly having problems adjusting to playing second fiddle to the meditating, goal-scoring force that is Zava. And really, you can’t blame him—especially when Zava outright steals one of his goals for himself. Jamie knows a thing or two about being a diva so it makes sense he’d be the one to similarly see right through Zava’s antics. Thankfully, rather than merely sulk around, Jamie gets the Roy Kent treatment: namely, a talking to that’s equal parts hype session and telling off. (I’ll admit my favorite bit of that exchange was Roy’s sheepishness once he’s called out for making a mess of Sam’s yet-to-open restaurant.)
Roy and Jamie have long felt like an odd couple waiting to happen, and this seems like a perfect way to get Keeley’s exes to finally bond over something else other than the petite pink-wearing go-getter. Hilarity, I hope, will soon ensue. I wonder, though: What will it take for the rest of the Richmond team to realize that Zava is not really a team player? What will that do to the morale of a group of mates who’ve been through so much together? Sure, they’re winning, but at what cost? Maybe Jamie will be able to open others’ eyes.
Speaking of opening others’ eyes…it’s understandable why Colin would keep his personal life to himself. Locker room talk (about, say, Julie Andrews!) is so aggressively heterosexual in such spaces that there does seem to be little room for someone like Colin to fully express himself. It hurts though, to watch him and his hook up (fwb? bf?) straight-act their way through Sam’s pre-opening, openly playing the “We’re just two hetero bro friends who are wingmen for one another” schtick. I felt for Colin there and I’m eager to see what Lasso will do with such a storyline. I’ll admit though, I’m worried, given that the episode ends with a gotcha cliffhanger that may set the stage for either a compassionate examination of homophobia in sports and/or one where people’s worst impulses are tempted.
Colin, you’ll remember is caught in flagrante by none other than Trent Crimm. Will the erstwhile cutting and cutthroat sports journalist use this tidbit as juicy gossip to bolster the tell-all book about Richmond he’s writing? Or, emboldened by the tender conversation he had with Roy last episode, will he find a way to counsel Colin? We’ll have to tune in next week to find out.
Stray observations
- Not only does Zava sport a messianic Zava tattoo but he’s A-okay sporting a “Zava Zava Zava” white tee while visiting Ola’s in case you needed more hints that this self-absorbed player is a prima donna (not to be confused with a pre-Madonna, though I do love imagining how guys like Roy would use such an expression).
- Not that you asked but my favorite Julie Andrews performance is as Victoria in Victor/Victoria (please Google “Le Jazz Hot” and you’ll understand why).
- I can’t believe they snuck a Donald Trump impression into my beloved Ted Lasso. A good one, at that. And one deployed in the most awkward of moments. Can you imagine finding out THAT way that your ex-wife is dating your couples counselor? Yikes. Ted, as we know, is a better man than the rest of us, but my god his self-control and equanimity at that moment remains inspiring. He even kept his panic attack at bay! Can’t be easy, because oof.
- Say what you will about Zava but a line like “Time is a construct, like gender and many of the alphabets” is kind of amazing.
- Paul Newman. Idris Elba. Norm MacDonald. Zava. Who else would we add to that list of guys that even “no homo” straight jock bros would unironically joke about finding hot and bangable? No, really, I’m dying to know.
- “He’s a fragile little bitch.” No one translates Ted better than Roy.
- I don’t know if I’ll recover from the show using a Jesus Christ Superstar song for a soccer montage. I’ll try though.