Ted Lasso – Season 3 Episode 11 “Mom City” Recap & Review

Jamie Lost and Found

Episode 11 of Ted Lasso season 3 begins with Ted leaving his apartment and greeting all the people he comes across until he sees a familiar face — his mother.

Nathan’s working alongside Jade at the restaurant when Isaac, Will and Colin turn up. The boys say the whole team want Nate to come back, but they wanted to check with him before approaching Ted about it. Nate considers but then tells them he can’t return.

Back in his apartment, Ted asks his mother what she’s doing in the country. She claims it was an impromptu decision and she’s been staying in a hostel. Ted convinces her to stay in his apartment and then to tag along to work as well.

At a press conference, we learn that Richmond is four points off from beating Manchester City and leading the league. A reporter asks Jamie how he feels about being named Premiere League Player of the Month and his reaction makes him come across as very dispirited.

Ted introduces his mother Dottie to Rebecca and the two women immediately get along. Dottie even regales the rest of the team with stories about Ted but the man himself doesn’t seem too happy to have her here. He confesses so to Rebecca who tells him if he leaves his mother with one happy memory from her trip here, then it’s fine.

Ted breaks up the party and everybody gets ready for training. Van Damme still has to wear a face mask so he doesn’t injure his nose again, courtesy of Dani Rojas. While everyone makes fun of the mask, Jamie thinks it’s better to be safe. Roy realises something’s wrong and calls Jamie aside.

Roy begins to yell at Jamie as he needs to be his usual arrogant self for their match with Man City. But Jamie surprises him by bursting into tears and crying about how he hasn’t been eating or sleeping and feels like his wings have been cut off.

Leslie comes to the coaches and informs them that Nate would be okay to come back to the team, if invited. Roy seems okay with it and heads off for some other work. Beard, on the other hand, is an adamant no. Dottie then comes in, introduces herself to Leslie and greets Beard as an old friend, which seems to tick Ted off.

Roy visits Keeley at her now almost empty office and admits he needs her help with Jamie.

At the pub, Dottie asks Beard how Ted is doing and they discuss how he takes care of everyone else but himself. Mae goes up to Ted at the pinball machine and realises something’s wrong. She muses about how parents pass on their faults to their children even though they don’t mean to.

At his apartment, Dottie gives Ted a collection of newspaper clippings about him from back home. He asks if she’s coming to the fame and she says she’d rather be home. She asks him if he’s still having the panic attack and Ted admits he’s been talking to a therapist. He asks her if she’s thought about talking to someone and she dismisses it.

The day of the match arrives and Jamie is still in a dispirited mood. Keeley tells Roy she’ll talk to him.

At the Taste of Athens, the restaurant manager boasts about Nathan working there to his guests.

In Manchester, Keeley approaches Jamie and asks if he’s okay. He says he is but begins to get anxious again. Keeley explains that he’s back playing at home in Manchester after a long time and the crowd would be against him this time, most of all his dad. She tells him to imagine how he’ll have achieved his dream if they win the next day but that only seems to make things worse.

The entire team watches You’ve Got Mail on a projector. Keeley joins Roy in the back and tells him she made Jamie worse. Most of the players, including Roy, cry at the ending scene. Sam looks over at Rebecca and they smile at each other. When Ted wraps things up, Roy and Keeley follow Jamie outside the hotel. He ultimately finds out they’re following him and they insist they just want to know if he’s okay. He tells them to come with him. On the way three young boys playing football recognise him and throw insults at him, earning smiles from the three adults. They go on their way and ultimately reach a house where they’re invited in by a man and a woman who is none other than Jamie’s mother. Later, Jamie mopes in his mother’s arms while Keeley and Roy get a tour of the house.

At home, Jade tells Nate she doesn’t think he should work at the restaurant anymore. She encourages him to go back to Richmond. Nate admits he didn’t end things well there and it was all his fault. He promises he’ll go back to coaching but to another team.

Jamie’s mother coaxes the truth out of him. He says everything he used to do was to go against his father but now that he doesn’t care about him, he feels lost. Roy and Keeley go to Jamie’s old room to see an old poster of Roy. When Jamie’s stepfather leaves the room, they also see a poster of Keeley behind the door.

Jamie’s mother tells him how she wept when he played for England. She tells him he doesn’t need to prove anything to his father anymore. In Jamie’s room, Roy tells Keeley he doesn’t want to be just friends. She’s about to respond when Jamie walks in. Jamie’s mother bids Jamie a warm goodbye and they head back to the hotel.

Before the game begins, the audience sings Manchester’s song making Keeley wish that Richmond had one of their own. As the players enter, the audience boos Jamie. The commentator mentions that a win from this match means Richmond could go on to win the title.

The game begins and the Man City players don’t go easy on Jamie. Nate watches the game from the restaurant as Jamie passes to Bumbercatch who passes to Colin who scores! In the stands, Leslie decides he doesn’t want to move and jinx the win streak. But as the game continues, City players keep pushing over Jamie. Van Damme saves two goals and a third is saved by Jamie, but he lands on his ankle wrong. He gets up but sits back down again as the pain becomes too much.

Ted asks Jamie if he wants to stop playing but he isn’t sure. Ted chooses to play with ten men and give Jamie a couple of minutes to recover. Thankfully, Van Damme keeps saving goals.

At the restaurant, the manager tells Nate he’s, unfortunately, fired. And it seems to be done under threat from Jade.

As Van Damme keeps saving goals, the coaches argue whether Jamie is fit to play or not. Ted talks to him and finds out that he’s looking around for his dad. He hasn’t spoken to him since their last confrontation. Ted advises that if hating his father isn’t motivating enough he could try forgiving his father. And it’s more for Jamie than for his father, really.

Jamie stands up, ready to get back to the game. This time when the crowd boos him, he responds to them as his usual self. Jamie returns to the pitch and makes a spectacular solo goal. The coaches then call him back, substituting him. As he walks off the pitch, the crowd change tracks and cheers for their old player. Roy greets Jamie off the pitch and whispers something to him. Turns out, Jamie’s father is watching the match from an old age home and looks proud of his son.

Richmond win the match! Ted shakes hands with the City coach who tells Ted it isn’t about wins or losses but about making sure the players are their best selves overall.

The team is ecstatic as they come back home. They head out to celebrate but Jamie stays behind to take care of his ankle. Beard is off to karaoke but Ted says he’ll be having dinner with his mother. Ted then shows Beard the security footage that showed Nate after he tore the ‘believe’ poster — he had to hide under the table for hours as the team and the cleaning crew entered the rooms and eventually climbed out a window to get out. Ted tells Beard they shouldn’t judge someone by their weakest moment.

As he’s icing his ankle, Jamie texts his father and asks if he’s doing okay. Roy and Keeley walk in with two bottles of champagne, ready to celebrate with him. Ted watches them chatting and laughing and smiles to himself.

As Jade comes home, Nate tells her he has to go back to Richmond to make things right. He’s even written Ted a 60-page apology letter. Just then, the doorbell rings and Nate opens it to find Beard standing there. Beard tells him the story of how he met Ted in school. After he went and got out of prison, Ted helped him out. Beard ended up stealing his car but Ted forgave him anyway. Which is why Beard is now forgiving Nate and offering him a job. Nate, of course, accepts.

Ted comes home where his mother has cooked a lavish meal. Ted confronts her for not expressing her feelings and talking to him. Even for pretending like things were okay after his father died and, in turn, making Ted pretend that everything was okay. She admits to it and apologises. She then confesses she came here to tell Ted that his son misses him. Ted admits he misses Henry as well but is afraid of eventually losing him. Dottie counsels him on how being a parent doesn’t have winning or losing.

Rebecca gets a surprise visit from Bex who is also accompanied by Rupert’s old secretary. They claim to want her advice.

Ted wakes up to find a letter from his mother who left him some freshly baked bread. She thanked him for a lovely time in England.

Ted enters his office the next day to see Rebecca there. She claims it’s that time of the year when she reveals something to him. She admits she doesn’t have any truth bombs this time, but Ted says that he does.

The Episode Review

In episode 11 of Ted Lasso, Phil Dunster makes an exceptional performance as Jamie. The arc of how he feels anxious and then forgives his father is captivating and engaging; his struggles seem to come from the heart.

Exploring Jamie’s relationship with his mother adds another intriguing layer to his character while just making him more endearing. Jamie Tartt is definitely the star of Season 3 of Ted Lasso. The match itself was executed flawlessly, keeping you glued to the screen and on the edge of your seat.

While Roy and Keeley’s adorableness as a couple is still intact, their storyline of being “just friends” falls somewhat flat due to the weak breakup plotline. Meanwhile being the ideal waiter is so in line with Nate’s character as well as with the show’s amusing sense of humour. It was heartwarming to see his change of heart and Beard’s journey to forgiving him.

The hints of romance between Sam and Rebecca feel underdeveloped, like an afterthought. Additionally, Rebecca’s encounter with the psychic is somewhat overshadowed and left behind. Ted’s relationship with his mother presents an intriguing parallel, highlighting their shared flaws. By the end of the confrontation, we can really see how much Ted has grown.

Despite the lengthy runtime, episode 11 strikes the right emotional chords. And the cliffhanger is definitely setting the stage for a highly emotional finale!