Ted Lasso Season 3 May Have Hit A Game-Saving Reset Button And Not A Moment Too Soon

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Ted Lasso" season 3.

"Ted Lasso" has been having a bit of a rough time, and I don't just mean the usually-winsome soccer coach himself. The beloved Apple TV+ comedy has been having what can only be described as growing pains so far in its third season, which is a bit disconcerting considering it may be the show's last. So far, the new episodes have been overly-long and not especially funny, and have divided up the cast into somewhat isolated and depressing plotlines.

Of course, if it were a soccer game, "Ted Lasso" season 3 would only be in its first quarter; the season is set to have twelve episodes, and the show still has plenty of time to course-correct its uneven tone and rather muted comedy. While episode three, titled "4-5-1," didn't exactly squash all our worries about the show's conclusion, it did, at least, seem eager to speed past some of the roadblocks the first two episodes set up. "Ted Lasso" might have just rescued itself with a five-minute montage that put all of its plots on fast forward.

"Ted Lasso" builds a fast-track for its soccer season around Zava (Maximilian Osinski), the cocky, guru-like star player who is quickly able to turn AFC Richmond around from their predicted dead-last spot. In a five-minute sequence in the latest episode, we see AFC Richmond go on a multi-game "miracle streak" with Zava to thank for it. They rise through the Premier League ranks — represented with a scrolling graphic on screen — all the way to third place, completely turning their luck around in a matter of minutes. It's a move that seems designed to shake off the losing mindset the season started with — in more ways than one.

The show intersperses clips of our main characters with the footage of AFC Richmond's win streak, telling us exactly what they're up to in the intervening weeks in quick, sometimes wordless scenes. Mostly, everyone seems stuck in a place of negative or petty emotions. Nate (Nick Mohammed) still obsessively checks press coverage of himself, while Ted (Jason Sudeikis) Facebook stalks his ex's new boyfriend. Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) is still bothered by her mother's psychic's predictions, while Zava is clearly stealing Jamie's (Phil Dunster) thunder.

Still, other characters seem to be making professional progress: Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) opens his restaurant, Keeley (Juno Temple) is so deep into her work that she can walk past Roy (Brett Goldstein) without even noticing, and even one of the Richmond superfans got a new job. All in all, this is a messy, jam-packed five minutes that seems to act as a soft reset for the season, indicating that the show might be moving past some plots that initially seemed poised to be season-long arcs in favor of trying something new.

While it's too soon to tell if the Zava win streak montage will set the show back on a winning path, and it's possible some characters will stay stuck in their emotional ruts, it seems like a step in the right direction for a show that could use one. The show's decision to speedrun some of its plots with nine episodes still to go is the first truly interesting thing it's done this season, even if it does turn out that Ted is still stewing over his ex several weeks later. Despite the comfort-watch label that's been ascribed to it, "Ted Lasso" is clearly a show that itches to shake things up, whether it's by digging deeper into its protagonist's psychology in season 2 or starting everyone out on a bummer note in the new season, only to leave plenty of room for reinvention.

"Ted Lasso" streams on Apple TV+ with new episodes each Wednesday.