Despite all odds, AFC Richmond had a fantastic start to their football year in Ted Lasso Season 3. From players to the coaching staff, we have seen each character make huge progress individually, but, former star player Jamie Tartt may now have the best story arc of anyone in Apple TV’s hit show.
The third Ted Lasso season has been great so far. After Nathan Shelley’s departure from AFC Richmond, we pick up with all of the media and journalists turning on Ted Lasso and his players. Attributing the success of their latest seasons to the “Wonder Kid” assistant coach instead.
Coach Shelley’s move to West Ham has set up an interesting rivalry for Richmond and, the mounting pressure to perform is forcing everyone to step up and develop some character so that they can be considered a threat in the Premier League.
How Zava’s arrival affected Jamie
One player who is in an interesting situation, after the reshuffling of the club coaching staff, is the team’s star striker Jamie Tartt. After Rebecca Welton felt that Richmond was ill-equipped to contend with top teams, she starts off the season by managing to convince generational talent, Zava, to challenge himself by joining the league’s underdogs.
This major change forced the whole team to instantly adapt, but the player most displaced by this move was Jamie Tartt. In past seasons we saw him as the star player, attempting to fill the shoes of Roy Kent. But now, he is no longer seen as the focal point of their offense, and forced to make a similar sacrifice in hopes of improving the team.
The arrival of Zava gets Richmond off to a great start, with a strong win streak that catapults them to the top of the table. But this only further isolates Jamie as he is faced with handling the dip in fame and attention he had been so accustomed to. Despite all his struggles, we get to see more and more glimpses of good in his character, being open to Ted, Beard, and Roy’s suggestions on how to play the game and even supporting others around him.
Jamie’s character arc in Season 3
While the focus is primarily placed on Ted Lasso’s struggles each week, Jamie Tartt has been steadily growing with each episode. Tartt was seen checking on Roy and Keeley after their breakup to make sure each of them was okay. And in episode 4, he even looks past Zava’s ridiculous pre-game rituals and agrees with his lesson about becoming who you want to be.
So far in the season, Jamie has made plenty of quiet sacrifices for the team and seems to be internalizing a lot of issues, that would weigh heavily on most others. Ted Lasso has been praised for how well it captures peoples’ mental health journey but the nuance in Jamie’s character can not be understated enough.
After some games in Zava’s shadow, Jamie comes to the realization that he needs to work on himself and approaches Roy to help him train, despite their differences in the past. Tartt recognizes that the team is lacking a true leader in the big games and that he might have to fill that role when Zava’s talent is not enough to get it done.
While he still has a ways to go before he can make that a reality, his willingness to put in the extra effort and focus on his goal is a strong lesson and a great resolution for his character as the season progresses. Of course, a few major setbacks could derail the progress but Jamie’s character is still trending in the right direction for Ted Lasso Season 3.