After celebrating Christmas, the AFC Richmond team are back in full swing and getting in the football groove once again. Episode five focuses on where Roy Kent (played by the brilliant Brett Goldstein) wants to go next in his career while also trying to get Isaac to support his team instead of fighting with them with his ‘tough love'.
The fifth episode in Ted Lasso's second season definitely leans more into the characters and how to keep moving them forward. Nathan Shelly (Nick Mohammad) must build up confidence to confront a waitress to please his parents for their thirtieth anniversary while Isaac needs to be taught that football is a game and not the be all and end all that he is starting to think that it is. There is very little plot this week but it is still a jolly and spirited episode because you are spending time with characters you simply love. It's just an easy watch because the writers of Ted Lasso have perfectly built up these characters to all be likeable and fun to be around.
Episode five has many different plotlines, however, I feel the one that is most fleshed out is everything revolving Roy Kent (Goldstein). It is clear he feels conflicted on what he wants to do post-Richmond and you can see him being pulled towards being a host on Sky Sports or something completely different. The build-up all comes to a fantastic conclusion that leaves you craving for the next episode to see how everyone responds.
Roy, as a character, is designed to be a grunting, mean-spirited man who also has quite a sensitive side so when we see this conflicted aspect to his character, it is interesting to see what will happen. It's new and fascinating.
Nathan Shelly (Mohammad) also has a nice character arc that is being built in this episode. When we first met him in series one, he lacked confidence and was an incredibly shy kit man and now we are seeing Nathan build the confidence he needs in life. This episode expands on his character because, with the help of Rebecca and Keeley, he can now stand up to people who are talking down to him.
Once again, Ted Lasso is a pleasant half hour of television that is designed to lift your spirits and leave you in a jolly mood. Episode five is certainly more character based than story based by telling several different stories with different characters. Roy Kent's plotline is certainly more interesting than the others and I cannot wait to see where this show takes these characters next.
Ted Lasso Episode 5 of Series 2 is available to watch now on Apple TV+.
