Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 7 recap: Headspace

When we last left off with Ted Lasso Season 2, Ted was in a bad place mentally. He rushed off the pitch in the middle of a game due to a panic attack and found himself in Dr. Sharon’s office. But if you thought Ted’s road to therapy was going to be an easy one, you thought wrong.

In this week’s episode, Season 2, Episode 7, “Headspace,” Ted has to get over his preconceived notions of therapy if he has any hope of making genuine progress. Elsewhere, Keeley needs space from Roy and Nate continues to be the absolute worst.

To start, Ted’s initial session with Sharon goes as you might expect. He’s full of his usual optimism and jokes to distract himself from actually accomplishing anything. He spends more time looking at Sharon’s “accoutrements” than dealing with the real problems at hand. The second Sharon tries to initiate a real session, Ted flees.

The second session is even worse, as Ted rips into Sharon about her job, claiming it’s all bulls**t because she gets paid to listen to people’s problems, which means she doesn’t actually care about her patients and their wellbeing. Then he storms out again.

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In Ted’s third attempt, as he does pride himself on never giving up, Sharon rightfully calls him out on his misguided ideas of therapy. It’s obvious Ted holds the entire practice in contempt because he attended couple’s therapy with his wife and still wound up divorced. Sharon notes that his previous tirade was offensive, especially because he gets paid to coach. Does that mean he doesn’t care about his players? Ted says he would coach for free, but as Sharon says, “Do you?” No, of course not.

By the end of the episode, it looks like Ted might finally be willing to give therapy a real attempt. Sharon tells him straight that, yes, the truth will set you free, but it will piss you off first. Contrary to what Ted might think of her profession, Sharon seems excellent at her job.

Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 7 recap: Keeley seeks some space from Roy

Now that Roy and Keeley are working together in the same place, they see more of each other than ever. Every time Keeley tries to get a moment to herself at home to work or watch Sex and the City, there Roy is, either turning her on or just generally being in her space and distracting her.

Despite her subtle hints that she’d like some space from him, Roy doesn’t really pick up on what she’s seeking. Although Keeley never outright tries to talk to him about it to be fair to Roy. Instead, she vents her frustrations to Rebecca, Higgins, and just about anyone else who is around when they’re talking.

While Roy doesn’t care that Keeley complains how much of his hair blocks the drain, he does look visibly hurt when he finds out that Keeley has made him seem like a “clingy refrigerator magnet” to their colleagues. This reveal results in an unpleasant argument between them that leads to Roy storming out.

Surprisingly, he gets advice from an unlikely source, Jamie. While on the field, Jamie makes a few comments related to needing space (in a football context, of course), which sparks understanding in Roy of what his girlfriend needs. He makes amends with Keeley by setting up a relaxing bubble bath filled with rose petals, the tub ringed by candles. Then he promises to disappear for three hours so she can fully unwind alone. Where can I find a Roy Kent in real life?

Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 7 recap: Nate goes full villain

Nate’s arc this season has been one of the weirder parts of Ted Lasso Season 2. While I’m not stepping into the (what I believe is unwarranted) discourse sparked by this season, I have mixed feelings about what the writers are trying to do with Nate’s character.

One thing is for certain, this week’s episode cements him as a villain or at least an antagonist that is going to need a reckoning sooner or later. Still riding the high of calling the quarterfinal’s winning play in the previous episode, Nate is obsessed with checking social media to read all the praise.

During practice, Dani, Jamie, and Colin end up teasing Nate a little about his new nickname, the “Wonder Kid,” which is all in good fun but also a bit of a jest as Nate mistakenly said “wonder kid” instead of the commonly used phrase “wunderkind,” during press post-match. Nate rips into Colin but doesn’t say anything to Dani or Jamie.

Later, Colin confronts Nate about this, wondering why he was singled out of the trio. Nate basically says Colin is just an average football player, while Dani and Jamie are actual pros. It’s totally uncalled for, and even Coach Beard corners him and tells him that he made the whole thing weird and personal.

MORE: Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 6 recap: Signal

Nate apologizes to Colin in front of the whole team, and for a little while, it seems like, okay, no real harm done. He got a little too big for his britches and overstepped. No big deal, right? It happens.

Well, not exactly.

Later on, after practice, the team awards Nate with a new jersey, “Wonder Kid,” emblazoned across the back. They attribute the idea to Will, who, if you recall, is basically the new “Nate,” or water boy this season. Everyone has a good laugh about the jersey. It’s all in good fun. But then later, Nate returns to his Twitter feed and notices a single tweet labeling him “a loser.”

It strikes a nerve, and when Nate gets upset or feels embarrassed, he takes his anger out on other people. This time, he aims it at poor Will, cornering him in the locker room and telling him that if he ever humiliates him again, he’ll make his life a misery.

The last we see is Will standing at the door as Nate walks away, closing the blinds likely to hide a good cry session. It’s actually a chilling and rather dark way to end an episode of a show we’ve all become accustomed to being lighthearted more often than not. Nate has gone from the bullied to the bully.

Odds & Ends from Ted Lasso Season 2, Episode 7

• Rebecca hasn’t responded to Sam’s last Bantr message regarding them meeting face-to-face in several days. She’s worried the reality won’t match the fantasy. Neither knows who the other is yet, but they do have an awkward run-in that comes close to a big reveal!

New episodes of Ted Lasso Season 2 stream Fridays exclusively on Apple TV+.