‘Ted Lasso’: Behind-the-Scenes of Sam’s Big Stand Against Dubai Air

Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 3 “Do the Right-est Thing” might be one of the best installments of the celebrated series yet. We get to see Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) reunited with his Season 1 one night stand “Sassy” (Ellie Taylor), Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) attempt to make good with the aggrieved members of AFC Richmond, and the introduction of Ted’s “dark” alter ego, Led Tasso. We even got to see Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) connect with long-lost goddaughter (and former Frozen mega-fan) Nora (Kiki May).

However the biggest thing to happen in this enormously entertainment episode of Ted Lasso is perhaps Sam Obinsanya (Toheeb Jimoh) taking a stand against AFC Richmond’s corporate sponsor Dubai Air. When the episode starts, Sam is buzzing over the fact that he’s been chosen for his first corporate contract, repping the airline. However that pride turns to shame when his father reveals that Dubai Air is owned by Cerithium Oil, a fictional company causing economic devastation to his native Nigeria. Sam pulls out of the sponsorship deal and boldly covers up the Dubai Air logo on his jersey before a match. His fellow Nigerian players join him, but the rest of the team stays back until Jamie Tartt decides to support Sam in his demonstration.

Sam was always a fan favorite during Ted Lasso Season 1, but “Do The Right-est Thing” sets the star player up as a new locker room leader.

Ted Lasso star Toheeb Jimoh said, “It was great. It’s a testament to Jason [Sudeikis] and the creative team because this is what Ted Lasso really is about. Since the beginning we’ve set out that Ted’s goal isn’t just to make these young men the best football players they can be. He’s also trying to make them the best young men they can be.”

“So to watch Sam grow, I thought it was great,” Jimoh said.

Of course the moment also marked huge change for Jamie Tartt. Once the enfant terrible of the AFC Richmond roster, Jamie cultivated a reputation for bullying the rest of his teammates, particularly Sam. Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 3 broke this streak.

“There’s a moment, and I guess [it’s] Jamie and Sam looking eye-to-eye, and Jamie actually wanting his approval for the first time. It’s a shift for me playing it,” Phil Dunster told Decider. “I am so lucky to play Jamie because of where we’ve seen him to begin with and we see this journey that he’s going on, and continues to go on into Season 2.”

That said, Dunster made it clear that Jamie Tartt isn’t quite the best version of himself yet. “The thing that I’ve enjoyed so much about it is [Jamie] keeps getting it wrong. And that’s the thing that I love about Ted Lasso: none of this kindness and belief and joy happens within a vacuum. It’s there because there’s people doing things, maybe not to the best of their abilities,” Dunster said. “That has to exist, because you know, people are cynical and people are negative. People also get it wrong.”

Another person attempting to be the best version of themselves in this week’s Ted Lasso? Hannah Waddingham’s Rebecca.

Last season we learned that Rebecca all but abandoned long-time BFF “Sassy” and her daughter Nora during her tumultuous marriage to Rupert (Anthony Head). This week we finally get to see Rebecca interact with the tween Nora. Desperate to impress her goddaughter, Rebecca learns that the best way to connect with Nora is simply to let her into her life. This helps Rebecca gain the confidence to stick up to Dubai Ari when they demand she fire Sam for the demonstration or lost Dubai Air’s money. Instead, she chooses to stand by her players.

“I think it’s a new era of calm,” Ted Lasso actress Hannah Waddingham told Decider. “[Rebecca has] realized that she’s actually very good at her job, which is a wonderful thing. She’s not just taken over from her asshole ex-husband and kind of knows what she’s doing. She’s now [like], ‘No, this is my baby. They’re my boys and I’m going to stand by them.'”

And Nora had a huge role in that decision. “Because Nora talks about the fact that she saw her godmother on the cover of the magazine and talks about her in her aubergine suit and how that meant so much to her,” Waddingham said, “I think Rebecca wants to inspire her and be the best version of herself to egg Nora on.”

Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 3 “Do The Right-est Thing” didn’t just let our heroes stand up to evil. It let them be, for once, the best versions of themselves.

Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 3 “Do The Right-est Thing” is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Where to stream Ted Lasso