Seven episodes in, Ted Lasso Season 3 has received its fair share of criticism. Some have taken issue with longer episode runtimes. Others have questioned the show’s queer storylines. A number of fans are upset that Keeley (Juno Temple) and Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) were reduced to gossiping about their love lives, while others wonder why the heck Rebecca and Ted (and Keeley and Roy for that matter) haven’t kissed yet. And me? I just want to know where the eff Phoebe is.
Since the moment Elodie Blomfield’s character, Phoebe, was introduced as Roy Kent’s (Brett Goldstein) niece in Season 1, she stole my heart. From giving Ted a bloody nose and scurrying to grab Roy’s hand in Episode 3 to helping him realize he’s more than a footballer in Episode 9, Phoebe’s presence was scarce but delightful. In Season 2, the show treated viewers to five phenomenal Phoebe episodes, making perfect use of Blomfield’s wide-ranging talents and putting her chemistry with Temple and Goldstein front and center at every opportunity. The Phoebe-heavy second season gave me hope that the young star would pop up even more in Season 3, but despite a promising appearance in the premiere, we haven’t laid eyes on Phoebs since Roy and Keeley called it quits. Heck, we’ve seen Ted’s ex-wife more times this season, and she’s in America! Outrageous.
Early on in Season 2, Phoebe sipped milkshakes with Keeley and Roy, tallying Roy’s swear words and diligently tracking his tab. She played on the football team he coached, thanked him for helping her set boundaries (aka no ice cream for dinner), and expressed sheer delight at the thought of accompanying him to his podiatrist appointment. But Phoebe’s greatest episodes came when Richmond celebrated Christmas and she got sent home from school for using foul language.
In Season 2, Episode 4, “Carol of the Bells,” Phoebe crashed Roy and Keeley’s “Sexy Christmas” and reluctantly revealed that Bernard, a boy at school, told everyone her breath smells rancid. What follows this admission remains one of Ted Lasso‘s most extraordinary scenes: Blomfield daintily exhales into the faces of Temple and Goldstein, who do their best to remain supportive and comforting amidst involuntary dry-heaving. I cackle no matter how many times I watch it, and seeing the trio spend the remainder of the episode going door to door in search of a dentist, then commandeering poster board and markers and pulling a Love Actually outside Bernard’s house, only makes me love them more.
When discussing Phoebe’s cat, Blomfield’s charming line delivery of, “My mom says we rescued her, but I like to think that she rescued us,” reminds us what a capable actor she is — one who brings wholesome, youthful energy to screen and nails straight, mature scenes with equal levels of excellence. We see that range on full display in Season 2, Episode 8, “Man City,” when Roy gets called to pick her up from school after she called a classmate “a pathetic shit fucker.”
As Roy and Phoebe sit in his car eating ice cream and discussing the implications of swearing, the two once again share one of the series’ greatest scenes. Roy seamlessly hops from frustration over Phoebe’s dream of being “a veterinarian for wild animals” to earnest concern for her future and his influence on her. She assures him he teaches her invaluable life lessons and she’s as good as the best version of him. She mimics him with a legendary growl of her own, then coaxes him into another game of Princess and Dragons, where he will yet again play as the Princess. Perfect writing, in my opinion.
Aside from missing Blomfield’s performance and her on-screen chemistry with Temple and Goldstein, I miss what Phoebe brings out of Roy. He treats her as an equal while simultaneously softening his hard exterior to expose a specially reserved vulnerability and playfulness we have yet to see this season. I, like so many Ted Lasso fans, have loved watching Roy and Jamie’s (Phil Dunster) friendship evolve in Season 3. But I fear the writers heavily underestimated how much I adore Roy and Phoebe’s dynamic.
In the wake of Roy and Keeley’s “stupid” breakup, there was ample opportunity for Phoebe to comfort Roy or drop insightful relationship advice. The premiere perfectly set up a chance for Keeley and Phoebe to spend alone time together, but has yet to follow through. And remember when everyone thought Roy and Phoebe’s teacher had a spark in Season 2, only for us to never see or hear about her again? Sure, there are still five episodes left in Season 3, but even if (fingers crossed) Phoebe appears in each one, I’ll still wish she had more of a presence in the first half of the season when Roy’s heartbreak was at its rawest and he could have used some cheering up from his ride-or-die niece.
Season 3 obviously has monumental storylines to tackle and conflicts to resolve before the end credits roll on the finale, but if I don’t more Phoebe soon I’m unleashing my inner Roy Kent in front of the TV.
Ted Lasso is currently streaming on Apple TV+.