Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Ted Lasso Season 2 episode "Lavender." Read at your own risk!
It's hard to argue that Season 1 of Ted Lasso really had an outright villain, though Phil Dunster's Jamie Tartt certainly created a downer ending for AFC Richmond. The soccer club only needed a tie to avoid relegation to a lesser lead, and just when it seemed they'd accomplish that goal, former teammate Jamie blew past the defenders and launched a goal into the net to secure the win for the old club he returned to Manchester City. But where does that leave things for Season 2?
Ted Lasso surprisingly brought back Jamie at the end of Season 2's premiere and revealed the footballer was actually on reality television. Episode 2 opened up with Jamie's surprise elimination on the series, and if that wasn't enough, Manchester City terminated his contract for joining the show at the start of their season. This inevitably led Jamie back to AFC Richmond hat in hand, and willing to put in the work to earn back the respect of his teammates. I asked Jamie actor Phil Dunster if we could expect to see Jamie "fucking" Tartt find some redemption in Season 2, and Dunster said the following:
Yeah, look, I mean I think that's one of the things that we've seen in Series 1 is that Jamie has been learning lessons. He's being taught lessons and he's started to listen. But he hasn't really-he hasn't really practiced those lessons so much yet. And I think we're going to see in Series 2 that he starts to-he certainly wants to be better. I think that he has maybe caught the 'believe' bug, and he's starting to believe that he can be. And yeah, we see him in various situations trying to be better.
Whether it was Ted Lasso's kind words at the end of Season 1, or perhaps the news of George Harrison's death (20 years later), Phil Dunster said that Jamie Tartt will try to gain redemption throughout Season 2. One has to think that will be easier said than done for the former star of the team, who wasn't much in the business of being told anything by his teammates, or even his coaches.
With that being said, Season 2 put Jamie Tartt in just about the lowest point fans have seen him since Ted Lasso's beginning. There's no doubt the experience has humbled him, though it will be interesting to see if his newfound nature fades should his return to Richmond put him right back on top.
On top of all that, Jamie will have to be in and around the club with ex-girlfriend Keely still working for the team, which could create some awkwardness. Hopefully, that's all it will create because I'd hate for his return to cause any uncomfortable tension in Keely's wonderful relationship with the gruff Roy Kent. Luckily, the two seem to be doing well enough that I don't expect Jamie's return will be an issue, but we'll just have to wait and see.
Ted Lasso currently airs on Apple TV+. To see more of when your favorites are returning, take a look at our fall TV premiere schedule.
Ted Lasso premieres new episodes on Apple TV+ on Fridays. For more on the series, read up on some of the behind-the-scenes fun that happens, and how stars have trouble keeping a straight face when Jason Sudeikis starts going off-script as Ted.
