Have you heard the news? After resigning his post as a cutthroat sports journalist at The Independent, James Lance’s snappily dressed Trent Crimm has found a new gig: serving as the author of a novel about Ted’s journey to coaching football and AFC Richmond’s season in the premiere league. That’s right—yet another Ted Lasso character has shifted alliances, but as opposed to Nate ditching Ted & Co. for West Ham, it’s the once-cynical Trent who’s had a change of heart and joined the ranks of AFC Richmond, having been granted permission by Ted, Rebecca, and Co. (though, perhaps more by Ted than the rest of the Richmond gang) to shadow the club all season for book-writing research purposes.
It’s an exciting progression for a character that was initially introduced as a symbolic representation of the brutality of English sports journalism (as Ted Lasso 3×02 “I Don’t Wanna Go (To Chelsea)” explores in Trent’s storyline with Roy) that Trent has now been (sort of) welcomed as a fixed presence around Richmond, when he was once weaponized by Rebecca specifically for his ability to sniff out secrets and dig up dirt. Still, despite being positioned as an obstacle, Trent has always had a place in the hearts of fans, though perhaps more for his dress sense and luxurious hair than anything else, at least at first.
But while it may seem (to some) like Trent shacking up with Richmond comes out of left field, that’s hardly the case. As far back as season one, we’ve known that (despite the fact that it’s his job to publicly criticize Ted and Richmond) Trent has a soft spot for Coach Lasso and admires his unorthodox approach to coaching. Longtime viewers will remember that the hit piece Rebecca had initially hired him to write turned into a piece expressing doubt but admiration and hope—Trent admitted that despite his lack of faith in Ted’s ability, he couldn’t help but root for him.
Perhaps it’s that admiration for and faith in Ted that drove him to burn his source (a major journalistic faux pas) and tell Ted that it was Nate who snitched on him about Ted leaving the match because of a panic attack. Granted, he did still *write* the piece, but Trent then turned around and admitted to his bosses that he leaked a source, which ended up getting Trent fired from his famed position at The Independent.
So, however unlikely, it seems as if Trent Crimm has always been on a collision course with Ted and AFC Richmond. The question now becomes what his role on the team will look like moving forward. Though he had plenty of screen time in episode two (here’s hoping for more of that through the season!), Trent spent much of the episode iced-out by the Richmond players after Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) issued a warning that anyone he saw taking to Trent would have him to deal with.
It was a pretty clear indication on Roy’s part that despite the fact that management said Trent could shadow the team, he wasn’t truly welcome, and it wasn’t until the end of the episode that we found out why.
We’ve known since season one that Roy wasn’t particularly fond of Trent (“Trent, you’re a colossal prick, you always have been” were Roy’s exact words in 1×03), but his anger towards Mr. Crimm felt particularly pointed here, which got so out of hand that Ted himself had to step in and tell Roy to squash the beef. Eventually, Roy revealed to Trent (and the audience) that he’s kept a newspaper clipping of a negative article Trent wrote about Roy—an article that shattered the then-17-year-old’s confidence as a novice footballer.
After Trent apologizes, they end the episode on what looks like friendly terms. In a sweet exchange in the final moments, Trent and Roy share a fondly exasperated expression at Ted’s silly-sweet antics. All episode long, the Trent/Roy dynamic made for plenty of great beats (thanks in large part to James Lance’s physical comedy), and their newly formed truce could prove to form an unlikely duo for season three.
More than just for comedy, though, spending all episode watching Trent get the cold shoulder from Richmond players also gave Lance the chance to dig into Trent as a character with insecurities and wants, not just the too-cool journalist we met in the press room at the beginning of season one. Lance has seemingly mastered the art of silent reactions: Whether for comedy or drama, many of the episode’s best moments came from a well-placed expression from Trent in the background, or an insert to get his reaction. Trent felt jumpy, almost twitchy in this episode—he practically jumped out of his skin when Roy yelled at him in the locker room, and his constant fidgeting with his glasses and head-to-toe tweed look gave the once-nonchalant Crimm a warmer, more relatable awkwardness.
This also felt like the first time we’ve really seen Trent remorseful about something—though he did apologize to Ted over leaking the story, he wasn’t particularly sorrowful there, and there was a refreshing vulnerability and guilt in Trent’s expression when Roy revealed that he kept the newspaper clipping all these years. Lance’s performance in episode two was a series best for the character, and I can only hope that things continue to get more interesting from here.
Heading into next week’s episode, it’s anyone’s guess as to how Trent will slot into the social sphere of AFC Richmond now that he isn’t actively being shunned by everyone in the building. He’s been previously shown to have respect for Rebecca’s similarly cutthroat tendencies, so it’s possible they could form a friendship, or we might get more insight into Ted and Trent’s relationship. After all, we still haven’t properly addressed the fact that Trent was the one to break the story that Ted fled a football match because he had a panic attack.
Though Roy and Ted both seem to have forgiven Trent for stories he wrote as a journalist, one assumes that there’s still another level of trust to be earned before Trent is truly a part of the Richmond family—though I can’t help but hope that by the end of the season, he’ll be howling along with the rest of the Diamond Dogs.
Beyond history with Roy and Ted, that’s about as much of Trent’s relationships with Richmond characters as we know (for now), but that doesn’t mean we can’t speculate about what his role in the larger season may be. After all, though Trent is clearly Team Lasso, he’s still got a keen eye and a nose for a story where he can find one—and there are plenty of revelations surrounding Richmond that could make for juicy book details.
The fact that Rebecca initially hired Ted as an attempt to sabotage the team still isn’t public knowledge, and I’d imagine the press would have a field day if someone were to uncover that Rebecca and Sam had a brief affair. This does seem to be a new leaf for Trent, though, and it’s entirely possible that he’d rather keep Richmond’s trust than leak stories, now that he’s no longer a journalist.
Ted Lasso’s cast and crew have already hinted that this season may also hold a number of new revelations for supporting cast members, so it’s possible that Trent may be used to help sniff out a secret somebody’s hiding that we don’t even know about yet. There’s also the possibility that we’ll get more insight into Trent’s personal life. We know from an offhand comment in season one that he has a daughter, but we’ve yet to meet her, or any potential romantic partners Trent may or may not have … could an inter-office Richmond romance brew up now that Trent’s sticking around?
That last one probably isn’t in the cards (as much ad I’d like it to be), but it’s still hard not to be excited about the fact that if episode two is any indication, we’ll be getting plenty more of Trent Crimm for the rest of Ted Lasso season three.
Between the blossoming frenemies storyline with Roy, the issue of Trent’s hand in leaking Ted’s panic attacks to the press, and the fact that Trent seemingly now has unfettered access to Richmond facilities, the possibilities are endless for what Trent could get up to this season on Ted Lasso—the latest addition to an already-stellar ensemble cast.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
