There are plenty of characters in Ted Lasso that I am a major fan of. For the last two seasons, I’ve rooted for characters left and right, like Ted, because he's the most relatable character on television, Rebecca because she's a badass, and Roy and Keeley because of their best moments before Season 3. Heck, even Jamie Tartt eventually won my heart.
However, I’ve noticed something over the last few weeks – Trent Crimm has slowly become my favorite character in Ted Lasso, a twist I never saw coming.
He was never my standout character from seasons past, mainly because he was more of a background character where we would see him from time to time but he would never make a major lasting impression. However, Season 3 has given viewers more Trent Crimm than ever before, and I just need to talk about the love I have for this man and how I’m pretty sure it’s only going to get better.
First Off, I Always Had Admiration For Him As A Journalist
I went to Penn State to study journalism and have seen so many great journalism movies that to see a journalist in a television show is just normal. Most of the time, it felt overdramatized, as if there was some groundbreaking story that you had to make a million calls for over and over again.
In reality, Trent Crimm is the perfect example of what a real-life journalist is like. He goes to press conferences, asks the right questions, and has become an expert in his field. He wasn’t the best at the beginning – as we’ll get into later – but he truly stood out as someone who knew his stuff.
There wasn’t a single other character at the first press conference that Ted went to that made him stutter quite like Trent. He wasn’t afraid to ask the bold questions that would make for a decent story, and didn’t quite care about how people felt about his feelings regarding certain moments of sports. He did his job and did it well, and that’s something I’ve always admired about him.
He added a certain spice to the team whenever he came around, and for that, I’m super thankful we get to experience that more in Season 3.
But He Certainly Showed Just How Kind He Can Be In The Past
Even if Trent is a hardcore journalist, we’ve seen just how kind he actually can be. When he did his profile on Ted, Trent was still very honest with him. He thinks that Ted is being selfish in leading the team because he wasn’t trained in the field of football (soccer) and that he should step down, seeing as how the team means a lot to the people of Richmond. But, at Ted’s genuine response about why he loves to coach, Trent actually puts in the coach’s profile, “I can’t help but root for him.”
That’s bold of someone to admit something so earnestly after he regularly said that Ted wasn’t fit to be in the job, but he was willing to admit that he hoped the coach did well, despite everything. Another moment where we see Trent’s kindness is in Season 2, where he reveals to Ted that an anonymous source told him about Ted’s panic attack on the field, and that it was Nate that informed him.
That’s the thing – Trent didn’t need to do that. In fact, that moment got him fired from his job at The Independent, because it’s his job to report the news, not make people happy. But out of respect for Ted, he informs him of what happened, and faces serious consequences, but that’s how we just know that he genuinely does care for Ted and didn’t want him to end up getting hurt more.
And He Owns Up To His Past Mistakes
I think when we start at any job, we’re doing whatever it takes to grow and get noticed, and that’s exactly what Trent used a story on Roy Kent for, during his first days of playing, completely demoralizing the young player. Roy even kept the newspaper clipping in his wallet to remind himself of how much he hated it and held a grudge against Trent since then.
While I do love Roy, I was understandably confused at first about why he was so angry at Trent covering Richmond AFC for his book on them, but when he explained it, I understood it entirely. It makes so much sense that Roy would hold this level of anger after experiencing something like that. And what does Trent do? He owns up to being wrong.
He openly admits to Roy that he was young and stupid and trying to get ahead in the world by being edgy with his writing, and explained that he was so sorry for it now. That moment really proves just how much he has grown, because he seriously wanted to put all the water under the bridge and just move on.
He’s Quietly Observant In The Best Ways
Something I’ve also learned to love about Trent is that he’s always just there. We don’t even really see him writing most of the time, he’s usually just sitting around watching the team with that same coffee mug in his hands and a peculiar look on his face. But it’s the way he watches that makes me chuckle.
It’s like a lot of coming of age movies I’ve seen, where the main character is so quiet but is able to perceive so much about others from watching everyone. I absolutely love watching Trent’s facial expressions throughout the show, like from when someone on the team would say something absolutely ridiculous, or he would attend practice and see Ted's rather unusual coaching styles. Everything about it is honestly so funny, and somehow, he’s able to keep a straight face all the time.
And He’s Openly Honest About Who He Is And Is Supportive Of Others
This was something I really did start to love so much in Season 3 of the show, and the moment I realized that Trent Crimm has become one of my favorite characters in Ted Lasso, and that’s because of how openly honest and supportive he is of others. Trent doesn’t really judge – like I said, he more or less just watches and takes in others' behavior.
When he’s given the chance to speak to people and get to know them, however, he’s really one of a kind. For example, the fact that he helped Colin feel okay with himself when Trent informed him that he knew Colin was gay, that was so heartwarming. He spent the whole night trying to make Colin feel better and telling his own story about how he realized he was gay.
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As someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum, that was amazing to hear, and I seriously loved every second of it. I’ve watched plenty of movies and television shows with LGBTQ+ representation, but that moment made me smile the widest. I loved it.
Or, when Trent realized exactly what Ted was doing with his new coaching style – he was so excited, coming up to Ted after the game and expressing his joy and support about it. This was like a full-circle moment for Trent – seeing Ted grow from a very inexperienced coach to someone who came up with a way to bring the team together so they could start winning.
It was so cute hearing Ted say to the others that Trent was “their dork” because of how excited the journalist was, and that made me smile even more.
There are still four episodes left of Ted Lasso Season 3 at the time of writing this, and I don’t know what else they’re going to do with Trent or if there might be another season overall (since nothing has been confirmed yet). All I know is that Trent truly won me over this time around – and I will seriously be watching him every step of the way through the next few episodes.
