Ted Lasso isn’t a show that’s afraid to throw some pop culture references in, but none have been quite as obvious as the ones seen in the latest episode, “La Locker Room aux Folles.” The title is a direct reference to the famously pro-gay French play (and later film) titled La Cage aux Folles, which was then adapted into The Birdcage starring Robin Williams and meshes perfectly with the episode’s subject.
La Cage aux Follies begins with one of the gay owners of a drag bar discovering that his estranged son (the drunken result of a one-night stand with a woman) is now engaged – to someone who happens to be the daughter of an incredibly conservative politician that wants to shut down all drag bars in the area. As a promise to his son, the owner claims he’ll make sure his future daughter-in-law’s parents won’t find out about the bar, nor his flamboyant partner who stars in a show there every night. Eventually, the hair-brained scheme is discovered, leading to conflict and eventually love and acceptance from all involved.
The most recent episode of the hit Apple TV paid homage to the infamous La Cage in more ways than just the title. For one, the entire episode was about Colin finally revealing to the rest of his teammates that he’s gay. There were also some tunes from the musical in it, including the most famous hit “I Am What I Am,” a stirring reminder to be proud of whoever you are. There were also plenty of character parallels between the two bits of content, especially regarding Isaac, who was upset one of his best friends on the squad didn’t feel able to be honest with him.
La Cage also put plenty of emphasis on the joy and relief that LGBTQ+ people feel when those who’ve known and loved them for years continue to do so after discovering their sexual orientation. This is something that the show mirrored in this episode, when Ted made sure that Colin knew people did actually care about his sexuality, but only because they were delighted that he could finally be himself.
Narratively speaking, there are some more similarities. La Cage deals with a powerful homophobic society’s impingement on those who just want to live life on their terms without hurting others, whereas the Ted Lasso episode touches on the fact that male soccer — especially in the U.K — has a major problem with homophobia, to the point where there isn’t a single out top-flight player, despite there being well over four hundred active footballers in the Premier League.
This isn’t the first time the Apple TV comedy-drama has touched on tough topics, but there’s no doubt it was handled excellently, and definitely in a more subtle way than last week’s very correct but very heavy-handed message about the ethics of nudes from ex-partners. And, while the episode retained its own unique story, the homage will be a welcome one for gay fans of the show, who might not yet be able to find representation in a sport they love, but will at least have Colin and Isaac’s final scene and a starring second half performance from Colin.