‘Ted Lasso’ and Ending Well

Jason Sudeikis in Ted Lasso | Credit: Apple TV+

Ted Lasso is a gem!

This show introduces us to an American football coach who goes to England to coach a football (aka soccer) team. Ted Lasso is hilarious and heartwarming. The first season is filled with precious, feel-good moments, and the second season takes us deeper with these characters, revealing more of their past hurts and struggles.

Season three of Ted Lasso continues that trajectory as all of the characters continue to evolve. In this season, we see some devastating choices made and some important character growth happen as well.

What I find most impressive about the final season of Ted Lasso is that they decided to end it here. This show is incredibly popular, and these characters are beloved. It would’ve been easy to keep this story going, but the creators chose to end it here while it was still successful.

It’s difficult to end things, especially successful TV shows. How many series have we seen stretch on for way too long only for the show to end in a really disappointing fashion? It’s happened countless times, and I’m glad that Ted Lasso didn’t fall into that particular trap.

Ted Lasso is a really special show. It’s funny but also deep and helps remind you of both the dark parts of humanity and its incredible potential for good. We see characters walk through difficult moments and grow through it all. It’s an example of really great writing and intentional character development. Plus, the ending is satisfying and appropriately heartwarming.

If you haven’t watched the third season of Ted Lasso, please don’t read on. I’m going to talk about the final episode, and I don’t want to spoil things for you.

Brett Goldstein, Jason Sudeikis, and Brendan Hunt in Ted Lasso | Credit: Apple TV+

I really love the journey that Ted (Jason Sudeikis) goes on throughout the entire show. He goes from this silly and lighthearted man who struggles to confront the difficult things in life to someone who is learning to accept the bad with the good. While he still has a lot more work to do, he is in a much better place than he was at the start of the show.

In the sports world, especially, I feel like there are a lot of big egos, but not Ted. He is so humble and kind. He’s a great coach, and over the course of the show, he becomes an even better person. By the end of the third season, we can feel confident that he’s going to continue to grow.

This is especially important for his son, Henry (Gus Turner). During the third season, we see how Henry is struggling, something that weighs heavily on Ted. Returning to the U.S. is a huge moment of growth for him personally and is an opportunity for him to help his kid process the tough things in life.

Ted is going from being a great coach to being a great dad, and I love that journey for him. Leaving Henry was so difficult for him in season one. The fact that he’s returning to him in season three just feels right.

Of course, Ted isn’t the only character in this show that undergoes a dramatic transformation over the course of the seasons.

Nate (Nick Mohammed) probably changes the most. In the first season, he’s a plucky kid who loves football and eventually works his way into being a coach. In the second season, he allows anger and bitterness to dictate his actions and blows up his relationship with Ted.

In season three, Nate becomes the coach of West Ham, a rival football club. He falls under the spell of Rupert (Anthony Head) and acts in a way completely contrary to his character. Throughout the season, we see him grappling with who he is and who Rupert expects him to be.

Eventually, Nate ends up losing his job because he doesn’t engage in behavior that Rupert expects of him. Then, his redemptive journey begins.

For me, this was a little rushed. I struggled to believe that the Richmond players would be willing to bring Nate back as quickly as they do. I completely bought that Ted would be able to extend forgiveness quickly, but I didn’t believe that everyone else would be so ready to welcome him back with open arms. Especially because, earlier in the season, they were so upset about the video of him destroying the “Believe” sign that they got a slew of red cards during a match.

Still, despite all that, I like that Nate has that redemptive turn. And he’s not reinstated to a coach again but has to work his way up from the bottom. He has to regain trust with the team, the coaches, and even himself. We know that he has great things ahead of him, but he doesn’t get to experience them immediately.

Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, and Hannah Waddingham in Ted Lasso | Credit: Apple TV+

Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) also goes through an incredible character journey throughout the entire series. She is no longer concerned with Rupert and trying to compete with him. Rebecca is now able to resist his charms and has been freed of the hold he once had on her.

Richmond is no longer something she can use to torture her ex-husband but is a family that she has grown to love. She has seen how a football club can bring people together and boost an entire community. And she seeks to keep that going.

I love seeing Rebecca really owning who she is and using her money and influence well. Instead of flat-out selling the team and making an obscene amount of money, she sells half of the club to the fans. She has come to understand the value of community and teamwork and knows that she shouldn’t be the sole owner any longer.

Plus, Rebecca is investing her money into people like Keeley (Juno Temple) so that she can pursue her dreams. And I especially love the idea of them creating a Richmond women’s football club.

More support for women’s sports, please!

Keeley is also very different from when we first met her. She’s no longer a model but a businesswoman. She’s made loads of mistakes throughout her journey, but she’s learned from them. Keeley is an innovator with a keen eye for PR and marketing that she’s making work for her clients. She’s doing things her own way and succeeding in the process.

While I’m a big fan of Roy (Brett Goldstein) and Keeley’s relationship, I’m glad that they didn’t end up together. (Though if we want, we can imagine that they would find their way back to each other at some point.) Keeley doesn’t need to be in a romantic relationship to be successful. She’s found meaning in creating something all her own, and I love that.

There are so many more characters that go through great transformations over the course of the show that I couldn’t get to because I don’t want this to become a 20-minute article. Maybe one of these days I’ll write a second Ted Lasso article just so that I can talk about all of them, including Sam (Toheeb Jimoh), who is one of my favorites.

Jason Sudeikis and Hannah Waddingham in Ted Lasso | Credit: Apple TV+

Ted Lasso is such a great show! The characters all change immensely over the course of the three seasons in meaningful ways. This show is both heartwarming and deep while being hilarious and fun. I’m so impressed by the writing and the fact that they were able to maintain such quality over all three seasons.

This show is a reminder that a great premise with human characters and fantastic writing will be a winner every time.