On the one hand, it was more or less exactly what I expected the finale to be, in terms of how everything resolved and the sheer amount of sentiment dripping from it. On the other hand, it did not really fix my biggest problems with the season as a whole, although I did not terribly expect it to. On the third, secret hand, it was actually very funny at points, including some great freeze-frame gags, and having watched the older episodes again has given me a stronger sense for the sheer number of callbacks packed in there.
Things I expected to happen include: Ted goes back home, but Beard sticks around. Roy Kent is named the new coach after the season. Richmond wins their final game against West Ham-- although, in an unexpected twist, Man City wins theirs as well and clinches the Premier League title, with Richmond taking second.
Things I suspected might happen: Keeley doesn’t choose between either Jamie or Roy. Rebecca has a chance reunion with her Man from Amsterdam, and his daughter, which as we see in the final montage leads to them dating. Rupert Mannion’s downfall, although the final straw was not something I expected before the episode-- I predicted he might push for his team to deliberately injure Jamie once the game got going, but I was genuinely surprised that George, the coach with the short shorts, stood up to him.
Things I wanted to see and did not: Someone addressing the entire ethical problem with Dr. Jacob dating Michelle in the first place, although it seems clear he’s not long for the picture with how coldly his snark about Richmond’s season finale is received. I’m still not convinced Jane is healthy for Beard, and if the writers wanted us to believe that she is, they should have written her some scenes where she doesn’t act some combination of highly possessive and severely bipolar. Some kind of hint of personality from Jade.
Things that were good to see: Nate’s apology to Ted, long overdue-- Nick Mohammed is arguably doing the best work of anyone in this episode. Also, Dani’s apology to Zorreaux / Van Damme, complete with new face mask. Roy genuinely asking the Diamond Dogs for advice on whether people can change, after a year of putting in the work to do so and feeling like he really hasn’t.
Notable callbacks: The final goal is scored on the play Nate designed in season 1, the one with Jamie running decoy-- and he even gives the Ted-style “I’m open, I’m open!” performance Ted was trying to get out of him in season 1. Chris Powell reflecting Roy Kent’s line from season 1 about never knowing how to react to a grown man doing a silly dance-- that grown man in both cases is, of course, Ted.
Admittedly a lot of cheese in this one, but it worked pretty well on the whole. Some of that was helped by having watched the older episodes recently-- Rebecca telling Ted how much he’s meant to the club and to her personally is a lot more believable having seen season 1 so recently, than if I’d just watched season 3 straight through without reviewing any of those episodes.
All in all, though, this was definitely the weakest season of Ted Lasso. The gaps in the plotting and plausibility that started showing up in season two grew bigger and bigger in season 3; several stories felt like they didn’t have much point to them; but the show could still put together great moments and great episodes from time to time. Those often make the show worth watching through the bits that don’t work, even this season. Season 1 was nearly perfect; season 2 was good but flawed; and season 3 was even more flawed but still capable of great things, and the ending will probably lift my overall evaluation of the show a bit.
Overall, I think Myles is right; the finale lands in a good place, but it's hard to get over all the ways the plotting left huge holes or skipped over crucial scenes on the way there.
Last note, as something of a music aficionado, I enjoyed the cheekiness of following “Father and Son” in the closing sequence with “Fight Test”-- you know, the Flaming Lips song that they have to pay Cat Stevens 75% of the royalties for because of its similarities to “Father and Son.”
The montage didn't register as a dream sequence for me, and now I'm going to spend god knows how long thinking about whether it's better or worse if none of that happened. Jamie didn't reconcile with his father without so much as a line of dialogue, I don't have to have another aneurysm over how Sam could realistically make the Nigerian national team after making himself plenty of enemies in government (plus Akufo's bribes)...those are good. On the other hand, if it's not real that leaves Keeley in particular with a useless nothing of a final note, so who's to say. One last infuriating conundrum for the road!
Brendan Hunt did an AMA on the Ted Lasso subreddit today and of course he was asked if Beard's wedding was a dream. According to Hunt, all of the scenes that occur while Ted is asleep on the plane are REAL and not dreams. Also Ted isn't at Beard's wedding because Henry had a soccer game, or something.
Either way, if fans are spending days arguing over whether or not certain scenes were dreams it suggests there were some pretty serious issues with your writing/editing/storytelling.
In theory, me love idea of Ted Lasso Minus Ted Lasso, in that series can be about more than just one man, both on and offscreen. And year ago, if you had asked me if me would watch AFC Richmond RFD, me would have said absolutely.
But given how poorly this season has managed ensemble and how many storylines felt directionless, me hope this is merciful end to show. Barry and Succession had both gotten to points where, for dramatic purposes, show needed to end, but me will miss both, and could listen to those characters and that dialogue endlessly. But Ted Lasso give me feeling of, well, thank goodness that ended before it got worse.
And it not like Walking Dead, where it only hit show network had so they have to keep dragging it out. Apple TV going to be fine without Ted, and in fact me have already moved on to Big Door Prize for my "feel-good Apple TV show that not entirely hold together but have winning enough cast to smooth over flaws".
I think the one thing I can say definitively about both this season and this episode of Ted Lasso is the whole was significantly less than the sum of its parts. There were quite a few moments that made me laugh or cry or otherwise touched my emotions, but they seemed to be arranged at best in the vague suggestion of a season or episode rather than carefully crafted into a unified whole. It was more forgivable on the episode level - the drama of the big moments carried the day - but it still was a much less satisfying conclusion than I expected based on the first two seasons.
Still, one last time: I don't get why some people hate Nate so much. Yes, he had heel turn last year and was a real jerk to his friends. But other characters were worse to more people for longer and haven't faced nearly the uphill climb towards earning forgiveness in the eyes of the audience that Nate has. I won't deny that the choice to have most of the big turning points in Nate's arc take place off screen hasn't helped. But I don't think the fact that the story this season has been told ineptly makes what Nate did last season more unforgivable.
Stray Observations
* The timeline of Ted's flight versus the montage of everyone else confused me but I thought it was just sloppy writing rather than that Ted was dreaming. But now that you say I believe it was intended to be a dream.
* The fact that Richmond didn't win the league is I think the surest sign they intend to continue the series. Why deny the audience the pleasure of a full victory unless you're saving that for a future season?
I finally decided to take a look at what twitter had on the show. The quantity of fanboys and fangirls who see everything as perfect was way beyond my expectations. I appreciate the structural criticism of the show by Myles. My guess is that if I weren't reading Episodic Medium I likely would have had that uncomfortable feeling something wasn't quite right or as right as it had been and have not quite been able to put words to it.
That said, I did find the effort to link to earlier episodes and mirror or mimic them was pretty outstanding. I wish the same amount of effort was afforded some of the storylines as has been pointed out.
That finale was the classic example of “silk purse from a sow’s ear.” It’s as if the writers from the first season and a half showed up to write the finale without having watched anything since they left, saw what a mess the current batch of writers had made, and did the best they could with what they had to work with.
Weirdly the mess of this season made me more invested and interested in a sequel series of sorts. If the season wasn’t so frustrating I’d be happy to say goodbye to these characters. But I still care about them and I want better for them! I don’t know if subbing out Sudekis for another show runner will fix everything but I’d be down to watch the attempt. It helps that Ted has always been the main character I’ve been least compelled by, so his absence doesn’t register as a huge loss for me. Make Brett Goldstein the star, have him or someone else showrun, and let’s see what happens; worse case scenario this finale was reasonably satisfying enough that I can pretend the sequel didn’t happen.
And totally down for a women’s team spin-off; I’m assuming Apple would want both? This show is still their most popular, I doubt they’re that afraid of diluting the brand.
Thank you for the reviews and commentary, Myles. I really, really enjoyed coming here each week after the show to read your insightful thoughts and also to trash Nate.
To be clear: he may no longer be an incel (congrats on the sex, Nate!) but he is undoubtedly a Twitter Blue subscriber.
The montage had me cackling at the ridiculousness of it all but never crossed my mind for it to be a dream. Ultimately a ridiculous finale but like much of this season it had enough highs to make me forgive the irredeemable lows.
Also, had a feeling there would be a penalty/dodgy ref decision the second you saw Mike Dean in the prematch lineup.
I honestly feel like the entire finale was trolling the fanbase and the mediasphere. However, I wonder if the reason so many pivotal things were shown offscreen was that it isn't the moment that matters, but what leads them to the moment and what happens after the moment. In fairness, I might have suffered a minor concussion last night, so my judgment may not be what it should be.
Wow had no idea about a dream interpretation. Will have to go back and redacted the end. I did find it odd however that Ted was not at all Beard's wedding.
I'm just glad that a) Richmond did not win the league and b) Nate did not become manager. Either of those two would've really soured me on the ending. As is, I thought this finale was fine though I agree with Myles it did not clear up the future of the show or a spinoff at all.
When I reflect on this season on the future, I'm going to think of all the plot points that happened offscreen. Off the top of my head, that list includes:
*Rebecca learning Ted went to a West Ham game (would be pretty major news in real life)
*Nate deciding to leave West Ham
*The players realizing Nate was sorry and voting for him to come back to the team (and the individual reactions of people like Collin to this development)
*Ted actually telling Rebecca he was leaving, as well as the team's initial reaction.
*Whatever advice Rebecca gave Becks and Rupert's assistant when they came to her house
*How Sam was able to get on the Nigerian team
*Whether or not Trent's book says anything about Colin's secxuality
*Ted's living/relationship situation in Kansas
I reaalize some these are more opaque developments or unanswered questions than something that happens offscreen. But either way, there was a lot of gaps this season.
Overall, I think I give the following grades:
First season: A
Second season: B
Third season: C-
Overall show to date: B+
The last one does not make mathematical sense I realize, but in the end this show likely was better as a whole than the sum of its parts, especially the final season, so I'll bump up the average.
I've got a couple of qualms, but overall, I found this one pretty satisfying. If it isn't the end, it's hard to imagine a series finale that fits in as many callbacks and returning characters as this one did organically and without overwhelming the episode.
It was smart (though I agree, not surprising) to make Ted and Rebecca's relationship such a focal point and highlight the effect he had on her. Even though I'm still a little let down by Rebecca's wider storyline this season, I appreciated the effort throughout to show her vulnerability, and that came through in her scenes with Ted. She pushed him to stay more than I thought she would, but it felt like growth on her part rather than clinging to what's comfortable.
Even as someone who was never totally closed off to a T/R romance and felt like the show was outright teasing it at times, I can sort of forgive the cold open, just because it was fun to see them embrace romance tropes (like the one night stand) in a relationship that - I think, wisely - stayed platonic.
I love that they got the big rom-com-style teary airport goodbye and that, through the end, the show continued to position that friendship as just as impactful as any romance. Platonics deserve swoon-worthy gestures, too, and I wish more shows felt that way.
Generally, it felt like an intentional choice to leave the bulk of the romantic relationships (Ted/Michelle, Keeley/Roy/Jamie) open-ended or, in the case of Rebecca and the boatman, little explored. Even if I would have liked more resolution for Keeley and Roy especially, it was refreshing to see most of the characters' romantic relationships take a backseat to the platonic ones in the end.
The Jamie/Roy/Keeley stuff was frustrating - I agree it felt like such a retread and a sour ending note to Jamie and Roy's great dynamic this season. Also, with how good Roy and Keeley were together in season 2, I just don't buy that Jamie's a believable option for her at this point.
My other quibble is that Ted seemed weirdly distant in some of his scenes, though that may just be my read of it. I kept waiting for him to get more emotional about leaving or at least make it clearer to everyone it was a bittersweet decision. I think part of the issue is that, as noted, we didn't see those scenes where he told Rebecca, the team, etc., and that's where some of those feelings about how much he was going to miss everyone would have come through. That made some of his scenes ring a little false for me - they didn't have quite as much warmth from him as I expected.
Overall, though, if this does wind up being the series finale, I'm relieved that "bad final season" didn't wind up equaling "bad final episode" in the way I worried it might.
Honestly I see at least one future episode of “The Richmond Way”, should it happen, with guest star Jason Sudeikis as Ted and Henry make a trip to visit the team.
Seventy-five minutes!
On the one hand, it was more or less exactly what I expected the finale to be, in terms of how everything resolved and the sheer amount of sentiment dripping from it. On the other hand, it did not really fix my biggest problems with the season as a whole, although I did not terribly expect it to. On the third, secret hand, it was actually very funny at points, including some great freeze-frame gags, and having watched the older episodes again has given me a stronger sense for the sheer number of callbacks packed in there.
Things I expected to happen include: Ted goes back home, but Beard sticks around. Roy Kent is named the new coach after the season. Richmond wins their final game against West Ham-- although, in an unexpected twist, Man City wins theirs as well and clinches the Premier League title, with Richmond taking second.
Things I suspected might happen: Keeley doesn’t choose between either Jamie or Roy. Rebecca has a chance reunion with her Man from Amsterdam, and his daughter, which as we see in the final montage leads to them dating. Rupert Mannion’s downfall, although the final straw was not something I expected before the episode-- I predicted he might push for his team to deliberately injure Jamie once the game got going, but I was genuinely surprised that George, the coach with the short shorts, stood up to him.
Things I wanted to see and did not: Someone addressing the entire ethical problem with Dr. Jacob dating Michelle in the first place, although it seems clear he’s not long for the picture with how coldly his snark about Richmond’s season finale is received. I’m still not convinced Jane is healthy for Beard, and if the writers wanted us to believe that she is, they should have written her some scenes where she doesn’t act some combination of highly possessive and severely bipolar. Some kind of hint of personality from Jade.
Things that were good to see: Nate’s apology to Ted, long overdue-- Nick Mohammed is arguably doing the best work of anyone in this episode. Also, Dani’s apology to Zorreaux / Van Damme, complete with new face mask. Roy genuinely asking the Diamond Dogs for advice on whether people can change, after a year of putting in the work to do so and feeling like he really hasn’t.
Notable callbacks: The final goal is scored on the play Nate designed in season 1, the one with Jamie running decoy-- and he even gives the Ted-style “I’m open, I’m open!” performance Ted was trying to get out of him in season 1. Chris Powell reflecting Roy Kent’s line from season 1 about never knowing how to react to a grown man doing a silly dance-- that grown man in both cases is, of course, Ted.
Admittedly a lot of cheese in this one, but it worked pretty well on the whole. Some of that was helped by having watched the older episodes recently-- Rebecca telling Ted how much he’s meant to the club and to her personally is a lot more believable having seen season 1 so recently, than if I’d just watched season 3 straight through without reviewing any of those episodes.
All in all, though, this was definitely the weakest season of Ted Lasso. The gaps in the plotting and plausibility that started showing up in season two grew bigger and bigger in season 3; several stories felt like they didn’t have much point to them; but the show could still put together great moments and great episodes from time to time. Those often make the show worth watching through the bits that don’t work, even this season. Season 1 was nearly perfect; season 2 was good but flawed; and season 3 was even more flawed but still capable of great things, and the ending will probably lift my overall evaluation of the show a bit.
Overall, I think Myles is right; the finale lands in a good place, but it's hard to get over all the ways the plotting left huge holes or skipped over crucial scenes on the way there.
Last note, as something of a music aficionado, I enjoyed the cheekiness of following “Father and Son” in the closing sequence with “Fight Test”-- you know, the Flaming Lips song that they have to pay Cat Stevens 75% of the royalties for because of its similarities to “Father and Son.”
The Keely storyline was a trainwreck, but I'll say this.
Choosing neither of them was her second best option in that moment.
The best option would have been choosing both of them. Tell me they didn't ooze throuple energy.
The montage didn't register as a dream sequence for me, and now I'm going to spend god knows how long thinking about whether it's better or worse if none of that happened. Jamie didn't reconcile with his father without so much as a line of dialogue, I don't have to have another aneurysm over how Sam could realistically make the Nigerian national team after making himself plenty of enemies in government (plus Akufo's bribes)...those are good. On the other hand, if it's not real that leaves Keeley in particular with a useless nothing of a final note, so who's to say. One last infuriating conundrum for the road!
Brendan Hunt did an AMA on the Ted Lasso subreddit today and of course he was asked if Beard's wedding was a dream. According to Hunt, all of the scenes that occur while Ted is asleep on the plane are REAL and not dreams. Also Ted isn't at Beard's wedding because Henry had a soccer game, or something.
Either way, if fans are spending days arguing over whether or not certain scenes were dreams it suggests there were some pretty serious issues with your writing/editing/storytelling.
In theory, me love idea of Ted Lasso Minus Ted Lasso, in that series can be about more than just one man, both on and offscreen. And year ago, if you had asked me if me would watch AFC Richmond RFD, me would have said absolutely.
But given how poorly this season has managed ensemble and how many storylines felt directionless, me hope this is merciful end to show. Barry and Succession had both gotten to points where, for dramatic purposes, show needed to end, but me will miss both, and could listen to those characters and that dialogue endlessly. But Ted Lasso give me feeling of, well, thank goodness that ended before it got worse.
And it not like Walking Dead, where it only hit show network had so they have to keep dragging it out. Apple TV going to be fine without Ted, and in fact me have already moved on to Big Door Prize for my "feel-good Apple TV show that not entirely hold together but have winning enough cast to smooth over flaws".
I did not read the montage as a dream. I just read it as a way to have Ted's story last. Also, how many daily flights between Heathrow and KC?
I think the one thing I can say definitively about both this season and this episode of Ted Lasso is the whole was significantly less than the sum of its parts. There were quite a few moments that made me laugh or cry or otherwise touched my emotions, but they seemed to be arranged at best in the vague suggestion of a season or episode rather than carefully crafted into a unified whole. It was more forgivable on the episode level - the drama of the big moments carried the day - but it still was a much less satisfying conclusion than I expected based on the first two seasons.
Still, one last time: I don't get why some people hate Nate so much. Yes, he had heel turn last year and was a real jerk to his friends. But other characters were worse to more people for longer and haven't faced nearly the uphill climb towards earning forgiveness in the eyes of the audience that Nate has. I won't deny that the choice to have most of the big turning points in Nate's arc take place off screen hasn't helped. But I don't think the fact that the story this season has been told ineptly makes what Nate did last season more unforgivable.
Stray Observations
* The timeline of Ted's flight versus the montage of everyone else confused me but I thought it was just sloppy writing rather than that Ted was dreaming. But now that you say I believe it was intended to be a dream.
* The fact that Richmond didn't win the league is I think the surest sign they intend to continue the series. Why deny the audience the pleasure of a full victory unless you're saving that for a future season?
* Using "Father and Son" is cheating.
* Thanks for the reviews, Myles.
I finally decided to take a look at what twitter had on the show. The quantity of fanboys and fangirls who see everything as perfect was way beyond my expectations. I appreciate the structural criticism of the show by Myles. My guess is that if I weren't reading Episodic Medium I likely would have had that uncomfortable feeling something wasn't quite right or as right as it had been and have not quite been able to put words to it.
That said, I did find the effort to link to earlier episodes and mirror or mimic them was pretty outstanding. I wish the same amount of effort was afforded some of the storylines as has been pointed out.
I am glad I watched, though.
That finale was the classic example of “silk purse from a sow’s ear.” It’s as if the writers from the first season and a half showed up to write the finale without having watched anything since they left, saw what a mess the current batch of writers had made, and did the best they could with what they had to work with.
Weirdly the mess of this season made me more invested and interested in a sequel series of sorts. If the season wasn’t so frustrating I’d be happy to say goodbye to these characters. But I still care about them and I want better for them! I don’t know if subbing out Sudekis for another show runner will fix everything but I’d be down to watch the attempt. It helps that Ted has always been the main character I’ve been least compelled by, so his absence doesn’t register as a huge loss for me. Make Brett Goldstein the star, have him or someone else showrun, and let’s see what happens; worse case scenario this finale was reasonably satisfying enough that I can pretend the sequel didn’t happen.
And totally down for a women’s team spin-off; I’m assuming Apple would want both? This show is still their most popular, I doubt they’re that afraid of diluting the brand.
Thank you for the reviews and commentary, Myles. I really, really enjoyed coming here each week after the show to read your insightful thoughts and also to trash Nate.
To be clear: he may no longer be an incel (congrats on the sex, Nate!) but he is undoubtedly a Twitter Blue subscriber.
The montage had me cackling at the ridiculousness of it all but never crossed my mind for it to be a dream. Ultimately a ridiculous finale but like much of this season it had enough highs to make me forgive the irredeemable lows.
Also, had a feeling there would be a penalty/dodgy ref decision the second you saw Mike Dean in the prematch lineup.
I honestly feel like the entire finale was trolling the fanbase and the mediasphere. However, I wonder if the reason so many pivotal things were shown offscreen was that it isn't the moment that matters, but what leads them to the moment and what happens after the moment. In fairness, I might have suffered a minor concussion last night, so my judgment may not be what it should be.
Wow had no idea about a dream interpretation. Will have to go back and redacted the end. I did find it odd however that Ted was not at all Beard's wedding.
I'm just glad that a) Richmond did not win the league and b) Nate did not become manager. Either of those two would've really soured me on the ending. As is, I thought this finale was fine though I agree with Myles it did not clear up the future of the show or a spinoff at all.
When I reflect on this season on the future, I'm going to think of all the plot points that happened offscreen. Off the top of my head, that list includes:
*Rebecca learning Ted went to a West Ham game (would be pretty major news in real life)
*Nate deciding to leave West Ham
*The players realizing Nate was sorry and voting for him to come back to the team (and the individual reactions of people like Collin to this development)
*Ted actually telling Rebecca he was leaving, as well as the team's initial reaction.
*Whatever advice Rebecca gave Becks and Rupert's assistant when they came to her house
*How Sam was able to get on the Nigerian team
*Whether or not Trent's book says anything about Colin's secxuality
*Ted's living/relationship situation in Kansas
I reaalize some these are more opaque developments or unanswered questions than something that happens offscreen. But either way, there was a lot of gaps this season.
Overall, I think I give the following grades:
First season: A
Second season: B
Third season: C-
Overall show to date: B+
The last one does not make mathematical sense I realize, but in the end this show likely was better as a whole than the sum of its parts, especially the final season, so I'll bump up the average.
I've got a couple of qualms, but overall, I found this one pretty satisfying. If it isn't the end, it's hard to imagine a series finale that fits in as many callbacks and returning characters as this one did organically and without overwhelming the episode.
It was smart (though I agree, not surprising) to make Ted and Rebecca's relationship such a focal point and highlight the effect he had on her. Even though I'm still a little let down by Rebecca's wider storyline this season, I appreciated the effort throughout to show her vulnerability, and that came through in her scenes with Ted. She pushed him to stay more than I thought she would, but it felt like growth on her part rather than clinging to what's comfortable.
Even as someone who was never totally closed off to a T/R romance and felt like the show was outright teasing it at times, I can sort of forgive the cold open, just because it was fun to see them embrace romance tropes (like the one night stand) in a relationship that - I think, wisely - stayed platonic.
I love that they got the big rom-com-style teary airport goodbye and that, through the end, the show continued to position that friendship as just as impactful as any romance. Platonics deserve swoon-worthy gestures, too, and I wish more shows felt that way.
Generally, it felt like an intentional choice to leave the bulk of the romantic relationships (Ted/Michelle, Keeley/Roy/Jamie) open-ended or, in the case of Rebecca and the boatman, little explored. Even if I would have liked more resolution for Keeley and Roy especially, it was refreshing to see most of the characters' romantic relationships take a backseat to the platonic ones in the end.
The Jamie/Roy/Keeley stuff was frustrating - I agree it felt like such a retread and a sour ending note to Jamie and Roy's great dynamic this season. Also, with how good Roy and Keeley were together in season 2, I just don't buy that Jamie's a believable option for her at this point.
My other quibble is that Ted seemed weirdly distant in some of his scenes, though that may just be my read of it. I kept waiting for him to get more emotional about leaving or at least make it clearer to everyone it was a bittersweet decision. I think part of the issue is that, as noted, we didn't see those scenes where he told Rebecca, the team, etc., and that's where some of those feelings about how much he was going to miss everyone would have come through. That made some of his scenes ring a little false for me - they didn't have quite as much warmth from him as I expected.
Overall, though, if this does wind up being the series finale, I'm relieved that "bad final season" didn't wind up equaling "bad final episode" in the way I worried it might.
Honestly I see at least one future episode of “The Richmond Way”, should it happen, with guest star Jason Sudeikis as Ted and Henry make a trip to visit the team.