Ted Lasso came to an end back in May 2023 with a finale that closed a major chapter for Jason Sudeikis’ title character while also setting up the future of AFC Richmond. If you were me back in May 2023, however, you were on the outside of the Ted Lasso craze because you just hadn’t gotten around to starting yet. Still, by nature of social media and my job as an entertainment journalist, I was inevitably spoiled on main points of the final episode. Now, circa late 2023, I’ve finally binge-watched Ted Lasso, and I can finally understand the issues that Apple TV+ subscribers were talking (and tweeting) about.
After I finished kicking myself for not watching one of the best Apple TV+ shows sooner and letting myself get spoiled instead, I found that I can relate to some fans' issues with the finale much more than others. Read on for the major plot points that were all over social media when the finale aired, and where I fall on them now that I finally experienced the Ted Lasso journey for myself!
The Ted/Rebecca Fake Out
One of the first spoilers that I saw for the Ted Lasso finale was about the opening scene, which heavily hinted that Ted and Rebecca had slept together the night before. The characters were even being uncharacteristically awkward and coy with each other. Ultimately, though, it was a fake out. Not only did Ted spend the night at Rebecca’s house due to a gas leak in his neighborhood, but Jane and a very scantily clad Beard were there as well. Finale director Declan Lowney opened up about the twist and why the tease happened.
And I saw that spoiler because there were a lot of fans on social media who were holding out hope for the good ship TedBecca to set sail before the final credits rolled. I never boarded that particular ship myself during my binge-watch and don’t really see them as compatible life partners, but I had to wince in sympathy for all the shippers when I watched that scene. It felt more like a joke at the expense of the fans than a joke for the fans, which is not the Ted Lasso way.
Ted Returns To Kansas
This is another spoiler that was just about impossible to avoid if you were on Twitter on the day that the finale aired. At the time, the prevailing opinion seemed to be that Ted going back to Kansas to be with Henry was a step back that sent the message that the nice guy doesn’t always win in the end. After all, he was going back to an ex-wife who dated their marriage counselor, even if it was ambiguous if he and Michelle got back together romantically.
Honestly, I had no issue with Ted returning to Kansas. It was heavily foreshadowed throughout the series. He never assimilated into British culture quite as much as Beard did, and his guilt about leaving Henry an ocean away played into his panic attacks. Even if I hadn’t been spoiled, I wouldn’t have been surprised by Ted leaving AFC Richmond to go back to his son.
I was surprised, however, that he didn’t actually seem all that emotional in his final days with the team. Even when the players performed a The Sound of Music-themed goodbye number for him! I never expected him to seriously entertain Rebecca’s offer to move Henry and Michelle over to the U.K. so that he could stay, but he could have come across as a little more emotionally invested. Still, Ted going back to Kansas fit for me.
Rebecca And The Dutchman
While Rebecca ending up with the Dutchman was a spoiler that I saw early on, I couldn’t make sense of it until halfway through the final season. The series tied up her storyline pretty neatly (albeit not definitively, per Hannah Waddingham) by reuniting her with the mysterious man she’d connected with on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Sure, he was an extremely minor character played by the charming Matteo van der Grijn, and fans could only learn that his name was Matthijs by scanning the closing credits of the finale, but it was fine.
In general, I didn’t have an issue with this storyline other than the rush. It fulfilled the psychic’s predictions for Rebecca, and falling in love with Matthijs after their night together in Holland was certainly an upgrade from Rupert. I will always be skeptical of their love story, though, just because I couldn’t suspend my disbelief about how it started in the Amsterdam episode.
Quite aside from not buying Rebecca showering in a strange man’s houseboat and then drinking what he left for her, am I really to believe that any of Rebecca Welton’s clothes were machine washable?!
The CGI Stonehenge Wedding
I may not have known the context for all the images and gifs of Beard’s wedding to Jane when I first saw them in the spring, but I certainly witnessed a lot of confusion about a CGI Stonehenge ceremony that didn’t include Ted in any way, shape, or form. The confusion and irritation among fans made a lot more sense once I saw what Beard and Jane’s relationship was actually like, and the effects to sell that the scene was at Stonehenge weren’t the cleanest.
Did I love that Beard and Jane got married, with a baby on the way? Not particularly, but I do enjoy imagining how their Stonehenge ceremony actually came together. With Roy as Beard’s best man, no less! It also allowed for some fun cameos, including Dani’s two girlfriends, Colin’s boyfriend, and the man and woman from the “Beard After Hours” episode of Season 2. Plus, that episode gave me an understanding of the coach's genuine (if bizarre) feelings for Jane, and them tying the knot wasn’t completely out of the blue.
The Love Triangle Returns
I won’t lie: the extent of the spoilers that I saw for the return of the Jamie/Keeley/Roy love triangle were a screenshot of Jamie and Roy after their fistfight and Brett Goldstein joking about a throuple situation of “mostly Roy and Keeley but Jamie joins in occasionally.” Upon watching the episode, I easily understood why I saw and heard so much frustration about the love triangle resurfacing. All three characters seemed to have outgrown that stage, with Roy and Jamie becoming close friends.
And oh boy, do I ever have an issue with the return of the love triangle! It didn’t seem entirely out of character that Roy and Jamie could still wind each other up enough to fight about Keeley, but some of what they said about her just didn’t match with… well, every other episode. Would the Jamie who apologized to Keeley about the video brag about it to Roy? Would the Roy who wrote a heartfelt letter to Keeley – somewhat hilariously signed “Sincerely yours, Roy Kent, XOXO” – boast that he’d slept with her recently?
Season 3 also spent a lot more time building Roy and Jamie’s relationship than either of them with Keeley, and I've never felt that Ted Lasso really established Keeley and Jamie actually loving each other during their romance. Both quickly moved on after their breakup in Season 1, whereas Keeley was rebounding hard from Roy in Season 3. I just didn’t buy the resurgence of the love triangle, especially when so little time was left to resolve it.
Roy And Keeley Don't Get Back Together
I was actually somewhat familiar with Roy and Keeley as the Ted Lasso romance that got the most screen time prior to my binge-watch, and was spoiled that they wouldn’t get back together in the finale. Knowing that they were doomed, I was determined not to get invested in them. Unfortunately, I completely failed on not getting invested in them, so actually seeing Roy and Keeley not get back together hurt. Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple just won me over!
In my defense, just about every episode of Season 3 seemed to be building to Roy and Keeley reconciling. Roy clearly regretted breaking up with her, and Keeley initially getting together with Jack was clearly a hard rebound from Roy. Phoebe pointed out that her uncle was “being stupid,” and Rebecca gave Roy the wakeup call he needed while Keeley took stock of her life after losing KJPR funding. The two sleeping together after Roy’s lovely letter? If I hadn’t been spoiled on the finale, I would have been convinced Ted Lasso got them back together for the rest of the series.
This wasn’t a fake out on par with what the finale pulled on TedBecca fans, and I actually think that Roy got the best ending of any major character with the reveal that he started therapy with Dr. Sharon and became the new head coach at Richmond. Roy stepping up was foreshadowed as far back as A Wrinkle in Time in the third episode ever of the series. But a Roy/Keeley romantic reunion was foreshadowed as well, and I 100% understand why fans were up in arms about how the finale ended for them.
The Dream Theory
A fan theory that was circulating early and often was that the montage toward the end of the finale was actually a dream of Ted’s while he was asleep on his flight back to Kansas. The way the ending was edited supported the theory, even though there were stories like Rebecca’s with the Dutchman that Ted wasn’t actually aware of to dream about. Ted Lasso co-creator, writer, and actor Brendan Hunt debunked the dream theory not too long after the episode aired.
And while I can understand wanting elements of the montage to not actually be canonical, I’m glad that the last we saw of most of the characters wasn’t in a dream sequence. Plus, I have to agree with Brendan Hunt’s explanation of why Ted wasn’t at Beard’s wedding, as he said that it “would be anticlimactic and deflating if we suddenly see him back there before we even see his plane lands.” While a fourth season or a spinoff hasn’t been definitively ruled out, Ted Lasso seems settled for the foreseeable future.
The show and its stars are still in the running for awards. Phil Dunster was the only cast member to be nominated for a Critics Choice Award (with Hannah Waddingham celebrating the news), and the show is up for more than twenty Emmys. Among those, Ted Lasso is a contender for Outstanding Comedy Series, with Jason Sudeikis in the running for Outstanding Lead Actor, Juno Temple and Hannah Waddingham for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster for Outstanding Supporting Actor.
Whether or not Ted Lasso Season 3 wins any major awards remains to be seen; for now, you can always revisit every episode streaming now with an Apple TV+ subscription.
