Ted Lasso

The final episode of Ted Lasso season 3 begins with two commentators discussing Richmond's rise through the ranks. If they win this last match against West Ham and if Manchester City loses or draws against Liverpool, they win the premier league title.

Rebecca watches the show in her kitchen, as the commentators talk about Rupert being sued by his previous secretary and divorced by his wife. Just then, Ted walks into the room. He asks if Rebecca wants to talk about ‘it’ and she shakes her head. Coach Beard and Jane enter next and make a reference to the noise the couple made all through the night. Turns out, a gas leak in the neighbourhood led them all to crash at Rebecca's. It then becomes clear that Ted had been referring to the fact that he's going home, for good. And Rebecca hasn't accepted that latter half just yet.

We then move to the locker room where a mock trial is taking place with Isaac as a judge. Nate is an assistant kit man now. Sam plays treasurer and announces fines for players who were late to training or who fell asleep during team meditation (Jamie). Nathan gets charged for all the matches he missed out on as well.

Keeley arrives at Richmond and is surprised by Roy in the parking lot. She heads into the building as he watches.

Ted gets a text from Michelle showing how excited Henry is to have his dad coming back home. Coach Beard arrives and shows Ted his shredded passport, courtesy of Jane who doesn't want him to leave the country. Trent enters and gives both of them a draft of his nearly complete book. Roy arrives just then and surprises everyone by asking them how to tell if a girl likes you. When they suggest bringing together the diamond dogs, he refuses.

Leslie and Keeley speak to Rebecca, but she isn't ready to think about Ted's replacement yet. Leslie reveals that the team's value is at an all-time high and Rebecca would get a good sum for selling part of it. Rebecca wonders how much she could get for selling all of it. Leslie says two billion.

At practice, Ted makes Roy call the end of the session. Ted didn't want to make a big deal out of his last practice with the team. But it goes without saying that this is a big deal, as music begins to play and the team performs ‘So Long, Farewell for Ted.’

Keeley turns up to the coach's room and gives Ted a going away present. She then makes an announcement to the team about a press conference and heads out. Jamie catches up with her and tells her about a Nike shoot in Brazil that he wants her to tag along for. She agrees. Roy sees this and later asks Jamie if he wants to grab a beer.

At the pub, Rebecca chats with her mother and discusses selling the club. Her mother encourages her to take the money and explore the world. She even brings up Tish but Rebecca dismisses the psychic. They then find out that their bill has been paid by the three Richmond fans, who profusely thank Rebecca for everything she's done for the team.

Trent seems tense about Ted's reaction to his book, overthinking it when he sees Ted release a small laugh at page 43.

Roy and Jamie go out for their beer where Roy tells Jamie he's proud of him for all his growth. He also mentions he knows Jamie's got feelings for Keeley and wants to prioritize their friendship. But then goes on to ask Jamie to step aside since he and Keeley are talking again. This naturally leads to an argument. Roy brings up his one-night stand with Keeley while Jamie brings up the video she made for him.

Ted sits alone in the stadium but is soon joined by Rebecca, who's ready to talk about it now. She tells him if he goes, she's going to sell the club. She tries convincing Ted to make this place his home, for Henry too. On selling 49% of the team she can even make Ted one of the highest-paid coaches. After all, he means a lot more than that to the club. But Ted's decision is final and Rebecca finally accepts it. Both of them will leave. Rebecca will travel abroad.

Jamie and Roy turn up to Keeley's house all beaten up after fighting each other about who gets to be with Keeley. They want her to choose who she wants. As expected, she kicks them out of her house. The pair decide to go eat some kebabs.

Ted catches Nate staring at the empty spot where the ‘believe’ poster used to hang. Nate breaks down and apologizes to Ted for everything. Ted implies he forgave him a long time ago.

The day of the match arrives. Colin's boyfriend, Michael, collects a ticket saved for him. Back in America, Henry and Michelle gear up for the game but Jake isn't as excited. Doctor Sharon watches as well.

While the coaches discuss the absurd naming system of all the football leagues, Nate steps in to wish Ted and Beard good luck for their last game. Leslie mentions that the convening of this group is familiar. Roy shocks them all by asking if he can be a diamond dog. Of course, he's accepted. Roy opens up about how he's tried to change in the past year to become someone better but he hasn't really. Ted suggests that asking to be a diamond dog shows how much Roy has indeed changed. They discuss how people can never be perfect, just keep asking for help and getting better.

Meanwhile, Rupert is on the brink of losing his club because of the accusations of sexual impropriety. Rebecca and Sassy see him before the match and throw him some well-deserved quips.

In the locker room, Will says that Zava has sent a care package. He sent them a letter of encouragement, some T-shirts and one large avocado. Dani gifts Van Damme a cooler, superhero-esque nose mask as an apology for breaking his nose. Appropriately, Van Damme now asks to be called Zorro. Ted enters and shows the team a video in place of his usual encouragement. It shows them clips from the time Ted and Beard joined, making the team highly emotional and practically in tears as they come on the field. Roy, too, is in tears.

The match begins. Zorro saves a goal followed by Jamie and Dani nearly scoring one. West Ham then scores a goal. Pings from multiple phones signal to Ted that in the other match, Man City have just scored a goal against Liverpool. West Ham manage another goal. At half time, Ted tells the team it's been an honour to be their coach and see them grow. He loves them all. About the game, he pushes the team to believe in themselves and give their best. After his speech, Sam pulls out a yellow piece of paper — one torn piece of the ‘believe’ poster. Slowly other team players pull pieces out as well and the poster becomes whole. There it is, Ted says, number four.

The second half starts with Richmond in renewed vigour. After several near misses, Jamie finally gets a goal in. West Ham players begin to mark him a bit too close and now Richmond has a penalty shot. He hands the ball to Dani who then gives it to Isaac, who looks unsure of himself. The coaches cross all their fingers. The ball goes over the bar. But the referee looks closer and finds a hole in the net. Isaac hit the ball straight through the net. It's a goal!

As the ground crew replace the net, Rupert goes up to his team manager and tells him to ‘take out’ Jamie. When the manager refuses, Rupert pushes him over, making a scene. Richmond fans begin to curse at Rupert as he walks back.

The game restarts with West Ham scoring a goal. But Ted's laughing. The goal was offside. With one minute left, a foul from West Ham give Richmond a free kick. As the coaches discuss what advice to give the players, Ted calls Nate over and mimes something to the team. They understand.

Sam takes the free kick but passes it to Dixon instead. They use Jamie as a decoy leaving Sam unmarked. The ball passes back to him and they score! The strategy they used was Nate's play. The referee blows the whistle — Richmond has won the game. Celebrations ensue and fans rush out on the pitch, including Michael who Colin unabashedly kisses. Ted dances with his team on the grass.

Ted looks at news reports about Rebecca selling 49% of the club to fans. He's at the airport. After buying the newspaper and a comic book, he comes across a football fan, the same one he met on his very first flight to the UK. The fan mentions Richmond came in second and lost the title to Man City. He takes a selfie with Ted and heads on his way. Ted then finds Rebecca waiting for him, who bought a ticket just so she could say a proper goodbye. When he points out that she didn't sell the whole club, she admits wanting to stay with her new family. They thank each other, for everything, and more words aren't really needed. They hug and Ted goes on his way.

On the flight, Ted asks Beard if this whole thing is nuts. Beard takes off his glasses to show that he's in tears as well. He doesn't want to go back, he's in love with Jane and wants to stay with her. But he dreaded abandoning Ted. Ted assures him he isn't and encourages him to follow his heart. Beard tells Ted he loves him and promptly starts screaming in pain (pretending that it is his appendix). The staff have him pulled out of the plane.

Outside the airport, Rebecca sees a little girl fall down and helps her up. Her father is none other than the man she met in Amsterdam. They greet each other and Rebecca finally tells him her name.

Ted opens Keeley's gift to find a Richmond snow globe.

Trent finds Beard's copy of his book packed with Post-its. Ted's only note was that the title of his book, The Lasso Way, should be different. It was never about Ted.

Keeley's business booms and Rebecca appoints Roy as the new manager of AFC Richmond. Nate is happy with Jade, Sam makes it to Nigeria's football team for the World Cup and Jamie actually bonds with his father. We see the whole team enjoying a barbecue, including Rebecca's new partner. We see the share certificates of AFC Richmond with Mae and the three Richmond fans. Trent sells his book, now called The Richmond Way. Keeley suggests to Rebecca that they start a women's team.

Roy starts going to therapy with Sharon. Beard, Roy and Nate hang up the ‘believe’ poster, now pasted together. Beard and Jane not only get married but are also pregnant.

Ted reaches Kansas and gets home to an enthusiastic welcome from Henry. Michelle is there as well.

Later, Ted coaches Henry and his team playing soccer. He encourages Henry when he misses a goal. Michelle cheers Henry on from the stands, Jake is nowhere to be seen. Ted smiles.

Episode 12 was, as expected, a tearjerker that was packed with emotion. We get some heartrending goodbyes (the one with Rebecca was masterfully executed), reunions, a musical performance from the team, and even a video compilation of all the memories. There's no doubt that saying goodbye to a show like Ted Lasso is going to be hard for many, and you can see the effort the writers have taken to offer a meaningful goodbye.

There were certain moments that encapsulated everything Ted Lasso has been trying to say, like the moment where all the players bring out a piece of the ‘believe’ poster or the diamond dogs scene where they talk about becoming better people. Ted Lasso's message of kindness, empathy, and found family really comes through.

That said, it wasn't a perfect ending. Several goodbyes felt missed. I was expecting Roy, Jamie, Keeley, and Sam, to have a one-on-one goodbye with Ted. Instead, it seemed that apart from Rebecca everyone took it in their stride, which seems unlikely considering how much they all care about Ted. I was even a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see Ted break the news.

Personally, I could write an essay on why Roy and Jamie's fight was ridiculous and a disservice to their relationship, which has been one of the best developed of the season. Roy and Keeley, too, could have had one of the healthiest long-term romantic relationships on TV but that was squandered and replaced by a shoddy, out-of-character love triangle. Rebecca's romance, while adorable, could have been more fleshed out. The same goes for Nate, whose reintegration into the team was pretty quick.

That is to say that these faults were with the overarching story, it was the season itself that wasn't perfect. All in all, this was a great episode as a finale and any flaws in the story have more to do with the season as a whole.