TL;DR – Builds upon everything that made the series great by focussing on the character development of every kind  

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Ted Lasso Review –

If there has been one consistent feature over the last few years of that evert the 2020s has been so far, it has been the joy that has come from Ted Lasso. I know this show is stylised, so it could almost be magical realism like The West Wing. But I don’t care. Every moment, every kick of a football, had me on the edge of my chair, and this final season of the show that maybe/probably/we’ll see was no exception. With today’s review, we will first look at the final episode aptly titled So Long, Farewell, and then we will look at the season as a whole.   

So to set the scene, at the end of Season 2, the Richmond Greyhounds fount back from relegation to make it back into the Premier League. This is a triumph for the coaching staff Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis), Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein). As well as team owner Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham). As the season went on, there were struggles as “The Wonder Kid” Nathan “Nate” Shelley (Nick Mohammed) and his West Ham United team destroyed the team leading to a massive slump. However, as we come into this final episode, things are looking up, but in Mom City, Ted reveals to Rebecca that it is his time to drop a bombshell, and we open this final episode with Rebecca having breakfast in her house and Ted coming out to join her. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode and season as a whole, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

I will approach this episode like a series finale, even though it could just be a season finale, which is what it is called in all the Apple TV+ communications, but then they also titled it So Long, Farewell. I do this primarily because, if nothing else, it felt like a series finale or at least a character finale for Ted. When you set the closing montage to the sound of Cat Stevens’ Father and Son, you know what you are doing. So if it was a series finale, how did it go? Fantastically!

Much like in previous seasons, everything has been pointing toward this final match, and unlike last seasons, it is not the match that is the primary source of emotion. A change is coming at Richmond as Ted has made the difficult but probably correct decision to head home at the end of the season to spend time with his son. This goodbye becomes the focus for everyone, as they want to win this final match to give the coach a good send-off or to convince him to stay. It creates complex emotions because people don’t want to see him go, but you understand why he has to do it. You feel that tension well up with his relationship with Rebecca as she, too, contemplates leaving. I am glad that they did not end up having Ted and Rebecca become a romantic pair because they work better as deep friends, though I respect the bait and switch at the start of the episode that lasted just long enough to get me before revealing its hand.

This emotion permeates the club, leading to one of the highlights of the season when the entire team comes together to sign the titular So Long, Farewell from Sound of the Music. It is one of the many callbacks to previous seasons while also being an encapsulation of the pride the team has for Ted. It is also one of the many moments when the team shines in this episode. There are tears in Ted’s eyes as it happens, and I must confirm that they were also in mine [spoiler: it was not the first or last time this episode that would happen]. Every team member gets a moment to shine. Indeed, just about every character this season gets a moment. Like I loved that Barbara (Katy Wix) prefers rugby over football because she likes blood sports. What a wild but perfect character moment to add.    

While the emotion was at the core of the episode, the focal point of that emotion was the final match. I liked that the win here was for a bonus at the end, not a do-or-die for the club. That meant the emotion could be focused on the experience rather than the outcome. You could feel the joy in the team and its supporters. All three seasons, it has led to this one point. The fact that they won, but did not win, speaks to the show as a whole, where it is about the experience and becoming the best version of yourself that you can be.

Talking about the main drive of the season, it is now time to look at the season as a whole, indeed maybe the whole series, given some of the threads that space from start to end. Let us take a moment first to explore the notion of redemption. The show is full of people who are what we would group as villains. However, often through Ted’s sheer upbeat personality and belief, those villains get redemption arcs. Rebecca gets this in Season 1, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) gets this in Season 2, and probably expectantly, Nate gets this in Season 3, and less expectantly is Jamie’s Dad. Nate had a truncated storyline this season, but it does what it needs to do to point him towards the internal reflection he needs to better himself. When I look back on the season, were there any weaknesses? Well, I think on the course of things, I don’t think they needed Zava (Maximilian Osinski). I know what they tried to do with the character and who they referenced. I don’t believe they needed that external force to get the club where it needed to be.

But interestingly, some people don’t get a chance at redemption. Case and point Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), who exists as an antagonising factor in all three seasons and falls apart in the finale episode. It is his own actions that damn him and his constant need to try and get back with Rebecca even after all the hurt he caused her. In Season 2, you could chart Nate’s decline through his greying hairline. Interestingly, the filmmakers pull off a similar effect in the finale episode, with Jake (Mike O’Gorman) being progressively shifted back out of frame each time they cut back to Henry (Gus Turner) and Michelle (Andrea Anders).           

As we saw the most in Sunflowers but also across the season, this season would focus more on characters and their relationships. We had Rebecca learn who she is as a person when her goal is not just crushing Rupert. We had Roy and Jamie build a mutual friendship that survives even their fraught personalities. Sam (Toheeb Jimoh) has to fight for what is right when racists trash his restaurant, and the team comes to help clean it up. Trent Crimm (James Lance) is around writing his book and just being another joyful person to bounce ideas off. Also, Van Damme (Moe Jeudy-Lamour) finds out the hard way that Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernández) becomes different when playing for Mexico. Indeed, there is Ted concluding that he can’t stay at Richmond because he needs to be there for his son.

Of the cast, I think Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) gets the most catastrophises thrown her way. She is dealing with a new start-up and the imposter syndrome that comes with it. Roy dumped her because of his insecurities, has to fire her friend Shandy (Ambreen Razia), and gets dumped by her new girlfriend because Jack (Jodi Balfour) would not support her when a private adult video of her was illegally released on the internet. Before her ex shuts her company down out of vindictiveness or incompetence. Oh, and Jamie and Roy are fighting to get back with her. It is a lot, but we see her strength and the support of others fight through. I am glad they didn’t make the ‘who will she choose’ the core of the final episode, with her wisely booting both men out of her house. Then we have Colin Hughes (Billy Harris), who is almost forced to reveal his sexuality after a disgusting display from a ‘fan’. Then work through this with Isaac McAdoo (Kola Bokinni). This is part of the continued exploration of vulnerability and masculinity that permeates the show.

In the end, do we recommend Ted Lasso: Season 3? Yes, absolutely, yes. There is so much emotion in these shows, sadness and joy, reverence and farce, and tears and laughter. Indeed, in this final episode, I laughed while in tears. Each cast member is giving it their all at every moment, endearing themselves in my heart. So, is this the end of Ted Lasso? Well, the Apple TV+ kept calling this the ‘season finale,’ but then they also titled the episode So Long, Farewell. However, there is one moment in the closing montage where Ted writes, “It’s not about me, it never was”. This might be the end of Ted Lasso, but I have a feeling that this is not the last time we will see these characters again, and I hope so.       

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Ted Lasso yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Ted Lasso
Directed by – MJ Delaney, Destiny Ekaragha, Matt Lipsey, Phoebe Walsh, Erica Dunton & Declan Lowney
Written by – Leann Bowen, Sasha Garron, Bill Wrubel, Brett Goldstein, Jamie Lee, Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Kelly, Keeley Hazell, Dylan Marron, Chuck Hayward & Jane Becker,  
Developed by – Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt & Joe Kelly
Based On – Format and characters from NBC Sports
Production/Distribution Companies – Ruby’s Tuna Inc., Doozer, Universal Television, Warner Bros. Television Studios & Apple TV+
Starring – Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Anthony Head, Toheeb Jimoh, Cristo Fernández, Kola Bokinni, Billy Harris, James Lance & Juno Temple with Sarah Niles, Matteo Van Der Grijn, Katy Wix, Andrea Anders, Nonso Anozie, Annette Badland, Adam Colborne, Bronson Webb, Kevin “KG” Garry, Maximilian Osinski, Ellie Taylor, Ambreen Razia, Edyta Budnik, Jodi Balfour, Harriet Walter, Mike O’Gorman, Patrick Baladi, Sam Richardson, Ruth Bradley, Kieran O’Brien, Leanne Best, Becky Ann Baker & Bill Fellows and Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Stephen Manas, Moe Hashim, David Elsendoorn, Charlie Hiscock, Gus Turner, Elodie Blomfield, Greeg Barnett, Alice Brittain, Rosie Lou, Daniel Fearn, Andy Umerah, Marcia Lecky, Marcus Onilude, Lloyd Grififth, Edward Judge, Guy Porritt, Mark Kempher, Anna Marine Freeman, Mitra Djalili, Darren Strange, Omar Ibrahim, Sam Fletcher, James McNicholas, Jadran Maklovich, Tom Cotcher, David Boyle, Miranda Shamiso, Timothy Bentinck, Chi Lewis-Parry, Rose Johnson, Jonathan Rhodes, Stephen Frost, Sam Liu, Keeley Hazell, Emma Davies, Precious Mustapha, Phoebe Walsh, Elee Nova, Spencer Jones, Ben Mars, Sally Grey, Julian Forsyth, David Kirkbride, Victoria Elliott, Carly Wijs, Mike Reus, Ko Van Den Bosch, Bart Harder, Anwar Lachman, Carolina Dijkhuizen, Flue East, Timothy Dennett, Mary Roubos, Derek Mitchell, Noa Nikita Bleeker, Cecile Sinclair, Corey Burton, Bola Akeju, Lucy Bayler, Peter Landi, Neelam Bakshi, Karen Johal, Peter Rethinasamy, Daya Nanda, Sarah Junillon, Martin Bishop, Pamela Jikiemi, Alex Vargas, Augusta Woods, Shannon Nelson, Edwin de la Renta, Jonathan Nyati, James A. Stephens, Ivan Marevich, Mark Kempner, Katy Poulter, Malcolm Rennie, Susanna Redhead, Sofia Barclay, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Susan Tracy, Adam Shaw, Trevor Laird, Dorian Simpson, Francesca Gilbert, Steve Edge, John McGrellis, Teddy Wallwork, Oscar Wallwork, Bertie Wallwork, Jane Bertish, Mark Lewis, Bill Skinner, Charlie Rawes, Charlotte Spencer, Hugh Futcher, Ruth D’Silva, Daniel Hayde, Jake Hawkins, Freddie Samuels, Alfie Smith & Thomas Aitch Also as themselves Arlo White, Chris Powell, Jeff Stelling, Paul Merson, Jermaine Jenas, Rebecca Lowe, Thierry Henry, Gary Lineker, Peter Crouch, Tom Fordyce, Chris Stark, Jack Van Gelder, Marv Albert, Clinton Morrison, Martin Tyler & Pep Guardiola
Episodes covered – Smells Like Mean Spirit, (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea, 4-5-1, Big Week, Signs, Sunflowers, The Strings That Bind Us, We’ll Never Have Paris, La Locker Room Aux Folles, Mom City & So Long, Farewell