An Okay Season with a GREAT Ending | Ted Lasso Season 3 Review 

13:56 I actually quite like how we don’t see Colin coming out to the team. I think Billy Harris said in an interview that it’s something still kept between the team as a private thing for Colin by the audience not seeing it. Yes, the audience knows exactly what he said, but it’s still a private thing which I quite like.

Although the series is called Ted Lasso, the message in the last episode is very clear: it was never about him. This is what permeates the Beard episode in season two, a clear showing of the character existing outside of Ted’s narrative. Also, I believe the Zava storyline is to show how irregular and unreliable he was, much like Ted’s way of dealing with his problems (drinking his problems away and avoiding talking about it), you can’t count on that, at some point it just fumbles, much like Zava.

I literally forgot about the psychic storyline. So bizarre. And yeah, it's wild they kinda ignore the massive ethical violation of the therapist dating his patient.

Ultimately, I think we just have some differences of taste, but there are a few things here that were listed as missteps/mistakes that were kind of the point. For instance, in the psychic plot (which, I also don't really care for but I digress) the stuff the psychic talks about IS random and nonspecific. That is because the show, among other things, is making the statement that, as we see later, that it is all BS. The takeaways are really about how Rebecca goes from seeking external motivations to internal ones, and the shattering of the illusion that she allowed herself to believe--in spite of knowing that the psychic was full of it--is what brings her forward into the person we see by the end of the series.

Nate didn’t suddenly change from bad back to good…he was pretending to be the Darth Vader character due to his sudden power and deep insecurities that link back to his dad… he kinda resolved his issues with his dad (and yes one breakout convo with a person can do that IRL) …meant that a lot of his anger had greatly subsided . …allowing him to be the lovable goof he really is deep inside.

I think cutting away from Colin coming out to the team was the best decision. Those impassioned moments have been done time and time again it almost cheapens it. By leaving the speech itself to the imagination but maintaining the moment in this roundabout way it's like a screen of privacy. This was not how Colin wanted to come out and the show respected that and it kind of parallels muting the f slur. While the Denver Broncos bit was long winded I was glad it focused on the reaction of the team more. Because while coming out is very anxiety inducing, the way people react is also important, perhaps more seeing as this is an ensemble show, and this isn't about Colin coming out, not really. Him coming out was somewhat incidental to the fact that they were still in a match. People also come out many times in many scenarios. It's not a single moment in your life like it can be dramatized as. Everytime you meet someone new, there will be another coming out in some fashion. This was one of them, when emotions are running high, and you weigh your options and make the call to do it or not. I'm going to assume that you've never had to come out before with the way you view it more as a cheap writers trick and not how a queer person coming out might think of this scene and this moment. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit. However, I can confirm that Isaac's reaction was trying to trick the audience because I nor none of the queer people I know have had this sort of reaction. Tldr; as a gay, I think cutting away from Colin coming out was the right choice and Isaac's reaction was weird.

I rewatched the seaon, this time skipping the whole Jack plotline. It greatly improved its quality.

Man you absolutely nailed everything wrong and that I disliked about season 3. Jamie was in all honesty the best part for me. I just wished we had gotten more of his character arc instead of the pointless filler crap we got.

I wish instead of a like or dislike button they had an option for 'Incredibly well made video, I can tell a lot of time and effort went into a project over a show we both clearly have a lot of passion for, and while a handful of points ring true, I vehemently disagree with most of what you said and have to much pride to leave a like but to much respect for you as a content creator to leave a dislike'

I don't think Rebecca thought Rupert was pathetic. She was just taken about because she has *no interest* in him and thought *he had no interest in her* . She was taken aback- shocked. It's like if your mom's boss tried to kiss you without warning. My .02 anyway.

I agree with your analysis about writing shortcomings of the season, but I'm more fond of it than you overrall. Amsterdan and Mom City are my two favourite episodes, they elevated my entire experience. I found your channel yesterday and I've been enjoying it so far, your videos are very thoughtful. You got one more subscriber!

The show is one of the best I’ve seen, that being said, I do agree there were parts of season three that were built up for no real exploration which was frustrating. I do believe the “telling us what happened” avenue the creators used allow us to determine those moments in our heads, almost allowing an aspect of inception where we know the facts but how we get to those facts vary for each person viewing it. This reminds me of literature in that our imagination is aloud to fill in those blanks and create the story for ourselves in a subtle way. Couple examples Nate and jade I don’t need to hear nate whisper sweet nothings to jade to understand she makes him happy and despite her very “cold” persona initially she becomes more and more visible as someone who makes Nate better, how though? Well I can imagine any number of ways she supports him and he supports her. Nate and Rupert I easily could see the struggle of Nate over the season most easily in his text messages and general discomfort with Rupert where he would write a “good” Nate message only to delete it and reply with a Rupert appropriate message seeking approval, when that approval seeking came to a place that threatened nate and jade he pulled back, I don’t need to see all the details to paint the initial picture and then the subtle hints of the assistant and Bex were fantastic prior to the finale where our assumptions were proven correct. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the draw for an epic dialogue, that hits hard and is expressive like Roy’s press speech after Isaac roughed up the fan. Truly a great speech and one we have gotten used to, but life isn’t all monumental pivotal events, sometimes you just wake up and realize your husband or wife is cheating or that your not happy in your job and decide to leave. Sometimes not being told how the trick works is more enjoyable than knowing. Just my two cents.

I'll always be mad at how they dismantled Keely fucking Jones in season 3. They did our girl dirty.

I look at it like this, Season 1: Ted gives the team the tools they need to be better. Season 2: the doc helps align the team mentally. Ted assists from the sidelines but is often dealing with his own demons. Season 3: Ted goes hands off. He has given the team the tools they need to be better and only steps in at catastrophic points. If you look at season 3 that way it makes so much sense. Every messed up thing that happened was not “the lasso way” and often they went against Ted. But Ted took his hands off the wheel. Eventually every character realized this isn’t it and took the tools Ted (and the doc) gave them to correct the path. This is why things seem to fizzle out so quickly. They are like teenagers. They know the right thing and do stupid stuff but the lessons they where taught in season 1 and 2 allows them to self correct quickly.

Great take away, but I think there is one point sorely missed here that might explain some of the issues - I believe that Ted Lasso by its own merits feels like it was made to be bingeable and that the week to week structure hurt it this season because so many people came to the show late and binged it in season 1/2 to catch up for the finale. As people saw that this was the last season and had heard almost nothing but positive word-of-mouth praise, they binged the rest of the series to catch up after the show had aired the season finales so people got to spend time with the characters and feel the growth out in a more focused format, and because of this they felt ultimately disappointed during season 3 because the writing would come off aimless without all of its goals being present. This is why I think the season/series finale felt strong for most of the people who felt the season had not lived up to expectations - the pieces of the season came together which is the only way you can have a strong season finale. The characters were where they wanted to be and the point of “make them as good off the field as they are on the field” had been clearly shown. From my own personal experience, I came to season 1 just before season 2 aired. So I binged season 1 and loved it, and when season 2 started I got two episodes in and decided to wait until the season finished before continuing on with it because week to week was just not working for me. Season 2 came off very strong for me when I finished the rest of the episodes this way, and even on a rewatch the first two episodes of season 2 felt better when watched back to back because the writing and pacing felt more focused. I did the same thing for season 3 and felt that, while some of the writing felt very forced, I still came away thinking it had matched up to season 2 because it allowed more chances for the characters to breathe and show their growth. As someone who waited for season 3 to finish before watching it all the only real complaint I had was wishing Keeley had way more time with Rebecca and the team because her PR firm/Jack felt exceptionally misguided. As soon as Jack was introduced it was clear the writers intended for a betrayal later, not a problem on its own but it made Keeley, who has been shown to be super smart and emotionally competent prior to here, feel weakened for no reason. And having Jack being upset with Keeley over a leaked sext video felt incredibly forced as well, and the writing during the episode didn’t earn Jack that place of villainy. There’s only one clue they gave to show Jack was struggling with the event and that was when Jack saw her other friend at the mini-golf course and referred to Keeley as her “friend”. Keeley as a character deserved way better because it did feel like Keely was relegated to being lesser than her potential. As for her and Roy breaking up at the start of the season, that felt earned because we have seen Roy get in his own way multiple times in season 1 and 2. This was the culmination of that. It’s why him landing the head coach role at the end feels earned because just like Rebecca chastises him for earlier, he needed to accept that he was capable of taking on harder challenges and that he could exceed if he applied himself to just be better, and this fits in with the overall theme of the show. People can argue whether bingeing a show is healthy or detrimental to a show’s lifespan, but it realistically comes down to how the writers develop their scripts. Ted Lasso’s writing works way more in a bingeable format more than it does week to week because it wasn’t plot driven but character driven - hence why the final match doesn’t matter for any character except Rupert. If the shows plots mattered, I could tell you what they were but honestly I can’t because like I said this show is not plot driven. The writing is focused solely on character growth and people who watched week to week would get the sense that the writing was aimless because of that. I think your Jamie Tartt video excellently shows my point here - also these are both damn good videos.

I'm currently writing a homebrew Nate-Centric episode that would go right after the Amsterdam episode, that shows Nate becoming disillusioned with Rupert and West Ham. As part of this, I'd have had Rupert pull Zava out of retirement without consulting Nate (like he did with the flashy car that also didn't suit Nate). Zava leads WHU to victory, but his playstyle doesn't mesh with Nate. Their personalities butt heads, and this is the point at which Nate quits WHU. The finale then has Jamie in a face-off against Zava. Zava and Jamie are evenly matched in skill, but Jamie has 3 things that Zava doesn't: youth, trust in Nate's tactics, and the ability to turn that 'me' into 'us'. Jamie is able to outplay Zava by the end, and this is what gets Zava to retire for good. He trades shirts with Jamie, showing similar respect for Jamie that he did to Roy.

The second to the last episode had me crying twice. The last episode gave closure the way you'd want in most shows, but it happens so fast i couldn't process the ending of the show until days later.

I think a mix of injury and Zava going to another team would have been best to write him out. Zava gets hurt and told that he might be able to make it back for the final few games, decides to retire to go to his avocado farm, and then does the same "move to MLS" move in a timeframe where he could have returned to Richmond for the last couple matches.

That Robot Chicken reference alone deserved the likes 👍

Thoughtful review. I don't agree with everything you've said but I have now looked back on S3 with a more critical eye. I too had trouble understanding the point of Shandy and the relationship between Keely and Jack. I decided to give the show the benefit of the doubt that they were illustrating that toxic and controlling relationships can't always be blamed on a man or even a romantic partner but it came at the expense of Keely's character. I agree with what you said about Jade and I actually found myself wanting to know more about her but she was, as a character, just a foil for Nate and introducing too much more about her would have introduced a new arc that might have taken this show into Game of Thrones territory with more threads than could be neatly tied up by season end.

great video thank youuu💯

That’s not a “buggy” - it’s an Austin Mini. A classic iconic car and pretty damn cool.

This is the best Ted Lasso recap EVER! Thank you!

I could see there being a 4th season where Ted takes a job coaching an MLS team in the United States, and Roy Hunt eventually makes the trip to the US and plays on a team, either for or against Ted. This would make a comment Roy made in season one come full circle about playing in the US and "dominating."

The show cutting from Colin coming out kinda echoes what he told Trent, he doesn't want to come out publicly, he only wants the team to know. Of course as the audience we knew about it, but it felt in line with the message to not hear him say it, to leave that just for the team. I absolutely loathed the way Isaac reacted, how the writers thought it was ok to dedicate it so much time (since the leaked pictures plotline). The show made Colin's coming out (a terrifying experience) all about Isaac and about how HE felt. I would have ALMOST preferred he were actually homophobic, rather than have him be such a twat to his best friend over hurt feelings. Ffs, there shouldn't have been hurt feelings at all! Isaac knows, like everyone else, how unforgiving the sporting world is of anyone who isn't your typical straight macho alpha male. I loved how Jamie immediately told Colin "You got us, and we got you" and how he was the first to embrace Colin at the end of the match. That's what Isaac should have done, or at least participated in. Everyone looking at Jamie at the phrase "so there's probably more people in this locker room who are gay" could have been elaborated on. Especially considering how supportive Phil is of the idea of Jamie being bi (liking tweets and an ig post calling for Jamie to have a bf in a future season/spin-off) and how Brendan Hunt answered "maybe" when asked if Jamie is bi. The show did exactly what Colin didn't want and made him "the one queer player", while Jamie is just "flattered" that everyone thinks he's gay, then goes on to revert back to his toxic s1 self and gets in a fist fight with Roy over Keeley. And Colin kissing Michael in front of a stadium full of people, with cameras everywhere... Should not have happened in the last episode. Irl the fallout for something like that would be absolutely terrible. Instead of giving it the proper respect and time, the show gave us a shallow happy ending for Colin's storyline that felt incredibly unrealistic and left out the most important part: the public's reaction and the abuse Colin will inevitably face. Many times season 3 made me think "if you can't do it justice, don't do it at all!". About Colin kissing Michael, about Jamie forgiving his father in half an episode (the guy that tormented him and had him be sexually assaulted as a child...), Nate's change of heart, Roy "for the past year I've worked my ass off trying to change" (where? off-screen?) and so many other things. All the time dedicated to Keeley's plotline or to Isaac's hurt feelings could have been used for something else. There, I said it. For the first time in 3 seasons, I found myself completely skipping scenes because they were going on for far too long with nothing of substance happening. It really felt like Jason was done with the project and just wanted to wrap it all up with a bow, no matter what.

I think they tried to set up zava leaving by how the team started losing and zava continued to get disillusioned. He is nice to his teammates but also more and more disengaged. Like their style of play turns him off and he leaves

Honestly this season felt like they had to combine 2 seasons into 1. The Zava, Jack, and Nate at West Ham storylines are basically self contained. Then Amsterdam feels like either a end of season or start of season episode as it resets the status quo and leads into Richmond's push to triumph. I'm not sure why they went this way, but if they'd given themselves 1 more year I think everything would have felt a lot more complete.

I will say this about the Zava subplot , in its defence: 1. It was awesome. 2. It gave Jamie Tartt (nanana-nah-nana) character growth. 3. He only really signed up with Richmond to prove that he had nothing else to prove. He took the no-hopers to the pinnacle: then he retired. Legend intact, whether they won or lost afterwards. Which betrayed that "slight" implication of egoism 😅

Glad to see another great review in a short period of time. Hope this gets you past the 10K subscribers mark with more sub’s to follow.

I would have loved certain plotlines to have gotten their own season. The plots for Jack, Zava, Colin, Rebecca's psychic, and Keeley's company would have been a perfectly fulfilling Season 3, which would have left the more overarching plot points, like Nate, Rupert, Roy's love triangle with Keeley and Jamie, and Ted's indecision about his place, to be the center of attention for the entire last season. I think the issue the writers ran into was that the show was always planned for 3 seasons, but the deeper they got into the story that they got, the harder it was to fit it all into just 34 episodes.

I think what you describe as the writers fumbling the "journey" during season three on the way to a GREAT ending was simply a great storyline that was likely designed for at least 2 more seasons, and knowing season 3 was it, they tried to compress those storylines into one year. I don't consider that a fumble so much as writers who loved their script and did their best with limited space.

I almost completely agree with practically everything you said in your vid. It might well be the writers and producers were too self indulgent in the series as time went on and they were given more time and freedom.

To be completely honest, I don’t think we really needed to know more about Jade. I think her relationship to Nate (from at most apathy to love and everything in between) was always meant to parallel his relationship to his more humble side, just like Nate and Rupert’s relationship was meant to parallel his relationship to his conceited side. I think his entire arc in season 3 (and really for like half of season 2 as well) is all about his constant struggle between humility and hubris, and the two best people to illustrate that arc are these two polar opposite characters: the filthy rich ex-husband of his former boss, and the hostess at a Greek restaurant in Tooting. I also think that having him quit his job at West Ham after Rupert tried (with clear ulterior motives) to set him up with a model was a good choice, as it’s clear that he’s rejecting Rupert’s world of flashy elites and ulterior motives to instead be with his girlfriend who loves him unconditionally.

I get wanting Nate to be changed by Ted, or keep becoming a worse person. But Nate is always a good person, and has a low point. And I appreciate that he figures out Rupert’s bullshit on his own. And I further appreciate that Ted doesn’t even care about Nate. He just wants him to be happy.

I’ve watched the entire series 3 times! I’ll most likely watch it (all 3 seasons) again!

i still think the girls team spinoff would be good and i need more roy kent and co.

The one thing that was a bit ridiculous was Rupert wearing a black trench coat for the final game

30:37 If that happened irl, Rupert would be in the obituary column. West Ham fans are not the ones you want to mess around with.

I totally agree that they missed some of the links in the story and that some of the storylines had more screen than they needed. This season could have been trimmed no doubt. But honestly even those bits are great too. And more Ted Lasso is only a good thing, especially asi agree have a forth season would be a mistake. If the writes and producer wont to come back to any of these characters i hope its a spine of some sort, possible Ted coaching another sport or 10 years later Jaime becoming a coach. Loved the show and even the less good bits were great =D

There were a few times when I felt like they did Rebecca's character a disservice. The way she assumed Keeley was being lovebombed (although accurate) was totally just projection of her past relationship. The way she screams at her employees throughout the show is also not great, especially how she lays into Roy. I think there was a way for her to have the discussion without being rude and belating him, it felt like she was unnecessarily callous towards him because he broke up with her friend.

Difference for me is I think it was actually great to have some of these moments be cut off because ultimately those moments didint change anything sure payoff would have been cool but showing the affects of the moment rather than the moment itself was very interesting to me

i want a spin off. Just a season post lasso and Richmond winning the treble or something impossible like that

I've just seen half of the video but I'd love to have more people watching it. It's inevitable since the show itself isn't that popular. I know it's in Apple instead of a platform with billions of users around the world like Netflix but I'd like to go to job every week and speak about this show with my colleagues such as we talked about Stranger Things or Euphoria. I'll do my best to convince as many people as possible to watch this show

Agreed. I wish this season was written better or at least with more focus. It didn't give me the same impact when I first watched Ted Lasso. I appreciate some moments in the season and especially the finale. I am happy I gave this show a chance.

I was disappointed with Ted's resolution. Pro US Football and... Football teams would be keen to hire him. Some hint in that area would have been great.

I ABSOLUTELY loved Coach Beard's night episode. Brilliant spotlight for the character, in pure Lawrence style ("His/Her/Their story" in Scrubs were brilliant ones in which the focus would shift away from JD).

I don't think it makes sense to have a 4th Season of Ted Lasso. If they were to continue in some fashion, it makes more sense to have a spinoff show featuring, let's say, the A.F.C. Richmond Women's Club.

What I didn't like about season 3 was the amount of Sassy characters, it's like they're there for a little bit and now they're gone, I really liked Zava and if they could've turned it into a whole team dynamic rather than just pass it to Zava, I wouldn't have mind that, but again original team to get better and then they have beat west ham on their own i get it, but such a great character, wish he didn't have to leave like that

Ending was the worst part tbh, should have won the league.

Season 3 should have been two seasons

Did anyone believe the Nate and Jade relationship or keely Jack? Me neither. Haha

Now match the show in tge light tjat zava is a comparison to Ted. This guru that just turns up and fixes (make the team win) then he leaves, its not about the guru its about richmond and the players progress.

Season three was the worst and skipped to the end.

No it wasn’t an okay season…respectively disagree

For me, the season offers far, far too many irrelevant storylines. For example, you could take Keeley out of the entire season and very little would change. She, her relationship with her old friends, and the agency, are completely irrelevant to the overall story.

RTTW

The DEI department commandeered the 3rd season of the show, rendering it overwhelmingly awful. The politically correct storyline was aimed at 12-year-olds, using 1980’s era scripts.

Kjpr was pointless. Her random gay relationship was woke and absurd😊

Typically american interpretation. Americans like, no need to be spoon-fed story lines life is grey not black and white. Use your imagination oh wait Americans don't have one

Pushing rainbow ideas were the worst. The show had nothing to do with it Skip skip skip .

Season 3 was riddled with a bunch of nonsensical woke garbage! No need for all the back story for Colin (just filler) No need for Jack and Keeley (that didn't go anywhere) another filler of indoctrination. Everything else about the show was great!