After Tuesday night's global release of Ted Lasso S3E11 ("Mom City"), we've officially entered stoppage time in the series' arc with only one episode remaining until it's all (supposedly) over for good.
Next week's series finale brings with it a demand for closure on a number of long-running plot lines, and there's still plenty of time for more developments with these final episodes burgeoning in their runtime (episode 11 clocked in at one hour and nine minutes).
3 questions for the Ted Lasso series finale
#1. Is there any chance Richmond fail to win the Premier League?
It looked impossible after their mediocre start through 16 matches, but Richmond — playing with the exact same squad that got relegated two years ago (although Zava technically still gets a winner's medal) — are going to win it all.
Yes, they technically trail Manchester City by one point with one match to go, but there's no way Pep Guardiola's team wins on the final matchday after the Greyhounds just beat them 2-0. (An aside: Guardiola should've told the show's writers to give him the strangest one-liner in TV history rather than that sappy sentence on coaching. What a miss.)
It feels like City's about to draw or lose while Richmond end the campaign with a 17th consecutive victory (only one less than the all-time EPL record) and the crowning achievement to Ted's time away from home — do it for Henry!
All signs also point to Nate the Great engineering a final day win over West Ham, and it's hard to imagine anything else. Rupert Mannion and Disco (Nate's former assistant) lifting the trophy with the Hammers would be one hell of a twist.
#2. Which couple are we cheering for now?
As things stand, here are my personal power rankings.
1. The throuple: This ménage à trois hadn't existed in my mind before Episode 11 — and a strong triad relationship isn't often explored on TV – but Season 3 has been experimenting like Berlin's Love Parade and I got a particularly strong feeling when Roy, Keeley and Jamie came together in Jamie's room that they could actually excel as a household of three.
I loved how Roy's Chelsea poster made it seem like he played in the 1970s when his professional career (since he only just retired) probably started in like 2002.
Anyway, I'm voting for all three of them to come together as one.
2. Dani Rojas and Fútbol: I thought we'd get a Dani Rojas episode this season. At least more of his story. Nothing. Unless the series finale goes full Dani Rojas...
3. Rebecca and Dutch Dude: Rebecca is about to achieve the dream of every football owner by winning the Premier League (and she did it by hiring the worst coach she could find and not making any transfers), so it's probably time to call it quits, move to Amsterdam and live in a houseboat with a sexy significant other. Who could say no to such a thing?
4. Roy and Keeley: The amount I championed for Roy and Keeley throughout Season 1 now feels like a fever dream. They've been usurped by The Throuple in my power rankings. It'd be fine to see them paired off for happily ever but I'm not really bothered at this point.
5. Rebecca and Sam: The googly eyes. The knowing glances. The half-smiles. The stammered acknowledgements and hard-to-find utterances in the fleeting moments of union at Richmond's training facility. I don't know what they're doing either but time has run out.
6. Rebecca and Ted: This particular piece of fan fiction never really materialized. Ted's returning to America.
#3. What potential spin-off has the most potential?
Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt have both made it clear that Season 3 is the end of Ted Lasso as we know it . . . but something tells me that with a surefire hit vehicle at their disposal (and the money, fame, accolades, trips to actual EPL games, etc. that come with it), they might be tempted into some sort of spin-off down the road.
Some potential ideas I'd like to see.
Ted Lasso in MLS: Ted returns to America and his son at the end of Season 3, but this next series follows his return to coaching as manager of Sporting Kansas City. Maybe Coach Beard goes to St. Louis City and we really get down to business.
Trent Crimm Investigates: After the departure of Ted and Coach Beard, Richmond's 2023-24 begins and things turn dark quickly — players are getting murdered one by one and now we've got a murder mystery show on our hands. Trent Crimm is called in (after the success of his novel) to investigate. It turns out Will is the murderer.
Roy Kent the Mobster: There have been instances of footballers going on to less savory things after retirement (the story of Adriano being one), and this could be a dramatic turn where Roy becomes the head of a Peaky Blinders-esque gang with his rough and tumble ways. He'd be banned from football and in tricky waters with Keeley, but then he'd go full John Wick on London's underbelly after a rival gang threatens his niece Phoebe.
I think this could win some Emmys.
