Ted Lasso Season Three Review

I suspect there’s little, if anything, I or any other critic could write about the third (and possibly final?) season of Ted Lasso that could either dissuade someone or convince someone to watch the series at this point. At this stage in the game, you’ve either been thoroughly charmed by the fish out of water tale of an American football coach moving to England, his personal life in tatters, to coach an English football team or you’ve succeeded in resisting its charms and refuse to indulge. So, taking that as the baseline on this series, I’m here to report that I, a fan of the series who had some issues with how its second season unfolded, think the series has, on the whole, course corrected, and season three – at least the four episodes I have seen – had me laughing, emotionally invested in key plot points, and intrigued to see just where things are headed.

What the series did so well in season two – that would be exploring Ted’s panic attacks and pulling the trigger on Nate’s betrayal of Richmond, and more importantly, Ted with his defection to become the coach of Rupert’s (that would be Rebecca’s ex-husband, in case you forgot) newly acquired Premier League stalwarts West Ham – the series continues to do well in season three. Ted is still actively working on himself, in therapy sessions with Doctor Sharon, who has left Richmond for another posting with another team, but who still has time for weekly Zoom sessions with Coach Lasso. He’s still a work in progress – or, as several characters tell him in a charming sequence, a mess, but that’s why they love him – but now that he’s taking steps to safe guard his mental health and work through his issues, he’s clearly becoming not only a better man but also a better coach. And Nate, oh, Nate. The series is continuing to do perhaps its best character work with him, allowing Nick Mohammed a chance to shine as Nate takes to his post as the “Wonder Kid” of West Ham with aplomb, but still can’t seem to fill the hole in his heart with that success. Who would have thought that someone with a massive need for validation from a father figure to replace the father who still refuses to provide him that support wouldn’t be able to be happy after he eschewed the one man he saw as such a figure in his life? You know who could really use a session with Doctor Sharon?

The initial three episodes of the season serve as a place setting sequence, introducing us to a few new, key characters (additions I was worried about, considering the series already has a host of characters to keep up with, but the new additions thus far fit in nicely to certain arcs, albeit at the expense of providing significant screen time to some characters who broke out in season two), and setting up the various arcs in this season: Nate vs. Richmond (and Ted), Ted grappling with being in England while his son grows up back in the States, Rebecca vs. Rupert, Keely and Roy’s relationship, etc. It’s in episode four, however, that things kick into high gear. I was skeptical of the season until I watched that episode, but upon finishing it, everything clicked into place for me. Do I suspect that will be the case for most fans of the series? Nope, I suspect most fans will be perfectly happy with what’s on offer in the initial ¼ of the season – the episodes are good, with some great moments. But episode four was the linchpin in the series really hitting its stride and making me fully invest in what it was selling us, despite the episodes running a tad long (45 minutes compared to the normal 30) and having perhaps too many mouths to feed in terms of story.

One of the more interesting elements of the new season is what the series is doing with the character of Rebecca. No, it’s not a bad thing, rather the series is letting her cut loose a bit more, relax into her relationships with the other characters, and allow Hannah Waddingham to embrace a more manic, funny version of the character (this isn’t to say she’s a mess, but she’s much more open with her worries, fears, and wants than she was in the past). Now, I’m not sure precisely where this more emotionally expressive Rebecca came from – outside of her trusting Ted much more, three years into their relationship – but it creates a fun dynamic when, at times, she’s the manic, stressed, hilarious one and Ted (and, by extension, Jason Sudeikis) is allowed to be the straight man. This happens to great effect in the aforementioned fourth episode, and let me tell you, when the show deploys a more serious, introverted Ted, it works like gangbusters. And that’s the best part of this season thus far – the writers know what they are working with when it comes to their talent and characters and they are able to use it to the fullest extent. The characters feel more crisply formed. The performances are calibrated perfectly. And the writing appears to be more on track than it was throughout last season’s uneven outing. Sure, there’s plenty of time for the wheels to come off the wagon – I’ve only seen 1/3 of the season, after all – but I’m happy to report that Ted Lasso is in fine form for what might be its final lap around the pitch.

Ted Lasso’s third season premieres on AppleTV+ on March 15. The first four episodes were provided for review.