Does Ted Lasso’s final season inspire belief?

Review: Ted Lasso Final Season

Now that Ted Lasso has delivered its final season, now is a great time to revisit the show, or for the uninitiated to dive in.

For those in the latter group, Ted Lasso is a show that sees the titular Texan Ted make his way across the pond to coach Richmond FC, a team that is somewhat troubled. For his part, Lasso does not know anything about the game, but aims to instead instil confidence in his team and make them better versions of themselves. Over time, we see cracks in the armour, however, and the show explores Lasso’s own traumatic background as well as the theme of forgiveness.

The final season sees coach Ted Lasso at the helm of a Richmond FC team that has escaped relegation and now wants to avoid disappointment. All the while, Nate, a former coaching staff member, works for a rival team and struggles with moral dilemmas, including whether or not he should apologise to Coach Lasso for the conditions under which he left.

Parts of the season stand out as among the show’s best. An episode that sees Richmond headed to Amsterdam as part of a tour has key moments for multiple characters and a major breakthrough for the team (incidentally, Amsterdam was where the show was conceived).

Outside of one overly shmaltzy Beatles singalong, the season also features the show’s usually solid soundtrack.

There are complaints to be had, of course. Along with the usual fast-forward that comes with a show’s finish, a little too much takes place off screen. Perhaps the biggest example is a certain character’s redemption arc, which feels like it is missing parts and ultimately falls short of what it could have presented. The show’s theme of forgiveness continues to shine through, but with certain aspects unaddressed, it comes across as a reminder of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s notion of ‘cheap grace.’ With the show’s creators seemingly leaving the door open to at least one spin-off, parts of the final episode seem deliberately open ended, which blunts the finality a little.

With the show now wrapped up, now is a great time for anyone who has missed Lasso so far to stream the show in full. There are lessons along the way about family, forgiveness, and trauma responses, with soccer providing the field for these themes to play out.

All seasons of Ted Lasso are streaming now on Apple TV+