S03.E12: So Long, Farewell

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

16 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

From a q&a with Brendan Hunt linked in the media thread….omg, omg.  I didn’t even realize this. 
 

I totally imagine they that did for cost-saving reasons to have the same girl portray both parts, but if not and it was for thematic reasons .....

uhhhh ... gross?!

[DEL901]

17 minutes ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

I totally imagine they that did for cost-saving reasons to have the same girl portray both parts, but if not and it was for thematic reasons .....

uhhhh ... gross?!

Why gross?

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

10 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Why gross?

Again, if the choice to have the young actress do both parts was a thematic reason ....

The girl portrays young Rebecca and the daughter of the man that present!Rebecca is now with.

How is that not weird (if gross isn't the right descriptor)?

[Capricasix]

4 minutes ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

How is that not weird

How *is* it weird?

[Athena5217]

1 hour ago, Capricasix said:

How *is* it weird?

It is weird because it suggests that Rebecca may be related to either the Dutch guy or his ex girlfriend, assuming the daughter is not adopted. It happens that people who are not related to each other look alike, but the usual reason people look alike is because of shared DNA.

[scenicbyway]

4 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

100% this.

It almost felt like the writing & production crew were making it personal how hard they trolled the Tedbecca stans.  Between the opening scene (before Beard & Jane joined them), Rebecca's pretty much outright begging him to stay like two or three times, the 'rom-communism' trope of their last shared scene at the airport.  Plus adding in all the easy-to-misinterpret hints and 'clues' to a possible Ted/Rebecca endgame through out this last season - as well as the infamous "Ted & Rebecca are texting each other on Bantr!" fake out from S2 - and its not hard to understand why the hardcore Tedbecca fans are unhappy.

It honestly was kinda cruel, the fake outs. ' Lucy always pulling the football away at the last second on Charlie Brown' kinda trolling.

100% cruel. The writers knew what they were doing. Baiting the shippers got them free publicity and they bought their merch. There was zero reason to have Rebecca beg for him to stay, to chase after him at the airport if they were just work colleagues. The thing is the Ted of the Amsterdam episode with constantly texting her or frankly the Ted of before his mom’s visit would’ve listened to Rebecca like we saw with the “Hey, Jude” scene.  This Ted made no sense.

In the AMA today Brendan said in the airport scene both Ted and Rebecca were holding back I love you’s because that would open the flood gates. Whatever.

He also said Beard and Jane weren’t an abusive relationship.

I still think this ending is Jason’s real life put onscreen. He wanted his kids to live in NY because he was working in London but the ex wants them living in California so he’s literally given up TL and moved back for the kids.

Brendan also said they talked about the possibility of TedBecca but they didn’t take it seriously. Obviously they just decided to troll the audience with it instead.

[AD55]

10 hours ago, Mrs. Stanwyck said:

Can't find the quote but someone mentioned that most pilots don't take their kids to work so it was unlikely that he would have his daughter there.  As the child of a retired flight attendant, I know for a fact that a lot of times employees wear their uniforms when travelling for personal reasons.  Being in uniform allows you to ride the jump seat which increases your ability to get on planes when travelling space available.

That was me. I had no idea. Thanks.

[Red Fields]

On 5/31/2023 at 11:38 PM, monagatuna said:

I just want to note that every episode (as far as I noticed), Rebecca has been wearing jewelry by Shaun Leane. I saw her hook earrings early on in this season and had to look them up. The designer is really pricey, but their creations are AMAZING. I did buy one pair of earrings from them, but if I keep looking at their collections I will be bankrupt and divorced within a year. 

The bracelet she was wearing in the pub scene with her mother was gorgeous!

So glad Roy finally joined The Diamond Dogs! Every time they howl and make doggie noises and gestures I crack up. Roy’s “ruff” was perfect!

The only real complaint I have is how depressing I found all the scenes concerning Ted’s decision to leave and the actual trip home. Yeah, of course he missed his son - I don’t know how he ever could have left him to begin with - but oy, how could he trade the Richmond life for the one back home in KC? Just seeing his car pull up in suburban USA was such a downer after the vibrant neighborhood in England, just blecch. And coaching his son’s team after The Greyhounds, the wonderful family that it is? Even the goldfish comment couldn’t make that right for me.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Red Fields

[Schweedie]

6 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

Again, if the choice to have the young actress do both parts was a thematic reason ....

The girl portrays young Rebecca and the daughter of the man that present!Rebecca is now with.

How is that not weird (if gross isn't the right descriptor)?

I didn't notice it being the same girl while watching, but that being the case coupled with Brendan Hunt's answer of "magic", this will be my take: the girl Rebecca saw in the mirror wasn't actually her own young self at all. It was another little girl somewhere, doing the same thing she did to feel strong and confident.

I didn't much like BH's answer to the question about why Roy and Jamie regressed to fighting about Keeley: "men are dumb" and "Roy and Jamie's relationship was going too well" so they had to mess with it. The writers spent so much of the series refusing to fall back on tired clichés, yet that's where they go. And they wanted to subvert the love triangle trope by having Keeley choose no one in the end, when *actually* subverting that trope would've been to not create a love triangle where there wasn't one. Ugh.

[Red Fields]

Guacamole-leh!

[shapeshifter]

13 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

if the choice to have the young actress do both parts was a thematic reason....The girl portrays young Rebecca and the daughter of the man that present!Rebecca is now with.
How is that not weird (if gross isn't the right descriptor)?

7 hours ago, Schweedie said:

I didn't notice it being the same girl while watching, but that being the case coupled with Brendan Hunt's answer of "magic", this w

I didn't recognize the young actor, or even remember the scene until I read the question on Reddit with Brendan Hunt's response of "magic." 
This lead me to assume The [magic] Flying Dutchman's daughter could be presumed by strangers to be Rebecca's daughter in their future travels together, which would be another correct prediction by Rebecca's mother's soothsayer — that Rebecca would be mother[ly] in her future. 

Regardless,
since Rebecca's doctor assured her she could no longer get pregnant, even if it turned out Rebecca's mother had a teen pregnancy and gave up a son for adoption who is The [magic] Flying Dutchman, he and Rebecca have never known each other as siblings, and do not need to worry about genetics in their offspring.
But, in that unlikely case, I suppose they would decide to be "just friends," with Rebecca being "Aunt Rebecca" to his daughter. In this highly unlikely scenario, the implication that they didn't have sex is a useful narrative.

Anyway, similar phenotypes don't always imply close relations. When my dark-haired, dark-eyed daughter is out with her blond-haired, blue-eyed son along with my daughter's blond-haired, blue-eyed sister-in-law and her own dark-haired, dark-eyed son, I am sure people assume the little boys' aunts are their mothers, even though my daughter and her nephew's nearest relations would have to date back 2,000 years.  

 

I guess the green matchbooks were red herrings.
Cute.

 

Edited June 2, 2023 by shapeshifter

[scenicbyway]

The show saved money by using the same actress to play young Rebecca and Dutchman’s daughter.  If Brendan thinks it’s magic…I suppose he thinks the CGI Beard wedding was too.

I have found Hannah’s interviews about the Dutch guy interesting. She keeps reiterating that what ever relationship they have may not last or might be for just a short time. Seems like an odd answer for what seemed like a series finale, but I suppose since they didn’t flesh out his character for the cast or audience all we know is that he’s a divorced pilot with a daughter who almost destroyed his family (according to him).

What I found most troubling about the AMA was that Brendan said Ted and Beard wouldn’t see each other for years after Ted leaves, so he’s not at the wedding. Which also implies Ted never sees the Richmond gang again, that’s just sad.

[anna0852]

6 minutes ago, scenicbyway said:

What I found most troubling about the AMA was that Brendan said Ted and Beard wouldn’t see each other for years after Ted leaves, so he’s not at the wedding. Which also implies Ted never sees the Richmond gang again, that’s just sad.

I think Ted is deeply, profoundly depressed and has been for a very long time. And he’s been masking it for nearly as long. Now that he’s in therapy all that is being unpacked and that is hard. I’m choosing to believe that Ted only had so much mental energy to deal with the world and that energy is for his son.

I also think Ted has a lot of complicated emotions around his time at Richmond. He did very well there, professionally, but at the same time, it’s the place where he was forced to confront a lot of his demons and start doing the very hard work of dealing with them. So it might not be a place he wants to revisit, even though it contains people, he’s very fond of. Almost like closing a chapter in his life. 
 

That’s my take, at least.

[Capricasix]

1 hour ago, scenicbyway said:

 

The show saved money by using the same actress to play young Rebecca and Dutchman’s daughter

 

I mean, this was my first thought, rather than some implausible theory about the whole show being Ted’s dream, or Rebecca’s vision of her childhood self come to life, or whatever. I thought that, child labour laws (especially in television) being what they are, they probably decided to use the same child actress in both roles and shoot both scenes in one day so that she would only need to be on set for a short time.

edit: I just realized that I said they could shoot both scenes in one day. In reality I’ve no idea how long it would take to shoot those scenes 😄

Edited June 2, 2023 by Capricasix
minor editing

[Jeddah]

Maybe Rebecca thought she was seeing her young self, but was really seeing her daughter. She must be psychic too!

No, I agree it was probably just an casting decision and most people wouldn’t have noticed.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Jeddah

[Jeddah]

I definitely don’t think any of it was Ted’s dream. There are people Ted never met like the Dutch guy, Michael, or the couple from Beard After Hours. How would he dream about them?

I think Ted should have been at Beard’s wedding, but I also think it would be in character for Beard and Jane to get married on the Solstice with 5 hours notice or something like that.

[Crs97]

Brendan likened it to a real life situation in which one of his best friends got married on short notice, he wasn’t able to attend, and it didn’t affect the friendship.  I, however, am hand waving that Ted is the one filming the wedding for us.

[Blakeston]

I think Brendan and Jason want us to remember certain things (Nate tore up the “Believe” sign! Jane and Beard have been wacky together! Dr. Jacob was Ted and Michelle’s marriage counselor!), but also want us to forget other things (Nate leaked Ted’s panic attack to the press, Jane has a history of being an abusive lunatic, and Dr. Jacob was horribly unethical in more ways than just dating Michelle).

Speaking of Nate’s redemption…I think we really would have benefitted from a scene early in the Nate/Jade relationship where he explains to her that he had to leave Richmond because Ted betrayed him. And she asks what happened, and when he lays it all out, he realizes that Ted didn’t actually betray him at all.

It would have been a bit cliched, I admit. But “man magically becomes decent because he met the right woman” is pretty cliched too.

[iMonrey]

Quote

On my end, I've never gotten the sense that Ted bonded with London or its culture. He certainly loved the team and Richmond staff, but the show often went out of its way to show Ted being miserable, across all the seasons, when he wasn't at work or doing work stuff. He wasn't shown to develop meaningful friendships outside of work (and I would include the pub as being work-adjacent).

True enough, but at the same time, we've never seen that Ted had friends back home either. The only friend he seemed to have was Beard, who decided to stay in London. No phone calls or texts from other friends back home. We were shown very clearly what kind of life Ted had in London, but no idea what kind of life he had waiting for him back home.

And while I've pointed this out before it bears repeating: no way in hell there is a direct flight from London to Kansas City.

Quote

The show saved money by using the same actress to play young Rebecca and Dutchman’s daughter.

Wasn't the scene with "young Rebecca" from a previous episode? Because if so that doesn't save them any money. They have to pay the kid per episode so it wouldn't matter if it's one kid or a different kid.

[AheadofStraight]

19 hours ago, Trillium said:

On Reddit Brendan did a AMA. Nothing too shocking but does clear up a few points. It is interesting and with the read.
 

They legit do not know if they will continue in some way. But for now they are taking a break for a while. It may be permanent, it may not.

When asked why Roy and Jamie seemed to regress and fight about Keeley…he says a few things about it but his first point is “men are dumb” Fair enough! 
 

 

Thank you for this! I think almost every lingering question I had was answered there!

[Readalot]

I think Ted checking out this last season was intentional. Subconsciously he knew he needed to get back to Henry so he was “preparing” for it. Especially since Richmond was on the crazy win streak, he didn’t need to put as much effort in coaching so he was processing his relationship with Henry and eventual leave from Richmond. 

It’s common to withdraw emotionally when you know a split is coming (moving, military spouses, kids leaving for college, “soiling the nest” per se). 
 

Also, everyone was on a path to betterment so Ted was “needed” less. 
 

I am so grateful for this series, life has been kicking my ass lately and “Ted Lasso” is a smooth tonic for my soul  (my husband knows it’s been a bad day if I’m watching an episode when he gets home)  

 

[AncientNewbie]

I liked it. As a soccer fan, there's so little I can find apart from game recaps about my team being relegated, so a soccer-set comedy with serious overtones about damaged people...exactly what I ordered. As a fan of women's' soccer, I'm especially hopeful for the future spinoff to be the start of the women's team (Hunt? Goldstein? Lawrence? Call me. I know things) but overall...

It wasn't perfect, but I felt sufficient closure. Each person got something that they needed, even if it didn't tie everything off with a perfect bow where we got what we wanted for all of them. 

In the end, whatever the flaws in s3, it's a tv show that made me want to be a better person, which is something powerful I don't find in the other hours I'm glued to my couch. 

[Thalia]

I decided to rewatch the series from the beginning.  It is a testament to how used I've gotten to the Supersized Episodes that I was cleaning my kitchen just now, with Ted in the background, and it shocked me when the episode ended after 30 minutes. 

[DEL901]

While I wish Roy and Keeley had ended up together, I get that he still needs to work on himself.  Yes, he tries and he apologizes when he makes a mistake, but his first impulse with the tape was to ask who she made it for, and in an early episode this season, he was talking about some pretty violent revenge.  He is still carrying around a lot of anger, even if he has started letting it go…e.g. throwing away the old article by Trent that was likely 20 years old, that he’d kept all that time.  

Although I also think the anger masks a lot of fear.   

On the plus side, both Juno and Hannah have said that they believe Keeley and Roy will end up together.  

[lovinbob]

I really enjoyed watching it -- laughed out loud several times. When it ended at first I felt a little disappointed. I wouldn't say I am a Ted/Rebecca shipper, but I did think they had great chemistry. And selfishly, I think Jason Sudeikis is incredibly sexy and charming, so I would have liked to have seen him get busy. 

The thing I appreciate the most is that there were callbacks and crowd-pleasing elements (Colin kissing his fella and Isaac's penalty kick were highlights for me) but everything wasn't tied up in a bow. As much as I'd love to see Keeley and Roy together, I don't think the ending means that they won't end up together. It just means they weren't ready yet. (And also, I'm not ruling out Jamie as a good partner for Keeley!) I LOVED seeing Roy with Dr. Sharon. I also loved Ted's outcome -- coaching his kid, using his superpower to teach, connect with, and love on his son. I don't think he's destined to be alone. He just didn't find a partner yet. 

On 5/31/2023 at 10:33 AM, mrc12671 said:

I did wanna shout out Higgins because he got the "perfect" line for the end of the Diamond Dogs meeting and I love in the final montage how everyone gathered again at his home, so much so that the party went out into the street.  I've just always loved that quirky, low-key character and loved how the finale did right by him.

The only real gripes I had were having a song from The Sound Of Music (I HATE The Sound Of Music.  It's not some male macho thing as I love musicals...I just HATE The Sound of Music.  I know, me and Christopher Plummer, party of 2) and, while I get it from a dramatic perspective to give Ted the final moments of the final montage, there's just no universe Ted isn't at Coach Beard's wedding (Just like, if there's any old ER heads like me, there's no universe Doug Ross isn't at Mark Greene's funeral.)

Agree wholeheartedly on on most points (except that The Sound of Music is one of my favorite movies. And I really did love how much the guys seemed to be enjoying it. The huge smile on McAdoo's face made my day -- it felt like the actors were performing it, not the characters, if that makes sense.)

But to your points -- totally agree on Higgins. My favorite character on a show of favorite characters. In part because he's so one of a kind. Which is part of why I loved this show -- this is a workplace comedy that doesn't have trope characters, 

On 5/31/2023 at 11:20 AM, mrc12671 said:

I thought this was a great, subtle, humorous way to hit on the "Be curious, not judgmental" mantra that's pretty much served as the theme of the entire series.

I might get a tattoo of this line -- "Be curious, not judgmental." I feel like a lot of the world's problems would go away if people were more curious and less judgmental.

On 5/31/2023 at 1:55 PM, AD55 said:

The casting director hit gold when they brought Nick Mohammed onboard. I look forward to following his career. One of the benefits for me was being introduced to actors I had never heard of--some of whom have been working for years.

If they had redeemed Rupert on the basis of one less-than-cruel encounter with Rebecca, I would have spit nails. Anthony Head is a fantastic villain, and I'm glad he's had a great career since Buffy.

I wasn't sure I could come back around on Nate, but the way they handled his redemption ended up working for me. That he kept himself to the background but also was called upon to coach felt right. And truly, the pure emotion on Nick Mohammed's face in several scenes was just really beautiful. I still wish I knew how his departure from West Ham went! And how Rupert reacted. Speaking of which ... 

Rupert -- I love how they went full-on villain with him. Even my kid commented on how his office looked like a supervillain's lair, and the way his coat flared out behind of him like a cape or a cloud of black smoke -- so effective. (Is something wrong with Anthony Head or with the character? It looked like he was limping.)

And how about the mini-redemption for George? We got to see him knocked on his ass and then show Ted some respect. That was great. 

On 5/31/2023 at 1:26 PM, DEL901 said:

And possibly “Oi”

"WHISTLE!"

Edited June 2, 2023 by lovinbob

[eelpout]

22 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Thanks for posting this, @Trillium!
Brendan Hunt did at least confirm that the wedding was not a dream, so I guess my (and others') theory that most of the show was a dream (like the snow globe at the ending of St. Elsewhere and like Dorothy going back to Kansas after the land of Oz) is not what they were going for:

• "In the final episode of season 3, is the Beard & Jane wedding a dream sequence of Ted’s? Or is it real?" (link to this Reddit post)
  • "Real" (link to reply by RealCoachBeard)

I was thinking the St. Elsewhere angle too.

Actually, I'm a bit disappointed that the whole thing wasn't dreamt and imagined, like Pixie Styx theorized, that the snow globe was given to Ted after his interview.

This may have been a bit too clever though and maybe 6 of us watching would have figured this out, so good this wasn't it. :)

[kwnyc]

7 hours ago, anna0852 said:

I think Ted is deeply, profoundly depressed and has been for a very long time. And he’s been masking it for nearly as long. Now that he’s in therapy all that is being unpacked and that is hard. I’m choosing to believe that Ted only had so much mental energy to deal with the world and that energy is for his son.

 

I think this is exactly what's going on with him. We can assume he continued his Zoom appointments with Doc Sharon throughout the season (we only saw them early on, but I am declaring that they continued).

And he has a lot to work out. I hope Ted is continuing therapy (with a 7 hour time difference!) or Doc Sharon found someone good for him in KC. 

As much as he gave to AFC Richmond, Ted just got to where he found himself and has to spend the time and hard work on self-care.

...for the record, I don't think he's back with MIchelle, but they look like they are doing well co-parenting Henry.

[AngieBee1]

/Is something wrong with Anthony Head or with the character? It looked like he was limping./

I was wondering if it was his pronounced limp or if Darth Vader has a limp and he was channeling it. There are some fans who have said all season long that he looked frail and too thin. I hope ASH is well.

[lucindabelle]

I thought this was perfection. 
no we don’t have Roy-Keely but we don’t NOT have them. To me it’s so clear she just does NOT want to be in a relationship right now, and who could blame her?

barbara loving blood was unexpected and hilarious.

loved the way WILLIS got himself off the plane.

love that Roy Kent obviously had a hand in the so long farewell number (he was standing there singing the words like any nervous director of a school play. I speak from experience).

and rebecca DOES get to be a mother.

I don’t understand how anyone could think she went to the airport to beg him to stay or to ame a plea for them as a couple. To me it was clearly what she said it was- a proper goodbye.

also just because Ted nodded off on the plane and maybe dreamed some things doesn’t mean it was ALL a dream- that seems a weird take. It’s not that Michelle never left him it’s that when he gets home she dumped Jake, who could not even PRETEND interest in the match. 
 

it doesn’t mean she and Ted will get back together but it does mean they can parent Henry.

Fathwr and Son is just so poignant. When cat Stevens goes up that octave I lose it. I had my students who were reading NIGHT watch the video and do an analysis of the lyrics (the father son relationship is at the heart of the book. I cannot take credit for the exercise another teacher developed it on teachers pay teachers but it was a great close reading of lyrics). 

i soooo hope Sam does get to play for Nigerian team. Everything that happened seemed so possible!!!

[lucindabelle]

23 hours ago, Athena5217 said:

It is weird because it suggests that Rebecca may be related to either the Dutch guy or his ex girlfriend, assuming the daughter is not adopted. It happens that people who are not related to each other look alike, but the usual reason people look alike is because of shared DNA.

Seriously?? It doesn’t at all. It’s symbolic double casting which is super common in the theatre. I think it’s lovely and suggests that he little girl is somehow related to Rebecca’s soul. 
 

the DNA theory is really taking something symbolic and making it literal. That never works. I love that they did that. It’s like rebecca is destined to be that child’s mother.

[paramitch]

Well, it's done. I thought they tried, I guess. It was just -- oof. So rough and disjointed, if also very sweet and well-meaning. I admit that overall, while this tried very hard to leave us all with a smile, I do feel sad and a little depressed at how very far this show fell this season.

I truly thought seasons 1 and 2 were fantastic -- positive yet complex television. But oh, man. This season, the writing was so inconsistent, and there were so many times they spent HOURS of time on silly unnecessary or unlikable things, then handwaved or totally skipped some of the biggest "Moments" of the season. YET AGAIN.

And I'm so frustrated that they spent the entirety of season 2 on a genuinely thought-provoking idea -- looking at the effects of fathers on their grown sons, with Ted's father's suicide, Nate's father's psychological abuse and disregard, and Jamie's father's physical abuse -- and then this season we get focuses on all these weird forced manufactured issues -- then, what, we get a tiny shot of Jamie's horrible dad now in rehab and having a smiley moment with Jamie? WTF?! I appreciate the show trying to humanize people who do bad things, but Jamie's dad physically abused his son right through adulthood and he and his goons also beat up Beard badly. You don't handwave that!

But onward.

Things I liked:

• Ted finally learning something about soccer/football. 
• I did love the revelation that when Ted joked with Beard, "What you talkin'bout, Willis?" (in a nod to Diff'rent Strokes), he was also calling him by his actual NAME. That was cool.
• Roy continuing to show his secret love of musicals by singing along to "So Long, Farewell.
• Colin kissing his fella on the field after the victory
• Roy joining the Diamond Dogs (although I hated why -- JFC, the whole Keeley thing this season. Aghgh.)
• Dr. Sharon sighting in the finale (too little though, too late!)
• Rebecca selling the club to the fans
• Keeley proposing the women's team
• Rebecca meeting the Hot Dutch Guy again

Things I did not like and pretty much hated:

• Nate apologizing to Ted like, three episodes after it feels like he should have (and weirdly, days after he has already rejoined the staff?). And just saying "Sorry." I wanted a real conversation there.
• Nate being a kit man again was sweet, but he needed to be brought back up to the coaching staff ASAP (he's a strategic genius and it's their big game). Just weird.
• Roy and Jamie and Keeley. Everything. The retcon that Roy & Keeley were back together, the awful bar scene, the way the triangle suddenly reappeared, Roy turning the "proud of you" moment with Jamie into a power play to get Keeley back (and Jamie telling Roy Keeley made the video for Jamie -- SO NOT OKAY. Ugh.
• Ted turning down Rebecca's offer to move Michelle and his little boy to England and set Michelle up with a job, etc., so they could all be together. Why the hell not? What's wrong with him?!
• Beard marrying Jane -- at some point they just got toxic and creepy to me instead of cute.
• Trent's Book -- seriously? We don't hear any of it? Why wasn't this used as a story device? Such a wasted opportunity the entire season
• Not enough Dr. Sharon (and good God did Ted and everyone need her)
• The show still thinking it's cute that Danni was a psycho to poor Zorro (the mask was cute if you overlook why he has to wear the damn thing)
• What happened to poor Sam? Why didn't we get resolution over his storyline with awful Akufo? (Why was the show so coy about his romance with his chef if he and Rebecca were really over?)
• Rebecca and the psychic storyline -- hated it. What a waste of our time and hers.
• Sudeikis and Ted's absence -- this entire season, Ted has felt like he was barely there (and Sudeikis too). So I hated Ted's smarmy note to Trent about the book's title -- "It's not about me. It never was." Great meta comment, show. But maybe next time don't name the show Ted fricking Lasso.
• The creepy marriage therapist boyfriend is now suddenly cartoonishly anti-soccer just to make sure we all hate him even more. So why is Michele still with him? And why did the show go there to begin with? Then in the end there's this weird thing -- like, Ted is evidently walking into her house to live there? Or not? I don't know and I don't care. The show's treatment of his marriage and his wife was really crappy and kind of icky.
• I didn't like Ted going back to Kansas. For me the ending is depressing and dour -- instead of taking the solution that would have kept him in a place where he has a new family of friends and teammates, and a whole goddamn country that now adores him -- he goes back to goddamn KANSAS, to a wife who treated him unforgivably, just to be a Dad? When Rebecca offered him an opportunity that made far more sense -- for Ted to keep his world-class job but also still be able to be a good dad to his child, who would have access to good schools and be accessible 24/7, and teaching opportunities for Michelle, etc. I'm sorry, I will always hate it. 

Sorry. For the one person who actually reads all that, thank you for getting through my wall of text.

On 5/31/2023 at 7:09 AM, Schweedie said:

I think what annoys me most is that a lot of what came up in the finale is stuff I would've liked to actually *see*. I would love to see Richmond in the Champions League - I mean, they'll get their arses kicked, but I'd still like to see it. I want to see Sharon working at Richmond, and Roy actually getting HELP with working on himself instead of just battling on his own. I want to see how Sam beats Edwin Akufo's influence and makes the Nigeria national team in spite of everything. I would LOVE to see them work on setting up a women's Richmond team. This season spent so much time on things and characters that didn't matter or that maybe mattered to the showrunners and writers but many of us didn't care about, and then they throw in all of these "here are some great things that could happen but you don't get to see it because buh-bye" right at the end.

Boldfaced by me for emphasis. THIS. I am so with you on everything you said here. Everything! Sigh.

On 5/31/2023 at 8:52 AM, scenicbyway said:

I also don’t have male friends spend the night and find them walking around the kitchen in their underwear the next morning, so I guess Beard doing made it seem normal Ted was doing it.

I found her story overall to be pretty pointless. And I find Ted’s story of a return to Kansas alone to Michele and Henry depressing. 

Just like I don't think Ted would ever say "Fuck you" to his mother, I honestly do not think Beard would ever walk into Rebecca's kitchen like that. Sorry. Nope. I thought it was kind of a weird skeevy scene in general just to troll any Rebecca/Ted shippers. And while I emphatically did NOT ship them (I love their friendship), it just felt like trolling and wasted time.

On 5/31/2023 at 9:21 AM, Schweedie said:

I cannot get over that they broke up our favourite couple off-screen in between seasons, made us think they got back together (and let us think that for a week), and then ended the show with them still broken up. I'm actually surprised at how gutted I am!

It was just so badly written. It made no sense. Even this season all we get is "Roy is messed up." Huh? How? Roy was not messed up about Keeley in any way in seasons 1 or 2. He was a caring, supportive, positive boyfriend. Their relationship was seriously wonderful. Does Roy still need therapy for other reasons? Oh, hell, yeah. But not because of anything with Keeley. 

On 5/31/2023 at 10:19 AM, AheadofStraight said:

At the bottom of Trent's book:

"A very brief forward by Roy Kent"

Maybe it's just "Fuuuuuuuck??!?"

I missed that, and love this so much. 

On 5/31/2023 at 11:28 AM, jynni said:

These last two episodes felt like they were written with no connection to the previous 10 episodes. Then to make it feel somewhat relevant to the series and cover the fact that there's no actual substance, they cover it in callbacks to the earlier (and better written) seasons. Chat GPT probably could've written a better final season.

And the whole Roy/Keely/Jamie thing has me still chasing my eyeballs across the floor. God that was stupid. Keely went through a complete character assassination this season and I felt like this was some hack job edit to make her look like a strong, independent woman cause somehow being in a relationship is a sign of emotional dependence? I don't understand how we go from heavily implied hot makeup sex to "we're just friends" to a forced love triangle with no lead up.

I really withheld criticism on this season cause I had faith they had a plan for tie it up and stick the landing but it's painfully obvious that Sudeikis was in over his head as show runner and Bill Lawrence was the one responsible for most of the magic. 

This, this, this. 

On 5/31/2023 at 1:46 PM, mellotune said:

I would have preferred to have Ted stay in the UK and bring Henry there to live but Jason Sudeikis is done so Ted had to go back to Kansas. I think the whole season suffered from lack of Bill Lawrence, Brett Goldstein's new stake in "Shrinking", and possible drama from Sudeikis/Wilde breakup. It just didn't seem to have the same heart.

Too many scenarios took place off-screen: Roy/Keeley breakup, Nate quitting West Ham, team vote to get Nate back, and Ted telling Rebecca he's leaving. 

After reading what I just wrote, I think I was just underwhelmed by this season and the finale was not enough to right the ship.

Ditto.

And let's add to your list of key missing moments:

• Colin coming out to the team
• Nate's first return to the team/locker room/Ted
• Trent actually interviewing a single person for the book
• Sam's resolution with Akufo

I'm sure I'll think of ten more later on.

On 5/31/2023 at 2:19 PM, scenicbyway said:

It makes no sense that Ted wouldn’t be at Beard’s wedding. He would’ve been Beard’s Best Man even. Ted has just presumably made millions as a Premier League Manager, he probably doesn’t even need to work.

So many wasted storylines and time this season. Rupert’s fall should’ve come mid way through the season. Jack’s story should’ve been eliminated all together, I get wanting to show a lesbian storyline but it went no where (like most of the relationships on the show). Shandy showed us how unprepared Keeley was for the corporate world. If Rebecca is a billionaire why didn’t she just fund her and continue to mentor her in the first place? Why did we need to see Keeley outside of Richmond? So Roy (who it appeared she took back 2 episodes ago) and Jaime could fight over her in the end again?!

I agree with all of this.

On 5/31/2023 at 5:44 PM, Quilt Fairy said:

The mascot had a doggie-sized safety helmet on!

I loved that!

On 5/31/2023 at 7:03 PM, QQQQ said:

Jason Sudeikis just seemed checked out in the finale. If this had been the only episode I'd watched (which wouldn't make sense, I know), I'd think Coach Ted Lasso really didn't care one way or the other about leaving. It wasn't even a sense of he's putting on a brave face. It was just... an emptiness.

I agree. I was so moved by Sudeikis's acting in the first two seasons. This season he seriously seemed to sleepwalk through most of them and even here, everyone else is acting their asses off, trying to show how sad they were that Ted was leaving, and Jason's acting was basically, "smile/shrug/whatevs." Just no there there.

On 5/31/2023 at 8:38 PM, monagatuna said:

Roy and Keely? Really? So fucking toxic. And just because they hooked up a few episodes ago doesn't mean they need to have a love connection. Sometimes sex is just for fun. And Roy is such a mess. (I won't comment on her and Jamie, though--he's adorable and I love his arc, but they were never going to end up together). I was happy to see him in therapy, though. I like Keely on her own. I like Rebecca on her own (the Dutch guy meet-cute was adorable but I liked that it was non-committal).

I only started paying attention to this series this season--my wife would watch it while I was out doing whatever and was gracious enough to fill me in when I'd ask questions about some of the inside jokes--so now I'll have to go back and watch the first few seasons with some attention. I'm a little sad that I'm going to have to start hating Jamie, though, but I'll appreciate his redemption more for it.

Boldfacing by me for emphasis. Roy and Keeley were NEVER toxic at all -- that's all invented (and badly written) this season. I'm curious to see what you think when you go back and watch seasons 1 and s2. Honestly, they were the healthiest relationship on the show, aside from the Higginses.

On 6/1/2023 at 6:26 AM, ML89 said:

My reference was Local Hero, except that ending is more ambiguous.

Oh, one of my favorite movies! I so wish Ted Lasso had managed to capture that -- that sense of the Local Hero ending --

Spoiler

that Mac may be far away, but he will always be with them (and will come back soon).

Honestly, I would have loved something like that here with Ted -- even just Beard or Rebecca answering the phone and saying, "Hi Ted." Or the phone ringing in the pub. Etc. Not the UK's most famous football coach becoming a soccer dad in Kansas and seemingly never looking back or even showing that the experience touched or changed him.

Ugh. I really hate the ending we got.

On 6/1/2023 at 7:56 AM, lasu said:

I overall loved this show, but there were some things I ended up very puzzled over:

• Beard marrying his abusive girlfriend.  He was in an abusive relationship, and they tried to make it cute.  No.
• Michelle realizing her boyfriend was a dweeb because of his immatureness during the final game.  No. The problem was that he was an unethical predator, not that he was a doofus.  While I hated the therapist character, I doubt he would have been so emotionally blind in that room.  And they still never labeled this as the abusive relationship it ALSO was.
• The whole Danny turns insane storyline.  I suppose it was just to get the Zorro payoff, but it wasn't worth it.  Yet another abusive relationship - Danny, from what it sounds like, purposely hit him in the face and broke his nose, causing him real trauma.  You can't make up for that with a mask.  It's like breaking my legs and getting me bejeweled crutches.  I would have preferred you not cause me to need crutches in the first place. It ruined Danny's character for me. 
• Roy being a manipulative fuck towards Jaime to get him to lay off Keeley.  That was AWFUL.  I've loved Roy, so much, but between that, asking Keeley who the video was for, and then making sure Jaime knew he had recently slept with Keeley, he was awful.  And again, the show didn't even acknowledge that Roy playing on Jaime's need for his approval as being problematic.
• Jaime telling Roy the video was his.  Jaime had done so well through out the whole storyline - it really showed his growth.  But then they had him backslide to get back at Roy.  Not a fan of that writing choice.
• No resolution to the love triangle.  If they weren't going to have Roy and Keeley get back together, they should have had a break up that made sense.  When the boys showed up saying she "could" choose, I was 100% hoping for a Reverse Kelly Taylor and she choose BOTH.  I would have been thrilled with a throuple, but I would have also been ok if she had been more clear she was moving on from both of them.

THIS to everything you posted!

On 6/1/2023 at 9:06 AM, iMonrey said:

My main grievance, I guess, is the note Ted left on the manuscript, suggesting a name change because "it was never about him." I know that was meant to be very meta, in that the show in general was never "really" about Ted, but those he affected around him. Well - that may well have been Jason Sudeikis's take on the story, but that certainly wasn't the case in the first two seasons. For most of this season I felt like Ted was just a minor supporting character, and the stars were Rebecca, Nate, Roy and Keeley. It was just odd.

They clearly had different visions for the show. And that's fine, but as Judge Judy always says, "Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining." Don't tell me Season 3 was the same as the first two seasons. It reminds me of Bill Hader insisting Barry was never meant to be a comedy. Well, then why did you make the first two seasons so funny? Likewise, if Ted Lasso was never meant to be about Ted, then why were the first two seasons about Ted?

I never wanted them paired romantically either, but I did feel like the finale was practically trolling the Ted/Rebecca shippers. The opening with them waking up in the same house was just a tease. The heartfelt conversation they had in the stadium where she begs him to stay. Her showing up at the airport. I half expected her to get on the plane. They really kept baiting the audience with it.

I think there needed to be a scene with Ted seriously considering Rebecca's offer, at least discussing it with Michelle and Henry and deciding whether or not it was a good move. Aside from Henry, there didn't seem to be anything in the States waiting for Ted, whereas everything he loved was right there at Richmond. It's kind of like the show decided very early on it would end with Ted going home but by the time they got there it really didn't make a lot of sense.

Agreed on all counts. I'm so frustrated and disappointed.

On 6/1/2023 at 11:35 AM, dovegrey said:

On my end, I've never gotten the sense that Ted bonded with London or its culture. He certainly loved the team and Richmond staff, but the show often went out of its way to show Ted being miserable, across all the seasons, when he wasn't at work or doing work stuff. He wasn't shown to develop meaningful friendships outside of work (and I would include the pub as being work-adjacent). He didn't appear to come to like the food (or tea) (or water) (which can seem small and silly but can be the biggest drivers of homesickness, and, for Ted, was illustrated rather well, IMO, when he found the US-themed restaurant - I felt homesick). He wasn't shown to have non-football interests or hobbies. He wasn't even shown to have a real interest in football, to be honest. 

I saw this so differently. I would argue that the show presented Ted as having very deep new friendships -- with Rebecca especially, but also with Beard in his new scenario, as well as with Sassy, Nate, Higgins and Roy at work, Mae and the gang in the pub, and Trent in his own way as well. Plus his general adoption of the team as family and vice versa. He baked cookies for Rebecca every night and had Nate's picture on his shelf because those things mattered to him.

The first two seasons, Ted seemed to me to be genuinely having fun in London and open to its possibilities. He was also growing as a person, continuing to date Sassy, getting help from Dr. Sharon and managing his anxiety. Then this season, the show hastily decides Ted is miserable, Ted is no longer open to the wonderful new journey he is on, he has no future with Sassy (she abruptly informs him of this) and is suddenly SUPER hung-up on his wife again (who is, for some icky frustrating reason, DATING THEIR MARRIAGE THERAPIST, aghghghg), he's checked-out.

I think season 3 tries really hard to retcon the first two, but I don't buy it. I'm really mourning Ted leaving the team, his friends, his beautiful flat, his magical little neighborhood, etc. What a downer ending to one of the cheeriest sweetest shows ever.

[Insert Username]

Rebecca offered to make Ted the highest paid manager in the league.I looked it up and Pep is the highest paid at $24m. So that means that Ted turned down at least $24m…one year would be enough to take care of his family in Kansas for life.

if I was Michelle and found this out, I would be furious. $24m. I would be moving to the UK in a heartbeat

[Athena5217]

59 minutes ago, lucindabelle said:

Seriously?? It doesn’t at all. It’s symbolic double casting which is super common in the theatre. I think it’s lovely and suggests that he little girl is somehow related to Rebecca’s soul. 
 

the DNA theory is really taking something symbolic and making it literal. That never works. I love that they did that. It’s like rebecca is destined to be that child’s mother.

You asked a question. You got an answer, and now you are invalidating people’s opinions. You may think it’s lovely, and other people may think it’s weird. 

[Emcber]

47 minutes ago, paramitch said:

The first two seasons, Ted seemed to me to be genuinely having fun in London and open to its possibilities. He was also growing as a person, continuing to date Sassy, getting help from Dr. Sharon and managing his anxiety. Then this season, the show hastily decides Ted is miserable, Ted is no longer open to the wonderful new journey he is on, he has no future with Sassy (she abruptly informs him of this) and is suddenly SUPER hung-up on his wife again (who is, for some icky frustrating reason, DATING THEIR MARRIAGE THERAPIST, aghghghg), he's checked-out.

I think season 3 tries really hard to retcon the first two, but I don't buy it. I'm really mourning Ted leaving the team, his friends, his beautiful flat, his magical little neighborhood, etc. What a downer ending to one of the cheeriest sweetest shows ever.

Thank you for putting together what I found so frustrating about this season. In addition to Ted so many of the others also regressed. Roy’s a mess and he and Keeley all of a sudden had a dysfunctional relationship. They had to regress Roy and Jamie’s friendship by them fighting over Keeley. Not to mention how clueless they made Keeley about anything business related. I could go on and on lol. Just some baffling choices by the writers. 

[Athena5217]

1 hour ago, paramitch said:

And let's add to your list of key missing moments:

• Colin coming out to the team

Colin did come out to the team. There was a big scene about it in the locker room. Ted told the inappropriate story about his friend being a Denver Broncos fan in explanation of why telling a gay person you don’t care about their sexual orientation is not good. But maybe you mean that we didn’t see Colin say, “ I’m gay” after he said Isaac wasn’t because it cut to Roy and Isaac in the boots closet. That was an odd choice. It would have made more sense to switch to switch to Isaac and Roy after Colin said “I’m gay.”

I don’t understand why people think Ted is back with Michelle. They got divorced and we did not see them get back together. Of course Michelle would be at the soccer game as Henry’s mother,  but that doesn’t mean she is back with Ted. I assumed the taxi dropped Ted off at Michelle’s house because he was anxious to see Henry and needed a place to stay for a night or two.

Edited June 3, 2023 by Athena5217

[iRarelyWatchTV36]

1 hour ago, Insert Username said:

Rebecca offered to make Ted the highest paid manager in the league.I looked it up and Pep is the highest paid at $24m. So that means that Ted turned down at least $24m…one year would be enough to take care of his family in Kansas for life.

if I was Michelle and found this out, I would be furious. $24m. I would be moving to the UK in a heartbeat

I never really stopped and thought about it that way, but you're 1000% right.

Would be making over $24M, per year, along with having your son [& ex] moved across the pond so you can have him nearby to see when you want and bond with said son ....... but you turn all that down with some sociopathic barely-faked interested head bobs and a couple of "hmm's".

Offered everything he could want right there on a gold platter, but nah.  Laterz.

Edited June 3, 2023 by iRarelyWatchTV36

[Capricasix]

52 minutes ago, Athena5217 said:

Of course Michelle would be at the soccer game as Henry’s mother,  but that doesn’t mean she is back with Ted. I assumed the taxi dropped Ted off at Michelle’s house because he was anxious to see Henry and needed a place to stay for a night or two.

That’s what I thought as well. 

[DEL901]

7 hours ago, iRarelyWatchTV36 said:

I never really stopped and thought about it that way, but you're 1000% right.

Would be making over $24M, per year, along with having your son [& ex] moved across the pond so you can have him nearby to see when you want and bond with said son ....... but you turn all that down with some sociopathic barely-faked interested head bobs and a couple of "hmm's".

Offered everything he could want right there on a gold platter, but nah.  Laterz.

Great point, but I don’t know if Ted would be the right manager going forward.   In the business world, there are people who make great project managers. They introduce change and manage it through to implementation, but you never want them to run things in the steady state.   I think Ted was a great change agent, but they need a Roy for long term.  

[Crs97]

I know I side-eyed Ted’s suitcase when he arrived back at the house, but then I remembered he moved straight from there to London.  He doesn’t have a separate place in KC yet.  His staying there till he gets his own place is the least she can do for him.

[Pestilentia]

On 6/1/2023 at 11:17 PM, Athena5217 said:

It is weird because it suggests that Rebecca may be related to either the Dutch guy or his ex girlfriend, assuming the daughter is not adopted. It happens that people who are not related to each other look alike, but the usual reason people look alike is because of shared DNA.

Really?  I don't think it "suggested"  a thing.

It's a simple as the child reminding Rebecca of herself as a child, no more no less.  

Quote

Better than I had hoped but not jaw droppingly amazing. Which is fine. 

 

Me too.

And people say "fan service"  like it's a dirty word while I think series finales need to use more of it.
A well planned and executed series finale seems to be lightning in a bottle, having been achieved 2-3 times tops in the entire history of television series.  It's now clear that we are not going to get it every time- showrunners' minds have moved on, their head is already into the next project. As fans we have enjoyed the stories, characters, and writing for the duration of the season- if we're still here at finale time it's because we enjoy it. So why is is a dirty word to play the finale for the fans and give them a happy ending and a bit of closure?
Sure Roy and Jaime were ridiculous, but people are ridiculous at times. Sure Rebecca running into Dutch guy was unrealistic and trite but it made me SO happy that she might be happy. Sure Beard marrying Jane was weird but most relationships have a side order of dysfunction lurking around within their  depths.

My point is I see zero downside to wrapping things up in a neat little bow for the fans.

I guess I am not a sophisticated television viewer- if I want sophisticated writing I will look to literature, not a television series. If I do happen to run across a spectacularly constructed series finale it is a wonderful surprise but not something I expect, not these days. I have been terribly disappointed so many times that "Just OK"  is a clear win. I think there was a lot of wisdom in this show and that was its gift to me, and I loved the closure that this finale provided. If there were bobbles that's life and does not negate the impact that the series as a whole provided me.

 

[angora]

On 5/31/2023 at 1:28 PM, jynni said:

And the whole Roy/Keely/Jamie thing has me still chasing my eyeballs across the floor. God that was stupid. Keely went through a complete character assassination this season and I felt like this was some hack job edit to make her look like a strong, independent woman cause somehow being in a relationship is a sign of emotional dependence? I don't understand how we go from heavily implied hot makeup sex to "we're just friends" to a forced love triangle with no lead up.

And the really frustrating thing was, she *was* a "strong, independent woman" in the first two seasons. She was literally, Keeley Jones, the Independent Woman! She was cute as a button and could rhyme her ass off. She casually came into Rebecca's life and became one of her best friends through nonjudgmental mutual support, advice, and gossip. She fell into good luck with a new position she wasn't trained for and ran with it, showing people she was capable of so much more than just being sort of famous for being almost famous. She didn't apologize for her sexuality, whether that was her past relationships, being turned on by vulnerability (and knowing that she could be in a happy/healthy relationship and still enjoy masturbation,) or being gobsmacked by the glorious sight of a photo of Rebecca sunbathing in the nude. When she got together with Roy, they were *partners*, supporting each other, having fun together, and talking things out when they had issues. She recognized that she could love Roy and still need time to herself sometimes, and she didn't have any grumbles when their Sexy Christmas plans turned into walking around looking for a dentist for Phoebe.

It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would look at all that and think the only way she could *really* become a "strong, independent woman" was to have her boyfriend break up with her. It reminds me a little of the live-action Disney remakes, where they sometimes seem so intent on "updating" the princesses to be Strong Female Heroines that they undermine the fact that they already *were* strong heroines to begin with. (Like, okay, Jasmine sings a song about how she won't be silent, that's cool. But she doesn't even say, "I am not a prize to be won"???)

[Blakeston]

 

2 hours ago, Pestilentia said:

Sure Beard marrying Jane was weird but most relationships have a side order of dysfunction lurking around within their  depths.

Beard's relationship with Jane was more than just dysfunctional - she was straight-up abusive.

I can't even imagine the reaction from fans if, say, Rebecca or Keeley was in a relationship with a man who shredded her passport to prevent her from leaving the country, and threw her house keys into a river purely out of spite, and the show tried to give the pairing a sweet romantic ending.

[shapeshifter]

A comment from The New York Times "‘Ted Lasso’ Finale Recap: Family" looks at the final bits in this episode as the fulfilled dreams of the characters. 
It's an interesting thought exercise:

Quote

...Ted shaking the snow globe is a turning point -- in much the same way the the snow globe in "St. Elsewhere," and the snowfall in "Wizard of Oz" mark turning points.

And/but: What if the episode's end is not Ted's dream -- but the dreams of each individual character? In the same way that the new "Believe" sign is a collage made of individual pieces contributed by each player, the ending dream represents an assemblage of each character's dream. And every character (including Mae, and "ussie guy," etc.) gets to have their dream come true.

So:
-- Jamie dreams of quality time with his recovering father
-- Keely dreams of a rich, vibrant life, filled with connections (including Roy and Jamie, but not exclusively Roy or Jamie)
-- Rebecca dreams of reuniting with the Flying Dutchman and exploring a future with him and his daughter
-- Beard dreams of a golden-lit psychedelic life with Jane and child (and Ted isn't there for the wedding, because it's Beard's dream, and Beard wouldn't have asked Ted to leave home for it)
-- Ted, of course, dreams of finding home.

Remembering Ted's comment, from the very first episode: "If we see each other in our dreams, let's goof around a little bit, pretend like we don't know each other."

What a wonderful goofing around it's been!

(nyti.ms/3N6O66p#permid=125430740)

But, too, a lot of the comments were from those who started watching the show as a lifeline during the darkest days of the pandemic, and are still just grateful. 

[Capricasix]

My husband and I are watching the FA Cup, with Man City playing Man U, and we agreed that Jack Grealish with Man City looks like Jamie Tartt 😄

Edited June 3, 2023 by Capricasix
used the wrong emoji

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think Ted checking out this last season was intentional.

Well, sure it was intentional, but did it make sense? I always got the distinct impression the show was trying to phase the character out of the show so it could continue without him. To borrow liberally from paramich upthread:

Quote

Sudeikis and Ted's absence -- this entire season, Ted has felt like he was barely there (and Sudeikis too). So I hated Ted's smarmy note to Trent about the book's title -- "It's not about me. It never was." Great meta comment, show. But maybe next time don't name the show Ted fricking Lasso.

This. If I'd never seen the first two seasons, and turned on any given episode this season, I would have been like "Which one is Ted? You mean the coach with the mustache? Why is the show named after him? He seems like a minor supporting character." It's like if the show was called "Beard" or "Trent" or "Higgins."

Quote

I didn't like Ted going back to Kansas. For me the ending is depressing and dour -- instead of taking the solution that would have kept him in a place where he has a new family of friends and teammates, and a whole goddamn country that now adores him -- he goes back to goddamn KANSAS, to a wife who treated him unforgivably, just to be a Dad? When Rebecca offered him an opportunity that made far more sense -- for Ted to keep his world-class job but also still be able to be a good dad to his child, who would have access to good schools and be accessible 24/7, and teaching opportunities for Michelle, etc. I'm sorry, I will always hate it. 

Again, we're in total agreement here. If the show was determined that Ted should go home to Kansas they needed to to a better job of explaining why. The show seriously neglected Ted's character all season long so there was no real insight into his thought process. You can hand-wave, justify and fan fic this 'til the cows come home but the show did a crap job making sense of it.

[Schweedie]

44 minutes ago, Capricasix said:

My husband and I are watching the FA Cup, with Man City playing Man U, and we agreed that Jack Grealish with Man City looks like Jamie Tartt 👍🏼

Yeah, there's no doubt Grealish has been an inspiration. I pointed to him and said "look, there's Jamie" and my mum was like, 'oh my god that really does look like him!' He even had those blond highlights at one point. (Sorry, they were probably walnut mist, too.)

37 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

If the show was determined that Ted should go home to Kansas they needed to to a better job of explaining why. The show seriously neglected Ted's character all season long so there was no real insight into his thought process. You can hand-wave, justify and fan fic this 'til the cows come home but the show did a crap job making sense of it.

I see your point that they could've fleshed out Ted's reason for going better, but I've never expected the show to end in any other way than with him going back home. That makes complete sense to me. He presumably had a life back in Kansas before coming to England, although I agree they could've shown us that more, and he's clearly been homesick. He's never felt home in London, he was always going to be a Mary Poppins.

[ML89]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Again, we're in total agreement here. If the show was determined that Ted should go home to Kansas they needed to to a better job of explaining why. The show seriously neglected Ted's character all season long so there was no real insight into his thought process. You can hand-wave, justify and fan fic this 'til the cows come home but the show did a crap job making sense of it.

You have to read between the lines as to why he leaves - is it only Henry? Did he feel like he’d accomplished it all - which they could have tied back to him accepting the job in the first place. No one outside Rebecca even talks to him about it - if the team had a meeting about bringing Nate back, wouldn’t they have had a meeting about Ted leaving? Why is Beard’s decision to stay last minute? Where are the Diamond Dogs in all this? Higgins isn’t freaking out? Roy becomes coach and Ted doesn’t even talk to him about it? They’ve got a winning formula at last, they’re moving up, even Rebecca’s sale decision is treated like they’re deciding what to sell at the concession stands. 
 

We spent all that nonsense with Nate and Keely’s PR firm when they could have been setting the ending up.

[paramitch]

Quote

Colin did come out to the team. There was a big scene about it in the locker room.

Yes, I know Colin came out. But in my post, I was specifically calling out the fact that the show CUT AWAY from the actual moment Colin came out to his teammates. We did not see him say the words, or the immediate team response.

I hate this. Just my 2 cents.

Meanwhile: 

Just a note that Brendan Hunt's Reddit Q&A totally supports that the entire season was a series of wild Hail Marys.

He brushes off Ted not being at Beard's wedding, says he and Ted don't see each other for years, makes jokes about them not researching therapists dating patients (!!) (much less that he was MICHELLE'S THERAPIST FIRST!), and when confronted about the Roy/Keeley disaster just says (paraphrased) "men are dumb" or something. He just comes off as totally checked out.

Quote

I was surprised and confused at the narrative choice to have Michelle enter a romantic relationship with Dr. Jacob. Most ethics boards’ prohibit relationships with patients, even former ones in most cases. I was hoping for more focus on how harmful and inappropriate it was. Was there any conversation in the writers’ room about the risks of this storyline and the ethics around it? It seems antithetical to the overall messaging and may even lead to some viewers having a negative view of couples therapy. Thanks!

We absolutely talked about it in the writers room. One of our smartest writers confidently assured us that in some places the therapist and the client have to have not seen each other for 18 months, which was helpfully convenient and required no further research! So we ran with that. The time between Ted/Michelle’s last session and Henry uttering Jake’s name is about 20 months. Victory is ours! Under that (unimpeachably accurate!) timeframe, Jake’s actions remain arguably dubious, but fall short of illegal or worthy of whatever professional tribunal. Other than that I can only play the “suspension of disbelief”/“it’s a tv show!”/“don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story” card and thank you all for your generous understanding. 

Fuck that, to paraphrase Ted himself (since the show is now using this language throughout season 3). It's BS and shoddy writing and research. They wanted a fast-track way to villainize Michelle again, that's all. Nobody even bothered to fucking Google it (they say 18 months is okay to date patients, turns out, NOT SO MUCH). I mean, seriously. It's embarrassing.

I hated it. And his answer infuriated me here, and made me lose a lot of respect.

Let's also ignore the fact that Ted's marriage counselor was also his wife's therapist, who may have actually set the entire show in motion -- encouraging Michelle to get marriage counseling (with HIM, unethically), then encouraging her and Ted to split, encouraging Ted to leave, Ted leaves, and boom, goes to England.

It's all super gross. I don't think that was what Brendan or Jason intended but -- well, that's what we have with season 3. His comments make it feel very "oh well why not" (and he doesn't answer the main question):

Quote

What was the discussion/thought behind a lot of the bigger moments of this season (Nate leaving West Ham, Ted telling Rebecca that he’s leaving) happening off-screen?

My pat answer, that is also 100% true: We don’t know. We need a break and will take one presently. Nothing has been ruled out, everything is possible; but that includes the possibility that we’re done. We won’t know until we’ve sat with it for a while, decompressed, etc.

I'm kind of more depressed from Brendan's answers. It's like they just didn't care. Seriously.

Anyway, I loved the show, it's over, I'm honestly glad, after this season.

Also, the Reddit AMA was so damn depressing. Sometimes it's not good to look behind the scenes. Brendan Hunt, so wonderful as Beard, and in certain episodes as writer, came off like the world's tooliest tool.

Edited June 3, 2023 by paramitch
italics

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, Schweedie said:

I see your point that they could've fleshed out Ted's reason for going better, but I've never expected the show to end in any other way than with him going back home.

I think that might be the whole problem. From the very start they may have decided Ted going home was the end-game. But by the time they got there it didn't make a whole lot of sense. They didn't really send Ted in that direction this season. Hell, they didn't really send him in any direction, he was barely there. They just sort of yada-yada'd it and focused on other characters instead. Odd choice.

[Harvey]

59 minutes ago, paramitch said:

Yes, I know Colin came out. But in my post, I was specifically calling out the fact that the show CUT AWAY from the actual moment Colin came out to his teammates. We did not see him say the words, or the immediate team response.

I hate this. Just my 2 cents.

Meanwhile: 

Just a note that Brendan Hunt's Reddit Q&A totally supports that the entire season was a series of wild Hail Marys.

He brushes off Ted not being at Beard's wedding, says he and Ted don't see each other for years, makes jokes about them not researching therapists dating patients (!!) (much less that he was MICHELLE'S THERAPIST FIRST!), and when confronted about the Roy/Keeley disaster just says (paraphrased) "men are dumb" or something. He just comes off as totally checked out.

Fuck that, to paraphrase Ted himself (since the show is now using this language throughout season 3). It's BS and shoddy writing and research. They wanted a fast-track way to villainize Michelle again, that's all. Nobody even bothered to fucking Google it (they say 18 months is okay to date patients, turns out, NOT SO MUCH). I mean, seriously. It's embarrassing.

I hated it. And his answer infuriated me here, and made me lose a lot of respect.

Let's also ignore the fact that Ted's marriage counselor was also his wife's therapist, who may have actually set the entire show in motion -- encouraging Michelle to get marriage counseling (with HIM, unethically), then encouraging her and Ted to split, encouraging Ted to leave, Ted leaves, and boom, goes to England.

It's all super gross. I don't think that was what Brendan or Jason intended but -- well, that's what we have with season 3. His comments make it feel very "oh well why not" (and he doesn't answer the main question):

I'm kind of more depressed from Brendan's answers. It's like they just didn't care. Seriously.

Anyway, I loved the show, it's over, I'm honestly glad, after this season.

Also, the Reddit AMA was so damn depressing. Sometimes it's not good to look behind the scenes. Brendan Hunt, so wonderful as Beard, and in certain episodes as writer, came off like the world's tooliest tool.

Hahaha. This is such a slap in the face for all of the fanboys defending the (obviously awful) writing over the past 10 weeks. They kept saying oh just wait for it, be like a goldfish, believe, it will all make sense in the end. 

 

Well it doesn't. And I agree with the other poster, it's extremely stupid that a lot of the key events happened off screen. Like Nate quitting. Come on, we should have seen that! And Ruperts reaction to it. Or when he was served the other round of divorce papers.