Ted Lasso should definitely not go beyond season three
Since Ted Lasso concluded last week, fans and the press have been speculating about the future of the series. While a spin-off or two seems inevitable, I’m here to argue that it should be left alone. It’s done and dusted.
*SPOILER WARNING*
I loved the first season of Ted Lasso. That’s probably because something so wholesome and nice was desperately needed in the pandemic – its heartfelt sincerity worked for me less during the other seasons. It was never the same after the first series and I found myself watching it out of obligation rather than because I genuinely loved it.
While I have always loved the characters in the show, particularly Brett Goldstein‘s Roy Kent, I became increasingly frustrated by the inconsistent writing and slapdash storytelling. This was more of a problem for me in the final season. Some of the characters didn’t have much to do (Ted) or had a weird, confused arc (Juno Temple‘s Keeley). The episodes were bloated, often more than an hour, yet not much seemed to happen.
In fact, a lot of the important moments bizarrely happened off-screen between episodes. A couple of times I tuned into an episode and felt like I’d missed one because it skipped something major. A lot of Nate (Nick Mohamed)’s redemption arc happened off-screen so that felt rushed and not fully earned. Plus, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) working with Rupert (Anthony Head)’s exes to go public about his dirty dog ways clearly happened at some point off-screen between them showing up at her door and the news reporting the claims.
But the biggest and most annoying off-screen moment was Ted’s truth bomb. At the end of the penultimate episode, he told Rebecca he had something to tell her (it was obvious that he was leaving Richmond FC) and when we returned in the season finale, his departure was already an established fact. It robbed us of seeing him announce it and everybody’s immediate reaction and just jumped to his last training session and leaving celebrations. Maddening!
Although I had problems with season three as a whole, I was satisfied with the finale episode (after the truth bomb thing) and actually got a bit emotional at the end. It was just so bittersweet! Everyone’s story was tied up nicely or left on a hopeful note and it makes sense to end it there. Jason Sudeikis and his co-creators designed Ted’s arc to last three seasons so it has literally run its course. No season four, no spin-offs; leave it be!