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The third season of Ted Lasso continues to prove why it is one of the best series out there.
Plot: In the wake of Nate’s contentious departure from Richmond, Roy steps up as assistant coach, alongside Beard. Meanwhile, while Ted deals with pressures at work, he continues to wrestle with his own personal issues back home, Rebecca is focused on defeating Rupert and Keeley navigates being the boss of her own PR agency. Things seem to be falling apart both on and off the pitch, but Team Lasso is set to give it their best shot anyway.
Review: Few series have been as beloved as Ted Lasso. Debuting during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jason Sudeikis’ charmingly positive football-turned-soccer coach helped pull countless people out of pandemic isolation by instilling hope and happiness during uncertain times. The second season did much of the same, turning co-stars Brett Goldstein and Hannah Waddingham into award winners alongside Sudeikis. With it confirmed that the third season will be the last for the AppleTV+ series, no one knows what is in store for Ted and the AFC Richmond players outside of a potential showdown with West Ham and their new coach, Nathan Shelley. Having seen just the first four episodes of Ted Lasso‘s third season, I can say that fans will be excited to become reacquainted with these characters but should be in store for potential shake-ups they did not see coming.
At the end of season two, AFC Richmond was promoted to the Premier League, a goal they had been aiming for since the series started. While Ted, Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), and Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) celebrated their victory, it meant the loss of Nathan Shelley (Nick Mohammed), who had felt ignored by his mentor and friends. Recruited by Rebecca Welton’s (Hannah Waddingham) ex-husband, Rupert (Anthony Head), to coach top-ranked West Ham United, Nathan will now have the opportunity to show Ted and his former teammates what he is capable of. Picking up just before the start of the new season, a lot has changed for the main characters. This season picks up with Ted finishing up a six-week visit from his son, whose departure back to the United States puts Ted into a forlorn mood. Pundits have also picked AFC Richmond to finish dead last and get relegated from the Premier League, setting a new underdog story in motion.
There are many changes in store for the Ted Lasso crew this season, notably relationships that are in far different places between last season and the premiere of this one. Without spoiling anything, Richmond’s success since Ted became the head coach is now back to square one with the team at the bottom of the Premier League. Ted’s panic attacks loom over his attitude this season, with slight cracks in his positive demeanor in this first episode. Rebecca is also concerned as she desperately wants to prove herself against her ex-husband. Keeley (Juno Temple) is also finding it difficult being on her own, away from the safety of her prior job with the team. Roy and Coach Beard are pretty much the characters we expect them to be, but there are now higher stakes for both of them to prove their role in promoting AFC Richmond was not a one-time thing. Not much time is spent with the players as individual characters in this first episodes, as Ted and Nate take the bulk of the screen time.
While Nick Mohammed’s Nate was originally presented as comic relief in the first season, his expanded role in season two showed how much of a mirror he was to Ted. This season, Nate wavers between wanting to prove to Ted and everyone at Richmond how much he deserves his new job and being afraid he may be in over his head. There are several moments where the old Nate slips through his new black-suited, silver-haired exterior. Jason Sudeikis, in contrast, is playing Ted as a much more vulnerable character this season. Ted is also trying to prove why he is still in England, as he misses his family and struggles with the end of his marriage. The balance of drama and comedy has been a strength of this series since the very beginning. Still, it is looking more and more like this season will dig deep into the personality clashes inside all of these characters as more attention than ever is put on their professional accomplishments despite any roadblocks they face off the field.
This season is also the first time we have had the perspective of two different teams, as AFC Richmond was the sole focus. Now, seeing the locker rooms and press conferences for Richmond and West Ham, as well as Keeley’s new PR firm, widens the scale of this series. The writers and directors of Ted Lasso do not squander the opportunity to explore more variety in the story, but it also could be a risk if this is the series’ final season. Ted Lasso is not what would conventionally be considered an ambitious series. Still, this season sets up many more storylines in the first episode than we have gotten in the prior two season premieres. All of the hallmarks this series has become known for are here, but the unabashed positivity is definitely not a foregone conclusion after this first chapter. The second and third episodes focus more on Roy, Keeley, Jamie, and Rebecca, as well as some new characters, including new additions to the Richmond team and Keeley’s PR firm. By the fourth episode, we have had more soccer on Ted Lasso than the first two seasons combined.
The third season of Ted Lasso has good songs, obscure references, great nicknames, solid profanity, and countless moments that made me smile. In short, this is quintessential Ted Lasso. Jason Sudeikis and Nick Mohammed are the MVPs of these first chapters, with everyone doing their part to set up what is sure to be another great season with AFC Richmond. I cannot help but feel there are some rough times ahead for these characters, but as always, I am invested in following them through thick and thin to see how this turns out. For a series that was a bright spot for many during the darkest period in recent memory, Ted Lasso is poised to take us down a dark path that will be lit by some funny and heartfelt moments. This series never fails to entertain, and this season looks to be no exception while also never quite feeling like the end of this particular tale despite Jason Sudeikis stating repeatedly that this season will bring closure to this story.
Ted Lasso premieres its third season on March 15th on AppleTV+.
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