‘Ted Lasso’ season 3 ending, explained

As the final whistle blows on Ted Lasso, plenty of viewers have been left satisfied by the emotional but fulfilling ending to the hit Apple TV show. We saw almost everything that needed to be wrapped up.

However, just in case you were watching through teary eyes and didn’t catch it all, here’s an overview of how the third (and potentially final) season of Ted Lasso finished.

What happened to A.F.C Richmond?

We went into the finale knowing that to win the Premier League and complete an unreal underdog story, A.F.C Richmond needed to beat their final-day opponents and season villains West Ham, alongside their top-of-the-table rivals Man City drawing or losing in their game against Liverpool. Although Richmond managed a last-minute victory thanks to a stunning Sam goal (one of many callbacks), we soon discover that Man City did in fact win their final match, leaving Richmond second in the table.

This is pretty true to life: Man City, backed by a sovereign state oil fund that’s allowed them to buy the best players and hire the best manager, has won the last three league titles in a row in real life, including one on the final day of the season last year.

It’s not all bad news, though. As mentioned in the episode, this means that the Greyhounds qualify for the Champions League, Europe’s top competition and a huge money maker for the clubs that manage to get into it.

We also discovered that Rebecca sold 49 percent of Richmond’s shares to fans, which is now an uncommon way for club ownership to be structured in the U.K., especially in a time where dubious, billionaire owners use soccer clubs to sportswash horrendous human rights issues away, or simply as playthings.

We also saw Roy named as the new Richmond coach, which seems to have spurred him on to seek psychological help with Dr. Sharon for his various issues, showing that even the most rusty tin man can grow a heart. Nate appears to be back in the fold at Richmond too (after mending his relationship with his dad), so the club looks to have a bright future under its new (but old) leadership.

What happened to Ted?

The penultimate episode ended with somewhat of a cliffhanger, although for most viewers it was obvious that Ted was going to return to Kansas after the season, something confirmed within a couple of minutes of the finale starting. After saying goodbye to his team (with a dance that was yet another season one callback), he had a few more emotional leaving chats in the airport and on the plane with Rebecca and Beard respectively, before returning back home to his son Henry, as expected.

Whereas his and Michelle’s marriage has been portrayed as rocky throughout the series, the man Ted’s estranged wife was seeing (their former marriage counselor, Dr. Jacob) seems to have disappeared by the time the coach returns to his old house.

The notion that he and Michelle are trying again is strengthened by the final scene, in which Ted is coaching his son’s soccer team. Michelle is in the crowd, and Jacob is nowhere to be seen. So, it turns out that the space Michelle required from him was the trick after all.

What happened to Rebecca?

Rebecca has spent a lot of this season searching for family, and she found it in more ways than one in the final episode. After selling just under half of her shares in the club to the fans, thus creating an even closer family dynamic among the Richmond faithful, fate then made her run into the hunky Dutch man she spent a romantic, whirlwind evening with when the team went to Amsterdam.

She seemed to immediately click with his small daughter, too, showing that her maternal instinct might just get the chance to flourish. It couldn’t have happened to a better woman, or, apparently, a more talented singer.

What happened to Coach Beard?

Coach Beard’s final act in front of Ted was to fake a medical emergency so he could go and be with his on-again, off-again, slightly toxic girlfriend Jane. What we saw next was a montage of them getting married at Stonehenge, but there’s every chance this second part was a dream Ted had on the plane, given the surreal surroundings, odd color-mixing in that specific scene, and the fact that Ted wasn’t there.

However, some characters from the season two episode “Beard After Dark” were present at the wedding, and Jane appeared to be pregnant, seeing as Ted didn’t know about either of those things, there’s every chance Beard got his own insane ending (and one he deserves after years of rightfully repaying Ted with devotion and loyalty).

What happened to Keeley?

Everyone expected the show’s favorite advice-giver to end up with either Jamie or Roy, but most viewers forgot that Keeley is all about her own independence. So, it wasn’t too far out of left field to see her reject both her love interests for being too entitled to her attention and end up spending all her time in her PR firm.

In her final two scenes, we saw her business appearing to grow (possibly with new fan favorite Barbara joining as a partner), before presenting an idea for a Richmond Women’s team to Rebecca, underlining her girl-boss credentials (but in a fun, nice way, and not an Elizabeth Holmes, I’m going to cause lots of poor people to die of conditions they didn’t know they had way). Not a bad ending for someone who thought they were nothing more than their looks!

What happened to Trent Crimm?

Trent Crimm, the former sports writer, has spent the entire season writing his book about the “Lasso Way,” only for Ted to remind him that everything is a team effort. We saw him signing plenty of the newly published books in the final scenes, although instead of being called The Lasso Way, it was entitled The Richmond Way. A nod to a spin-off, perhaps?

Either way, we’re glad to see Trent, who has twice ignored a big scoop to help others out, get the happy ending he deserves.

What happened to Rupert?

Rebecca’s ex-husband and the pantomime villain of the series, we last saw Rupert shoving his employee to the ground in an attempt to make him instruct his players to hurt others. Although there was a hint of redemption for the evil businessman a few episodes back, the “revelation” he was under suspicion of workplace misconduct seems to have cast him wholly as the bad guy.

And, in a show where nearly everyone grows to be better, it’s realistic to have at least one holdout. Plus, seeing the crowd shout “wanker” at him was as beautiful as it was satisfying (and true to life). They did at least give him a very cool, Darth Vader-esque shot of him walking away, so he can always hold on to that.

What happened to the rest of the Richmond players?

Pretty much all of the players got the endings you’d want for them. Jamie reconnected with his father, who appears to be in an assisted living facility. Sam finally got to play for the Nigerian national team. Colin was able to kiss his boyfriend in public, while Danny Rojas seemed to be in a throuple with two models.

We saw the rest of the players crammed into Higgins’ house for a barbeque, enjoying the togetherness that Ted had instilled into them. The perfect ending for a show about trying to be a better person, and making the lives of those around you as pleasant as possible.

All three seasons of Ted Lasso are available to stream on Apple TV Plus.