4 Unanswered Questions from the ‘Ted Lasso’ Finale

It’s official: The show that helped so many of us get through the pandemic and believe—forgive me, I couldn’t help myself—in a main character whose entire ethos was to be “teflon toward people’s negativity and sarcasm” (Jason Sudeikis’s words, not mine) is over. Still, as the season three finale of the hit Apple TV+ series concluded, there were still many a question left unanswered. Dare we say, the door was even left slightly ajar to a Ted Lasso future? Here, 4 Ted Lasso unanswered questions were still wondering about—spoilers ahead.

There’s nothing we’ve loved more this season than the clear bromance that has developed between Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster). But in the series finale, their surprising and hard-earned friendship appears to be at a crossroads: They both reveal the fact that they’re each still in love with Keeley (Juno Temple). “I was her first love,” Jamie says to Roy over beers. “I was her last love,” Roy counters back. A fistfight follows that leads them to Keeley’s house where they ask her to choose. Her choice at this particular moment: Neither. But that’s pretty much where it ends aside from a flash forward glimpse where we see the trio in a group setting at a BBQ of sorts. So, is that it? The end of Keeley and Roy, but also Keeley and Jamie, too? As far as we can tell, it appears so—and Keeley Jones, Independent Woman reigns.

OK, this is also part of the flash forward scenes that roll the second Ted (Sudeikis) is pictured taking off on a plane bound for his son Henry and home. We see several peeks at the future—Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) with her new beau from the boat, Roy taking the helm coaching for Richmond, Nate happily dining at his favorite restaurant with Jade. But we also see a very over-the-top Stonehenge wedding between Coach Beard and Jane. Roy Kent is there, Dani Rojas is there, with a different woman on each of his arms. But Ted is conspicuously absent unless the wedding part is all a dream. After all, in that exact moment, Ted wakes up on the plane about to touch down in Kansas, which makes you question exactly which parts of the “future” montage are real. (It also may be poking fun at our desire and expectations when it comes to how to conclude a series.)

It’s the parting shot of the season: Ted back in Kansas and coaching his son Henry after he misses a goal during his own football soccer game. He imparts his signature wisdom to his son—“be a goldfish,” meaning don’t be defined by past mistakes—then as his son returns to the field, the camera goes to Ted’s ex-wife Michelle who is rooting their kid on from the stands. Cut to Ted looking off (at Michelle? into the distance?) and smiling. Does that mean a marital reunion is in the cards? (We did see what appeared to be the end of Dr. Jacob, who—gasp—could care less about football, even during a pivotal game.) Or is Ted simply reflecting on his journey from here to AFC Richmond and home again? TBD.

About that TBD above, this is the main thing I Googled after the season finale—and something else I questioned upon seeing the show’s episode description on Apple TV+. It blatantly refers to the last episode as a season finale, not a series finale in writing. Add to that a cryptic post from Dunster on Instagram with this caption: “Hey Siri. Play ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ (but also maybe not yet we simply don’t know) by Andrea Botticelli” coupled with a slideshow of Ted Lasso behind-the-scenes photos. Not to mention, the entire cast has been incredibly vague when it comes to officially declaring season 3 the end. (That said, we did get a glimpse from a production designer of the sets being torn down, womp womp.) Even so, the door has been left open with the season 3 ender: Could Ted re-marry Michelle, raise Henry in England and give AFC another go? Or on entirely different note, could Rebecca bite on Keeley’s pitch to start a women’s team?

Time will tell, but as far as series conclusions go, this is a satisfying one. Now, who’s ready for a re-watch?