Commentary: ‘Ted Lasso’ Finale Comes Full Circle

There’s a lot of pressure for shows to truly nail their series finale. Unlike a season ender, which gives the impression that the story will continue in some fashion, a series’ closing hour is meant to be a definitive ending. It’s truly a capstone on a work that’s meant to round out a long form story that started in one place and just ended in another. And yet series finales try to come full circle a little bit by either referencing its beginning or coming back to it thematically. For many, Ted Lasso ended on a bittersweet moment, but it’s important to remember that it also had a thematic circle.

Spoiler, naturally, follow.

The show started with a very simple question: why is Ted Lasso (Jason Sudeikis) taking a soccer coaching job in England? It was essentially the question on everyone’s mind, including the people who were responsible for this decision. For his boss, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham), the answer was obvious. She wanted him to fail. For Ted, the answer was a little more muddled. Essentially, he was running away from his failed marriage. He was in a tough spot and thought that a change of pace, location, and even sport would do him some good. And it did. Ted made tons of new friends, succeeded as a coach, and grew as a person. This is why it was tough to see him leave all that behind.

But in seeing how tough it was for Ted to leave that behind, it’s important to remember the question that the first episode posed. Why was Ted in England in the first place? Many of his harshest critics stated that Ted shouldn’t have come to England at all. While these people were cruel and dismissive, they were also right. Ted wasn’t an ideal coach for a soccer team. In fact, he got the job in order to sabotage the team. So the fact that he ended up coming home years later only solidifies the fact that he never should have been there. And this is what makes that finale so great. It’s because, in the beginning, Ted had no business being there. The finale rectified that problem. But it also made the audience sad it was happening.

Ted Lasso is now streaming on AppleTV+.