Ted Lasso season 3 review: Lacks a clear goal

Ted Lasso season 3 sees Ted hoping to defy the odds this season, especially since everyone is predicting AFC Richmond to finish last. The third season is now streaming on Apple TV+.

Story

Many news outlets have published their rankings for this season. Most of them have placed AFC Richmond last, while Rupert’s team, West Ham United, is placed fourth.

Rebecca is certainly not happy with this news. Ted looks at this situation positively and says that they will prove everyone wrong, but Rebecca worries that Ted is not exactly serious.

The team’s morale is low. Beard and Roy are not sure how they are going to move forward without Nate’s tactical mind. Keeley addresses Rebecca’s concerns and tells her to let Ted be Ted.

While Ted isn’t holding back and looking forward to the season, he is also concerned that Michelle is moving on and he is going to be all alone.

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Similarly, Roy and Keeley could be ending their relationship as well. Nate isn’t sure about his role at West Ham, and Rebecca makes a surprising discovery about her future.

Performances

Many of the characters in Ted Lasso have certainly grown by this season, and the cast members have done an excellent job of putting forth that growth.

Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso is just as energized as before. At times, Sudeikis successfully makes it hard for the viewers to watch someone like Ted be insecure.

Hannah Waddingham, as Rebecca Welton, shines primarily in the show. By the end of the story, Waddingham is able to show how Rebecca no longer cares about Rupert, though ruining his life is the very reason she got into this club.

Phil Dunster, as Jamie Tartt, is not that ego-filled young star anymore. Dunster introduces the viewers to a more emotionally resonant side of Jamie. In contrast to the first season, Jamie is now more of a team player and respects others.

The viewers will see Nathan “Nate” Shelley, played by Nick Mohammed, struggling to read someone he has fallen in love with and changing for the better. When it comes to making the viewers hate him, Mohammed has done a pretty great job in the first half of season 3.

Positives

The third season of Ted Lasso works thanks to the impeccable performances of the cast alone. The emotional connection they have formed with the viewers makes everyone stay and watch their story unfold.

Amidst all of this, characters like Zava and Sam’s father appear and balance the elements of comedy and emotion well.

In the first half of the season, the show manages to establish how empty Richmond feels without Nate and how Nate and Ted’s approach to people is different before kicking off their individual journeys.

The episodes are longer than usual, but in no sense does the show move slowly. Ted Lasso continues to be a calm, sweet, laid-back show that you would often tune in to watch after a heavy day.

Negatives

Ted Lasso season 3 has its pace right with the longer episodes, but definitely not the developments. The creators tried to insert too many storylines.

Some of them were very interesting and should have had a great future, for example, the predictions Tish made for Rebecca, and some of them were plain boring, like Keeley and Jack’s.

Nate’s story will make viewers feel like they are watching a completely different show. Nate’s rom-com adventure runs in a different universe altogether.

The creators have certainly tried to rush things and give everyone a fitting end. In the process, they didn’t explore events such as the rise of AFC Richmond and Nate’s experience at West Ham in depth.

Verdict

Ted Lasso season 3 will attract diehard fans of the show who desperately want to see where their characters end. However, the third season hardly has its goals aligned. It runs in many directions before finding its focus during the finale.

Ted Lasso season 3
Ted Lasso season 3 review: Lacks a clear goal 1

Director: MJ Delaney, Destiny Ekaragha, Matt Lipsey, Erica Dunton, Declan Lowney

Date Created: 2023-03-15 06:30

Editor's Rating:
3

Also Read: Ted Lasso season 3 finale recap, review & ending explained