Recap / Ted Lasso S3E12 "So Long, Farewell"

Ted Lasso — Season 3
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So Long, Farewell

"Well, that's settled, then."

Written by: Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, and Jason Sudeikis
Directed by: Declan Lowney
Air date: 31 May 2023

"I've loved getting to know each and every single one of you. Learning all about the men you were and getting a front-row seat to the men you all have become. [...] I love you guys. (Beat) I'm gonna miss y'all."

— Ted

The morning after the previous episode, Ted, Beard, and Jane stumble into Rebecca's kitchen, having stayed at her home overnight due to a gas leak. Rebecca is upset that Ted is permanently returning to Kansas. The team's final practice before the last match of the Premier League opens with Isaac and Sam collecting fines from the team, for whom Nate is now serving as assistant kitman, to fund their end-of-season party. Trent gives Ted and Beard drafts of his book. Higgins presents Rebecca and Keeley with potential replacement manager and informs Rebecca that she could sell 49% of the club to stakeholders to fund improvements; Rebecca asks how much she'd get if she sold the whole club. In honor of their last practice with Ted, the Richmond boys perform "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music. Keeley excitedly supports a commercial for Jamie in Brazil, to Roy's consternation.

At the pub, Deborah is supportive of Rebecca's idea of selling the club. Jamie and Roy go for a beer to celebrate their strengthened relationship, only for both to realize that they are both interested in Keeley. They turn up at her place and ask her to choose between them; she kicks them both out. Jamie and Roy realize that it was stupid of them to put Keeley in that situation and to almost ruin their friendship over romantic drama. Rebecca catches Ted in the stands and admits that she doesn't want to run the club without him. She points out that they could both stay and Michelle and Henry could relocate to England, and that she could increase his salary by selling shares, but instantly knows that Ted will turn the offer down. Nate and Ted reconcile.

The day of Richmond's climactic home game against West Ham dawns. If Richmond wins and Man City loses or draws, they get the Premier League title. Roy agrees to join the Diamond Dogs and admits his insecurities about himself to the other men. Rupert, getting divorced by Bex and sued by Ms. Kakes for sexual impropriety, is also in attendance and sneeringly hoping Richmond loses, in part because it would allow West Ham to qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The coaches hype up the team with a farewell video so emotional that the starting lineup is in tears on the pitch. The first half ends with West Ham having scored two goals to Richmond's nil, and Man City having taken the lead over in Etihad Stadium.

At halftime, Ted earnestly tells the team that It Has Been an Honor serving as their coach, and that all they can do is play their best. The team members reveal that they each kept a piece of the torn "Believe" sign, and reassemble it together. Early in the second half, Jamie eventually gets the ball into the net after close calls by Dani, Sam, and Colin. Jamie nets the team a penalty kick, which Isaac successfully converts. An upset Rupert verbally scolds George Cartrick, now serving as West Ham's manager, and orders him to have his players deliberately injure Jamie to take him out of the game. When George refuses, Rupert pushes him to the ground and is booed off the field. West Ham makes another goal, but it is declared offside. Finally, Nate and Ted suggest a play that involves using Jamie as a decoy to give Sam a clear path to a goal. Richmond wins 3-2, and the fans storm the pitch in excitement. The players celebrate with the fans and their loved ones, with Colin taking advantage of the chaos to kiss his boyfriend Michael on the pitch.

Ted prepares to board his flight to Kansas. It's revealed that Man City won their game, causing Richmond to finish second place in the league and lose out on the title, although they still qualify for the Champions League. Rebecca, who has decided to sell 49% of the club to the fans, meets Ted to bid him a proper goodbye, and the two share an emotional hug. On the plane, Beard admits to Ted that he doesn't want to leave Jane, and fakes a burst appendix to be let off. Outside the airport, Rebecca is reunited with the Dutch man she met in Amsterdam, who works as an airline pilot.

A montage gives us a glimpse into the characters' lives after the season: Roy becomes the new manager of AFC Richmond and starts going to therapy with Dr. Sharon, now Richmond's permanent head of mental healthcare; Roy, Beard, and Nate hang up the repaired "Believe" sign in the locker room; Beard and Jane get married; Rebecca begins dating the Dutch man; Sam makes it onto the Nigerian national team; Keeley proposes an AFC Richmond women's team to Rebecca; Jamie reconciles with his father; and Trent signs copies of his book, titled The Richmond Way. Ted awakens on the plane back to Kansas and reunites with Michelle and Henry. The final scene shows Ted coaching Henry's junior soccer team with Michelle watching from the stands.

---

Tropes featured in "So Long, Farewell" include:

• Ambiguous Situation: A few.
  • Dr. Jacob is not seen when Ted returns to Kansas, leaving it unclear whether he and Michelle are still together or she broke up with him after his obnoxious behavior during the episode.
  • Colin kisses his partner Michael on the pitch after the game, but the episode doesn't address how many people saw the kiss or whether it was caught on camera amidst the chaos. As a result, it's unclear whether Colin is now out to the general public or still closeted.
  • How Beard came to be a citizen of the Vatican City (which requires being currently employed by the Holy See, or being the spouse or child of someone who is) is not explained.
• And the Adventure Continues: Roy steps up as Richmond's new manager, the team continues to grow and change, Rebecca and Keeley take the bold step of starting a women's club, Beard and Jane get married, and Ted takes over as his son's soccer coach.
• Artistic Licence – Sports: Rupert would not be forced out of West Ham ownership over allegations of sexual impropriety, as the episode suggests was on the brink of happening as he arrives in the executive box prior to kick-off, as criminal charges relating to such actions are not one of the disqualifying factors under the Premier League's rules for being owner or director of a Premier League club; assaulting George Cartrick during a highly viewed internationally broadcast game, on the other hand, could potentially result in Rupert facing criminal charges and subsequently being disqualified from being owner or director of a Premier League club under the league’s rules for ownership as such charges are one of the disqualifying factors.
• As Himself: As well as the usual commentary duo of Arlo White and Chris Powell, we also have ex-Premier League referee Mike Dean as, well, the referee in the Richmond-West Ham match.
• Audience Surrogate: Ted becomes one of these in order to highlight the absurdity of the fact that the division below the Premier League is called the Championship, while the European tournament that the top teams in the Premier League try and qualify for is called the Champions League, for which the top four clubs in the Premier League qualify. Roy is, of course, perfectly correct when he identifies money as the reason for this ^note  originally, the Championship was the Second Division; the Champions League, which is actually a cup tournament and not a league, was the European Cup; prior to the rebranding of the latter in the early 1990s, clubs did indeed have to actually win their respective national league championships in order to qualify for it .
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Isaac fines Nate for missing 'every training session, every match, every team dinner' from the year he was at West Ham, showing that the Greyhound always considered Nate part of the team despite the hurt he caused them.
• Babies Ever After: Jane is visibly pregnant at her and Beard's wedding in the ending montage.
• Back for the Finale: The season finale brings back a host of minor characters:
  • Rebecca's mother Deborah shows up once more to have a meal with her, though she misses the climactic match to get a tattoo.
  • Sassy returns to lob some insults at Rupert before joining Rebecca in the owner's box.
  • Higgins' wife makes her sole appearance of the season for the final match.
  • The elderly couple from the When Harry Met Sally... homage are seen sitting down for the match.
  • The couple Beard encounters in "Beard After Hours" is among those gathered for his wedding to Jane.
  • John Wingsnight, the man Rebecca briefly dated in season 2, attends the match along with his girlfriend that he introduced to Rebecca earlier in season 3. He later takes Isaac’s penalty kick to the face and is seen ferociously celebrating with blood pouring out of his broken nose.
  • Colin’s partner Michael is seen getting a ticket Colin reserved for him to watch the match. Then he gets to celebrate with him when Richmond wins.
  • Dr. Sharon is shown watching Richmond's final match on TV. At the end, she rejoins the club as its full-time mental-health specialist.
  • Shannon, aka "Football Girl", is very briefly seen arriving for the big game and later getting Trent's autograph at a book signing for The Richmond Way.
  • Anastasia the model, who previously had an awkward date with Nate, is seen at Beard's and Jane's wedding as Isaac's date.
  • The fathers of Nate and Jamie are seen to be on good terms with their respective sons on the end montage. While Nate had already reconciled with his dad to an extent, this is the first we see of Jamie getting on with Tartt senior, who was revealed to have gone into rehab in the previous episode.
  • The "Ussie" guy runs into Ted at the airport before he departs back to Kansas.
• Bad Boss: Rupert is publicly exposed as this throughout the episode. His serial womanizing has finally caught up to him with Miss Kakes and others accusing him of workplace harassment, and during the game he assaults George Catrick, his own team's manager, on a highly viewed international broadcast and in plain view of the crowd.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • After a cut to black in the prior episode just before Ted was about to confess something to Rebecca, this episode opens with Rebecca in her kitchen. Ted wanders in wearing sleepwear, greets her good morning, and asks her if she wants to talk about the new development, making it seem as if he stayed the night and he wants to discuss a Relationship Upgrade. But then Beard (in a thong) and Jane (naked except for one of Rebecca's blazers) traipse in, and it's explained that they all slept there because of a gas leak.
  • At first, it seems as if Isaac misses his penalty kick, before the referee stares at a hole in the net and asks for a VAR check, which shows that he kicked the ball so hard that it tore a hole and went through to the stands.
• The Big Damn Kiss: As the team and fans celebrate Richmond's victory, Colin wistfully watches a teammate kiss his girlfriend... until his own partner Michael races up to him, at which point Colin dramatically kisses him in the middle of the pitch.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Rupert reveals himself to be this when he assaults his manager in front of the entire arena after he refuses to have West Ham’s players injure Jamie.
• Bittersweet Ending: Richmond defeat West Ham, doing all they can to win the Premier League, but are ultimately beaten to the title by Manchester City after they defeat Liverpool to retain their one point lead. Ted chooses to leave Richmond and return home to his family, much to the sadness of all of his friends and colleagues, but he leaves everyone at the club in a healthier place than at the start of the series, with many broken relationships now mended while others are forged.
• Blood Sport: Barbara prefers rugby to soccer, more grown men throwing each other around and blood. When Isaac's penalty kick powers through the net and hits a fan in the face, she starts cheering because there's finally blood on the field.
• Boring, but Practical: Rupert sneers at Richmond's use of tiki-taka, calling it "Tiki-fucking-tedious". Tiki-taka is a style of play that has been criticized as boring to watch, and it is contrasted against the more dynamic, attack-focused West Ham. While West Ham gets an early lead, Richmond's superior teamwork allows them dominate most of the second half.
• Book Ends:
  • As Ted departs for America, he runs into the same fan he took an "Ussie" with at the start of his tenure as Richmond coach.
  • As Season 1 did with Rebecca and Season 2 did with Nate, Season 3 begins and ends with a close-up of Ted's face.
  • After Richmond wins the match, Ted starts dancing the Running Man surrounded by his jubilant players as they cheer him on, as he was seen doing with his college players in the pilot.
  • The match-winning goal comes from the first play Nate ever suggested, using Jamie as an over the top distraction.
  • Ted and Beard started the series on a plane, and end it on one, only this time they're in first class rather than business as a parting gift from Rebecca. Ted even asks Beard the same question he did in their first scene in the pilot:
    Ted: Hey, Coach... are we nuts to be doing this?
    • On a smaller scale, Season 3 began with Ted at the airport watching Henry leave for Kansas, and ends with Rebecca at the airport watching Ted leave for Kansas.
• The Bro Code: Roy and Jamie come to blows over their mutual attraction to Keeley and whether or not either can make a move on her. Keeley is unimpressed by the machismo and kicks them out her home. The two then acknowledge their idiocy, immediately reconcile, and go to get kebabs.
• Broken Pedestal: Used as a subtle example where Cartrick has this look on his face after being physically shoved to the ground by Rupert, who he had looked up and sucked up to throughout the series.
• But Now I Must Go: Although Rebecca and the others all beg Ted to stay, he is firm in his decision to return to Kansas and be with Henry.
• Call-Back:
  • Rebecca's housekeeper once again walks in on Rebecca having a talk with people who aren't fully dressed, and goes to clean a different room.
  • The team's ex-player Zava sends them a ginormous avocado from his farm.
  • As in "Biscuits", Nate is once again shown collecting money in one of his homemade boxes from the team. Only in "Biscuits", Jamie was rude and uncooperative; this time, he sneaks in additional cash to fund the team's after-party.
  • Once again, Richmond's final fate partly depends on how other teams perform in the last match of the season. In Season 1, the results elsewhere went their way but they were unable to take advantage; this time round, Richmond do their part but the other results don't go their way.
  • When taking his first penalty kick, Isaac looks over at Richmond's beloved canine mascot, similar to how Dani did for reassurance in "Inverting the Pyramid of Success". The pooch is wearing a helmet like it did in that episode, in reference to its predecessor's unfortunate demise in "Goodbye Earl". Also, Colin tells Isaac “It’ll be fun” and pats him on the shoulder which was the same thing Jamie said to Dani before he took the penalty in the season 2 finale.
    • Isaac proceeds to thump the penalty through the net, just as he'd thumped his corner kick through a window in "The Strings That Bind Us". Higgins, who saw that happen first-hand, immediately shields his wife from the ensuing damage.
  • When firing George in the very opening of "Pilot", Rebecca remarks that his tiny shorts expose both his testicles. He see him wearing said tiny shorts during the final game, and when Rupert shoves George to the floor in a moment of anger, causing his genitals to be exposed for everyone in attendance to see.
  • When Michael goes to pick up the ticket reserved for him, it is reserved under the name Wynonna Judd.
  • In "The Strings That Bind Us", Ted remarked that Total Football requires four things: conditioning, versatility, awareness, and a fourth thing he hasn't figured out yet. During his half-time team talk, he realises what it is: belief.
  • For Richmond’s final goal, the team re-enact the very first play that Nate ever suggested back when he was kitman. Jamie even fully imitates the overly dramatic “give me the ball” gestures that Ted demonstrated back then, as he plays decoy for the team to pass to Sam instead. Also, Nate jumps in Ted's arms to celebrate the goal, the same way he did to celebrate Richmond's first win under Ted's leadership.
  • During the final game, the Richmond crowd both in the stadium and the bar start angrily chanting "Wanker!" just as they did during all the games in the first season. Only instead of Ted, Rupert is on the receiving end.
  • After the game, Ted does the "running man" surrounded by his players, which had previously made him Internet famous while he was still coaching college football.
  • A shot of the newest "The Sun" reveals that Ms. Kakes is set to follow Jamie's footsteps by joining Lust Conquers All, and Bex got a book deal for the placenta-eating woo-woo she previously grossed out Rebecca with.
  • In "Sunflowers", Colin says that all he wants to do is kiss his boyfriend in public with no one feeling the need to comment on it. He gets to do just that after Richmond's victory over West Ham.
  • On the plane back to Kansas City, Ted and Beard talk about how crazy it is for them to uproot the lives they'd come to love, similar to the talk they shared on the plane ride to London in the pilot episode.
  • Roy affixes black tape over Phoebe's drawing of women's breasts (themselves a callback to "Midnight Train to Royston") like Ted did to a photo of Keeley in the pilot.
  • A nerf war once again breaks out between the Higgins children and some of the players at a team get-together at Higgins' house. This time the kids are joined by other kids tied to the team, and the players are joined by Jan Maas.
  • Beard and Jane get married with their hands bound with a Red String of Fate, like how Richmond players were tied together (albeit with different appendages) in "The String That Binds Us".
  • Dani is shown to be in a relationship with two women, also seen in "Goodbye Earl".
  • Keeley enters the locker room shielding her eyes and playfully asking the team if they're decent, as she did in the pilot.
  • The team prepares another choreographed song and dance routine to say goodbye to someone leaving Nelson Road. This time, though, they actually get to perform it for the intended recipient.
  • Higgins drops one last powerful line when someone asks for advice, telling Roy that personal growth is a journey.
• Character Development:
  • In Season 1, Jamie was dismissive of Nate's decorated suggestions box and puts a wad of gum inside. In this episode, he happily inserts his fine payment in the slot and silently holds Nate back so he can donate more cash for the team's wrap party.
  • Although last episode's dialogue suggests that Nate will again be a coach (presumably in the next footballing season), for now he's happy to act as assistant kitman and just hang out with the team - a far cry from his image-obsessed self in season 2. He's also comfortable enough to chat about personal matters with the team and tease those who are 'fined' in the opening scene - again, a very different Nate from his shy and awkward self in season 1.
  • Roy finally opens up enough about his feelings to join the Diamond Dogs, and he is later seen at a formal appointment with the team's mental-health therapist.
  • After three years of managing a football team, Ted finally understands the offside rule.
• Chroma Key: Beard and Jane got married at Stonehenge. That sequence was very obviously not filmed there.
• Comically Missing the Point: When Beard asserts that perfect is boring, the rest of the Diamond Dogs start listing off examples of perfect works in music, film and art; Beard concedes their point, but makes clear that his point is about how boring people would be if they were perfect.
• Conspicuous Consumption: Ted notes that Rebecca bought a first-class plane ticket just to be able to say goodbye to him in the departure terminal. She says that it's just a habit by this point.
• Continuity Nod:
  • After three seasons of not getting it, Ted finally understands the offside rule.
  • The man Rebecca briefly dated, who asserted that his support flip-flops between Manchesters United and City depending on who's doing well, has now latched onto the AFC Richmond bandwagon.
• Crippling the Competition: Rupert orders Cartrick to do this to Jamie to keep Richmond from mounting a comeback and secure the victory for West Ham. Cartrick's refusal to do so results in Rupert assaulting him and destroying his reputation with the public.
• Deliberate Values Dissonance: Jake's boorish behavior during Richmond's final match echoes the kind of attitude that the Coach Lasso character was created to combat in the first place. It likely strikes a familiar note for soccer-skeptical fans who grew to love the game with Ted over the course of the series.
• Did Not Get the Girl: When Jamie and Roy ask Keeley which of them she wants to take as her boyfriend, it Smash Cuts to her closing the door on both of them.
• Did Not Think This Through: Jane attempts to keep Coach Beard in England by destroying his US passport so he will be unable to travel internationally. What she forgot is that Coach Beard has citizenship in three countries, so that isn't his only passport and he can just use his one of his other ones.
• The Dreaded: Downplayed. While not said outright, Nate is visibly unnerved - even more so than everyone else is - when Rupert storms down to the pitch, and keeps his head lowered to avoid making eye contact until Rupert leaves. With this being his first time seeing Rupert since resigning as West Ham's manager in "International Break", Nate has every right to be afraid seeing his former boss in such a foul mood.
• Dump Them All: Jamie and Roy fighting over Keeley's affection results in her rejecting both.
• Everyone Has Standards: George Cartrick has spent the entire show being a misogynistic, arrogant blowhard who has shown nothing but disdain for Richmond. But when Rupert insists that Jamie be taken out of the match, implying they use dirty tactics to do so, Cartrick adamantly refuses.
• Fan Disservice:
  • Right in the opening scene, we are treated to Beard wearing a crop top and a tight red thong.
  • George Catrick returns to coach for West Ham, once again wearing the infamously unflattering shorts that Rebecca made fun of in the very first episode. After he's shoved down by Rupert, both his testicles pop out of them, though it's thankfully censored.
• The Fellowship Has Ended: Averted; while Ted leaves for home, the team is just as strong as ever, and Roy is the new manager assisted by Beard and Nate. Rebecca still owns the club, though she now shares ownership with Richmond's supporters, and she and Keeley are not only still working together on Richmond's publicity, but planning to add a women's team to the club. The team's ability to hold together with or without Ted was always his goal.
• Foreshadowing: The "BELIEVE" sign (or rather, the space where it used to be) gets a lot of focus during the episode: Nate and Ted both spend a long time staring at it, and Ted gestures at it during his half-time team talk. Shortly afterwards, it's revealed that the players kept the pieces and the sign is reassembled.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: When Ted is buying papers before his flight home and scans the newspaper rack, pausing the scene shows that Zava has returned to football with Los Angeles FC, Ms. Kakes is set to join Lust Conquers All, Bex is publishing a book on placenta recipes, and Shandy is actively pursuing her plans for a celebrity dating app.
• Gasshole: Ted reveals that Beard is one in his gas leak conversation with Rebecca.
• Graceful Loser: After Richmond's victory, George happily shakes Ted's hand and sincerely thanks him for a good game.
• Hard-Work Montage: Beard put together a montage of photos and video showcasing a lot of iconic moments from the show and some things we've never seen before, showing the team being transformed from an underperforming member of the Premier League into a team full of love and support that are going to move up to the Champions League. It leaves the players in tears for the opening of the match.
• "Hell, Yes!" Moment: Sassy has long loathed Rupert for what he did to Rebecca and for being a Villain with Good Publicity in general. So when she sees that the Nelson Road crowd has turned against Rupert and is angrily chanting "Wanker!" at him as he leaves the pitch following his assault of George Cartrick, she is ecstatic and joins in the chanting with glee.
• Hourglass Plot: The first episode began with Rebecca being vilified and humiliated following her messy divorce with Rupert, and prior to her Character Development throughout the show she was driven solely by the desire to hurt her ex-husband at any cost. The final episode ends with these roles directly flipped, where Rebecca is now a genuinely beloved figure within the Richmond community and has moved past her fixation on beating Rupert, while Rupert endures another messy divorce, shows his true colors, and has finally lost the Villain with Good Publicity standing he's held for so long.
• Humble Hero: Ted's only piece of feedback for Trent's book is that he not title it The Lasso Way, reminding him that the team's success was never about Ted. Trent obliges and changes it to The Richmond Way.
• Humiliation Conga: At the start of the episode, Rupert has been publicly accused of workplace indecency, Bex has left him, and his ownership of West Ham hangs by a thread. He is further shown up when Richmond bounce back from West Ham's early lead, and after George refuses his demand to play dirty, Rupert angrily assaults him in plain view of everyone, and is last seen being booed off the pitch.
• I Choose to Stay:
  • While Ted's departure makes her seriously consider selling off the entire club, Rebecca ultimately decides to keep her majority ownership and sell a 49% share to the club's fans.
  • At the last minute, Beard admits to Ted that he doesn't want to leave Jane and gets off the plane so he can stay with her in London.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: When Will reveals that Zava sent the team a care package, Dani initially doesn't want anything to do with it, saying he won't be hurt by Zava again after the latter previously quit the team...until Will opens it and says Zava sent them all t-shirts, after which Dani immediately asks if he can have two.
• Inelegant Blubbering: The goodbye video the coaches play for the team reduces everyone to tears ahead of the match. Roy is hit with them the worst of all.
• Innocently Insensitive: When meeting with Rupert before the game, George remarks that he'll make sure Rupert doesn't lose to his ex-wife. Though he's referring to Rebecca as the rival owner, he realizes this wasn't the best thing to say when Rupert has just gone through another, far more humiliating divorce with Bex. Plus, Rebecca was not Rupert's first wife.
• It Has Been an Honor: During the halftime break, Ted tells the team that regardless of how their last match together turns out, it's been an honor getting to know everyone and he'll miss them all when he leaves.
• Judicial Wig: Isaac puts on a spiffy white judge's wig when overseeing the team's fines at the beginning of practice.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: After all the horrible things he's done throughout the series, Rupert ultimately goes through another divorce with Bex, loses his ownership of West Ham after seeing them miss out on a top four finish thanks to Richmond, and is finally exposed to the public for the Jerkass he truly is.
• Like a Son to Me: Roy and Jamie continue to have this relationship, with Roy saying how proud he is of the work Jamie's put in and Jamie thanking him for his support and encouragement, even noting that he's not really gotten that from older men in his life. Subverted because they then start arguing about Keeley.
• Manly Tears:
  • Nate breaks down sobbing when he finally gets to deliver his apology to Ted.
  • Beard's montage showing the team coming together and becoming a team leaves them crying, surprising everyone watching. Even Roy ends up in tears.
• Maybe Ever After: Ted returns to the house he shared with Michelle and she is later seen attending their son's soccer team as Ted coaches, but it's not said if they're back together. Jake is not with her, though.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: As the episode comes to an end, the last of Rebecca's mother's psychic predictions finally come true with Nate aping Japanese art to fix the "BELIEVE" sign and Rebecca getting to be a mother.
• Meaningful Echo: In Season 1, Ted was greeted with chants of "Wanker!" by the disgruntled Richmond fans, whilst Rupert was the club's beloved former owner after a highly publicised divorce. After three seasons, Ted is Richmond's beloved departing coach and the "Wanker!" chants are now directed at Rupert as he leaves Nelson Road in disgrace after berating and assaulting his own coach in an internationally broadcast Premier League game.
• Meet Cute: Rebecca rediscovers her Dutchman after she sees a little girl at the airport trip and fall, and she asks the girl if she's alright; it turns out that the girl is the Dutchman's daughter, and he's a pilot.
• Megaton Punch: Isaac takes a penalty and kicks the ball so hard it tears a hole through the net.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Roy and Jamie are both rather ashamed of themselves for fighting over Keeley - Roy especially so.
• Mysterious Past: Beard is stated to be a citizen of two countries other than the United States, one of which is the Vatican City.
• No Name Given: The unnamed Dutchman from "Sunflowers" never gets named on-screen, but the credits list him as Mattijs. His daughter is also not given a name on screen.
• Not So Above It All: Despite having a "winning isn't everything" mentality, Ted can't help but express regret that he was unable to win Richmond a Premier League title before his flight back to Kansas.
• Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: Manchester City wins their own, unseen match to clinch the Premier League title.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • After Rebecca's housekeeper goes to clean the guest rooms, Beard and Jane race after her because there's stuff in there that shouldn't be thrown away, like ropes. Plus, some of the things in the room they used are meant to be dirty.
  • When Isaac lines up to take the penalty kick, this is Higgins' immediate reaction, including shielding his wife just to be on the safe side.
    Higgins: Oh shit!
• Pet the Dog: After George is shoved down by Rupert, and the latter is booed off the pitch by the crowd, Ted looks over to George with concern and gives him a reassuring nod. Likewise, after showing open contempt for Ted and Richmond throughout the entire show before this point, George accepts his defeat with dignity and congratulates Ted for the win.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: Ted and Beard give each other one before they part ways.
• Prophecy Twist: Tish's final prophecy was that Rebecca would become a mother, something Rebecca took umbrage to, as it's implied she can't have children. Here, it comes true in a metaphorical sense: the pub regulars tell Rebecca she's "like the mother we never had", and a newspaper describes her as the "club matriarch". Then it becomes true in a much more literal sense when she reunites with her Dutch lover and his young daughter.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Unsurprisingly, Sassy gives one to Rupert when she encounters him in the hospitality suite following the new allegations against him.
  Sassy: Heard the news. Ooh. Ouch. Looks like you're gonna lose another team. My God, you get through them like wives. Or mistresses. Or, I'm assuming, tubes of hemorrhoid cream. But in all seriousness, I do wish you the best. 'Cause you are the fucking worst.
• Recovery Sequence: Turns out everyone on the team kept the various pieces of the torn up "BELIEVE" sign and we get to see them putting it back together like a puzzle; then Nate repairs it with golden glitter glue.
• The Reveal:
  • The truth bomb Ted dropped on Rebecca during the last episode is that he's decided to retire as Richmond's manager once the season is finished and return to America permanently to be with Henry.
  • We finally learn Beard's first name. It's Willis.
  • It turns out Rebecca's Dutch mystery man works as a pilot, making their cross-country relationship logistically possible.
• Rule of Drama: It's stated that the Richmond/West Ham game has to come to a halt for several minutes whilst the goal is repaired after Isaac kicked the ball through the net; unless there was a similarly long delay in Manchester City's game, that would mean that AFC Richmond would have already known that City had won their game (and the league) before the final whistle blew on their game. Instead, it's stated as Richmond celebrate the win that they're still waiting on City's result to come in.
• Second Place Is for Winners: Richmond finishes the season with a dramatic come-from-behind win, a triumphant moral victory despite the fact that they still end up in second place after Man City wins their game to clinch the title. This is very much Truth in Television: unlike American sports which lack promotion or other leagues to qualify for, there actually are major benefits to finishing near the top of most football leagues, even if you don't win. As discussed earlier in the episode, Richmond qualify for the UEFA Champions League either way, plus the Premier League's second place cash prize is nearly as large as the one for first. Obviously a Premier League title is preferable, but second is still very prestigious, and reaching that level the season after promotion is an historic accomplishment.
• Shout-Out:
  • The episode is named after a song from The Sound of Music, and the team performs it for Ted and Beard during their last practice together.
  • Will and Nate have a short dispute whether Nate is the "assistant kitman" or the "assistant to the kitman", resembling the memetic "assistant regional manager" argument from both the British and American versions of The Office.
  • Zava retiring, unretiring a few months later, and sending his former fellow athletes a box of swag from his company, including shirts prominently featuring his own name, are all straight out of Tom Brady's playbook.
  • Zoreaux dons a black mask (an apology gift from Dani) and finally allows people to call him "Zorro".
  • Zava is mentioned in passing to have joined Los Angeles FC in MLS, much like how Zlatan Ibrahimović, one of his inspirations, played for LAFC's crosstown rival, the Los Angeles Galaxy.
  • When Keeley shows Rebecca the proposal for an AFC Richmond Women's Team, the document is labelled "A KBPR Joint" which mimics the way director Spike Lee credits his films.
  • In the final shot of the Crown and Anchor, Mae is seen straightening the very same photo of Geronimo that Sam Malone straightened in the series finale of Cheers. The original scene in Cheers was a tribute to Nicholas Colasanto, who had the photo in his dressing room before passing away mid-series. The character he played? Coach. Additionally, George Wendt, who played Norm Peterson in Cheers, is Jason Sudeikis' uncle.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: Jamie no longer wears a cap that reads "ICON". Instead, he wears one that reads "I, COG" to symbolize his transformation into a team player.
• Soccer-Hating Americans: Over in Kansas, Dr. Jacob is dismissive of the Richmond match and keeps making disparaging comments about soccer throughout the game; Henry and Michelle pointedly ignore this and watch with rapt attention, with Michelle even shushing Jacob at one point.
• So Proud of You:
  • Roy admits that he's proud of Jamie for all the hard work he's put in over the course of the season.
  • You can't hear it over the sound of the crowd, but Michael clearly tells Colin "I'm so proud of you" after the game.
• Stealth Pun: It turns out the man Rebecca met in Amsterdam is a pilot. He's a Flying Dutchman.
• Stupid Evil: Despite already facing increased public scrutiny in light of the allegations of sexual impropriety by Ms. Kakes, Rupert decides to not only walk onto the sidelines during the match to order George Cartrick to take Jamie out of the match, but to also assault Cartrick in full view of the stadium crowd and TV audience when he refuses to follow the order. The result is that Rupert destroys any credibility he had left with the public and is last seen leaving Nelson Road in disgrace as the crowd angrily chants "Wanker!" at him.
• Take a Third Option: When Keeley is asked to choose between Roy and Jamie, she chooses to kick them both out.
• Take That!: Before the game, Ted goes on a rant about how the naming conventions of the competitions surrounding the Premier League don't make any sense, as the bottom sides are relegated to the Championship whilst the top sides qualify for the similarily named UEFA Champions League, and how that name doesn't make any sense since the competition provides berths to clubs who failed to win their country's respective league title, before asking for an explanation as to how any of that makes sense and prompting Roy's single word of "Money."
• Testosterone Poisoning: Roy and Jamie get in a fistfight over Keeley. She chooses neither and kicks them out.
• Title Drop: A rather spectacular example with the AFC Richmond players actually performing "So Long, Farewell" from "The Sound of Music".
• Touché: When Isaac fines Nate £5,000 for missing every team event while he was managing West Ham, Nate admits it's fair and pays up.
• Underdogs Never Lose: Played With. Richmond started the season as underdogs (with the commentators noting that they had both had Richmond down to go relegated) but the team had a miraculous Cinderella story later in the season that now places them as title contenders. Going into their final game, the commentators also note that West Ham tends to beat them — but thanks to inspired plays and teamwork, Richmond win 3-2. However, they also lose out on the Premier League title due to circumstances outside of their control as their winning the league was contingent on Man City not winning.
• Villainous Breakdown: Chauvinist asshole ex-husband Rupert begins the episode having lost his head manager and wife and with accusations of workplace harassment hanging over his head. His grip continues to loosen the better Richmond plays. Finally, he attacks his manager on the pitch and is booed and insulted by the crowd before leaving. For bonus points, he's dressed in all black with a billowing longcoat to make him look even more ominous.
• Villain with Good Publicity: After three long seasons, this is finally subverted with Rupert. Before the episode even begins he's gone through another divorce and been accused of inappropriate behaviours by his employees, and after witnessing his altercation with George on the pitch, the crowd finally sees him for the spiteful monster he really is.
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • We see all of the team and many of their associates at Beard's wedding, but Ted and his family are conspicuously absent.
  • Edwin Akufo is never seen or heard from, despite having sworn to make Sam's life miserable in previous episodes. Sam is also shown in the Nigerian national team, something that Edwin had promised he would prevent. What exactly happened to him is never explained.
• "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: A montage of the main characters' futures after the show is shown at the end of the finale.
  • Roy is the new manager of Richmond.
  • Sam becomes a starter on the Nigerian team.
  • Keeley and Barbara's PR firm is thriving.
  • Trent's book, now titled The Richmond Way, sells like hotcakes.
  • Rebecca stays on as owner and starts a romance with the Dutchman she met in Amsterdam.
  • Rebecca and Keeley begin discussions to start a women's team.
  • Jamie reconciles with his father.
  • Nate has a happy family dinner, Jade included. It's also implied that he rejoins Richmond's coaching staff.
  • Sharon is hired as the team's official sports therapist, and she books an appointment with none other than Roy.
  • A pregnant Jane and Beard marry at Stonehenge, and the ceremony is attended by the team and their associates, including Mae and the pub regulars.
  • Mae and the pub guys are gifted shares of the club and will presumably continue to be loyal fans.
  • Richmond has a hearty barbecue at Higgins' place.
  • Montlaur briefly serves as Bex's rebound fling, later he is seen attending Beard's wedding with a different lady.
  • Ted starts coaching his son's soccer team.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit:
  • Jamie nets Richmond a penalty kick by diving tactfully and looking much more injured than he actually was.
  • Beard fakes a burst appendix to get himself off the flight back to Kansas City.

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