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May 28, 2023

Why Ted Lasso Season 3 Ended With Cat Stevens' "Father And Son"

The Ted Lasso season 3 finale featured multiple songs, but the ending song,

The Ted Lasso season 3 finale featured multiple songs, but the ending song, "Father and Son" by Cat Stevens was a clear standout for its meaning.

The Ted Lasso season 3 finale featured a perfect and poignant needle drop with Cat Stevens’ "Father and Son" to end Ted's story and time with AFC Richmond. The Ted Lasso season 3 ending could very well be the ending of the series entirely, with Jason Sudeikis saying that the story they intended to tell was always meant to be only three seasons long. While this is sad news for viewers of the Apple TV+ hit comedy, Ted's ending was made all the more meaningful through the usage of Cat Stevens’ popular 1970 track, "Father and Son," as the very last song in Ted Lasso season 3.

The Ted Lasso season 3 finale centered around AFC Richmond's final game against West Ham United in hopes of claiming the Premier League title before Ted left the team to return home to Kansas. This was a hard decision that clearly weighed heavily on Ted's mind as he had to choose between the place he’d made a home over the past three years and the place that had been his home his entire life. If there isn't a Ted Lasso season 4, viewers can be comforted by the fact that Cat Stevens’ "Father and Son" provided a great explanation for Ted's decision and a conclusion to his story.

Related: What Jason Sudeikis Has Said About Ted Lasso Season 4

Ted Lasso has become known for its great soundtrack, and the season 3 finale was no exception. Along with Cat Stevens’ "Father and Son," there was even a performance of "So Long, Farewell" from The Sound of Music by the AFC Richmond players, which also happened to be the finale episode's title. "Father and Son" is a unique song in the fact that it's sung by one person, but from two perspectives, a father and a son. Ted's decision to leave Richmond for Kansas was fueled by the fact that his son misses him, and he too misses being a part of his son's everyday life.

In the tearjerker ending to the previous episode, Ted Lasso season 3, episode 11, Ted revealed to his mother that he was afraid of getting too close to Henry because he will eventually leave him. In Cat Stevens’ "Father and Son," some lyrics from the son's perspective are, "I know that I have to go away / I know I have to go," while his father implores him to stay. This exemplifies Ted's relationship with his son as he is afraid of losing him, but it also works from the father's perspective, as Ted knew he had to go back to Kansas to be back with his son.

Ted and Henry's relationship was also explained with The Beatles’ "Hey Jude" earlier in Ted Lasso season 3, highlighting the effect Ted's absence had on his son. Cat Stevens’ "Father and Son" is all about a turning point in that relationship, and while it's the son that makes the move in the lyrics, Ted Lasso makes it so that it's Ted who is changing their relationship for the better. There's a sort of sadness to "Father and Son," but the Ted Lasso season 3 finale uses the optimism it's become known for to show that Ted and Henry's relationship is only going to improve from here on out.