For the entirety of Ted Lasso‘s Season 3 run thus far, TedBecca shippers have tuned in to the Apple TV+ dramedy week after week in hopes that Ted (Jason Sudeikis) and Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) would realize they’re endgame.

With each passing episode, the chunk of the fandom that’s convinced the AFC Richmond owner and coach are soulmates savor and dissect shared scenes while not-so-secretly hoping for more — more flirting, romantic tension, heavy conversations, a kiss, or ANY sign that their TedBecca dreams will be realized before the season, and potentially the series, ends on May 31. With only the Season 3 finale remaining, some fans are certain the show will keep Ted and Rebecca platonic. But despite the lack of major progress made between the two throughout the season, the most fervent TedBecca fans still have faith that the show will deliver. Why? Because of rom-coms.

Season 3’s penultimate episode, “Mom City,” ended on quite the TedBecca cliffhanger when Ted and Rebecca met at their spot (with one twist) and Ted told his boss he had a big “truth bomb” to drop. Some fans feel Ted’s about to profess his love for Rebecca. But with theories that Jason Sudeikis is leaving the show, Ted’s heading back to Kansas to be with his son, and Nate will return to Richmond to help coach the team in his absence, it may be more likely that Ted will tell Rebecca he’s leaving. And if that’s the case, there’s still — yes, STILL — hope that the two will realize their romantic potential before Season 3’s end.

Ted Lasso has featured too many rom-com references to recount right now, but the most straightforward comes in Season 2, Episode 5, “Rainbow.”

“I believe in communism. Rom-communism, that is. It’s a worldview that reminds us that if folks like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, or Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant… if all these attractive people, with their amazing apartments and interesting jobs, usually in some creative field, can go through some light-hearted struggles and still end up happy, then so can we,” Ted tells the team. “Believin’ in rom-communism is about believin’ that everything’s gonna work out in the end. But these next few months might be tricky. And that’s just cuz we’re goin’ through our dark forest. Fairy tales don’t start, nor do they end, in the dark forest. No, the big, scary forest is always in the middle of the story. But it will all work out. Now it may not work out how you think, or hope, or expect, but BELIEVE ME. It will work out exactly as it’s supposed to.”

Now, if TedBecca shippers were to take the show’s penchant for rom-com references and Ted’s belief in rom-communism — namely this very speech, which can also sound like a pep talk for viewers if you want it to — as signs, then it’s crucial to remember the majority of rom-coms don’t see the main characters get together until the very end of the film. That means there’s still time for Ted and Rebecca to have their TedBecca moment, even if — and perhaps because — there’s just one episode left.

Even more rom-com theories were sparked by “Mom City” when the team watched (and sobbed to) Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail and Ted took a moment to admit he prefers Sleepless in Seattle, a film that loosely mirrors his life and — spoiler alert — ends with its protagonists getting together at the last possible second. Hmmm…

Going into the finale, Rebecca’s psychic prophecy from earlier in the season still hasn’t been realized, which leads us to assume she’ll get her “struck by fucking lightning” moment soon enough. TedBecca fans were quick to assume that Rebecca’s prophecy was about her and Ted for a number of reasons — the chief one being that she was told she would have a family and become a mother, and Ted already has son — but it’s worth noting that Ted isn’t the only romantic prospect for Rebecca at the moment. That rando Dutch guy who rescued her from the canal also has a child. Plus, several signs in Season 3 pointed to Sam and Rebecca reigniting their romantic spark, and just because Rebecca was told she can’t have kids doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to have a family or be a mother.

If Ted’s truth bomb is that he’s going back to America after the final match of the season, that gives him and Rebecca time to process the weight of saying goodbye, consider their lives without each other, and sort out their feelings for one another. Even if Ted and Rebecca aren’t endgame in the sense that they live happily ever after with Henry, some fans predict the finale could at least deliver a romantic rom-com worthy airport scene between the two. But would that be enough?

Maybe Ted Lasso was a rom-com all along, or maybe it’s the hope that kills us. But whether the breadcrumbs were purposeful — in preparation for some grand TedBecca moment — or simply done in service of fan theories, the potential for Ted and Rebecca to become more than friends was undoubtedly there the whole time. If it turns out they don’t end up together, if the finale doesn’t work out how you think, or hope, or expect. Just remember Ted’s rom-communism words of wisdom: “It will work out exactly as it’s supposed to.”

Ted Lasso is now streaming on Apple TV+.