Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 Episode 9 of Ted Lasso.Take your pick on your favorite part about Ted Lasso. Maybe it's the uber positive namesake coach, played by Jason Sudeikis, whom you love most. Maybe it's the growth of Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and his burgeoning bromance with his once enemy, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster). Or perhaps it's the best friend goals in the relationship between Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) and the AFC Richmond owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham). If none of those are what you love most about the Apple TV+ series, it's because you most likely prefer another combination of these names: the love affair between Roy and Keeley.
Seeing Roy and Keeley get together and the effect they've had on each other has been so heartwarming to watch. For Keeley, after her toxic relationship with Jamie, she found a man in Roy who made her feel safe and special. For Roy, who is so angry and uptight, Keeley's carefree nature helped to loosen him up. They were great for each other — and then they broke up. In no time Keeley was with someone else, falling head over heels for her boss, Jack (Jodi Balfour). Their romance quickly fell apart, however, in such a way that makes one wonder, was it all just a quick detour on the way to Keeley and Roy getting back together and nothing more?
‘Ted Lasso’ Fans Were Upset by the Decision To Have Roy and Keeley Break Up
Break-ups happen in sitcoms. It's damn near mandatory. When you take a will-they-won't-they couple and tease putting them together, then put them together quickly, as Ted Lasso did, you can't just instantly keep them together to live happily ever after. From Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) on Friends, to Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) on The Office, you need conflict, even if we're sure that the sitcom trope will have them reconciling and with each other forever. They have to break up so there can be drama and another feel-good moment of them getting back together.
So, with that known, a storyline involving Roy and Keeley breaking up isn't so shocking. The upsetting part for fans of Ted Lasso is how it was done. There was conflict brewing in Season 2 between Keeley and Roy. Their lives were changing, with Keeley now as the CEO of her own PR firm, and Roy transitioning from the life of a player to one of a coach, but they sat down and had a heart-to-heart. They acknowledged how busy they were and how hard it was going to be to find time for each other, but both resolved to work at it because they wanted the relationship that much.
That plot makes sense. We could watch Roy and Keeley begin to drift apart due to their careers, see them on the ropes, but finding each other again. Instead, poof, just like that in the first episode of Season 3, they're breaking it to Roy's niece, Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield), that they've broken up. For most of the season that has followed, they've stayed apart. There have been a few brief moments of pained glances at the other, but mostly it felt like the relationship hadn't meant much at all. To make matters worse, the writers then came up with a new subplot that has frustrated many: Keeley moved on and found someone else.
Keeley Quickly Moves on From Roy in 'Ted Lasso' Season 3
Normally, it would be admirable to see a character, especially a woman, be able to stay strong in the face of losing a relationship. Society has too often it made it appear that women care about relationships way more than men, and that without a man in her life, she will crumble and fade away into oblivion, sitting in her sweatpants crying into a pint of ice cream. Keeley is one of Ted Lasso's best characters due to how strong she is. She went from being a model to a CEO. She speaks up for herself. And even after Roy breaks her heart, she forces herself to get up and move. The problem, however, is that she moved right into someone else's arms.
The inclusion of Jack as Keeley's new boss was a smart move on paper. Ted Lasso needed to add new characters to keep from getting stale. Perhaps Jack would disagree with how Keeley ran the company, leading to some conflict there. Nope, Jack was as cool as could be. There was an interesting angle that saw Keeley and Jack quickly becoming such close friends that Keeley wasn't there for Rebecca when she needed her, after she received the heartbreaking news that she couldn't have kids. That was barely explored though, as her and Keeley's relationship has stayed strong.
Instead of that, Keeley and Jack fell for each other. That move wasn't totally out of left field. While it hadn't been explored yet in Ted Lasso, Keeley has mentioned being bisexual. And while we love to see Keeley embracing her sexuality in all forms, the fact that she so quickly moved on makes it seem like her relationship with Roy didn't matter as much to her. On the flip side, Roy hasn't been seeing anyone else. In fact, he's thrown himself into his work as a way to distract himself, but he's grown too, becoming more caring and tolerant of others. Keeley simply fell for someone else weeks later as if Roy hadn't mattered much. This wasn't a case of Keeley and Jack coming off as a rebound relationship. They seemed happy and healthy.
The Fast Romance Between Keeley and Jack Didn't Make Sense
There were flaws in Keeley and Jack's relationship straight away, with Jack coming on too strong, filling up Keeley's office with flowers and secretly paying for a meal between her and Rebecca. It didn't come between them though. Keeley talked to Rebecca about it, who told her she was being "love bombed," and then outspoken Keeley told Jack about it, who quickly understood and agreed to do better. It was very healthy. Jack is such a laid back, confident character, unashamed of anything, that she told the office about her and Keeley's relationship as soon as it began. She had no need for things to gets weird, no need to hide who she is.
Out of the blue, that all quickly changed. Recent episodes have seen Keeley dealing with the hacked release of a nude video she'd made for someone. It's left her humiliated. As woke as Jack seems to be, you'd think she'd have her side, angry about the release and supportive of Keeley. Instead, out of nowhere, against her character, she is embarrassed only for herself. She writes up a statement for Keeley to send out, one where Keeley will apologize for the video being released, and where she'll go so far as to say that she should have never even made it. Keeley, unashamed of who she is, refuses to do that. She tells Jack she won't apologize, that she's not sorry for creating a personal video. Jack is taken aback. How will this make her look? It's bizarre to see Jack now suddenly caring what other people think when she didn't care that anyone knew she was in a relationship not only with another woman, but a woman who is one of her employees. But a private nude video is suddenly too much? Jack leaves, and now she won't return Keeley's texts.
It makes little sense until you look at the big picture. Jack is nothing more than a story arc, a short detour on the way back to the original path. Roy has already approached Keeley to make sure she was okay. He completely botches his concern by asking who she made the video for, but her hurt reaction to that question, and his shame in asking it, shows how much they still care for each other. They're certain to end up together soon, which is great, but Ted Lasso went the wrong direction in getting there. Keeley's quick here-and-gone hookup with Jack makes Keeley not come across as the strong female character she is. She seems like someone who needs to be in a relationship. Jamie didn't work, so she quickly moved to Roy. Roy didn't work, so she jumped to Jack. Jack fell apart, so it's back to Roy. That's not who Keeley is. And that's not who Keeley and Roy are.
Ted Lasso will release its Season 3 finale on May 17 on Apple TV.