Editor's Note: The following contains minor spoilers from Season 3 Episode 4 of Ted Lasso.The first interaction we see between Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) and Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) saw the former call the team’s best player a “little prick” while the latter responds by calling him a “granddad.” That was back in the second episode of Ted Lasso, so seeing these two men reach the point we see them at in Season 3 is quite remarkable. They had a classic rival among teammates. Roy was the aging veteran on his final leg while Jamie was the most talented on the team and knew it, so he also was arrogant. They each found the other to be callous, but in reality, they were much more similar than they thought. One of the things that has made Ted Lasso such a popular show besides the good-natured inspiration of Jason Sudeikis as the lead has been the two character arcs of these individuals, particularly how we have seen them grow similarly. As we head towards the halfway point of Season 3, Roy and Jamie don’t have that vitriol for one another, instead turning their despise of one another into an actual friendship/mentorship that has become the best thing about Ted Lasso.
Roy and Jamie Have Come so Far in Three Seasons
In an unforeseen twist, what actually has changed these two men for the better is something that could have very easily brought them back to their old ways. When the series first begins, it's Jamie who is dating Keeley Jones (Juno Temple). As we see rather quickly, their connection is nothing more than physical and Keeley can no longer wait for him to become the man she believes he can be. That’s when she ends up finding the man she wants in Roy. The two are together all the way up until the end of Season 2 when it becomes evident that something is just off with them. The reason for that is that with Roy’s new job as an assistant coach and a commentator and Keeley’s start-up PR firm, they became too busy for one another.
While both relationships came to an abrupt end, what the two men gained from Keeley was vital to their self-growth. Losing Keeley made Jamie realize his flaws. The arc we see him go on in Season 2 specifically is one that we never could have imagined. There are multiple scenes that show his vulnerability (something Keeley wanted to see from him), including his broken relationship with his father in which he ends up standing up to him in front of his teammates. We later see him explain to Keeley why he returned to Richmond after leaving for Manchester City, telling her it was for her, “I finally think I’m becoming the best version of myself, the kind of man that you always knew that I could be.” Jamie has been on quite the ride in this series. There was even a time when he went on reality television, but all of his time away from Richmond helped him become a better person.
Similarly, Roy has undergone a transformation that no longer sees him as the prickly old man on the team but rather a lovable character who tells it like it is. That scene in which we see Jamie admit to coming full circle to Keeley extended right into Roy entering the room and telling Keeley how he feels about her, “We only got this one life and I don’t want to waste a second of it.” How we got to this point was all because of Roy’s relationship with Keeley, who was able to shape him in a way she couldn’t with Jamie. While the latter had to go and find himself elsewhere, Roy needed to feel loved before he could reach his full potential. We see how he interacts with his niece, Phoebe, and can tell there’s a good person in there. Keeley was able to get him to be vulnerable, even to a point where he actually is more willing to engage in conversations with the other coaches. While Roy and Keeley made for a fun love story, and as much as we’d love to see them get back together, their purpose was accomplished in getting Roy on the right track, just as Keeley’s breakup of Jamie served its own purpose.
All of That Has Brought Them Together
This love triangle didn’t destroy these three, instead, it strengthened each individual in a way that makes them stand on their own. We wouldn’t get this Roy and Jamie friendship had it not been for everything that played out in the first two seasons. The moment that really helped to jumpstart these two was the Season 2 finale which sees Jamie pass off the chance at the game-winning penalty kick to Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez) which again shows how much he’s changed. With the successful PK, Richmond earns their way back up to the Premier League as we see an embrace only fit for Roy and Jamie with the former headbutting him in celebration before giving him a hug and jumping up and down.
Now we get to see these two characters wearing matching headlamps for their early morning training sessions. Roy’s offer to help train Jamie speaks to how far they’ve come. Roy knows how Jamie is feeling as the former star who is being replaced. With Zava (Maximillian Osinski) leading the way now, Jamie doesn’t feel as important, and it’s carrying over into his life away from the pitch. The scene in which Roy extends the help while at Sam’s new restaurant is brilliant in how it encapsulates this budding bromance. There’s a banter between the two where even if they poke fun at one another they can now find the positive in it, as indicated when Jamie responds to Roy telling him he’s no longer the best, “You thought I was the best?” Small moments like these are what have built this duo into the one all of us are rooting for. Who would have thought we’d ever reach this point with these two clashing players?
Ted Lasso releases new episodes every Wednesday on Apple+.