*A few spoilers.*
I’ve been rewatching Ted Lasso—in the hopes that doing so will manifest a premiere date for season 3?—and I’m being reminded afresh how much I absolutely adore the series. It has so much going for it, and while certain aspects are more favorite to me than others, such as most things Roy Kent does, it’s an utter embarrassment of riches. Today, I’m looking at the delightful friendship between Rebecca and Keeley.
As with many things on Ted Lasso, where we begin is decidedly not where we end up. One of the first ways Rebecca tries to sabotage Ted on her revenge mission to torpedo AFC Richmond is by hiring a paparazzo to take misleading photos of Ted and Keeley together. Keeley’s dating Jamie, the team’s star player, so Rebecca is hoping to crush any hope of Jamie cooperating with Ted while simultaneously starting a firestorm in the press. She’s not specifically out to get Keeley, but Keeley is just collateral damage within this plan.
It doesn’t go off as planned, largely by luck on Keeley and Ted’s part, and Rebecca is forced to scrap it. However, it’s in the very next episode that Rebecca gets something else she doesn’t expect: when Keeley stops by to thank Rebecca for “helping” them deal with the photo situation, they wind up bonding over the media’s tasteless treatment of Rebecca amid her divorce. Keeley, unprompted, talks about how furious it made her to see Rebecca get dragged by the press when her ex-husband was the one who’d been cheating. One thing leads to another, and somehow, it ends with Rebecca showing Keeley some nude paparazzi photos that she’d paid to keep from running, and Keeley is fantastically effusive in her admiration for Rebecca’s figure.
This whole scene is so effective because Keeley just comes into Rebecca’s pristine office like a whirlwind and throws the calculating, controlled woman for a loop. She’s a bit like Ted in that way, but while Ted’s folksy charm is in part a deliberate strategy to disarm people, Keeley is just no-filter authentic, complete with taking off her shoes in Rebecca’s office, announcing that she’s decided not to be afraid of Rebecca anymore, and opening admitting that she’s acting like “a teenage boy” in response to Rebecca’s glorious nude photos. It’s an interaction without agenda on Keeley’s part, and Rebecca is taken aback by the younger woman’s blunt remarks and chaotic warmth.
From there, their relationship grows quickly. Keeley gives Rebecca some quick red-carpet pointers when she’s feeling insecure about her looks. Rebecca recognizes Keeley’s genuine talents and offers her a job, arguing that “men give each other jobs in the toilets all the time” when Keeley questions whether she deserves it. By season 2, they’re attending matches together and reveling in the details of each other’s personal lives, and Keeley flourishes as a professional under Rebecca’s mentorship.
They advise one another, celebrate one another, and make one another laugh. All the while, they’re hilarious together as an odd couple that thrives on their differences rather than gets annoyed by them. And even though the series recognizes the gender dynamics of this important female friendship, it never feels like it’s being held up as an Important Female Friendship, if that makes sense. It just is, with two friends who love each other and make things happen together. I love it so much, and I can’t wait to get more of these two next season.
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