*Keeley-related spoilers for season 3.*
In my Favorite Characters post on Keeley, I danced around the issue of season 3 a bit. Now, I’m not entirely down on season 3—I ultimately found it worthwhile, even if I think seasons 1 and 2 are stronger. But I do think Keeley is poorly served by her storylines in it, and as someone who loves her character, that made things frustrating.
At the end of season 2, Keeley receives the opportunity to start her own PR firm, spreading her wings even further, but it turns out to be a pretty rough experience for her. It doesn’t help that she and Roy break up as she’s getting things off the ground—her self-esteem and general happiness is hit hard most of the season. Another immediate disadvantage is that she spends much of the season shunted off into her own plots, away from the main cast. Less Keeley-Rebecca time is definitely a bad thing!
Working for Richmond, Keeley didn’t fret over her lack of credentials. She trusted her instincts and walked into any room confident that she belonged in it. By contrast, as the head of KJPR, Keeley frequently second-guesses herself, so concerned with proving she deserves this chance that she gets in her own head and is unable to do what she does best. She lets Barbara, her very corporate-minded CFO, make her feel bad about her relative inexperience and lack of book smarts, and when a client throws in a big last-minute request during a commercial shoot, she freezes, unable to step in as Boss Bitch Keeley with the out-of-the-box ideas. Her most forceful business decision, hiring her old friend Shandy over Barbara’s objections, backfires spectacularly. Shandy shows some initiative that makes Keeley want to give her a leg up, but she quickly demonstrates her tactlessness and unprofessionalism, which gives the firm a bad name. Keeley feels hamstrung, wanting to protect her brand, but reluctant to fire her friend/admit that her big swing was a total miss.
Things get worse when Keeley enters into an ill-advised relationship with Jack, the VC who’s funding her firm. While she was always her own person while dating both Jamie and Roy, she gets a little lost in this new relationship, getting so cozy in her love nest that she ignores her friends and allowing Jack to overwhelm her with her lavish, lovebomby gifts. She takes up less space to make more room for Jack, and it’s really a bummer to watch.
It takes something major to wake Keeley up to the fact that Jack isn’t a good match for her. When an old sexy video of her is leaked in a hack on an ex’s account, Jack’s idea of “damage” control is to have her dad’s lawyers draft a statement for Keeley to release, apologizing for “letting people down” by joyously expressing her sexuality to her boyfriend at the time, shaming Keeley for her behavior in the video instead of acknowledging the gross violation of her privacy. Keeley is able to reclaim enough self-worth to know she shouldn’t have to go along with Jack’s slut-shaming apology, but rather than rightfully kicking Jack to the curb, she begs her not to leave in the ensuing fight.
Fortunately, she’s able to right the ship by the end of the season, but the whole thing just isn’t what I would’ve wanted for Keeley. I’d have been fine with missteps and growing pains as she navigated this new role, but I wanted to see way more of her landing on her feet and finding ways to solve her own problems. Honestly, she feels kind of damselly at different points in the season, and that’s just not the Keeley Jones I know.
On a final note, it really bothers me that Keeley and Roy don’t get back together by the end of the season, and not just because I’m such a fan of their pairing. I feel like this decision reflects a misunderstanding of both characters and their dynamic as a couple, but specifically for Keeley, I don’t like the unspoken implication that she needs to be on her own to be strong. Because the thing, she is strong in the first two seasons. She’s literally Keeley Jones, the Independent Woman! She’s cute as a button and can rhyme her ass off. She casually comes into Rebecca's life and becomes one of her best friends through nonjudgmental mutual support, advice, and gossip. She falls into good luck with a new position she wasn't trained for and runs with it, showing people she’s capable of so much more than just being sort of famous for being almost famous. She doesn't apologize for her sexuality, whether that’s her past relationships, being turned on by vulnerability (and knowing that she can be in a happy/healthy relationship and still enjoy masturbation,) or being gobsmacked by the glorious sight of a photo of Rebecca sunbathing in the nude. When she gets together with Roy, they’re partners, supporting each other, having fun together, and talking things out when they have issues. She recognizes that she can love Roy and still need time to herself sometimes, and she doesn't have any grumbles when their Sexy Christmas plans turn into walking around looking for a dentist for Phoebe.
It doesn't make sense to me that anyone would look at all that and think the only way she can really become strong or independent is to have her boyfriend break up with her. It feels like an extension of the “Strong Female Character Who Doesn’t Need a Man!” trope. Well, sure, of course she doesn’t need one, but what’s wrong with wanting or choosing somebody, and having them want/choose her back?
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