Neurodivergent (Headcanon) Alley: Keeley Jones (Ted Lasso)

*Keeley-related spoilers.*

Once I started looking for neurodivergence in Ted Lasso, I saw it everywhere. I’m not sure how many characters from the show I’ll end up covering on this particular jaunt—before my attention pulls me

 in a different direction—so I’m rightly starting with my favorites. I’ve already looked at Roy and Ted, and now I have to talk about Keeley!

When it comes to neurodivergent coding on Ted Lasso, Keeley might initially be put forth as a contender for Most Likely to Be Neurotypical, but a lot of that is trappings. A somewhat-celebrity from having dated multiple footballers, she models and later does PR for AFC Richmond, a job she does so well that she eventually gets the opportunity to start her own firm. She doesn’t really appear to struggle socially. When people think about neurodivergence, they probably don’t picture Keeley.

But honestly, if this woman is neurotypical, I’ll eat my hat. Personally, I see an autistic/ADHD combo with Keeley, though I could also be persuaded by arguments of just ADHD. The first thing I want to look at here is her bluntness and honesty. Keeley speaks what’s on her mind, enthusiastically and without filter. Her friendship with Rebecca begins when she drops in on Rebecca’s office and announces, “I’ve decided not to be scared of you anymore,” and that same conversation ends with her cheerfully declaring how gobsmacked she is by a glorious photo of Rebecca sunbathing topless. When Roy asks if she’s talking to her friends about their relationship, Rebecca and Higgins try to cover, but Keeley immediately, casually replies, “Yeah, we’re talking about you.” She values being direct, and being herself, and for the most part, she doesn’t stress over what people think of her based on that.

Keeley’s energy and excitability definitely give off ADHD vibes. When she’s happy, she’s liable to scream or squeal, and like Roy, she’s rarely shy about yelling curses in public. She doesn’t get embarrassed about showing strong emotions, including crying in front of her friends. She takes up space to make herself comfortable and doesn’t apologize for that. In her professional life, she stills surrounds herself with fun, pretty things that make her happy, even if they’re not “grown-up” things—stuff like pens with fuzzy balls on the end or sparkly unicorn notebooks.

Again, Keeley doesn’t seem to have a lot of issues with social skills and communication. She’s a friendly, loving person who generally gets along with people, and while her boisterous bluntness isn’t necessarily socially “appropriate,” her traits endear her to others more easily than, say, Roy’s withdrawn gruffness. And she knows how to mask when she needs to. It adds up to someone who might camouflage their neurodivergent traits better than some of the other characters.

But masking, of course, has a toll, and Keeley is always at her best when she’s leaning into everything that makes her Keeley. I’ve been thinking lately that her difficulties with really coming into her own at KJPR might be down to neurodivergence and masking. First, there’s the added pressure of running her own firm, with VC backing. It brings logistical/business challenges she’s never had to deal with before, she’s so busy she has to “make time in [her] schedule to sit at [her] desk and cry,” and she’s no longer surrounded by the people she knows/loves/is comfortable with. For the first time, she’s managing an office and a staff, but she didn’t hire these people. The VC group brought them in, like they were setting up a prefab firm and just plopped Keeley into it. All these things pile up, not to mention being in a new relationship that monopolizes her time and focus, and it leads to what I think is the crux of Keeley’s problems with KJPR: she’s not thinking and acting like Keeley, not really. She’s so intent on 1) keeping her backers happy/not squandering their investment and 2) doing what she thinks a kickass PR person is supposed to do that she doesn’t pay attention to her own instincts. Under that intense scrutiny (real or perceived,) she flails, freezing up in situations that she would’ve confidently handled back when she was working for Rebecca. Her mojo is thrown off-balance because she’s acting like a version of who she thinks she ought to be, not who she actually is. In order to reclaim her swagger and rediscover her savviness, she has to go back to doing things her way.

Crimes Against Keeley Jones (Ted Lasso)

*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?

Favorite Characters: Keeley Jones (Ted Lasso)

*Keeley-related spoilers.*

The last time I talked about Ted Lasso, I was focusing on Jamie, a character who shot onto my Favorite Characters list during his development in season 3. Unfortunately, the recent season wasn’t nearly as strong for Keeley, which made her scenes frustrating to watch. On balance, though, those issues don’t take away from my love for the character at her best—her presence makes me appreciate the show even more!

In the pilot, we’re introduced to Keeley as Jamie’s girlfriend. She’s a model, and maybe an influencer, and something of a professional “footballer’s girlfriend”—she explains to Ted in an early episode that she’s “sort of famous for being almost famous.” Our very first impression of her is all sex appeal and excess, and you might make the mistake of thinking that she’s more of a trophy than a person.

However, Keeley very quickly distinguishes herself from the sort of static trope who only exists for the sake of a male character. She’s outspoken and a quick study, making insightful observations about other characters with a disarming frankness. When she and Ted are photographed in what appears to be a compromising position, she rattles off several wordplay-laced prospective tabloid headlines, informing Ted, “I’m cute as a button and can rhyme my arse off.” She decides that she’s not going to be intimidated by Rebecca, ingratiating herself into the frosty club owner’s life with her scatterbrained energy and bluntness. And when Jamie plays some ego-stroking games at her expense, she dumps him, even though it scares her a little to make such a big move.

Keeley is smart, kind, and confident. She doesn’t suffer fools, but she doesn’t look for slights around every corner. After breaking things off with Jamie, Rebecca gives her a job doing some marketing work for the team, and she flourishes. With her knack for branding and talent for thinking on her toes, Keeley does well in her new job, showing just how capable she is. She demonstrated that she was fully her own person even she was a footballer’s girlfriend, but now, her talent and initiative are on display for everyone to see.

This is part of the reason why, as she and Roy circle around each other and finally get together near the end of season 2, it never feels like Keeley is subsumed into the relationship. She doesn’t become a character “for Roy” any more than she was for Jamie; she continues to succeed in her career, gaining outside acclaim for her accomplishments, and her delightful friendship with Rebecca remains a big part of her life. And in her relationship with Roy, she doesn’t apologize for her sexual history, is open about her turn-ons, and handles conflicts by talking about them.

This is a Favorite Characters post, so I don’t want to talk much about Keeley’s story in season 3 here—I’ll get into that more on another day. Suffice it to say, when I think about Keeley Jones, I’m forever and always going to be thinking about seasons 1 and 2.