If you’re in line to see Roy Kent and Keeley Jones get back together on Ted Lasso, STAY IN LINE.
Yes, I know when Ted Lasso‘s controversial Season 3 finale wrapped, Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple’s iconic characters were Just Friends. And three years later, the soulmates are still just “really, really good friends.” But I’m truly, madly, deeply convinced that we’re getting Roy/Keeley endgame — and not just because Goldstein, also a Ted Lasso writer, fancies romance and is rooting for them…
Beyond the palpable chemistry, sexual tension, and lingering romantic feelings Roy and Keeley so clearly share, Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 2, “Curiouser and Curiouser!” features one sure — albeit subtle — sign that the show will reignite that spark and make things right. So although our legs are exhausted from standing in this line for three whole years, I’m here to share why I BELIEVE it will all be worth it — unless, of course, Ted Lasso toys with our fragile emotions again, which it better not.
Spoilers for Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 2 ahead.
Ted Lasso Season 4, Episode 2 sees Ted (Jason Sudeikis) back in Richmond, reuniting with old pals and meeting the women’s team. The show wastes no time shining a spotlight on the many disparities between women’s and men’s sports, right down to the “shit” ladies’ locker room, which Keeley makes it her mission to fix. As she plans a much-needed glow-up of the creepy visitors’ locker room with uneven benches and flickering lights, Roy looks on, cracks a smile, and bursts in to save the day.
Though it’s been three years since we’ve seen these two share the screen, Keeley Fucking Jones — the fierce, fabulous, fashionable Woman on Top — and Roy Fucking Kent — the gruff, gentle-hearted, ridiculously sexy gaffer — still got it. As Roy explains how he booby-trapped the room to make visiting players “feel like they’re fucking hallucinating,” Keeley is utterly captivated. When he reveals that Jonathan, the understudy rat from a Harry Potter play Phoebe (Elodie Blomfield) dragged him to, is trained to spook visitors, she’s reminded of Roy’s soft side. Then, as he calmly, confidently kneels to knock wooden blocks out from benches and moves closer to her to declare, “No one could know my secrets,” sexual tension skyrockets.
Before the A+ locker room scenes end, Roy asks Keeley for advice. “I’m afraid that I’m losing someone. I thought we had something, but their heart is with another,” he explains. Though Roy’s talking about Beard (Brendan Hunt), the statement intentionally applies to the exes, as well. Keeley’s replies, “I think keeping two people apart who belong together is bad. Not just for them, but for everybody.” And the two share a soul-piercing stare before Roy looks around the room, raises an eyebrow, and replies, “You know this is the first time we’ve been alone together in three years.” (Sidenote: How in the world?!) Keeley leans over and whispers into Roy’s ear, “We are not alone.” Cut to Jonathan the rat! And just like that, the tension is diffused. Thankfully, the scene confirms we don’t have to fear: Roy and Keeley’s endgame is near! How do I know? The song that plays during their shared scene!
Photo: Apple TV
After Keeley drops that nugget of wisdom about keeping people who belong together apart, music swells to set the mood. The hopeful instrumentals — which are vocal-free and only last 32 seconds — could easily be mistaken as part of Ted Lasso‘s score, designed specifically as background music to elevate a silent scene. But the music marks the start of “When I Get My Hands On You” by The New Basement Tapes. And that’s huge!
If the band sounds familiar in Ted Lasso terms, The New Basement Tapes’ “Kansas City” was just featured in Season 4’s premiere. The supergroup, comprised of Marcus Mumford, Jim James, Elvis Costello, Taylor Goldsmith, and Rhiannon Giddens, came together to perform songs featuring lyrics Bob Dylan penned in 1967. (You might also remember The Basement Tapes.) Like “Kansas City,” “When I Get My Hands On You” is from the 2014 album Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes. And for our Roy/Keeley endgame argument, it’s essential we read the lyrics, even though Ted Lasso doesn’t let us hear them.
“When I come home to you/Hold you in my arms all night,” “When I get my hands on you/Gonna make you marry me,” and “Everywhere on earth you go/You’re gonna have me as your man,” tell a story of someone’s intense love, passion, and devotion for another. As Mumford’s raw, romantic, downright dreamy vocals sing the words, it’s hard not to swoon — especially when thinking of the song in the context of Roy and Keeley. And as a hardcore fan of Bill Lawrence shows, I’m well aware that Ted Lasso music supervisors Tony Von Pervieux and Christa Miller know ball.
Ted Lasso‘s first three seasons delivered a long list of iconic music moments, featuring relevant, thoughtfully-placed needle drops like David Bowie’s “Diamond Dogs,” Celeste’s “Strange,” The Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow,” Beyoncé’s “Ring the Alarm,” Andrew Bird’s “Night Falling,” Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ “Red Right Hand,” and more.
I also recently wrapped coverage on Season 3 of Apple TV’s Shrinking, which had another slapping soundtrack courtesy of the dynamic music supervisor duo. Jason Segel’s “Nightswimming” cover, Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years,” and Brandi Carlile’s “You Without Me” are just a few song selections that perfectly supported the show’s storylines. So I refuse to believe our trusty music supervisors would hand-pick such a pointed song for that Roy and Keeley scene if it didn’t deeply resonate with their eventual journey.
Am I watching Ted Lasso through the lens of a hopeless romantic rom-communist dreamer? It wouldn’t be the first time! And boy have I been burned before! But as Ted once said, it’s the lack of hope that kills you. So I’m just a girl, reapplying my clown makeup, choosing to take this one small detail as evidence that Sudeikis and the writers saw the error of their ways in Season 3 and returned, in part, to get Roy and Keeley back together.
Will it be a smooth, swift romantic reconciliation? Surely not! But I’ve had “When I Get My Hands On You” playing on a loop all morning, and I’m a Roy/Keeley believer. So I’m gonna need Ted Lasso to prove me right here.
Stay tuned for more Ted Lasso Season 4 coverage from Decider.
