Jack And Keeley's 'Devastating' Ted Lasso Season 3 Scene Was A Blast Behind The Scenes
That scene between Keeley and Jack was potentially the roughest moment in episode 9 of the third season of "Ted Lasso." Thanks in large part to the performances of both Juno Temple and Jodi Balfour, the scene highlighted a key moment when the honeymoon phase of new love dies. Though this time, it was at the hands of an ideological choice made by Balfour's Jack, rather than an external force.
Balfour opened up about the scene during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that, despite the tone of the scene, it was one of the more memorable moments on set for her. "That last scene between us, which is awful and devastating, was actually the highlight. It's a series of scenes that we shot in almost real-time, even though it doesn't play that way," the actor explained to THR. "The moment Jack arrives and Keeley is playing at the table. The evening the leak happened. There's just so much to mine there as an actor. There's love, there's hope, and I believe a real connection between them." She added:
"Then all of Jack's 'Jackness' and Keeley's 'Keeleyness,' and their fundamental wiring of where they come from and who they are and who raised them, all of the things that make us who we are — they just can't make it work. Because of this outside force, too. There's so much there to play with. On the acting side, we both really loved that day. Juno is a dream. She's an actor's actor. It's all about the work, playing with and for each other. She's just the best."
The thing about Jack
That final scene with Jack is, in a word, heartbreaking. But I actually had my doubts about Jack from the start. She was always very much the picture of "too good to be true," and I got the hint back when she was introduced earlier in the season. What caught my eye, you ask? I get it, she seemed pretty great until she served Keeley with that awful statement.
But when she taught Keeley about the "compliment sandwich" tactic for workplace terminations and disciplinary actions, I knew she was all wrong. I know that might seem like a strange tip, but before I graciously made my way into the world of film writing, I worked retail for an incredibly popular global company. My location was massive, so we had a large managerial staff — and their skills ran the gamut from impeccable to something akin to the bedside manner I'd imagine a shark to have (although maybe that's unfair to sharks). The ones who didn't have the tact, warmth, depth, or capacity for skilled choice tended to use tactics like the "compliment sandwich" without realizing they end up being a surefire way to kill morale and, ultimately, more of a vehicle for disdain.
The ease with which she jumped into employing that tactic told me a lot about the lengths she would go to protect her business, despite the humanity at the heart of all business endeavors. I wasn't sure how it would rear its head in a bigger way, but I knew it would — and then Jack asked Keeley to make that unnecessary, shameful statement. It's sad that things had to end this way between them, but I, for one, think our girl Keeley is on her way to much greener pastures as season 3 starts to come to a close.