If you haven’t seen Ted Lasso, then you’re missing out on one of the best shows on television. Starring Jason Sudeikis, this Apple TV+ comedy tells the story of a small-time football coach, Ted Lasso, hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer.
As you can imagine, a calamity of errors, misunderstanding, and craziness occurs, as the team, management, and Ted have to figure out how to make this situation work. What follows is a brilliant amalgamation of comedy, character development, and wholesomeness that no one could have expected.
Ted, the supporting cast, and even the show’s antagonists all come together to tell a surprisingly emotional journey via the Richmond Football Club, all thanks to some amazingly written characters. As of season 2, it’s hard to say that any character has been more fascinating to watch than Roy Kent.
Like just about everyone in season 1, Roy Kent starts as kind of a pseudo-antagonistic force for Ted. He thinks the new coach is a joke and has no problem telling him off, using plenty of his patented colorful and aggressive language.
Despite this, Ted, as always, remains positive and seeks to make a leader out of Roy, as the angry mid-fielder is still seen as a legend for helping Chelsea FC win the champions league eight years ago. This starts with encouragement to have Roy sort out issues of teasing among the players.
This is the first real glance we get to see into Roy’s true nature, as he manages to get players to stop tormenting the club’s kit man, Nate. Interestingly, he does this without changing his gruff demeanor, headbutting and threatening his way into an understanding with the culprits.
Roy’s angry but wholesome mannerisms pop up again when he helps Ted teach some Richmond Primary School kids football. When greeted by a bunch of excited kids, the Richmond midfielder is just as vulgar as he is with adults while also managing to make the children laugh and have a good time.
As the event wraps up at the school, it is revealed that Roy’s niece, Pheobe, also goes there. Now, in other shows, you’d likely see this angry character do a complete 180 when interacting with a child that they care about, toning down the swearing and being more caring.
Roy he doesn’t change whatsoever, using the same foul language and being as gruff as ever even when interacting with Pheobe. The thing is, he still comes off as a caring and loving uncle, holding her hand as they walk and banter back and forth.
This relationship continues throughout the rest of the season, as Ted Lasso shows that Pheobe is actually a big part of Roy’s life. He reads to her, buys her ice cream, and includes her in his relationship with Keely later in the season.
Their dynamic is unmatched, making for a hilarious uncle and niece odd couple. The best way to summarize this can be seen when Keely asks Pheobe to describe her uncle to help cheer him up about losing football to an injury.
“Well, he is my uncle. His beard is scratchy. He buys me ice cream. He swears a lot. He is really funny. And I love him.” Roy looks off to the side and smiles at this, though he eventually retorts by saying, “Who gives a shit what she has to say. She is six.” Hilariously, Pheobe only rolls her eyes.
Early in season 2, Roy repays the favor in cheering Pheobe up, scouring the entire neighborhood to help find a dentist on Christmas to help fix her bad breath. Oh, and he also threatens to beat up the small child that made fun of her for her bad breath in the first place; a truly amazing uncle.
These interactions play a huge part in helping to humanize Roy, showing thing he cares for the people closest to him in his own unique way and that they love him for it. Thanks to this, his continued growth with Keely and as a person makes complete sense as things progress in season 2.
I can’t wait to see more from this dynamic duo and am very curious to see how much money Pheobe will make with the swear jar by the end of Ted Lasso season 2 and beyond.
Featured Image Source: Apple TV +
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