Ted Lasso's Jodi Balfour Sees A Tough Road Ahead For Jack After The Keeley Split

This post contains spoilers for the latest episode of "Ted Lasso."

Rarely has a guest character ever gone from so admired to so hated as quickly as "Ted Lasso" newbie Jack. Jack, who's played by "For All Mankind" star Jodi Balfour, first popped up in the series just a few episodes ago, quickly stealing Keeley's (Juno Temple) heart and ingratiating herself to fans by appearing to be the hippest, most chill rich queer girl of all time. We should've known it was too good to be true. By episode eight, Jack and Keeley's relationship seemed to dissolve in front of our eyes like wet cotton candy. It turned out Jack was actually a regressive slut-shamer, a terrible fit for a confident former nude model.

In an interview with Vulture, Balfour debriefed on last week's break-up and the road ahead for Jack and Keeley. While the latest episode of the show leaves the door open to the pair's future, you might say it's only slightly ajar: though Keeley clings to hope that they might reconcile after their fight, Jack lets her know she's actually out of the country for a few months. Balfour, for what it's worth, doesn't sound particularly hopeful that Jack and Keeley will make up. "I imagine that Jack will continue to walk through her life with a lot of regret," she tells Vulture in regard to the moment when the PR-savvy character suggested Keeley should feel ashamed of taking the nudes that leaked last week.

"We explored love-bombing in this arc, so Jack really gets in there hard and fast and then leaves hard and fast," Balfour says. "I think it's a little bit of a trust-whiplash moment for Keeley." While the actress says she hopes Jack's exit doesn't leave Keeley "ultimately feeling more guarded than she did even before," she also thinks the pair's blossoming love was very real. "I think they were falling in love, big-time," she notes. It certainly seemed that way on the viewers' end, too, but Jack and Keeley's relationship has been marked by potential red flags from early on. Right after the pair get together, Rebecca (Hannah Waddingham) accuses Jack of love-bombing Keeley, a tactic that involves pushing someone into accepting a relationship with flattery and gifts.

I'm still not particularly keen on the way the show addressed the concept of love-bombing, but Balfour does seem to think Jack's entrance was a bit aggressive. "Jack met Keeley at a time in her life where her heart had really been broken and she was somewhat reluctant to let someone else into her life," she tells Vulture. "Jack sort of bulldozes her way in, with genuine connection and chemistry and affection for one another." The pair did seem to have ample chemistry, which is why the revelation that Jack has a whole lot of internalized misogyny to sort out is so disappointing.

Balfour also explained what Jack's state of mind might have been like when she talked down to Keeley about her own sexuality. "In that moment, her reactivity is based on a lifetime of conditioning in very certain circumstances where protocols and her very prestigious lifestyle have made for a certain limited point of view," she says. As for her hopes for Jack in the future? She wants the character to unpack her mistake, the fact that "she couldn't see past this very patriarchal, shaming point of view to be the support to this woman she was falling in love with."

At this point in the third season of "Ted Lasso," it's tough to tell where Keeley's story will go. Surprisingly, of all three of her past romantic partners, she currently seems to be closest to Jamie (Phil Dunster), but fans are still mourning her breakup with Roy (Brett Goldstein). Personally, I know what ship I'm rooting for as the series comes to a close: Keeley and happiness.

"Ted Lasso" streams new episodes on Wednesdays on Apple TV+.