Ted Lasso (Apple TV) TV Show • Page 56

By all accounts he is screwing

 

Bad characters can be redeemed, this show just hasn't been handling it well. I have whiplash at how quickly he went from bad to good again. They've rushed it.

 

that’s a different opinion than fuck Nate all together don’t even try and redeem him.

 

fair enough!

 

Nate's completely earned a redemption and I think it makes complete sense lol.

 

The actor playing Henry is so bad.

 

i definitely wanted nate to eat more shit after dropping the line about ted's son in the last finale but i think his redemption has been well handled

 

I think the show is setting it up to have something bad happen to Nate at the end of the season and the audience will be meant to empathize with him.

 

I will never. You can not make me.

 

it seems quite clear to me that ted is going to move back to the states and nate will leave rupert to manage richmond. like, to the point i will be shocked if that doesn't happen.

 

Nate’s redemption doesn’t feel earned at all to me but it’s also so predictable that I don’t mind them rushing it.

 

Same

 

Nate is fine

 

Are people forgetting Nate leaked Ted’s panic attacks to the press? Dickhead behavior. Better get a sincere apology to Ted asap.

 

Or that he terrorized the new kit man? Like, these aren’t small offenses lol

 

Or how he treated the equipment manager? Fucked up

 

Beat me to it!

 

You guys wanna post about Nate in the accountability in sports thread?

 

Kinda

 

There’s a guy on the wrestling subreddit that only posts as if it’s 100% real, you should do that Dave

 

they def rushed Nate back to good in like episode 2 or 3 or w/e but we're 2/3 of the way through the season now, that storyline is in the appropriate stage at this point. and the idea he was unredeemable outright is silly

 

We should prob debate CM Punk some more

 

I can appreciate the way they’re handling Nate’s story this season. His soul was rotting to the core because he hated himself. He hated himself because he was led to believe for years that he amounted to what he’d been told he was all his life. His coping mechanism became a total rejection of self as the anger, shame, and loathing transformed his physical features and coalesced into a literal rejection of the weak person he believes is in the mirror looking back at him (spitting at himself, notably with that ringing that takes place during the press conference very clearly meant to echo Ted’s own experiences with panic attacks). When you’ve reached that point - where you genuinely despise the person looking back at you so thoroughly that it makes you sick - you are in a deep spiral that will lead to regrettable actions you might later feel you don’t understand or had no control over. There’s this other part of you that takes the driver’s seat and all but locks the rest of you away in the hopes of proving to everyone else around you that you’re not this version of yourself that you’ve come to believe they’ve labeled you. It’s why Ted is so taken aback in season two during Nate’s seemingly sudden heel turn. He literally meant no harm even if he was inadvertently perpetuating the same criticisms Nate faced from his parents and peers all his life.

Nate believes Ted thinks of him the same way “everyone else” does, even if literally no one thinks that way about him. Trauma manifests in many forms, and it can also leave you vulnerable to manipulation, i.e. Rupert’s machinations. Nate’s behavior is appalling, yes, and he does owe a number of apologies, but he’s not irredeemable. What this season, I think, has correctly done is slowly reveal how badly Nate needs Nate to be the person who chooses to better himself, which runs right along the themes of self care in the show itself.

One of the most important moments for Nate is when he’s preparing to ask the waitress out but then excuses himself to the bathroom. He stares in the mirror, just as he has done before, and you’re led to believe he’s about to spiral into self loathing again, but then instead he straightens himself up, smiles in the mirror, and chooses a different path. He opens himself up to vulnerability and it leads to a healthy relationship with someone he genuinely cares about, rejecting the world of empty relationships Rupert attempts to thrust upon him.

When Nate sees Rupert flirting with his assistant at the bar, he has this look of recognition and disappointment because he’s seeing who Rupert is and always has been. Nate is not unaware that it could be him. He takes that model on a date to a place that has a meaningful connection for him, which she quickly derides, and he is okay with letting her go because he’s slowly rejecting the life that this angry part of him who took over had convinced him that he needed. Rupert sends Nate a text apologizing for Ted being at the game, telling him it won’t happen again, and Nate wants to tell him that it’s okay because the truth is that deep down he actually does miss Ted. He instead tells Rupert thank you out of fear and understanding that Rupert will come for him if he makes the wrong move. Nate’s quickly understanding the sort of trap Rupert’s got him in, and his distance is made clear when he outright dismisses Nate’s meeting seeking emotional guidance and support.

He attempts to recreate the Diamond Dogs because it’s a part of his life that was meaningful and, again, that part of him is beginning to long for a return to the proper path. Earlier in the season he very clearly wanted to open up to Ted and apologize, but was stopped short by Rupert. Truth be told, Ted, Beard, and Henry’s jovial spirits at his game mean a lot to him. He’s happy to know that Henry remembers him and is supporting him. It’s a support system he’s deeply lacking and has begun to seek out in his personal life via his new romantic relationship.

I definitely agree, Ted will return to the states in the end and Nate will almost certainly take over with a new outlook and a clearer understanding of exactly what he doesn’t want nor no longer needs for himself. I’m looking forward to his rejection of Rupert’s cynicism at the center of his character slowly attempting to eat away at the positivity and general kindness surrounding him. Nate’s rejection will be the final proof that Rupert can never truly win against Ted’s way of life.

 

I feel like the riffing with his wife is probably setting up a return to America and maybe his relationship.

 

Great summary, could have not said it better.