Will Nate Be Redeemed in Season 3? ‘Ted Lasso’ Stars Weigh In
Spoiler Alert
Be a Goldfish, Sam
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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers through Ted Lasso Season 3 Episode 5.]
Ted Lasso has introduced its fair share of twists in what some viewers believe could be the third and potentially final season of the beloved Apple TV+ favorite.
That’s particularly true when it comes to Season 2’s unexpected “villain,” Nathan Shelley (Nick Mohammed), who betrayed his mentor Ted (Jason Sudeikis) to lead Rupert Mannion’s (Anthony Head) West Ham. While his altered appearance and attempt to look like a tough guy may oppose the version of Nate that viewers got in Season 1, there are small glimpses here and there he’s not completely gone, most notably in Episode 5.
Revisiting the Greek restaurant where he takes his parents, Nate tries to impress a flashy date introduced to him by Rupert. The problem? You can take the clumsy and awkward man out of a loving environment, but you can never take the awkwardness and clumsiness out of him. Ultimately, he gets ditched at the table, but there is a glimmer of hope as somewhat antagonist Jade (Edyta Budnik) sits opposite him to share some baklava.
At that moment, the kind Nate fans grew to love at the start of the show begins to shine through, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been subjected to some major scrutiny. “His relationship with Rupert is obviously a toxic one,” Mohammed notes. “He’s a puppet master in all of this. And to a degree, it’s a form of abuse. It’s not something that Nate needs.”
(Credit: Apple TV+)
It may take a little longer for him to break the cycle though. “All he sees is fancy cars and celebrity status. He sees all those things that we know are superficial, and even Nate recognizes now that they’re not really making him happy,” adds Mohammed. While we get to see Nate subjected to such scrutiny at the hands of his date, AFC Richmond gets hypercritical of their former waterboy after seeing the locker room footage of him tearing down the symbolic “Believe” sign.
“I think we are seeing the glimmers of at least regrets,” Mohammed acknowledges, pointing Episode 4 out in particular. As fans will remember, it’s the Season 3 installment in which AFC Richmond and West Ham face-off and Nate must come face-to-face with Ted after leaving on less than good terms.
“We know that there’s gonna be unfinished business between Nate and AFC Richmond and with Ted,” Mohammed says. “It feels like it is an absolute perfect storm for Nate because there are so many aspects he’s trying to juggle in his head, like the shame of what he did and how he left and the things that he said to Ted, knowing that it was Ted that empowered him to get to where he is now.”
That self-realization for Nate isn’t necessarily enough to steer the team from their anger, which is in part stoked by Ted’s assistant Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt). “We know how loyal Beard is and I think the equal and opposite reaction to that is an absolute loathing of betrayal,” Hunt tells us. “When you’re on a team together, especially when you’re coaches together, and they have done so much to bring Nate up, the West Ham of it was enough, the talking to the press was enough. And then on top it off, the beloved ‘Believe’ sign?!”
“I’m not sure that Beard is fully a hating person,” Hunt continues, “but he’s capable of something much closer to hate than Ted ever will be.” That certainly explains his and Roy’s (Brett Goldstein) decision to show the team Nate’s sign ripping on tape, which ultimately backfired. “When you get into that head space, you’re no longer thinking logically, which is why Ted is so against it. So Beard, when it comes to Nate, is all emotion and none of those emotions are positive.”
Can these men, and Nate in particular, turn a new leaf? Here’s to believing.
Ted Lasso, Season 3, Wednesdays, Apple TV+
