Ted Lasso: Is Nate Finally on the Path to Redemption?

While the finale of Ted Lasso Season 2 did end with Richmond getting promoted back to the Premier League, the team also saw one of its most important figures become a villain. Nate, who was at the core of the first season’s feel-good story, felt betrayed and ignored in Season 2, leading to him quitting Richmond, tearing up the “Believe” sign, and taking a job for the monstrous Rupert. Nate is now in charge of West Ham United, a much bigger club, and has enjoyed many of the perks of his villain era. In the newest episode of the series, however, Nate finally seems like he’s coming back around, potentially beginning his redemption arc.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Ted Lasso! Continue reading at your own risk…

Nate has shown signs throughout Season 3 that he’s still the kindhearted man we came to know in the early episodes of Ted Lasso, but his desire to be respected and his relationship with Rupert have kept him from really making any kind of change back to his old self. In the new episode, “The Strings That Bind Us,” we see a lot more of Nate than we have in recent weeks, and he’s clearly starting to win people over again.

It all starts with Nate’s budding relationship with Jade, the hostess at A Taste of Athens who is finally seeing Nate for who he really is. After a bad experience at the restaurant with a model that he was set up with, Nate and Jade had the opportunity to share some baklava and get to know one another. In this episode, he decides to ask her out on a date, and does so in adorable fashion. Nate makes one of his fancy boxes that you may remember from the first season, this time as a first date proposal of sorts. Even though the box gets run over by a car before he can give it to her, Nate musters up the courage to ask Jade out himself, and she agrees.

While the story with Jade is at the center of Nate’s journey in the new episode, it’s his relationship to his mother and sister that really allows us to see the lovable Nathan Shelley shining through. He asks them for advice on Jade, and they open up to him about his father, who we’ve always known to be closed off and somewhat cold. Nate’s dad is actually something of a romantic, though he’s always been shy about showing it. By learning this, Nate learns a lot more about himself, and comes to understand that he does have a big heart beneath his sometimes icy facade.

Nate still hasn’t spoken with Ted about what happened when he left Richmond, but it feels like that moment is coming, especially after this week’s episode. He’s finally getting to a place where he may be more open to admitting things he doesn’t want to, which will go a long way in getting forgiveness from the Richmond team.