Nate Shelley - Tumblr Posts
I’ve been thinking a lot about The Lasso Way. Season 1 Episode 3 was the moment on my first watch that I said “something about this is different.” I’ve spent literal weeks trying to put it into words. Here it is. Maybe.
The Lasso Way is bewildering kindness. It is inauspicious, un-self-conscious, and completely disarming. Often, the fear that comes with sincerity of this kind is that we will be taken advantage of. But his refusal to be suspicious of others is the very thing that makes Ted un-sabotage-able. He is trusting: he sees people for who they could be, and with that vote of confidence, they become that person.
The Lasso Way is acting out of security in who you are and what you believe. We see villainous action from these characters not when they become wicked, but when they are guided by their insecurities. That’s what motivated Rebecca at the start of season 1. She wanted to take back control of her identity. One of the few times Ted lashes out is the night he signs the divorce papers. In some way, the same thing is happening with Nate. Maybe that’s why Ted shows up to that game in the trailer: he wants to remind “Nate The Great” who he can be.
No here’s the thing. While watching Ted Lasso, I thought to myself “this is the kind of person I want to be: kind, sincere, watches out for others.” Ted is so genuine that it confuses the people around him. And then, he is told that it is not enough. What more is there? I’ll see you all in S3.
I deleted tumblr for finals but I’m back now and I have to tell someone about how symmetrical and poetic it is that we overheard someone calling Nate a wanker in episode 10 when he starts to actually act in a way that is consistent with his morals and what he learned from Ted.
What are they trying to tell us here? That you can do the right thing, even when it puts you in a bad position? That people are gonna talk shit no matter what? That British football fans really like to call people names?
I would like to posit that it is all of the above.
Okay about Nate’s apology to Will, tho. As someone who has never shut up once in my life, I can kind of relate to both Ted and Nate in the ways they describe and connect things when they talk, especially when they’re trying to be funny.
But Nate doesn’t do any of that with his note to Will. He doesn’t explain. He doesn’t grovel. He just says “I’m sorry.” He doesn’t hide behind clever turns of phrase. He doesn’t even call himself the wunderkind.
Idk I just thinks it takes a lot of courage to let a simple “I’m sorry” like that drift out into the open where anything could happen to it.
THE 60 PAGE LETTER. THERE IT IS.
Okay about Nate’s apology to Will, tho. As someone who has never shut up once in my life, I can kind of relate to both Ted and Nate in the ways they describe and connect things when they talk, especially when they’re trying to be funny.
But Nate doesn’t do any of that with his note to Will. He doesn’t explain. He doesn’t grovel. He just says “I’m sorry.” He doesn’t hide behind clever turns of phrase. He doesn’t even call himself the wunderkind.
Idk I just thinks it takes a lot of courage to let a simple “I’m sorry” like that drift out into the open where anything could happen to it.
Ted Lasso 🤝 ATLA 🤝 being a deceptively deep three-act television comedy about our weakest moments and the choices we make to be better for ourselves and the people around us, featuring some of the best “redemption arcs” ever put to screen.
someone who doesn’t watch ted lasso wouldn’t understand why watching a man NOT spit at his reflection in the mirror for once is a deeply moving and personal thing to watch, but it is. it just is. 😭
Nate has been pissing me since the end of s1
Nick Mohammed should win an Emmy
There’s been a lot of anger at the Emmy’s this year for the lack of win for POC actors. Rightly so. It’s hard for actors to be given roles that are written with nuance, that really let them shine as skilled artisans. And even when they are given those roles, their incredible work is rarely recognized.
Nick Mohammed should win an Emmy.
I’ve watched interviews with the cast and crew of Ted Lasso and what really stood out to me is how much the writers really love Nick. You can tell by the way they hang on to his every word that they think he is so funny and is so brilliant. And their admiration of him is reflected in the trust they put in him to play such a controversial role. They have written a script where Nick’s acting is an absolute highlight of the season.
Nick Mohammed should win an Emmy.
The way Nick has been able to carry us all on this journey is beyond stunning. I have never seen an actor who so bravely took on the position of transitioning from one of the show’s Most beloved characters to the undeniable villain of the season. This journey is so hard to watch because dear god is it convincing. We feel Nate’s pain, his hubris, his fear, his malice.
Nick Mohammed should win an Emmy.
Do you realize how hard it must have been, to be an actor of color and then asked to play a villain? To become a character hated by the fandom and be given little empathy by racist fans? I am in awe of Nick’s bravery and I am extremely thankful for it. I am thankful to see a thoughtful depiction of the kind of self-hatred that drives people to harm others. I am thankful to seeing this story because even though right now it’s uncomfortable as shit, I know it will end in a way that teaches me something I didn’t even know I needed to learn.
Nick Mohammed should win an Emmy.
I genuinely think the funniest line read Ted Lasso is the way Dani says, "Whoo! Roast me, amigo" even after seeing his teammates getting absolutely sniped
La’Darius Marshall and Nate Shelley
So let me preface and say I don’t want to conflate or speculate on someone’s real life (La’Darius from Cheer) but since Cheer exists as a piece of media- something edited and directed into a story- I do want to point to an incredibly similar “character arc” that exists in both the narrative of Cheer and Ted Lasso.
So in season 2 in Cheer, the conflict between La’Darius and his former coach Monica becomes tense and personal. While in season one, the two were depicted as becoming incredibly close, like family, in season two Monica leaves the team for a semester. La’Darius end up fighting terribly with the interim coach and eventually quits the team. He and Monica have a falling out which comes to a head as La’Darius starts to publicly releases damning information on Monica on social media. For Monica, this betrayal completely blindsighted her. Sound familiar?
At one point La’Darius says, “I always looked at her as my mom. I did. Like she was like...she was something very special to me. I let a lot of things go. I let a lot of things pass over, because I really wanted her to be the woman that I’ve always wanted in my life. And just this past year, I just felt like she wasn’t there.”
For anyone who still feels confused about Nate’s arc, watching Cheer may be a good way to really learn from someone, in their own words, the particular pains they experienced when the parental figure they thought they had was not there for them the way they needed. There are some obvious differences (there really needs to be an essay about how gay Black men are fetishized in the cheer community and how Cheer depicts the commodification of them) but there are certain intersections of race and class that definitely are subtexts for both narratives.
There is also just a lot that can be learned through the vulnerability La’Darius and Monica share when speaking about their real lives.
Biscuits, Lavender, Chelsea...what do they tell us about the arc
The problem with Ted Lasso S3
It doesn’t feel like the last season.
Let’s imagine Ted Lasso was like any other show, slated to keep running until it eventually concluded after 5 or even 10 seasons. If we as viewers knew this, would these episodes feel so lopsided? Would the missing thematic tie-ins feel so odd? Would new characters and plot points feel like frustrating distractions?
Even with the entire season written and filmed, Apple is still not letting anyone doing press for the show say outright this is the last season. Why? To make space for a spin off? Or....maybe this isn’t the last season after all?
Either way, it definitely seems like the writers room were given the directive to not make these episodes feel like they’re leading to an end. And they certainly do not. However the strength of Ted Lasso has always been the foresight of the writers. Every character, line, and scene felt meaningful because they were - everything lead to an inevitable end. Without that, we’re left with a show that doesn’t feel bad per se. But definitely off.
Jamie: Look, this isn't about anyone being out to get you. This is about you. You're doing what I used to do. You're pulling a Jamie.
Nate: Posting Colin’s credit card number on Reddit because he said I looked tired?
Jamie, laughing: I forgot I did that.
I love Nate Shelley with my whole heart send tweet
this may be too niche but
we need a roy & jamie spin-off series cause I KNOW jamie didn’t get all that bi-coding for nothing