Ted Lasso’s Episode 11 opened up a can of worms that was long overdue. There’s, of course, going to be a conflict between Roy, Jamie, and Keeley, but this is much bigger than that. This is about Nate and his betrayal of Ted’s trust in him. In fact, it is the betrayal of the entire team in him.
Even after being promoted to coach, Nate’s insecurities didn’t really leave him. Throughout season 2, we’ve seen him bully the equipment boy, get offended by the smallest of jokes, feeling like he’s being sidelined as a coach, etc.
Now, most of us saw a dark side of Nate just waiting to be unleashed, but I also empathized with the root of his insecurities. His father never made him feel like he was enough; he was not treated well as an equipment boy, so insecurities tend to catch on. But can he pin his betrayal on those insecurities?
Nate’s betrayal of Ted’s trust is unforgivable. The team would likely be on the verge of kicking him out, but Ted will somehow find it in him to be the nice person he is and save Nate’s ass. Furthermore, since this is the culmination of Nate’s season-long arc about his insecurities, he might rise above them for good this time.
Empathizing with Nate’s insecurities is easy. In fact, people do let him off the hook quite easily. For instance, while Keeley and Nate were helping buy a suit, he mistook the situation and kissed her.
Keeley immediately tried to comfort him, saying it was alright and it was not a big deal. In fact, even Roy Kent, the man known for his temperament issues, took it light-heartedly, saying, “That must have been awkward.”
So clearly, people do treat Nate well, respect him too and pardon him for his mistakes. More than that, Ted’s always welcoming Nate’s ideas and has a word of appreciation every time.
Despite all this, Nate’s still insecure, which is pretty understandable, but him ratting out Ted like that is not. In an episode where we already see the team falling apart, this would be the most significant blow.
Sam Obisanya, one of the team’s star players, is considering leaving the club to play for a club in Ghana, things are likely to get heated between Roy and Jamie, and then Nate ratted out Ted to the newspaper. All of this points to just one thing. Shit’s going to hit the fan in Ted Lasso’s season 2 finale.
Nate is definitely the biggest problem here because one way or another, the other conflicts might be solved soon. But what Nate did is unforgivable to any character of the show. In fact, it’s bigger than Rebecca’s betrayal in season 1 on so many levels.
Rebecca never knew Ted as much as Nate knows Ted now. The relationship between Rebecca and Ted was still progressing, whereas with Nate, Ted already shared his personal problems. He told all the three coaches about his anxiety attack as a show of faith and trust. He thought of Nate as a confidante.
So, needless to say, Nate has fucked up big time. The question is, what now?
What Will Happen To Nate In Episode 12?
Ted is perhaps the kindest and nicest character in the entire show, and nobody even comes close to his level of generosity. Maybe Keeley to a certain extent but nobody else. He’s always forgiven people, tried to see their brighter side, but this time even he might not be able to forgive Nate. At least not at the beginning.
Ted is just learning to work with his childhood trauma. Only in episode 10, he had opened up to Doctor Sharon and now seems to be in a much, much better place. However, he’s still fragile and will take time to outgrow his abandonment issues just like any other person.
At a time like this, Nate seems to have plucked a nerve that he shouldn’t have. He’s hit Ted right where it hurts, and I don’t think Ted would be nice about it. At the end of episode 11, we see him walk away with a dead serious face, which means it’s not good for Nate. So there are two possible scenarios.
In the first one, I don’t think Ted will be able to forgive Nate immediately and all on his own. Perhaps his closest team members, like Coach Beard, or Rebecca, may be able to help him out. With their support, he just might get around to talking to Nate, getting through to him, and finding a solution for his insecurities. All this might eventually lead to him forgiving Nate.
The second one, which I think is more likely, will involve Nate being either shunned by the team or he might even be chucked out of the team. In fact, this might not even be Ted’s decision. Since he knows it will be in the newspapers the following day, he might try to give all the important people like Rebecca, Beard, Roy Kent, etc., a heads up.
When they know what has happened, they might kick him out or be on the verge of it. Ted might then come to the rescue to try and sort this issue by empathizing with Nate and having a conversation with him.
Whatever the outcome, I think the creators have perfectly set up the season finale, and I just want the next few days to pass as quickly as possible. I hope the season doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, though. I guess we’ll only know when the time comes.
About Ted Lasso
Ted Lasso is an American sports-comedy streaming TV series developed by Bill Lawrence, Jason Sudeikis, Joe Kelly, and Brendan Hunt. It’s based on a character of the same name that Sudeikis first portrayed in a series of promos for NBC Sports’ coverage of the Premier League.
It follows the life of Ted Lasso, a coach of college-level American football who is unexpectedly recruited to coach an English Premier League team, AFC Richmond, despite having no experience at all in association football.
It stars Sudeikis as the titular character, Ted Lasso, joined by Hannah Waddingham, Jeremy Swift, Phil Dunster, Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple, and Sarah Niles among many others.
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