#nathan shelley meta

[dashiellqvverty]

i am... so sick of y'all pretending that Jade not putting up with Nate's unsubtle power plays is racism because you think it makes you look progressive. misogyny doesn't become suddenly okay because it comes from an awkward brown man

bro i was asked why i don't like jade and i answered idk what to tell you. sounds like you don't like the nate/jade relationship either though so i guess we're in the same boat there!

you're clearly not interested in like actually thinking about the show on a deeper level BUT for the sake of anyone who is, i do think this topic warrants a little more discussion than i gave it the first time, because i was answering a question about my personal feelings and figured ppl would take that for what it was.

so to be absolutely clear about this: i do not believe jade was intentionally written as a racist character. i do not think the way she is rude to nate is MEANT to read as racist in any way. to be honest, i wasn't thinking about it that way when i first watched it. but these are not real people and everything they do is a choice made by writers, and the way it was written WAS racist. even if you don't want budge on your opinion of jade and how she specifically is written, if you don't see any behind the scenes racism in the way nate shelley and his storylines were written over the course of the show then i don't know what to tell you.

but lets get into it. (under the cut because i have quite a lot to say)

as i said, i didn't initially interpret jade's treatment of nate as racist. when i got to s3 and she showed up again, i remembered NATE being mean to HER and not liking her very much, so i was mainly thinking "why would he want to get with her, and why would she want to get with him?" but, after reading other people's (specifically fans of color) interpretation of the storyline, i went and revisited the episode, and realized that, yeah, she's shitty to him for no reason, in a way that can definitely come off as racist. WE as the audience know nate has been being a dick all season - she doesnt! so what she sees is, as you said, an awkward brown man coming into the restaurant and stumbling through asking for a reservation. now, maybe it's just my own difficulty with social cues, but i don't see anything in that first scene that i would call an "unsubtle power play" - maybe you're talking about the "sorry i was waiting for you to ask if i needed anything," which, imo, is a stretch. i understand where you might be coming from, but... how is this any different than how he might have behaved in season 1? like, i'll admit that i do read nate as autistic which can affect my interpretation of certain things but like... to me thats just him voicing like "ah, sorry i'm being awkward, here's an awkward over-explanation of why." and then the "i know roy kent" thing is DEFINITELY not a "power play", it's him being desperate for something that might work to get the table he wants. like the point of this scene is not to portray him as some kind of power-drunk asshole, it's to show that he's an awkward bumbling idiot who can't be assertive and hates himself for it. i honestly, genuinely, do not see anything in that scene that comes off as misogynistic.

honestly, i don't personally think jade is too awful in this scene, it seems like she's also a bit awkward and not really performing the expected social conventions as a hostess, and if it weren't for the larger context this might not have been so bad. but there's a couple things going on here, for one the look she gives him when he asks for the window table, like he's an idiot for even asking (and please don't argue that he technically doesn't "ask," he says he really wants to make sure he gets it then says its important to his parents. seems like a pretty fucking normal thing to do imo). and then to have her say "okay we can reserve a specific table - in the back corner - but we CANT reserve the window table. we could for someone else, but not for YOU" is like.

again, the point of this scene is to make nate feel bad about himself, and media doesn't exist in a vacuum. the ted lasso writers may like to pretend they're colorblind, and that misogyny is the only problem in the world and racism only exists when its the Topic Of The Day (and never affects nate, apparently) but we live in the real world and can see that nate is a brown man, and in fact the only one on the show. it would be naive, i think, to say that this has nothing to do with nate's arc in s2. given how horribly his arc is executed on almost every level, i doubt this was the writers' intention, but intention isn't everything. the handling of nate's storyline is a topic for its own post, but it makes a lot of sense that nate's race and experiences of racism play into his feelings of insecurity and emasculation (for lack of a better term) as he is being ignored and overshadowed by white men - in fact, it goes a long way to explain a lot of his underwritten motivation. so here he is, walking into a restaurant and being looked at and spoken to by white people as though he doesn't belong, in a scene that is DESIGNED to make him feel bad. even if jade herself isn't intended to be racist, this is part of a LARGER PATTERN of how nate is treated both by the narrative and by other characters.

but wait, i imagine you arguing back, this is only the first sequence, before he decides to go back and be more assertive! what about spitting on the mirror! what about when he makes DEMANDS? what about THOSE misogynistic power plays?

well, jade doesn't push back against those, does she? in fact, she seems to be impressed, as she sort of smirks and goes "okay" in a satisfied voice and gives him the table. the lesson of this episode is that nate being a dick WORKS for him. his problem, we are told, is not that he was a being misogynistic or something, it's that he was too awkward, and if only he stopped being awkward and "made himself big," he would be respected.

on that note, i don't want to gloss over the scenes with rebecca and keeley either. i won't pretend he DOESN'T say anything that is or could be construed as misogynistic (but, be honest with yourself, he's not the only character in the show who says misogynistic things, he's just the only one who's not allowed to be forgiven, apparently). there's the comment about, "oh maybe some of those groupies would be nice haha" (which he immediately feels awkward about and apologizes for), the "dithering kestrel" thing (which is him overcorrecting after being told to be assertive). this is a larger trend with nate, where he is definitely written as making these kinds of comments more often, but it always seems to be something he's trying to do in order to perform a certain kind of masculinity in order to be accepted or respected (not that that would justify these things in real life, but it's important context to keep in mind). and rebecca is like... such a jerk to him in this scene too?? like on top of talking down to him, there's the moment where he's like "well it's different for me" (and does not explain what he means by that, so we are left to assume that maybe he just means because he's small and awkward?) and rebecca is like "well things are hard for me as a woman so i just feel my power girlboss my way through :)" and its like. why can we explicitly acknowledge that she specifically has to earn space and respect as a woman but never acknowledge the situation nate is in as a brown man???

if this was the real world, and these were real interactions between real people, it might be fair to say that hey, we can't dismiss someone's misogyny just because they are also marginalized. but this is not the real world, it is a fiction created by writers, so perhaps you should be asking yourself WHY THEY ARE WRITING THE BROWN MAN LIKE THIS

(i'd be remiss not to link this post again as it definitely informed a lot of my initial thoughts on this subject)

[gnnosis]

[ ted lasso 3x10 / east of eden, john steinbeck ]

[jamiesfootball]

A not-as-long addition to the Ted Lasso: Coach Shaped or Dad Shaped Thesis

When it comes to Ted wildly fluctuating between being Coach Shaped and Dad Shaped with the people around him, Jamie isn’t the only one who had trouble distinguishing what side of the stick was swinging for him. Nate struggled with it too.

Nate’s is a comedic introduction but one that explains him perfectly- he’s high strung, anal retentive, lacks self confidence, is afraid to speak out, and he (rightfully) assumes he’s such a non-person that no one knows his name (which is an underdog trope in media, but a self-fulfilling prophecy in real life, but I digress.

“What was that? Sorry I have a hard time listening to people who don’t believe in themselves. Now is this plan going to work?”

So here comes Ted with his people skills and human decency and he clocks Nate pretty quickly. It’s not long before he’s giving Nate the same Ted-isms he gives the boys on the team. It’s very Coach of him. But to Nate it’s not that simple. It’s Personal Attention, and it’s falling like rain after forty years of drought. It’s clearly the first time in a long time that anyone’s put any effort into Nate - including Nate.

And don’t get me started on Nate’s age, because the actor is past 40 and the thought of Nate working as a kitman for what was likely fucking…..years, so close to his dream job but so irrelevant to the people around him. Going home to his parents and whichever sibling-with-kids. Taking all the little jabs from his dad on the chin. His mother being sweet but placating in regards to his dad’s dismissals. Having nothing to celebrate with them that isn’t a holiday or birthday, because he’s not done anything with himself worth being proud of.

He borrowed his dad’s suit to the gala, and Ted took one look at it and went ‘that’s not good enough for you. Let’s sort this out’

His own dad was fine with Nate not trying- in that he withholds all hid expectations and then judges Nate when he fails to meet them. But then there’s Ted, and his expectations of Nate are sky high, clearly spoken, and he wants to help Nate get there.

So yeah, to Nathan Shelley Ted Lasso was very very Dad Shaped.

Nate finally got his big Want - becoming one of the coach’s - but it’s afterwards that things spiraled, and it’s entirely because from Nathan’s pov he saw Ted’s affection drying up. There was this guy who spent a whole year talking and building him up, and then all the sudden he peeks behind him and no one’s holding the bicycle seat. Ted’s still down the street and he’s looking the other way- at Roy, at Jamie, at Sam. So Nate doubles-down on what he thinks made him Great in the first place- his sharp mind and cutting analytics. His ability to not be too impressed by the professional athletes around him. But he keeps doing it Wrong somehow, because Ted isn’t looking at him with approval. He’s just watching Nate, and occasionally shaking his head like he’s disappointed.

It’s so Nate’s Dad Shaped he could scream.

Ted gave him a whistle - a loud signifier of power on the field - and then when Nate wasn’t looking, he replaced it with an indoor whistle. Because Nate kept using the loud whistle too loudly. Because Nate doesn’t understand when and where to use it, just like he doesn’t know yet how and when he should use his own powers as a leader.

Roy doesn’t even need a whistle. Roy comes back and just shouts ‘whistle!’ and it’s the same if not more effective than Nate’s whistle ever was. No one had to give Roy power.

So yeah. Ted Lasso built him up the way his dad never did, and then turned away like his dad always did the second Nate did something wrong. Of course he was Dad Shaped to Nate. How could he not be?

This, if anything, is almost tangible proof that Nate never played team sports as a kid, and it’s heartbreaking because it means Nate missed all the signs in season one that Ted never set out to be a substitute father to Nate.

Ted was Coaching him, deliberately, to join him as a Coach.

He looks at Nate and he sees someone whip-smart and brimming with potential and he doesn’t think twice about testing him out. Springing questions like pop quizzes, making moments for Nate to step up and shine. He arguably doesn’t even see how much Nate is struggling past a surface level (he never sees how Nate interacts with his family). Ted has one true victory at the end of season one, and it’s that he got Nate up to Assistant Coach. And don’t forget that for Ted being a Coach is his life’s work, he loves it.

He very likely did not imagine that that wouldn’t be enough for some people.

And so throughout season two we have this dissolution between Ted and Nate. Nate keeps waiting for Ted to step back up to the plate and guide him; and Ted keeps waiting for Nate to figure out what Coach Nate looks like. Of course Ted won’t step in, just the same as he wouldn’t step on Beard’s toes. The same that he’ll remark to Roy that he’s supposed to be coaching Jamie too, but ultimately won’t step in the middle of them working out their (many many) issues. He respects them all as Coach too much to interfere.

The tragedy of it all is that they both missed the forest for the trees. They were so focused on the roles they could play in each other’s lives, that it wasn’t until the dust settled that the actual role they played in each other’s lives became apparent.

They were friends.

Not the same way that Beard and Ted are friends, which is all friendship wrapped in a blanket of “Coach” “Coach”. Not friendship the way that Ted is still having to pull Roy to the side and Coach him on Coaching, while Roy keeps Ted abay by being miles ahead at being a well-adjusted person who understands themself. But all friendship isn’t meant to be the same, and what Ted and Nate had was built on its own foundation of respect and genuinely liking the other person.

Theirs is a friendship break up, and it hurts to watch.

[thechargrey]

We got such a soft Nate this episode. He got to be romantic, yes, but he also got to be nervous and timid like his old self. He even seemed to speak more softly than usual.

He doesn't spit in a mirror and push for Jade to call him "boyfried." He's vulnerable when he asks, he wants her to say yes, but lets it be on her terms.

He's nice with his coaching staff. They're not in trouble. He wants them to act like the Diamond Dogs, but it's also ok when they don't.

He found it funny that Ted was at the match. Ted always intimidated him so much, but he also feels so much more secure in his own skill at this point he doesn't mind. It makes him happy even.

He still texts Rupert a thank you for preventing Ted from coming to any more matches, because that's the only Nate that Rupert respects. Angry Nate, serious Nate, spit in a mirror and stand tall Nate. He won't even give soft Nate the time of day when he's not even busy.

But slowly Nate's able to show more and more people his soft self again, and people don't hate it. For Jade that's even the version of Nate she likes the most. Soft nate. Smiley Nate. The Nate that can show that he cares.

[bombshellsandbluebells]

I just think we deserved to get the fully committed pushover > asshole with power > realizing it isn't worth it Nate Shelley arc I was promised.

I just know they were worried people weren't going to end up liking him and made him sympathetic almost from the get-go in s3, but I really wanted to see him completely crash and burn before he started making steps to better himself, like we saw with Jamie. And not because I dislike Nate, but because I genuinely love NEGATIVE arcs that deal with poor self-esteem and a lack of self-love and the ugly ways people can learn to compensate for that and I think they need to be ugly and messy and complicated.

Nate should have had a s3 storyline where he establishes his power and authority at West Ham so efficiently through being mean and cold that he looks up one day and realizes he has no friends there. He has Rupert who wants to use him and no one else. No Diamond Dogs, no support network, no friends. That West Ham is suffering because for all the strength of their coaching and strategy, there is no sense of trust or support in the team. (A direct contrast to Richmond, a team who's strong unity makes up for their other weaknesses.) (The Richmond Way exemplified through it's opposite, baby!!) To realize that being mean and isolating himself isn't going to get him his father's love.

I think it should have been ugly before it was beautiful. (Because Nate IS the believe sign.) And the lowest point shouldn't have been him voluntarily quitting because he suddenly wised up to Rupert, the lowest point should have been of his own making because of his actions and THAT should have been the turning point.

I have no proof of this, but I'm so certain that Nate's storyline involved a lot of rewrites this season because they needed you to end up on his side but they didn't trust that if they gave him the full crash and burn to rebuilding himself (kintsugi, baby) arc his story deserved, the general audience would have ended up liking him. (And for the most part, from what I've seen, I'm not sure they're wrong to assume that.)

It's just a bummer because "crashing and burning and making terrible decisions not because you're a bad person at heart, but because you have a deep wound that's never been dealt with in a healthy way" is such a real, human storyline and this one was like 2/3 of the way to being really strong.

[benicebefunny]

CW: sexual harassment

Something embarrassingly off my radar last week was the implications of Rupert's "guy's night" for Nathan.

Not Nathan as Jade's boyfriend. Not Nathan as a loyal partner. Not Nathan in relationship to women.

But Nathan alone: a human with boundaries, a worker recovering from years of workplace abuse.

To be clear, Rupert sexually harassed Nathan on "guy's night."

Using sex to manipulate (and potentially blackmail) an employee is sexual harassment.

Luring an employee to a location under false pretenses to offer him sex is sexual harassment.

Lining up a third party and encouraging one's employee to have sex with them at an after-work event is sexual harassment.

This is important for me to flag, because sexual harassment is a real thing that happens in real life. And the ways we talk about--or even praise--Nathan's decision to leave have real-life resonance. Whether we mean to or not, we may be fostering a judgmental atmosphere toward victims of sexual harassment.

Nathan standing up to Rupert was good. It was brave and reflective of Nathan's core beliefs. While this decision honored his relationship with Jade, Nathan was also protecting something far more sacred: his own bodily autonomy.

Again, to use the bold key, Nathan refused sex that he did not want.

Nathan getting to decide what to do with his own body--who gets to touch him--is a significant development. Look at where Nathan started. In early S1, Colin and Isaac were grabbing him, restraining him, whipping him with towels--heedless of his pleas to stop. What Nathan wanted for his body didn't matter. He refused, but could not get away.

There are real-life people who've experienced sexual harassment but could not (or did not) get away.

There are real-life people who've been pressured into having sex with their boss's "friend."

There are real-life people who've had sex they didn't want, because of their job.

When we talk about Nathan's decision, it's important to keep in mind these real-life people (who may include you, kind reader). When we praise Nathan for leaving, we shouldn't condemn the hypothetical Nathan who stayed. We can place the blame with the perpetrators of sexual harassment, not their victims.

[rockinhamburger]

What exactly is empathy?

Back with more Nate meta - shocker! At a basic level, empathy is about widening our perspective to understand where someone is coming from. It doesn’t mean actions taken are acceptable or justified, but it’s an exercise in looking for insight and extending compassion. One thing I’ve noticed can go missing in analysis of Nate’s choices is the limited POV he has throughout the show. People are quick to judge him for his reasoning in the latter half of S2 without recognizing that he’s missing crucial insights, often because he is not in the scene which would provide it. I want to highlight a few examples that I think show this limited POV and, hopefully, indicate where he deserves some grace.

Of course, a straightforward example of this is the picture Nate gave to Ted for Christmas. Nate couldn’t help but notice it’s not hanging in Ted’s office, and that became emblematic to Nate of the abandonment he was feeling. We the viewers know that Ted has the picture on his bedroom dresser next to his picture of Henry. Nate doesn’t know this; he has a limited POV, so in my view it’s a lot kinder and more empathetic to give him grace on that one. But what tends to happen is that a detail like that gets sublimated into justification to continue criticizing Nate. For instance, instead of feeling sorry for Nate, feeling compassion for his limited perspective in that moment, the thinking becomes judgemental and defensive: Why should Ted display it in his office? Ted doesn’t owe Nate that. Nate needs to get over himself.

People tend to be similarly hard on Nate for the moment in 2x11 when he says, “There we go. Give Ted another idea he’ll take all the credit for.” We have a wider perspective than Nate does. We know that Ted doesn’t take the credit; in fact, Ted credited Nate for his decoy play back in 1x03. It’s a great moment that shows us Ted’s integrity - he doesn’t take the credit for that, even when Trent Crimm is audibly horrified that Ted would entrust such a thing to the kit man. It adds to our growing love for Ted as a character.

But crucially, Nate doesn’t hear a lick of it. Nate is yards away kicking dog shit off the field. His POV is limited in the scene, so he entirely misses that lovely moment of Ted giving him the credit. We’re also privy to the article Trent writes at the end of the episode, and he doesn’t mention in there that Nate came up with the play. Why would Nate have any idea that Ted gives him the credit?

“That’s the job, son,” Roy says to Nate. Putting aside that they’re roughly the same age, so it’s more than a little condescending, this comment from Roy doesn’t address the void Nate’s feeling of validation and approval from Ted. In 2x12, Nate says, “And I... I worked my ass off, trying to get your attention back. To prove myself to you. To make you like me again.” I wish people would take these words at face value instead of using them to continue justifying uncharitable readings of Nate’s behaviour. I wish more people would put themselves in Nate’s shoes and imagine for a moment what it felt like to be in the sunlight of Ted’s kind, supportive attention in S1 only to feel like he’d done something to lose it. Imagine wondering what you did wrong to lose the attention and care of the kindest, sweetest man you’ve had the fortune of meeting. Nate is feeling Ted’s absence so keenly by the time he lets it all out in 2x12. He feels invisible and occasionally even outright replaced. Ted laughs at the idea of him being a big dog, and god, that has to sting so much, and then he brings Roy in as coach. People are quick to gloss over this moment, but it’s a crucial one for understanding how twisted up Nate is starting to feel. If he truly thinks Ted doesn’t like him anymore, then imagine what it felt like for him to be the subject of Ted’s laughter and for Ted to subsequently bring in someone he wouldn’t laugh at? And in the episodes following, Ted’s giving Roy the attention Nate craves as the wins pile up, and to top it off, those wins are largely attributed to the Roy Kent Effect.

Ted isn’t there for Nate’s big moment of glory in 2x06. We know why he wasn’t because we got a lot of Ted’s backstory. Nate didn’t. He has no idea what Ted’s going through. One big takeaway from the show is that we don’t know what the people in our lives are going through, and that’s another reason to be kind and empathetic to each other. So yes maybe Nate should have been able to connect some of the dots, particularly once Ted confessed he’d had a panic attack. Maybe he could have given Ted some grace, but clearly Nate was going through some of his own toxic stuff that made him miss a few things, just like Ted. And really, it’s not like people are giving Nate grace given what we know of his struggles. Nate doesn’t realize the extent of Ted’s mental health struggles because Ted doesn’t let him in on it, just like Ted doesn’t realized the extent of Nate’s feelings of abandonment.

One moment I find so brilliant for highlighting just how much Nate wanted specifically Ted’s validation and approval (to make you like me again) is the fact that Roy gives Nate credit and validation for his big win. He tells Rebecca the win was all Nate (but, crucially, Nate isn’t in the room for that) and then afterward he says, “Oy, Nate, great fucking work today.” I think to Nate it feels more like getting validation from a friend or brother. It’s the kind of thing we like to imagine will make a difference and build us up, but usually it doesn’t quite do the trick, not when it isn’t coming from the person we most want it from - in Nate’s case, Ted, and on a deeper level, his father.

In 1x07, when Ted is at one of his lowest points in the series, he lashes out at Nate. We know why he did. We understand that he has to sign his divorce papers, to essentially quit his marriage, which kicks up a bunch of his emotional triggers around quitting due to feeling like his father abandoned him. We also know he’d been drinking. So, we give Ted plenty of grace in that moment because we have the full picture. Nate doesn’t. Of course, Ted apologizes for treating Nate like that the next time he sees him and Nate forgives him instantly. It’s a lovely moment that again showcases what a thoughtful character Ted is, that he can earnestly apologize. But it’s also a lovely moment that shows Nate’s capacity for understanding and forgiveness when he’s been wronged.

As has been discussed a lot since the end of S2 aired, this conversation outside the locker room in 1x07 is the last time Ted and Nate have a one-on-one conversation before the scene in 2x12. I think it’s easy to overlook this turning point in their relationship and to think that everything’s been patched up in the apology, but the damage from that moment in front of Ted’s hotel room is substantial. I did everything I could to make you like me again. I can’t help feeling like Nate looks back on that night in Liverpool and feels that was the moment everything changed, the moment the attention started to shift, when Ted stopped liking him.

I wish more people would extend to Nate the same compassion we gave Ted following his angry outburst at Nate in 1x07. We all make meaning from the limited perspective we have. Nate was lacking important insight throughout much of S1 and S2, and that was compounded by feelings of inadequacy and abandonment. And I think when it comes down to it, Ted knows exactly how that feels. Empathy widens perspective. Ted’s not going to bask in schadenfreude; he’s going to extend empathy and compassion because he gets where Nate is coming from. He won’t take his pain out on Nate, even though Nate did that to him, and if we admire Ted’s capacity for forgiveness and understanding, this is the test of our own.

I hope fandom can rise to the occasion in S3.

[roamwithahungryheart]

Oh, the clarity a good cup of hot coffee in the morning brings you.

Thinking about triangles and the rule of three, the next episode involving 'thinking outside the box', and the themes of transformation and growth.

The Voice of God told Ted that triangles are just boxes split in half. The relationship dynamics this season could be categorized as 'boxes' and 'triangles'.

First, let's look at The Diamond Dogs:

They were a box dynamic (diamonds are of course boxes) when Nate was on the coaching staff. Now they're in a triangle.

It hasn't exactly been working out, so with Nate on his own journey of personal growth, is this a sign that he's coming back to Richmond? Or at the very least going to patch it up with Ted? Putting the box back together.

Next, we have Keeley/Roy/Jamie:

On the most basic level, they're a classic Love Triangle.

Now, with Jack in the picture, we have a box dynamic that's based on growth and learning.

Jamie's smarter. He's learned things from Keeley. He's coming into his own.

Roy & Jamie's friendship - Roy is finally (reluctantly) getting over his hatred of Jamie and using his anger as constructive criticism & tough love when he's coaching Jamie.

Roy & Keeley's relationship taught them both that healthy love is possible. They grew together. They're continuing to grow because of the lessons they learned from each other.

Keeley & Jack's relationship fills a void in Keeley's life. It provides her with the passion and doting affection she's been missing. But she's still hung up on Roy.

It's a way for her to let go of her hurt and see that she's still worthy of love. The comment Rebecca makes to Roy in the hallway in Amsterdam, and the fact that Roy now knows Keeley has moved on could be the catalyst for Roy to deal with his insecurities and recognize that he broke up with her because he felt unworthy of love. They both needed to do some internal work this season in order to learn more about themselves and be ready to love again.

Lastly, Ted/Rebecca/Dutch Boatman:

In 3x06, Rebecca finally kicks the 4th side of the box out of the picture. She's free, spontaneous, following her bliss. Rupert doesn't have a hold on her anymore.

We're left with the potential for our final Love Triangle.

Even though they were the furthest thing from her mind, the psychic's predictions were laid out in front of her, and the fleeting encounter with her Dutch knight in shining armour (ha!) taught her that she's worthy of the kind of love she craves.

She was perfectly happy to let their time together be a holiday romance and nothing more. She tells him she won't forget him because it was a teachable moment for her. When she's back on the coach with Ted, she's relaxed, happy, open to whatever the future may hold. And let's face it, she's looking at him differently.

After Ted's 'trip', he's seeing things from a different angle - seeing Rebecca from a different angle. They're softening towards each other. Just like Roy & Keeley, Ted & Rebecca needed time apart to learn important lessons about their needs and their approach to life.

The mid-season finale is a turning point.

From here on out, the only way is up.

[kutputli]

Remember when I was the only one on tumblr saying that Lloyd Shelley was a complicated first gen immigrant dad, and not a monster?

Also remember when I predicted that the thing that would split Nathan and Rupert would be Ms Kake?

[theheroheart]

Everyone's been going off the rails about the Wizard of Oz comparisons, so here's my contribution.

More thoughts under the cut. Many, many thoughts.

Canon references I've seen to Wizard of Oz:

"Coach, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

The Wizard of Oz pinball machine.

Rebecca's red-soled shoes immediately after.

"No place like home" on the pitch banner during a match.

The yellow lego brick under Ted's chair.

Roy's tie-dye shirt looking exactly like the swirl that begins the yellow brick road. (Unhinged, frankly.)

The biscuits being yellow bricks. (A stretch, but even so.)

The fact that in the upcoming episode, it LOOKS LIKE they might be watching The Wizard of Oz for movie night.

Further thoughts regarding character comparisons:

You could argue Ted and Beard are Dorothy and Toto. That's valid. Since we see Rebecca with the red shoes, maybe they're both Dorothy? They are soulmates after all. But...

Ted as Wizard because he's the one helping Jamie/Roy/Nate find their brains/heart/courage that they had in them all along.

And because the Wizard was originally also from Earth, then bumbled his way to Oz and became their leader, despite not knowing what he was doing, nor belonging there.

"You've got some sort of food that can teleport you back home?" Rebecca looks at the biscuits, which are yellow bricks, guiding her to the wizard aka Ted.

We've seen Rebecca wear red-soled shoes twice, and you need to click the ruby slippers THREE TIMES to go home.

You can have Rupert be the Wicked Witch if you want, I'm not currently sold on that beyond being the antagonist to Dorothy. (Does that mean Toto is Keeley?? I mean she's equally adorable.)

Nate being the cowardly lion also supports my theory that he'll return to coach Richmond when Ted leaves. (If you wanna be a stickler for the comparison, Jamie/scarecrow would be the coach with Nate and Roy assisting, but that seems highly unlikely.)

The wizard returns home, but accidentally leaves Dorothy behind. When Ted returns to Kansas, will Rebecca follow? (The Wizard/Professor does show up Dorothy's house at the end.)

Some of this feels far-fetched, which is the same thing I've had a problem with all along. I'm certain Ted's returning to Kansas, and I feel like they really have built up Tedbecca so hard. But how does it make sense for Rebecca to give up Richmond?

Please please share your own ridiculous theorycrafting. ♥

(Thank you to Kat and Ro for helping me go full rabbit hole on this theory, and also to twitter people sharing the canon references.)

[garlicbredman]

I'm new to this fandom, but I want to put on my tedependent tinfoil hat as, I do have some input on the red string metaphor that we have going on,, I think the red might represent strong emotions/passion, as I've been rewatching the whole series, and noticing I mean, the title intro is literally Ted sitting down and having red spread through all the chairs around him, forming into his name, which I'm surprised no one is talking about because it seems established red is important, and , also in s3 04 in the elevator scene with Nate and Ted there's a maroon block that almost connects the two in the elevator, Ted is reaching out to Nate for connection, but Nate has disconnected himself with the passion of Richmond, meanwhile later in the season (the strings that bind us) when Trent is infodumping to Ted about total football, the two are connected by this big bright red block, really vibrant and alive with passion. Idk if this is anything but I think I'm going insane. anyways

also I know people are debating the red polo, Idk what to add about it here, but it might be that you know. Ted is in a more passionate state, something something. Honestly I haven’t been focusing on the red polo specifically but I think it works with my hypothesis?

it’s almost like Nathan’s closing himself off from the Lasso Way while Trent is absolutely enamored with it-

[thetarttfuldickhead]

You have to think it’s Nate demanding to work as an assistant to the kit man, right? Everyone else would not only have be fine with but would have loved to have him come straight back as a coach. Yet there he is, helping Will out in a very probably made up position and being perfectly happy to do so.

And maybe it’s an act of penance (though I’m ambivalent about that idea, as there’s nothing lesser about being a kit man), or just a need to work his way up and earn his way in (though no one asks that of him). Maybe it’s about reclaiming his first job with the team, exorcising whatever old pain and bad memories still lingers after the abuse he once suffered in this position. Maybe it’s just the need to rest in something familiar and comforting and simple for a while; a need for some time out of the limelight and a safe place to heal.

Whatever the reason, the team and the other coaches respect it and there’s something about that – the acceptance and kindness and grace of it – that does my head in. They could use Nate as a coach, they want him as one, but they let him be an assistant to the kit man, let be whatever he needs to be, until he is ready to once more be something else.

[squash1]

[ ted lasso 3x10 / “still,” noah kahan ]

[jamiesfootball]

Opinions on Nathan Shelley? I think he’s a way more interesting character than people give him credit for and I think the fandom goes way harder on him for his actions than they do on say, Jamie or Rebecca. probably because with Jamie we only see him suck shit and then improve throughout the show but with Nate we get the whole arc. Anyways I’m rotating him in my head microwave sound mmmmmm

I like Nate a lot! I wrote a fairly lengthy post a while back about how him and Ted misunderstood each other throughout season 2. This being tumblr, I can't find that post anymore, but yes. Nate Shelley. Big fan. I love me an insecure, highly intelligent, sensitive nelly who gets one taste of power and accidentally lets it corrupt him. I like a character who has grown used to kindness and respect being expected from him, but never given. I like a little guy whose struggle is that he learns what he thinks is self-respect but is actually just a new form of self-hatred. I like a smol bean who eventually realizes that actually, the kindness was one of the parts of himself he did like, and he has to learn how to do it all over again without falling back into bad habits. I like a gifted kid who never succeeded until he did, but then still didn't know how not to be a disappointment. And I love love love characters who play violins. One of my top weaknesses, that.

Shame the didn't do anything thrilling with his story though. Messy season 3 plot, and way too divorced from the other characters. I did eventually grow to love his girlfriend (once they gave her dialogue that wasn't canned from the box), but honestly I didn't need the focus of it.

Nate's conversation with his dad, while cathartic, didn't feel earned from a directorial perspective. I think even showing us a little bit of his dad cracking in some of the earlier scenes with him would've spoken volumes to get the audience there. Like, I see how it happened, but I didn't see it happen, you know?

Nate and Beard and the loaf of meth? Excellent. 10/10.

The fact that after that initial scene of Nate as a coach we never see him interact with any of the West Ham players again? Booooooo. Missed opportunity. Especially given that West Ham was actually successful throughout his tenure. That could've been interesting parallel to Ted's tenure as a coach at Richmond - the coach who is successful at the game but not necessarily the players vs the coach who is successful with the players but not necessarily the game.

(Yes, I think the football show needed more football.)

Instead we got scenes with Nate and the higher ups at West Ham, who are all some version of worse than him, and while that highlighted how much Nate didn't fit in there, it didn't serve him much in terms of narrative growth.

Oh, and then the finale kind of forgot about him and handwaved the rest of his story. But the finale forgot about a lot of things and then handwaved the rest of the story.

But back to your original question- Nate Shelley? Very interesting character.

[thechargrey]

Nate spits on his reflection bc it is what's everyone around him has always done with his "bad" parts. His father has always told him no matter what that he's doing it's wrong. So when he sees himself being weak and scared he spits on it. He puts that part of himself in its place, telling it that it's worthless so it backs off enough he can do whatever brave thing he needs to do. He can't see to the capable parts of himself when he also sees weakness there.

But when he saw his reflection here?

He was still in this bathroom because he was scared, but he has enough confidence, is starting to know his value, that he doesn't need to put the "weak" part of himself down to pick the rest up. They can exist together because his capability is bigger than his fear.

[case-57-with-the-enclosure]

rewatching s2 and its wild how much Nate's arc went over my head the first time- the not even subtle ways they hurt him unknowingly bc they didn't know what to pay attention to yet.

from the player-exclusive benefits, to roy coming back and taking the stage as assistant manager of the moment, to ted not celebrating with him and instead physically, literally moving him away to celebrate with roy at the end of the match.

piece by piece, small actions that to him mean so much. there's no way to interpret his actions following this as senseless, knowing he's hurt so much.