10 Subtle Clues Nate Was The Real Villain In Ted Lasso

AppleTV’s heartwarming series, Ted Lasso has become a new binge-able favorite among audience members and critics alike. Jason Sudeikis’s titular character is full of uplifting quotes, painful backstory, and empowering optimism. As if that weren’t enough to draw fans in, the character arcs each person goes through in the first two seasons are worth watching.

Particularly of interest is the arc of Nathan Shelley (played by Nick Mohammed), who at first is portrayed as the intelligent team kit man. After being promoted at the end of season one, Nate’s newfound power goes to his head and causes him to betray the ones he once admired and respected. Though it came as a surprise to most viewers, there were plenty of subtle clues sprinkled throughout season two that hinted at his villain arc.

His Complicated Relationship With His Father

One of the biggest plot points in Ted Lasso is the focus on complicated relationships between fathers and sons. Nate and his father are no exception, and their strained relationship is shown up close in season two.

When Nate tries to do a nice thing and reserve a special table for his parents’ anniversary dinner, his assertiveness is not met with praise by his father. Instead, he remains displeased and unimpressed with Nate’s actions. He also shows no interest in Nate’s newfound fame and attention, which leads Nate down a road of trying to prove himself to anyone and everyone. This doesn’t mean anything though, because deep down all he wants is his father’s approval.

His Fight With Colin

Pretty early on in the second season, Nate’s attitude toward everyone in the Richmond club changed. Most notably, he lashed out at Colin for trying to be the ‘new’ Jamie Tartt, insulting more than just the way he played football.

Nate’s intense behavior seemed out of character at first, as was his irritation toward Coach Beard when the latter insist he apologize. This senseless fight gave viewers the first sense of who Nate really was, or who he was becoming.

His Growing Resentment Toward Ted

In season one, Ted Lasso seemed to be Nate’s hero. He hopped on his bandwagon of positivity and finally spoke up and led the team in a meaningful way. However, in the second season, Nate grew increasingly frustrated with the head coach and stabbed him in the back on multiple occasions.

When Ted first gave Nate credit for the play that would deem him “the wonder kid”, Nate was displeased because he thought Ted was preparing for a failure and going to let it fall on Nate’s shoulders. His attitude became more and more negative, despite Ted’s outpouring kindness and generosity.

He Became Obsessed With His Public Perception

The more power Nate got in leading Richmond, the more he craved validation from the world outside of the club. He googled himself repeatedly, smiling at his phone as praise lit up Twitter. He also saw the negative sides of that, which led him further into a downward spiral.

Nate’s obsession with what people he didn’t know thought of him blinded him from what was really important; his personal friendships and relationships. When he started caring more about what people said about him online and on television, that’s when it was clear that a bad transformation was taking place.

He Let “The Wonder Kid” Title Go To His Head

Even though he originally didn’t want credit for the play that brought him “the wonder kid” title, he eventually took it in stride. He let the praise from sports critics define him, and it led him to believe that he was a better coach than anyone else in the club.

Nate’s hostility toward Roy Kent as he joined the coaching staff was painstakingly obvious. He couldn’t bear to look or interact with him, and he hated the way players took to his advice. He believed he was better because of one strong game and started putting an “i” in “team”.

As Jamie Became More Likable, Nathan Became Unlikable

Jamie Tartt was one of the most villainous characters on the first season of Ted Lasso, but got a lovely redemption arc in season 2. He and Roy made up and formed a surprise bromance, and he apologized to Keeley for the way he treated her in the past.

With one of the biggest villains losing that title, it was only a matter of time before another character stepped into the role. As Jamie got more tolerable, Nate became worse, making viewers scratch their heads and wonder what happened to the original season 1 characters.

He Disappeared From The Diamond Dogs

Nate was once a founding member of the “Diamond Dogs”, a group that consisted of Higgins, Coach Beard, and Ted Lasso. The group gave one another sound pieces of advice and helped each other through hard times.

As season 2 went on, Nate slowly disappeared from the group meetings and even used information he learned in them against his former friends. His absence should’ve been the first indication that something was awry.

He Kissed Keeley

Nate found confidence after being coached on how to be more assertive by Keeley and Rebecca, but he ended up taking his newfound knowledge a bit too far.

When trying on suits, Nate misread a moment between him and Keeley and kissed her. The kiss was not received, as Keeley was in a relationship with Roy and had previously believed she and Nate to be just friends. The mistake seemed harmless enough to Keeley, but later when Roy didn’t feel threatened by Nate, it only made him want to anger Roy more.

He Failed To Empathize With Ted

One of the major plot points of season 2 was Ted’s battle with his own anxiety, depression, and fatherly guilt. In one episode he ran off the football field in the middle of a game due to a panic attack, something Nate clocked and used to his own advantage.

Instead of empathizing with Ted and trying to help his friend, Nate let Ted know that he found him weak and pathetic. He also leaked the story about Ted’s anxiety to Trent Crimm, something that would have been entirely out of character for season 1 Nate, but was on par with his personality change in season 2.

The Way He Treated The New Kit Manager

Most would think that since Nate previously held the role as kit manager that he would embrace the new hire with open arms and encourage him. That was not the case, as Nate took an immediate dislike to the new kit manager, often insulting him and embarrassing him in front of his colleagues, just as Jamie had once done to him.

Nate seemed to think that with his new job came superiority, meaning he could say just about anything to anyone beneath him. This was the first (and perhaps biggest) clue that something in Nate had changed for the worse, and that fans better look out for Ted Lasso‘s newest villain.

About The Author

Emily Proctor
(211 Articles Published)

Emily Proctor is an entertainment writer and avid television fan. She recently graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a degree in Communication, Media, and Theatre Arts. In addition to writing for Screenrant, Emily frequently publishes personal essays on her Medium profile and personal blog SheWritesTV.com. She is also an aspiring actress and songwriter.

You can follow Emily on Twitter at @emproct for more of her opinions on pop culture, the latest TV and movies, and links to her work.

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