I was just re-watching season 3 and wanted to see what everyone’s thoughts are of why Nate quit West Ham?
The episode before he quit, Jade meets Rupert and when he leaves Nate says something along the lines of “he’s a great boss” and is smiling like he’s happy there. Now I understand he is still very intimidated by Rupert which may be why he acted like that but I didn’t see anything in his mannerisms up until then that said he was going to step down.
I know he quit when Rupert invited him out for “boys night” but suddenly realized what his actual intentions were. But it was the first time he ever seemed genuinely discontent with Rupert’s actions. I thought he knew all along about Rupert’s ways but judging by him quitting because of that one incident, maybe he didn’t? Or is it because he now had a girlfriend and he was truly happy and realized if he stayed with Rupert and West Ham he would jeopardize that happiness?
All of these are good takes.
Because Nate always thought he had Rupert in his corner. He quit after he realized that Rupert doesn’t actually care about him.
The whole thing is the most unrealistic situation… Nate wouldn’t get that job so fast, Nate then surely wouldn’t quit… Rupert wouldn’t go against Nate after taking West Ham that far…
Every time Rupert did something that made Nate uncomfortable, he could explain it away or ignore it. Rupert made him feel special. The way he longed to be special to his father and Ted. But when Rupert acted in a way that was morally reprehensible to Nate AND invited Nate to join him in something that could cause not only serious pain to himself but also to the woman he loved, he knew there was no explanation or justification. He could no longer be blind to Rupert’s true self. Nates problem was always his ego, never his ability to read people or his grasp on the difference between right and wrong. The sort of world Rupert was really offering him was one bereft of true friendship, human connection, love. Things Nate actually yearns for and he’s already thrown his friends away for Rupert, he’s not going to throw Jade away too. So he’s got to get out of there before it’s too late.
I would argue that he did have some problems reading people, if only because a bug source of tension in S2 was his constant misreading of people’s actions and intent (specifically Ted’s).
I think you hit the nail right on the head with what you said about Nate just wanting to feel special, and how Rupert provided a temporary fix for him in that department. And how as time went on, Nate kept noticing more and more holes in Rupert’s ‘nice guy’ facade and their relationship, until he eventually realized that his standing with Rupert only ever was and would be strictly superficial.
And so when it came time for him to pick between Rupert (someone who made him feel the least special kind of “special” possible) and Jade (someone who made him feel really, truly, genuinely special), there didn’t appear to really be too much inner conflict for Nate at all in making his pick there. So yeah I’m not sure if I even added to your point, but I just liked what you said about Nate wanting to feel special and I thought that was a big reason - if not the reason - why he left Rupert for Jade with as much conviction as he did
That wasn’t really the first time, though. Nate was not completely comfortable after his remarks about Richmond’s coach being “so shitty” were published, and he went so far with the insults only to impress Rupert. When Rupert texted that Ted attending a West Ham game wouldn’t happen again, Nate started to reply it was ok and then changed to something Rupert would want to hear. And very early on he was embarrassed when Rupert almost had his car towed from the VIP lot. There were many signs Nate wasn’t comfortable in Rupert’s orbit. I haven’t listed them all because I can’t remember all the details. It has been a while since I last watched.
Rebecca’s monologue about Rupert wooing her that she gives when Zava is up for grabs sheds some light on the situation.
Nate wants nothing more than for someone to think he’s special. To be accepted and loved unconditionally and never have to question that. Rupert’s exact specialty. Nate wanted so desperately for that to be real that he explained away things like the flip flop between Rupert and Mr Mannion and towing his car and his weird interaction with Jade and him telling Nate not to talk to Ted. None of those things sat quite right with Nate, but if Rupert’s love was real, that didn’t matter. And then he found real love.
The real love that Jade was showing him made him realize that what Rupert was giving him wasn’t real. It was a facade used to manipulate him. When he was faced with the choice in the club, he realized he had to choose between Rupert’s approval (aka cheating because apparently that’s what the West Ham boys do idk) and Jade’s genuine affection. Then the choice became clear
I know this isn’t really answering the question, but when Nate said no to joining Rupert and those girls in a private room, my mom and I were literally cheering
Despite his actions Nate isn’t a bad person to his core.
Once he realised what being “Rupert’s guy” entailed he had enough of his soul still remaining to get out