Nate’s speech to Ted in the finale is mostly directed at Nate’s own father. Lots of what he says is not really about Ted, but

about how his own father treats him.

when you watch season 2 again, you can see:

1)Nate has been helpful with tactics to Ted in season 1, he helped him be a good coach. he was a good assistant to him and Beard. and he was rewarded by promotion.

2. last time Ted talked to him alone, sadly, was in episode 7 season 1. Ted is busy with his own struggles in season 2.

3. When Nate suggests he’d talk to Isaac in season 2, episode 5, “Rainbow”, Ted laughs in his face. Then he says “oh,you’re serious?” coach
   Beard confirms he knew Nate was serious. Ted missed it. Nate wants to be equal to Roy, Beard or Ted, he wanst people to see him as more than just a bullied loser,he wants to also be

a successful big dog, like they are. Ted laughing at the idea that Nate is an equal to the rest of them,
that he’s also a man with skills and valuable input, was devastating and hurtful.

4. Nate’s father clearly refuses to give him any validation, support or praise. So Nate never learned how to give that to himself.
   He doesnt understand that you cant change how others see you
   just like Ted couldnt change it in season 1. you can and should focus on loving yourself and praising yourself even when others dont - Ted is very good at that but Nate
   only sees the surface. \He sees that Ted is loved and Roy gains respect, but he doesnt see HOW it is done. He thinks he needs to be mean, because Roy seems mean.

5. when Roy joins the coaches, Nate is shown couple of times being pushed aside while Ted hugs or pats Roy. Nate
   needs the validation of a father figure - his father failed completely at giving him any positive feedback

and Ted is missing that Nate feels alone in this.

6. after becoming Wonderkid, Nate gets validation from internet strangers, but Ted is still distant, focusing on his own struggles.
   Will, the new kitman, reminds Nate of his own vulnerable side. Nate things it’s all weakness. He attacks Will because he wants to attack his own weak self. He spits on himself, because he can’t accept the vulnerable part of himself.
   Then
   he gets a bad comment on Twitter - and that destroys the validation he had. So he immediately starts believing that Will gifting him the T-shirt was done with bad intentions.

7. Nate has no training in how to be a people-manager.

8. Nate sees how much he tries to work but he doesnt see what is happening to Ted, only that Ted randomly leaves a match.

9. Keeley approaches Nate twice to start fixing his tie without asking. She means well,
   but it reveals that subconsciously, she sees him as a 6 year old boy.

She would never do this to Beard or Isaac.
Nate has not enough people skills and people training to tell her politely to stop and let him take care of his clothes.
At the funeral, where she does this, others start bringing up that Ted got him a suit. He feels
that everyone is infantilizing him, seeing him as a child.

He’s desperate and hurt and doesnt know how to change this, besides being mean and evil.

10. Nate has no education on panic attacks and mental health. Just likethe pundit George Cartrick , Nate’s father probably also says that panic attacks are for sissies in a blouse.

So Nate

tries to take down the biggest dog of all big dogs: Ted.
To prove to himself and the world that he’s strong, even if his father and Ted both are ignoring him.

Ted is laughing at him, others say he’s a child who needs Ted to buy him clothes and Keeley to fix his tie…
How can he convince the world he’s a man equal to Roy or Ted? Take down another big
dog,
who is having some girly, weak panic attacks.

11. Nate’s speech to Ted is mostly directed at Nate’s own father. Lots of what he says is not really about Ted, but
    about how his own father treats him.

I too felt like he suddenly became a villian. He was so light and vanilla and then suddenly needed to be in charge.

1. Keep watching more will come out but:

2. It was a constant arc over Season 2. Nate often felt put down. Even back in season 1 he was bullied by Issac and Colin to please Jamie. Ted knows what Jamie did to Nate but still invites Jamie back. Nate gets a bit addicted to the “Nate the great” line that Ted gives to boost him up but that sours when he brings back Jamie, then brings back Roy to help coach. Look at Nate’s face when Ted says “we need a big dog” to talk to Issac. He can’t get the window table at taste of Athens but the hostess says if Roy Kent wants it, they’ll reserve it for him. Nate also doesn’t see that Ted has the photo the two of them at his home. So in Nate’s worst-case-scenario mind he probably threw it out (Nate thinks way too far ahead often, look at when Ted and Beard asked Nate for his thoughts on the team in S1 and Nate went into what he thought would happen if the coaches hated his thoughts. Watch how he’s desperately trying to get some approval from his father with the “wonderkid” newspaper and he gets nothing. Watch how he scrolls through twitter for the highs of praise but how quickly he comes crashing down when he reads some comment of how he looks like a dork or whatever. Look at Jan at Rebecca’s dad’s funeral commenting on how childlike it is to have another man buy you a suit (the suit he loved because Ted got it out of respect for nate instantly became something he hated). Also note at Rebecca’s Dad’s Funeral… Rupert is whispering in his ear. Maybe Rupert’s been doing that for a while. Pay attention to what Rebecca says about how Rupert is going to get Zava early in S3.

I’m currently rewatching (in the middle of season 2) and am shook by how cruel-intentioned Nate is from the get go of this season; really, from the time he lets loose on the team in Liverpool (not to mention yelling that Rebecca is a “shrew” when she comes in to promote him in the S1 finale….) From his treatment of Will to how he tries to demean the team, it seems less like a slow descent into his villain era to a 180 into being as mean as he’s always wanted to be to fit in/get vengeance, with the kindness/meekness being more fake. Obviously you can see moments where he’s being brushed off - and we come to understand why he’s so desperate for approval - but you can also CLEARLY see from the get go how uncomfortable Ted & Beard are with his attitude/little snarks & power plays, how it doesn’t match their ethos, and how it’s hard to trust the team with him if that’s his spirit. I remember being so frustrated on my first watch at his season 3 attitude, but this time around I am already suuuuuper put off with his character. Which is, of course, a testament to good long-game writing and performance/character development, but blech!

I’ve never understood the people who say that Nate’s downfall, or personality change, or whatever you want to call it, happened out of nowhere and all of a sudden - it was foreshadowed so many times and in so many ways through the first two seasons! Subtly, but very obviously. The earlier commenter went into brilliant and explicit detail about this.

Enjoy Season 3! Wish I could see it again for the first time!

Once you finish season 3 this discussion can be expanded a bit more. Until then enjoy season 3

This is excellent. The one point I disagree with is that I think Keeley would straighten anybody’s tie. She has a different sense of boundaries from most people. And I think Nate saw that as flirting, which is one of the reasons he felt like he could kiss her.