Spoilers for Season 3 of Ted Lasso are ahead. While there are no more new episodes on the 2023 TV schedule, you can stream the entire series with an Apple TV+ subscription.
One of the most moving elements of Ted Lasso’s third season was the eventual redemption of and apology from Nick Mohammed’s Nathan Shelley. While there were some fans weren’t on board with the Wonder Kid’s redemption arc at first, by the end of the season, and especially after finding out he wrote a 60-page apology letter to Jason Sudeikis’ title character, it was hard not to empathize with the kit man-turned-coach. Now, that Ted Lasso's emotional finale has come and gone, the actor behind the Wonder Kid posted the first page of said note, and I can’t help but get all emotional about his story and the series as a whole.
After Nate gets fired from his job at Taste of Athens, the former West Ham coach decided he really does want to go back to AFC Richmond. However, first, he needed to write Ted an apology letter, noting that he had “to go back to Richmond to make things right,” even though there is only one match left. During the penultimate episode, Nate sits down to write and make things right, saying:
Currently writing Ted an apology letter, it’s 60 pages but I’m just looking for a few trims.
That’s when Beard shows up, and the two share an emotional moment as Ted’s BFF forgives Nate, and gives him a second chance. While we don’t know if Coach Lasso ever got this lengthy letter, Nick Mohammed did post the first page of it, and I’m emotional. This entire first page has me feeling all sorts of ways, but one point that really got me was when the kit man-turned-coach wrote:
When you arrived at AFC Richmond, I felt like a light had turned on in a place I didn’t even realise was dark. It was the most extraordinary feeling to be valued and respected for my merits in a way that had felt so rare in my life up until that point.
Reading this re-emphasized how much Ted changed Nate’s life. He believed in him, and when Mohammed's character was neglected by him, he felt betrayed. Seeing how full circle he’s come, and realizing that he’s acknowledged his wrongs, and was trying to improve was profoundly moving to me. So, being able to read this letter makes his apology all the more meaningful.
Nate the Great went on to write that in his “pre-Ted era” he “hated” the guy he was, and his life changed for the better when the coach from Kansas arrived. He went on to say that he was hoping this apology would “free” himself, and asked Ted to consider a “dream” he had, writing:
It is with this awareness that I humbly come to you with a dream. A dream of what we might one day be, built on the memory of what we were, minus the present of what we are today – with hopes of changing that…What I’m trying to say is that I’m ready to free myself. To free us all. Does that make sense? Oh god. I hope it does. I so deeply, deeply hope it does.
He continued to write about a revelation his uncle shared with him when he was a youngster: “it’ll end when it ends, and not before.” Nate said he didn’t understand it then, but it resonated with him after he left Richmond. Like most people, Mohammed’s character hates goodbyes, and endings, and it made me want to well up. You can read the first page of the apology letter, and see 1/60 of what the Wonder Kid wrote to Ted Lasso here:
Nate's apology... page 1! Also this is Jason's red pen 🥰 #TedLasso pic.twitter.com/YrscO82DSyJune 2, 2023
As Nick Mohammed has explained Nate’s suits and hair are incredibly detailed, and the show as a whole focuses a lot on little moments like the letter he wrote to Ted. While we never saw this text on screen, being able to read the note for ourselves makes his reconciliation with AFC Richmond’s coach all the more touching. It also gives us more context as to why Nate left the team. Just like how Nick Mohammed has learned a lot from Jason Sudeikis, Nate also took a lot away from his time with Ted as he used the head coach’s philosophies about forgiveness and acceptance to reconcile with his friend and himself. And overall, I can’t help but shed a few happy tears over this lovely behind-the-scenes information.
