Nate should've been the antagonist of Season 3 and here's why (spoilers)
(tl;dr at the bottom)
You guys remember Nate right? That asshole from 400 days who furiously hunted two stoners for accidentally murdering his friend and later gunned down an elderly couple for defending themselves? Yeah, I wouldn't blame if you don't, since I'm all but certain Telltale have no intentions to follow up on what happened to him after the Season 1 DLC. So why would I bring up a character that Telltale has no doubt forgotten?
Shortly after finishing Above The Law and being sorely disappointed, I decided to play Season 1 again. I had got to 400 days and completed both Wyatt's and Russell's stories I realized that Nate's character perfectly reflects the beliefs held by nearly all the members of Richmond, to the point where I believe the entire season would've improved somewhat had he been the main villain instead of Joan.
What do i mean by this? Well, you know how the people Richmond are constantly referring their ways of justice, "their way of doing things"? Both of Nate's actions that caused most players to hate him were motivated by what he believed to be justice when in reality it's nothing more than bloodlust and retribution. He goes after Wyatt and Eddie w for killing his friend, and he claims to want to kill the elderly couple for shooting at him and Russell. Had he been leader of Richmond instead of Joan, it would've explained why their ideas of justice seem more like psychopathic mind games, such as the choice to save Tripp or Ava. It would also provide a good reason as to why Richmond resorted to raiding other settlements, since Nate's killing of the couple shows he is not above murder for supplies.
Now I know what you're thinking, "How the hell does a reckless, impulsive monster like Nate somehow manage to get enough of a following to lead a massive community like Richmond?" Simple, he wises up. After Russell abandons him for killing the old couple, Nate has an epiphany, and realizes that if he doesn't start taking the apocalypse seriously he's going to wind up dead, alone and in the middle of nowhere. Sometime later, he runs into David's group, and they take him in. He impresses David with his survival skills, charisma and undying loyalty and soon the two become good friends. With David's support, he rises through the ranks of the New Frontier and eventually wins over the rest of the members. Effectively securing a place in the council.
Yes, I know, "He just be another cliched crazy white dudes in apocalypse stories." I'm sick of them too. What would make Nate different from the rest of them, however, is that while characters like Carver and Randall make every action in the name of survival, Nate just wants to live and have fun. This laid back and carefree attitude would end up being his character flaw. Even though Nate would have matured into a true survivor and leader since his appearance in 400 days, deep down he'd still be the same man that cracked jokes at Russell's expense
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The pressures of being in charge of a large community like Richmond, clashing with his need to kick his feet up and have a good time, would eventually cause him to snap. Once it's revealed that he ordered Max, Badger and Lonnie to raid other settlements behind David's back, tearing apart their friendship, Nate would revert back to his old psychotic ways, shifting the blame for the raids on David, and demanding he be executed in front of the entire New Frontier.
tl;dr imo Nate should've replaced Joan as the season 3 antagonist because his character arc would've fit nicely with the New Frontier's ideas of justice and survival.
Sorry for the long post, I had just finished episode 4 and this was on my mind. God I really did think too long on this. If you somehow managed to read all of that, thank you for doing so.
Comments
I've always thought Nate should've been the main villain for ANF or at least appear for substantial amount of time in S2.
What about new players, they wouldn't know who Nate is.
David could've replaced Joan so the conflict would be more complicated and challenging.
As much as I love Nate as an antagonist, I don't see him wising up to take a leader position all because of his run in with Russel. He strikes me as more of the loner type or henchman, I don't think he cares much about anything except thinking about women and drinking booze as well just killing people for the hell of it.
Damn it....why the hell didn't they bring this great character back?
He wouldn't work as a leader, It would be cool to bring him back as a sort of boogeyman Joker-esque character that harasses the group throughout the whole season maybe starting off innocent enough but getting scarier as the season continues. It's a thing TWD hasn't really done to my knowledge and would be more interesting as a villain than "power mad leader #24"
I could see him in the role of Max or Badger, but like J-Master said, I don't think he's really leadership material.
I don't see how that would be a problem. New players don't know Clementine's past either and I haven't heard many complaints. Knowing his role in 400 days would surely tip old fans off that he is up to something, true, but Joan was revealed early on to be working against David's orders after her introduction, so it wouldn't be absolutely essential to know his role in 400 days to get that he's up to no good.
As for David replacing Joan himself, that would work fine. I just thought Nate would serve as an interesting shadow archetype to David, considering both of them are rash, impulsive and snap under pressure.
Yeah, I was wondering myself if he should've replaced Badger instead. Personally, I believe if he got his shit together he could actually be a pretty cunning and pragmatic strategist, considering he was somehow able to sneak up on Wyatt/Eddie in a car without them noticing, and he was the one who planned and succeeded in sneaking up on the elderly couple. All Russell did was follow his orders.
And yeah, Telltale really dropped the ball with his potential.
I really like the points you made, seeing the connections between Nate and Joan was something I hadn't even considered before.
It would be nice to bring him back, as he was such a complex character in the short time we saw him, but I think introducing him to a group would make him like any other bandit. The unusual and interesting thing about Nate is that he is alone, you'd expect his type to be in with a group of some sorts, but he isn't.
Also I get that he has an evil side, but (maybe I'm personally biased) but I always saw Nate as a more grey character. He could have just shot Russell at the side of the road, take his supplies and be done with it. But instead he takes him aboard his truck, I always saw Nate as someone who isn't necessarily good, but probably suffering from isolation that was slowly driving him mad, maybe he has good intentions somewhere deep down, or maybe not.
If it were a normal community like Prescott, I'd agree he'd just be another sleazy asshole like the guy who sold Clementine dud bullets (I can't remember his name) but many of the high ranking members of Richmond we've gotten to know (Max, Badger, Lonnie and even David to an extent) have shared a lot of Nate's mannerisms and characteristics. I don't think it's too far fetched to believe he could charm those members and have them nominate him for the council. He has shown himself to be pretty smart and practical in the short time we got to know him. But I understand that's kindof debatable. I think him replacing Badger would've worked just as well.
I feel Nate wouldn't be able to play the fake face that Joan has. People would be able to see through him and would become someone that would rule by rumored fear. Also, Nate's obsession with women would make him appear a unstable leader.
It's a nice idea but Nate is still cruising the lonely roads near Gil's, forever in search of tail
I saw him as more of a lone wolf psychopath who took in Russell on a whim because he thought it would be fun. I just can't see that guy in a group.
I just don't see him as the leader. As an antagonist, sure, but not the leader of Richmond.
Definitely a psychopath, but a lone wolf? I don't see it. The only reason he was alone when he picked up Russell was because Eddie shot his friend. Nate strikes me as the kind of guy who can't stand silence and isolation for too long. He needs people to mess around with, which is why he wanted Russell to tag along, and he clearly gets pissed off if you choose to decline (at least from what I can recall.) You can also tell by the way he gets fidgety when Russell refuses to talk that he's pretty uncomfortable with the silence, something I'm certain a true lone wolf wouldn't mind.
That's a fair point. Small group then, nothing the size of The New Frontier. He's too crazy for a big group to keep him around.
I feel like if anything Nate should've taken Badger's role. The asshole who nobody likes, that was basically his role in 400 days if I remember correctly.
No idea who Nate is. The only Nate I know is dead in Vault 111 in Boston.
Yeah taking Badger's role would've definitely worked too. Several people seemed to have doubts about Nate's capability as a leader. I still think its plausible, Nate could be pretty smart when he took things seriously and we never got to see how he acted in a group, but I know I'm pretty much alone on that stance. Either way I think he would've made a better villain than the ones we got, since as I far as I can tell fans are more pissed off at Gabe than any of the actual antagonists.
This guy, he's from 400 days, the DLC for Season 1.
Ah, thank you for the effort and quick response :>
Never played the DLC, that explains it. Good to know tho.
To be honest I'd be up for Nate being an antagonist, from what we saw he's certainly competent. He was also a helluva lot more interesting than Joan/Clint in my opinion. Plus he really does get things done when he decides play time is over, I don't imagine he'd be that bad of a leader.
Nope.
Nate is just a cheap thief, robber and killer. He just works alone or with a partner eventually.
Not the type of a thug leader like Carver.
He can fit in a good story when the Garcia's including Clem are on the road again and attacked by Nate.
Like a chapter in an episode.
I'm actually kinda tempted to rewrite Joans scenes with Nate standing in for her. I think it would help demonstrate what I had in mind when I made this thread. I might do that later.
No way. David is by far my favorite character of season 3 (unless Kenny counts) and part of that is because they didn't go the predictable route by making him the villain.
Nate would've been interesting, though. It'd give 400 Days more of a reason to be played, because at this point in time I usually just skip it when I'm replaying the series.
I wish the antagonist was Nate Drake...
I've always thought that Nate would be more suitable as a member of the main group with a bit of "grey" morality. A similar role to David, maybe. I mean going balistic after being let go seems to be like him. "I don't believe any of you, take your deal and shove it!" Of course he couldn't be exactly like David as David is a lot different.