Nate Fisher Is Truly Tragic and Painfully Relatable
I used to hate Nate Fisher, but as I sit halfway done with the finale (and not finishing the show because I don't want to say goodbye), but the more I think about his character, the more tragic he feels, and the more I relate to him. He wants to badly to find meaning, and he focuses his whole life on finding that thing that will change it all. While I'm not flip flopping between potential religions and partners like he is, I relate to that need to find something that gives you meaning in your life. I felt like that a lot before I found my faith in Christianity, and I still feel that need to find daily hobby's and interests that will change it all.
He is selfish, and comes across as such, but he also hates himself so much, and that shows in how much he views each new venture (or woman) as a way to make his life more fulfilling, to give him something to live for. I find myself acting like that (in a less extreme way), but even moreso when I was doing three sports and musical theater and two choirs. The second something better came along that I thought would be my thing, I dropped everything.
But unlike me, he never really broke out of that cycle. He spent his whole life searching, and with his death, never found that thing. He seems like he would be fulfilled in the long term with Maggie, but so did he with Brenda in Season 1.
He boxes himself so tightly into these bonds, and then feels strangled by them, causing him to act out and resent those whom he saw as his escape.
Even worse, his is self aware of these faults. He lets them define him, and clings to whatever might fix them. He is also an amazing and empathetic person working at the funeral home, but cant have that same empathy for himself.
He is so scared of himself, his morality, and his self that he can never be content. He is unable to connect with women in relationships as well as any random person planning a funeral, and despite wanting to escape, he sets himself up in scenarios where he is in too deep to leave.
Even in his own funeral, there are aspects of past relationships all over them. He wants a green funeral, similar to Lisa, he has it done by a Jewish Rabbi who Brenda questioned his bond to, and the father of the woman he cheated with gives an incredible speech...
I know that this character is often hated in the fandom, but he is so heartbreaking and real to me. As someone who needs motivation to want to do anything, who needs everything I do to matter, who goes to the things that I thought would change it all even after I lose the mojo, who resents that, but has nothing better to do (until I jump to the next sport or club), I could never truly hate Nate Fisher. Just like Dean Winchester, Marrisa Cooper, and Shauna Shipman, he is justifiably hated for things I relate to.
