Nate was the best character

Yes, all of this may very well be true, but I was speaking more to the actor's acting of the character, not whether or not he was a good guy. Personally, I think Nate was a good guy, but of course he was selfish, as most people are. My attitude towards Nate is that he felt like the most relatable character to me. I felt like most of the other characters' outbursts of emotion were at times a bit too scripted, whereas the way Krause played the character felt the most natural.

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Perhaps in terms of interest and intrigue, Nate could perhaps be subjectively argued as the "best" character, but I disagree completely with anyone who suggests that he was the best character due to his morality or value systems.

Nate was far and away the most destructive and poorly-adjusted of all the main characters. He followed his delusion right through to the very end, believing that his supposed search for a higher purpose was an excuse to behave selfishly and without care for those around him. While all of the other characters were able to accept their shortcomings and alter their schemas, Nate never rose beyond Brenda's very accurate depiction of:

"Nate-the-good-guy, Nate-the-hero, *beep* with the *beep* great haircut."

He began the show afraid of commitment and afraid of being tied down, extremely unreliable, and that's how he ended the show. He ran away from his fear of death by running off to Seattle, ran away from his familial obligations, ran away from all ideas of commitment and obligation by cheating in every one of his relationships. And absolutely nothing changed by the time we got to the finale. He's constantly jogging and running, which is a great symbolism for the way he treats his life, he's even wearing the same jogging outfit he wore in the pilot, in Everyone's Waiting,

Nate can never stay in one place for too long, always scared that he's missing out on something better. He is afraid of the concept of death and the obvious restrictions that it comes with, and as result leaves home and seems to be living some type of flighty lifestyle. He originally has his relationship with Brenda, alluring because of the lack of emotional obligation. While Brenda was equally responsible for the relationship's failure, Nate clearly was dissatisfied with the relationship. Again, Brenda absolutely nails Nate's thought processes by stating that:

"The only reason why he only reason you stayed with me was because I was never really here."

The lack of emotional obligation in which Brenda offered was the only reason why that relationship lasted as long as it did, which is completely evident by the way he treats Lisa and then Brenda again in their marriage. He and Lisa absolutely brought out the worst in each other. Nate resented her for tying him down and began to pull away, which only made Lisa try harder and resulted in extremely grating behavior on her part. He spent all of his time avoiding their relationship, smoking on the side of the road, hiding in the Fishers tv room, becoming the miserable and situationally-obligated father that he had worked so hard to avoid turning into. While Lisa's behavior would later be revealed to be questionable, Nate was obviously unaware of those facets at the time of their relationship, and still acted completely avoidant and immaturely in their relationship. He was even reluctantly glad to see her go, it was pointed out consistently that his emotional distress was due to his guilt at his happiness, and not the fact that she was really gone. He was only able to move on after the Hoyt situation in "Untitled," because he'd seemingly been absolved of his indiscretions and suddenly he didn't need to feel guilty about wanting her gone.

During his second relationship with Brenda, he consistently resents her for asking the most basic and unobtrusive requests, ones that are expected when one becomes a husband and a father. There's even the projected scene where he yells at Brenda for conforming to the white picket fence style of life, trying to remind her that she's a rebel, trying to bring back the woman who had previously not asked anything of him. But that woman is gone, Brenda overcame her challenges and matured, while Nate didn't. Brenda was willing to attend the Quaker service despite her personal beliefs, willing to forgive Nate for his affair with Maggie and work on their relationship, while Nate was still living in a mindset where all of his behavior was justified by trying to find his best self. His relationship with Maggie would have lasted for as long as Maggie didn't ask anything of him. He's running away in his final dream too, heading out towards the "In The Game" ocean, trying to escape from the shore, even in his final moments the show is trying to show Nate's inherent desire for singularity and freedom.

Nate tried to change and tried to convince himself that he could be happy playing the part of the dutiful and amicable husband and father, he tried that with both Brenda and Lisa, and he failed miserably both times, in almost identical ways. He had so many unrealistic ideas in his head of how he was supposed to behave and how people wanted him to act, that he let it get to him and ultimately drive him away from the people he was supposed to love more than anything. His constant search for a higher-purpose consistently proves to be his downfall, it's no coincidence that Nate has his AVM attack almost immediately after his affair with Maggie, he is being punished for his behavior.

I think that Nate is easily the most tragic, and complex, character in the series, but to suggest that he was the most moral or good-natured of the group represents a lack of understanding of Nate as a person. His charisma and charm was just a defense mechanism for a world of insecurities and destructive behaviors, the facade of a person who was much more contemptible than they could even admit.

That's not to say he was a villain. He had the desire to be a positive influence on the world, he had a tremendous love and affection for those around him, but never more so than the love and affection he had for himself. He was a complex and multilayered human being, a fantastic creation on the part of Alan Ball.

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Somethings with Nate are justifiable. But abandoning his pregnant wife? Getting 4 or 5 women to have abortions? Couldn't he just wear a condom?!

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