Nate Archibald began Gossip Girl as the handsome slacker who was Blair's boyfriend while harboring a sort of obsession for Serena. Throughout Season 1, his storyline centered him in the middle of two love triangles, first between himself, Blair, and Serena, and then between himself, Blair, and Chuck.
As the seasons went on, Nate struggled to find his place. This applies not only to the character, who, much like Serena, wandered aimlessly for the entire 121 episodes, looking for a place to belong, but also to Chace Crawford himself, who also found it hard to shine among a main cast where everyone else was given more compelling and overall better story arcs.
His Lack Of Purpose In The Show
While Dan was the ultimate outsider-turned-insider, Chuck the reformed (well, kinda) bad boy, Blair the Queen Bee, and Serena the It-Girl, Nate never really had a defining trait to characterize him. He was just the Pretty Rich Boy with no substance who girls liked, or more literally, used to pass the time.
Nate often found himself outside of everyone's schemes and when he was included, he just gave moral support or tagged along for the ride. Hardly anyone trusted him to do anything of value and it wasn't until he came to own The Spectator, in season six, that he was given some level of importance.
He Always Felt Undeserving Of His Wealth
Before his father's arrest and fall from grace, Nate's family was one of the wealthiest in the Upper East Side (not Chuck wealthy, but at least at the same level as Blair's). Yet, Nate spent his entire teenage years feeling shame over his privileged situation, mainly because he felt undeserving of it.
Sure, he took advantage of his wealth, but his self-worth was quite damaged by his feelings of inadequacy. It didn't help that pretty much everyone around him, from his father to his friends, did nothing to dissipate those feelings. If anything, they actually reinforced them.
He Lacked Ambition
Because he felt undeserving of his life, Nate didn't have any real drive. Unlike Dan who wants to be a writer or Chuck who's literally a nineteen-year-old entrepreneur, Nate doesn't plan ahead, he doesn't have any real goals or dreams. He attends school, more out of duty than actual passion for whatever it is he's studying.
Nate's erratic behavior is a big factor why the people in his life don't seem to take him seriously. He's like a perpetual teenager for most of the show, up until his grandfather gifts him The Spectator. And despite never voicing any desire to go into journalism, he takes it because who wouldn't?
He Always Depended On The Kindness Of Strangers
Remember how there was a large chunk of time in which Nate was basically homeless? He spent time living in the Humphrey loft before moving in with Chuck at The Empire. For a time, he and his mother also stayed with a friend of hers, and presumably, he also lived in the Columbia dorms for some time.
Nate's living situation highlights how the show basically treated him like a charity case, having him go from place to place without ever finding one that was his own (on camera, at least). And while all of his friends treated him generally well, Nate always had to rely on them, to the detriment of his own character development.
Everyone Took Advantage Of Him
Nate is taken advantage of a lot throughout the show's six seasons. Serena uses him to feel better about herself, and Blair uses him to try and get over Chuck in Season 2. Both Dan and Jenny use him to advance their reputations within the Upper East Side, albeit in very different ways. Even his mother and father use him to improve their family's standing, more than once actually.
From his considerable list of lovers, many of the women in his life also use him to advance their own agendas, from Bree to Duchess Caroline, Diana Payne, and Juliet. Basically everyone takes advantage of how oblivious he is, which in turn meant that...
No One Really Respected Him
This can't be stressed enough, absolutely no one respects Nate. They consider him a close friend, but nobody actually sees him as a force to be reckoned with. He doesn't even get his own role in Dan's book, Inside, and is instead merged with Eric.
Sure, this exempted him from being constantly harassed not only by Gossip Girl, but by his own friends, who seemingly enjoyed tearing each other down as much as they liked doing it to others. Still, it's sad that his friends, who he cares so deeply about, see him as no one of real value, especially because his actual family shares their opinion.
His Relationship With His Family
Nate's family was the worst. His father blamed him for the weed his mother found at their home. His father punched him in the street before getting arrested. His mother basically stopped looking after him after Season 3, and his grandfather only cared about him as long as he furthered the Vanderbilt's standing.
Sure, most of those relationships mend by the end of the show. However, it's because Nate actually becomes what his family always wanted him to be, a rich businessman, and not out of real love for who and what he is. Nate never has a strong family unit to support him, which explains his numerous insecurities.
His Unrequited Love For Serena
For about half of the show, Nate harbored a deep and mostly unrequited love for Serena. Prior to Season 1, she took his virginity while drunk at the Shepherd wedding. When she returns, she has no plans of getting together with him, especially after she meets Dan. In Season 3, she once again rejects him, this time for his own cousin, Tripp Vanderbilt, who turns out to be a giant jerk. It's only after this revelation that Serena actually gives Nate a chance, before she dumps him when he's unable to keep up with her father-chasing antics.
It's safe to say that, while she was the great love of his teenage years, he wasn't hers. Serena only had eyes for Dan, God only knows why, and while she moves on pretty easily after her breakup with Nate, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that, to him, she'll always be the one that got away.
His Terrible Luck In Love
No one in Gossip Girl had a more disastrous love life than Nate. As already mentioned, most of his girlfriends use him. He's also a terrible judge of character and seems unable to read even the easiest of signs. This is particularly sad because he spends a large amount of his time looking for someone to be with, only to be disappointed every time.
By the end of the show, after dating everyone from an older duchess to a literal seventeen-year-old, Nate ends up alone, which is honestly the best for him. He needs some time alone to find out what exactly he wants.
How He Turns Into Everything He Didn't Want To Be
Growing up, Nate states numerous times that he doesn't want to follow the path his family wants for him, and instead wants to choose his own. However, he literally ends up in the exact place his family wanted for him. He never makes a decision on his own, he always had decisions made for him. And while they're amazing decisions, like attending an Ivy League School or owning a newspaper, he's still deprived of his own will.
It's a fitting but sad ending to a character that never really had any real intention. And while Nate sometimes tried, in the end, he turns out to be exactly what everyone thought of him: a boy with no real substance who just does what others tell him, which is just the saddest.