SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from the penultimate episode of HBO‘s Euphoria Season 3.
Sam Levinson has upped the ante with the penultimate episode of Euphoria Season 3.
The war over drugs, money and girls now involves pretty much everyone as the storylines collide when Naz (Jack Topalian) comes knocking on Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) door to collect his money. By the end of the episode, one character has already bit the dust. That’s right, Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) is dead, thanks to a rattlesnake bite after Naz buried him in the ground underneath his construction site.
“That’s a cool way to go,” Elordi said in a behind-the-scenes video after the episode. “Nate is someone who’s made so many mistakes and made so many dark choices. It’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to.”
Of the scene, editor Julio Perez added: “You want to highlight the claustrophobia. You want to engage in an editorial pattern that puts the audience in that confined space with the character.”
Naz had given Cassie the chance to save him if she could come up with the $1 million he owed within 72 hours (you know, before he dies of thirst). Too bad the rattlesnake got him first.
The actor said he remembers being inside the coffin with his shoulders touching the sides so he couldn’t move his arms, but promised “it’s quite peaceful in there.” That is, until it came time to drop the snake in there. Yes, it was a real snake. No, not a rattlesnake. The BTS video reveals that production used a boa constrictor with a fake rattle for the scene. However, the shots of the reptile approaching the drain are a real rattlesnake, interestingly named little b*tch.
“He was super cute. He was like real cuddly,” Elordi said of filming with the boa. “He kind of just sat up next to me. No, it was nice, but he was real sleepy, sleepy snake. I had to kind of nudge him to get him to come up.”
And just like that, Nate Jacobs is no more. Of his character’s death, Elordi said: “It’s a bit of sweet thing. This show is a massive part of not just my career, but my life. It’s been amazing, and I’m so proud being a part of this.”
Cassie finds his body after turning to Maddy (Alexa Demie) for help, who then looks to Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) for some quick cash. He’s got other plans in mind, though, and kills Naz on the spot. So, unfortunately turning to Alamo was all for naught, and it tipped off Alamo to Rue’s (Zendaya) activity with the DEA after Maddy mentions a fight between Rue and Lexie (Maude Apatow) while soliciting Alamo’s help in the hot tub.
Speaking of Rue, she’s turned to Ali (Colman Domingo) for guidance when Lexie doesn’t prove to be very helpful — or really even believe her — after Rue spills the truth about working for Laurie and Alamo and aiding the federal agents. She’s been trying to come clean since her spiritual awakening with the joshua tree at the end of Episode 6.
The scene holds an extra weight after the episode opens with a flashback to Ali’s own struggles with drug addiction before he got sober and began serving as a sponsor for others.
“I thought that was good to sort of like reveal a little of Ali’s backstory,” Domingo said in the same BTS video. “You see where he went down some dark horrors, because he talks a lot about what he did do. Now we could see it…We know that he’s changed, and now he’s on a new mission to help a guide Rue and help her become a healthy young woman.”
The flashback features Natasha Lyonne, who plays another drug addict and a sex worker who Ali seeks out when he’s high.
“We get to have this wild scene together, which I can only do with Natasha,” Domingo added.
In present day, Ali begs Rue not to go through with the rest of the plan, which involves her going back to Alamo and then going back to Laurie. She’s serving as a double agent and is trying to lead them both straight to the DEA, but now it seems both sides are on to her.
There seems to be much more in store come the finale next Sunday, as this episode ends on quite a cliffhanger. Faye (Chloe Cherry) seems to have a momentary change of heart after Wayne (Toby Wallace) pisses her off and threatens to kill Rue, so she offers to finally help Rue steal the money in Wayne’s safe and escape before they have to go through with the deal in the morning. When they open the safe, though, all they find are dozens of IDs belonging to young women Rue doesn’t recognize. Faye urges her to put them back and forget about it, and when Rue doesn’t listen, Faye screams to wake up Wayne, leaving viewers with the promise of yet another threat that awaits in the conclusion.