The conclusion of Euphoria season 3 left its fans shocked and devastated by a brutal and unexpected twist: the demise of Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi. The character met a horrifying end, after being buried alive by loan sharks and later bitten by a rattlesnake while trapped inside a coffin. Despite the efforts of his wife, Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney), Nate could not be saved.
The creator of the show, Sam Levinson, explained the decision behind this dark turn of events. He wanted Nate's downfall to be deeply unsettling for the audience. He said, "There's this funny thing where I know what the audience wants in terms of justice or karma, and with that in mind, I always think, 'Well, how can I give it to them?'"
Levinson continued, "How can I give them what they want, but make it so horrific and anxiety-inducing that by the time it happens, the audience isn't so sure they wanted it?" He revealed that the idea of the rattlesnake came to him during a drive through Los Angeles with his wife. He imagined a snake entering the coffin through a small pipe while Nate struggled to escape.
Levinson recalled, "It was one of those gorgeous L.A. days where it was perfect weather. We're listening to Otis Redding. The windows are down and we're driving to Warner Brothers, and I'm looking out the window." He added, "I just had this image of a rattlesnake coming towards this pipe. He's banging and the snake can sense the movement in the ground. And I thought, 'What if the snake goes into the pipe and then he's stuck inside the coffin with this rattlesnake?'"
Levinson noted that it was "sort of a funny moment where you realize that not all dark scenes come from a dark place." It is important to mention that Euphoria season 3 is set to conclude on May 31.
