Yet the complexities of Nate's character never served to mute or legitimize his chilling behavior. Instead, his depth served as an exploration of how toxic, aggressive tendencies are born. The specificity of his story made him feel like a real person, which made him all the more frightening.
Despite now being one of the biggest names in Hollywood, Jacob Elordi delivered what is still a career performance in seasons 1 and 2. Even after revealing the darkest parts of himself to the audience, Elordi's Nate could be undeniably charming, which would then turn to aggression on a dime. Elordi depicted both sides of Nate's character with such authenticity that every facet of his demeanor felt legitimate.
Still, Nate's story offered more than a character study in Euphoria's often-shocking seasons 1 and 2. Nate was an active participant in his own journey, creating a fake online persona to explore his father's secret, which led to him forming his own twisted connection to Jules and, at the end of season 2, turning his father in.
The show set up a fascinating conclusion for his character's story in season 3. Unfortunately, absolutely none of these character traits or plot elements appeared, making Nate's Euphoria season 3 journey feel like a completely different show, one that, for better or for worse, came to a close in episode 7, "Rain or Shine".
Nate Acted Completely Out Of Character In All Of Euphoria Season 3
Euphoria season 3's time jump found Nate and Cassie engaged, with Nate having taken over his father's construction business. Nate and Cassie's engagement seemed perfectly primed to take Nate's horrific relationship behaviors to the next level. The setup had all the makings of a story about a dark, violent marriage between two ill-fated high school lovers.
Yet throughout season 3, Nate was tolerant, patient, and even gentle with Cassie. Their gaudy house and tense ambitions didn't exactly fill their relationship with warmth, but at no point did Nate appear to be any type of threat to Cassie.
Even when Cassie jeopardized Nate's business investments by discussing their finances and making a scene at their wedding, Nate reacted with complete calm, and there didn't seem to be any barely controlled rage beneath it. His response to Cassie throughout season 3, while still rooted in beliefs of traditional masculinity, was a far cry from the Nate of season 1, who choked Maddy in public for much less.
Nate Did Nothing To Advance His Story In Euphoria Season 3
Instead of focusing on his relationship, which had been at the center of his character development from the show's beginning, Euphoria season 3 primarily kept Nate and Cassie apart, with Nate's primary story revolving around the debt he's accumulated for his failed construction project and the fearsome Naz who planned to torture him until they were repaid.
The storyline has been Nate's downfall, leaving him in a state of desperation that he never got out of, effectively removing any exploration of his pre-established need for carefully maintained control.
Yet even this reinvented Nate didn't play an active role in his season 3 story. In seasons 1 and 2, Nate played a major part in advancing the show's plot. He took action to investigate, and then turn in his father, and that investigation in turn gave him the tools to blackmail Jules for his own gain.
Season 3's Nate took no definitive steps to address his situation. His desperation mounted as Naz's tactics got increasingly more severe, but his only action throughout season 3 was to plead with them with mounting urgency and hope that Cassie's storyline would swoop in to save him.
Nate's Death Shows Just How Much His Character Has Changed
In "Rain or Shine", Naz took his threats against Nate to a new level. After previously cutting off a toe and then a finger, this episode saw Naz put Nate in a coffin and bury him alive on his failed construction site with nothing but a small pipe for air. Naz then gave Cassie 72 hours to pay him before Nate died of thirst.
Before either of those things could happen, though, a rattlesnake found its way to Nate's air pipe, slithered down it, and attacked him. When Cassie and Maddy were eventually able to dig him back up, he was long dead.
If this death scene had been revealed at the end of season 2, everything about it would feel completely out of place for what Euphoria was before season 3. It was a death better suited to an organized crime drama, a world completely unrelated to the stories of domestic violence, sexual tension, and father-son conflict that had dominated Nate's previous plot lines.
Related
Euphoria season 3 has had a big problem with characters not acting like themselves, but Jacob Elordi's Nate Jacobs is the worst offender.
In this regard, all of Euphoria season 3 has taken on a definitive Western crime thriller feel in a marked change from past seasons. The circumstances of Nate's death reflected this significant tone shift of Euphoria season 3, but this in itself wasn't as detrimental to his character as the impression it left of his personality.
Nate's season 3 death emphasized the few traits he demonstrated in his Western-esque story: his desperation, and not only his tolerance of, but his absolute need for Cassie to engage in sex work to save him. Nate's final living moments did nothing to remind viewers of the complex, formidable personality that drove seasons 1 and 2.
Watching Euphoria season 3 felt like waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Nate to once again show his true colors. His death in "Rain or Shine" finally cemented that the fascinating, well-written, well-acted character from the show's prime will never return.
Release Date
2019 - 2026-00-00
Network
HBO
Showrunner
Sam Levinson
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Hunter Schafer
Jules Vaughn
Image via Everett Collection
English (US) ·