Warning: This article contains spoilers for Season 3 of Euphoria
Euphoria creator Sam Levinson has spoken out about the jaw-dropping death of a major character in the HBO series.
Season three is now nearing its finale, picking up years after the second season and following the central cast as they attempt to navigate adulthood after leaving school behind.
The new episodes have already delivered plenty of headline-grabbing moments, along with criticism aimed at certain storylines — particularly the arc in which Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) launches an OnlyFans.
There have also been some seriously tense cliffhangers, including one episode that ended with Rue (Zendaya) buried up to her neck in sand, seemingly moments away from being struck with a polo mallet.
The scene cut to black as Rue screamed, leaving viewers unsure how she could possibly escape.
Rue ultimately survived, but the biggest shock of the season has been the sudden death of Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), which has left audiences stunned.
Nate’s latest choices put him on the wrong side of dangerous people, and he ended up buried alive with only a narrow air vent to keep him breathing — while his wife Cassie was given three days to come up with $1 million to get him released.
After a high-pressure standoff, Cassie manages to settle the situation and races to dig Nate out of the makeshift grave. But when she finally opens the box, she discovers her efforts came too late: a rattlesnake had slipped inside through the vent and bitten him.
Levinson addressed the moment in an interview with Esquire, explaining his approach to payback and audience expectations: ”There’s this kind of 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?”
“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?”
The series has previously allowed key characters to wriggle out of seemingly impossible situations, but with only one episode remaining — and Nate’s body reportedly in an advanced state of decomposition when discovered — it appears his story is definitively over.
That leaves Cassie devastated in the aftermath of losing her husband, while Rue, once again, is shown heading into fresh trouble as the season approaches its end.