Warning: Spoilers ahead! Do not proceed unless you’ve watched “Euphoria’s” seventh episode of Season 3.
Ding dong, the witch is dead, and the victory is hollow.
“Euphoria” killed off Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) — and he went out in the most “Looney Tunes” way possible. The character launched Elordi into stardom, and he was an iconic TV villain that everyone loved to hate.
So, the problem isn’t that Season 3 killed Nate, but rather how it was all very… stupid. Series creator/ writer Sam Levinson wasted the use of an Oscar-nominated actor, and a once-great character.
Nate died in the penultimate episode of Season 3 by getting buried alive, and then getting bitten by a rattlesnake.
It was disturbing, which might seem fitting for a loathsome character. But it was also cartoonish. And, the people responsible for his death were random new side characters. Nate committed a lot of sins in his life, and his killers weren’t connected to any of that.
He was essentially killed by glorified extras in a ridiculous way.
Tell anybody who only watched the first two seasons of “Euphoria” that’s how Nate died, and the reaction will be, “Huh? Yeah, I wanted that jerk to die, but HUH?”
“Euphoria” first premiered in 2019, following a group of high schoolers. Nate Jacobs was the toxic jock with anger issues. He choked his girlfriend, Maddy (Alexa Demie). Then, after cops arrested him for it, he manipulated and blackmailed another guy (Tyler, played by Lukas Gage) into taking the fall for it. He blackmailed Jules (Hunter Schafer). He used and degraded Cassie (Sydney Sweeney).
Nate was controlling, angry, sleazy, scary. He was also interesting and complex.
The first two seasons explored why he was like that. “Euphoria” had its faults, but it previously did a good job of digging into Nate’s psychology.
He was exposed to his father Cal’s (Eric Dane) homemade porn videos at a young age, which was damaging to Nate’s psyche. The first season also kept Nate’s sexuality ambiguous, and he was self-loathing about it, taking his issues out on other people.
It’s no wonder the role made Elordi a star. In his hands, the character was terrifying but also had a lot of depth and glimmers of humanity.
Season 3 softened Nate and changed his personality so much that critics complained it seemed like he got a lobotomy.
In the first two seasons, Nate threatened numerous people with guns. In Season 3, when he was getting brutalized by mobsters, he was dancing around day drinking and seemingly had no weapon. Nate was a bully, but he was never an idiot. Season 3 made him one to make this nonsensical “plot” work.
He had no character development. The storyline about how he might be a self-hating queer man? Dropped and forgotten. His issues with his dad? Smoothed away. His rage issues? Gone. His abusive tendencies toward women? Suddenly his love for Cassie seems genuine, with no explanation. Season 3’s version of Nate was weirdly nice to her.
Every episode of Season 3 was torture porn, featuring Nate onscreen for less than five minutes, getting brutalized, getting his fingers and toes cut off, before his absurd death.
It’s not satisfying to watch a villain bite the dust if he doesn’t even feel like the same character. Season 3’s Nate was a stranger with Elordi’s face. His sins felt like they happened in an alternate dimension.
Nate’s pointless role in Season 3 was the TV version of “this meeting could have been an email.”
Elordi, 28, already showed off his acting chops in the first two seasons, but during the four-year hiatus between Seasons 2 and 3, he cemented his status as a top-tier actor with range in movies such as “Saltburn,” “Priscilla” and “Frankenstein,” which earned him an Academy Award nom.
He’s so booked and busy, it’s obvious that Season 3 didn’t have him for long.
But that’s no excuse. “Euphoria” has previously demonstrated it can do a lot with limited time and resources. Its 2020 Christmas special featured Zendaya and Colman Domingo simply talking in a diner.
Why not give Elordi material like that, instead of nonsensical torture porn?
Nate could have had scenes discussing his sins with another character in a simple setting, such as a diner or bar. If Elordi had limited availability, then use his time for drama scenes exploring whether Nate changed or has regrets.
If “Euphoria” wanted to axe him, he could have gotten stabbed or shot in a bar parking lot. Maybe someone eavesdropping on his conversation about his sins decided to play God and punish Nate. Maybe Tyler — the guy who took the fall for Nate choking Maddy in Season 1 — could pop up and get his long-awaited revenge.
I came up with that plot scenario in two minutes. Levinson had four years. And all he came up with is a “Looney Tunes” death. He squandered the use of a once-complex character and a talented actor.
