Euphoria creator Sam Levinson has defended the grisly death of Jacob Elordi's character Nate Jacobs in the show's penultimate episode, which saw him buried alive and killed by a rattlesnake. The scene has sparked horror among fans, but Levinson told Esquire he aimed to give the audience what they wanted 'but make it so horrific and anxiety-inducing' that they would question their desire for justice.
In the episode, Nate is thrown into a shallow grave by loan sharks after his construction business runs into trouble. He is given a small vent to the surface, giving his wife Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) three days to raise the money. With help from Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie manages to free Nate, only to find that a rattlesnake has entered the vent and killed him.
Levinson revealed that the original plan was for Nate to suffocate, but he came up with the snake idea while driving on a sunny day in Los Angeles. 'I just had this image of a rattlesnake coming towards this pipe,' he said. 'What if the snake goes into the pipe and then he's stuck inside the coffin with this rattlesnake?'
Jacob Elordi described the experience as 'cool' and 'bittersweet', noting that Nate's dark choices made the end fitting. He said filming inside the coffin was 'quite peaceful' despite the real snakes, which rattled alarmingly. Levinson praised Elordi for shooting the scene with a real snake, calling it 'enormous credit' to the actor.
