Euphoria’s Jacob Elordi has spoken out after his character’s ‘gruesome’ death ahead of the show’s finale next week (May 31).
The hit show made superstars out of Elordi and Sydney Sweeney, as well as Zendaya, when it was first released in 2019.
But it seems Nate Jacobs’ (played by Elordi) days are finally over, after he was brutally killed off by creator Sam Levinson in what could potentially be the show’s second-to-last episode ever.
The Australian actor, who has portrayed the character since its inception, claimed that the role had not just been a big part of his career, but a ‘huge part’ of his life.
In the latest episode, called Rain or Shine, Nate found himself buried alive with a pipe which allowed him to breathe, until a gangster, to whom he owed large sums of money, let a venomous rattlesnake slither down the pipe and bite him to death.
Speaking in an HBO video behind the scenes, the 28-year-old star said: “It was a cool way to go, Nate is somebody who’s made so many mistakes and so many dark choices, it’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to.”
Addressing the scene itself, he added: “I had to go into this coffin, my shoulders were touching the side, and I couldn’t move my arms, and then they would drill the lid on and it would get dark.
“It was really nice actually, it was quite peaceful.”
Creator of the show, Levinson, paid ‘enormous credit’ to Elordi, who he claimed wanted to film the scene with a real snake.
Elordi added: “The snakes were rattling, which was really alarming when you’re locked in a box.
“They had a boa constrictor that they put a fake rattler on the end of, and Sam was like ‘I’m gonna drop a snake on you’.”
The highly-anticipated third season of Euphoria followed a four-year break, and is set five years after the second season.
Speaking about his exit, Elordi added: “And that was it. It’s a bittersweet thing. This show is a massive part of not just my career, but my life. It’s been amazing, and I’m so proud being a part of this.”
Levinson has also opened up about Nate’s ‘horrific’ ending, telling Esquire: “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 showrunner continued: “It’s like, ‘Oh, you wanted him to get his comeuppance…? Okay’.
“That feeling of complicity with the audience is always an interesting note to play inside of this sort of larger structure. You end up going, ‘Oh God, I don’t know. Should he have had it better? Did he deserve it?’ Those kinds of questions are always exciting to pose to the audience.”
The third and allegedly final season of Euphoria has faced harsh criticism from viewers, many of whom have described it as ‘torture p*rn’.
Scenes involving Sweeney launching her OnlyFans account have sparked particular debate.
Levinson has since defended the scenes, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it, but then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”
