Before Jacob Elordi‘s character, Nate, was killed off on the penultimate episode of Euphoria, his onscreen wife, played by Sydney Sweeney, had a graphic sex scene with Richard Gere‘s son, Homer.
During the Sunday, May 24, episode of the hit HBO series, Cassie was scheming with Maddy (Alexa Demie) about how to get back her OnlyFans following in order to make enough money to save Nate (Elordi) from getting killed by a mobster he owed money to.
The scheme turned into Cassie hooking up with actor Dylan (Homer Gere) in a scene that had Sweeney once again going topless. From there, Dylan got himself a glass of water but didn’t realize that his scoop of ice came with Nate’s finger that Cassie was saving.
Cassie, meanwhile, was secretly uploading a photo of her and Dylan together alongside a risqué message about their steamy hookup to his social media account in order to drive business to her sex work. The plan worked — until it didn’t. Ultimately, Cassie and Maddy weren’t able to save Nate from the box he was stranded in underground because a rattlesnake had crawled its way in and killed him.
“That was a cool way to go. Nate was someone who has made so many mistakes and made so many dark choices,” Elordi, 28, explained in a segment that aired after the episode. “It’s cool to see it all come to what it’s come to.”
Elordi recalled having to film in a coffin, adding, “My shoulders were touching the side and they couldn’t move my arms. Then they would drill the lid on it and it would get dark. It was really nice, actually. It was quite peaceful in there.”
The stunt team, meanwhile, stressed how important it was to make sure that Elordi had oxygen in the box. They also praised Elordi for agreeing to spend “minimal time in the coffin.”
Viewers may be surprised, however, to find out that creator Sam Levinson “wanted to shoot it with a real snake” so a rattlesnake and a boa constrictor were both featured on screen.
“Snakes were rattling, which was really alarming when you are locked in a box,” Elordi recalled. “They had a boa constrictor that they put a fake rattler on the end of it.”
He continued: “He was super cute. He was really cuddly. So he kind of just sidled up next to me and it was nice. But he was really sleepy. He was a sleepy snake. I had to kind of nudge him to get him to come up. And that was it.”
Euphoria fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted. Based on the Israeli series of the same name, Euphoria follows troubled high school student Rue (Zendaya) as she struggled to remain sober after rehab. The series also explores topics including mental illness, toxic relationships, sexuality and more. After […]
At the end of the segment, Elordi reflected on his time playing Nate.
“It’s a bittersweet thing,” he said. “This show is a massive part of — not just my career — but my life. It’s been amazing and I’m so proud of being a part of this.”
Nate’s death came as a surprise for some viewers who assumed he would find a way to make it out alive. The other story line that has left some fans perplexed was Cassie’s OnlyFans trajectory, which has led to numerous full frontal moments.
Sweeney, 28, however, has previously defended her decision to strip down on screen.
“I don’t get nervous. [I] gained so much confidence and self-awareness on Euphoria,” she told W Magazine in 2025. “I think that the female body is a very powerful thing. And I’m telling my character’s story, so I owe it to them to tell it well and to do what needs to be done.”
