When ‘Euphoria’ fans watched Nate Jacobs get buried alive and killed by a rattlesnake in season 3’s penultimate episode, many had questions. Now, creator Sam Levinson is finally answering them.
In a candid breakdown of the shocking death sequence, Levinson explained that Nate’s demise was intentionally “horrific”—and that was the whole point. He designed the scene as a twisted answer to viewers who’ve been clamoring for the character to face consequences for his actions.
“I wanted to give the audience what they thought they wanted, but in a way so intense and anxiety-inducing that they would question if they truly wished for that outcome,” Levinson said.
The rattlesnake twist came to him while driving through Los Angeles, inspired by classic cinema and a striking visual he couldn’t shake. Before landing on the venomous snake, Levinson had considered other methods—suffocation or heat—but ultimately felt the rattlesnake amplified both the horror and symbolism.
To capture the terrifying realism, the production used a real venomous rattlesnake for certain shots, though they switched to a safer substitute when actor Jacob Elordi was in the coffin.
Speaking about his character’s brutal exit, Elordi called it “a cool way to go.” He described filming in the coffin as surprisingly “peaceful” at times, despite the intense premise. For him, Nate’s death felt like the natural endpoint for a character who had made “so many dark choices.”
The death has left fans divided—some satisfied that Nate finally faced reckoning, others disturbed by how far the show went to deliver it.
