Nate Jacobs dies from rattlesnake bite in Euphoria episode

The penultimate episode of HBO’s “Euphoria” season 3 has killed off a central antagonist in a sequence that balances brutality with dark irony. Nate Jacobs, the character played by Jacob Elordi, dies after being buried alive by a loan shark and bitten by a rattlesnake, a fate that series creator Sam Levinson described as intended to make the audience question whether such gruesome punishment is truly deserved.

The episode, titled “Rise and Shine,” reveals that Nate incurred a $1 million debt to a business partner named Naz. The debt stemmed from a stalled retirement community project halted by the discovery of an endangered flower. Naz and his associate invaded the home of Nate’s wife, Cassie, kidnapped her, and informed her that Nate had been buried in a coffin beneath the construction site. They gave Cassie 72 hours to raise the money, the approximate time it would take for a person to die of dehydration.

Cassie turned to her friend Maddy for help. Maddy then enlisted the assistance of a figure named Alamo, who provided what appeared to be a bag of cash. At the drop site, Alamo shot and killed Naz, but the rescue effort proved futile. A rattlesnake had entered the coffin...