The Nate Jacobs lobotomy is real: Why Euphoria’s resident villain has become a total bore

Look, we all knew a five-year time jump was going to be a gamble, but I don’t think any of us expected Sam Levinson to celebrate the Euphoria premiere by essentially lobotomising the show’s most terrifying antagonist, Nate Jacobs.

HBO

In seasons one and two, Nate Jacobs was choking Maddy, framing innocent guys for assault, and waving a literal gun around during a game of Russian roulette. He was a monster, sure, but he was, at least, an interesting monster.

Fast forward to season three, and it feels like Nate has been put on a steady diet of Sertraline and beta blockers. In his place is a struggling nepo baby who simpers to his wife while his dad’s business goes down the drain.

Jacob Elordi had been doing the press rounds calling this version of Nate “liberating” and “the end of arrogance”. Look, I get it, Jacob is a global superstar now; he probably doesn’t want to spend fourteen-hour shoot days screaming at Sydney Sweeney anymore.

HBO

However, we’re seeing a Nate who is mildly annoyed at most. When Cassie, who has been reduced from a complex, love-starved girl to an annoying sex-worker, announces she’s launching an OnlyFans to fund a $50,000 flower budget, the Nate we know should have punched a hole through a drywall. Instead, he just rolls over and tells her, “Baby, I’m trying to give you everything you want.”

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Who is this man? Because it certainly isn’t the guy who spent two seasons psychologically dismantling every woman in East Highland.

It feels lazy. It feels like the writers looked at Elordi’s new prestige actor status and decided Nate shouldn’t be “gross” anymore. By removing his edge, they’ve removed the stakes. The toxic, diabolical power dynamic between Nate and Cassie was the engine of the show; now, they’re just a boring, suburban couple bickering over wedding decor.

If we’re being honest, we didn’t tune back in after years of delays to watch Nate Jacobs become a calm businessman with a better relationship with Cal. We came for the drama.

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Featured image credit: HBO