{"id":4308,"date":"2026-05-25T10:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=4308"},"modified":"2026-05-25T16:14:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T15:14:54","slug":"euphoria-season-3-episode-7-is-nate-dead-sam-levinson-breaks-down-ending-warning-rattlesnake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/05\/25\/euphoria-season-3-episode-7-is-nate-dead-sam-levinson-breaks-down-ending-warning-rattlesnake\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Nate dead? Euphoria cast and crew risked their lives for ‘horrific’ season 3 episode 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Euphoria season three episode seven*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

After the first two chapters set him up as the ultimate villain, Nate (Jacob Elordi) has almost become sympathetic in Euphoria<\/a> season three – but that\u2019s not the only reason his fate is so \u201chorrific\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We knew it wasn\u2019t going to end well for him. At the start of the latest chapter, we soon discovered Nate and Cassie\u2019s<\/a> (Sydney Sweeney) \u201cright wing suburban bubble\u201d life was an illusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nate had gotten into trouble with loan shark Naz (Jack Topalian), who eventually crashed their wedding and subsequently cut his toe off. Since then, Nate\u2019s had his appendage stitched on, cut back off again, and lost a finger (which was sent to Cassie as a threat).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the penultimate season three episode seven, \u2018Rain or Shine\u2019, the sharks hold Nate hostage over his $1 million debt, eventually burying him in a shallow grave with a small vent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nate
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

They then capture Cassie and tie her to her bed (it\u2019s the moment from the trailer everyone was talking about<\/a>), forcing her to cough up the cash or else they\u2019ll kill Nate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eventually, Maddy (Alexa Demie) ropes in Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) to help her, only finding out that this means she\u2019s now indebted to him <\/span>after<\/span><\/i> the deal is done.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I use the term \u201cdeal\u201d lightly – Alamo simply kills Naz, but they soon find out the whole thing wasn\u2019t even worth it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As we saw earlier on in the episode, while screaming out for help from his grave, a huge rattlesnake came through his airvent. It opens its jaws towards his face, but the scene cuts before we see the results.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This all changes at the end of episode seven, when Alamo and co. help Maddy and Cassie<\/a> to dig Nate up. They open the coffin to find his already decomposing corpse, with the snake wrapped around him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Euphoria season 3 crew risked their lives for Nate\u2019s death<\/h2>\n
\"A
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So yes, Nate is definitely dead, and not only that, but it ties together two common fears: Claustrophobia and ophidiophobia. Euphoria creator Sam Levinson has now broken down the death, and apparently, the cast<\/a> and crew literally risked their lives to make it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking to <\/span>Esquire<\/span><\/a>, Levinson revealed that they used <\/span>real<\/span><\/i> rattlesnakes while shooting the scene, and he received an ominous warning from the snake wranglers while filming in the desert on the outskirts of LA County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we were shooting with the rattlesnakes out in Lancaster, they said, \u2018If you get bitten by a rattlesnake, you have about an hour before you die. And unfortunately, the nearest hospital’s an hour and a half away,\u2019\u201d Levinson said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018So\u2026 don\u2019t get bitten by our rattlesnake.\u2019”<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally, the plan was for Nate to either die from heat or suffocation, but the snake idea came to Levinson when he and his wife were driving to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Maddy
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was one of those gorgeous LA days where it was perfect weather. We’re listening to Otis Redding. The windows are down and we’re driving to Warner Brothers and I’m looking out the window,\u201d he told the outlet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI just had this image of a rattlesnake coming towards this pipe. He’s banging and the snake can sense the movement in the ground. And I thought, \u2018What if the snake goes into the pipe and then he’s stuck inside the coffin with this rattlesnake?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of a funny moment where you realise that not all dark scenes come from a dark place. I turned to Ash and I said, \u2018I think I got it.\u2019 And I explained how Nate dies in this sequence. She goes, \u2018That’s what you’ve been thinking about?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though they risked it using real rattlesnakes for the shoot, the one you see coiled around Nate was a non-venomous species, which I think we can all agree is a smart idea.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, the team used a boa with a fake rattle, who Elordi described as \u201csuper cute.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n