Euphoria the creator Sam Levinson revealed how he was inspired to write the death scene for the latest episode of the drama series.
Spoilers below for Euphoria season 3 episode 7.
On Sunday, May 24, the penultimate episode, Euphoria fans are watching Jacob ElordiNate Jacobs' character, faces a tragic death. During this episode, Nate's debt came back to bite him – literally – as he was locked underground in a coffin for 72 hours.
His wife, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), was forced to pay off loan sharks in an attempt to save Nate. Cassie and Maddy (Alexa Demie) they were able to dig up Nate, only to see that he was killed by rattlesnakes.
Levinson, 41, shared that the idea of burying Nate alive was a tribute to one of his favorite movies.
“I have always loved film The Candy Snatchers when a girl is buried alive with a pipe as a vent. So I was telling myself that Nate will be buried alive,” said the producer in an interview with him Esquire published on Monday, May 25.
Not only was Nate buried alive, but there were snakes involved and the idea came to Levinson while enjoying a hot day in Los Angeles.
“It was one of those great LA days when the weather was perfect. Listen to us Otis Redding. The windows are down and we're driving to Warner Brothers and I'm looking out the window,' he thought. He knocks and the snake can hear movement on the ground. And I thought, 'What if the snake goes into the pipe and gets stuck in the snake box?'”
!['Euphoria' Creator Sam Levinson Reveals The Inspiration Behind It [Spoiler's] A Horrible Death](https://www.usmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TCDEUPH_HO181.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all)
Levinson also revealed that they used “all real snakes” while filming and received a serious warning from wildlife conspirators before filming.
“When we were shooting snakes in Lancaster, [California]they said, 'If you are bitten by a giant snake, you have about an hour before you die. And unfortunately, the nearest hospital is an hour and a half away. 'So … don't be bitten by our snake,'” Levison recalled.
When he wrote the scene, Levinson knew fans wanted to see Nate get his “revenge” in the final season — and he was happy to oblige.
“There's this kind of funny thing where I know what the audience wants in terms of justice or karma,” he reflects. “And with that in mind, I always think, 'So, how can I give it to them?' How can I give them what they want, but make it so terrifying and anxiety-provoking that by the time it happens, the audience isn't sure they wanted it?”
After waiting almost four years, Euphoria finally returned to HBO in April 2026 – and creator Sam Levinson made sure that no one forgets that it may be the last season. Season 3 has brought some of the most shocking, controversial and ugly moments in hit show history, from the first hit show to […]
Levinson added that by making Nate's death worse, he hopes viewers will question whether the character really deserved the outcome.
“That sense of interaction with the audience is always an interesting note to play within this kind of large structure,” he explained. “He ends up saying, 'Oh God, I don't know, should he have been better? Those questions are always fun to ask the audience.'”
Elordi, on the other hand, agreed with the fans that his character got what he deserved.
“That was a cool way. Nate was a guy who made a lot of mistakes and made a lot of dark decisions,” the actor said in a segment that aired after the episode. “It's great to see everything come to fruition.”
