Jacob Elordi has spoken out about the finale of Euphoria’s second season, and how he believes his character Nate Jacobs still has plenty of trauma to address.
In the daring HBO drama, the actor plays troubled teen Nate, who has a strained relationship with his dad Cal (Eric Dane).
Spoilers for the final episode of season two of ‘Euphoria’ are below.
In the conclusion to Euphoria’s second season, Nate confronts Cal in his workspace, where he’s been living since he moved out of the family home.
Armed with a USB memory stick, Nate tells his father that it contains “everything”, implying the years’ worth of footage showing Cal engaged with sex workers and underage teenagers.
Nate discovered these videos as a child and has been traumatised by them ever since. Soon after he confronts his father, the police arrive to arrest Cal.
Though a significant moment for his character, Elordi has now said that he doesn’t view the moment as a release for Nate. Instead, he views his character’s actions as more of a necessary act of survival.
“I wish I could say it was like a freeing moment, a moment of catharsis, but I think it’s just his only option other than literally dying, sort of killing his oppressor, and the last thing he can do to put an end to all of it,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
“But I don’t necessarily think it is the end of it all. I don’t think you can get rid of that kind of trauma.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, the actor responded to questions about the dark nature of this season, and whether he found it difficult to film.
For Elordi, tackling tough material is simply part of the job.
He explained: “To me, everything and anything is in the realm of possibilities, even things that couldn’t happen on this earth. That’s why I find it funny when people are like, ‘Oh, I’m not really comfortable doing this kind of thing.’
“And it’s like, ‘Well, that’s the job, it’s to tell a story,’ to hopefully convey a feeling.”
Read The Independent’s review of the finale episode of Euphoria season two here.