Warning! Spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 7 of Euphoria, “Rain or Shine,” streaming now with an HBO Max subscription.
The long-delayed third season of Euphoria has been airing on the 2026 TV schedule, and keeping fans on the edge of their seats each week. The time jump has not been kind to the characters, and some drama came to a head in the penultimate episode that aired last week. The Jacob Elordi-heavy episode brought a twisted death, and a star told CinemaBlend what it was like watching it happen.
Throughout the third season, Elordi’s Nate Jacobs owed a lot of money to unsavory characters. With Jacobs Construction basically going under with Nate at the helm, he’d been a bit desperate, and he upset the wrong people upset finance-wise. Nate lost some appendages and, unfortunately, lost his life in last week’s episode, “Rain or Shine.”
Jack Topalian, who plays shady businessman Naz, spoke to CB about working with Elordi during all those torturous scenes. And, as one might imagine, the pair's dynamic was quite different off camera:
They're very heavy scenes, and you're right. That's a great question to ask. You know, Jacob and I, we have an amazing relationship. You know, like I said, from day one, it was very warm and welcoming. So we would just kick back next to each other, you know, when they're setting up the cameras and lights, and then when we go, 'We gotta go into this full on.' And then afterwards, you know, if I'm doing something that's hurting him or I'm going to be like, 'Hey, Jake, nothing personal brother, but I gotta do this,' you know? And he's like, 'No, bro, do it. Do it,' you know? And he's like the ultimate team player, man.
As a fan, it was hard for me to watch the scenes with Nate getting beaten and tortured (regardless of how terrible of a character he is). Between getting beat up, getting his toe and fingers cut off, and then being killed by a snake while being buried alive, he really went through it. And a lot of that was Naz’s doing. Considering the darkness of the content, it's great to know Elordi and Topalian got along off screen and were trying to have as much fun as they could. Topalian also added this:
I mean, even though stunts when he is getting tossed down the stairs, I mean, it's really like, 'Jesus Christ, man. We got stunt people for that.' But Jake really likes to dive in. And it was a lot of fun to play with somebody like that because he gives you so much. You know, obviously, acting is reacting. So I give him something, and he reacts to that, and then he reacts back to me. So it was a good way for us to both elevate the game and the scene. And, ultimately, Sam was happy with the outcome, and the audience is the final judge of this, and looks like they're all good to go.
It goes without saying that Euphoria is a pretty heavy show and can be quite brutal in one way or another. The penultimate episode is something else, though, and I wonder if the finale will top it in terms of shock factor. What I'm also wondering is if Nate’s death will have some impact in the immediate future, particularly on his wife, Cassie. After all, I can't see Nate's debt to Naz just being wiped away and Cassie not having to deal with the fallout.
Like Nate, Cassie has also been through the wringer in a few ways this season. It's been on a wild ride for, especially in regard to her trying to pay off Nate’s giant debt by going into OnlyFans before landing a TV show role. Reception to that arc hasn't been all that positive, though. Fans called a recent episode a “humiliation ritual,” and the storyline has been slammed by actual OnlyFans models. Of course, everything is seemingly set to come to a head in the finale.
It'll be hard not to think about Nate as the finale plays out but, at the very least, his problems are over now (albeit in a tragic way). Still, it was fortunate for Jacob Elordi that, on set, his experience with Jake Topalian was positive.
Tune in for the Season 3 finale, which may or may not be the series finale, on Sunday, May 31, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
