Euphoria Season 3 Episode 3 ends poorly for several characters, including poor Paladin the bird, but no one’s more upset about the sudden cruel twist to their fate on the HBO hit than the newly-minted Mrs. Cassie Jacobs (Sydney Sweeney).
**Spoilers for Euphoria Season 3 Episode 3, now streaming on HBO Max**
Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie finally tie the knot in Euphoria Season 3 Episode 3 in an over-the-top wedding largely filmed on location on the grounds of the opulent the Langham Huntington hotel in Pasadena. (At least, all of the exteriors are certainly the Langham.) Cassie got her dream wedding, complete with $50,000 of flowers, but she also got a nightmare in return.
Halfway during the reception, loan shark Naz (Jack Topalian) crashes the happy event to threaten Nate. Naz is horrified that Nate owes him so much money and yet persisted in putting on this extravagant show. “I used to be your husband’s friend,” Naz says. “I’m gonna become his worst fucking nightmare.”
On their way home, a shell-shocked Cassie wrangles with the revelation that her picture perfect life is a lie. Nate is not rich, but deeply in debt. He does all he can to woo her, promising to not only make things right, but to romantically carry her over threshold and then make love to her on their wedding night.
When they get home, however, they are not alone. Naz is there with a heavy who proceeds to beat the bejesus out of Nate while Cassie wails that it’s not fair to her that her wedding day and night have been ruined. It’s a moment of dark comedy that soon turns to grisly horror when Naz cuts off two of Nate’s toes and threatens more violence if his money doesn’t come through.
So what does this mean for the future of Cassie and Nate on Euphoria? How does this insane moment tease the rest of the season?
Euphoria Season 3 Episode 3 Ending Explained: Why Does Naz Attack Nate? Will Cassie Turn To OnlyFans?
As we’ve learned since the Euphoria Season 3 premiere, Nate might have taken control of his father’s real estate development business with big dreams, but he didn’t have the cash flow necessary to keep construction going while the state of California kneecapped him with all sorts of red tape — including halting everything because a rare plant was discovered on his lot. While he’s been wining and dining wealthy investors, his real debt comes from funeral mogul Naz.
Nate initially roped Naz into his “SunSettlers” scheme with the idea that he would build the retirement home communities and Naz would handle the funeral plans for clients. Both should make a killing (no pun intended) from the bumper crop of boomers dying soon. However, without the ability to move forward on construction, Nate has been burning through money. Meaning, Naz is impatient for a return on his investment.
Nate and Cassie’s lavish wedding signals to Naz that Nate has been holding out on him. Hence, the attack.
What’s interesting, though, is that while Nate is being pummeled, he kindly tells Cassie not to cry because it will ruin her makeup before offering an ominous warning. He says that some women inherit their husband’s fortunes when they are widowed, while others inherit their spouse’s debts. Meaning, if it gets to the point that Nate is killed for his debt, Cassie will be next in line to suffer the consequences.
It seems very obvious that this means that Cassie will indeed turn to becoming an OnlyFans influencer to raise funds for her new family. Scenes teased in multiple Euphoria trailers show her working closely with Maddy (Alexa Demie) on such a project. And, hey, if she was willing to do OnlyFans for flowers, you have to assume she’ll do it to save her and Nate’s lives.
New episodes of Euphoria Season 3 come out on Sundays at 9 PM ET on HBO and HBO Max.
