At the end of season two, episode three of Euphoria, Nate goes back to Maddy, while he is still seeing Cassie, further perpetuating his abusive and toxic tendencies.
Euphoria premiered with its much-anticipated second season in January 2022. To date, the second season has released three episodes and fans everywhere cannot get enough of the teen drama series featuring Zendaya in the title role of Rue.
However, the real point of fascination is the ongoing love triangle of characters Nate, Maddy and Cassie.
Nate and Cassie began their fling at the beginning of the season, while Nate was still broken up with Cassie’s best friend, Maddy. An affair that will seemingly continue now that Nate has gone back to Maddy.
Who is Euphoria’s Nate Jacobs?
Euphoria is a complex and emotionally provoking series, as it takes, “A look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.”
One of its central characters is Nate Jacobs, who is played by Jacob Elordi. Nate’s character during the first season is introduced as an All-American jock, who is popular in school. However, his personal life is anything but.
Euphoria: Why did Nate go back to Maddy?
During the first season of Euphoria, Nate Jacobs was in a relationship with Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie.
However, their relationship ended when it was discovered that Nate had been physically abusive towards Maddy, after he choked her, leaving handprints around her neck. The two consequently broke up in season one.
When the second season of the show starts, Nate sparks a secret affair with Maddy’s best friend, Cassie. While Nate is still having an affair with Cassie, he is seen pursuing a relationship with Maddy.
While it has to be explained why Nate wants to go back to Maddy, for viewers, his motivation has been linked to the stereotypical behaviour abusers tend to perpetuate.
When an abuser knows that their victim is still open to welcoming them back, they work towards getting the victim back in order to inflict further abuse on them.
Did Nate break up with Cassie?
So far, for three episodes, we have watched as Nate pits Cassie against Maddy. While Maddy might not know that she is in competition with her best friend for her boyfriend’s affection, Cassie does.
However, the blame has been squarely placed on Nate. This is as Cassie is known to continually seek male validation, which Nate plays on as he tells Cassie that she is the ideal woman for him.
While on the other hand, he is actively pursuing Maddy. Even when Nate went to rekindle his relationship with Maddy, an unaware Cassie was waiting for him.
Politicising Nate Jacobs
As a socio-political case study, Nate Jacobs is seen as the embodiment of toxic masculinity. This is as the first season revealed his abusive tendencies, but ended with the suggestion that he was working on himself.
However, the second season has shown how textbook toxic masculinity works, and instead of working on himself, he is trying to fix the people around him, completely avoiding the source of their trauma.
This is seen as Nate pits the two best friends against each other for his affection, while also surprising his own desires for Jules Vaughn. This is after Jules and Nate shared intimate moments in the first season of Euphoria.
What can you expect next on Euphoria?
Ahead of the anticipated fourth episode of Euphoria, which is set to air on Sunday, 30 January 2022, a trailer of the episode has been shared.
Set to be titled You Who Cannot See, Think Of Those Who Can, the episode confirms that the love triangle between Nate, Maddy and Cassie is set to continue.
This is as the trailer showed that Nate will be there to celebrate Maddy’s birthday, with a gift in hand. Moreover, Nate and Cassie will continue their relationship but face a falling out due to the rekindled relationship with Maddy.
Conclusion
Euphoria’s third episode, Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys, continued to deliver on the nail-biting dramas of the main teenage cast of the series.
Particularly in terms of upping the stakes for all its characters and the repercussions of their actions if they were to be discovered.
Like the continually complicated love triangle between Nate and best friends, Cassie and Maddy.
While Maddy might not know that the boyfriend she just accepted back is being intimate with her best friend, Cassie is fully aware. Therefore, fans are waiting for when the secret finally comes out.
