Sunday’s episode brought very, very bad news for Jacob Elordi’s Nate and Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie on what was supposed to be the best day of their lives.

Euphoria’s new episode hits major character with shockingly gory surprise

Sunday's episode brought very, very bad news for Jacob Elordi's Nate and Sydney Sweeney's Cassie on what was supposed to be the best day of their lives.

Joey Nolfi

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April 26, 2026 10:00 p.m. ET

Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi in 'Euphoria' season 3. Credit:

Patrick Wymore/HBO

- *Euphoria* season 3, episode 3 ended with a bloody, surprising twist for Jacob Elordi's Nate.

- Nate and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) returned from their bombastic wedding to a gory gift waiting for them inside their mansion.

- Tears, screams, and blood abound as the episode ended on a cliffhanger.

Perhaps* **Euphoria**'*s most literal season to date finally cut to the chase — quite violently — with Jacob Elordi's Nate and Sydney Sweeney's Cassie at the end of its latest episode, "The Ballad of Paladin."

What was supposed to be the best day of their lives (as Cassie frequently exclaims, amid scenes of peril, anxiety, and panic throughout the ceremony and reception) instead devolves into a tear-streaked bloodbath, with Nate finally forced to cough up a chunk of his own body to repay outstanding debts to a menacing figure, Naz (Jack Topalian).

Prior to the pair's wedding (which Cassie also invites Alexa Demie's Maddie, Nate's ex, to attend alongside Zendaya's Rue and Hunter Scafer's Jules), *Euphoria* season 3 established Nate's new suburban life as one, naturally, built on lies. Having taken over his father Cal's (the late Eric Dane) building business, Nate attempts to secure investors to build a senior living facility, which he sees as a potential legacy-making (and cash-growing) enterprise.**

Eric Dane in 'Euphoria' season 3.

Along the way, it becomes clear that Nate has squandered many of his investors' funds, partially on his wedding to Cassie. Amid the couple's friends-turned-financial-backers growing increasingly suspicious of Nate's financial stability, Naz makes an unexpected appearance at the pair's lavish reception, threatening Nate in front of his wedding party for spending money on champagne and lobster instead of cutting him a check.

Cassie was, up to that point, unaware of her new husband's woes, and melts down as the evening progresses. On the way home, they reconcile in a limousine, with Nate promising to make love to Cassie when they return to their massive abode.

Shortly after they arrive, it's revealed that Naz and a henchman have broken in, and immediately pounce on Nate. Cassie is clobbered in the face during the scuffle, and shrieks over her misfortune as Naz and his associate, uh, beat the living hell out of her spouse in the background.

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From banging his head against the railing of his grand staircase to mercilessly dragging him across the floor, Naz and his cohort spare no ounce of brutality when it comes to Nate. In a final act of torture, Nate squirms on the ground in a dirtied tuxedo, pinned to the ground by his assailant as Naz rushes over, whips out a pair of pruning shears, and promptly cuts off the former high school athlete's right pinky toe.

It's a particularly gory episode for the series, which, earlier in the same installment, sees new cast member Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Rue's new illicit-activity boss and strip club owner, Alamo) kill a giant pig by shooting it in the head — an act that sends a squirt of blood spewing across a stripper's face.

Sydney Sweeney in 'Euphoria' season 3.

Courtesy of HBO

Things weren't *all* disturbing on episode 3, as the entry also marked a warm reunion of sorts for Rue and Jules, the latter of whom now works as a successful escort and artist, and attends the wedding on an invitation from her former flame and on-again, off-again friend.

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There's no word yet on if episode 4 will expand upon Nate's fate (characters have, largely, come in and sat out over large stretches of season 3 without much warning so far), so tune in to *Euphoria*'s next new episode Sunday on HBO to find out.

Original Article on Source

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