Nella terza stagione, episodio tre di Euphoria, è stato finalmente rivelato a Cal (Eric Dane) che suo figlio, Nate (Jacob Elordi), è “innamorato” di Jules (Hunter Schafer). Bene, tecnicamente Fezco (Angus Cloud) ha detto che Nate era innamorato di “Jewel”, ma hai capito. Per alcuni fan di Euforia, questo potrebbe essere stato uno shock. Nate sembra essersi allontanato dai sentimenti che aveva per Jules nella prima stagione, soprattutto considerando la sua nuova fissazione per Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) che è emersa nella seconda stagione. Fez potrebbe essere coinvolto in qualcosa? Nate potrebbe davvero provare sentimenti persistenti per Jules? Bene, c’era un indizio essenziale nella terza stagione, l’episodio due che indicava che la sua nuova cotta per Cassie potrebbe essere in realtà sentimenti fuori luogo per Jules.
Were Nate’s Fantasies About Cassie Actually About Jules?
During the monologue where Rue (Zendaya) described why Nate is “in love” with Cassie, a trippy compilation of Cassie and Nate having sex appears onscreen. Less obvious, though, were blink-and-you’ll-miss-it clips of Jules taking nude photos of herself. Jules’ selfie-taking appears to be a callback to when Nate catfished Jules as nice guy “Tyler” back in season one. Jules had sent nude photos to who she thought was a potential future boyfriend.
What Do Nate’s Fantasies About Jules Mean?
When Nate catfishes Jules throughout season one, it’s unclear if he’s being partially genuine or purely trying to get photos from Jules to blackmail her after he finds out she and his father had sex (via a videotape his father secretly took), but the flashes of Jules in his visions suggests he does have lingering feelings.
Actually, when you think about the characteristics for his “dream girl” Nate lists as he fantasises about Cassie, Jules fits the description (and arguably better fits it, considering Nate barely knows Cassie): Jules is also “intuitive,” “sensitive and emotional,” and “a strong, powerful woman.” Then, when Nate begins seizing in the hospital bed and thinks about his life up until that point, Jules appears several times in sexual positions, along with Maddy and Cassie.
Why Can’t Nate Accept His Feelings For Jules?
So why is Nate pursuing Cassie instead of Jules? Well, we can start with his blatant transphobia. Nate threatened Jules when they first met in season one and continued to bully her through catfishing her, threatening her with violence and revenge porn, and getting physically aggressive with her. Less obvious, though, is the way Nate’s sexuality and his transphobia collide: He’s attracted to Jules but can’t accept that he is attracted to a transgender woman. His obsession with toxic masculinity and dominating cisgender women (see: caring about virginity, being obsessed with hairless women) are threatened by her in a way that he can’t accept. Perhaps it’s not just Jules being transgender that scares him, it’s also that she doesn’t seek male validation, especially not from Nate.
Cassie, however, represents the feminine ideals he is used to — she’s cisgender and submissive to him (albeit because he’s manipulating her insecurities). It’s possible Nate is choosing Cassie to “replace” Jules without having to break down his own ideas about sexuality and gender. Furthermore, this could explain Nate’s obsession with Cassie being pregnant, as he could be subconsciously pushing himself to consider what Cassie can “offer him” that Jules cannot.
Of course, this is blatantly transphobic and just plain messed up. Whether Nate is secretly into her or not, Jules deserves someone who accepts and loves her for who she is (and for the record, Cassie does too)!
Image Source: HBO