If you have not seen Euphoria, this is your spoiler warning! If you have, continue reading to learn what many fans have speculated since the second season was released.
Either Elliot or Ashtray is Nate’s mysterious younger brother
In season two, episode four of Euphoria, a drunk Cal picks up a family photo, in which there are three boys standing with Cal and Marsha. Viewers noticed the mysterious boy who appears to be the younger brother of Nate and Aaron and started speculating on his identity. A Reddit thread attempted to solve the identity of the mysterious brother, throwing out names like Ashtray and Elliot to potentially be the unknown brother. However, Ashtray being the third brother seems to be the most popular theory out of all, which I personally agree with.
Both Jacob Elordi, who plays Nate, and Eric Dane, who plays Cal, mentioned that they don’t know who the third brother is. I’m guessing that we’ll find out who it may be in the third season of Euphoria—which might be a little bit of a wait.
Nate’s mysterious younger brother is dead
Another popular theory mentioned on TikTok is that Nate’s third brother has passed away. It’s possible that Cal’s or Nate’s tendency to behave violently had something to do with the disappearance of the younger kid. When Cal says “we all have our secrets” as he looks at the photo of the family of five, many thought that this meant something secretive or bad had happened to Nate’s younger brother.
Elliot is in Rue’s imagination
This one was very interesting to me because I could definitely see how Elliot can be an invention of Rue’s paranoia or the physical embodiment of her drug addiction. Just like drugs, Elliot comes in between Rue and Jules’s relationship. Elliot also keeps encouraging Rue’s drug addiction by joining her when she does drugs and supporting it even though it’s clearly bad for her. I thought that it was strange how Elliot never really interacted or talked with anyone other than Rue and Jules too, which can be further proof that he’s just a part of Rue’s imagination.
Rue is dead
The theory that Rue has been dead this whole time is definitely a little… mind-boggling. Many think that Rue fails to stay sober and eventually starts doing hard-core drugs, ultimately leading to her death. If this theory is right, as the narrator, she’s either been explaining the events that occurred up to her death or narrating the entire show from beyond the grave.
Rue seems to know every little detail about the characters, explaining what happened in their lives even though she wasn’t there with them to experience those things. So, her being dead and observing everything about everyone does make sense.
For me, this theory seems a little extreme. But then again, I think the director Sam Levinson does a great job in making us believe that anything can happen in the show.
Maddy and Jules will take down Nate together
One of the theories that a Reddit user posted is that Maddy owns another copy of Cal’s tape and that she’s planning to join forces with Jules as they get revenge on Nate.
Someone also said that it’s possible that Maddy was recording the whole time when Nate threatened her with a gun to hand the tape to him. Among the decor on Maddy’s wall, there is a yellow poster that says, “Smile, you’re on camera.” This might be a clue that’s left in the frame to foreshadow the possibility that Maddy will be the one to eventually take down Nate.
Overall, I think that some of these theories are definitely plausible. Euphoria is such a well-thought-out show that there’s no way that there aren’t hidden clues or symbolism of future events and certain things about the characters that will be revealed in the future. I guess we just need to sit tight and wait for the next season!
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