Nate's dream with Jules and Cal || Euphoria (2x07)

Nate dreams with Maddie, Cassie, Jules and Cale. Oh boy, he's so messed up. Synopsis of the episode: Art imitates life as the East Highland crew watches their complicated dynamics reflected in Lexi's long-awaited play.

#NateAndJules #Euphoria

[i_am_sylar]

Can someone please explain me what's going on with Nate?! haha. What a mess.

[raquellawlitet]

worst part about euphoria fandom is that interesting scenes like this are never talked about. The reflection mirror thing is Reference to a famous painting (im forgetting the name) we see Jules embracing the the mirror guy we see her face while we see nate's face while Jules back. This is to show that he wants her because he knows she will understand him, but its impossible so he copes with having new girlfriends, doing anything so his image wont break. So he makes cassie wear stockings just like jules was wearing in first ep. He is recreating everything cal does (idk what deeper meaning this is) and dresses cassie up as a mixture between maddy and jules. Euther his dad really did molested him as a child or he is trying imagine himself in jules position because he wants to empathize with her. Anyways its fucked up and i need jules and his storyline to be more fleshed out

[chipmunkpark]

I watched a psychologist's analysis on Nate, and he explained how he was afraid that his father would do the same to him when he watched all those tapes, and that made him want to become strong and muscular...to protect himself from his father (the psychologist also mentioned there was a possibility of Nate being SA by his father)

[maevemurphy]

i wish scenes like this were talked about more in the fandom

[wolfgang]

This scene really weirded me out but seems to be heavily loaded with symbolism. What I gathered from this dream sequence is that there is a disconnection between Nate’s masculine persona and who he really is on the inside and/or what he desires. He is facing away from his own reflection in the mirror. He is holding a glass of champaign which parallels the tape of his father Cal. Maddy is also undressing from the purple dress Samantha gifts her in a later scene and is shrouded in darkness. I think this is both foreshadowing the dynamic/archetypical forces at play between Maddy and Samantha as well as showing us how Nate perceives Maddy (dark, demonic, femme fatale, bringing out the worst in him) We then see Jules embracing Nate in the reflection. I think this is alluding to Nate’s true feelings about Jules. He feels like she is the only one who knows him. Nate rips Cassie’s clothing off like Cal does in the tape with Jules. The scene cuts to Cal being on top of Nate in a strangely sexual way. The symbolism and imagery seems to have more than one meaning. The first way to interpret this is that he deeply afraid of humiliation, domination, emasculation, exc. and perceives homosexuality or exploring his sexuality and identity as a form weakness which is rooted in the relationship with his father. Being exposed to these video tapes of his father at such a young age while simultaneously having an estranged relationship with him has shaped Nate’s perception of himself and his own sexuality. The second interpretation is that he quite literally sees himself becoming like Cal.

[Naeyola]

This scene was terrifying for no reason

[sparkleclover]

It took me a few watches but I believe what is happening here is that Nate is empathizing with what happened to Jules. He's probably watched that video many times. First he's imagining that he's Cal and Cassie is Jules, but then he imagines himself in Jule's position.

[rorymeller]

As someone who was molested by a family member when I was very young that specific scene made me petrified and I just cried for some time. The only thing I felt from this scene, Nate was molested by Cal. Remember when Marsha said that little Nate would come every night to ask if she wanted something, he'd give her a kiss and tell her he loved her, then he said the same to Cal, but "never kissed him". Also Marsha said that somehow at the age 9 Nate just "darkened" and she couldn't understand how it happened. Nate said:"I think you're trying to asking a question without asking". The look on both their faces made me feel like Nate WANTED her to finally ask him, but she never did. Then Marsha said that "Cal didn't believe in therapy, so we didn't put you in there"... The way it just put all the pieces together. Cal sexually assaulted Nate, and if Nate was put in therapy, Cal would be screwed, because a professional would probably figure out what was happening. Nate's "love" for Jules and her embracing him isn't reflection of his internalized homophobia, it's because he feels she went through the same shit with his dad as he did, he feels like she shares his trauma, and he's looking for comfort without actually having to explain anything. When he had a nightmare, Cassie comforted him, but it's not the same because she doesn't know what these nightmares are about.

[panzushotto]

there are some things that i can think of when analysing his dream:
1- in s1, when nate confronts jules at the party, he says something about he knowing what kind of person she really is, implying that he knows she's trans
2- in s1 we also see nate's likes and dislikes and how he feels repulsive about women with what would be "male traits" in his point of view, such as body hair and stuff
3- nate found out about his father's porn addiction at a VERY young age and the consequences of it are not enough talked about. men who are addicted to porn are usually much more violent to women not only in sex. also he knew his father had something for boys much younger than him. on top of that, when we are young our main understanding of what romantic love really is about is our parent's relationship, so i believe by seeing this kind of stuff at such an early age he thought thinking it was normal, but at some point of his teenage life his opinion about it shifted drastically to the point of his repulsive feelings about anything related to gay relationships and stuff, which explains his repulse to those so called "male traits" in women

i believe nate really does have some romantic feelings for jules but also some kind of obsession. he doesnt know how to deal with those feelings because 1- shes trans and he sees this fact as if negatively affects that masculine image that he has of himself and 2- she hooked up with his father and he absolutely abominates it since this kind of attitude from cal (the hookups and the porn addiction) has changed his life since he was a kid. thats why nate is kind of dressing cassie like jules: cassie accepts it without questioning and shes not trans, so he would kind of have a cis jules for himself to deal with his feelings without having to confront that fragile masculine image he has of himself

also i dont believe nate was sexually abused by cal. the part of the dream where hes about to get f*cked by his father might be related to the fact that again, cal likes much younger men, so its easier to nate to put himself in these men's shoes

[majordelilah]

the way cassie is thrown on the bed and her tights are ripped off the SAME way as Jules in season 1

[aurumthebrave]

"And like a lot of dreams, there's a monster at the end of it".

[HungwonBeBe]

Honestly the only character is interesting in euphoria now is nate and his complex mind

[Grayment]

Reading the comments makes me realize I should not be therapist 😂 I just thought Nate has major Daddy Issues and a crush on Jules.

[Emma-dibc]

I think Nate’s dad definitely did something to him and he’s scarred

[Reuenofleon]

I feel like the tone of dreams in this show are unique to each character. This dream feels like an homage to Brian Fuller’s Hannibal which fits really well if that was on purpose

[flormoreno]

I think it's all about power dynamics.

[tipgo]

Scenes like this make looking back on the first season more interesting. Because in the first season when he and Cal have their big blow out and Nate's physical reaction is to start banging his head against the floor numerous times, it starts to make a lot more sense. He'd rather cause his own self destruction than have Cal dominate him, emotionally and/or sexually. I agree with you all, I hope this gets fleshed out more because

[Luka-szej]

I think Nate loves Jules because he knows that she is trans, which means he will be able to satisfy his own needs since she was born a male because he is obviously closeted...but since she looks like a female, the society won't judge him for anything and he'll be accepted. That's why in season 1 he had all those toxic stereotypes and rules for girls (no body hair, feminine features..etc) so he'd prove that he is straight. And after Cassie and Nate made their relationship public, Cassie tells him how she wants him to have full control over him, and the next day, Cassie shows up as mixture between Jules and Maddy...which means even though he never loved Maddy, he will miss her because he had so much control over her and everyone knew he was straight since he was with her. Now the morbid scene with Cal..i think Nate is a victim of a rape so he loved Jules because she was in the same situation as him (when she had sex with Cal) which explains why he kept the videotape of Cal and Jules, and why he was so used to it when Cal showed his dick and peed on the floor, or when he saw all those tapes, his reactions were much more used to it than his brother. So i think he is going through the same life as Cal, but mentally he is like his mother because his mother knew as well that Cal is gay according to her reaction, and she kept the baby just so Cal wouldn't be with his friends....my theory

[VNDRWRLD]

This is an A24 production certified moment

[shalanarbarnes]

The music that’s playing in the background reminds me so much of Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me movie it’s so chilling