Alexa Demie Opened Up About Filming That “Traumatic” Maddy and Nate Scene in Episode 6 of ‘Euphoria’
*Euphoria season 2 spoilers ahead.*
Content warning: The following article includes mentions of violence, abuse, and trauma, which may be triggering for some. Reader discretion is advised.
The relationship between Maddy Perez and Nate Jacobs has been unsettling throughout the entirety of Euphoria, but their dynamics reached a dangerous and terrifying tipping point in episode 6, titled “A Thousand Little Trees of Blood.”
With Cassie and Nate’s secret affair finally exposed, Maddy wishfully plots revenge against her ex-boyfriend and ex–best friend. In one of the earlier scenes of the episode, we see Maddy lying on her bed and holding in her hands the tape of Nate’s father, Cal—the one in which he has sex with underage Jules.
But the situation turns significantly darker when Nate, knowing that Maddy is in possession of this tape and likely planning to expose it, drives to Maddy’s house with his father’s gun. Maddy returns home from her babysitting job to find Nate sitting in her bedroom, pointing the gun in her direction. Three distressing minutes ensue, where Nate holds Maddy at gunpoint and forcefully demands that she give up the tape.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, actor Alexa Demie, who plays Maddy, opened up about the emotional complexities of filming that shocking scene with her counterpart Jacob Elordi.
“It was an incredibly difficult scene not only because of the gun to my head but because it was choreographed in a really specific way,” she told the outlet. “We had to move with the camera movements and it was really broken up, and so it took us two days to shoot. It was basically all we did all day on those days.”
In exploring the duplexity between her character’s strength and her vulnerability, Alexa explains how “heartbreaking” it is to see her held at gunpoint by someone she thought truly loved her.
“Nate is somebody she was with for a very long time and is very close to, and maybe for a second, she thinks he’s bluffing or she doesn’t think that he would actually go as far as to shoot her, which sounds crazy to say,” she shared. “It’s heartbreaking to see her experience something so violent and traumatic, and it’s the moment that really shifts things for her.”
“After Nate puts a gun to her head, I think that’s the turning point for her of, ‘Okay, this is not what I can do anymore. This is so toxic and I don’t deserve this,’” Alexa continued.
In this episode, we last see Maddy curled into a ball on her bed as Cassie moves into Nate’s house. The difference between the two moments is disturbing, and viewers are left waiting to see how this twisted love triangle continues to play out.
If you are experiencing relationship violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or go to TheHotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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