Euphoria's most explicit Sydney Sweeney scene yet shown before surprising death

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Euphoria and includes images that some viewers may find distressing.

In line with director Sam Levinson's unpredictable style, viewers of Euphoria's penultimate instalment were left with whiplash from the sheer number of head-spinning plot twists.

The hour-long episode set the scene for next week's grand finale, kicking off with what fans have described as the show's most X-rated scene yet, and concluding with a shocking demise.

Sydney Sweeney's fame-hungry character Cassie opened the show, baring all for a sex scene no one had been expecting.

Despite having recently married high school sweetheart Nate Jacobs (played by Jacob Elordi) - cough, whom she stole from bffl Maddy (Alexa Demie) - Cassie was seen going full throttle with Hollywood actor Dylan (Homer Gere).

Cassie seduced Dylan at the beginning of the episode (HBO)

The move was all part of a plan she and gal pal Maddy - having since made amends - contrived to stage a relationship between them.

Prior to seducing Dylan, Cassie took a photo alongside the film star on his phone, which she later uploaded to his social media accounts, describing it as the 'best f**k' he'd ever had.

It saw Cassie pleading with Dylan to 'hold on' so she could also orgasm before suffering a cringe-worthy blow after he rolled over for a glass of water, too exhausted to go on. She'd hoped the ploy would drive traffic back to her online sex work after her OnlyFans site was shut down, and in turn, enable her to repay husband Nate's ever-mounting debts.

The raunchy moment was far from the first time actress Sweeney has been forced to strip down to keep up with character Cassie's desperate antics, but never before had fans gained such an unflinching insight.

"That loud a** Cassie sex scene jumpscare... free me," one X user joked.

Another added: "A Cassie sex scene??? Sydney Sweeney IT'S OK TO SAY NO."

Someone else commented: "The Cassie sex scene was awful to watch."

But as fans later discovered, nothing Cassie could do would have saved Nate from the wrath of loanshark Naz (Jack Topalian).

Prior to tricking Dylan into bed, Naz abducted Nate - weeks after cutting off both his finger and toe - warning Cassie she had to pay back the cash her hubby had owed or he'd pay the ultimate price.

Collecting the money she'd earned through views on her sex work page, Naz later warned her she had 72 hours to cough up the remaining $550,000 for Nate's survival.

Fans described the X-rated scene as a 'jumpscare' (HBO)

The loan shark had locked Nate in a coffin and buried him under his construction site, providing him with a pipe for oxygen.

Desperate, Cassie recruited Maddy once again, pleading with her to sleep with strip club owner Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), so that he'd pay the remainder of the ransom.

The group later met with Naz at the construction site under the guise of Alamo paying off Nate's debts, when he suddenly whipped out a pistol and shot Naz.

Alamo, Cassie and Maddy then used the late loan shark's construction equipment to dig Nate back up.

It wasn't until they opened the lid to the wooden coffin that the horrified trio found that Cassie's beloved husband was long dead, having been bitten by a rattlesnake which had slithered down his oxygen pipe.

The duo were too late to pay off Nate's debts (HBO)

Discussing his unexpected death in a behind-the-scenes clip released moments after the episode aired, Nate actor Elordi emphasised the need for him to receive his comeuppance for the toxicity he exhibited during earlier seasons.

"Nate is someone who's made so many mistakes and made so many dark choices," the Australian actor explained. "It's cool to see it all come to what it's come to...And that was it. It's a bittersweet thing.

"The show is a massive part of, not just my career, but my life. It's been amazing, and I'm proud to be a part of this."

Meanwhile, speaking about Nate in the penultimate episode, showrunner Sam Levinson told Esquire: "There's this kind of funny thing where I know what the audience wants in terms of justice or karma and with that in mind, I always think, 'Well, how can I give it to them?'

Nate had already been killed by a snake (HBO)

"How can I give them what they want, but make it so horrific and anxiety-inducing that by the time it happens, the audience isn't so sure they wanted it?"

He added: "It’s like, 'Oh, you wanted him to get his comeuppance…? Okay'.

"That feeling of complicity with the audience is always an interesting note to play inside of this sort of larger structure. You end up going, 'Oh God, I don't know. Should he have had it better? Did he deserve it?' Those kinds of questions are always exciting to pose to the audience."