Euphoria Season 3 Eric Dane ALS Storyline

by Stephanie SoteriouBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffI’m an innately nosey and chronically online celebrity and pop culture journalist, with my specialist areas including deep-diving lyrics and calling out Terrible Men™.

Back in February, TV lovers everywhere were left devastated when it was announced that Eric Dane had died at age 53.

Gilbert Flores / Getty Images

The sad news came less than a year after Eric revealed that he had been diagnosed with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This can also be known as motor neurone disease, and impacts nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing patients to gradually lose the ability to walk, speak, eat, and breathe independently — although their mental state remains unchanged.

Michael Tullberg / Getty Images

Speaking to Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America in June, Eric said that his symptoms began about a year and a half earlier, when he noticed weakness in his right hand. He added at the time: “My left side is functioning, my right side has completely stopped working… I feel like maybe a couple more months, and I won’t have my left hand either. It’s sobering.”

ABC / Via youtube.com

Before he died, it was confirmed that amid his debilitating illness, Eric had filmed his final scenes for Season 3 of Euphoria, which returned to our screens earlier this month after a four-year break. Last June, Eric told Access Hollywood that it was “great to be back” on set, adding: “I can assure you that we are in production and we are shooting a really great TV show.”

Jeff Kravitz / Getty Images

Speaking to Extra after Eric’s passing, Euphoria’s showrunner Sam Levinson said that he and Eric had spoken about how they’d work around his ALS diagnosis before filming began. Sam recalled: “I loved him very deeply, and I said: ‘Eric, whatever shape you show up in, we’re gonna make it work. I have faith that it’s all gonna work.'”

Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images

When Eric showed up to set, Sam said that he noticed he had “a slight slur in his voice,” he explained: “I said: ‘Don’t worry. We’ll just put, like, five beer bottles in front of you and you’ve been drinking all night.’ He was like: ‘Perfect, perfect.’ And his character… It was such a gift.”

Tommaso Boddi / Getty Images

Eric’s character, Cal Jacobs, did not feature in the Season 3 premiere of Euphoria, although the episode did pay touching tribute with an in memoriam photo at the beginning.

HBO Max

But Cal was back in all his glory in episode 2, “America My Dream,” which aired on Sunday night. If you need reminding, Season 2 ended with Cal being arrested after his son, Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi, turned him in to the police for having sexual encounters with underage men and transgender women.

HBO Max

Explaining what had happened to Cal in the years since, Zendaya’s voiceover as her character, Rue, explains: “The last five years had been humiliating for Cal; he went from being the town’s top real estate developer to a broke sexual deviant who narrowly avoided prison.”

HBO Max

In the episode, Eric’s ALS is worked into the storyline by Cal being noticeably drunk, stumbling through Nate’s front door and asking him if he’s “got anything to drink.”

HBO Max

Eric was using a wheelchair in his final months, and Cal is seated for the rest of the episode — with empty bottles of beers in front of him as an explanation for his slurred speech.

HBO Max

Euphoria fans probably best remember Cal for his subtly comedic back-and-forths with other characters, including the iconic “I’m extremely confused” scene with Fezco, played by the late Angus Cloud:

> @ddiorfilms my favourite scene #ruebennett #euphoria #natejacobs #caljacobs #fezco #ashtray #hbo

♬ original sound - <3

HBO Max / Via tiktok.com

And that same energy was back for Season 3, with Cal and Nate having a candid conversation about Cal’s sex life. Nate tells his dad: “You’re gay, you’re in denial, and it came out in very weird ways.”

HBO Max

But Cal is unfazed, replying: “I’m not gay. I was a hedonist,” to which Nate exclaims: “You fucked men in the ass!” Cal replies: “So?” And Nate asks: “How is that not gay?!” Cal remains characteristically matter-of-fact, simply stating: “I was a pitcher, not a catcher.”

HBO Max

And the good news is, this definitely isn’t the last of Cal Jacobs, with the character shown reuniting with Jules [Hunter Schafer] in the Season 3 trailer, and those scenes yet to hit our screens.

HBO Max / Via youtube.com

As always, let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

Comments