Cal Vs. Nate: Who Is Euphoria’s Biggest Villain?

Even though Euphoria is only halfway through it’s second season on HBO Max, it’s about time the iconic father and son duo, Cal and Nate Jacobs, were analyzed and it was decided who is the show’s biggest villain. Throughout both the first half of the second season and the entire first season, which first aired in 2019, Cal and Nate go head to head for the title of the show’s biggest villain.

In order to decide which character is the most villainous, it’s important to look through the facts of what each character has done throughout both seasons, and the breadth of effect they’ve had on the other characters in the show.

Cal Is Euphoria’s Biggest Villain

Cal Is A Pedophile, Intentionally Or Not

Starting off with the first born in this father-son duo, and definitely the biggest call for Cal Jacobs as the show’s biggest villain, is the fact that he is a pedophile no matter which way you look at it. Even though Jules claimed to be 22 in the show’s first ever episode, she is very obviously 17. And even if audiences everywhere were to give Cal the benefit of the doubt, and say that he really did think Jules was 22, the fact remains that he’s looking for people in the age range of his own children.

And, more importantly, as we find out in season two with Cal’s backstory, Cal is trying to get back to the one night of freedom that he had with Derek (his best friend) when they were 18. Unintentionally or not, this man is a pedophile and is subconsciously trying to relive his one night of freedom that he’s known his whole life, which is more than a little pathetic and sad.

Cal’s Double Life Probably Caused Nate To Be The Way He Is Today

Thanks to one of the first episodes in season one of Euphoria, we know that Nate found his father’s porn collection, or more commonly referred to as “the videos-he-took-without-anyone’s-consent collection,” which caused Nate to be highly traumatized at the age of around 11 or 12. Now, if a character can make the audience feel bad for Nate Jacobs, then there had to be some things that went down to make it so.

Because Cal kept these videos in a place where Nate could find them at such a young age, it’s entirely possible that the reason for Nate’s psychopathy is because of the trauma he experienced as a young boy. Meaning, that Cal inadvertently caused Nate to be the way he is today, making him a bigger villain.

Cal Stood By Nate Even Though He Knew (Deep Down), Nate Abused Maddy

One of the shadiest things that Cal Jacobs has ever done, was look his son in the face and believe him when he said that he didn’t abuse Maddy. Even after Nate got out of trouble with the police, Cal confronted him and said that he didn’t know how Nate got out of it, just that he hopes it didn’t teach him the wrong lesson.

Instead of stepping up as his father and making him face the consequences of his actions, Cal Jacobs allowed his son to get away with abusing Maddy and setting up another guy who he almost killed. Which begs the question, is Cal the biggest villain on the show, or is he just the father of the biggest villain on Euphoria?

Cal’s Illegal Encounter With Jules Is Why Nate Is Blackmailing Her

One of the most frustrating things in either season of the hit show, is that Nate Jacobs is blackmailing Jules for the same thing she threatened to go to the police about Cal for: child pornography.

No matter what, child pornography is a serious matter and should be treated as such, yet, the situation begs the question that if Cal had never met Jules, would she be in this situation with his problematic son? Probably not.

Cal Is The Father Of “The Worst Person To Ever Exist,” Nate Jacobs

This last one is perhaps not a good enough reason for Cal to be the show’s biggest villain, but it’s definitely enough to make crowds at home everywhere despise Cal Jacobs. If only Cal could go back to the moment Marsha called him and told him that he was pregnant with Nate’s big brother and have ran away with Derek.

Although this other option isn’t the greatest thing either, it is one way to completely eliminate Nate Jacobs from the equation: by never having him in the first place.

Nate Is Euphoria’s Biggest Villain

Nate Abused Maddy And Got Away With It

Not the most terrible things Nate Jacobs has ever done, shockingly enough, is choke Maddy to the point where there were black and blue marks all over her neck. Nate is a terrible person for doing this, but it also proves that Nate is the shows true villain because unlike his father, the things that make him Euphoria’s biggest villain are things that he has done with his bare hands.

And to top it all off, he got away with it and completely evaded the police department and any responsibilities for his actions. Now that’s a true villain.

Nate Is Blackmailing Jules And Potentially Might Ruin Her Life

One of the most disturbing things that Nate has ever done, was fall in love with and get Jules to fall in love with him back, only to keep all of her nudes, print them out, and physically hold them over her head with the promise of turning them into the police.

The only two options for when this could happen, are that Jules ends up in Jail, on a sex offender’s list, or both. Not only is this incredibly cruel and methodically planned out, it’s another one of his actions that proves that Nate is the true villain of the show.

Nate Nearly Killed A Guy And Forced Him To Take The Fall For Nate Abusing Maddy

The thing that Nate Jacobs did that was probably the most cruel and selfish of them all, was nearly beat a man to death after he (may or may not have) slept with Maddy in a swimming pool. Even though Maddy did lie and say that she was blackout drunk during this encounter with the man, Tyler, Nate didn’t need to stalk and nearly kill Tyler for revenge.

In addition to this, he forced Tyler to go forward to the police and take the blame for the marks on Maddy’s neck, in order to avoid being arrested and put on a sex offender’s list for raping Maddy (whether that happened or not).

Nate Called The Feds On Fezco

Towards the end of season one, in an attempt to get back at Fezco for threatening to kill him, Nate calls the feds on Fezco, which ultimately leads to Mouse’s death, and causes a whole other sleuth of problems for Fez and Ashtray.

This isn’t one of the worst things that Nate has ever done, but it definitely supports him as the villain of the show, and he eventually gets what’s coming to him at the beginning of season two when Fez beats up Nate.

Nate Is The Wedge Between Maddy And Cassie

Perhaps the most villainous thing that Nate Jacobs has ever done, was drive a wedge between the true soulmates of the show: Maddy and Cassie. Nate knew exactly what he was doing when he drove Cassie to the New Years party and he knew this would ultimately ruin their friendship.

And even though at this point in the series, the audience still doesn’t know if or when Maddy is going to find out about Cassie and Nate, doing this to their friendship is probably one of the worst things that Nate has done so far in season two.