The season 2 finale of HBO's widely popular series Euphoria aired on February 27th and left fans with their jaws dropped to the ground with its balance of high drama and intensity. The season finale drew 6.6 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max, and the entire season's average viewership is at a staggering 16.3 million.
This is the best performance for any season of an HBO series in the last 18 years other than, of course, Game of Thrones, which raked in an average of 46 million viewers in its final season.
The writer and director of the series, Sam Levinson, tries to tie up all the loose ends in this episode. However, fans were left with more questions and cliffhangers than we anticipated. One of these cliffhangers (amongst several!) is the storyline of Cal Jacobs, played by Eric Dane. The season ends with Nate (Jacob Elordi) calling the cops after exposing Cal's illegal tapes to authorities. As Cal is taken away to jail, it's only fair to wonder what will be next for this deeply disturbed man.
Let's explore what will be waiting in Euphoria season 3.
Will Cal Get Redemption?
When it comes to whether we'll be seeing Cal Jacobs in the third season, Eric Dane goes on to talk about it to Variety, "There's gonna be redemption. I mean, that's the trajectory he's on. I can't imagine Cal's life from solitary confinement. It's tough to work Cal into the storyline when he's behind bars."
It's pretty clear from this statement that Cal will be seen in the third season. Also, it is unlikely he will be in jail for too many episodes. Otherwise, he will not get a chance to redeem himself. In spite of his complicated past and several other problematic issues, it will be difficult for audiences to view Dane's character as anything other than a villain.
In the same interview, when asked whether Cal would be able to repair his relationship with his son Nate, he went on to say: "I hope so. I think that's what was happening in that scene. When I said what I said in the foyer, Nate didn't say anything. He got a real chance to express himself with how he felt, even with the gun. The gun was his kind of way of saying, 'I f**king hate you, Dad, for what you did to me.'"
He added, "He even says, 'I've always protected you, and you f**king hated me for it.' Because Cal felt like a piece of s**t. He resented his son for that. But Nate gets a real opportunity to do what I did in the foyer."
When asked to discuss his scene with Nate in the season 2 finale, Dane said: "That scene went through many iterations. When I saw that he had called the cops on me, I thought, 'That seems a little harsh to do to your dad.' But I do think that the scene provided - before the cops came in - some closure that Cal got to acknowledge that he failed him as a father."
He continued, "I would think moving forward, there would be some healing between the two of them. I don't know where we're going to find Cal. We could find him in the SHU Program at Pelican Bay next season. Hopefully not. You know, he may not turn in that thumb drive and therefore the cops just grab me and then it's all a big mistake."
Dane concluded the interview by saying, "But we'll see, whatever the brilliant mind of Sam Levinson comes up with. But, you know, we found Cal in a saw mill at a post-sex party."
Eric Dane and Euphoria Season 3 Future
In the same interview again, Dane goes on to say that he's having the time of his life on Euphoria. "There aren't words to describe how much I love the show. These kids — I'm calling them kids, can you believe that? These young adults are so talented. It blows me away every time I watch their work."
Eric Dane was best known as 'McSteamy' during his time on the long-running drama series Grey's Anatomy. Now, however, he goes by a different moniker altogether if you ask the Gen Z's: Cal Jacobs. "It's revitalizing and refreshing," he says.
While the third season of Euphoria is already confirmed, there is no official announcement about its release date. However, Dane went on to say, "I just saw something that said 2024, which kind of makes sense. I mean, we'll go back and shoot maybe in November. I don't know. I haven't heard. It's always going to be changing."
Euphoria seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on HBO Max.