characters in Euphoria, right up there with his father Cal. Despite this, creator Sam Levinson has made sure to focus on Jacob Elordi's character, and Euphoria season 2 has gone even further. Nate's family has been explored in depth this season, and the latest episode saw Cal have a full breakdown before coming out to his family and leaving them. Before he goes, though, Cal grabs a family portrait off the wall that shows him with Marcia, Nate, Aaron, and a third little boy who has yet to be identified.
This family portrait was shown before in the very first episode of Euphoria season 1. The series premiere revealed that Cal was the father of Nate only after Cal slept with Jules, a new classmate at East Highland High. The camera lingers on the portrait, seemingly emphasizing the fact that Nate has another little brother that has yet to be shown in the series. Nate's eldest brother Aaron has never been a prominent character, but he's at least been seen, most notably in Eric Dane's showstopping scene when he decides to leave the Jacobs family for good. That scene also raises the question of the third brother again, though, and it's unclear why.
It's possible that creator Sam Levinson doesn't know the answer yet. When the idea of a third Jacobs child wasn't addressed in season 1, it seemed as if the portrait was a throwaway moment, one not meant to be examined so closely. This could have something to do with the fact that Euphoria season 2 hasn't addressed the third Jacobs sibling. The latest episode, though, seems to hint that the identity of the child may be integral to the plot of the show at some point. How that could be remains to be seen, but there are a few possibilities, and one was hinted at directly in the season 2 premiere.
The Euphoria season 2 premiere begins with a lengthy flashback at Fezco's origins and focuses particularly on how Ashtray, Fez's drug-dealing kid brother, came into his life. Ashtray and Fez aren't related by blood - a woman buying drugs from Fez's grandmother used her baby as collateral and never returned for him. While it's certainly possible that Ashtray is the long-lost Jacobs sibling, it would bring into question some major plot holes. Nate's mother Marcia by no means seems to be a "junkie," which is how Fez's grandmother described the woman who dropped him off. Additionally, the child in the photo looks older than Ashtray did when he was dropped off at Fez's house. It would take a little bit of revising to confirm Ashtray as Nate and Aaron's younger brother.
Another possibility could be that Nate's younger brother died at some point in his youth, which would explain the estranged and tense state of the entire family. A major emotional event like this seems like something Cal would bring up when he decides to leave the family, though, bringing into question whether or not the death of a Jacobs child is a possibility. Ultimately, it's unclear if we'll ever get answers about the third Jacobs child, but the emphasis on his presence in the latest episode of Euphoria season 2 teases that something bigger may be going on.