‘Euphoria’: What Happened to Cassie’s Ex-Boyfriend, McKay?
What To Know
- Chris McKay, once a central character and Cassie’s ex, has been absent from Euphoria since his brief appearance in Season 2.
- McKay’s storyline in Season 1 focused on his struggles with his football career peaking in high school and his troubled relationship with Cassie.
- McKay doesn’t appear at Nate and Cassie’s Season 3 wedding.
The Euphoria gang is (mostly) all back together in the latest Season 3 episode, which revolves around Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) wedding. It’s hard to remember that there was once a time when Nate and Cassie weren’t stuck in their toxic relationship, which began in the Season 2 premiere.
Who could ever forget that tense New Year’s Eve party, when they hook up in a bathroom while Maddy —Nate’s ex and Cassie’s bestie — stands right outside the door? Cassie’s ex, Chris McKay (Algee Smith), is also in attendance at the party. Though unlike Maddy, he’s missing from Nate and Cassie’s wedding. So, whatever happened to McKay? Let’s break down his Euphoria journey and why he’s missing.
What happened to McKay?
It makes sense that McKay didn’t get an invite to the wedding, though we wouldn’t blame him if he elected to cut ties with the group and not show up. McKay’s brief party appearance in Season 2 is the last viewers see of the character, who is central in Season 1. McKay is the only non-high schooler in the friend group, which includes his then-best friend, Nate, and girlfriend, Cassie. Most of McKay’s storyline revolves around him facing the fact that he’s already hit his peak. He struggles to accept the fact that he isn’t a star football player in college like he was in high school.
HBO
So, McKay turns to Cassie to forget his woes. But their year-long romance isn’t smooth sailing, and their relationship becomes fraught as other guys objectify Cassie. McKay becomes uncomfortable and embarrassed by how Cassie dresses and acts, which manifests as anger and emotional distance. Nate even tries to break them up by showing McKay a sex tape of Cassie and her ex, but he’s unsuccessful. Though he’s a bad boyfriend most of the time, McKay has some decent moments (especially when you compare him to Nate): There’s one scene where he turns down Cassie and asks why they have to be sexual all the time, expressing his desire to have genuine conversations with her.
It all comes crashing down in Episode 6 of Season 1. As McKay is hooking up with Cassie in his dorm room, McKay’s fraternity brothers break in as part of a hazing ritual. They beat him up while he lies naked on the floor, with Cassie screaming at them to stop. Understandably, McKay breaks down in the bathroom afterward, but he buries his emotions and tries to save face with Cassie by having sex with her.
After another curveball (more on that below), McKay and Cassie’s relationship is pretty much over. His last episode is Episode 2 of Season 2.
Show creator Sam Levinson and HBO never addressed the character’s disappearance. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Smith said that he was in the dark, too. “I’m not even really sure, to be honest with you,” Smith said when asked where McKay’s story was heading. “I think that’s a question we have to ask our creator, where he sees it going. We haven’t even gotten that far in the conversation, him and myself, on this, actually.”
Did Cassie get pregnant with McKay’s baby?
Yes, at the end of Season 1, Cassie discovers she’s pregnant. McKay panics and encourages her to have an abortion, which she does.
Their relationship status isn’t made entirely clear after that conversation, though in the finale, Cassie remarks that it’s the first time she hasn’t been in love with anyone in years. Fast forward to that aforementioned New Year’s Eve party in Season 2, and McKay approaches Cassie aside to see if they have any chance of getting back together. Explaining that she’s not a good person — though keeping her recent tryst with Nate under wraps — Cassie says that she and McKay are done. Nate tries to weasel details about McKay and Cassie’s sex life out of his best friend before the night ends. Then, poof, McKay is never to be seen again.
Euphoria, Season 3, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO and HBO Max
