The third season of HBO’s acclaimed drama series “Euphoria” came to an end Sunday night, and the network officially confirmed that the episode also marked the end of the series as a whole. So what happened in the dramatic finale? Here are all the details.
The following paragraphs, of course, contain spoilers for “Euphoria,” Season 3, Episode 8, “In God We Trust” — you have been warned.
The finale gave most of the main characters some form of closure, with the most dramatic development being the death of protagonist Rue Bennett, played by Zendaya, while Ali, played by Colman Domingo, sets out to avenge her. At the same time, Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, begins building a new future around her OnlyFans activity while still dealing with the emotional fallout from her short, turbulent marriage to Nate, played by Jacob Elordi, who died a tragic death of his own in previous episodes. The episode also included a moving tribute to Fezco, the character played by Angus Cloud, who died in 2023 at just 25 after an overdose.
In the episode, Rue manages to escape Laurie’s compound after Faye betrayed her at the end of the previous episode. During the escape, one of Laurie’s men manages to capture her, but G kills the attacker and rescues her from the scene. Meanwhile, a Drug Enforcement Administration raid on Laurie’s farm ends with Laurie dying by suicide by hanging, while Alamo’s men escape unharmed. When agents open an ambulance smuggled from Mexico, they find a dead rat inside instead of drugs.
Later, Alamo praises Rue and calls her “employee of the year.” He treats her injuries, including a deep cut in her palm, and gives her a Percocet painkiller, warning her: “This is for the physical pain. Not for all the shit in your head.” He also gives her an entire bottle of the pills.
Later, while sitting with Ali, Rue enters a manic state and, during a dream sequence, sees a news report saying Fezco has escaped from prison and sets out to look for him. She arrives at the gas station where he used to sell drugs, and then a scene appears on screen showing Fezco and Rue standing together in a field, smiling and looking toward the horizon. The footage had not previously been used in the series.
Series creator Sam Levinson said during the finale premiere that such moments are uncommon, noting that the production lost Angus Cloud this season. He said many viewers loved Cloud as he did, and that the actor deserved more time and a longer, fuller life. Levinson added that Cloud, like too many others in the United States, was lost to fentanyl, and while he did not survive in the real world, the fictional world of 'Euphoria' allows him to live on.
Rue then rushes home, breaks through a police barricade and imagines her mother, Leslie, reaching out her hand to say goodbye. It later becomes clear these were the visions of a dying woman. Some time later, Ali finds Rue’s body on the couch in his home. He discovers the pills, tests them and finds they contain fentanyl. He then calls Leslie to deliver the devastating news.
Later in the episode, Ali is seen at a group meeting, where he admits he has started drinking again while grieving a friend. He says months have passed since Rue’s death, but the pain remains fresh. He then tells the group he no longer wants to continue the recovery program and plans to find another way to help. Shortly afterward, he is seen sawing off the barrel of a shotgun.
At Alamo’s club, Ali manages to secure a meeting with him. Alamo uses Maddy as a human shield, assuming Ali will not shoot an innocent person. He proposes a duel in which the two men can draw their weapons only after a champagne bottle rolled along the bar shatters on the floor. Alamo breaks the rules himself and fires first, only to discover that his gun is not loaded. Ali realizes Bishop removed the bullets from Alamo’s weapon and shoots him dead. After Alamo’s death, the dancers slowly leave the club.
Cassie, meanwhile, partially comes to terms with her husband’s death. In a conversation with her sister Lexi, played by Maude Apatow, she refuses to elaborate on Nate’s mysterious disappearance, saying she prefers not to dwell on it. She reveals a plan to turn the mansion she shared with Nate into a kind of content house for OnlyFans creators and even suggests that Lexi write storylines for them. Lexi gently declines. After she leaves, Cassie remains alone on the bed she shared with Nate. She fights back tears while looking at a photo of them together, as the camera pulls back to reveal her living in a kind of dollhouse in which she continues to perform, even if only for herself.
Lexi herself is preoccupied with other thoughts. She reads the Bible Rue left with her and regrets having once dismissed her friend’s spiritual search. She tells Cassie she wishes she had left things in a better place, while Cassie responds that no matter how things are left, the pain remains. At the same time, Jules, played by Hunter Schafer, is seen painting a portrait of Rue.
In the episode’s final sequence, Ali arrives at the farmhouse Rue visited at the beginning of the season, when she was smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border and looking for help. The family members who welcomed her then remember her fondly. When Ali tells them his daughter had stayed there some time earlier, they ask how she is and are surprised when he says she is in a better place.
The family prays with Ali before the meal, as one seat around the table remains empty. Ali sits across from the chair meant for Rue, and for a brief moment, it seems to him that he sees her sitting there and smiling. In the background, a wide landscape of earth and sky is visible. In Rue’s final moments in the series, she is heard in voice-over saying: “May God bless us all” — the line that closes the episode, the character’s story and the series as a whole.
The death, which came fairly early in the finale, left fans stunned. “Rue died because she was given drugs with fentanyl. She was sober and had a real chance at a better life. That’s why her death is such a terrible ending — especially for a show that is supposed to give addicts hope,” one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Others pointed to the scene shared by Rue and Fezco, saying it “made them cry uncontrollably.”
“Euphoria” first premiered on HBO in June 2019 as an American adaptation of the Israeli drama series of the same name, created by Ron Leshem, Daphna Levin and Tmira Yardeni. The series became a hit with audiences and critics and won numerous awards, with the final season premiering this past April after years of anticipation.