After years of delays, wars and writers’ strikes, season three of Euphoria has finally arrived — but it is unclear whether the result justifies the wait. Even before the premiere aired, the season was already clouded by tension. Labrinth, the musician closely associated with the series, announced he would not take part this season due to “personal and professional boundaries,” and reports suggested strained relations between Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya over ideological differences. Still, viewers were willing to set it all aside and return to the show’s drug-fueled, drama-heavy world — only to be disappointed.
The previous season ended with Rue (Zendaya) once again deciding to get clean, saying in voiceover that she stayed sober through the end of the school year, though not entirely by choice, but because it was easier. The season three premiere jumps five years ahead and introduces Rue’s new path — as a drug mule. It is unclear whether she remains sober, but she is shown smuggling drugs from Mexico into the United States by swallowing them. She does so to repay a debt to dealer Laurie, which began at $10,000 and has since ballooned to $100,000.
Rue searches for herself — and finds God. If the series were set in Israel (not the original version starring Roni Daloomi), Rue might be listening to faith-based pop, attending influencer-led challah-baking rituals and eventually becoming religious and meeting a partner on a matchmaking show. Instead, in California, she sits with her sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) and asks him questions about faith, focusing in particular on what the Bible says about LGBTQ issues. Ali reassures her that being a lesbian is not a problem, suggesting the text is more critical of male same-sex relations.
She places her trust in God. After so many authority figures have failed her, she hopes for guidance. Already in the first episode, she encounters a pimp who runs a strip club empire (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and interprets the meeting as divine intervention. Dissatisfied with working for Laurie and unwilling to seek conventional employment, Rue sees this as an opportunity to enter the strip club industry — not as a dancer, but as someone who solves problems.
Frankly, it becomes exhausting to watch her repeatedly entangle herself in dangerous situations. It is like watching a toddler approach an electrical socket with no way to intervene. And while Rue’s mother or Jules once provided some level of oversight, she now appears to be surrounded by worse influences than ever.
This season, creator Sam Levinson seems intent on tapping into trends and proving he is in tune with younger audiences. Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) is now a housewife engaged to Nate (Jacob Elordi), trying to support him financially as he struggles with the business he inherited from his father. She considers launching an OnlyFans account — a storyline that might have felt fresh years ago but now revisits well-worn debates. Her role as a housewife also echoes the “trad wife” trend that gained prominence in 2024, promoting a return to traditional gender roles.
The more compelling storylines belong to Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Maddy (Alexa Demie), who are trying to climb the ladder in Hollywood. Lexi works on a soap opera production as a personal assistant to a showrunner played by Sharon Stone. She has a crush on a rising actor named Dylan, whom Maddy represents as part of her job at a talent agency. Despite the impressive titles, both are relatively low-level workers. There is something compelling in that — the former popular girl and the former outsider starting from a similar point, both small parts in a vast industry that diminishes them.
Jules’ absence from the premiere is felt throughout. Lexi, who remains close to Rue and occasionally hosts her, says Maddy told her that Jules is now a “sugar baby” — or, as Maddy bluntly put it, a prostitute. In the meantime, Rue’s closest companion is Faye Valentine (Chloe Cherry), introduced last season as a guest in Fez’s home. Rue recruits Faye to join her in drug smuggling, and their dynamic echoes her past friendship with Jules. Fez (the late Angus Cloud) is written off as serving a 30-year prison sentence.
After watching a single episode, it is difficult to make a definitive judgment about the entire season. Much of the premiere serves as exposition, updating viewers on the characters’ lives five years later. While some elements of the original Euphoria DNA remain — such as a graphic scene involving swallowing drug-filled balloons — much of the episode feels like a different series altogether.
What remains is a sense of longing for the high school corridors and even the presence of parents, flawed as they were. The transition from adolescence to adulthood is messy — as it often is in reality — but perhaps it would have been better to keep the story within a more contained setting. Why not send everyone to community college?
According to reports from cast members and production sources, this will be the show’s final season. If so, one request remains: please do not ruin the brand.