Recommendations of the Editorial team
On Sunday night, the wild, sometimes disjointed, but inexhaustibly meme-worthy journey that is “Euphoria” came to an end with its third and final season. Viewers didn’t know they were watching the series finale – creator Sam Levinson and HBO only confirmed the news after the episode had already aired. Given the events of the episode, however, this was hardly surprising. Still, it’s amazing that a series that kept its audience in suspense for years and made them wait forever between seasons ended like this – with a lot that remains open and hardly any answers. Here are the questions we’re still left with after this ending. (Warning: spoilers.)
Rue’s death and its impact
“Euphoria” ended with the death of Ruby Bennett (Zendaya). The circumstances of her death raise some questions: Did she actually swallow more than one fentanyl-laced Percocet and therefore overdose – the bottle is still quite full when Ali finds her – or was it the one pill Alamo gave her? What is even more puzzling is the reaction of the other characters to her death. We’re talking about the main character here, and apart from Ali, hardly anyone sheds more than a few tears. Rue doesn’t even get a proper funeral; instead, we just see Lexi talking to Cassie, who dismisses the main character as a “drug addict” with a “nice smile.” The weight of Rue’s death is not felt – probably because we are never shown how her family or Jules deal with the loss.
Jules and Nate with no development
One of the most confusing elements of this season has been the character arcs – or lack thereof – for Jules and Nate. Jules barely has any screen time in season three, and when she’s on screen, she rarely leaves her sugar daddy’s apartment. This new version of Jules doesn’t really match her younger self from earlier seasons – a dreamer who was hungry for new experiences. Instead, this Jules does little more than spread oil paint on canvas and speak as few sentences as possible.
It’s similar with Nate, who acts like a completely different person. The hothead with massive father problems and questions about his sexuality has disappeared. In his place is a guy to whom things just happen – from marrying Cassie (and yelling at her at the wedding) to an incredibly bad business deal. The adult Nate seems to be plagued by bad luck: he loses a body part in every episode and never defends himself against the Armenian gang member who is after him. This is not at all the Nate who used to clench his fist at the slightest inconvenience – and that ultimately makes his death meaningless.
Dominic Fike’s missing scene
Last year, Variety reported that Dominic Fike would be returning to Euphoria to reprise his chaotic but lovable character Elliot. Would that mean another acoustic appearance from the musician-actor? Elliot was reportedly set to have a cameo – Fike was even said to have filmed scenes. But week after week, the same fans held their breath and Fike didn’t show up; his character was not even mentioned by anyone.
Fike has not commented on why he was not featured in the series. However, in a 2023 interview with Zane Lowe, he had said that he was almost kicked off the show because of addiction problems. “I was a drug addict and coming into a show that’s, well, mostly about drugs is very difficult,” Fike told Zane Lowe. “Sam [Levinson]the director and writer, got me a sobriety coach, someone who’s with me the whole time. It didn’t work.”
This season’s music
Before the season premiered, it seemed as if Oscar winner Hans Zimmer would be brought in to work with Labrinth. However, in March, Labrinth published a series of cryptic Instagram posts that hinted at problems with the showmakers and his label. “I’m done with this industry. Fuck Columbia. Double fuck Euphoria. I’m out. Thanks and goodnight,” he wrote. He later added: “People are comfortable lying in this industry and still call themselves honest. So, no cap: I decided to take my music out. I talked to HBO, as far as I know we’re on good terms. I left because – ultimate truth – when I work for someone, their vision is the most important thing to me, but I won’t let them treat me like shit.”
What exactly happened remains unclear. In a later Vogue interview, Levinson explained that Labrinth and Rosalía (who also guest-starred this season) would be used in different ways on the series. “We have a few musical cues that are original compositions for the show – by Hans Zimmer, Labrinth and Rosalía,” he said. However, fans who were waiting for new Rosalía music – or at least short excerpts – were disappointed, as none of her seemed to make it into the final cut.
“Euphoria” as a western “Narcos”
Throughout season three, we kept wondering how this group of misfits could end up in storylines that would have been more appropriate for an episode of Narcos or Breaking Bad. Sure, some of them – especially Rue – made questionable decisions in high school that may have led them down a dark path. But having a handful of characters owe money to a powerful drug lord seemed so out of place for a series that once stylized school plays as the pinnacle of drama. The plot also introduced a flood of new characters that took away screentime from the original cast members. Even the best of these new characters – like Rosalía’s Magick – left more questions than answers. What was Magick hiding, and why isn’t her storyline resolved in the final episode? Honestly, it’s not really clear why “Euphoria” had to leave the world of East Highland behind – except that Levinson wanted to make his own western on the budget of an HBO television series.