After a long wait, fans of the HBO original series Euphoria can finally breathe a sigh of relief as it returns for season three. The show helped skyrocket the careers of several Gen Z Hollywood stars. Does Euphoria still hold the relevance it did almost four years ago when season two aired?
Let’s talk about the storylines and which faces are expected to return this season. Most importantly, it’s time to review season three’s first episode.
What the hell happened in Season Two?!?
The finale of the last season of Euphoria aired four years ago, so no one is blaming you for forgetting what happened. Let’s take a second to catch up on the mishaps of this cast of characters.
“All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name” was the name of the last episode, which aired on Feb. 27, 2022. As you can imagine, based on that title, not many of the characters were left in happy places.
On the heels of Lexi’s original play, based on her friend’s and family’s real lives, Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie made a scene on stage.
This was the breaking point for the relationship between Cassie and Alexa Demie’s Maddy. The duo faced unreconcilable friction over both having had relationships with Jacob Elordi’s Nate.
Maddy and Cassie got into a physical fight on stage. After that drama, Maddy, knowing Nate’s toxic personality and history of abuse, essentially told Cassie good luck with him, and the two parted ways.
Meanwhile, Cassie’s sister Lexi, who is played by Maude Apatow, received recognition for a fantastic show and the unintended real-life interruption.
Nate ends the season having turned on his domineering father, Cal, who is played by Eric Dane. This entails turning his father over to the police for Cal’s longtime illegal actions.
Rue’s state of mind
Zendaya as Rue has always been one of the main focuses of the show. Lexi’s play opens Rue’s eyes to how her reckless behavior has been affecting others and ultimately harming herself.
Rue finally takes responsibility for herself. However, this also leads to Rue leaving behind her first love, Jules, who is played by Hunter Schafer.
The final scene of that episode is an inner monologue from Rue. In that monologue, Rue tells us that she remained clean for the rest of the semester, which she says was just “easier.”
“I don’t know if this feeling will last forever, but I am trying. I remember Ali [Rue’s sponsor, played by Colman Domingo] said the thought of maybe being a good person is what keeps me trying to be a good person. Maybe there’s something to that,” Rue said at the end of Euphoria season two, episode eight.
The new season features a time jump and will pick up about five years after all of these events.
Cast for Season Three
The cast for season three of Euphoria has been out for some time, so let’s see what this all could mean for the new season.
Who returned after the long hiatus, and who gave an Irish goodbye to the show? Also, check out some new cast members!
Zendaya as Rue
Zendaya returns in the role that helped turn her from Disney Channel kid star to a serious actor with a more mature image.
Rue Bennett is a recovering drug addict trying to navigate turning from teenager into adult without ever having a sense of her future.
Much of Rue’s story is the central storyline for the show, and we see her getting involved with the other characters. Most prominent is her relationship with Jules, as well as the one Rue has with her own family.
In season 3, Rue will finally be dealing with the consequences of taking drugs from a drug lord and not returning payment.
Hunter Schafer as Jules
Hunter Schafer plays the character Jules, who was Rue’s girlfriend at one point in the series.
Outside of Rue, Jules Vaughn is a kind and free-spirited artist who also has connections to Nate and his father, Cal.
Jules struggles with her mental health throughout the series, but is always seen as a supportive friend and partner.
Another important aspect of the character is her identity as a trans woman, which Schafer herself also identifies as.
This season, Jules will be studying in art school while also earning money as a sugar baby.
Jacob Elordi as Nate
Fans of Euphoria love to hate Nate Jacobs, and Jacob Elordi does such a great job bringing this toxic male character to life.
Nate is the popular jock and one of the series’ biggest bullies. Eventually, it’s revealed that his anger problems are likely a result of the abuse from his father, Cal.
The character is often struggling with his sexuality, masculinity, and identity outside of being the big man on campus.
Even though the character has a past romantic relationship with several characters, including Maddy, it’s ultimately Cassie he ends up with in this new season.
Most likely, the audience will continue to see him struggling with his masculinity and sexuality, while being an all-around terrible person in season three.
Sydney Sweeney as Cassie
Sydney Sweeney started her rise to fame on HBO shows like Euphoria and The White Lotus. Cassie is one of her most famous roles to date.
Cassie Howard is a popular girl and originally comes off as sweet before taking a more devilish route.
The character has to navigate the series while being constantly objectified and having her sexual history dissected.
Unfortunately, Cassie often chooses to play a victim role rather than reflect and take responsibility for her mistakes.
In season three, Cassie lives in a suburban setting with Nate while making a living as an online model on the site OnlyFans.
Alexa Demie as Maddy
Alexa Demie as Maddy Perez was once friends with Cassie before she went behind Maddy’s back to begin dating Nate.
Nate and Maddy have a long high school dating history that didn’t end on healthy terms.
Maddy, as portrayed by Demie, actually made an appearance in The Weeknd’s show The Idol in between her appearances on Euphoria.
In season three, Maddy is working in Los Angeles in the professional world and navigating her career when some unexpected bumps come up.
Maude Apatow as Lexi
Lexi Howard, as portrayed by Maude Apatow, is the sister of Cassie Howard. This sister relationship is never on the best of terms.
Cassie is the sister who gets most of the attention for her conventionally attractive looks. However, Lexi is smart and creative, as seen in her writing of a high school play.
In this season, the audience will see Lexi trying to navigate Hollywood and pursue her creative dreams.
Lexi is the production assistant to a showrunner on a television show.
Eric Dane as Cal
Sadly, Eric Dane passed away before season three could be released. However, he will be returning in some capacity as Cal Jacobs.
This might be one of the last performances from the actor audiences will see.
Cal is an abusive father and shares similar traits to his son, Nate, but it’s on a much more dangerous and extreme level.
The character will likely remain behind bars after being arrested for horrendous crimes at the end of the last season. The audience last left Cal as it seemed he was working towards a redemption arc.
Colman Domingo as Ali
Colman Domingo has always had a small role in the series as Rue’s mentor figure, Ali. The character is also a recovering addict and offers advice to Rue.
It’s always nice seeing Domingo on the screen, even when he is never given that much to do in this show.
Most of Ali’s interactions in Euphoria are with his sponsee and friend Rue. This is expected to remain the same for season three.
Marth Kelly as Laurie
Martha Kelly is a hilarious stand-up comic whose past comedic roles include the character Martha in FX’s Baskets.
Kelly’s addition to Euphoria in season two as a drug lord was a welcome and unexpected surprise.
Laurie is both terrifying and funny as a nonchalant and unassuming white woman drug lord. The audience would expect Laurie to be complaining to the manager more than selling drugs.
Chloe Cherry as Faye
Chloe Cherry as Faye was another season two addition to Euphoria.
The character is not given much to do outside of existing in scenes and providing some comic relief.
Not much is known about the character other than a past of sex trafficking and drug dealing.
Faye is a friend of Rue, and in this season we can expect her to continue that friendship, as well as get into trouble just like Rue.
Several New Cast Members and Guests
The rest of the Euphoria cast is rounded out with new characters and some old characters who only return as guests or in smaller roles.
These old characters include Dominic Fike as Elliot, who is a friend of Rue, and Nika King as Leslie Bennett, who is Rue’s mother.
The new notable cast members are former NFL player Marshawn Lynch, Sharon Stone, Natasha Lyonne, Danielle Deadwyler, singer Rosalia, and social media personality Trish Paytas.
Past cast members expected not to return include Austin Abrams, Barbie Ferreira, Storm Reid, Algee Smith, Javon Walton, and Angus Cloud.
What’s taken soooooooo long for Season Three?
The third season of Euphoria has been a long time coming. It’s faced controversies, strikes, and tragic deaths.
Euphoria launched the careers of several young, talented actors. This would backfire on the series as filming around their busy schedules would become very difficult.
Not to mention the actors’ and writers’ strikes that would take place, which prevented filming and created backlogs of responsibilities.
There was also the tragic passing of actor Angus Cloud from an accidental drug overdose, which left the cast and crew grieving.
Along with these unpreventable circumstances, there has been controversy surrounding series creator Sam Levinson.
It was Levinson’s hands-on approach to the failed show The Idol that led to him also neglecting his writing duties for Euphoria.
Outside of that, Levinson has had rumored creative clashes with several people behind-the-scenes. One of those people is Labrinth, who composed the score and music for the show previously. He exited during the production of season three.
Another creative split was between Levinson and his producing partner, Kevin Turen, who has since sadly passed away. Levinson was not welcome to attend any funeral services.
Levinson, a nepo-baby of director Barry Levinson, developed a reputation for having such a strong and stubborn artistic vision that it doesn’t allow for productive collaboration.
Review of Season Three, Episode One – “Ándale”
Euphoria has received mixed to poor reviews from fans and critics alike. It holds a 44% critic score and 52% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes currently. And on IMDB, it has a 6.8 out of 10 rating for the first episode.
Well, I’m here to say I actually enjoyed the return of this show. I never thought the writing or characters on Euphoria were that great to begin with. For me, the highlight of the show is its edgy humor and stylization.
Every character feels like they are at the expected point in their life and doing a career that lines up with their personality.
Zendaya continues to do so much heavy lifting by narrating much of the show. If this episode is any indication, then we can expect continued chaos.
My appreciation for this show is as a guilty pleasure with juicy plots and satirical caricatures in a grungy, glossy world. Euphoria goes to the same levels of substance that a dramatized reality show does. This isn’t to say there is absolutely no substance.
The episode opened with a bang, and although nothing topped that, I found myself happy and content to see these characters back.
As of right now, I am cautiously optimistic, especially as we have only been privy to one episode.
Watch the new episode and decide if you want to return to this world or not.
It’s up in the air whether Euphoria will end with season three or continue onto season four.
