Euphoria’s third season returned with a fractured Rue and a latest wildcard in Alamo, blending raw relapse drama with a meditation on grief and divine intervention.
The episode opened with Rue showing up at Jules’ apartment, claiming she’s “California sober” while admitting she hasn’t been truly clean since her last major relapse. Jules, now living with a married man who pays her rent, greeted her with skepticism, questioning whether their past relationship was ever anything more than a fleeting high. Their tense exchange — layered with regret, deflection, and the ghost of what they once were — set the tone for a season less about euphoria and more about the quiet aftermath of survival.
Meanwhile, Rue’s entanglement with Laurie took a violent turn when Alamo, a strip-club mogul played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, intervened. He rescued her from debt — but not before placing an apple on her head and firing a gun, a near-lethal warning that left her shaken. When Alamo confronted Laurie about selling fentanyl-laced drugs, one of her associates used a racial slur, but it was Laurie calling him a “pig” that cut deepest. The insult lingered, haunting him through the episode until a live hog appeared in Laurie’s home, seemingly delivered by fate — or something darker — bearing a Texas flag that read “Remember the Alamo.”
The symbolism was not lost on creator Sam Levinson, who told Variety the season’s core theme emerged from the aftermath of Angus Cloud’s death. “He’s one of 70,000 people that died of a fentanyl overdose in this country in that year,” Levinson said. “I was very angry. But death has a way of giving life its meaning.” He described the season as an exploration of gratitude — for small moments, for tragedy, for beauty — framing it around the 12-step principle of surrendering to a higher power. For Rue, that meant believing God brought her and Alamo together. For Levinson, it meant honoring his friend by asking what it means to be alive when freedom comes with consequence.
For more on this story, see Euphoria Season 3: Zendaya and an All-Star Cast Return to HBO.
Critics have noted the shift in tone. USA Today’s Kelly Lawler gave the season two out of four stars, observing that “the fire has gone out, the party drugs are all used up, and the lights have turned on at the club.” She attributed the change not just to the cast’s ascension to A-list status — Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, and Jacob Elordi now headlines in their own right — but to a world that has moved on from the raw, chaotic energy of the indicate’s early years.
Still, the series retains its grip on cultural conversation. Episode 2 aired on HBO and streamed on HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET on April 19, with weekly installments continuing through May 31. The eight-episode season may be the last, as Levinson has indicated he approaches each season as if it were the finale, with no current plans for a fourth.
This follows our earlier report, What to Watch on HBO Max in April: Euphoria, Smiling Friends, and Half Man.
Why does Jules question whether her past with Rue was ever real?
Jules tells Rue their relationship never felt the same after high school, suggesting their connection was rooted in adolescent intensity rather than lasting compatibility, and she challenges Rue’s nostalgia by pointing out Rue’s ongoing instability and Jules’ own complicated present.
Is Season 3 really the end of Euphoria?
Sam Levinson has stated he writes every season like it’s the last and has no plans for Season 4, though HBO has not officially confirmed the show’s conclusion; the eight-episode run may serve as the series finale if no renewal is announced.
