If you forgot what happened the last time Zendaya’s hit HBO show dominated Sunday nights, don’t do a rewatch, just read on.
If you saw the third season of HBO’s “Euphoria” getting 45% Rotten ratings after a four-year hiatus and still thought, “I’m still gonna watch,” then welcome home. Let the Emmy-winning Zendaya tell it, this should be the final season of Sam Levinson’s iconic (infamous?) drama about an addict and a group of her high school classmates and associates growing up in these trying these times. It’s the series that showed the world what Zendaya was capable of and that gave people like Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and Hunter Schafer a platform to grow their craft. You may hate to admit it, but you know you want to experience a little more of “Euphoria.”
What a difference four years can make, though. In early 2022, as the second season was coming to an end, I remember having to explain to fervent viewers how television works and why it would have taken a long time for Season 3 to drop. Part of that was Zendaya’s schedule at the time, but as you saw with the rise of stars like Sweeney and Elordi, as well as Levinson’s complicated trek to make “The Idol” happen, there were many factors that led to it taking four years between seasons of “Euphoria,” and even if it’s a D-level mess, it’s the mess we’ve been waiting for, and the mess you won’t be able to take your eyes off of (unless it’s really as bad as the critics are saying).
All of that said, come to think of it, it’s hard to recall where “Euphoria” left off. There’s indeed a time jump between seasons, so their hijinks have been elevated from high school to just “high.” Bad jokes aside, where the hell did “Euphoria” leave off? Let’s get you elevated — I mean updated — before you dive back in.
Where did we leave off?
Season 2 of “Euphoria” actually ended on a wild note, including a raucous high school musical and a standoff that culminated in a hail of gunfire. It’s actually insane to think about how much was left unresolved for four years; no wonder fans are eagerly awaiting the series’ return.
Our narrator, Rue, appeared to be turning her life around. After spending most of the first two seasons high, Rue was forging a new path in her life after surviving a modern-day drug lord and a life of servitude for the tens of thousands worth of drugs she snorted away instead of selling. Rue says by the end of the Season 2 finale that she stayed sober for the rest of the school year. She also made amends with Jules, the object of her affection, and they both understood the risks they faced if they got into anything beyond a friendship.
Cassie’s younger sister, Lexi, may have exposed her love life for the entire school to see, but she ended up getting her man in the end. Sure, that man, Nate, was in an intense relationship with her homegirl Maddy, one that showed the dark depths Nate would go to when his jealous rage was activated, but she got the man nonetheless, right? And Nate should be good, right? His father, the self-destructive hedonist Cal (played by the late Eric Dane), had finally been caught for his lewd acts, leaving Nate to inherit Cal’s real estate development company. If Cassie and Nate play their cards right, they could be on the road to the typical American suburban dream … or the American nightmare, depending on how much of his father Nate still has in him.
Meanwhile, Maddy, Nate’s ex and Cassie’s former homegirl, survived. She went through hell with Nate’s possessive, abusive ways throughout Season 1, and then had to deal with her homegirl Cassie kicking a relationship with Maddy’s ex into full gear on the side. Truth be told, Nate and Cassie are lucky Maddy didn’t do more than learn her lessons and move on from the situation.
And, finally, fan favorite Fezco got jammed up by the police, with the homie Ashtray losing his life in a hail of bullets while Lexi’s play was going down across town.
Where does “Euphoria” go from here?
Well, that’s the interesting part. Judging by the Season 3 trailer, Sam Levinson finally created the perfect show for himself.
The time jump allows us to skip past the early years of Nate and Cassie’s relationship, speeding us up right to their wedding day (and what appears to be Maddy producing Cassie’s OnlyFans career). Lexi’s play helped her take her aspirations to Hollywood, while Rue apparently is getting into situations that go from the strip club to the interrogation room. The sky is truly the limit for these characters, although if Zendaya says this is feeling like the last season, then it’s likely going out in a blaze of glory — aka just how Sam Levinson likes it.
For Levinson, Season 3 of “Euphoria” could become the better vehicle for his brand of entertainment. He desires to throw everything on screen, from flesh to fear, in order to say … something. (It’s hard to figure out what that last part truly is.) That’s what messed viewers up about Levinson’s last HBO show, “The Idol,” which was led by the Weeknd and caught all of the (warranted) hate from viewers and critics alike. With “The Idol,” the story made so little sense that the addition of Levinson’s signature flair turned it into a whirlwind of WTF. With “Euphoria,” viewers grew attached to Rue and the squad early on, thriving on the vibes. Season 3 of “Euphoria,” after four years of seeing its cast attempt to make it in Hollywood, will feel like a high school reunion; they will allow guns and drugs at the door, mind you, but it’s a reunion all the same. You know how that goes, though; most of the time, it usually isn’t worth revisiting your high school years.
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