Wow. Everyone sure hated the Euphoria season 3 premiere, huh? I get it. There are few shows on TV more vulnerable to a good dunking than Sam Levinson’s high-school nuthouse. Even though his characters are all adults now, living on despite the mistakes of their past, it seems that audiences are ready to just move on.
Rue’s (Zendaya) new life as a drug mule was mired by the fact that she was wearing a $5,000 Japanese streetwear jacket while she illegally crossed the border. Nate (Jacob Elordi), similarly, is somehow strapped for cash while wearing Bottega Veneta. Plus, it turns out my hunch was spot-on that Sydney Sweeney seemingly filmed the kind of exploitative scenes she once rallied against just to promote her new lingerie line. But while most critics decried that Euphoria was all style over substance once again, I’m still just as determined as I was after the premiere to see this through.
The thing is… Euphoria hasn’t made it easy so far. This season’s idea of the American dream is scrolling on your phone for porn, and it’s tough to tell how far the series is taking it as satire or if it really believes it as some dark truth about the world. After an intro that brings Maddy’s (Alexa Demie) character up to speed as a manager for actors and nude clickbait influencers, newcomer Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) tells Rue that the Wild West never let go of its reputation as a breeding ground for sin.
“Over 200 years ago, motherfuckers were leaving the safety of their log cabins to ride out West,” he says. “They didn’t know they’d encounter. Outlaws, Indians, Grizzlies. Whole fucking endeavor was a roll of the die. Question is… what am I facing? And who are you?”
For Rue, her version of the American dream is still a big mystery. She’s able to trade Laurie’s drug business for Alamo’s whoring business in the beginning of episode 2, but it’s not the “deliverance” that she tells herself it is. Alamo’s “no drinking, no drugging, and no fucking on the clock” rule barely lasts her first day on the job, and the devil’s temptations continue to work on Rue despite her newfound faith—or whatever she’s calling it.
After Rue hooks up with one of Alamo’s dancers, Angel, she tells us via flashback that she relapsed after visiting Jules (Hunter Schafer) at art school. “And to be honest, I really haven’t been sober since,” she says.
Maddy’s (Alexa Demie) back. But why?
Rosalía’s here too, by the way. The Spanish singer plays Magika, another dancer at Alamo’s Silver Slipper strip bar. Her neck is in a bedazzled cast so she can’t dance, but her appearance on Euphoria is dwarfed by how many new insane poses Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie debuts this episode. It still feels like a waste of time whenever we cut back to her character. Can Maddy’s reintroduction as her manager save us? Maybe. I’d place more bets on the late Eric Dane’s return as Nate’s sex-addict father, Cal—even if Levinson’s written him into a plot about the family owing loans to Russian money lenders.
Because outside of all this, the best thing that Euphoria season 3 has going for it right now is that Rue’s dealing with the fact that her actions led to someone’s death. Twice. Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) adopted brother Ashtray (Javon Walton) died in the season 2 finale, and now her participation in Laurie’s fentanyl drug trade has resulted in one of Alamo’s dancers overdosing at his house. The former might’ve hurt more than the latter, but both still happened on her watch. Shouldn’t that affect Rue’s judgment more heavily moving forward? Or is driving one of Alamo’s exotic dancers to a shady rehab clinic (and likely her death) really the place she ought to be right now?
Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Rue (Zendaya) reunite in episode 2.
At the very least, Rue is succeeding in turning the two gangs against each other. Alamo drops a pig off at Laurie’s to instigate a fight with the drug dealer at the end of the episode, even if Rue isn’t personally involved. I do wish she was more in the muck of playing both sides. Euphoria’s at its best when Rue is forced to get crafty. Instead, she visits Jules again.
It’s here in season 3 where Euphoria’s new direction is at war with its inability to move on. From the way Levinson dredges up returning characters to the way Rue is still unable to chart any sort of reasonable future for herself, Euphoria is as stuck as Rue herself. Late in the episode, she tells Jules that her relationship with a married man is a “red flag,” as if Rue’s entire life hasn’t been one giant red flag. Is there anything left to learn? And what will it take to reach that point?
If there’s a way out for anyone in Euphoria, I’m still waiting for the sign.
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