When Euphoria first dropped in 2019, it was a high-stakes version of Skins for a whole new generation. Its plot was the rumours you’d hear in school, its storylines the warnings from adults about things like sex, drugs, mental health, and consent. For most viewers, their lives weren’t as dramatic as what would unfold on screen, but it didn’t matter. In almost every single character, underneath the bedazzled eye looks and questionable life choices, there was something you could recognise in yourself.
So yes, the return of Euphoria for season three, after four years, has been long awaited. But a lot has happened in those years. Several of the show’s once-relatively unknown stars (namely Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya) have skyrocketed to A-list fame. The show lost two of its cast: 25-year old Angus Cloud died from a lethal overdose in 2023, and Eric Dane passed away earlier this year, aged 53, from ALS. Some members of Euphoria, Kat’s Barbie Ferreira and composer Labrinth, have chosen not to return to the show amid rumours of behind-the-scenes tension.
Creator Sam Levinson said he and his crew had a motto of ‘evolve or die’ for Euphoria season three. But as I watched the first episode – during which I witnessed a chicken be decapitated, a dog eating human faeces, and a long-lingered shot on the foaming mouth of a woman who had just overdosed – I couldn’t help but wonder exactly what we’d evolved into.
No longer teens crashing out at house parties, we rejoin our characters in adulthood. Rue (played by Zendaya) is working as a drug mule to pay off a $10,000 debt, swallowing balloon wrapped drugs and defecating them back out into a sieve that is later used to strain pasta. Maddie (Alexa Demi) is a talent manager with a string of unpaid bills, while Lexi (Maude Apatow) is hustling as an assistant to a TV runner and lusting over a man. Hunter Schafer’s Jules, we’re told, is now a ‘sugar baby.’
And as for Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie, she’s busy planning her wedding to walking-red-flag Nate Jacobs (Elordi) and hoping to fund her extensive flower budget through an OnlyFans account. If I had a pound for every time a female pretended to be a dog for Jacob’s character in 2026, I’d have two pounds. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s certainly unusual that it’s happened twice.
Before the show even hit streaming platforms, early reviews were mixed. Vulture described the new season as being ‘as beautifully lit as it is emotionally hollow,’ with Eleanor Halls writing for The Telegraph, ‘Euphoria may still have the gloss, budget and star power of prestige TV, but it’s no longer enough to disguise what increasingly feels like the misogynistic fantasies of a creepy old man.’
Indeed, the sexualisation was loud. For some reason, Euphoria‘s most shocking moments always involve degrading women.
When Rue and her friend Faye (played by former adult star Chloe Cherry) try to swallow down their drug balls, the scene features fingers down throats, loud gagging, and an insane amount of saliva and lube. It parallels something you might come across on a whole different website entirely. When Rue later appears surrounded by strippers at a party, she’s seen ogling bum cheeks and boobs. It seemed a rogue move from the character, who for all her many faults never really objectified women.
Then of course, there’s Cassie.
Living in her ‘right-wing suburban bubble’ with Nate, they’re the perfect couple. Perfect, that is, except for the fact that Nate isn’t actually making any money after taking over his dad’s business. It’s partly why Cassie decides she wants to chip in, creating fetish content online.
There is something genuinely interesting in the dynamic between her and Nate, two people who’ve built their identities around traditional gender roles. When he can’t afford the $50,000 wedding flowers, Cassie insists it’s no problem – she’ll pay for it herself. In a situation where Nate can’t provide, she steps up.
I really hoped that this character arc could finally be one of empowerment. After two seasons of humiliation (lest we forget that funfair scene), wasn’t it about time?
Not quite. Everyone in Cassie’s world shames her – Nate questions whether his fiancee is a ‘prostitute,’ before asking if she was really going to ‘sell [her] body for flower arrangements.’ We see Cassie dress up as a dog on a lead and lap up water from a bowl. Other scenes tease her with legs spread, sucking on a baby’s dummy.
It seems these scenes aren’t intended to tell us anything about female autonomy, more so focusing on generating the kind of shock factor that drives rage bait tweets online. It’s voyeuristic, yet the undertone seems judgemental. Any sense of empowerment from Cassie taking ownership of her body isn’t quite coming through just yet. Euphoria doesn’t seem to know how it feels about sex work.
You could argue that the show has always shown us the worst of what can happen. But in the Euphoria of old, there was always a glimmer of hope. These characters were in trouble, but they were also young. Young people are allowed to make some mistakes along the way, in the hope they’ll put it all behind them one day.
Now they’re adults, there’s no more glimmer. My fingers are crossed that Rue finds whatever peace she felt on that ranch, with or without organised religion. That Maddie ends up rich. Lexi ends up successful. Cassie ends up safe and happy. That frankly, the female characters on the show can all just catch a break. Given it’s Euphoria, though, I’m not sure that’s what’s coming.
Stream Euphoria Season 3 on HBO Max.
This story first appeared on GRAZIA UK.
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