Zendaya
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Fans have been through a lot with Euphoria. There have been years-long waits for new episodes, numerous cast changes, the deaths of beloved cast members Angus Cloud and Eric Dane, and now, with the Season 3 finale having aired, it’s officially all over.
The series finale, “In God We Trust,” premiered Sunday, May 31, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max. At 93 minutes, it is one of the longest episodes in HBO history, on par with the 90-minute White Lotus Season 3 finale and the 82-minute third episode of Game of Thrones Season 8.
In the penultimate episode, Jacob Elordi’s Nate Jacobs was killed off after being buried alive and then bitten by a rattlesnake. Rue broke into drug dealer Laurie’s basement safe, only to find it contained no money, just photos and IDs. Faye then tipped off her dangerous white supremacist boyfriend, Wayne, about what Rue had done.
Spoiler alert: The series finale ended with Rue dying after taking painkillers laced with fentanyl. In her final moments, she slipped into a haze filled with memories of her family, friends and Fezco.
“It just felt like the honest ending. The honest ending is people like Rue don’t make it,” Levinson said in an after-the-episode featurette. “I think in the end, I wanted to tell an honest story about addiction,” he added. “I also wanted to tell a story about grief and the emotional turmoil that it can create.”
The finale also features unseen footage of Cloud, who died passed away in July 2023 from an accidental overdose at the age of 25. “I wanted to tell the story for Angus and for people who weren’t granted a second chance,” the creator said.
Why Euphoria Is Ending With Season 2
Zendaya in “Euphoria” Season 3, Episode 8.
Courtesy of Warner Bros.
Levinson confirmed the show is ending with Season 3 in an interview with Popcast Sunday. Previously, the showrunner told Variety that he writes “every season like it’s the last season” and has “no plans” for a Season 4.
“In terms of the story that we set out to tell, which is a story about addiction and its consequences, this feels like the end to me,” he said. Following the Season 3 finale, HBO also confirmed that there won’t be a fourth season, per The New York Times.
“The Euphoria story is a tragic one in the end — but it’s also the truth,” Levinson added on Popcast. “If you are experimenting or taking drugs today, it’s very possible it’ll kill you.”
The biggest obstacle to making Season 4 of Euphoria would have been the cast’s schedules. Although the show helped launch many of its stars to fame, they are now among Hollywood’s most in-demand actors. With both Elordi’s and Zendaya’s characters dead, any continuation would have been left to Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie, Hunter Schafer’s Jules, Alexa Demie’s Maddy and Maude Apatow’s Lexi.
Rue’s ending doesn’t come as a surprise. The actress already hinted at it on The Drew Barrymore Show, telling host Drew Barrymore “I think so, yeah,” when asked whether Season 3 would be the final season. “That closure is coming,” she said at the time.
Rue’s Death Wasn’t Always The Plan
Levinson told The New York Times that he had originally written a different trajectory for Rue during the 2023 writers strike, but that changed following the death of Cloud.
“We got the news that Angus passed away [that July]. I’d always been really concerned about the prevalence of fentanyl,” he explained. “But once he passed away, I had to reconceive the script and I thought, you can’t tell a story about addiction today without the very real consequences.”
Levinson continued, “Most people don’t get a second chance. Fentanyl can just take you out in an instant. It wasn’t like when I was growing up; you could literally take pills off the street and you might have a bad trip or something, but you’d be fine. This is something that hits close to home for a lot of people in this country. So it felt like the responsible thing to do.”
The Euphoria Season 3 finale is now streaming on HBO Max.
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