The Finale Just Came Out But "Euphoria" Has Been Over for a Long Time

[the following article contains spoilers]

Regardless of your thoughts on the series, there's no denying that Sam Levinson's Euphoria is one of the most iconic shows of the past decade. With amazing music, cinematography and performances, Euphoria created a unique aesthetic of its own. It got to the point where fans didn't mind waiting ages for the next season to drop. The legend of Euphoria ended this past Sunday night when the finale aired, closing the book on one of HBO's most successful projects. But if you ask any longtime fan of the show, season three felt undeniably different, from non-returning cast members to a new composer to a complete 180 change in aesthetic, it felt like an entirely new show than the one audiences had been watching for years. Currently season 3 of Euphoria holds a score of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes with an even lower audience score of 38%. So what happened here? How did one of the most popular shows of the past decade turn into the laughing stock of the fanbase?

If you've been paying attention to the state of television, particularly in the streaming world, a lot of incredibly popular shows have been ending with finales that leave fans seething with rage and reeling with disappointment. From The Boys to Stranger Things, these past few months have not been kind to TV fans. Euphoria's finale aired less than a week ago yet audiences are already saying it rivals Game of Thrones in terms of dismal finishes. But the reason the majority of fans have this opinion isn't because of one glaring issue, more-so a culmination of little things that made the show jump the shark, or I guess in this case: the snake.

For the longest time, season three of Euphoria seemed impossible. Prominent cast members couldn't return for one reason or another, whether that be Barbie Ferreira's clashes with Sam Levinson, the tragic untimely death of Angus Cloud, or the ALS diagnosis of Eric Dane. It almost felt like we had another Glee curse on our hands. Season two came out all the way back in 2022 so fans had high expectations that despite a five year time skip and some notable changes, their favorite show would come back with a bang.

Early on, season three of Euphoria was just getting the same complaints that other seasons did, but this time they were increased tenfold. Audiences as well as some of the actual cast members have previously expressed discomfort with the show's creator, Sam Levinson and his tendency to fetishize his female characters. This was a problem back when the characters were all in high school however after aging the characters up five years, it got astronomically more apparent. Sydney Sweeney's character, Cassie Howard was no stranger to being highly sexualized but in season three she becomes a full on sex worker. Fans were outraged when clips came out of Cassie dressed as a dog and a baby for her Onlyfans. Any semblance of relatability that Cassie had is erased, leaving her downright insufferable for the entire season. A character in a similar vein is Hunter Schafer's Jules Vaughn who went from a promiscuous teen to a professional sugar baby, spending her days making art and her nights having sex as its own form of paying rent. At a certain point it felt like Sam Levinson was just pimping out these actresses because neither of them, especially Jules, have any consequential storylines. They exist merely to be ogled at.

One of Euphoria's big draws was its explosive fights and drama. Maddie finding out her best friend is dating her ex, Lexi's autobiographical play, Jules hooking up with Nate's father, Maddie confronting Nate's family at the carnival. It was the kind of delicious train wreck you could normally only find in reality TV. The most anticipated episode of season 3 was episode 3 "The Ballad of Paladin" which included the highly anticipated wedding of Cassie and Nate, one of the messiest relationships in modern TV. This was going to be the first time the core characters would be in the same space in five years and fans waiting with baited breath for the explosive fights that would surely take place...and then...nothing. A series of dirty looks and downplayed conversations were all fans got after four years of waiting. My disappointment was immeasurable. It is the single most wasted storyline I have seen in years.

Speaking of storylines, season three's weakest attribute is by-far the writing. Characters that previously had clear ambitions, motivations, and personalities were thrown to the wayside in an effort to give Zendaya's character, Rue more screen time. I cannot overstate how much the final episode's script feels like a first draft. After the penultimate episode ended I couldn't help but wonder "wow, there are still a lot of plot lines that haven't been resolved, I wonder how they're gonna round them out with only one episode left," and the answer was quite simple: they didn't. It feels reminiscent of American Horror Story: Freakshow's finale where one character just killed every other minor role in one scene. It's so rushed it becomes nonsensical and destroys the show in the final act. It's clear just how much Sam Levinson lost interest in every character that wasn't Rue. This would be somewhat understandable if her storyline was overwhelmingly interesting but for the most part she's just going in circles. Her subplot of finding God and becoming religious is thoroughly underbaked and after a while it gets harder to root for her because rehabilitation just slips further away from her grasp.

As a fan of the show I can't help but feel cheated. What about Lexi? What about Jules? Do Maddie and Cassie become friends again? Where the hell is Gia? Did Nate Jacobs really just die over some flowers? These are characters that audiences have been watching for years and their "endings" range from lazy to non-existent.

With all that being said there are a handful of things Euphoria season 3 was able to accomplish well. I think Rue's ultimate death felt earned, like all of her luck just finally ran out and her actions caught up to her. However, I feel downright robbed not seeing the other characters' reactions to her death, especially her mother, sister, and Lexi. I think Alamo Brown is a fascinating character and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje plays him as such a formidable threat. However, despite Alamo being a cool character, he feels like he belongs in a different show, which is essentially the problem with this whole season: this is not the Euphoria we signed up for. Fans knew that things would be different when it was revealed that several cast members and the show's composer, Labrinth would not be returning, but this might as well be a completely different show. I appreciate and respect the vision of a modern Western and for the most part it is executed well, but it is far too wide of a left turn from the last season, ultimately leading to it all feeling blatantly incohesive. I understand these characters couldn't realistically stay in high school forever, but I firmly believe HBO would've been better off leaving Euphoria to rest after season two and making a new show in place of season three.

When it comes to disappointing TV, I find myself mourning their potential. I truly believe the endings of Game of Thrones or Stranger Things could've been great. However, Euphoria season 3 went wrong when it was greenlit in the first place. While Euphoria was released to immediate, rapturous applause, its longevity was clearly not well thought out. This is a common problem for media that includes kids or teenagers because they grow up fast and their ages become unbelievable. The lightning in a bottle that Sam Levinson was able to capture for the first two seasons revolved around the raucous, wild nature of modern youth and the wide array of characters that reflected this. I guess the legacy of Euphoria will now be a cautionary one, encouraging people to think about the longevity of their projects, how to adapt when things go awry during production, and how to tie things up in a way that honors the series as a whole. At least some solace can be taken in the fact that most of these cast members have gone on to better and brighter things since their breakout performances in Euphoria. I hope they all got the paychecks they deserved for appearing in this embarrassing season.

What was supposed to be the grand finale to one of the past decade's most iconic shows ended up being HBO's most colossal disappointment since Game of Thrones.