In the desert, “somewhere in Chihuahua,” Rue Bennett’s (Zendaya) getaway car is stuck in the sand. It has now been four years since we have seen this familiar character, and one can’t help but wonder: what is she up to now?
The first five minutes of season three tells us exactly what Rue has been up to: smuggling drugs across the border. “A lot of people have been asking what I’ve been up to since high school, and honestly nothing good,” Rue said in the nostalgic narration format seen in the previous two seasons.
Season two ended with most of the main characters still in high school, and was full of twists and turns, high stress situations and lots of questions about what the series had left in store. What happened with Laurie, the drug lord that Rue “borrowed” $10,000 worth of drugs from, and that her mom flushed down the toilet? What happened to Fezco after SWAT raided his home, and he was shot? And how will they fill in the gaps of characters we have since lost?
In the four years since season two of the hit show, “Euphoria,” aired, a lot has changed. All the characters have now graduated high school; some graduated college; some are in jail, and some are living life in the suburbs detached from reality.
Rue shares that she has been working in a smoke shop since high school, where Laurie and all the money Rue owes her catches up to her. Based on the 20% monthly interest rate set by Laurie, Rue owes her millions, but she agrees to settle for a small $100,000. Rue doesn’t have that kind of money, and that’s how she becomes a drug mule.
After a detailed (and graphic) explanation of how exactly she gets the drugs across the border, other familiar faces begin to appear.
Faye, played by Chloe Cherry, was introduced in season two, and she too has now gotten roped into smuggling drugs alongside Rue for Laurie.
Rue then narrates that when she’s not working for Laurie, she’s driving for Uber, and occasionally she crashes at Lexi Howard’s house. It is then we learn of Lexi’s success as a writer for a show.
It’s important to note that two of the main-cast characters have passed away since the release of season two back in 2022. Eric Dane, who played Cal Jacobs, passed away from ALS in February. Angus Cloud, who played Fezco, passed away in 2023 of a drug overdose.
“Eric is in the show, and he’s just wonderful. He’s someone I love very dearly. And I think with Angus, I fought hard to keep him clean while he was here, and so I figured if I couldn’t keep him alive in life, I can keep him alive in this show. I think he would be proud,” show creator Sam Levinson said in a red carpet interview with Entertainment Tonight.
The relationship between Lexi Howard and Fezco was a special plot in season two. Early on in the first episode of season three, it is shared that he is in prison for 30 years. Rue tells Lexi that she should call Fezco, alluding to the fact that their relationship still exists to some capacity. This is a nice way for Levinson to keep Cloud’s memory alive.
On the other side of the Howard sisters is Cassie, whose meltdown was one of the main plot points of season two. She is living in suburbia with Nate Jacobs, her fiancé. Nate has taken over his father’s construction business, and Cassie has taken to social media and planted the seed that she wants to dabble in OnlyFans.
Nate has a history of being abusive and controlling. In season one, we see him physically and emotionally abuse Maddy, his ex-girlfriend. So when Cassie tells him her content plans, it does not go over well. But, in a surprising twist, it appears Cassie has a lot of control, ultimately convincing him that using OnlyFans is a good idea for her to make money for the wedding.
“My initial thoughts were that I was pretty unsettled by Nate appearing to be a good character. He doesn’t have any fundamental problems in this season, so I was kind of shocked by that,” Katie Brown, a junior interdisciplinary science major, said. “I also think that I kind of was underwhelmed. I was a little bored, and I didn’t like the season having none of Labrinth’s music in it. I thought it was weird.”
Then, we check in with Maddy Perez, not only Nate’s ex-girlfriend but also Cassie’s ex-best friend. She has become a successful celebrity talent manager. Behind all the glitz and glam of the entertainment industry and red carpet events, it is revealed that she’s been struggling to make money. Then there’s Jules, who doesn’t make too much of an appearance in episode one, but it is shared that she is now a sugar baby.
There appears to be a large overarching theme of this season: God. When Rue meets with her old sponsor, Ali, played by Coleman Domingo, they have a conversation about religion, and Rue declares that she wants to have a relationship with God.
There will be a lot of things missing from this season, not limited to Cloud and Dane: original music from Labrinth, Barbie Ferreira as Kat Hernandez and Rue’s little sister Gia, played by Storm Reid. Based on episode one, there are a lot of hopes that the season will live up to the expectations of fans.
There are a lot of unknowns for how this season, and most likely the series, will wrap up after this season. Since this series started in 2019, a lot of the main actors have grown into larger roles, making this season feel like a stopping point for “Euphoria.”
