Trigger Warning: Mentions of drug abuse, addiction and sexualization
On June 16, 2019, HBO Max released the fourth most-watched HBO series on their platform since 2004, Euphoria. Directed by Sam Levenson, the first season followed a group of teenagers navigating love, substance abuse and friendship, and the success was evident; the show earned many awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series.
Viewers loved the drama and the “euphoric” feeling of the show with colorful visuals and glittery makeup. Viewers also appreciated how bold the show was, with nudity on full display, openly talking about heavy topics and the “rebellious” teenage experience. The main character played by Zendaya, has taken home two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
On Jan. 9, 2022, Season 2 was released and on Feb. 27, 2022, the final episode of Euphoria season 2, titled “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned For a Thing I Cannot Name,” left viewers speechless, upset and on their toes. The episode showcased characters dealing with the consequences of their actions experienced all season long, including police raids, reaching sobriety, and familial tensions.
In Apr. 2026 and Feb. 2022, we had some tragic losses in the Euphoria atmosphere. Angus Cloud, who played Fezco, a character who was a drug dealer, love interest to Lexi Howard, and friend to Rue, passed away on Jul. 31, 2023 due to an accidental overdose. On Feb. 19, 2026, we lost Eric Dane to ALS, known famously as Lou Gehrig’s disease. His character, Cal Jacobs, was Nate Jacobs’ father.
It is no surprise that the ending of Season 2 created anticipation for Season 3, with episode 1 reaching 8.5 million viewers within the first 3 days of its release. According to a Variety article, HBO has said the premiere of Season 3 reached a 44% increase over the Season 2 premiere. And for the next 6 weeks, the star filled cast takes over our Sunday nights.
That being said, let’s look into Episode 1. The episode is titled “Ándale,” which translates from spanish to english to “come on”. It takes place five years after the finale of season 2, showcasing the characters after high school. Rue Bennett is seen smuggling drugs across the California-Mexico border to pay off $100,000 in debt to her drug dealer, Laurie who is played by Martha Kelly. Rue was holding onto a suitcase with $10,000 worth of drugs inside for Laurie. It ended up being lost when Rue’s mother Leslie flushed them down the toilet following her discovery that Rue’s friends found out Rue was using again. This resulted in $100,000 worth of debt for Rue.
On her treacherous journey, she falls asleep on a Christian family’s farm, where they host her after she lies that she is a college student working on a newspaper article. This marks the beginning of Rue’s fixation on Christian religion when she perceived the reverent family as happily bonding.
When she returns to Laurie’s, we see a flashback and find out about her role as a drug mule. We are shown a very graphic scene of her and side character Faye, who is also involved with Laurie, in Mexico, swallowing balloons full of drugs to smuggle across the border. When the two barely make it across the border in good health, Rue mentions how she has done about a dozen runs in the last 2 years. When Rue isn’t smuggling drugs, she’s an Uber driver in Los Angeles.
Rue is in proximity to some of her high school friends, Maddy Perez and Lexi Howard. They don’t know about Rue’s “career” or that she isn’t sober. When we see Rue visit Lexi in Episode 1, Lexi confirms that the previous character Fezco, is sentenced to 30 years in prison after a police raid in the finale of season 2.
We move on to see Cassie Howard, played by Sydney Sweeney, dressed as a dog, filming content to get views and money to fund her and Nate Jacobs, played by Jacob Elordi, wedding. The last time we saw Nate and Cassie was in season two, when the two broke up after he became upset at comments made about him in her sister’s play performed to the whole school. Now, they are engaged and living in the suburbs. Nate takes over his father’s construction business, while Cassie plans their wedding, which we’ll see later in the season.
When in New York City, Lexi tells Rue her ex-best friend and girlfriend, Jules, played by Hunter Schafer, is apparently a “sugar baby.” Meaning a typically younger person who receives financial support, money or mentorship from older partners. Their relationship ended after Jules told Rue’s mother about her using again, which led to a heated fight between the two. Rue had kissed Jules goodbye after Lexi’s play ended, which left their relationship over, but not necessarily on bad terms.
We fast forward to Maddy Perez, played by Alexa Demie, who has been working in management. She is now representing Dylan Reed, the star of the show “LA Nights,” which Lexi has also been working on. Maddy struggles to make ends meet, mainly working behind a desk, but occasionally gets to attend cool events like red carpets alongside client Dylan Reed.
Rue meets with her sponsor, Ali, where they talk about religion and how she is envious of fundamentalists because she equates religion with extreme happiness. After leaving her sponsor, Rue listens to an audiobook of the Bible. When she gets a call from Laurie’s crew; to deliver drugs to a mysterious mansion in the countryside.
When she arrives, she asks to use the bathroom and finds herself intrigued by the activities happening in the house, where she gets distracted by the women inside. That’s when we are introduced to strip club tycoon Alamo Brown. It’s no secret that Rue feels stuck working for Laurie and she mentions to Alamo how working for him and managing a strip club would be her dream job.
Next, we see Cassie doom-scrolling on her phone, stalking pictures of Maddy with celebrities. Maddy dated her fiancé, Nate Jacob’s, who he had been dating throughout the first and second seasons. This caused the two to have a major falling out.
At the dinner table, Nate and Cassie argue about $50,000 flower arrangements for their wedding. That’s when Cassie prompts the idea of starting an OnlyFans, a site famously known for purchasing and subscribing to pornography. Nate is stingy with his money because he is waiting for his most recent project to find funding. Nate ultimately agrees with the exception of not showing her face and body at the same time.
Back at Alamo‘s house, a chaotic scene takes place after a woman overdoses on fentanyl laced drugs that Rue was sent to deliver. When Alamo confronts Rue, she begs for her life and explains how much she doesn’t want to work for Laurie anymore. She brings up religion and says, “Maybe God brought us together.”
Alamo challenges that statement and takes her outside, where he places an apple on her head. After a long buildup, Alamo shoots the apple clean off her head. Rue starts laughing, relieved, and the end credits begin to play. This episode excites fans for the upcoming season, but leaves questions revolving around Alamo and Laurie.
It’s safe to say the first episode was all over the place, which isn’t uncommon for the show. Fans are excited to see what will happen next, and millions will tune in every Sunday for the next one.
