Euphoria season 3 review: Zendaya cannot save a show that has run out of gas. The drama, which started as a story about addiction and high school relationships, has now become a crime-driven, neo-Western drama. The show jumps five years into the future, with Rue and her gang now adults.
Rue is working as a drug mule for Alamo Brown, a ruthless strip club boss, and is entangled between Laurie and Alamo. However, the show's hook has pivoted to the love triangle among Nate, Maddie, and Cassie, which is now diluted and filled with empty provocations.
Cassie is living with Nate but is not happy, and has started an OnlyFans account to raise money for her wedding. This portrayal is deeply problematic, promoting stereotypes about sex work and exploitation.
The show's treatment of its female characters is also a major issue, with Rue, Maddie, and Jules being reduced to passive, unstable women with no agency. The misogyny of Euphoria Season 3 is rampant and disturbing.
Season 3 feels like a shallow continuation with zero regard for the characters and their emotions. The absence of Labrinth's score and the addition of Hans Zimmer's music are also jarring. Euphoria has lost its way and is unable to navigate its machismo-fuelled world of despair and nihilism.
The show's directionless provocations and caricaturish struggles make it feel cartoonish and devoid of grace. A generation looks wasted, and it's hard to understand what Season 3 is trying to say or achieve.
