‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Review: Sharp, Sexy, Funny, And Impossible To Turn Away

HBO Max’s Euphoria has matured, along with its characters, who remain stuck in arrested development despite growing older. When the series premiered back in the pre-pandemic days of 2019, it was stylized, provocative, and narcissistically in love with its own aesthetic. A glutinous exercise that builds its beautiful looking series built on incidents of sexual assault and underlying racial undertones, the season was harrowing to say the least.

Euphoria’s second season begins to sober up. After all, watching these characters perform adult acts under adult supervision can be shocking, especially as they begin to self-destruct. The situations are extreme, but they feel more honest. Now, with the third season, the heinous acts and our favorite f*cked-ups feel more in line with adulthood, inspired by filmmakers who soak every frame in shock, style, and nonlinear storytelling.

Now, with the third and final season streaming on HBO and Max on April 12, creator Sam Levinson (Assassination Nation, Malcolm & Marie) delivers an addictive mix of dark, sexy, funny, and uncomfortable commentary. This final chapter is Tarantino-esque—sharp, highly stylized, and punctuated by sudden bursts of humor and violence that make it nearly impossible to look away.

The story picks up with Rue (Zendaya), who is on a modern-day Jack Kerouac adventure. Except, instead of highways, buses, cheap apartments, jazz clubs, and late-night conversations, Rue is trying to climb her Jeep Cherokee over a 14-foot border fence with four metal ramps, two on each side. She gets the car stuck, leaving the used hunk of metal parked like a vulture. She climbs down, leaving it, and walks back into the land of the free.

Of course, her past catches up with her. That’s when Laurie (Fallout’s Martha Kelly) comes calling, demanding the money Rue owes her. The original ten grand has ballooned, thanks to a dubious interest rate, into something far larger, though she’s willing to settle for a cool $100,000. To pay her off, Rue and Faye (Blood Barn’s Chloe Cherry) become drug smugglers, swallowing about 150 balloons of heroin.

It’s a dangerous job, but so is taking out a loan from a mobster or creating an OnlyFans account to finance your wedding. That’s exactly what Nate (Jacob Elordi) does when his business venture hits a snag and needs cash flow. Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), meanwhile, is fixated on her dream wedding. With funds scarce, she begins creating morally questionable content to deepen her connection with fans.

Zendaya, who is electric in the role, carries much of the dramatic weight with humor, grace, and intensity. The standout moments in the first three episodes screened for critics belong to Lost’s Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who plays Alamo, a successful strip club owner with a hand in nearly every illegal venture. The scenes are graphic, particularly those involving the smuggling of drugs into the country. Yet, her storyline is exciting, gripping, and suspenseful.

With this being the final season, the story is unpredictable. The same goes for stars like Sweeney and Elordi, with the third episode, “The Ballad of Paladin,” standing out as a highlight of the series. Sweeney delivers much of the comic relief; her deadpan, pinup-girl humor may be cliché and stereotypical, but it’s undeniably effective. The end of the episode combines humor and violence unlike anything you will see on television, streaming, or network this year or in past years.

All of this makes Euphoria worth watching, and the final season, so far, is its finest. I cannot imagine where the series will land, considering how intense, exciting, and unabashed the first three episodes have been. We are in for a wild ride. However, make no mistake—it is Zendaya who holds the show together with a brutal honesty and empathy that keep you hooked without regret. You may still wake up with the series’ trademark overindulgence hangover the next day, but you’ll be highly entertained, nonetheless.

You can watch the third and final season of Eurphoria exclusively on HBO and Max starting April 10th!