On April 12, 2026, Euphoria season three premiered on HBO Max after a 4 year hiatus from the last season. As the episodes have been released weekly, each one has been met with increasingly mixed yet polarized reviews.
Many online commenters detest the third season for the many production controversies and the loss of the aesthetic and feel the first season had. However, the jaw-dropping finale of season two, left other fans of the show still craving a series finale – hence why the new season even exists.
The exposition of season three is far different from the pre-covid teenage life that Euphoria originally depicted with Rue in the middle of a desert, now working as a drug mule to pay off her 100,000 dollar debt to Laurie.
Director Sam Levinson created this drastically new aesthetic for season three as a signifier that the characters and show are taking a more dark and mature turn.
In a way, the change amplifies the disparity that exists between Rue’s life as a drug mule and the simpler life she aspires to have in the future.
A little later in the first episode, the focus shifts to the lives of Nate and Cassie and their facade of glamour. In a house stuck in the eighties, Cassie seeks fame through OnlyFans, much to the dismay of her soon-to-be husband, Nate. She yearns for the spotlight and the benefits of being well known in L.A., while all Nate wants is for her to be a perfect little housewife while he runs his family business (albeit very poorly).
Sydney Sweeney’s acting and writing feel like a reduced caricature of who she actually is off the screen, and it is hard to tell if Levinson is trying to depict Cassie Howard or Sweeney.
Nate’s character following the time skip deviates so far from his initial arc that it feels like Livingston doesn’t understand his own character. After losing his violent streak and general abrasive aura, Nate Jacobs now appears as a pathetic, failing businessman struggling to keep up with the high-class society he craves to enter.
Fortunately, some of these qualities are redeemed in episode three.
This episode features Nate and Cassie’s wedding. Even though viewers were expecting something big, the result of the episode contained a very surprising plot twist.
While Sweeney’s acting felt elementary in the first episode, her acting in the third was better than any of her acting in seasons one or two. Sweeny effortlessly depicts the switch in Cassie when her dreams started to fall apart.
Another aspect of the new season thus far is the music, which lacks the grandeur of seasons one and two. This is largely because artist Labyrinth – the composer behind the first two seasons’ soundtrack – chose not to return for the final season following a personal falling out with Livingston.
The task of composing this season’s soundtrack was not given to an artist, but rather to an orchestrator by the name of Hans Zimmer.
While some of Zimmer’s music is well placed, a lot of it is rather bland. Many viewers reported that it feels like some of it was completely made by his interns, creating the ambience of a low-budget Netflix mellow drama. However, his orchestration shines when the accompanying visuals are stylistic, especially when Levinson leans into the western themes.
To many viewers, Euphoria season three felt not like a smooth ride into a conclusion, but rather a reboot of the series. It lost its direction due to the many conflicting variables that came together to push back its production.
While Levinson abandoned his original artistic direction, the switch in season three could finally give a conclusion to this enthralling, seven-year-long series.
