Season three of Euphoria marks the highly anticipated and final chapter of HBO Max’s most favored drama series. After years of waiting, the new season promises drastic changes like time jumps that push the characters far beyond their high school years, a fresh, semi-new cast including Natasha Lyonne and Danielle Deadwyler, internet personality Trisha Paytas, and Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía, and new, even more dramatic plotlines that go way further than just some teens in high school. With new faces, evolving plotlines, and a huge time-jump, season three aims to close the series on a larger, more intense scale than ever before.
A time jump for the last season was one of the first things to be announced for the final installment, so fans automatically knew that a new cast was in order. Jumping into the first two episodes, we have a huge new storyline for our main character, Rue Bennett; of course, she continues her path down substance abuse, but this time around, it seems she’s truly figuring her life out, taking business and company into her own hands. Maddy Perez works in social media management now, Cassie Howard and Nate Jacobs are “happily” together, Lexi Howard is directing her own soap opera, and for the most anticipated character’s return, Jules Vaughn is in art school and fully a part of someone’s double life relationship, living large in a penthouse in Downtown Los Angeles.
As for actors who won’t be in season 3, Storm Reid’s Gia Bennett (Rue’s younger sister) and Barbie Ferreira’s Kat Hernandez will not be returning, along with Javon Walton’s Ashtray on account of his character passing away in the show, and Angus Cloud, due to his unfortunate passing in real life.
A pretty significant part of the third season is the fashion. We have the most stylish characters who were trendsetters in real life while they were still in high school; now imagine what characters like Maddy and Jules can pull off in this fast-forward story. Jacob Elordi’s Nate Jacobs has been seen sporting Bottega Veneta in the majority of his scenes, as the actor himself is the brand’s global ambassador. Maddy in Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Valentino, and literally so much more; it makes total sense for the character Alexa Demie has built. There’s a shift toward more serious, professional brands being worn now, given that they’re all adults, as opposed to earlier seasons, when more playful, lax designer brands like Heaven by Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu, and Gentle Monster were worn, since they were all just in high school.
“A character that is so perfectly designed, in my opinion, is Maddy, down to her accessories and her coats. I think it aligns so well with how she is as a person, her very expensive taste, and like, what is shown that she does for work.” Senior Brynn Fowler expresses.
The lead costume designer and stylist for Euphoria is Heidi Bivens. She’s responsible for the iconic Y2K feel of the entire show and overall does such a great job curating perfect outfits for all the different characters. She and Doniella Davy, the lead makeup designer, are truly the dream duo when it comes to inventing iconic styles and looks that have been replicated for years, ever since 2019. Still, the pioneering of this entire aesthetic goes entirely to director and photographer Petra Collins. Collins had been recruited by Euphoria’s creator, Sam Levinson, to direct the “vibe” of the entire show. After some work, Collins had been let go for being “too young” by Levinson, which was seen as very shady because age hadn’t seemed to be a problem at all once Collins’s work was already done. Once this news came out, fans were extremely upset with Levinson for essentially stealing work and taking credit for someone else’s work.
One of the things that literally makes Euphoria is its unrecognizable soundtrack. The beautiful mind we can thank is singer-songwriter and rapper Labrinth, who has scored A24’s HBO show since the beginning, but not anymore. Towards the middle of March 2026, Labrinth shared a brutal Instagram story announcing his departure from the music industry and Euphoria, saying “I’M DONE WITH THIS INDUSTRY. F— COLUMBIA (records). DOUBLE F— EUPHORIA. I’M OUT. THANK YOU AND GOODNIGHT X”. Fans were left confused and heartbroken and naturally blamed the shows creator Sam Levinson; the reason why Barbie Ferreira won’t be joining the cast anymore, the reason why the show has strayed so far away from the original concept, and a lot more. Sam Levinson has been known to be problematic in the past, and this has only reinforced fans’ concerns.
At this point, the show is, once again, so far from what it originally intended to be: severe high school and family drama. But now the disappointment among viewers deepens, with fans complaining that the aesthetic has totally shifted over time and has gradually gone from deep purple and blue, sad, moody tones, and way too much glitter to a bright, yellow-and-orange, western-themed tone with “May God Have Mercy” being the slogan above the season’s poster, religion and Christianity having a big role in Rue’s life up until this point. “I honestly feel like Euphoria isn’t really Euphoria without its like, dramatic and really like, vibrant makeup. Cause when I think of Euphoria, and its impact, I automatically think of the glitter and the rhinestones and all the gems on Maddy’s cheer makeup and Rue and Jules’s makeup when they would both get high and stuff like that. And like I can appreciate the mood switch, given the fact that like, the show basically revolves around this huge time jump, but I just kind of miss how it used to be, honestly.” Says senior Sadie Johnson, a long-time fan of the HBO original.
As of now, there are still 5 more episodes to release, and in Euphoria fashion, there is still so much that can happen within this window. In the first episode, we were introduced to Alamo, Laurie’s competitor and Rue’s new manager. Episode two gave us Jules back in the story, and as of episode three, Nate and Cassie are now “happily” married. With each episode inching closer to the series finale, a lot is still expected of fans, and at this point, there is no clear end in sight, with so much left up in the air. So fingers crossed, and May God Have Mercy, because viewers are still in for the stiffest, eeriest, and overall most intense season of any HBO original there ever was.
