Yep that looks absolutely bonkers, but I think that's a good thing. I think in the first seasons of Euphoria, it really took advantage of the fact that being a teenager makes everything feel larger-than-life, so it could escalate fairly banal teen drama plotlines into life-or-death stakes, and it'd still feel emotionally realistic, even though what was actually happening was insane. In Season 3, now that the characters are out of high school, making the show an over-the-top crime drama (à la Fargo) feels like the next logical step, because the stakes can actually become as intense as the emotions being conveyed. I am a little concerned they'll make the show either too dark or too silly for it's own good, but honestly as long as they don't make it boring I think I'll have a good time. This show has always been the equivalent of emotional junk food, and I think it's fine that they're leaning into that.
Made it to the play in my rewatch. Lexi’s mom being so stoked when she’s in the play just puts the biggest dumb grin on my face lmao it’s so great
Rewatching the show — Laurie’s character immediately kills any realism I feel and takes me out of it. Whose idea was it to characterize a drug kingpin as a low energy soccer mom? The flat line delivery just doesn’t work.
Overall I'd rate this episode a 7.5/10. Decent start to the season, but felt a little filler-heavy, and the season has a heavy concept to deliver. Firstly, Zendaya is great as always and her storyline is clearly the one the Sam Levinson actually cares about. Interested to see where it goes, especially with the religious themes. Chloe Cherry's still hilarious and Aladewale's character Alamo is genuinely terrifying while still being charismatic. On the flipside, Nate was such a good villain in season 1 but now he just seems pathetic and uninteresting, although Jacob Elordi does still do a great job at making him the sleaziest douchebag imaginable. Meanwhile Cassie's character just feels like they asked ChatGPT to write a Sydney Sweeney humiliation ritual. For a show that was once so good at exploring character motivations and formative influences, her scenes seemed so two-dimensional and trite. Sam Levinson does not have a nuanced enough perspective to write stories about sex work and gender politics as much as he does. Weird to not have Hunter Schafer appear at all in Episode 1. Jules was always my favorite character so I hope they're saving her to connect into the plot at a pivotal moment and not just sidelining her again. Alexa Demie also had startling little screen time. I do wonder if they're going to resolve Lexi/Fezco's storyline at all, or just leave it with Lexi ghosting him. It's odd they implied the character is still alive now that Angus Cloud has passed.
Such a shift in tone overall for this show. Not bad, but just a major shift. Excited to see where it goes.
The production delays really shifted the tone of the show. The “where are they now?” time jump just makes this feel like the euphoria reunion movie, not season 3. Zendaya is awesome as always. Do we know enough from episode 1 to know how long Rue’s been sober? Maybe I missed a line with Ali.
Great first episode, it feels distinctly different but still very much Euphoria. I'm very excited to see where this goes.