The season 3 finale of HBO’s “Euphoria” marked the end of the hit show, leaving fans grieving both characters and the series.
Content warning: This article includes spoilers of “Euphoria” season 3.
Last night, fans tuned in to the finale of a very chaotic chapter that was “Euphoria” season 3. And the conclusion of the HBO hit show’s third season also marked the end of the series, according to Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.
“In terms of the story that we set out to tell, which is a story about addiction and its consequences, this feels like the end to me,” he said in an interview with NYT’s “Popcast.”
Deadline also reports that the television network later confirmed the end of the series. The ending comes seven years after “Euphoria” first premiered. Since then, the series has undergone a series of changes from mourning castmates between seasons to a four-year hiatus. Through all the controversy and mixed reactions to Levinson’s provocative storytelling, many fans have tuned in to the series off the strength of the love they’ve developed for the group of fictional high schoolers they met in 2019. From Zendaya’s character Rue to Maddy (played by Alexa Demie), Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney) to Jules (played by Hunter Schafer), fans have watched these characters evolve for better or worse throughout the show, developing a level of connection to their storylines.
So, when Levinson ended the show that started with Rue taking her first breath with her taking her last breath, fans were understandably devastated.
“I know that this was just a TV show. So why have I been depressed since yesterday? I can’t get that sad feeling out of my stomach. It feels as though I lost a family member,” Tina Knowles wrote on Instagram. “Maybe it’s because I had a nephew who reminded me so much of Rue. And he was, in his good times, one of my favorite people on earth. Stayed with me every summer when he was a kid and while he was in college, I tried everything in my power to save him, paid for rehab several times, bought him cars, got him out of several dangerous situations…No matter what we did, he always landed on his feet, though, because he was so charming and so handsome and so smart and talented. He would do good for years and then fall off the wagon! And no matter what we did, we couldn’t save him. He was his own worst enemy. at 40 he passed away I still don’t know what the conditions were.”
“It broke my heart, and I realize that this is bringing up all the feelings again. It is a testament to how amazing Zendaya is as an actress because I felt every bit of pain, every bit of joy, every bit of confusion that she was feeling. It seems crazy now that I actually prayed that the character would turn around, and it would have a good ending, of course, it didn’t. Shout out to all the fantastic actors that were in the show. Everyone was amazing and such perfect casting,” she continued, articulating the feelings many fans were experiencing.
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Regardless of whether you agree with how Levinson ended Rue’s journey through the show, as one user points out, deeply emotional reactions are normal. Fans were introduced to Zendaya’s character as she navigated the death of her father, depression, addiction, the woes of high school, and then eventually the consequences of her actions as she transitioned from being a teen to being a young adult.
“It just felt like the honest ending,” he said. “The honest ending is that people like Rue don’t make it,” Levinson said, per People magazine. “People relapse. They f— up. They’re not ready to get clean. And they weren’t dying like they are now, with the influx of fentanyl into this country. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. I wanted to tell this story for Angus [Cloud] and for people who weren’t granted a second chance.”
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Ultimately, as Zendaya shared in a 2022 interview, viewers’ compassion for Rue’s battle with addiction will hopefully extend to addicts in the real world.
“If you can love her, then you can love someone that you know who is struggling with the same thing. and maybe have a greater understanding of the pain that they’re facing, which is often out of their control,” the actress shared. “So, for me, that is the most important thing, and I think I care about her deeply, and I also care about the people who care about her, because I think many of them share her story of addiction, sobriety, her emotional disorders, and I think it’s important that we continue to have that love for her.”
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