Review of Season 3 of “Euphoria”: HBO’s drama by Sam Levinson becomes tiresome

According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, even in a season that features many forced changes — changes resulting from a four-year gap between seasons and a time jump in the story to post-high school life — a large number of characters still remain stretched out, aimless, and static.

In the very first scene of Season 3 of Euphoria, Rue is struggling. She is stuck in a desert just south of the U.S. border, and Zendaya’s character — this helpless yet oddly energetic addict — is trying to transport a bag of unknown contents from Chihuahua to California, but her path is full of obstacles. First, her car gets stuck in a ditch. With some help, she gets moving again, but escaping one trap only leads her into a more dangerous one.

It feels as if Rue’s entire life consists of two states: either frustrating stagnation or paralyzing anxiety. Worse still, both states keep appearing unpredictably. How did something that initially seemed so simple suddenly become so deadly and terrifying?

Her return to the story — accompanied by a scene that leaves Rue hanging between life and death — is not exactly a subtle metaphor, but Euphoria has never been a particularly subtle series. Since the moment we first met her seven years ago as a 16-year-old addict returning home from rehab (and quickly relapsing), Rue has been trapped in a nightmarish cycle. Now, at 22, she is still in the same place. There is no longer any sense of safety (her mother has kicked her out to protect her younger sister), and the freedom adulthood once promised may be nothing more than an illusion.

But she wants it. She truly does. After yet another escape, Rue is so eager to live the life she desires instead of the one imposed on her that she allows God into her heart. Perhaps she does not fully understand faith, the Bible, or interpretations of ancient texts, but she is determined to try. Because in Season 3, something has to change — and if she cannot change her circumstances, she can at least change her perspective. She can change. She will. Or she will die trying.

That is drama, isn’t it? Even though Rue’s situation remains unchanged, her struggle for escape is still compelling. She is stuck, but that is precisely the point: when you fall into a hole, it is hard to get out, and even if you do, it is easy to fall back in again. That is the life of an addict — at least in the version Euphoria presents.

Or at least part of it. In the early seasons of this controversial series, Euphoria was praised for its honest portrayal of Rue’s addiction and Zendaya’s powerful performance in showing her highs and lows. These elements remain strong in Season 3, released after a long delay, but other parts of the story across the first three episodes (out of eight) feel stagnant and lifeless. Most characters do not change, and their motivations for change are neither new nor clear to themselves or the audience. As a result, what should be the beginning of the final season feels stale and exhausting, raising the question: how can Euphoria become so boring?

Part of this monotony was predictable. The show did not gain its controversial fame solely from what we saw in its first two seasons; it also relied on the time and place in which it existed. Whether or not one agrees with Sam Levinson’s portrayal of modern high school, at least there was a clear sense of teenagers trying to graduate. Removing them from that environment and placing them in the real world strips away some of the tension and fear on which the series was built.

Now Nate (Jacob Elordi) is just a wealthy young man who has inherited his father’s real estate business, though he is not particularly successful at it. He and his fiancée Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) appear to be a successful couple — they have a large house, romantic dinners, and host parties — but beneath the surface everything is falling apart. He is drowning in debt, she cannot even cook a simple meal, and both are lying to those around them.

They are simply performing a version of the “American Dream,” a familiar and repetitive image. Given Elordi’s and Sweeney’s rising success between seasons, it is disappointing to see their talents reduced to repetitive storylines. Nate remains the same: sadistic and self-centered. Cassie may have regressed slightly, but she is still largely superficial.

Lexi (Maude Apatow) remains a supporting character. Jules (Hunter Schafer) mostly drifts rather than develops, moving into a luxurious apartment that is supposed to symbolize hope. But even these changes lack depth.

Even if the first three episodes are only setup, a good story should not take this long to begin. When the series is not using its western motifs — whip sounds and wide framing — it sinks into a mood of sadness and stagnation. The slower pace makes the uncomfortable moments feel even more artificial.

Perhaps the goal is to depict the pain and aimlessness of a younger generation trapped in a world of shrinking job opportunities and eroding morality. Perhaps we are all just stuck. But Euphoria was never this emotionally hollow before; it used to feel more ambitious and alive.

Why shouldn’t it end with strength and boldness? That is what Rue used to do, and perhaps the only hope is that the series rediscovers its lost meaning before it concludes.

Rating: C-

Season 3 of Euphoria airs Sunday, April 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time on HBO, with new episodes released weekly.