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Warning: This article contains spoilers for season three of Euphoria.
Season three finale airs amid mixed reactions
HBO's Euphoria concludes its third season on Monday, capping seven weeks of polarizing storylines that have pushed the show's trademark chaos to new extremes. Critics and fans remain divided over whether the series has lost its emotional resonance or simply evolved into a darker, more surreal vision of adulthood.
Plotlines veer into surreal territory
The latest season follows the show's central characters-now five years out of high school-as they navigate increasingly fractured lives. Rue Bennett is smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border, Cassie Howard has turned to OnlyFans to fund wedding expenses, and Nate Jacobs faces gruesome revenge scenarios. Meanwhile, Jules Vaughn abandons her artistic ambitions to pursue a sugar daddy.
These developments mark a sharp departure from the show's earlier seasons, which critics praised for their raw, if exaggerated, portrayal of Gen Z adolescence. Many fans who connected with the series as teenagers now say they've "outgrown" its tone, while others defend the shift as a natural progression for characters entering adulthood.
Record viewership despite critical skepticism
Despite a lukewarm critical reception-season three holds a 56% weighted average on Metacritic-Euphoria has drawn its largest audience yet. The premiere episode attracted 12.3 million U.S. viewers, with global numbers surpassing 20 million, a 68% increase over the season two debut, according to Warner Bros. Discovery.
Showrunner Sam Levinson described the season as "our best yet" ahead of its December launch, though reviews suggest the show's signature blend of shock value and emotional depth may have lost some of its impact. Some viewers argue that certain scenes feel engineered for viral memes rather than organic storytelling, citing examples like Cassie's infantilized behavior and Nate's degrading insults, which continue to dominate social media feeds weeks after airing.
Fans and critics debate the show's evolution
Journalist Jess Bacon criticized the season as "rage bait," arguing that its pursuit of viral moments has reduced its characters to one-dimensional caricatures. "It no longer approaches its heavy themes with the nuance it was known for," she said, contrasting the latest episodes with the "relatable or thought-provoking" experiences depicted in earlier seasons.
Fan Eve Rigby, 23, echoed these concerns, noting that the show's visual style-once a mirror of Gen Z aesthetics-now feels disconnected from reality. "Most of us aren't OnlyFans creators or getting kidnapped by the mob," she said, adding that even the more grounded characters, like Lexi Howard, now inhabit a world that feels unattainable to many young viewers.
"Cassie's objectification, Maddy's domestic abuse, Kat's body consciousness-these reflected things girls had experienced or seen in our circles. Now, it's harder to resonate."
Eve Rigby, fan
Defenders praise intensity and acting
Not all reactions have been negative. Noah Ives, co-host of the Chicks in the Office podcast, said the season grew on him, particularly the later episodes featuring Rue's undercover DEA work and Nate's near-death ordeal. "The whole group getting back together makes it feel somewhat like Euphoria again," he said, though he acknowledged the plot remains "ridiculous."
Others argue the show's brutality is part of its appeal. "Outrageous storylines have always been the way it's been," one fan noted, praising the writers for seamlessly transitioning the characters from high school to adulthood.
Acting performances, particularly by Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, have also drawn widespread acclaim. Addiction therapist Gonzalo Sanchez highlighted the show's evolving portrayal of substance abuse, noting a shift from "stylized and fast-paced" depictions to a more nuanced exploration of shame, trauma, and recovery.
Cultural relevance and the challenge of longevity
When Euphoria premiered in 2019, it was hailed as a defining show for its generation. The Guardian called it a series that made Skins "look positively Victorian," while Time praised its "Xanax-numbed aesthetic" as uniquely reflective of Gen Z. However, critics now question whether the show's themes-once groundbreaking-have become outdated.
Journalist Daisy Jones, writing in Vogue, criticized the season's "peculiar and persistent obsession with sex work," arguing that its treatment of the subject now feels "dated and two-dimensional." Brand strategist James Kirkham suggested the cultural conversation around identity, queerness, and mental health has moved on, leaving Euphoria struggling to reclaim its former relevance.
"The four-year gap is the real culprit. In social media and streaming time, four years is like a geological shift. Audiences who fell for season one as sixth formers are now graduates."
James Kirkham, brand strategist
Kirkham also noted the fragmentation of internet culture, which has made it harder for any single show to dominate in the way Euphoria once did. Comparisons to Skins, the early-2000s teen drama that similarly lost steam in later seasons, underscore the challenge of maintaining cultural relevance over time.
"The miracle is when a youth show catches fire even once," Kirkham said. "Expecting it to do it twice, in different cultural weather, with the same writers, is always hard."
