The third season of HBO’s Euphoria has taken a sharp turn away from its neon-soaked high school roots, evolving into something closer to a gritty crime thriller. In the latest episode, «This Little Piggy,» the stakes reach a terminal velocity, leaving fans frantically searching for one answer: Is Rue actually dead?
The rise of the 50-foot Cassie
While the series has traded its signature kinetic camerawork for wide, cinematic 65mm shots, the surrealism remains. Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) has seen her OnlyFans venture skyrocket to 50,000 subscribers under Maddy’s (Alexa Demie) ruthless management.
In a sequence that feels like a fever dream from a classic monster movie, Cassie transforms into a giant, stomping through Downtown Los Angeles. This serves as a metaphor for her exploding viral fame, which now includes podcast appearances and a cameo from Trisha Paytas. However, the glamour is thin; Cassie is essentially funding Nate’s (Jacob Elordi) spiralling life.
Nate’s downward spiral
Nate’s situation has shifted from manipulative to pathetic. Buried in a $1 mln debt, he has become a modern cuckold, encouraging Cassie to move in with mega-influencer Brondon Fontaine to «bring home the bacon.»
Despite Cassie wiring him tens of thousands of pounds to save their home, Nate fails to pay off the right people. The consequences are visceral: he is cornered by thugs and has a second finger torn off. Meanwhile, Maddy manages to secure her own future by strong-arming Lexi (Maude Apatow) into giving Cassie an audition for her soap opera, LA Nights. In a surprising twist, Cassie delivers a powerhouse Shakespearean monologue and lands the role.
The final stand: does Rue die?
The central question haunting the audience concerns Rue’s survival. After being outmanoeuvred by Magick (Rosalia), who convinces the kingpin Alamo that Rue is a DEA snitch, Zendaya’s character finds herself in a nightmare scenario.
While Maddy and Alamo strike a business deal over milkshakes, Rue is driven into the wilderness by two enforcers. In a scene of sheer brutality, she is forced to dig a ditch and is buried up to her neck in the dirt. The episode ends on a harrowing note as Alamo gallops towards her on horseback, swinging a mace directly at her head.
The screen cuts to black just before impact. With Rue notably absent from the «scenes from the next episode» teaser, the show has left her fate entirely up in the air. While it seems unlikely the series would kill off its protagonist mid-season, the sheer bleakness of Season 3 suggests that no one is safe in Sam Levinson’s reimagined wasteland.
