WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS MAJOR PLOT POINTS THAT SOME READERS MAY PREFER NOT TO KNOW.
The end of Euphoria has included several shocking moments. But the series finale delivered a gut punch with the death of a major character.
In Season 3, Episode 8, “In God We Trust,” main character Rue Bennett—portrayed by the superstar Zendaya—meets her demise through an overdose. The season had focused on her journey as a recovering addict working as a drug mule and later, for pimp Alamo Brown. Alamo kills Rue by giving her pills secretly laced with fentanyl.
The HBO series’ creator, Sam Levinson, is defending the explosive ending and narrative choice for Rue, saying in a post-episode interview that it was an “honest” choice.
“I think in the end, I wanted to tell an honest story about addiction. I also wanted to tell a story about grief and the emotional turmoil that it can create,” said Levinson.
“It felt like an honest ending,” he said. “The honest ending is people like Rue don’t make it.”
During the episode, Rue believes she has woken up in the past, learning that her dealer and friend Fezco O’Neill escaped from prison. The sequence uses previously unseen footage of actor Angus Cloud, who portrayed Fezco in the first two seasons of the series. Cloud died in July 2023 due to an accidental, fentanyl-related overdose at age 25.
“I wanted to tell the story for Angus and for people who weren’t granted a second chance,” Levinson said, getting visibly emotional. Levinson himself suffered from addiction, an experience he has been candid about. “I can say with absolute certainty that if I was going through what I went through when I was younger now, I wouldn’t be here either...”
“People relapse. They fuck 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,” he said.
“I’ve always been against utopian storytelling,” added the creator.
Levinson told the New York Times that he had originally written another ending for Rue, but was influenced by Cloud’s death. “I’d always been really concerned about the prevalence of fentanyl and it’s something we’ve dealt with over the seasons. But once he passed away I had to re-conceive the script and I thought, ‘You can’t tell a story about addiction today without the very real consequences. Most people don’t get a second chance,’” he told the publication.
He said the conclusion was “a way of honoring Angus and saying a prayer for the future.”
Actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who played Alamo Brown, said Levinson was “really responsible in portraying the consequences” of addiction. “Many, many fans will be devastated, especially the way she does end,” he noted, “That Alamo would kill her with the sword that she used.”
Euphoria is concluding with Season 3. The often-controversial show made stars of Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and Sydney Sweeney.
