'Euphoria' Season 3 First Episode Shocks Viewers, Reactions

by Leyla MohammedBuzzFeedBuzzFeed StaffAs a Celebrity Reporter, I cover everything from fashion and award shows to TV, film, and cultural conversations.

This article mentions drug misuse, as well as sexualized content that some readers might find disturbing. Euphoria spoilers ahead.

The third season of Sam Levinson’s divisive series Euphoria premiered on HBO last night, and it’s safe to say that it’s caused a stir online.

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As you might be aware, it’s been four years since Season 2 of Euphoria wrapped — and in that time, a lot has changed. For one, many of the main cast, including Zendaya (who plays Rue Bennett), Jacob Elordi (Nate Jacobs), and Sydney Sweeney (Cassie Howard), have achieved great success in their acting careers, with Zendaya most recently leading the acclaimed A24 movie The Drama alongside Robert Pattinson.

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There was also a rumored feud between Zendaya and Sam back in 2024, which sources claimed was partly due to Sam’s highly controversial series The Idol, which he made with The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye).

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The Idol sparked widespread criticism not just for its “misogynistic” storylines, but also after an exposé from Rolling Stone detailed an alleged toxic work environment on set. HBO told BuzzFeed News in a statement that early production on the show “did not meet” its standards.

Zendaya and Sam apparently managed to put their “creative issues” aside to start working on the third season of Euphoria last year, while eagle-eyed fans noticed that although Zendaya served as an executive producer in Seasons 1 and 2, she was not credited as one in Season 3.

Elsewhere, two members of Euphoria’s cast sadly died between the time that last season aired and now: Angus Cloud (Fezco), who accidentally overdosed, and Eric Dane (Cal Jacobs), who had ALS.

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With all of this in mind, plus the fact that cast members like Zendaya and Jacob didn’t seem overly thrilled when discussing the series in recent months, it’s perhaps understandable that many fans presumed Season 3 of Euphoria would never air. But alas, the premiere took place last week (a seemingly tense event during which Zendaya appeared to refuse a photo with Sam and avoided a hug with Sydney) — and now, the first episode has been released.

HBO Max

Season 3 of Euphoria picks up five years after the events of the Season 2 finale, so the cast are no longer high-schoolers. However, their lives are arguably even more dramatic and chaotic than they were when things left off. Rue is a drug mule for Season 2 antagonist Laurie, a drug lord — played by Martha Kelly — who she owes a lot of money. In order to pay off her debts, Rue — with the help of Fezco’s friend Faye, played by Chloe Cherry — literally swallows balloons of fentanyl in Mexico and then shits them out in the US. Yes, you read that right.

HBO Max

Nate and Cassie are together, and while he struggles to find investors for his father’s business, she turns to posting sexualized content on OnlyFans to hopefully fund their lavish nuptials. (At one point, she tells Nate that she doesn’t want a “ghetto” wedding.) To many viewers’ (and Nate’s) dismay, Cassie’s OnlyFans content includes her dressed in a full-on puppy costume and barking at the camera.

HBO

It’s worth mentioning here that a still from a Euphoria teaser, reportedly from Episode 3, depicts Cassie dressed in a provocative outfit and posing as an infant, sparking more questions about just how extreme and disturbing this season’s content will be.

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Meanwhile, Hunter Schafer’s character, Jules, is now a sugar baby, while Fez is alive on the show and has been sentenced to 30 years in jail.

This is just the SparkNotes version of Euphoria’s Season 3 premiere, but you get the gist. It’s provocative, explicit, and has been described as “fetishistic.” One X user suggested, “Euphoria was always provocative but it was never gross. This episode was GROSS,” while another said, “and I said the whole drug balloon scenes with rue and faye felt like a fetish thing……”

> and I said the whole drug balloon scenes with rue and faye felt like a fetish thing……

— bald myha’la EUPHORIA SPOILERS (@1800clockit) April 13, 2026

Via Twitter: @1800clockit

Many people found the show’s content degrading. “It’s crazy how much Sam Levinson did to every women who stepped on set, it’s like the writers room asked him ‘how will we degrade every woman this season?’ and he just said ‘YES!’ Gah damn what an insane first episode,” one person wrote.

HBO Max

“congratulations Sam Levinson, for being so misogynistic and fetishistic that the only professions a woman can have in life, in your eyes, are that of a prostitute (something that was made very clear on that trash Weeknd show The Idol),” someone said.

One tweet likened Cassie's OnlyFans scene to a humiliation ritual, while another person wrote, “watching euphoria an