Euphoria Season 3 premiere stalls at 6.8 IMDb rating as fans raise concerns over ‘disturbing’ new chapter

HBO’s Euphoria has never been subtle, but Season 3 arrives with a rather jarring jolt. The long-awaited premiere drops its characters into a distinctly different, California-shaped reality, far removed from the hallways of East Highland High. And from the very first line, the tone is unmistakable: Rue, played by Zendaya, cuts through the time jump with a blunt admission,'A lot of people ask what I’ve been up to since high school, and honestly nothing good.'

A recap

The sense of disorientation carries through the episode, as the series charts where its core characters have landed years later, and the answers are anything but comforting.

Rue’s storyline is the most jarring. The premiere opens with her stranded 'somewhere in Mexico,' before she makes her way toward the Texas border, only to abandon her car and cross on foot into Agua Dulce. Posing as a student journalist named Ruby, she briefly stays with a religious family, claiming she wants to “expose the pure evil that’s pouring across our border.” But it’s a cover for something far more complicated.

Through flashbacks, Rue reveals that she was tracked down by Laurie and pulled into a high-stakes illegal operation. It started as a staggering debt—over $43 million, eventually “settled” at $100,000, spirals into her becoming a courier, transporting concealed packages across the border. Back in Los Angeles, she operates under Laurie’s extended network, with Faye by her side, while attempting to maintain fragments of her old life. driving Ubers, reconnecting with Lexi, and continuing her meetings with Ali, played by Colman Domingo, as she grapples with a fragile sense of spirituality.

If Rue’s arc is chaotic, Lexi’s appears, at least on the surface, controlled. Maude Apatow’s Lexi is now working in Hollywood, assisting on a nighttime soap under industry legend Patty Lance. Though still handling junior responsibilities, her creative instincts are being noticed, hinting at a more grounded trajectory amid the surrounding turbulence. She also serves as a narrative bridge, filling in the gaps: Fez is now in prison for 30 years following the raid, a storyline that explains his absence.

Meanwhile, the show’s most volatile couple has given up teenage drama, for adult dysfunction. Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, has relocated to what Rue describes as a 'right-wing suburban bubble,' where she creates provocative social media content, and, eventually, joins a subscription-based platform, to fund her dream wedding. Nate, portrayed by Jacob Elordi, has taken over his father’s construction business, with ambitions of building a coastal retirement community. Their relationship is transactional and tense: when Cassie pushes for his support to finance their lifestyle, he agrees, with strict conditions that underline his need for control.

Elsewhere, Maddy, played by Alexa Demie, is navigating the entertainment industry from the inside, working in management and representing influencers and actors, including one tied to Lexi’s show. Despite her proximity to success, she remains underpaid and undervalued, a familiar frustration reframed in a more adult setting.

Jules, portrayed by Hunter Schafer, is notably absent from the premiere, her storyline relayed secondhand: she is reportedly involved in a transactional relationship. The decision to keep her off-screen becomes one of the episode’s most talked-about choices.

The episode’s most surreal stretch belongs to Rue. While delivering packages to a new contact, she stumbles into a house party she can’t resist joining. What begins as a fleeting moment of connection quickly spirals, culminating in a medical emergency linked to the substances she transported. Though she insists she’s not responsible, the moral weight lingers. The tension escalates further when the dealer tests her nerve with a risky stunt involving an apple balanced on her head, an absurd, almost euphoric moment that captures the show’s signature blend of danger and dark humour.

Fan reactions have been as intense, and divided, as the premiere itself.

On social media, viewers quickly summed up the season’s chaotic reset in viral posts, with one user writing: “Rue and Faye are drug mules, Cassie is a right-wing OnlyFans creator, Nate owns a Cybertruck and is failing at his dad’s business, Maddy not getting paid what she deserves, Fez in jail… and we still got 7 weeks to go.”

Others praised the episode’s ambition and visual polish, calling it an “entertaining” and “interesting” start despite the show’s tonal shift. At the same time, some criticism emerged, particularly around Jules’ absence and certain narrative choices that felt abrupt or underexplored. There were also severe concerns about Sydney Sweeney's Cassie, making inappropriate videos.

The premiere also carries an emotional undercurrent, opening with a tribute to the late Eric Dane, who played Cal Jacobs and filmed scenes for the season while battling ALS.

Early ratings suggest a more mixed reception. The Season 3 opener currently holds a 6.8/10 on IMDb, making it the lowest-rated episode in the series so far. But if anything, that only reinforces what Euphoria has always done best: Provoke, divide, and keep audiences watching.