***Spoilers for the entirety of Euphoria season two ahead, proceed at your own risk.***
The season finale of Euphoria season two is still rippling across the Internet, with fans debating whether or not it was actually satisfying and where the various characters will go from now. While everyone has a different opinion on the first issue, the latter has a very easy answer—they’re all going towards season 3, which HBO has already announced. This was a no brainer, though— it wouldn’t really be a smart move from HBO to stop airing one of its most successful shows to date.
So yay for season 3, which I’m personally already anticipating A Lot. Euphoria is, for me, like a visually stunning dumpster fire that I absolutely can’t stop watching because it’s so fascinating that it has captured me completely. And with that said, here are my incredibly accurate predictions on who we’re going to see again in the new episodes based on where their stories were left in season 2.
First on the list is obviously Zendaya’s Rue, the show’s protagonist and sometimes unreliable narrator. There wouldn’t be Euphoria without Rue—even the show’s title mainly refers to her, even though it can definitely be applied to all other characters in the cast. Will we see her sober up and work on the trauma she started to finally accept in the finale? Will her actions catch up to her (maybe personified in Laurie)? We’ll have to wait and see.
With Rue, we can be pretty sure that Hunter Schafer’s Jules will also be present—hopefully more than she has been this season. Jules is a pivotal and iconic character of Euphoria, but she kind of faded into the background during the latter half of the season and I really hope season 3 will bring her to the center of the stage again. But not necessarily back together with Rue—while I absolutely love them, I’m also objective enough to see that whatever they have going on is definitely not healthy.
And speaking of unhealthy relationships, how can we not mention the triangle that is Cassie, Maddy, and Nate—played respectively by Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, and Jacob Elordi? Now that Maddy has sort of “passed down” the burden of Nate onto Cassie with that breathtaking “This is just the beginning line” in the finale, will we see the relationship between Cassie and Nate morph even more into the one Nate had with Maddy? Probably, because Nate Jacobs is human garbage and no amount of “getting his dad justly arrested for his crimes” will make us forget that.
But what I would also love to see is Maddy (who for the sake of my heart cannot leave Euphoria Town like she maybe hinted she wanted to do) and Cassie salvaging their friendship somehow—a friendship that we saw is capable of being both strong and caring. Maddy clearly recognized in “All My Life My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name” that Cassie is now trapped in the same cycle of abuse she once was—and I would love to see her work to get her out of it somehow.
Maybe she could do that with the help of Barbie Ferreira’s Kat. Kat was another iconic and glorious character from season 1 that ended up on the sidelines in season 2—even more than Jules was (perhaps owing to rumored behind-the-scenes drama). While I’m sure Kat will return in season 3, I would do almost anything for her to have an active storyline beyond Maddy, or at the very least have more than three speaking lines in eight episodes.
And to complete the girl squad, Maude Apatow’s Lexi will also return, triumphant from the success of her play and maybe ready to step out from the shadows and be more than a mere spectator.
We will definitely also see Angus Cloud’s Fez return (maybe in jail?), and I want nothing more than to believe the theory I saw going around Twitter that Javon Walton’s Ashtray is actually still alive—even though the Euphoria official wiki doesn’t give me much hope.
I also believe there will be space for other minor characters, like Chloe Cherry’s Faye and Dominic Fike’s Elliot, as well as Rue’s family (Nika King’s Leslie and Storm Reid’s Gia) and the Howards sisters’ mum Suze (Alanna Ubach).
Euphoria has always been a very ensemble-focused show, even though everything is filtered through Rue’s point of view and hers is the main narrating voice. So, long story short, we will definitely be able to enjoy this plurality of people and storylines in season 3 as well. Maybe even with some new arrivals—might be finally time for that proper and credited Tom Holland cameo.
(image: HBO)
