Euphoria Recap: Gold Rush

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As the second half of Euphoria‘s third season unfolds, the storylines of the main characters are finally starting to connect. Maddy and Cassie are working together on OnlyFans, and Maddy has even partnered with Alamo, which seems like a smart move for both of them. However, some plot points have been neglected. We haven’t seen any updates on Nate’s real estate project, but we know he’s still in trouble with Naz. Despite Cassie sending him $30,000 in installments, Nate is still behind on his payments. When Naz sends someone to check on him, things escalate violently – Nate’s pinky toe, which was already sewn up, is severed, and his ring finger is cut off as a grim reminder. He’s now missing two fingers, and is still far from catching up on his debt.

Honestly, after seeing so much craziness on this show, another finger amputation barely even registered. The biggest problem is that Nate feels completely sidelined now. The show has really become all about Cassie, and her story is taking over everything. This week’s episode started with a ten-minute look at Cassie and Maddy making money on OnlyFans. It’s wild! Cassie quickly built up over 50,000 subscribers, and she’s doing… everything. Like, everything. We’re talking toe-sucking, ASMR, even selling her underwear. She even tried to get Maddy to fart in a jar for $700! She’s also been on podcasts, spouting some really strange, conservative ideas – something about men being ‘hunters’ who are now forced to be delicate. It’s so ironic because she’s actually the one supporting her family now. Maddy pointed out that Nate is a ‘bread loser,’ not a ‘breadwinner,’ and that he might even try to get a cut of Cassie’s earnings soon.

The media portrays Cassie as finally achieving her lifelong dreams, showing her as wildly overjoyed. Her newfound fame has inflated her ego to monstrous proportions – she’s become a destructive force, dominating Hollywood and carelessly disregarding others. This is illustrated through shocking imagery, like her stepping on a homeless man and aggressively confronting a businessman who exploits her image, ultimately destroying his office with a defiant act. She’s seen as finally free and successful, but at a terrible cost.

Cassie’s desire for fame in the adult film industry fits with her overall character. Since her storyline with McKay, she’s seen sexual confidence as something that makes a person valuable – not in terms of being better than others, but as a reason for someone to matter. However, this part of her character has been pushed so far that it’s starting to fall apart. Watching Sydney Sweeney tackle this challenging role, I thought of Margot Robbie in the movie Barbie (2023). Robbie had a difficult task: for much of the film, she played a doll with no inner life. But by the end, Barbie develops emotions and becomes a fully realized person. Cassie’s journey is the opposite. She started with a complex and fascinating inner life – a deep exploration of her own body and desires – and is now losing herself completely. Cassie began as a person and is becoming an empty shell.

Even though the show clearly looks down on Cassie and sex workers in general—portraying Cassie as monstrous when she asserts herself—she’s still the most dynamic character. Maddy’s storyline is gaining traction, but Rue feels like a pawn in the conflict between Alamo and Laurie, while Lexi, Jules, and Nate remain sidelined. Following the Slipper robbery, Alamo plots with Bishop, G, and Kidd to recover his money from Laurie. Bishop asks Rue to create a map of Laurie’s farm, hoping to catch him off guard. Alamo is increasingly agitated, feeling betrayed by Eddy for not sacrificing himself for the money and annoyed by the pants Kidd chose for him, which he feels are intentionally too small. He gets so angry that he even threatens Kidd with an ice pick.

Big Eddy is killed during a robbery. The killer is revealed to be Colonel Mustard (Bishop) who committed the crime in the library (which is actually a bathroom covered in plastic) using an electric saw instead of a candlestick. Before leaving, Bishop tells Rue she makes him uneasy, and he implies bad luck has followed her since she arrived at the Slipper. When Alamo calls Rue downstairs, she’s very shaken. Alamo explains that Laurie wants to meet with him and asks Rue where she thinks Laurie might have hidden the contents of his safe (Rue suggests the basement). She shares this information with the federal agents, who instruct her to be present at the meeting with her phone on. They want Rue to call Laurie, hoping to catch her saying something that could be used as evidence for a wiretap. However, Laurie immediately hangs up on Rue. Undeterred, Rue turns her attention to Wayne, catching him watching Pretty Woman with Faye. When Wayne casually mentions that someone has replaced Rue’s old job as a drug carrier, it’s enough for the Feds to proceed with their plan.

Cassie unexpectedly joins a TikTok content creator house run by Brandon Fontaine. The season seems to be set in the present day, after the pandemic, and reflects the growing influence of online communities focused on masculinity. This backdrop makes the idea of a collab house feel a little dated—especially since Brandon’s group is dancing to a song that was popular in 2024. These houses were huge before the pandemic, but many of the stars who got their start there have moved on, like Addison Rae. Regardless, Brandon convinces Cassie to sign a contract by minimizing Maddy’s importance (he claims she’s just an assistant, a point emphasized by her being shown cleaning up a mess in Ms. Penzler’s office) and exaggerating his own contribution to Cassie’s success (he implies she only earns money because he features her in his posts).

Nate surprisingly agrees with Brandon that Cassie should move in with them. He even suggests Cassie could benefit from pretending to be in a relationship with Brandon by posting suggestive, but classy, videos of the two of them together. Cassie is unsettled that Nate, who went to great lengths to avoid her using OnlyFans, doesn’t seem bothered by her connection with Brandon. Nate is simply desperate for money and views Cassie’s potential foray into adult content as a source of easy income, and frankly, he doesn’t seem to have much of a personality of his own. Eager to please men, Cassie meets with Maddy at her apartment and cycles through a range of emotions—anger, sadness, remorse, excitement, and always, a sense of self-importance—before ending their business relationship. Maddy then cancels an audition she’d secured for Cassie on Lexi’s soap opera, L.A. Nights, as she’s no longer representing her. Maddy’s tactic works, and despite already signing a contract with Brandon, Cassie immediately signs one with Maddy.

After getting the information she needed from Cassie, Maddy moves forward with the plan to land her an audition for L.A. Nights – a plan that was all a pretense. It’s surprisingly easy to get Lexi to call the casting directors; Maddy simply threatens her, asking, “Do you want to be my enemy?” Why would Lexi even care, given her own life? She’s already frustrated that Cassie has once again overshadowed her, just like what happened with the play. This feels like a lazy way to develop characters who could be so much more complex. Wouldn’t it be more compelling to see Lexi actively try to sabotage Cassie’s chances, forcing Maddy to improvise, or leading to a genuine conflict between the sisters? Instead, we see Cassie confidently walk onto the lot, dramatically sign in as “Cassie HOWARD,” and deliver a melodramatic Shakespeare monologue from Antony and Cleopatra. It’s unclear why the casting director and producer don’t have sides (lines) for Cassie to read, especially for a minor role like “Job Applicant” – something that shouldn’t require an extensive audition. Regardless, Cassie gets the part. Lexi is irritated, and Cassie is, predictably, over the top. When Lexi calls her out for being self-centered, Cassie proudly declares that’s exactly what it takes to succeed in Hollywood.

Euphoria is stuck in a cycle of negativity: constantly highlighting how bad the world is and how damaging the entertainment industry can be. While the show makes these points clear, it rarely offers moments of genuine connection. The recent scenes between Rue and Jules seem to be aiming for that, but their once-strong bond now feels stale. Rue visits Jules for the first time since a wedding, and Jules immediately presses her about her dating life. Rue describes her brief relationship with Angel as a passionate but complicated love affair. Their conversation becomes indirect and focuses on what each of them expects from the other. Jules challenges Rue to actively pursue her, saying Rue needs to “take” her. The scene then shifts to Jules having sex with Ellis. Ellis later discovers Rue’s boxers in his closet and becomes concerned that Jules is bringing other partners home, potentially exposing him to sexually transmitted diseases. He coldly tells Jules he cares about her but prioritizes his family’s health, and throws the boxers at her.

The conversation between Rue and Jules perfectly highlights a key problem with both of their stories: we never really understand what they truly desire, either from each other or for themselves. It’s hard to say what Jules wants, as her scenes mostly revolve around intimacy. But Rue is clearer – she simply wants to survive, and ideally, avoid going to prison.

Magick discovered the drugs Rue hid in her locker and immediately told Alamo that Rue couldn’t be trusted. She was explaining this to Big Eddy when they were robbed. Alamo found it odd that Rue hadn’t recognized Wayne and Harley’s voices during the robbery, even before identifying them on the security footage. However, since Rue did eventually identify them, it didn’t seem like she’d deliberately hidden information. Still, it made Alamo suspicious. He found Rue at a diner with Maddy, who was trying to explain the idea of staying calm and balanced. Before Maddy could start talking about religion, Alamo joined them, introduced himself to Maddy, and told Rue to meet G and Bishop in a car outside. Maddy sensed something was wrong but figured Alamo was just a bit of a shady character, given his job. Rue urged Maddy to leave, reminding her she had somewhere to be, but Maddy decided to stay and wait for her milkshake. Alamo remained with her.

It was horrifying watching Bishop and G drive Rue back to Alamo’s place. They made her start digging a hole on that same cliff where he’d once shot an apple off her head – a seriously bad omen! They told her to dig until the walls were closing in, and then, without a word, they buried her up to her neck. Meanwhile, at the diner, Maddy was laying out a business proposal for Alamo – she’d take 15% of Cassie’s earnings, which she predicted would be around a million dollars a month soon. Looking at pictures of Cassie, Alamo realized he had a ‘type’ and started thinking Maddy could manage a few of his girls on OnlyFans. He’d get a cut of that too, of course. They actually seemed to connect during their business talk, which was surprising. Honestly, nothing seems to faze Maddy Perez! At the Silver Slipper, she started scouting potential girls for her portfolio, choosing Magick and Kitty. Later, Alamo rode out on horseback towards Rue, who was still buried with just her head above ground. She watched, terrified, as he galloped towards her, swinging a polo mallet. The episode ended right before we saw if he actually hit her, but you know she’s the main character, so she can’t die… even if the show tries to trick us into thinking she might!

One for the Road

While federal agents are waiting for Rue before contacting Laurie, the scene shows them in a car, one arm hanging out and smoking a cigarette. This shot mirrors the one used when they were staking out Rue in episode two, as she dropped Angel off at what turned out to be a human-trafficking location. This connection suggests how they were able to find Rue in the first place, offering a possible explanation that wasn’t clear before.

It’s unlikely Rue will be killed off because she’s the only one who knows Laurie’s farm well – this is highlighted multiple times this week, with Bishop asking for a map and Alamo questioning her about where he hides money (she correctly guesses the basement). Rue’s usefulness to both Alamo and the DEA depends on her connection to Laurie, which creates dramatic possibilities as both sides need her for different reasons. However, it’s frustrating that Rue doesn’t seem to have much agency; she’s rarely allowed to act independently. Even when given a chance to make a decision, like in her scene with Jules, the show cuts away before we see her reaction.

I’m really excited to hear what other film fans think! The team at New York Magazine and I are chatting about all the big questions we’re exploring in Euphoria Club, our newsletter for subscribers, and we’d love for you to join the conversation in the comments section.

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2026-05-11 09:57