HBO’s “Euphoria” is in such a bizarre place in 2026. A present that after felt abrasively recent and creative went away for lengthy sufficient that not solely did its stars all develop into simply as shiny in different places, however its provocations appear more and more hole in a really completely different world. Premiering 4 years after we final noticed these characters, the third season of Sam Levinson’s Emmy winner generally looks like a shadow of its former self, a program about younger folks looking for who they’re that’s struggling via an id disaster of its personal, however there are simply sufficient instances when that shadow springs to life that it’s not so simply dismissed as a relic that took too lengthy to return.
On the one hand, the disjointed nature of the storytelling throughout the three episodes despatched to press makes for a TV-watching expertise that lacks constant momentum. Then again, it’s a season that’s usually about folks caught of their routines, unable to seek out path in a world of facet hustles that deal with their our bodies like means to ends. There are particular person beats, scenes, and performances in these three episodes that spark with that power that the present discovered at its finest, however 2026 “Euphoria” feels extra unsure of what it’s doing or saying than ever earlier than.
If the objective is to replicate an absence of path or focus within the quarter-life crises of its characters via a present that can also’t keep a practice of thought, then mission completed. However that looks like an awfully shallow sentiment for a era that’s always looking for new methods to maintain its head above water.
The Rue (Zendaya) of 2026 isn’t battling dependancy as a lot as what her dependancy wrought. It seems that the theft from sudden crime boss Laurie (Martha Kelly) has turned her right into a drug mule, actually utilizing her physique to move product throughout the Mexican border. Whereas she makes use of her physique actually, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) does so just about, re-introduced dressed like a canine in lingerie to appease a really exact nook of the web. Cassie is making an attempt to lift further funds for her dream wedding ceremony to now-entrepreneur Nate (Jacob Elordi)—together with a $50k flower invoice—by doing no matter it takes on-line, together with opening an OnlyFans account.
After all, different acquainted faces return. Lexi (Maude Apatow) is working in Hollywood with an influence participant portrayed by Sharon Stone, whereas Maddy (Alexa Demie) circles an identical world of celebrities and influencers. At its finest, Levinson and firm appear to be commenting on the more and more shallowness of, effectively, every part. Weddings are funded by softcore porn, celebrities care extra about their on-line persona than their talents, and the alleged sins of the world, like medication and intercourse, are the one viable escapes from all of it. Actual happiness, no matter which will imply, is as transient and elusive as a drug excessive or a one-night stand. And if it’s true in your teenagers, it’s nonetheless true in your twenties.
Curiously, the world has seen the celebrities of “Euphoria” develop their expertise outdoors the present, and lots of of them carry what they’ve realized again to their acquainted characters. Most of all, Zendaya slides proper again into what I nonetheless contemplate her finest efficiency. There’s a jittery, anxious power that the “Dune” star brings to Rue that I actually want extra movie writers and administrators would discover a solution to let her discover on display screen. This model of Rue has primarily embraced the chaos, bouncing from Laurie’s grip into the sphere of a harmful crime lord named Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Zendaya sketches her as a reactive creature, somebody who has confronted so many hurdles that she simply jumps when there isn’t even one in entrance of her. It’s one other really nice flip, one of the best factor in regards to the season, and, once more, one of the best of Zendaya’s profession.
After all, Sweeney, Schafer, and Elordi have additionally seen their shares skyrocket. They stream proper again into these roles as in the event that they by no means left, however they virtually appear above the fabric at instances. Elordi has been so nuanced in work like “On Swift Horses” and “Frankenstein,” however he’s hampered right here by a shallow presentation of Nate via three episodes. (One hopes that adjustments over the next 5 episodes of the season.) Sweeney once more nails the fragility of a girl who’s so obsessive about picture and opinion however can’t perceive how fleetingly these issues make her comfortable. Schafer doesn’t actually do a lot till the third episode, however she glows beneath the prospect to painting a happier Jules, one who appears in command of her personal happiness greater than at some other level within the sequence.
And but what does all of it imply? There’s a dialog within the second episode through which Maddy tells Cassie that she’s being too determined as a substitute of being herself. “Who am I?” asks Cassie, as if desperation to please IS being herself. “Euphoria” usually has an identical drawback: Pushing into shock worth and even scenes that really feel designed for TikTok virality as a substitute of truly saying something. As usually as a performer’s alternative rises above the artifice of all of it, that hollowness at all times returns, particularly with a trio of episodes that wrestle to keep up a story throughline.
To start out the third season, “Euphoria” appears to be saying that being in your twenties within the ‘20s exists on the floor of humanity, chasing highs via meaningless components like medication, intercourse, and on-line virality. If these characters had been shallow, damaged creatures once they had been youngsters initially of the present, this season appears to be constructing to the concept that we will’t simply mature out of these habits as a result of our delivery certificates implies we should always. To that finish, the hole chaos often is the level.
Solely time will inform if Levinson and firm can flip what is actually simply the setup for the season right into a payoff that feels deeper and extra centered. Or if it will likely be content material to replicate the uncertainty of its characters via storytelling that may really feel maddeningly unsure itself.
Three episodes screened for evaluation. Premieres on Sunday, April 12 on HBO.
