Warning: This article contains spoilers for Euphoria season three
Euphoria viewers have reacted angrily to the season three finale, which aired on HBO last night (May 31), with some claiming it was even ‘worse’ than the ending of Game of Thrones.
After following the series for seven years and watching its increasingly intense plotlines play out, a number of fans said they were left underwhelmed by how the third season wrapped up — especially after creator Sam Levinson suggested it would be the final ever chapter.
The closing stretch of the season saw several major characters die across the final two episodes, including Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), Rue Bennett (Zendaya), drug lord Lorie (Martha Kelly), and strip club owner Alamo (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje).
Rue’s death hit particularly hard for many viewers. The recovering drug addict unknowingly ingested fentanyl-laced pills, later dying from an overdose.
Even with the dramatic twists, the finale has been met with significant backlash online, with critics arguing the ending didn’t deliver a satisfying conclusion.
“Euphoria now joins The Boys, Stranger Things and Game of Thrones as one of the worst final seasons ever in a show,” one viewer wrote on X.
As another questioned: “Three of these happening in the same year… what was in the air?”
One fan said: “How much more do we have to f***ing suffer?”
“Yuuuup it’s interesting, movies have been doing great lately but TV shows have been getting worse,” another wrote.
Levinson, however, stood firmly behind the ending and maintained that it was the most truthful place to leave Rue’s story.
Speaking with The New York Times, he said: “In terms of the story we set out to tell, which is a story about addiction and its consequences, this feels like the end to me.
“It just felt like the honest ending. The honest ending is people like Rue don’t make it.”
Still, plenty of viewers felt the finale worked, arguing that outrage online was driven more by disappointment than by the storytelling itself.
“Y’all are literally just mad that Rue didn’t live, the ending was perfect,” one viewer said after watching the final episode.
As another agreed: “You aint got a damn clue..You just follow what you see online without thinking for yourself.
“This season was way better than The Boys or Stranger Things. It has been entertaining.”
Euphoria first premiered in 2019 and quickly grew into a global hit. Alongside Zendaya, cast members like Sydney Sweeney and Elordi became widely recognised as the show’s popularity surged.
Separate from the finale debate, some viewers have again raised questions about how premium TV channels can air graphic scenes during prime-time hours.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bans the broadcast of ‘indecent and profane content’ between 6am and 10pm.
Indecent content shows ‘sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that is patently offensive’, while profane content covers ‘”grossly offensive” language that is considered a public nuisance’.
So how is it that HBO can broadcast Euphoria scenes in which Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie rubs cocaine on her genitals and is seen topless multiple times at 9pm?
The key distinction is that HBO is a subscription cable channel, and different rules apply compared to free-to-air broadcast networks. The FCC explains: “The same rules for indecency and profanity do not apply to cable, satellite TV and satellite radio because they are subscription services.”
That said, there is still a limit. Cable channels are not permitted to air content considered ‘obscene’, which is prohibited at any time.
The FCC explains: “For content to be ruled obscene, it must meet a three-pronged test established by the Supreme Court: It must appeal to an average person’s prurient interest; depict or describe sexual conduct in a ‘patently offensive’ way; and, taken as a whole, lack serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
In Euphoria’s case, it’s likely the series avoids that classification because the material is presented within a broader artistic and narrative framework.