Well, folks, Euphoria has come to a close, and that ending was… something! After seven years (on and off, obvi) of anxiety-inducing Euphoria Sundays, the HBO hit show (and some of its key characters) has met its end. So, where did each Euphoria character end up by the end of Season 3? Allow me to give you a bit of a recap. Spoiler alert: Spoilers for Euphoria Season 3 follow.
ICYMI, Euphoria took a bit of a departure from its original vibe in Season 3. Following a five-year time jump after Season 2, Rue and the gang are kind of all over the place: For much of this season, Rue works for a cowboy/strip club mogul, Maddy manages Cassie’s OnlyFans career (and also works for that same cowboy/strip club mogul, mind you), Nate is running his dad’s company into the ground due to some shady business deals, Jules is a sugar baby, Fezco is in jail, and Lexi writes for a television show. Vape Girl also makes an appearance, and Trisha Paytas shows up at one point.
As you can see, we’ve come a long way from high school parties and glittery eyeshadow.
Given the fact that the Season 3 finale was the longest episode in HBO history, and it was the series finale, it’s kind of an understatement to say that a lot happened. So, whether you’re here to debrief the fate of the characters or didn’t even watch the season but are still curious about what happened to the OG crew, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s where each Euphoria character ended up by the series finale — and I’m warning you now, it’s incredibly unhinged.
Nate
Ding, dong, the jerk is dead. In the penultimate episode of Euphoria, Nate is buried alive by a group of Armenian gangsters to whom he owes a large sum of money. (Side note: He’s already missing some limbs as a result of said beef with the Armenian gangsters.) As he’s in the casket, a venomous snake comes and bites him, ending his life before he’s able to be dug out.
Maddy
Maddy was managing the OnlyFans accounts of some of the women who worked at Alamo’s club, the Silver Slipper (the cowboy/strip club mogul I previously mentioned). However, she gets entangled with him even deeper when she asks for his help to pay off Cassie and Nate’s debt to the Armenian gangsters.
After this, Alamo tells Maddy that he wants the “American dream” with her — which includes getting married and having children. However, that dream basically vaporizes when Ali enters the club and has an Old West-style face-off with Alamo, whom he ultimately kills.
Despite the trauma of witnessing all that violence, Maddy smiles in relief for her freedom, then gets a ride home from Alamo’s employee, Bishop.
Cassie
At the end of Euphoria, Cassie has turned her mansion into a content house for OnlyFans models alongside Maddy. (They’re besties again, BTW — definitely a trauma bond.) However, she’s last seen in mourning: sitting in the mansion alone and looking at a portrait of herself and Nate.
Lexi
Lexi chose to separate herself from all of this buffoonery — and good on her for doing so! Maddy and Cassie invite Lexi to work with them at the content house, but she declines and continues on her own path. She’s also in the dark about the circumstances surrounding Nate’s death, believing that he just mysteriously disappeared.
Fezco
At first, it appears that Fezco escaped prison by parkouring. We even see a never-before-seen clip of Fezco, played by the late actor Angus Cloud, and Rue together, laughing in a field.
However, it is revealed that Fezco’s escape and his reunion with Rue are a dream. (But more on that later.) As far as audiences are concerned, Fezco is still in prison at the end of Euphoria.
Jules
We didn’t see a ton from Jules this season, aside from bits and pieces of her sugar daddy storyline. At the end of the series, she’s living with her sugar daddy and painting a portrait of Rue.
Laurie
Arguably the most terrifying character in Euphoria, Laurie is the reason Rue found herself in such deep sh*t from Season 2 onward. But at the end of Season 3, the drug trafficker takes her own life as the authorities raid her home, declaring that she couldn’t die in prison. (But what happened to the birds?!)
Faye
Following the raid on Laurie’s home, Faye, her drug-mule boyfriend Wayne, and their questionable tattoos flee and hitch a ride on the highway.
Ali
After killing Alamo, Ali drives to the homestead in El Paso, Texas, where Rue previously found peace (and religion) with the Miller family — whom she met while running drugs near the border in the first episode of Season 3.
There, Ali introduces himself as Martin McQueen and tells the family that his daughter stayed there a while back and said it was “the most peaceful place she’d ever been.” He then joins them for a meal, leading them in prayer and looking on at the empty chair left at the table. He envisions Rue smiling at him from across the table.
Rue
So, why did Ali do all of that? Well, it’s because, ultimately, Rue dies in the series finale. After Alamo gives her a vial of opioids to manage her pain, Rue takes one and overdoses — as the pills were laced with fentanyl. Alamo decided to kill Rue after learning she was secretly working with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). So, Rue’s death led Ali to kill Alamo and flee to the homestead.
In her final moments and in her dream sequence, Rue is seen reaching for her mother. It’s heartbreaking, honestly, as I’m sure I’m not the only one who was rooting for Rue to make it out of the mud. RIP to a real one.