Euphoria Season 3 Episode 5 Recap — Cinematically Beautiful… and Completely Exhausting

Ever since Brandon Fontaine tagged Cassie on his account, her career has started exploding. Cassie  Howard (Sydney Sweeney) is now making private videos using dildos, saying people’s names, selling  underwear, and even farting in jars, all to make a profit. Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) couldn’t be  happier. Maddy is putting a lot of effort into managing Cassie’s career, and she finally hits 50K followers. 

The director does a very interesting cinematic scene where Cassie becomes a giant woman walking  through Hollywood. Her breasts press against a window and burst through the glass while a man  masturbates to her. It definitely felt unnecessary and not needed, but again, it’s another cinematic  choice the production is making that feels unnecessary for the Euphoria we know and love. 

Maddy realizes that Cassie wired Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) $35,000. Cassie says he needed it or he  would lose the house. Maddy advises Cassie to break ties with him now because otherwise he’ll be  entitled to half of what she earns. 

Alamo is upset that Big Eddie opened the safe for Laurie’s people during the robbery. Bishop asks Rue  Bennett (Zendaya) if she can draw a picture of Laurie’s farm, and she agrees. Alamo’s temper is getting  out of control, and it leaves Rue visibly shaken. 

Brandon tells Cassie that Maddy can only take her so far because she’s “just an assistant” and that she  should consider moving in with him and creating content together since he already has a professional  team. Cassie tells him that Maddy is her best friend. 

Cassie later tells Nate about Brandon’s offer to move in and create content together. Nate encourages  her to forget about Maddy and continue making money and videos with Brandon so they can “win  together.” It’s clear Nate sees Cassie as his way out of debt. 

Alamo asks to speak with Rue privately and asks where Laurie would most likely hold her stash. Rue says  probably in the basement. Alamo tells Rue that Laurie wants a meeting with him. 

Rue later releases information to the DEA detectives, and they tell her to call Laurie and try to get her to  say something incriminating. That doesn’t work, so Rue calls one of Laurie’s men instead. He says  something incriminating on the phone, and the detectives immediately say that what he said is enough. 

Cassie confirms that Maddy is “just an assistant” and decides to sign a contract to become a TikTok  influencer under Brandon’s house. Cassie later goes to Maddy and tells her she’s moving on from her.  Maddy pretends she’s going to cancel Cassie’s audition for LA Nights. Cassie begs her to take her back,  and Maddy says she needs to sign a contract with her first, which Cassie does. 

Maddy later convinces Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow) to get Cassie onto the audition list for LA Nights.  Cassie ends up doing a hilarious Shakespeare audition, but surprisingly, the director loves it and says that  if she can do Shakespeare, she can definitely do LA Nights. 

Rue goes to see Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer). Jules asks Rue about her relationship history and what  she truly wants from her. We then see Jules with her sugar daddy, who finds Rue’s boxer shorts in the  apartment and asks if she’s bringing guys into the home. Jules insists it’s just a friend and reminds him  she would never do that. He then reminds Jules that he has a wife and kids and can’t risk getting STDs.

Cassie wires Nate another $30,000, but just after he receives it, one of Alamo’s men breaks into the  house, rips off Nate’s pinky toe, and cuts his finger. Maverick finds the drugs that Rue planted in her locker and takes them to Alamo. She tells him Rue can’t  be trusted and is clearly trying to frame her. Alamo asks Bishop whether Rue recognized the robbers’  voices, and he says she didn’t, which he finds odd since she was able to identify the driver from the  surveillance footage. 

Rue later meets with Maddy and asks if she still feels spite toward Cassie. Maddy says she doesn’t  anymore and that it all has to do with her faith in Jesus.  Rue notices Bishop outside watching her through the diner window. Alamo then joins them at the table,  introduces himself to Maddy, and makes references to Rue’s “safe childhood,” saying he thinks it’s  important to know his employees personally.  Alamo tells Rue that Bishop is outside waiting for her and that he’ll keep Maddy company. Rue gets into  the car with Bishop and G. Bishop asks Rue for her phone. 

Back at the diner, Alamo and Maddy discuss influencer management. Alamo says he has girls who look  just like Cassie, and Maddy says she’d be interested, but she needs to see them first.  Lexi confronts Cassie, upset that Cassie told the casting director Lexi recommended her and revealed  that she was her sister. However, Lexi ultimately tells her that she did get the role. Cassie becomes  extremely excited, much to Lexi’s dismay.

Lexi tells Cassie she’s narcissistic and selfish.  Bishop and G take Rue to a dirt field near Alamo’s home and force her to dig a hole up to her neck. They  eventually begin shoveling dirt back onto her until she’s trapped. 

Meanwhile, Alamo and Maddy go to the Silver Slipper, where Alamo allows Maddy to pick “Magic” and  “Kitty” out of a lineup to become her next influencer clients.  Back at Alamo’s house, Alamo rides his horse down to the field where Rue is buried. While swinging a  golf club, the episode ends with Alamo approaching Rue’s head as she screams “No!” 

Check out the behind-the-scenes details on the set design for the 50-foot woman scene, the  Cassie/Maddy and Cassie/Lexi costume design choices, and the horse sequence featuring Alamo and Rue  buried up to her neck. 

My Thoughts 

The mention that it took a year to make the miniature set for Cassie’s “50 Ft. Woman” scene is  impressive. While I admire their dedication to making something cinematically different and paying  homage to old Hollywood, it leaves me asking: what show am I watching? 

What was once edgy, funny, smart, and beautiful has now become campy and corny. The need to feature  old Hollywood aesthetics and cowboys has left a gaping hole in what we originally loved about the show. 

Is the show still for the fans, or is it now for the producers and director? It feels like they isolated their  audience — the same audience that waited years for Season 3 — all in the name of doing something  cinematically different.

It’s giving: “This is the last season. Let’s throw everything at the wall.” 

Fans all over the internet have voiced their disappointment with this season. It’s just not enjoyable  anymore. It’s fun revisiting old friends, but at this point it feels more like, “Nice to see you again… when  are you leaving?” 

I honestly don’t think anything can save this season at this point. It’s becoming a struggle to watch.  We’re still rooting for the characters because they feel like old friends, and I think that’s the only thing  keeping a lot of people watching.

What did you think?

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• Loved it
• Hated it
• So/So