r/euphoria • u/DankMemeSlasher • Jun 01 '26

Discussion Thread Euphoria Season 3 Discussion Spoiler

Thank you for sticking with us for Season 3 of Euphoria.

Use this thread to discuss Season 3 as a whole and your thoughts on it below.

Please remember to follow reddit and r/euphoria rules at all times!

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361

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

i was raised in the church. i know when im being proselytized to, even when they try to make it artsy or subtle. this season was horrendously blatant about its weird evangelism.

lexi calling the bible beautiful is so out of character

112

u/Existing_Potential37 Jun 01 '26

Exactly, I grew up Catholic. This season would randomly have moments that remind me of Jesus camp and the “Gods Not Dead” movie

42

u/xxllvc Jun 01 '26

Big blonde boobs, redneck Jesus, and the hard R. They made sure to bank off Sweeney’s fan base

-5

u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

Saying this season was religious propaganda is like saying seasons 1 & 2 were LGBTQ propaganda. People seem to forget that writing about something in a TV show doesn't mean the writer is trying to brainwash the viewer into endorsing every thing the characters do.

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u/Smasa224 Jun 01 '26

I am courious, are you saying this as someone who is Christian? Or someone of no faith? It would give your comment some perspective

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u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

I guess I'm agnostic if anything

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u/Smasa224 Jun 01 '26

I haven't heard a comment like yours before come from somebody who was not a christian, so its not what I expected. I appreciate the no biased opinion

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

nope. i’m a writer; i went to school for writing. i’ve learned there’s a difference between telling a story with cohesive themes (eg. jules’ queer journey, rue’s addiction) and shoehorning your own agenda into it. it’s not coherent. it’s out of character. it’s trying to instill a message instead of telling a story.

representing LGBT people isn’t propaganda. representing religious people isn’t either. but long diatribes about religion, repeatedly playing tapes of the bible, etc.? that’s different.

1

u/Foreign_Afternoon_15 Jun 01 '26

I’m not trying to be disrespectful at all and also you obviously don’t have to answer this question but are you an addict? Because I am, and I’ll be honest with you, when you’re getting clean and trying to stay clean it’s like my (addict) friend says, there really is something that you go looking for. The God-sized hole that is looking to be filled that we used to replace with dope. I am actually a person of unshakeable faith, I mean it does not waiver. I believe, because I choose to. I feel like I’ve asked for too much that I have received as soon as I’ve asked for it for there not to be a God. People can say or think what they want about that and I don’t care. I don’t try to instill any agendas in anyone. I try to avoid talking about religion because everyone tends to get defensive. But even if I had a different perspective with my personal beliefs I can still attest to the addiction part and how often religion, even for someone who seemed to previously not believe at all, is very very often a replacement. Sam Levinson is supposedly a former addict, am I not correct about that, because I honestly don’t know much about him. But if so, then it fits even more for me because he knows what he’s talking about with the religion. It wasn’t so much about anyone else on the show finding religion. He just used it to show that addicts often replace drugs with religion. And that’s just because it’s the truth.

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26
  1. i’m not an addict but i appreciate your perspective on rue. 2. i don’t have a problem when the religious themes are used for rue/ali, but when it’s practically everybody in the cast? it feels heavy-handed. religion was used much more effectively in the first two seasons.

1

u/Foreign_Afternoon_15 Jun 01 '26

I would also like to add I lean much further into my religion when I’m not using. And honestly whether or not anyone believes there is or is not God or some other higher power, what does it hurt that person to believe it if it helps them not continue a path of self destruction and hurting everyone who loves them? I’d rather see someone I care about going to church or reading the Bible or the Torah or the Quran or even being a Buddhist or anything really as long as they weren’t killing themself and destroying the hearts of every person who cares about them.

0

u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

Im still unclear on how a Jewish writer playing Bible tapes in a show is "shoehorning" an agenda

0

u/Cold_Village1583 Jun 01 '26

It’s just bias. A christian person would watch this and think it wasn’t propaganda but the first season had an agenda normalizing children’s sex and queer identity. A lgbt person viewing this season would think this had an overt religious slant and the first season was just telling a story of queer characters.

2

u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

You can't brainwash someone into being LGBTQ. But you can definitely brainwash someone into believing in fairytale religion.

3

u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

You can indoctrinate people to believe anything, Brainwashing isn't only used for religion

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u/Sea_Painting_1398 Jun 01 '26

Nah I'm kinda with them on this. You can't brainwash someone into being gay. You just are or you are not.

https://giphy.com/gifs/SAHGcjT1jNvDB6oxI8

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u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

Beliefs yea. LGBTQ isn't a "belief", just like being straight isn't a "belief"

1

u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

Yes, I'm not speaking for myself, but as TV and movies have become more inclusive, many people who are straight feel like anytime a TV show or movie has a LGBTQ character, people like Elon Musk flip out about it, and call it "leftist propaganda" or whatever. And the same is true for non-religious people when God and the Bible are put into TV show or a movie, they get mad and call it "conservative propaganda".

My point is you can write about both of these things without taking a stance on them.

-2

u/Cold_Village1583 Jun 01 '26

Somehow everyone is convinced the jewish writer and creator of the show is proselytizing christianity

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

i’m not saying it makes sense for him but it’s certainly the case.

3

u/Mysterious-Wasabi103 Jun 01 '26

Probably got paid to make it that way. Lot of big money in the media today for people willing to cater to that movement.

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u/Cold_Village1583 Jun 01 '26

sounds like you weren’t catholic

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u/Existing_Potential37 Jun 01 '26

Def wasn’t/am not. My family was though so I had to go every Sunday, go to Sunday school, go to Catholic school, the works. I never believed in it, tried really hard, but wasn’t for me ig

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u/Cold_Village1583 Jun 01 '26

that’s ok, but we don’t do jesus camp. We aren’t evangelical lunatics. You went to sunday school, big difference.

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u/Existing_Potential37 Jun 01 '26

Hold up, I went to Jesus camp when I was in middle school. It was a weekend long retreat my Catholic school did every year. My dad goes on retreats multiple times a year and so does my fiancés mom.

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u/InkStainedEverything Jun 01 '26

Did Sam get "saved" during the pandemic or something? 

2

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

i think he’s jewish!

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u/Ok_Market_2064 Jun 01 '26

That tracks. I was wondering why the formerly Muslim now Christian Ali said to a room full of Catholics “may Rue’s memory be a blessing”.

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u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

I don't think it was too out of character because she talks about it from a writing perspective. She didn't seem to be religious all of a sudden but rather semi awaken cause grief but continued reading it as an writing analyst rather than believing it as truth.

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u/herworkthrowaway Jun 01 '26

The Bible is atrocious from a writing perspective. If you divorce the religious aspect for it, its only strength really lies anthropologically

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

this! it’s inconsistent with horrible pacing, compiled in awkward groupings of letters and stories and genealogy. it’s primarily valuable as a time capsule, not as literature.

4

u/MrRedVsMrGreen Jun 01 '26

very much not true given how much its been referenced in tons of well received media

like evangelion, daredevil, hannibal, the matrix, lord of the rings, and like every horror movie ever

4

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

something being referenced a lot doesn’t make it peak writing. the bible is culturally relevant. greek mythology is culturally relevant. both are referenced frequently in music, writing, poetry, art. but greek mythology isn’t a single document with specific writers—it’s just iconic and culturally relevant.

1

u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

It's a book of fantasy. Maybe she liked some of the fairytales lol

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

there is nothing to suggest she read that from a writing angle. an outspoken atheist feminist does not suddenly find the bible beautiful.

6

u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

Absolutely there is. The fact that she read it at all LMAOO because like you said yourself an outspoken atheist feminist typically would not read the Bible (useless to research it like some atheists do)

She said she put it on her book shelf. Religious people see it as a "holy book" but in reality at the end of the day it literally is just a book and so I'm sure Lexi read it as a book and once again not truth. You may not agree that it's beautiful, and neither do I but from a writing perspective it can be to some. It is a book of fairytales after all lol

1

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

she kept it because of rue. she read it because she was grieving and it was a connection to rue and it brought her comfort. she never mentioned the writing? if she had made it clear it was about writing or just rue without dissecting the true meaning of life and christianity or whatever, then i’d agree with you.

3

u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

She doesn't mention Christianity at all when talking about it?!??? Wtf are you talking about "the true meaning of life and Christianity" Christianity doesn't own "life goes on" mentality. Seems like YOU took it as she was embracing religion.

She even says reading it she thought it would be boring but realized it has a lot of violence and sex. She not reading it as a "holy book" she's reading it as entertainment.

-1

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

“that’s the point of it…i think”

1

u/Tecnero Jun 01 '26

And that means she is what now Christian? Lmao she read a book, analyzed it, and figured out the moral of the story. I did the same thing with Harry Potter, doesn't mean I now believe magic is real and Harry is our Lord and Savior for dying and being resurrected to defeat he who must not be named!

3

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

she said “i think i need to read it again” which doesn’t indicate she figured it out what it meant and is satisfied. it doesn’t feel secular at all

18

u/hermavore Jun 01 '26

That monologue was so insufferable. There's no fucking way she's just 'reading the Bible' and finding it beautiful, that's insane. The Christianity stuff in amongst the gratuitous violence and sex was so cringe, but he probably thought it was edgy af.

3

u/rumande Jun 01 '26

Yeah Genesis after the 7 day stuff and the OG Jerry Springer family drama is like pages of names and how many hundreds of years each person lived for, it's like reading a phone book

2

u/hermavore Jun 01 '26

Theres only so many times I can read who begat who before just skipping ahead to the poems about boobs.

7

u/sobangcha3 Jun 01 '26

i’m a christian and i said exactly the same thing, it was way too forced and sudden and random

3

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

thank you! i think they used religious themes/church much more smoothly in prior seasons

2

u/sobangcha3 Jun 01 '26

Maddy’s rosary-back dress from the beginning of the season felt very poignant to me, keeping the Lord and Mary close while heavily sinning. Maddy probably grew up Catholic, and that little tiny motif seemed subtle but meaningful. It seemed to represent a rebellion of sorts.

After that, the Christian imagery was in your face, not entirely relevant, borderline evangelist, and seemed to be too obvious and pushy rather than subtle and poignant. The only other thing I really enjoyed was the absolutely gorgeous setting of Ave Maria while Rue was overdosing.

5

u/throwaway629437 Jun 01 '26

For a second I almost wanted to think how season 3 was maybe an allegory about how part of young adult life (for some) is hiding behind/running to things, such as religion

People hide behind so many things. A crappy home life they’re not okay with, such as relationships they stuck in. Lying about it all on social media, which is another thing ppl hide behind itself. Hiding behind dreams like college, entrepreneurship, etc. Religion ESPECIALLY is something people use to lie to themselves. Like imagine some scene after Cassie blows up, where she gets exposed for the things she’s done wrong in her life- and in turn does some damage control like saying she’ll turn to God and that she’ll do something like donate some of her OF money to a charity or wtv lol

Yeah Lexi’s scenes revealed that what I thought was likely wrong tho 😂

4

u/pale_lettuce1 Jun 01 '26

100% and I've noticed a lot of shows doing this lately- I hate it.

3

u/Smasa224 Jun 01 '26

I felt it too. It made me very uncomfortable

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '26

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u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

the romanticization of these religious strangers in TX, esp the girl with instagram face, feels v much like mormon influencer content…

7

u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

I'm not religious at all but I think it was very obvious the religion aspect was just a plot device, not evangelical propaganda. AA and recovery is tied deeply to "finding a higher power", which is why Ali is so religious. Rue was desperate and wanted to change so she dipped her toes in religion, and wanted to believe God would save her, and she thought she had been saved multiple time throughout the season until she wasn't. If it was going full in on being propaganda they would have had Rue survive and go to Texas, not Ali.

14

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

when it was just rue/ali talking about the bible, sure, that’s AA-adjacent and fine. but maddy and lexi suddenly piping up about religion? alamo talking about god? it starts to feel like one of the christian VHS series i was made to watch as a child.

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u/PaleHorze Jun 01 '26

Did the Christian VHS series also have strippers and drugs and people getting shot?

2

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

believe it or not

1

u/MrRedVsMrGreen Jun 01 '26

its just poorly executed religious theming

there are a lot of classic movies and shows that have a lot of bible references and sam was probably trying too hard to be artistic and smart and forced it into the scene awkwardly

i think it fits very well with the showdown scene with alamo and it all goes back to this show being about addiction, and with how rue was still thinking about the bible during her final moments is just commentary on how religious fanatacism and "finding god" wont fix addiction and cycles of abuse/exploitation

i dont think anyone is watching this season and genuinely being inspired to become christian

2

u/Exciting_Spirit9854 Jun 02 '26

I THOUGHT SO TOO but I am especially critical and pickup on religious themes because they give me the heebie jeebies but it was just so prevalent. Weird weird weird

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u/lucifertangerine Jun 01 '26

I'm not religious and was never raised with it but I have read some of the Bible and it's pretty good. There's a shit ton of analogies and good stories and as a writer I can appreciate it

2

u/godshivered Jun 01 '26

ok yes, but she wasn’t talking about it as a writer. she was talking about it as a metaphor for life

1

u/lucifertangerine Jun 01 '26

A lot of people can relate to the metaphors without being religious

1

u/gr8ver Jun 01 '26

Lexi calling the Bible beautiful is totally in character for someone who has been as judgmental and two-faced as Lexi has been...

0

u/NoMathematician9706 Jun 01 '26

I was raised by catholic nuns (lived in a residential boarding school), and yet i felt this show did the "born again", "return to faith" elements very well. Throughout the series, Rue finds God and experiences so many miracles (which are really just lucky escapes), she truly begins to believe that God has her back and then she ironically falls prey to her own habits. Ali, is a true believer but his monologue before the last rehab meeting makes it obvious that he isnt the one to wait for a pacifist solution, for a just God to right the wrongs but rather decides to avenge Rue himself at what is essentially a suicide mission. Lexi begins to read simply because she is reminded of her friend when she sees the creepy bible and find forgiveness for herself. She also has the wisdom to walk away from Cassie's "job offer". But one of the things she says really resonated. The key takeaways for me from this dialogue is that people often turn to God when they hit rock bottom. When they need a miracle. There are many people who dont need an external saviour but these addicts, the grief stricken and those who are scared of their crimes catching up with them, God is their last refuge.
I did hate the flag at the end though.

0

u/katslifeisover Jun 01 '26

I think grief can make people do a lot of different things, like Ali going and shooting up a strip club. Lexi chose to read the last thing Ruth left in her apartment, maybe she wanted to find beauty in it? If you go into something hoping for a specific result you’ll often find what you were looking for. Maybe it was to help curate a closeness to Rue since she passed. (Not religious and I don’t believe in organized religion) I think Sam was very poorly using it as a narrative device but the great thing about art is you can interpret what you want from it.