Euphoria enthusiasts have expressed their astonishment at the scenes during Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie's (Sydney Sweeney) wedding in Monday's episode. Creator Sam Levinson has been on a mission to shock audiences with the third season, incorporating graphic images, explicit scenes, and gross-out moments. Yet, the highly anticipated wedding episode proved more baffling than shocking, leaving viewers perplexed by the wildly inappropriate outfits and Cassie's incredibly racy first dance.
Outfits Raise Eyebrows
Fans questioned the dress code for the event, with Maddy (Alexa Demie) and Jules (Hunter Schafer) both showing considerable skin in extremely revealing gowns. A surprise appearance from their schoolfriend BB (Sophia Rose Wilson) also raised eyebrows. It was explained that she was no longer in touch with the group and was now expecting a baby. She ensured all eyes would be on her during the big day as she exposed her baby bump in a scarlet crop top and mini skirt.
Viewers were also surprised to see Rue (Zendaya) at the wedding, given she wasn't close to Cassie or Nate. Her wedding guest look confused for other reasons, having opted for a casual oversized suit and trainers. Even the bride missed the mark with her attire, with Cassie wearing a low-cut bridal gown that appeared far too tight on the chest, leaving her at risk of a wardrobe malfunction.
Unhinged Wedding Chaos
Amid a slew of 'unhinged' moments, Sydney managed to shine through, with calls for the actress to win her first Emmy after 'the best television performances of the year.' Sydney had fans transfixed as bridezilla Cassie, whose dream big day descended into chaos upon learning her new husband is $550,000 in debt. Performing her first dance through gritted teeth and choking back tears, she was seen grinding against Nate in bizarre scenes.
The day went from bad to worse after their wedding was crashed by Nate's loan shark, who left Cassie with a bloody nose and cut off Nate's toe in front of her in particularly graphic scenes. Paying no attention to her husband whilst he was being tortured, Cassie instead lamented the blood spatter on her wedding dress, wailing, 'This is so unfair! It was supposed to be the best day of my life!'
Fan Reactions
While the scenes were bizarre, fans credited Sydney's 'unhinged' acting skills, as well as the chaos of the wedding, sharing on social media: 'what the f**k kind of dress is this especially for a WEDDING????? This show never ceases to surprise me'; 'Why are Jules & Maddy dressed like this at a wedding'; 'What the f**k is wrong with people and their outfits for this marriage'; 'I'm sorry but Maddy and Jules were dressed so inappropriately for a wedding'; 'I think the worst part is that Jules and Maddy were dressed like that and THEY DON'T SAY ANYTHING AGAINST IT, I mean, wait, you expect some kind of reaction against their outfits or something, because from what I know (at least in my country) that if you go like that to a wedding it's disrespectful or something'.
Others praised Sydney Sweeney: 'sydney sweeney saving all her acting powers for this wedding special of #euphoria is crazy. one of the best television performances of the year for this episode alone.'; 'and the emmy for best actress goes to: SYDNEY SWEENEY'; 'ngl tho, I give it to Sydney for her unhinged + emotive acting in this episode.'; 'i swear sydney sweeney goes into fugue state when she films euphoria cause her acting here is leagues above the other s**t she does i can’t believe this is the same woman'; 'It's pretty safe to say that Sydney Sweeney outacted the other characters in the 3rd episode of Euphoria! The mess has just begun!'
Yet despite impressing with her skills, one viewer questioned her enthusiasm in season three, which has been critically panned: 'everyone in euphoria is acting in the sense they couldn’t get out of that contract except for sydney sweeney she seems excited which’s worse', they mused.
Season Three Criticism
Viewers have been left disturbed by series three of the HBO show, which has had a heavy focus on sex work and fetish roleplay, including a storyline about Cassie turning to OnlyFans. Episode three didn't focus on Cassie's racy content but still leaned into fetish scenes at the start of the episode, when it was revealed that Jules had dropped out of art school and was earning a living as a sugar baby. Unsettling scenes showed Jules having her tight-clad legs licked before stripping to her underwear and being wrapped head to toe in cling film as she acted out her sugar daddy's fetishes.
Reacting to the scenes, viewers shared: 'Another episode more fetish content. Why are we Saran Wrapping Jules?'; 'jules’s sugar daddy wrapping her in plastic wrap was so uncomfortable to watch…'. Creator Sam Levinson was still intent on causing surprise with graphic depictions of violence as Nate was seen having his toe cut off.
So far, the latest season of Euphoria has failed to live up to its predecessors. Ahead of its premiere, the third season was torched with early reviews, with the show being labelled as an 'unhinged disaster' yet 'pretty uneventful.' The season currently holds a 46 percent 'rotten' rating on reviews aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, in comparison to season one and two's 80 and 78 percent 'fresh' scores. While there are still five more episodes to go, fans aren't holding out much hope for any improvement. They shared: 'Every episode of #Euphoria Season 3 so far hasn’t topped any of the episodes in S1 or S2. I’m only watching this season to see how they wrap the series up.'; 'The first seasons of #Euphoria were so superior that even Nate having one of the heaviest scenes of violence after the wedding still loses out to when he got beaten up on New Year's Eve.'
Euphoria airs at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO on Sundays. In the UK, the series airs at 2am and 9pm on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and streams on HBO Max and Sky Go.
