Euphoria Season 3 Embraces Western Vibe
By Frankie Colao
Published April 22, 2026
“Euphoria” season 3 premiered on HBO on Sunday, April 12, and fans sure have a lot to say. The episode starts with our main character, Rue, who graduated high school and is once again up to “nothing good.” The episode opens with her stranded in a desert, trying to get over the Mexican border. Rue reveals that she is now a mule for Laurie, a drug kingpin, as Rue is trying to pay off the massive debt she acquired destroying the suitcase of drugs that Laurie fronted Rue in the previous season.
The theming and lighting differs drastically from previous seasons, taking a turn from the original dreamy ethereal vibe to a neo-western style. Many fans have taken issue with this, stating that it doesn’t really feel like “Euphoria” anymore. It is important to note that the new season makes a five-year jump in time from the previous season. The characters are adults now, and the stylistic choices feel more representative of the places in life the characters are now, especially Rue.
The neo-western genre modernizes classic western themes and tropes; instead of a frontier we get decaying industrial cities. We see this as Rue is driving for Uber and picks up none other than Batman: a symbol of urban decay and vigilantism.
The landscape is really important as well here. The wide establishing shots of Rue rolling through the frontier towards the Mexican border in a Jeep Cherokee, as well as the focus on blighted cities, establish the neo-western vibe.
Westerns tend to focus on morally ambiguous heroes. Rue isn’t necessarily a bad person or a good person. She’s done terrible things, and is currently working for a pimp (which she might or might not have realized), but she is only trying to get herself out of a terrible situation, bringing me to my next point: the lone hero.
Rue is alone in her journey for self-actualization as she explores her personal identity and religious beliefs. She’s cut off from her mom and her sister, and she doesn’t really have any close friends she can confide in.
Towards the end of the episode, Rue drops off drugs for a major client and somehow finds herself dancing up on a bunch of girls at a pool party, which functions as a modern-day saloon. She then meets her new employer, Alamo. After one of the girls overdoses on the drugs Rue delivered, which had been cut with fentanyl, Rue pleads with Alamo and says she had no clue the drugs were laced. “I thought that maybe God brought us together,” she says. Alamo replies: “So you believe in God? Let’s see if he believes in you,” bringing the audience to a modern day showdown. He tests Rue’s faith by shooting an apple off her head with a revolver. Though not a showdown in the classic sense, since Rue is not armed, the clicking of Alamo’s spurred boots, the slow loading and aiming of his revolver, and the dramatic western stings all emulate that showdown vibe.
Sam Levinson, who created the show, commented on the thematic changes. “They’re out in the big, bad world, and they have total freedom,” Levinson told IndieWire. “They can choose who they want to be. They can decide to follow whatever ambition or desire they want, but at the same time, they have to deal with the consequences of it. And so there was something that felt very potent about it.” This really reinforces other Western themes, such as justice, the tension between traditional values and contemporary life, and displaced protagonists. It’s also the first time a television series has been shot on 65mm film, echoing that old Hollywood Western vibe.