Here’s where the HBO drama left Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and more back in 2022.

Where Euphoria left off after season 2, ahead of the season 3 premiere and big time jump

Here's where the HBO drama left Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, and more back in 2022.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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April 10, 2026 4:12 p.m. ET

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Zendaya on 'Euphoria' season 2. Credit:

As is the running gag on *Euphoria*, season 2 ended (four years ago!) on a note that felt anything but euphoric.

Now, to prepare ahead of Sunday's season 3 premiere,* *has a brief recap of where the 2022 finale left each character and their respective storylines, from Zendaya's Rue and Maude Apatow's budding playwright Lexi to the frayed dynamic that ripped Sydney Sweeney's Cassie and Alexa Demie's Maddy apart — potentially for good.

One of the most moving episodes of the entire series, season 2, episode 8 — titled "All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name" — left just about every relationship on the show fractured in some way, with no clear path to resolve for many of them.

Perhaps the most volatile split ripped the aforementioned Cassie and Maddy apart, after the former struck up a relationship with Maddy's ex, Nate (Jacob Elordi), much to the latter's dismay. Things came to a head at the premiere of Lexi's school play, *Our Life*, which included damning portraits of each major player in her life (upon realizing this information, Maddy uttered perhaps the show's most heavily meme'd quote: "Is this f---ing play about us?").

Zendaya and Hunter Schafer on 'Euphoria' season 2.

Mid-performance (and fresh from Nate dumping her), Cassie sashayed into the auditorium with a vengeance, taking the stage in an attempt to embarrass her sister for lampooning her (and the others) in the over-earnest project. This added another unintentionally meta layer to *Our Life* in the moment, which most in attendance thought was a scripted stroke of brilliance, leading to the entire school lauding Lexi as a creative genius.

The fallout for the actual group, however, rooted itself in reality, with Maddy physically attacking Cassie in front of the audience. Lexi informs the crowd a piece of advice that her romantic interest, Fezco (the late Angus Cloud) told her prior to the show — which he wasn't able to attend amid a bloody SWAT raid on his apartment, which led to the death of his 12-year-old adopted brother, Ashtray (Javon Walton). "Sometimes people need to get their feelings hurt," Lexi says. Later, Cassie and Maddy recover in the school's bathroom, with Maddy issuing a stern warning to her former friend after suffering years of abuse at the hands of Nate: "Don’t worry, this is just the beginning," she says.

Speaking of Nate, the high school jock's disturbing relationship with his father, Cal (Eric Dane, who died in February after completing production on all of his season 3 scenes), takes an unexpected turn as Nate harnesses power away from his domineering dad in ways we hadn't seen up that point. In a fit of rage over the expositions made in Lexi's play, Nate drives to a warehouse where Cal drinks with a few of his orgy partners.

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There, Nate pulls a pistol on Cal, who, in his most vulnerable moment of the series, tells his son that he made "a lot of mistakes" in raising Nate, after his son admits that he has recurring nightmares of his father raping him. Cal tells his son that he loves him, and that he's not proud of the person he became. But, it's too late, as Nate reveals that he has a USB drive that likely contains more underage sexual encounters Cal had with more than just Jules. Police lights peek in through the windows, and Cal is arrested, with Nate having assisted authorities by alerting them to both his location and proof his past misdeeds.

For Rue, Lexi's play had the opposite effect. She eventually thanks Lexi for making her refocus her attention on demons that have long plagued her. Rue reconnects with Elliot (Dominic Fike), whose tumultuous presence not only strained Rue's relationship with Jules after the pair became romantically entangled, but also threatened Rue's physical wellbeing after he played a large a role in her relapse (and yet ultimately revealed to Jules and Rue's mother that she was addicted to drugs once again).

Rue eventually forgives Elliot, admitting that he "accidentally" saved her life by being a "snitch," before he sings her a song summarizing their dynamic.

The rift between Jules and Rue, though, doesn't end as nicely. After the play, Jules approaches Rue as the audience files out, following Jules' role in Rue's intervention. Jules tells Rue she loves her and misses her, while Rue says nothing, kisses her friend on the forehead, and leaves.

“Jules was my first love. I’d like to remember it that way. I don’t know if that’s actually true, though. I think I was high for too much of it. I know it wasn’t easy for her, and I hope she forgives me," Rue says in her final narration of the season, acknowledging that silence might've been her only option in that moment, owning the power of restraint to save herself from saying something out of wounded angst that might permanently poison her love for Jules.

Rue continues, leaving us with one final piece of perspective before the screen cuts to the credits: "I stayed clean through the rest of the school year. I wish I could say that was a decision I made. In some ways, it was just easier. I don’t know if this feeling will last forever, but I am trying. I remember Ali [Colman Domingo] said the thought of maybe being a good person is what keeps me trying to be a good person. Maybe there’s something to that."

Just how *Euphoria* will weave these characters back into a cohesive tapestry following a five-year time jump in season 3 has yet to be revealed. However, trailers for the season tease reunions across the board, from Lexi and Rue's sustained relationship to Cassie and Nate's impending marriage, all the way through to Cal and Jules reuniting after their disturbing interactions across the first two seasons.

While new characters will see Natasha Lyonne, Rosalia, Trisha Paytas, and more in the *Euphoria* mix across season 3, we also know that several beloved cast members won't return for season 3, including Barbie Ferreira, Austin Abrams, and Storm Reid.

Zendaya as Rue in 'Euphoria' season 3.

While Cloud's death in July 2023 at age 25 also prevented Fezco from returning to the series in a significant way, creator Sam Levinson told EW on the red carpet at the season 3 premiere that the forthcoming season serves as a tribute to his late collaborator and friend, and that he kept the character of Fezco alive in the *Euphoria* universe for a specific reason.

"I fought very hard to keep him clean when he was alive, and losing him was really tough," Levinson tells EW, referencing Cloud's death from an accidental overdose of a mix of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and benzodiazepines, per the Alameda County Coroner's Office at the time. "I felt like if I couldn’t keep him alive in life, then, I could in the show."**** Find out how it all comes together when *Euphoria* season 3 premieres Sunday on HBO.

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