SPOILER ALERT: The following piece contains plot details from “In God We Trust,” the series finale of “Euphoria,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Throughout its third — and now confirmed to be final — season, “Euphoria” already felt like it had fractured into several different shows under the nominal banner of what was once the HBO version of a teen drama. Sunday’s finale, “In God We Trust,” functioned only as a capstone to one of these clashing narrative threads: the story of Rue Bennett (Zendaya) and her ultimately losing battle with drug addiction. Not only did this final focus on Rue render other characters an afterthought whose trajectories trailed off with a shrug; even Rue herself felt poorly served by a protracted, feature-length episode that tried to square a somber warning about the real-life opioid epidemic with an operatic revenge thriller and underbaked religious themes.
For its first two seasons, the form and function of “Euphoria” were in sync. However controversial or, at times, eyeroll-inducing, creator Sam Levinson’s sense of showmanship effectively channeled the intensity of hormone-fueled emotion. Whether it was the room revolving around Rue “Inception”-style as she sunk into her latest high or Sydney Sweeney’s Cassie professing her love for a terrible boyfriend with warbling, tear-streaked dedication, “Euphoria” got its point across loud and clear.
