It’s Actually Normal For The Euphoria Kids To Be This Different

One of the most common criticisms against Euphoria returning for a third season after its long delays, unexpected deaths, and rumored creative differences was that the characters no longer looked like they could be in high school. Therefore, writer-creator Sam Levinson began Season 3 with a five-year time jump, showing us where the East Highland kids ended up after graduation.

But now, some fans are mad that these full-grown adults are not the same people they were in high school.

In the May 17 episode, for example, Hunter Schafer’s Jules slapped the hell out of Zendaya’s Rue after she chastised Jules’ sugar-baby arrangement, reminding her that it probably won’t end well. Yes, the moment made all of us feel sad for Rue, but it also prompted criticisms on Reddit that Jules has lost her optimism, charm, and “emotional depth.” Readers, that’s part of growing up. (If you need a reminder, Hilary Duff just released a great song about the experience.)

By this point, it’s clear that Jules didn’t have the art school experience she'd dreamed of and fell into escorting. After getting a reality check like that, you tend not to be as bubbly or hopeful as you once were.

Now, she’s living rent-free in her sugar daddy’s spare high-rise condo and has all the time in the world to paint whatever she wants. Jules has made the best out of a bad situation, and when Rue points out that it won’t last forever, it feels like a threat to her survival.

Does that justify Jules slapping Rue when she tried to profess her love and convince her to leave that rich man? Of course not. But Jules is also correct that Rue can’t expect their relationship to return to what it was in high school (which wasn’t healthy to begin with).

Meanwhile, many fans have complained throughout the season that Jacob Elordi’s Nate has lost his edge, no longer acting like a dangerously aggressive meathead who was violent to nearly everyone in high school. And for some reason, that’s a bad thing?

What people might’ve forgotten is that Nate undid his family’s reputation in the Season 2 finale when he turned his father, Cal (Eric Dane), into the cops, and his main focus after graduating has been rebuilding his construction business and trying to make a name for himself outside of that scandal. Violence and intimidation don’t exactly work when you’re $600,000 in debt to a sketchy businessman who looks straight out of a mob, so of course, he’s not fighting back like his high school self would.

Fans got a taste of Nate’s past aggression and repressed sexuality when he went on a homophobic tirade against the protected flowers that are stopping him from building the residential development he’s planned for years. And what did that get him? Another beatdown from a violent henchman. He’s already losing a new body part every week; he can’t afford to risk anything else.

Yes, these characters are not the same people from the first two seasons — and that’s the point. Rue, Jules, Nate, and their former classmates are learning what happens when their high school aspirations don’t work out as planned, and they must adapt to new situations, which can change a person. If this weren’t happening on Euphoria, I’d be way more concerned. But two episodes ahead of the Season 3 finale, their stories all make sense, as icky or unhinged as they may be.