‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Episode 1 Recap: What Have the Characters Been Up To?

After four years, Euphoria is back to let fans in on what its collection of chaotic characters has been up to.

For those unaware, the second season of the hit HBO show ended back in 2022, leaving viewers unsure of the fate of the dynamic cast of troublemakers. The third season, which premiered on Sunday, April 12, saw most of the principal cast return to continue their character’s stories, which pick up five years in the future and long after graduation.

No longer in high school, the characters are attempting to carve out their paths in adult life, separating them from each other (for the time being, at least) as they trek around the world.

What happened to the Euphoria characters after high school?

In case you missed the premiere and were hoping for a quick catch-up, here’s where all the characters were to start the new season!

Rue Bennett

The first episode of Season 3 began with Rue (Zendaya) trekking around Mexico in a beat-up Jeep with a mysterious duffel bag in the back. “A lot of people ask what I've been up to since high school,” she opined to start the story. “Honestly? Nothing good.”

And whew, buddy, was that downplaying her situation, especially once her Jeep got stuck as she attempted to drive over the border wall. This caused her to seek help from a nearby family before hitching a ride on a Greyhound bus. Before long, she ran into Laurie (Martha Kelly) and had to face the debt she owes (a minimum of $100,000) from last season. “And that is how I became a drug mule,” Rue declared, setting up her path for the rest of the season.

This also explained her location, as she’s been tasked with moving the illegal substances across the Mexican border by Laurie. And when Rue wasn’t working for Laurie, she drove for Uber, which was how she was able to visit the other characters. Rue ended the episode delivering a bag of substances to a party, where she crossed paths with Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) for the first time—and let’s just say things got heated quickly.

Lexi Howard

During her narration, Rue revealed that she sometimes crashed on Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) couch in Los Angeles. This was where we also learned that Fezco (Angus Cloud, who passed away in 2023) had been sentenced to 30 years in prison and was currently serving his sentence.

For work, Lexi had continued cultivating her passion for writing, which fans saw last season via her dramatic school play. In the present, she worked as an assistant on a nighttime soap opera in Hollywood, fetching drinks and driving her boss around the set while she sat in on writers’ room meetings.

Cassie Howard

Rue also noted through the narration that Lexi’s sister, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), was living in “some right-wing suburban bubble.” After high school, Cassie got engaged to Nate (Jacob Elordi), and the two lived in a massive mansion.

Cassie was actively trying to go viral on TikTok with her salacious posts. Dressed in a corseted ensemble, she acted like a puppy dog as she was filmed around the estate by their housekeeper. She was also in the middle of planning her wedding with Nate, with the voiceover noting that “their wedding was around the corner, and Cassie was dreaming big.”

Later in the episode, Cassie chatted with a friend while lounging by the pool, discussing her potential plan to use OnlyFans to make some extra money to pay for what she wanted for the wedding, since Nate had been “nickel and dimming” her.

Nate Jacobs

Nate arrived home after work to see what Cassie was up to, and was clearly frustrated with his bride-to-be. Since we last saw him, Nate had taken over his father, Cal’s (Eric Dane, who passed away earlier this year), real estate development business, but was having difficulties expanding for several reasons, including the Southern California location and his business ideas.

He’s also been stressed around Cassie’s aforementioned spending on the wedding, as she was looking to get $50,000 worth of floral arrangements. Toward the end of the episode, the couple sat down for a candlelit dinner, where Cassie approached Nate about her aforementioned idea of starting an OnlyFans account. While Nate laughed off the comment at first, his answer was “absolutely not.”

The two argued as Nate told Cassie he was “treading water” at work, but she stood firm on her flowers. Ultimately, Nate appeared to give in, asking, “What kind of pictures are we talking about?” while referring to her potential account, to which she simply responded, “Pretty ones.”

Maddy Perez

Like Lexi, Maddy (Alexa Demie) was also finding her footing in Hollywood as an assistant to a talent manager, with the narration noting that her job “appeared more glamorous than it was,” adding that “most days, she was stuck behind a desk.”

Still, she had cultivated “good relationships with the talent” and was making “good money”—at least, she was making “good money” for her boss. Also, the actor her boss managed just so happened to work on the same show Lexi worked on, causing Maddy and Lexi to cross paths.

Jules Vaughn

Finally, viewers learned that Jules (Hunter Schafer) was living as a “sugar baby” while attending art school. This was mentioned in passing, as the character didn’t appear in the premiere episode (though she’s set to appear in future episodes this season).

When is the next episode of Euphoria out?

The next episode of Euphoria will air on HBO and be available to stream on HBO Max this Sunday, April 19, at 9 p.m. ET. New episodes will release weekly through the series finale on Sunday, May 31.