'Euphoria' Season 3 Episode 5 Recap & Review: Will Maddy Work For Alamo?

I feel like I need to slap myself for saying that the 4th episode of Euphoria was actually kinda decent, because after having watched episode 5, I want to jump off a building. There’s something pure evil about Sam Levinson’s treatment of Cassie as a character, and the naivety with which she is presented, allowing him to do literally whatever he wants with the character. Maybe Sydney Sweeney was showing us what was coming next for her character back when she was doing her AE ad and all those controversial interviews; there’s certainly an interesting parallel created by the show. Sex work seems to be the talk of the town in Hollywood right now, and I don’t know what the next step’s going to be. I keep going back to the clip of Zendaya arriving at the premiere of the show just to pose alone on the red carpet and leave. Sam Levinson is like that uncle you never want to see when he visits your house because he’s a little bit weird and a whole lot creepy. But, I’m not going to say any more, because we have a long recap to get through, so let’s get straight into episode 5 of season 3.

Spoiler Alert

Who Does Cassie Sign A Contract With? 

Euphoria episode 5 opens with one of its most graphic sequences so far (yes, I’m saying so far because I fear it can still get worse from here), showing us in detail what Cassie is doing to earn money on OnlyFans. I don’t know what this scene is meant to do. Are we supposed to see this and think, oh, this is easy money? Or that we’ve been sleeping on Cassie’s brilliance? I don’t know, but either way, the reaction (at least for me) is certainly the opposite. I promise I’m not sitting here to find out what kind of weird kinks men on OnlyFans have. To make this whole thing seem elevated and intellectual, Sam turns Cassie into the 50-foot woman and has her walk around LA like a giant, because she’s now too big for what she’s doing. This is metaphorically the size of her ego, because all the men she’s seemingly working for are diminutive, small beings she can happily step on. They all worship her. Suddenly, Cassie’s reached 50,000 followers, and she’s going on podcasts, telling people about traditional husband roles while wiring Nate money, because apparently irony is something that can make all of this seem okay. Of course, she’s not crazy enough to be a Democrat just yet. But this is all a big part of Maddy’s plan. Maddy, who is smart enough not to lose out on this opportunity as she did on Katelyn. This time, no matter what happens, she will be successful, and that’ll be on Cassie’s back. 

Cassie’s been spending a lot of time with Brandon, too, but what she doesn’t realise is that when he asks her to move into his place, a creator economy with everything at her fingertips, he’s simply trying to use her to make more money. And to top it off, Nate is so desperate that though he doesn’t even understand what’s going on with Cassie, he simply tells her that she should move in and do what she’s doing to “bring home the bacon,” encouraging her to make intimate videos implying Brandon and she are in a relationship (jeez). Cassie’s still obsessed enough with Nate to wire him money and listen to his every whim and fancy, too. She’s narcissistic, but she’s also in love, I suppose. 

Cassie signs the contract with Brandon even before talking to Maddy, because we all know that everything Cassie’s saying is an act. She tells Maddy the same thing Brandon told her: it’s not personal, it’s just business, and she beats around the bush way too much before coming to the point. Maddy doesn’t even react to Cassie; she simply pretends to get on a call and claims Cassie will not be auditioning for “LA Nights” with Dylan. Cassie immediately caves, and before you know it, Maddy hands her a contract that she’d already written up when Cassie said she wanted to have a meeting in Maddy’s apartment. When Cassie came in, she was on top. She climbed down the stairs looking all high and mighty, picking up things in Maddy’s house like they were her own, calling her a liar. But when she’s talking to her, she sits down and places her hand on Maddy’s thigh. From there, it’s Maddy who stands up, showing Cassie who’s boss. The contract is signed immediately, and Maddy has a photo as evidence, too. So much for Nate telling her to “forget” about Maddy. 

What Happens To Nate? 

Speaking of Nate, we barely get any time with him this episode, but we do get a nice suave dance, reminding us that Jacob Elordi is simply here to have fun. Nate’s been wired over 75,000 dollars by Cassie, and yet he hasn’t paid Naz back and instead chooses to have a dance party when he receives the second 30K from Cassie, before a goon shows up and kicks him down, not only removing the toe he already lost with his bare hand, but also cutting off his ring finger. Fun stuff. Is this going to do anything for the guy? I mean, he gave up a long time ago, and is simply spending all his time eating and drinking. Anyway, it’s just going to get worse from here for him, but Cassie’s still obsessed with him, so there’s that. 

Is Lexi Okay? 

Meanwhile, Lexi’s life is about to change, too, because Maddy essentially blackmails her into giving her the audition at “LA Nights.” When Cassie shows up, she uses her maiden name and even tells them that her sister recommended her, making it clear that Lexi approves of her. But we already know how Lexi feels about Cassie, especially about what she’s doing with her life right now, yet there’s nothing she can do about it now. Cassie’s entered the picture by straight-up doing Shakespeare at the audition and getting the role. Lexi calls her narcissistic and selfish, but Cassie doesn’t care at all; she simply says that’s what this place needs, and she’s already back to dreaming big again. 

Is Jules Okay? 

Though it’s a very small sequence in the episode, as it has been for Jules throughout this season so far, we do see her. She straight up asks Rue, who has visited for the first time since the wedding, if she wants her, and tells her that she should get her if she does. She’s tired of Rue’s games, but truthfully, it feels like a cry for help. Jules knows she’s gone too far with this whole sugar baby thing, and we see this when she immediately starts to cry after the guy who basically owns her tells her that he doesn’t want HIV from her, because he likes her but he loves his family. This all started because Rue left her boxers over, but no, I don’t think they got together. 

Who Is Maddy’s New Partner? 

Later, Rue and Maddy are hanging and talking, and Rue’s trying to figure out from Maddy what she would do if she was in her place. The conversation ends up being interrupted by the man himself, Alamo, and Bishop is standing right outside looking straight at Rue. Alamo makes it clear to her that he knows more about her than she has believed so far. This is all a threat because he sends her away to the car with Bishop and the other guys because they’re going to take her somewhere. But in the meantime, Maddy’s stuck with Alamo. Now, earlier, Rue was made to call Laurie by the DEA, but Laurie simply told her she didn’t want to have anything to do with her after what she did to her and hung up. It’s not incriminating, but when she calls Wayne, he tells her that her role in the drug dealing business has been replaced by someone else, and that’s enough for the DEA. Still, Rue needs to get Alamo and Laurie to meet up for the DEA, but she’s failing to do so. Anyway, while Alamo is with Maddy, they get talking, and it becomes quite clear that they’re cut from the same cloth. Alamo admires Maddy’s businesswoman nature, and asks her what she’s involved in. She explains how Cassie’s her main gal, and she’s on the way to making a million a month soon. This perks Alamo’s ears up, and he’s happy to talk terms. Maddy wants to pick up a couple of his girls to make them stars. The cut will be 15% each (at least for now), and as expected, she picks Kitty and Magick. Maddy’s definitely stepping over Cassie here, and if Cassie tries to step away from her again, Maddy will definitely make her regret it. 

Does Alamo Suspect Rue? 

In the ending of episode 5 of Euphoria season 3, Rue is made to dig her own grave while Bishop and the boys bury her neck deep in it. When Alamo shows up the next morning, it’s on horseback and carrying a golf club. If he did actually hit Rue with it, she’d be long dead. But, for obvious reasons, he’s not going to; this is just a big warning to her, as the whole episode has been. The “Judases,” if you may. The episode ends with Rue looking scared for her life for obvious reasons, but the fact that she didn’t recognize the voices of the people who robbed Alamo is certainly suspicious to everyone involved. Now, either she actually didn’t recognise Wayne’s voice, or it was actually someone else. In episode 2, we saw someone following Rue when she went to drop Angel off at rehab. It was likely the DEA, and they could’ve picked Angel up to do some work for them, too. To be fair, the girl in the car does look like Faye. What if she’s also working with the DEA? But also, the big lips could be anyone today, so really, it’s all speculation at this point. Either way, this puts Rue at major risk with Alamo, and Bishop even took her phone. The question is, will Alamo spare her? And will he end up getting caught despite getting so close to the truth? 

Season 3 Episode 5 Review

The first 10 minutes of the episode should be enough to signal that Sam Levinson has cast some kind of spell on HBO executives. I don’t want to comment on it and give it more attention than it needs. Sydney Sweeney seems to be the main character of this season, even more than Zendaya, based on how much screen time she has. There’s something really eerie about the whole thing, making this whole show feel like it’s come to us from a dystopian world. But I guess we’re living in one currently. The Jules arc seems to be going nowhere, and I don’t even know why she’s still on the show; oh wait, for the explicit scenes, of course. Man, I’m tired. The dialogue between her and Zendaya is somewhat cringy and feels like they’re back in high school, but a lot of the dialogue of the show is the same. Sam is desperately trying to make the show seem old-school Hollywood with the grainy visuals and the bright colors, but the truth is, a fake aesthetic is not going to save this show anymore. Whatever gangster-sex-thriller of his dreams he’s making is not working for anybody. 

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