How Does Cassie’s Story End In 'Euphoria' Season 3?

[Spoiler Alert] The ending of Euphoria seems to have been, on the surface, kindest to its favorite character, Cassie Howard. No, I can’t say Cassie had a favorable last season. In fact, it was the absolute opposite of that. She went from living her dream to starting an OnlyFans, being called “Sex worker” insultingly multiple times, to losing her husband, all in a short span of time. Right from the start, Cassie was an object of desire thanks to her physical appearance. Not just blonde hair and blue eyes, but the kind of body that men write books about. When she developed into a woman, she was sexualized by everyone around her, and she internalized the hyper-sexualisation to the point that she only ever cared about male validation. Her daddy issues might’ve made her a certain way, but that doesn’t mean we can dismiss her actions this season as the subsequent result of all the trauma she faced as a younger woman. 

After what Cassie did to Maddy, you’d have expected her to change a little bit, but instead of trying to grow up and mature, she doubles down on her “crazy” and asks for flowers that are worth more than Nate’s life at this point. Cassie was meant to have her dream happy ending with Cassie, but instead, she learned on her wedding night that he can’t even afford the massive mansion they’re meant to be living in. Taking matters into her own hands, Cassie decided to do OnlyFans, only to be mocked for her choices rather than praised. Cassie’s physical appearance is her entire personality. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not stupid at all. She knows exactly how to get what she wants, whatever it takes; that’s why she’d be the perfect actress. 

When Cassie becomes a giant woman (walking all over the city) after her OnlyFans account takes off, it’s a sign that she’s bigger than all the men who ever tried to hurt her. She will now use their crap to get what she wants. She’s reached a level where they can’t touch her anymore. But by the end of the show, Cassie’s tired. She wants to give up, and when she and Maddy end up witnessing Nate’s death, it doesn’t leave her traumatized, it just leaves her numb. All this for nothing. Cassie only ever dreamed of being a pretty wife; that’s what the world told her she was good for, so she chose a different way of doing the same thing to save her husband from his debts. However, Nate chose to waste away her money, maybe, in a way, choosing to let go because he was tired too. Nate’s love for Cassie is obviously all fake. He’s clearly still in love with Jules, and Cassie can sense that somewhere; that’s why, when he gets beaten up on their wedding night, she appears to be a narcissist who doesn’t seem all that concerned about her husband being beaten up in the background. Really, Cassie cared too much; that’s why she stuck to Nate, despite it all. 

Cassie definitely gets called a lot of names, and I suppose we also associate her with the actress who plays her. In many scenes of season 3, there’s a chance the fame of the actress boiled over into our perspective of Cassie. I know it happened to me for sure, and while I write this article, I’m trying my best to sympathize with the character. But this doesn’t mean victims can’t be perpetrators. In this case, Cassie is a victim of her own making, and while we empathized with her a little bit in season 2, where some of her scenes looked straight out of horror films; in season 3, there’s no one else to blame for her grievances, well, maybe Nate. 

At the end of the show, Cassie is finally free. Free from her dependence on men and her obsession with them. She finally sees, as an outsider, what her life has looked like so far, and she wants out. With Maddy, Cassie can grow. I guess the show alludes to the idea that really they’re each other’s one true love. A duo who can do anything if they put their mind to it. In the end, it almost feels like the roles have reversed, because Maddy’s the one getting shipped off to Alamo, but fortunately, with his death, they’ve been rewarded with the freedom to do what they like with their plan. 

In her last scene in the show, Cassie has just spoken to Lexi about Rue, and is now all by herself. We find out that nobody knows about Nate’s death because the two girls have kept it a secret, but they’re now living in the same mansion. One good thing that came of all of this I guess. Cassie says she’s going to put on her entrepreneurial hat now, and it does feel like there’s room for light here in her life. She seems to have been given autonomy by chance, and now she can choose her future for herself. But, in this scene after Lexi leaves, Cassie’s sitting in front of her ring light, and it looks like it’s casting a halo behind her head. Why a halo? She’s no saint. Well, I guess it symbolizes that she’s pure at heart, and she’s truly heartbroken from what’s happened. As the camera zooms in, a single tear rolls down her cheek. It’s sad, she’s lonely, but she will pick the pieces back up and she’ll be fine with Maddy. I think the girls will continue the business, at least for a little while, because both of them need the income, and it’s the easiest way of getting their minds off of everything that’s gone down so far. But soon enough, they might branch out and Cassie will definitely stop being in the limelight herself, focusing more on helping other women rather than being an object of desire. Maybe Lexi will be convinced to join them, and they’ll become a hugely successful trio. But on the inside, Cassie will continue to remain numb after all this time.