“I broke down when I read Cassie’s ending,” Sydney Sweeney said.

Zendaya reacts to Euphoria finale’s major death scene, cast breaks down emotional ending: ‘Many fans will be devastated’

"I broke down when I read Cassie's ending," Sydney Sweeney said.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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June 1, 2026 10:45 a.m. ET

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Zendaya as Rue in 'Euphoria' season 3. Credit:

- Zendaya has given a brief, emotional reaction to Rue's death in *Euphoria*'s series finale.

- Creator Sam Levinson and actors Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer, and more also reacted to their characters' fates.

- "It just felt like the honest ending. The honest ending is, people like Rue don't make it," Levinson said.

***This article contains spoilers for *****Euphoria***** season 3, episode 8, "In God We Trust."***

The cast and crew of *Euphoria* are, like many fans of the show, in collective mourning over the death-filled season 3 ending — which, it turns out, was actually the series finale after all.

In a video that played after the episode's Sunday night premiere on HBO, Zendaya reacted to the tragic fate of her character, Rue, who died in the episode from an overdose after ingesting Percocet pills that were laced with fentanyl — and were intentionally given to her by her crime lord boss, Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), after he grew suspicious that she was actually a DEA informant.

"I just wanted to say thank you. I'm incredibly grateful for every single one of you," Zendaya said in a clip from the set, in which she spoke to the crew on a microphone as they appeared to gather for her final day filming.

Sydney Sweeney and Jacob Elordi in 'Euphoria' season 3.

Patrick Wymore/HBO

Growing visibly emotional, Zendaya continued, "Many of you have been here from the beginning and watched me grow up. It's been such a pleasure and an honor. Thank you so much."

Creator Sam Levinson also praised the actress' work on three seasons of the show, after it first launched in 2019.

"We fell in love with this character, this girl who's flawed and f---ed up, but has a good heart and [is] trying to do right. At least sometimes," Levinson said.

"I think, in the end, I wanted to tell an honest story about addiction. I also wanted to tell a story about grief and the emotional turmoil it can create," he added.

Hunter Schafer, who broke out as an actress on *Euphoria* season 1, also lauded Zendaya as her "soulmate," and said that, "Z is going to be somebody I'm talking to when I'm old. I love her to the moon and back."

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Sydney Sweeney, who also joined the show as part of the main cast in season 1, admitted that she "broke down" when she read her character Cassie's final scene, which saw her sit all alone on a large bed in an empty mansion following the death of her high-school-boyfriend-turned-husband, Nate (Jacob Elordi), at the hands of a crime boss he was indebted to.

"She's back in this place that she thought she was going to have with Nate, putting on this tough-guy exterior for Lexi," Sweeney said, referencing a scene in which Lexi (Maude Apatow) attempted to connect with her sister and express deep regret over the way she left things with Rue, to no avail.

Rue and Nate weren't the only major characters to meet their end on Sunday's series finale. In addition to the aforementioned Alamo, who was killed by Rue's longtime friend and fellow recovering addict, Ali (Colman Domingo), in a shootout revenge plot, Martha Kelly's villain Laurie also suffered a grisly fate at the end of season 3.

"When I found out that Laurie [dies from] suicide, it hit me really hard," Kelly said in the network's video. In the character's final scene, as the DEA raids her rural compound, Laurie ties a rope around her neck and jumps from the roof of her home. "It's disturbing, but I was also kind of excited to get to do part of the stunt."

Hunter Schafer in 'Euphoria' season 3.

Finally, Akinnuoye-Agbaje offered a theory on how fans might process the onslaught of death in the series finale, and praised Levinson for being "really responsible in portraying the consequences of" addiction — and the real-world threat of fentanyl.

"Many, many fans will be devastated, especially the way she does end, that Alamo would kill her with the sword that she used," he observed of Rue's death, which Levinson said "felt like the honest ending" for her. "People like Rue don't make it," he said.

Levinson also reflected on the *Euphoria* family grappling with a similar loss, as seasons 1 and 2 star Angus Cloud died in 2023 from an overdose that included a mix of fentanyl and other substances. The season 3 finale included older footage of Rue and Fezco (Cloud) together, in a scene that Levinson confirmed was a tribute to Cloud's memory.

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Levinson became emotional as he spoke about the scene, tearing up as he offered an observation about the intent behind it.

"I can say with absolute certainty that if I was going through what I went through when I was younger, now, I wouldn't be here either, so, there's no reason to sugarcoat it," he said. "I wanted to tell this story for Angus, and for people who weren't granted a second chance."

On the red carpet for the *Euphoria* premiere earlier this year, Levinson told * *that he "fought very hard to keep [Cloud] clean when he was alive," and said that "losing him was really tough."

He also explained that he intentionally kept Fezco alive in the series, with the characters referencing his extended jail time throughout season 3.

Levinson told EW that it "felt like if I couldn’t keep him alive in life, then I could in the show."

All three seasons of *Euphoria* are now streaming on HBO Max.

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