Major Spoilers Ahead for Season 3, Episode 3
Euphoria is back with a bang. The third episode of the long-awaited third season, titled “The Ballad of Paladin,” aired on Sunday night (April 26), giving fans a glimpse into the lives of the characters five years after high school. This was a highly anticipated moment, as the last season was released in early 2022, resulting in a nearly four-year gap between seasons.
What Happened in Episode 3?
This episode was packed with events that left fans in awe. At the beginning, we learned how Jules (Hunter Schafer) became a sugar baby through her roommate and later dropped out of art school. Now, she only has one client – Ellis (Sam Trammell), a plastic surgeon who appears to have a peculiar interest in wrapping her in plastic.
Meanwhile, Rue (Zendaya) is working for Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), selling guns that were “headed to Mexico.” However, when she suggests going “legit” to Alamo, it’s met with little enthusiasm.
In another storyline, Laurie (Martha Kelly) had previously called Alamo a pig over the phone. In the last episode, she received a literal pig as a gift, and in this episode, she sent it back, dropping it into the Silver Slipper, which caused a commotion and ultimately led to the pig being shot dead. Alamo seeks revenge against Laurie by targeting her bird, Paladin, named after the mercenary from the old 50s Western Have Gun—Will Travel, which Laurie often plays.
There was also a Rosalía cameo as stripper Magick, who pole dances while wearing a neck brace.
Rue invites Jules to Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) wedding as a plus one. Although Jules is hesitant due to her history with Nate and his father, Cal (Eric Dane), she eventually accepts the invitation.
The Wedding We’ve All Been Waiting For
Maddy (Alexa Demie) arrives at the wedding in a revealing green dress with a matching fur and a rosary dangling past her hips. Her presence at the nuptials of her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend is emotional, and she ends up leaving early, not knowing she just dodged a bullet.
BB (Sophia Rose Wilson), who is heavily pregnant, questions Maddy about changing her number, adding an awkward moment to the scene.
As Cassie walks down the aisle, her mother (Alanna Ubach) delivers a dark, comedic, and foreboding monologue about her own wedding to Cassie’s dad, recalling it as the last happy moment they had together. Cassie is visibly moved as she makes her way to Nate, who had been puking and breathing through a paper bag just before.
A Chaotic Celebration
The newlyweds seem happy during their first kiss as husband and wife, but this happiness doesn’t last long. At the reception, there’s a huge ice sculpture of the couple, showing that no expense was spared despite Nate’s financial troubles, which were revealed in the previous episode.
Naz (Jack Topalian), the man Nate owes money to, suddenly appears behind them during dinner, threatening Nate and informing Cassie about his money troubles. “Is everything okay?” Lexi (Maude Apatow) asks. “Of course!” a teary Cassie insists. “It’s my wedding day. What a weird question to ask on the best day of my life.”
After this threat, the couple takes to the floor for their first dance, where Cassie can’t hold back her tears as she says, “I don’t wanna be poor.”
Tensions Rise
Rue has to leave the wedding (and Jules) as she gets a call from Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson) that she has to do a pickup from Laurie for Alamo. On her way there, she gets a call from Fezco (Angus Cloud), and in the one-sided conversation, they joke about him escaping prison with parkour.
At one point, Jules reunites with Cal at the bar, who reveals he got caught sleeping with a minor, “two and a half months away from turning 18.” He tells Jules that they “lied about his age, just like you,” and after taking a plea deal, Cal is now on the sex offenders register. He then apologizes to Jules for making a sex tape (which Nate later destroyed) without her knowledge.
Nate joins Jules outside for a smoke break, and they share a moment where he thanks her for coming.
A Dark Turn
In one of the most tense scenes of the episode, Rue and Bishop show up at Laurie’s under the guise of purchasing drugs, but they are there so Bishop can poison her beloved bird, Paladin.
Meanwhile, the wedding becomes more chaotic as Cassie, holding a champagne bottle, confronts Nate, saying, “You’re not who you say you are.” She adds, “You want me to be the perfect housewife? You want me to cook and clean and suck your c***? And you don’t even have money for food. You’re not a man. Men provide.”
Nate tries to reassure her, but she accidentally pops the cork in his eye, giving a tiny glimpse of the old, anger-prone Nate. At the end of the night, they get in a limo together, where Nate promises to get them out of the hole they’re in, telling her he’ll be a better husband and, one day, a father.
By the time they get back home, the newlyweds appear to have made up, with the groom carrying the bride over the threshold.
However, their happiness is short-lived when they see Nas in their living room waiting for them. One of his men beats Nate up badly, and Cassie, in the middle of it all, gets a bloody nose and starts crying like a baby, wailing, “This is so unfair!”
“It was supposed to be the best day of my life!” she adds, not paying attention to Nate, who is dragged around like a rag doll.
Naz’s men then take Nate’s shoe off and cut off his pinky toe with bloody gushing everywhere. As Nas informs Cassie, “You know, Cassie, some women inherit wealth, but others inherit debt.”
Rue is also in trouble, as she gets pulled over by the DEA, and the episode ends back at Laurie’s, where Paladin, the bird, takes a sip of water, falls over, and dies.
Fan Reactions
Since the episode dropped, viewers have been sharing their thoughts and feelings about the antics and sheer chaos from Nate and Cassie’s wedding.
Some comments include:
“They got Jules wrapped in plastic wrap what the f is this show bro.”
“Jules really quit art school to be wrapped in plastic by this creep, rich white man with many fetishes.”
“Nate getting beat up so bad they chopped his toe off, Cassie miserable and crying her eyes with her nose bleeding on her wedding day on top of the fact that they’re so in dept that they got attacked in their own home… oh Maddy, you dodged the biggest bullet of your life.”
“This entrance… Maddy Perez, you will always be famous.”
* “This generationally cy shot is ruined by the music… why didn’t they have Labrinth for this season…”
“Me the whole episode watching Maddy just stare pathetically at Cassie and Nate instead of doing something messy and interesting.”
“Cassie’s mom while walking her down the aisle.”
“That was the worst ‘first dance’ I’ve ever seen omg.”
“Cassie crying over her bleeding and not Nate getting his ass beat behind her.”
“This got me,” one viewer said, referring to when Nate and Cassie’s friends found out they’re in debt after giving them money.
“Cal trying to get Jules’ attention from across the reception.”
“Lexi still being a virgin at her big age finally someone from this show I can relate to.”
“NATES TOE BEING CUT OFF AND LEAKING?”
“This MCU level cameo,” referring to BB.
“Lexi after tonight’s episode preparing to write a show about Cassie and Nate’s horrid wedding to impress her boss.”
“Rue calling Fez and there’s no voice on the other line…”
“Fez phone call but can’t hear his voice…”
“And Rue’s so f*ed now that the DEA showed up.”
“Cassie and Nate’s wedding episode tonight.”
