Help, the rejected Euphoria Season 3 plots are even worse than we thought

If you’re unhappy with the direction Euphoria season three is going in, you might have a different view on the series after reading the rejected plots that didn’t make the final cut. 

Listen, Euphoria’s third outing took a long time to make it to our screens, and (alongside all the off-screen drama) it’s one of the many reasons the HBO show is facing so much scrutiny. 

Sam Levinson had years to perfect the script, and yet storylines like Rue (Zendaya) becoming a drug mule and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) launching her OnlyFans career have been met with criticism. 

But while some of what we got is divisive, the ideas that were scrapped prove things could’ve easily gone in an even stranger direction – whether that’s “dodged a bullet” or “wait, that would’ve worked”. 

Rue as a Private Detective would have made zero sense

Remember in Euphoria season one when Rue did her best Veronica Mars impression during her manic episodes? Well, this could’ve become a genuine career path in the new chapter. 

Back in 2024, Variety spoke with HBO insiders about the production of season three, who said the early revised scripts had relegated Rue to the background and had her working as a private detective. 

It shouldn’t be all that surprising that the insiders said HBO very quickly shut down the idea – a Euphoria with minimal Rue would be criminal, let alone making her hunt down the criminals.

Zendaya pitched Rue as a pregnancy surrogate but HBO didn’t approve

Another rejected plot line was one pitched by Zendaya herself: Rue, now sober as a twentysomething young woman, becoming a pregnancy surrogate in Euphoria season three. 

This one actually sounds quite promising on paper – it would’ve allowed the character to evolve without just making her a mother. But according to the HBO insiders, it didn’t match the tone of the show, and so it was another idea that went on the cutting room floor. 

One early draft saw Cassie as Nate’s stalker and if only it were true

Remember in season two, when a wide-eyed Cassie declared to Nate, “I am crazier“? Now just imagine that emotional intensity had been built up over five years. 

@hbo

Consider me spooked. #euphoria #HBO #JacobElordi #SydneySweeney

♬ original sound – HBO – HBO

This is what we could’ve been treated to according to a rumour shared on the Euphoria Central page: the second draft of the season three scripts allegedly saw Cassie stalking Nate, the subject of her obsession. 

Nate, on the other hand, was reportedly set to be living a bachelor lifestyle after breaking things off with Cassie. These ideas check out for both characters, but alas, for whatever reason, the writers decided to have Cassie and Nate get hitched instead. 

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page.

Featured image credit: HBO