If it weren’t part of my job to recap each new episode of Euphoria’s third season, I genuinely don’t know if I’d still be watching it.
Sure, Season 1 had the thrill of newness, and Season 2 had its moments, but I’m not really into all the staginess, sex, and gore that has taken the place of meaningful character development in this show. (We have Quentin Tarantino at home, babe!)
When I do feel tempted to quit on Euphoria, though, there’s one character that reliably keeps me coming back every Sunday night: Jules Vaughn, Hunter Schafer’s aspiring artist and part-time sugar baby who is delving back into a complex are-we-exes-or-besties situationship of sorts with Zendaya’s Rue, even as she becomes increasingly dependent on a surgeon with a penchant for wrapping her body in plastic. (Diva: run, that’s quite clearly a serial killer. He didn’t even give you air holes!)
Is Jules’s role on Euphoria perfectly written or an appropriate use of Schafer’s talents? Not always. So far, we’ve gotten less Jules than I woud like this season (although her rolling up to Nate and Cassie’s wedding in the world’s least nuptials-appropriate Acne Studios dress was undeniably iconic), and I don’t love the predictable nature of her narrative. Yes, trans women do engage in sex work at higher rates than their cis counterparts, but I want more interesting storylines for her than dodging creepy chasers or doing…whatever the hell it is she’s been doing with Rue since high school. I loved getting a glimpse of Jules smoking and painting a majestic female nude in Episode 3 of Euphoria’s third season, but I wish that we, as viewers, had a better sense of where she is emotionally after all these years.
Photo: Patrick Wymore/HBO
All that said, the thing that keeps me rooting for Jules against the odds is, quite simply, Schafer’s luminosity. She’s incredibly gifted at doing a lot with a little, and when she’s onscreen, it’s hard to look at anyone else (even when the no-less-fab Maddy is sauntering into her ex and ex-bestie’s wedding venue serving a lethal face card and wearing a green cutout revenge dress that solidifies 2026 as the year of the crack).
It’s still early days, so maybe there’s hope on the horizon for my standout Euphoria favorite this season. As it is, I’ll take whatever it is we’re given of Jules’s arc—but that won’t stop me from hoping for more.
