Euphoria creator Sam Levinson defends killing Rue in Season 3 finale

Sam Levinson defended the decision to kill Rue Bennett in the Season 3 finale, calling it the most “honest ending” for the show and saying, “people like Rue don’t make it.” He said he was motivated to honor late cast member Angus Cloud, adding, “I wanted to tell this story for Angus and for people who weren’t granted a second chance.” The episode depicts Rue suffering a fatal accidental overdose after taking laced pills given to her by Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).

Levinson described Rue as “kind of going back through her life,” pulling up at the convenience store where Fezco used to work and having a flashback with Angus; the scene used footage from an old test reel that “never made it into the show.” He argued against sugarcoating the crisis: “People relapse.

They f–k up. They’re not ready to get clean,” and warned that with the influx of fentanyl, one wrong move can be deadly.

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