‘Euphoria’ Season 3 Episode 5 recap: Rue's fate hangs in the balance as Cassie receives tempting offer
'Euphoria' Season 3 Episode 5 showcases Rue and her friends creating more trouble for themselves. Titled 'This Little Piggy,' the episode dropped on May 10 on HBO and HBO Max. Sam Levinson has written and directed the show's latest chapter, which captures Cassie's rise as an online influencer and Rue's downfall as a snitch. Rue gets caught up in the escalating conflict between Alamo and Laurie after Laurie orchestrates a robbery at Alamo's strip club. She gets into big trouble and is seen facing the deadly consequences of snitching on her boss. On the other hand, Cassie turns into a massive online star, with her newfound fame upending her dynamic with her husband, Nate Jacobs.
Cassie's makeover and efforts to go viral in last week's episode pay off as she hits 50k followers on OnlyFans. She's seen interacting with men online in exchange for money, and Nate has no qualms with his wife's new career, as he knows that she is his only ticket out of debt. But he is not the only one who wants to cash in on Cassie's new job. Brandon tries to convince Cassie to ditch her manager, Maddy, and work with him full-time by moving into his influencer home and doing TikTok dances. Cassie immediately agrees but knows that ditching Maddy won't be easy. And she's right. Maddy had anticipated what was coming, and so she lined up a lucrative offer for Cassie: an audition for LA Nights, the show that her sister, Lexi, has been working on. To everyone's surprise, Cassie aces the audition with a Shakespeare monologue from 'Antony and Cleopatra.'
After the robbery at his strip club, Alamo becomes suspicious of his henchmen. Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson) zeroes in on Rue, telling her, "Ever since you came around, it's been a cascade of troubles." He then adds, "I’m not saying you have a 666 on the back of your skull, but something about you gives me the heebie-jeebies." But Rue has too much on her plate to take his threats seriously. When Laurie calls Alamo to set up a meeting, she informs the DEA about it. They wiretap Rue before she calls Laurie, hoping to get their hands on some incriminating evidence. Laurie’s second-in-command, Wayne (Toby Wallace), mentions getting a new drug mule to Rue, unknowingly handing the DEA officers what they needed to set a trap for the drug dealer.
Despite her mounting troubles, Rue hangs out with Jules at her house, following their brief meeting at Nate and Cassie's wedding. Rue talks about her romance with the stripper Angel (Priscilla Delgado), making Jules question her intentions. Both of them feel an undeniable pull towards each other, but hesitate to start something again due to their complicated history. Jules finally gives in and says, "You want me? Make me yours," and Rue follows through. When Jules' sugar daddy, Ellis, discovers that she's been intimate with other people, he loses his cool and demands that she stop. Elsewhere, Nate spirals further into his desperation and completely gives up, relying solely on Cassie to save him. He decides to spend the $30k Cassie gave him on a party, rather than paying off his debt. However, one of Naz’s guys shows up at his door and chases him around the house when he denies paying him back. He cuts off Nate's ring finger this time, leaving him with two missing appendages.
Meanwhile, Magick realizes that Rue planted drugs in her locker (in episode 4) to shift the suspicion onto her and reveals Rue's ploy to Alamo. It's enough to convince the drug dealer that Rue may be working behind his back. So he and Bishop meet Rue at a diner, where she's with Maddy. As Alamo starts chatting with Maddy, he asks Rue to go along with Bishop and G (Marshawn Lynch). Maddy and Alamo start discussing business prospects. She tells him that she wants girls from Alamo's strip clubs to expand her business and offers him a 15% share in the venture. Alamo agrees and takes Maddy to the Silver Slipper, where she picks Kitty and Magick from a lineup of strippers. "In the past, Maddy scouted good girls and turned them bad, but these girls were different. They were willing to do anything," Rue narrates.
Rue seems to be in serious trouble as the duo takes her to an abandoned location and asks her to dig a grave up to her throat. When she finishes, they begin shoveling dirt on top of her. She is still alive for now, but her fate is in Alamo's hands. The final scene from the episode shows Alamo charging towards her on a horse, while swinging a polo mallet. She screams out before the screen cuts to black. To find out whether Rue survives, tune in next Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
