'Euphoria' Season 3 Episode 3 Recap: Cassie and Nate's wedding took a dark turn fans won't forget
'Euphoria' Season 3 episode 3 brings back the whole high school gang for the much-awaited wedding of Nathaniel 'Nate' Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) and Cassandra 'Cassie' Howard (Sydney Sweeney). Episode 3 from the latest season aired on April 26 on HBO. Titled 'The Ballad of Paladin,' it is written and directed by showrunner Sam Levinson. Cassie's big day is finally here; her dream of being Nate's polished wife is finally coming true. Both Nate and Cassie seem rattled, and it's more than pre-wedding jitters. Season 3’s biggest event goes without a hitch, but there's plenty of tension simmering below the surface.
Before the wedding, both Nate and Cassie are a bag of nerves. He is throwing up in the bathroom, while his soon-to-be bride is having a panic attack. But neither of them backs out of the wedding. Instead, they go through the ceremony with fake smiles that fool no one. Moreover, Cassie's mom, Suze Howard (Alanna Ubach), does not help the situation by bringing up her own doomed marriage to Cassie's father before walking her daughter down the aisle. Nate stumbles through his vows, and his fiancée is coming undone below the surface.
Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow) quietly watches all the drama unfold and remains unconvinced that Cassie is happy, despite her repeatedly saying she is. Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie), who recently started working as Cassie's manager, also attends the wedding of her ex-boyfriend with her best friend. Unlike her previous self, she does not stir up any drama at the ceremony. However, she leaves the reception and heads back home to her rundown neighborhood, sad that her friend is living the life she once envisioned for herself. Little does she know how wrong she is. She is unaware of how the newly married couple spent their wedding night. Back at home, Nate's loan sharks beat him up before cutting off his toe, while Cassie bleeds from a broken nose. What a way to start off their married life!
Episode 2 ended with Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) rekindling her romance with Ruby ‘Rue’ Bennett (Zendaya). She attends the wedding as Rue's plus one, and their entrance leaves everyone's jaws on the floor. The episode also reveals that Jules started her career as a sugar baby to earn some extra money while in art school. She meets the plastic surgeon Ellis and becomes his muse. Ellis, a family man, enjoys certain sexual proclivities, like wrapping women's bodies in Saran Wrap. Jules goes along with it and takes him on as her only client, until Rue shows up as her new sugar daddy. She later runs into Calvin ‘Cal’ Jacobs (Eric Dane) at the bar. Cal apologizes for recording their sexual encounter, but assures Jules that the police did not get hold of the tape. Their short encounter signals the beginning of more trouble for Jules if she gets dragged back into Cal's orbit.
Rue cements her position as an arms dealer for the strip club magnate, Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). However, when she mentions wanting to go 'legit,' Alamo loses his cool and warns her about the consequences. But their conversation is interrupted when a pig barges in, courtesy of Laurie (Martha Kelly). Without a moment's hesitation, Alamo shoots the pig with his golden gun, with Rue suggesting taking out Laurie's parrot, Paladin, as revenge. Rue leaves the wedding reception to meet Laurie with Alamo's second-in-command, Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson). Laurie wants Rue to join her, but she decides to stick with Alamo for now. New episodes of Euphoria Season 3 drop on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
