Euphoria Season 3 Trailer Teases Escalation of Nate-Cassie-Maddy Love Triangle

2 hours ago 10

Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) watching Lexi's play in Euphoria season 2

Published Apr 5, 2026, 12:00 PM EDT

Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant's TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.

With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel.

When she's not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows.

You can reach her at [email protected].

In typical Euphoria fashion, its final season 3 trailer is full of controversy. Dropped on March 30 (Euphoria season 3 premieres on April 12), the trailer has been lambasted by fans, who have bemoaned the new "gritty over glittery" aesthetic, and the fact that the show seems to have gone from an edgy, boundary-pushing teen drama to a generic crime thriller.

The focus on adolescence brought the relationships between Euphoria's main characters to the forefront, and most of them were highly problematic. In season 2, Rue (Zendaya) and Jules's (Hunter Schafer) Romeo and Juliet dynamic became even more complicated with the arrival of Elliot (Dominic Fike), but they looked like a paragon of functionality compared to the show's most toxic love triangle — which will get even worse in Euphoria season 3.

“My Maddy” Proves The Nate-Cassie-Maddy Love Triangle Has Lasted For Over 5 Years

When the first season 3 teaser trailer was released, it seemed like Maddy (Alexa Demie) had left East Highland — including Nate (Jacob Elordi), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), and their drama — in her dust. After the Euphoria season 3 time jump, Maddy ended up in Los Angeles, working at a Hollywood talent agency and thriving in various side hustles. This is hardly a surprise, given her teenage drive to escape the unglamorous world of suburbia.

Meanwhile, despite Nate cruelly dumping Cassie at the end of Euphoria season 2, the first season 3 trailer revealed that not only had they reconciled, but that they're getting married. With Nate having made his choice and Maddy moving on, it looked like this horror show of a love triangle was finally over. But then we got the second season 3 trailer.

In it, we see Maddy actively helping Cassie create adult content for an OnlyFans-style platform — "Poke the a** up!" However, that's not the biggest surprise in this storyline, especially considering that they were able to exchange words without coming to blows in their final Euphoria season 2 scene together.

No, the most shocking part came when Cassie told Nate about receiving Maddy's assistance, and Nate's response was, "My Maddy?" This is an awful thing to say to your fiancée about an ex-girlfriend, but what's worse is that Nate clearly still sees Maddy as his literal possession. It's even more bonkers that he feels this way after five years.

Nate is the closest thing to an irredeemable character Euphoria has, with both Cassie and Maddy getting some of the worst of his abuse. Any relationship he's in is automatically toxic by his mere presence, but the fact that this love triangle has been brewing for over half a decade — and into adulthood — kicks the dysfunction up to a whole new level of disturbing, even for Euphoria.

Maddy Helping Cassie With Her New Career Is A Powder Keg Waiting To Explode

All Euphoria fans know that there's no way Maddy is helping Cassie out of the kindness of her heart or a desire to reconnect with her high school bestie. What's more likely is that Maddy is seeking some form of vengeance, and however she enacts it is all but guaranteed to go down as one of Euphoria season 3's most shocking moments.

Like seasons 1 and 2, Euphoria season 3 will consist of eight episodes, airing on HBO starting on April 12, with the season finale airing on May 31. The season will also be available for streaming on HBO Max.

The new trailer makes it look like Cassie is Maddy's main target, with Rue excitedly declaring "Round 2, baby!", and Maddy not shown interacting with Nate. Hopefully, this is an intentional misdirect because that storyline would be retrograde, boring, and a repeat of what we saw last season.

What would be infinitely more compelling and satisfying would be Maddy assisting Cassie as a way to get to Nate — or better yet, the two of them working together to enact the ultimate revenge. The trailer did show Nate looking beaten and bloodied, suggesting that he'll finally (finally!) get his comeuppance. Let's just hope that in Euphoria season 3, it's Maddy and Cassie who give it to him.