_*Warning: Major spoilers ahead_*

In a flashback to pre-COVID times, Maddy arrives in Hollywood with no money, a suitcase full of clothes, and a plan. She approaches publicist Miss Penzler at a diner after reading a Wall Street Journal piece on her, requesting a job and declaring she believes “no one owes her anything”, “she won’t be a HR nightmare” and “believes in capitalism”.

Impressed by her moxie, Miss Penzler hires her as an assistant. When COVID hits, Maddy and her friend Katelyn move to Los Angeles in pursuit of freedom, fame and fortune.

Working from home and identifying a potentially lucrative side hustle, Maddy starts taking pictures of Katelyn for her socials and becomes her manager. Katelyn’s photographs get more racy and her social presence grows. Meanwhile, Maddy balances both jobs while also helping her mother cover rent after her salon is shut down in the pandemic. Once Katelyn has over a million followers, Maddy engineers a meeting between her and rising star Dylan Reid – one of her agency’s clients.

When Penzler finds out, she is outraged. Despite Maddy trying to explain the changing norms and how OnlyFans creators like Katelyn are moving into the mainstream, her boss is having none of it. Maddy is forced to cut her ties with Katelyn to save her steady job – and regrets not following her instincts when Katelyn starts earning six-figures a month.

While she stews over the missed opportunity, her phone buzzes. It’s Cassie, and she wants to meet up. She takes a quick look at her socials (including the doggy shoot) and a lightbulb goes off. (Woof woof).

In the present day, God may have been on Rue’s side, but Alamo still isn’t willing to entirely trust her – and she needs to prove that she’s worth the trouble. She’s given some menial tasks to start – tending to Alamo’s pig farm and cleaning up any trace that remains of Tish – the girl who died from the laced ecstasy Rue delivered.

When Alamo informs Laurie that he’s taking Rue from her, Laurie is outraged, as Rue still owes her money. She denies knowing anything about the laced drugs that killed Tish, but Alamo insists that as she cost him a girl, he’s taking one of hers (Rue). In the argument one of Laurie’s white supremacist goons throws out a racist slur, which slightly bothers Alamo. But it’s when Lauries calls him a “pig” that he loses his composure. This particular insult gets under Alamo’s skin and continues to gnaw at him for days to come.

Unbeknownst to Laurie, her group was ultimately responsible for Tish’s death. Wayne had forgotten to tell Faye to clean off the scales when weighing out the ecstasy, and the batch had been contaminated with traces of fentanyl.

Meanwhile, while Rue is aware she’s trading one bad situation for another, she feels safer, at least for now. She is then taken to the Silver Slipper, one of Alamo’s strip clubs, and the same club Tish previously worked at. Rue fits in well, starts earning decent money, and finds being surrounded by naked women is a perk of the job. Tish’s best friend Angel quickly forms a bond with Rue, and the pair hook up – but Rue can’t help but think of ex, Jules.

Rue had visited Jules while she was in art school, but too much had happened between them to maintain a friendship. Rue has also since lost contact with her mum and sister after a bad relapse, and neither will return her calls. Since then, she has been “California sober”.

During a quick catch up with Rue, Maddy tells her that Cassie has gotten in touch. She has not forgotten that she hooked up with Nate – her ex – five years back, but she sees the same potential in her as she did with Katelyn. As Cassie’s shoots get more raunchy and edgy, she sees her as being beautiful, but directionless. So desperate for attention that she’s willing to humiliate herself. She’s a dream signing.

Maddy agrees to meet up with Cassie at a poolside bar. She makes sure to arrive looking like the picture of glamour - fur coat,, sunglasses, heels and all while taking an important call (fabricated, of course). Maddy oozes confidence and Cassie laps up.

Over drinks, Cassie states that the purpose of her reaching out was to apologise for getting together with Nate. She reflects that she “should have asked for Maddy’s blessing” to get with Nate, noting that what they have is “obviously real because they’re getting married”, but “she got one love of her life at the expense of another”.

Hearing her out, Matty tells Cassie that she forgives her. And orders another round.

On the third Aperol Spritz, Cassie’s tongue has loosened somewhat. The conversation moves to Cassie’s OnlyFans, with Cassie believing that she could be huge if she can make it work. After all, she’s prettier than all the other girls she sees there, and all the wives around her are jealous of her when she goes to events with Nate.

Maddy tells her that the market is oversaturated with girls like Cassie, and what she’s doing is essentially basic. She needs to have better taste, but Cassie insists she has it. When Maddy says she needs better connections, Cassie accidentally lets slip that it was the real reason she wanted to meet up – something Maddy already knew, but lets slide.

Maddy tells her that her costume videos, especially the one of her as a puppy, are campy and not sexy. It feels desperate and like she’s trying too hard, so she needs to be more herself. Cassie asks who she is.

When Cassie starts begging for help, Maddy “reluctantly” agrees, asking if she’s up for doing nudes… Cassie knows this will upset Nate, but agrees.

Back at home, Nate meets up with his father, Cal, whose reputation is now disgraced after his sexual deviancy and multiple affairs were exposed. Cal has taken to going to meetings, but refuses to acknowledge that he’s gay or even bisexual, arguing he’s a “pitcher not a catcher”.

Nate’s money troubles are only growing, with one investor wanting $600,000 by the end of the month. He decides to throw a party in order to charm more people into investing.

While he works the crowd, Cassie unwisely shows one of the investor’s wives pictures from her OnlyFans. One shoot, which sees her sucking a pacifier, does not land well.

Word soon makes it back to Nate, who demands to see Cassie’s phone. In front of company, Cassie makes it obvious she’s doing it to help bankroll her struggling fiancé and their wedding. To save face, Nate apparently agrees to pay for the $50,000 flower arrangement so long as Cassie deletes her OnlyFans account. She agrees and is ecstatic with the deal.

That night as they go to bed, Cassie shares that she’s going into business with Maddy, which surprises and concerns Nate. Knowing Maddy better than most, he warns Cassie against working with her, but Cassie is insistent that Maddy will help her brand as she’s a social media expert.

At the Silver Slipper, Angel starts to question what happened to Tish. Alamo tries to pass off that she fell in love and moved away, but Angel isn’t buying it. With her outbursts becoming more disruptive and violent, Rue eventually breaks and admits she died of a fentanyl overdose.

Struggling to comprehend the loss of her friend, Angel spirals, passing out on the job and becoming a liability. Alamo offers to send her to rehab, asking Rue to take her, promising a promotion for her if she does so.

However, once they arrive, things don’t quite seem right – especially for Rue, who has been in her fair share of rehab facilities. Far from being the Betty Ford clinic, the building looks more like a run-down psychiatric hospital. At the main desk, the receptionist knows Alamo by name, has dirty fingernails, and asks for no paperwork to be filled out before they take Angel away.

Rue is concerned, but does nothing. As she sits in the car afterwards, someone watches her from across the street.

Eager to shake off the feeling she has, Rue surprises Jules by visiting her at the luxurious, but sparsely furnished, penthouse apartment she resides in. It’s owned by her boyfriend, who, when questioned by Rue, Jules admits is currently with his family. However, she infers that his wife is aware of their relationship, and she does not believe people are meant to be monogamous. The atmosphere is cordial, but not warm.

Believing she’s outstayed her welcome, Rue looks to head off. But as she does so, Jules asks if she’d like to keep her company while she takes a bath. Rue gladly accepts.

That night, Faye and Wayne are disturbed during sex by noises from downstairs. Heading down, they find an agitated pig in the living area, making a mess in a way only pigs can. As they try to usher the beast outside, they find a note attached, reading “Remember the Alamo”.

Euphoria is available to watch on Sky, NOW and HBO Max.