Has Euphoria finally gone too far? Creator Sam Levinson is savaged for 'oversexualising and exploiting' his female characters as 'misogynistic' third series features extreme fetish content from Sydney Sweeney and Zendaya's 'desperate' drug taking
Teen drama Euphoria is back and more extreme than ever - with fans saying some of series three's 'disturbing' and 'misogynistic' scenes have 'gone too far this time', leaving them uncomfortable.The first two seasons already pushed the boundaries with shocking scenes of drug taking, fights and explicit sex as viewers followed the lives of high school students Rue (Zendaya), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi). But now there is mounting criticism of creator Sam Levinson as almost all of the leading women in the show now engage in some kind of sex work or are 'exploited and humiliated' by the male characters in the show.In series three Rue becomes a drug mule and is involved in the managing of a strip club, Cassie makes money as an OnlyFans model and Jules (played by Hunter Schafer) is working as a high-end sugar baby.Former adult film star Chloe Cherry - who plays Faye - also takes on a bigger role this series and is seen in the first episode swallowing bags of fentanyl alongside Rue. Most shocking of all are Cassie's scenes where she dresses up as a baby and a dog to film content for X-rated websites.Many have taken issue with the 'misogynistic' storylines as one viewer summed up their feelings on X, writing: 'Does Sam Levinson know there are other career paths for women other than sex work or...?' Fans of Euphoria have criticised 'misogynistic' storylines in the latest series, including scenes where Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, dresses up as a dog to film OnlyFans content Zendaya's character Rue also becomes a drug mule and is involved in the managing of a strip clubBrutal reviews have said the new series has an over-reliance on 'shock value' elements such as nudity and sexuality rather than developing decent storylines. The Guardian branded it 'grubby and desperate' while The Telegraph's scathing headline for its review reads: 'Euphoria has descended into one man's creepy, sex-obsessed fantasy - the long-awaited third season has arrived, but even Zendaya can't save it from Sam Levinson's debauchery. The latter newspaper points out that Levinson famously writes alone, without a writer's room and sometimes method dresses as his characters, with reviewer Eleanor Halls musing: 'Once you know that it's difficult to watch his X-rated show in the same way again.'She adds that Levinson has 'gone full pervert' and 'has trapped all of his female leads in the performance, or exploitation, of sex work', before saying the show 'increasingly feels like the misogynistic fantasies of a creepy old man'.Other viewers reacted to the first episode online, penning on X: 'I don't understand how euphoria went from the beautiful masterpiece that was s1 to cassie being dressed as a baby doing OF and the show being set in a desert… sam levinson you will pay for ur sins.','Unfortunately I saw it coming the amount of disgusting unnecessary scenes in this show is insane.','the concept of making all your female characters involved with sex work as if there's no other jobs just to also shame them for it… is sam levinson just obsessed with humiliating women or.','the way my jaw dropped, what is wrong with sam levinson'., 'genuinely can sam levinson retire.''Bro this show. Sam Levinson. All of it. Ew.', 'I'm starting to question whether or not sam levinson is okay..... this is CRAZY.','sam levinson doesn't know how to write female characters without over-sexualizing them.','could no one simply have said no to sam levinson i feel like he really needed to hear that.', 'sam levinson keeps putting these girls in genuinely the most violating scenarios wayyyyyy too much.''sam levinson making the male characters nicer and the female characters struggle more... #noticing.'One of Cassie's OnlyFans scenes has garnered criticism in particular - when she dresses up as a baby to shoot content. Cassie dresses up as a dog and wears a leash to film X-rated content in series three of Euphoria Brutal reviews have said the new series has an over-reliance on 'shock value' elements such as nudity and sexuality, including scenes involving Sydney and Jacob Elordi One of Cassie's OnlyFans scenes has garnered criticism in particular - when she dresses up as a baby to shoot content Many have taken issue with the 'misogynistic' storylines as one viewer summed up their feelings on X, writing: 'Does Sam Levinson know there are other career paths for women other than sex work or...?' Alexa Demie, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow, Sam Levinson and Hunter Schafer at the season three premiere The star could be seen wearing a sheer pink top as well as white bottoms in a snippet of the teaser. Her curly locks were styled into two pigtails while a pink pacifier was placed in her mouth as she struck a racy pose on a yellow couch. Social media users jumped over to Reddit and X to share their thoughts on the moment, with one penning, 'Had to rewind the baby outfit scene because surely I wasn't seeing what I thought I'd just seen???' Another typed, 'Sydney girl, you can say no to scenes,' and a fan wrote, 'wtf the baby scene??'Over on X, a fan commented, 'CASSIE COME HOME, wtf did they do to you???' and another said, 'what wtf did they do to cassie... that's not even the same person.' 'Why do they always do Cassie wrong?' one shared, and another added, 'THEY DID CASSIE DIRTY.'An X user penned, 'WTF SYDNEY DRESSED AS A BABY POSING LIKE THAT??!!??!! IM DISGUSTEDDDDD - JAIL FOR EVERYONE.'One also questioned, 'why was she sitting like that and why was she dressed like that..,' while another typed, 'i wanna go back to 10 seconds ago where i hadn't seen this wtf.' 'Dressing up as a baby is crazy this is so gross,' a fan said of the trailer, and one wrote, 'Cassie about to cause chaos for 8 episodes straight.' Sweeney's character Cassie was introduced to the episode of living inside a large suburban home with fiancé Nate (Elordi). She could be seen wearing a brown corset and skimpy bottoms as she posed for photos taken by a housekeeper. The star also wore doggy ears on top of her head as well as a collar and leash as she posed for racy photos. At one point, she also licked water out of a bowl and bit down on a shoe while pretending to be a dog. Former adult film star Chloe Cherry - who plays Faye - also takes on a bigger role this series and is seen in the first episode swallowing bags of fentanyl alongside Rue Sydney's character Cassie could be seen wearing a brown corset and skimpy bottoms as she posed for photos taken by a housekeeper 'I just feel like if more people knew me, I would be huge,' Cassie said in another scene while sipping on a drinkNate eventually walked in on Cassie as she took more pictures on their bed which she planned to upload onto social media. As well as Cassie's fetish work - other shocking scenes in series one show Rue and Faye swallowing bags of drugs. A montage depicts her struggling to swallow the multitude of bags as she dry heaves. Rue is revealed to be a drug mule due to owing drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly) around $43 million.Fans soon jumped to social media to share their thoughts on the premiere, with one penning, 'this is basically a humiliation ritual for everyone involved...''EWWWWW????? THE DOG WHAT,' a fan added, and one commented, 'This is so gross.' Another wrote, 'At what point did Euphoria go from Euphoria to Breaking Bad??' while an X user typed, 'I don't know if I'm watching an ep of Euphoria or of Narcos..'Another shared, 'This nasty as hell omg,' and a viewer penned, 'they threw in every possible fetish all at once, euphoria you died.' After both Rue and Faye swallowed the bags of drugs, the pair headed back to United States but had to get past the border. They could be seen driving a minivan as they were stopped by an officer who checked their passports. Rue and Faye were not feeling well but did their best to act normal and were able to drive through the border. Meanwhile when Nate walked in on Cassie posing as a dog, the pair had a serious conversation about what she was doing. 'How many times do we have to talk about this? I am in the real world making deals. If an investor comes across a video like this online, I'm a joke,' he said. 'People make money doing this,' she replied, adding that she was making 'a funny video.'Nate added, 'You are not a doggy. You are a grown woman. So that makes you a what? A prostitute.'Cassie shockingly denied she was acting like one and said that she was simply 'growing her following' on social media. He assured her that they have money before pulling her closer by the leash and said, 'You've been a bad dog.' She replied, 'Woof woof.' Euphoria airs at 9pm (ET/PT) on HBO on Sundays. In the UK, the series airs at 2am and 9pm on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and streams on HBO Max and Sky Go/NOW
