Euphoria started its newest episode off with Sydney Sweeney‘s Cassie topless again in a graphic sex scene — and ended with a shocking death.
During the penultimate episode on Sunday, May 24, Cassie wasn’t able to get her OnlyFans account back. She had to build back her followers by scheming with Maddy (Alexa Demie) to hook up with actor Dylan (Homer Gere). After they had sex, Cassie secretly uploaded a photo of them together to his social media account in order to drive business to her sex work.
This marked the most recent instance of the HBO show having Sweeney strip down for a scene. In the final season, viewers have been surprised by the amount of times Sweeney’s character was seen in a topless scene. (Late in Sunday’s episode, Cassie’s husband Nate (Jacob Elordi) was killed off in a gruesome twist.)
Cassie’s arc in season 3 also received criticism after some OnlyFans creators weren’t thrilled with how their line of work was portrayed on screen. Creator Sam Levinson, however, defended the decision to push boundaries.
“[Cassie] has got her dog house and her little dog ears and the nose, and that has its own humor,” Levinson explained to The Hollywood Reporter in April. “But what makes the scene is the fact that her housekeeper is the one filming it.”
He continued: “What we wanted to always find is the other layer of absurdity that we’re able to tie into it so that we’re not too inside of her fantasy or illusion,” the 41-year-old added. “The gag is to jump out, to break the wall.”
Levinson broke down how he and director of photography Marcell Rév brought the scenes to life.
“An obvious choice would’ve been something modern and very plain and fancy, but we ended up choosing this mid-century home, which is a little tacky, but also stuck in the ‘70s,” Rév explained. “It’s probably a strange choice, but also it gives us possibilities. OnlyFans has its own aesthetic and how you elevate that aesthetic to the show’s aesthetic is a challenge. I’m not going to lie.”
Euphoria fans have watched the cast change on and off screen since the series first debuted. Based on the Israeli series of the same name, Euphoria follows troubled high school student Rue (Zendaya) as she struggled to remain sober after rehab. The series also explores topics including mental illness, toxic relationships, sexuality and more. After […]
Despite the backlash, Levinson stood by his vision.
“Some of these scenes we only lit with these ring lights that she would use. When you’re inside, it’s a beautiful, glowing front light, but then you jump out of it and it’s just a pool of light and everything surrounding it is dark. It’s just gnarly and jarring,” he added. “We wanted to capture what she’s trying to show the audience and be inside of it. But then also pull back wider and see how depressing it is.”
Euphoria airs on HBO Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
