After years of anticipation, Euphoria finally returned for a third season with massive expectations, a reported $200 million budget, and the promise of showing its once-teenage characters stepping into adulthood. Instead of a triumphant comeback, the new season has crashed into a wall of disgust, ridicule, and open hostility, with many viewers now calling it one of the most expensive misfires HBO could have made.

What should have felt like a bold new chapter has instead triggered a wave of backlash so intense that some fans say they can barely believe this is the same series that once felt groundbreaking. The first season had earned a reputation for being daring, stylish, and emotionally sharp. Even the special episodes centered on Rue and Jules were widely praised as some of the show’s strongest work. But this revival, arriving after a five-year gap, is being accused of abandoning depth in favor of pure shock.

The numbers only reinforce that sense of collapse. The season has reportedly landed a grim 42 percent “rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes, with at least one viewer dismissing it as an “expensive mistake you didn’t have to make.” That phrase seems to capture the mood surrounding the show perfectly. Fans are not merely disappointed. Many sound almost betrayed, as though the return of Euphoria has taken something that once mattered to them and turned it into something grotesque.

Much of the outrage has centered on the season’s most graphic material, with viewers warning others not to watch while eating. The show has reportedly pushed nausea-inducing scenes so far that many fans say they felt physically sick. Among the most talked-about sequences are scenes involving Rue and Faye, played by Zendaya and Chloe Cherry, attempting to smuggle fentanyl over the Mexico-US border by swallowing lubricant-covered balloons of the drug. The scenes reportedly show them choking, gagging, struggling for air, and vomiting as they force the balloons down.

If that was not enough to turn stomachs, the aftermath appears to have crossed an even uglier line. According to viewers’ descriptions, the show later depicts the characters retrieving the fentanyl in a revolting sequence involving defecation into a strainer, which is then cleaned and later used to serve spaghetti. Another moment reportedly shows Faye suffering explosive diarrhea while waiting for her turn to use the toilet, with a dog eating the waste. For many viewers, this was the point where the series stopped feeling transgressive and started feeling openly contemptuous of its audience.

Online reactions have been brutal. Fans have described the new season as disgusting, sickening, and nearly impossible to sit through. Some said the streaming platform should have added a playback speed button just so viewers could rush past the choking, vomiting, and bathroom scenes. The disgust has not been isolated to a few prudish complaints either. It appears to be part of a broader belief that the show has become obsessed with pushing boundaries for its own sake, no matter how ugly or empty the result feels.

That criticism has extended to the treatment of Sydney Sweeney’s character, Cassie, in what may be the season’s most controversial storyline. Cassie and Nate, now engaged and living in the suburbs, are reportedly struggling to raise money for their dream wedding. In response, Cassie turns to OnlyFans, filming fetish content while dressed as a dog, a baby, and other degrading personas. One roleplay scene in particular, with Cassie acting as a dog and Nate as her “master,” has sparked a furious reaction from viewers, many of whom see it as humiliating rather than dramatically meaningful.

The backlash is especially intense because Sydney Sweeney has previously spoken about the way she has been sexualized throughout her career. That history has made these scenes harder for some fans to watch. Instead of seeing bold material or fearless acting, many viewers say they see an actress being pushed deeper into a degrading image that threatens to overshadow her talent. Some have gone so far as to describe the season as a “humiliation ritual” for Sweeney, arguing that her character’s material feels less like storytelling and more like exploitation.

Jacob Elordi has also found himself dragged into the season’s collapse, though for a different reason. Fans are questioning why he returned at all, with many saying he looks completely detached from the role. Rather than appearing engaged or energized, viewers claim he seems like someone dragging himself through each scene out of obligation. Some have said he looks physically uncomfortable in every take, as though his body is present but his mind has already moved on. Others have compared his apparent indifference to the disdain he once showed toward The Kissing Booth, suggesting he may now feel similarly trapped by Euphoria.

That criticism has only grown sharper because Elordi himself has sounded uncertain about the show’s creative direction. In a previous conversation, he admitted he believed Nate had become “nicer” this season, but also confessed he was not sure whether what he had done with the character was actually good. That hesitation now reads like a warning sign. For viewers already convinced the season has lost its identity, even one of its major stars seems unsure whether the material works.

Zendaya, the face most strongly associated with the series’ original acclaim, has not exactly projected confidence either. When asked what fans could expect, she reportedly described filming as a whirlwind that flew by her, and said she had only seen a little of the final product. Her cautious comment that she hoped it would “turn out beautifully” sounded less like a ringing endorsement than a nervous wish. Even her remarks about the series potentially ending after this season seemed to hint that closure may finally be coming.

Reviews have been just as savage as the fan response. Critics have accused the season of leaning too heavily on nudity, sexuality, and shock value instead of building meaningful storylines. Some have described it as grubby, desperate, misogynistic, and increasingly warped by Sam Levinson’s personal obsessions. The harshest responses argue that the female leads now seem trapped inside exploitative fantasies rather than genuine character arcs, making the show feel less like a daring drama and more like an indulgence no one should have mistaken for art.

That may be the hardest part for longtime fans to accept. This is not a failed new show with no emotional history. It is a series that once felt alive, risky, and artistically purposeful. That is why the backlash has become so vicious. Viewers are not just reacting to scenes they found disgusting. They are reacting to the feeling that something they once admired has been twisted into a bloated, grotesque version of itself.

And now, with season three being branded a $200 million mistake, the real shock is not that fans are turning away. It is that after so many years of waiting, Euphoria came back only to make people wish it had stayed gone.