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Zendaya broke her silence on Euphoria‘s finale ending with a devastating death.
In a segment after the Sunday, May 31, episode of the hit HBO series, Zendaya, 29, was seen delivering a speech to the cast and crew on her last day on set, saying, “I want to say thank you. I’m really grateful for every single one of you.”
The actress got emotional after wrapping up Rue’s story.
“Many of you have been here from the beginning and have watched me grow up,” she continued. “It’s been such a pleasure and an honor. Thank you so much.”
The finale concluded with Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) killing Rue after he found out that she was working undercover to take him down. He gave her pain killers that were laced with fentanyl — and she ultimately overdosed halfway into the episode.
Ali (Colman Domingo) found Rue dead on his couch and the rest of the episode followed his mission to get revenge on Alamo. The final episode of the show was Ali at the farm that Rue spent time at in the season 3 premiere where he said grace at the dinner table in her honor.
Elsewhere in the segment, creator Sam Levinson defended the decision to kill off Rue.
“Zendaya’s performance has been so wonderful and layered over the course of these seasons. We fell in love with this character — this girl who was flawed and f**ked up but has a good heart,” he said. “It’s a blessing to work with talented people and people that you love.”
Levinson noted that the show was always building to Rue’s death, adding, “In the end, I wanted to tell an honest story about addiction. I also wanted to tell a story about grief and the emotional turmoil that it can create.”
The screenwriter called the finale “an honest ending.”
“The honest ending is that people like Rue don’t make it,” he told the camera before mentioning Angus Cloud‘s death in July 2025 following an accidental overdose. “People relapse and they f*** up. They’re not ready to get clean. And they weren’t dying like they are now with the influx of fentanyl into this country.”
Levinson continued: “I could say with absolute certainty that if I was going through what I went through when I was younger now then I wouldn’t be here either. There’s no reason to sugarcoat it. I wanted to tell the story for Angus and for people who weren’t granted a second chance.”
Euphoria is currently streaming on HBO Max.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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