Euphoria Season 3, Episode 4: “Kitty Likes to Dance”
*includes spoilers
Just when I was starting to give this season a little bit more of a chance, I went ahead and watched another episode.
In episode 4, Sam Levinson draws our attention to the introduction of a new character: Kitty, the Silver Stripper’s newest dancer, who is brought in to replace Angel… and to do a lot more than what she bargained for. Her storyline is juxtaposed alongside Cassie’s, as both of these characters begin to navigate new settings, in an ambitious attempt to get ahead (even if it means at the expense of someone else’s control).
I have very mixed feelings about the series of events that continue to unfold in this season of Euphoria, largely due to the fact that it all just feels… absurd. The characters are absurd, their storylines are absurd and collectively speaking, their overly-stylized and theatrical circumstances continue to foster unlikely situations and absurd decisions (like the use of pigs to retaliate against people you hate, the killing of a bird to get your revenge and severing the toe of someone who owes you money). Like, what?
Euphoria: Season 3, Ep 4: “Kitty Likes to Dance”
In season 3, episode 4 of Euphoria, we continue to explore the backstories behind these troubled characters, in an effort to better understand why they continue to make the choices that they do (I’m still trying to figure it out myself).
Characters
This episode starts when Rue (Zendaya) finally gets detained for the possession of illegal drugs. Federal agents take her in and interrogate her, eventually giving her an ultimatum: risk prison for the trafficking of fentanyl or help them, by going undercover. Considering the circumstances, she takes the latter.
Rue’s undercover scheme
The federal agents strategize with Rue: she is to list them under “mom” in her contacts, so they can call discreetly, without anyone suspecting a thing.
Rue’s undercover scheme leaves her in a vulnerable state however, and Alamo and his crew begin to doubt her.
New characterKitty, played by Anna Van Patten, is the Silver Stripper’s newest dancer. When Rue catches an intimate but equally aggressive and terrorizing moment on camera, she begins to question Kitty’s comfort level and mode of consent. This puts Rue’s moral compass on the line, as she seemingly sympathizes with the new girl and begins to see Alamo’s strip club for what it really is: a mob house.
When Magick (Rosalía) hears a conversation in the bathroom between Rue and Kitty, her guard goes up. Can she really trust Rue or is Rue trying to expose Alamo’s schemes? Magick informs Big Eddy (Kadeem Hardison) about her distrust in Rue and shit hits the fan. A federal agent calls Rue to update her, revealing that Magick is trying to discredit her. In an iconic scene, where Rue retaliates (by calling her a “Spanish hoodrat,”), we see just how far each character is willing to go, to defend their own lies. This verbal altercation comes to a halting stop when masked men barge into Big Eddy’s office, attacking, firing and shooting him straight in the stomach.
We later come to find out that these intruders work for Laurie and her crew is now retaliating against Alamo’s after they fucked with her bird (more on this below).
A social media affair
Somewhere else in Los Angeles, Jules (Hunter Schafer) is commissioned to paint a picture, for the set of a television show that Lexi’s working on.
Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi) are off to a bad start: tending to a broken toe and bickering about money. Least to say, they’re pretty fucking miserable.
Having had enough of Nate’s bullshit, Cassie calls Maddy (Alexa Demie) for help. Maddy takes her under her wing, motivating her with a fresh new look, managing her social media presence and introducing her to actor-influencer Brandon Fontaine (Jeff Wahlberg), her long-time client with millions and millions of Instagram followers. When she brings her to Fontaine’s TikTok house party, Maddy instructs Cassie to play it cool and seduce Brandon, in an effort to get on his good side so he will tag her in a video on Instagram. Long story short, this does indeed happen and Cassie goes viral.
On the downside, her marriage is falling apart and they’ve been married for like what…, two days? Are we really that surprised? She sells her wedding ring for money and eventually moves across from Lexi, in the same apartment complex. If this is not the image of a perfect marriage, I don’t know what is.
Themes: Coercion & Control
Kitty and Cassie’s storylines offer more in common that what we see on the surface. The trajectory of their character’s journey puts into evidence themes surrounding coercion, as both girls forcibly find themselves in situations, at the mercy of someone else’s control.
While Cassie enjoys the fame that comes with social media, the original intent behind her content creation is money. Nate is deep in debt, and their economic crisis is putting an exorbitant amount of pressure on her (and her marriage).
There are strong implications (especially through Rue’s questioning of Kitty) that Kitty’s been forced to go work at the Silver Stripper. I didn’t find her storyline all too clear: does she want to be there? Does she not? One thing is certain: there’s something off about her involvement with Alamo and it’s evident that she’s not entirely comfortable with what she’s doing or where she’s at.
Both of these storylines hit on themes surrounding control and coercion for the simple fact that their actions are rooted in someone else’s influence.
Themes: Retaliation, Revenge & Betrayal
Up until now, we have witnessed a clear divide between Alamo’s crew and Laurie’s. They’ve done business together but that didn’t end well, when Tish (from episode 1) dies at the hand of Laurie’s drugs. Since then, both crews have continued to retaliate against each other (in the most absurd and unconventional ways).
For context, in the previous episode of Euphoria, Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) calls Rue in the middle of Nate and Cassie’s wedding with an urgent request: have her accompany Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson) to Laurie’s house and fulfill a “pick up.” In what seems to be a “quality control” visit on the drugs that Laurie has been supplying (since, you know, one of their transported stashes killed Tish), we quickly learn that Bishop is there to fulfill a more sinister job: kill Paladin, Laurie’s bird and most prized possession.
Retaliation, revenge and betrayal are three themes that continue to play an active role in this season of Euphoria.
Weirder & Weirder
This season of Euphoria continues to get weirder and weirder with the premier of each episode. Sometimes I wonder if it’ll be the last season so I won’t have to stomach another episode of random crapping pigs, or flying toes, or bleeding brides. One can only hope.
Euphoria’s season 3, episode 4: “Kitty Likes to Dance” released on May 3, 2026 and you can now stream it on HBO Max.
