Euphoria Season 3 is not continuing the tradition established in the previous two seasons of not fully resolving any of its lingering storylines. Euphoria has consistently been a loud, chaotic and often uncomfortable show where many of the storylines have tended more towards spirals than resolutions.
Therefore, when Euphoria Season 3 actually takes one of its most established and longest-running storylines, the Jules and Cal storyline, and resolves it at the wedding of Nate, it is genuinely surprising. The conclusion of this particular arc will likely turn out to be one of the most bizarre but also most emotionally impactful scenes that Euphoria has ever created.
For anyone who needs a reminder of how this all started, Jules, who is a transgender teenager, spent the early part of Season 1 meeting older men from the internet and arranging to see them. One of those men turned out to be Cal Jacobs, the father of her classmate Nate. What Jules did not know at the time was that Cal had a habit of recording his encounters, and he recorded his encounter with her, too.
That tape quietly became one of the most dangerous things in the show, surfacing again and again across Seasons 1 and 2 and causing enormous damage to nearly everyone connected to it. The fact that Jules was a minor, even though she had lied about her age, made the whole situation illegal on Cal’s part, full stop.
The tape eventually made its way back to Jules in Season 2, when Nate returned it and apologized to her for its existence. But the thing that Euphoria Season 3 does, that the previous seasons never quite managed, is actually put Jules and Cal in the same room and let them talk it through. And it does this at his son’s wedding, of all places.
What actually happens between Jules and Cal at the wedding in Euphoria Season 3?
The scene is set at a bar during the reception. Jules comes to order a drink, and Cal is already sitting there, and the two come face to face for the first time in years. Jules is wearing a stunning dress and, by all accounts, looks completely at peace with herself. She asks Cal if he remembers her. His response is blunt and totally in character, as he says that it is not every day you sleep with one of your friend’s classmates. Jules fires back immediately, reminding him that he also recorded it.
Cal explains that he only ever recorded his encounters for himself and never intended for any of it to be shared. He also tells Jules that his past eventually caught up with him anyway, as a separate taped encounter with another young person who was also underage and also lying about their age led to him being registered as a s*x offender.
What is darkly funny about the conversation in Euphoria Season 3 is when Cal mentions that Jules’s tape somehow never made it to the police. He says someone must have been looking out for him, which is a strange way to describe the fact that it was actually his own son, Nate, who handed him over to the authorities in Season 2, though Cal tells Jules he still speaks to Nate because it is easier than being alone and angry.
The conversation ends on a tone that is almost warm, which is deeply strange given everything that came before it. Cal compliments Jules on how she looks; she smiles as she walks away, and that is it. The chapter closes quietly in Euphoria Season 3, without drama, without anyone else at the wedding finding out.
Why does this scene in Euphoria Season 3 carry so much weight?
The reason this scene from Euphoria Season 3 hits harder than it would have otherwise is because of what happened to Eric Dane, who plays Cal, in real life. Dane was diagnosed with ALS, and he passed away before Euphoria Season 3 finished airing. That makes every scene he is in this season carry a different kind of weight, and this one especially so.
In the scene, the effects of his illness are visible, as there is limited facial movement and other physical signs of what he was dealing with, but Dane was reportedly committed to working for as long as he possibly could. He said in an Instagram video in 2025 that he was going to ride it till the wheels fell off because working kept him sharp and kept him moving forward.
Whether or not this was meant to be his final scene, it works as a goodbye in every sense. Cal sees his son get married, makes a kind of peace with Jules, and remains completely himself throughout, blunt and inappropriate, but somehow also genuinely kind toward her in that final exchange.
Euphoria Season 3 airs new episodes every Sunday at 9 PM EST on HBO and HBO Max.
Edited by Sroban Ghosh