"Euphoria" fans lash out over beautiful but 'terrible' Angus Cloud tribute

The actor who starred as drug dealer Fezco, aka Fez, died from an accidental overdose in 2023, and some fans are not impressed that "Euphoria" has mirrored his real-life passing in the finale storyline, saying that it doesn't offer a shred of hope to addicts.

Some have even gone so far as to describe it as a "terrible ending."

In the episode, Rue, played by Zendaya, overdoses after accidentally taking painkillers laced with fentanyl.

As she lies dying, she has a hallucination about Fez. The character's absence from the series had been explained by having him serve a 30-year prison sentence.

During the hallucination, Rue thinks Fez has escaped from prison and rushes to meet him.

She tells her Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, Ali Muhammed (Coleman Domingo): "I have to go get him. I promised him that if he ever got out, I would go pick him up. I have to go."

Angus Cloud.

In reality, Rue is dying, and Ali finds her dead on the couch the following morning.

"Euphoria" creator Sam Levison said: "I think it [the scene] was a way of honoring Angus and saying a prayer for the future."

He went on to add: "If you are experimenting with drugs today, it's very possible it will kill you."

While fans acknowledged that it was a 'beautiful' ending, they weren't happy that Rue died from taking painkillers.

One fan remarked: "Regardless of how beautifully it was done, the fact remains that Rue died over being laced; she was sober and was free to have a good life!

"Her dying is such a terrible ending for a show that is meant to give hope for addicts!"

Someone else hit out at the ending, saying: "All this hope for Rue we had and for what? She dies."

"What gets to me is that Rue died while trying to do better. She was sober, but people thought she had an OD because she was an addict," added someone else.

Elsewhere, other fans were able to take away the important message from the scene.

"Rue overdosing after spending so much of the season clean, hallucinating, reuniting with her mum, Jules and Fez, the people who meant the most to her, it's such a chilling death but speaks to the dangers of drugs because it only takes one overdose," wrote a viewer.

Another person said: "I'm not gonna lie, Euphoria and the ending make me never want to do party drugs again, the fact that anything can be laced with fentanyl is scary."

* This article was originally published on Evoke.ie.