It took almost a year to film this scene from ‘Euphoria’

The final episode of the third series, entitled “This Little Piggy”, features one of the most talked-about and debated scenes in the entire series.

In a recent interview, Sam Levinson revealed that building the models used for the scene in which a giant version of Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney) walks through Los Angeles took around a year of work. It took all that time to bring to life a visual fantasy inspired by both the kaiju universe of Godzilla and the 1958 cult film The Attack of the 50-Foot Woman.

Many fans of the series have already dubbed this moment “Cassie-zilla”, amazed by the giant version of the character parading amongst miniature replicas of Hollywood and DTLA. To achieve this effect, the production team opted for enormous physical models which, as director of photography Marcell Rév explained, were divided into ‘three or four larger pieces’ that could be rotated to alter the perspective of the set, in addition to digital effects, of course.

In a behind-the-scenes video shared by HBO, Sydney says that this moment was “probably the coolest thing” she’s done on Euphoria. And that is precisely where the great debate surrounding this third season—the most controversial to date—lies. Both critics and social media are deeply divided between those who believe Sam Levinson has elevated the series into a more experimental experience and those who believe it has ended up becoming a sort of meme of itself.

One of the main points of discussion is the obvious shift in tone, as the time jump, the narrative (which is far more chaotic and symbolic) and the hypersexualisation of certain characters have led many viewers to feel that they are not watching the same series; it has become a sort of grotesque satire on Hollywood, the internet and the culture of attention.

OnlyFans influencer and content creator Sophie Rain criticised the series’ approach, describing it as “harmful to girls” and telling media outlets such as Complex and TMZ that she was unhappy with the infantilised styling of Cassie’s character and the way OnlyFans creators are portrayed, claiming that it projects an image aimed at “a certain audience who like us to dress like little girls”.

This debate has really taken off on TikTok, Reddit and X, where some fans accuse Levinson of prioritising shock value and viral imagery over character development. At the same time, there is another section of the audience that defends this new direction, arguing that visual excess, discomfort and surrealism are part of the season’s narrative and a hyper-stylised critique of the attention economy, digital sexualisation and the obsession with excessive content creation.

What about you? Are you watching the third series of “Euphoria”?