Things get explosive in the final episode of HBO’s ‘Euphoria‘ Season 3 when Ali decides he has had enough of drug dealers killing kids with drugs. In a heartbreaking, though not entirely shocking, turn of events, Rue dies after ingesting a pill laced with fentanyl. Whether or not this meant that she was on the verge of relapsing goes out of the question, as Ali decides to shift the blame to the person who gave Rue the drugs in the first place. Instead of sitting with his grief of losing yet another person he loved to addiction, he thinks about taking a different approach, which takes him to Alamo’s door. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Ali Takes the Fight to the Enemy in His Quest for Revenge
In its penultimate episode, ‘Euphoria’ explores Ali’s backstory, focusing on his journey in and out of addiction and on his dedication to helping others. His efforts were not always successful, and he lost many people to drugs. He wrote their names in a book as a reminder and a warning to himself about what was at stake. Over the years, the deaths started to take a toll on him, but he refused to give in. He pushed through, trying to reach out to whoever needed help, and then he met Rue. Their relationship developed a little differently.
While he was still her sponsor, he began to see her as his daughter, growing more attached to her than to anyone else. So, when she dies, it hits him harder than ever. What’s worse is that he knew she was on the right path with her sobriety. She had found God, and in spite of her worst impulses, she seemed to be doing all right. What worried Ali was the people she’d gotten mixed up with. When he found out about her working for the DEA to bring down Laurie and Alamo, he started to worry if she’d bitten off more than she could chew. He even offered to accompany her with a shotgun to protect her, but she didn’t want to involve him in it any further.
So, when he finds her dead on his couch with a bottle of fentanyl laced Percocet pills on the table, he knows that the blame must shift this time. He cannot blame Rue and her addiction. He cannot blame her family and friends. He cannot blame himself. This time, at least, the blame is on the man who put drugs in her hand, along with many other people, in the first place. Ali doesn’t put it together that Alamo killed Rue because he found out she was working for the DEA. Even if he did, it wouldn’t have stopped him from doing what he did next.
Bishop’s Power Move Costs Alamo His Life
While Ali walks into the Silver Slipper with a shotgun to kill Alamo, and/or die in the process, it is Bishop who seals his boss’ fate. Bishop was introduced at the beginning of the season as Alamo’s right-hand man, but over the course of eight episodes, we see that Bishop is not entirely happy. Alamo is not exactly a great boss, which is proven through small things, like when he lashes out at Kidd for getting him the wrong pants, and through big decisions, like when he has zero empathy for his employee who almost died in his service. Even if he hadn’t been a bad employer, Alamo had been getting out of touch a bit. And, as often happens in the world of crime, a power move by one of his employees was already written on the walls. He was just too blind to see it.
Several factors pushed Bishop to want Alamo dead, and he eventually would have killed him, too. He was likely looking for the perfect opportunity, or perhaps, he didn’t want to do it with his own hands. So, when Ali walks into the club, fully intending to shoot Rue’s killer to smithereens, Bishop knows that this is his window. The fact that this possibility has already been discussed between Bishop and the others is shown when, at the time, Bishop asks Kidd to lower his gun, and the latter complies without question. When Alamo asks Ali to settle things the old way, Bishop gives him an empty gun, knowing full well that his boss would never stick by the rules. Alamo makes Kitty roll an empty champagne bottle on the table.
The deal is for him and Ali to draw their guns only when the bottle falls to the floor. Ali is ready to keep his promise, but that was never Alamo’s intention. He draws his gun well before the bottle is on the verge of falling. For a second, Ali thinks he’s going to die, but Alamo’s gun turns out to be empty. Bishop took out all the bullets, not because he wanted to save Ali, but because he wanted Alamo dead. As soon as the bottle falls to the group, Ali shoots Alamo, using his last three rounds to kill him for good. With this, he avenges Rue’s death. He also, unknowingly, frees Maddy from a dark, depressing future and effectively hands the reins of Alamo’s business to Bishop, who is now in charge of everything. His betrayal was a perfectly timed power move.
Read More: Euphoria Season 4: Why was it Canceled?
