By Tyler Banark

Cassie and Nate’s wedding day has arrived! They’ve got everything they wanted for their perfect day: fancy florals, hundreds of guests, and a band featuring a James Brown impersonator. It’s all glitzy and glamorous, but this is Euphoria we’re talking about here; two good things can’t happen in a row! Furthermore, Euphoria is an HBO series, and if I’ve learned anything in my 26 years of living on this earth, it’s that if an HBO show has a wedding episode, something bad is going to go down. Usually, it means a death is bound to happen, but luckily, The Ballad of Paladin has other things up its sleeve. 

In the history of HBO shows doing weddings, nothing has ever come good out of it. In Game of Thrones, there’s the Red Wedding in season 3 and Joffrey getting poisoned in his own the following season. Succession had Kendall getting into a deadly car accident with a teen in season one, then Logan’s death on Connor’s Wedding day in the final season. So how does Sam Levinson decide to approach a wedding-day episode of Euphoria? Looming threats and a champagne cork nearly blinding Nate. While it isn’t much and may leave some viewers let down, although I don’t think many viewers of this show are in tune with other HBO shows like I am, The Ballad of Paladin finds the main drama in the episode’s titular pet. Although stuff hits the fan when Nate and Cassie get home from the reception.

Rue did get an invite to Nate and Cassie’s wedding, and even brought Jules as her plus-one, but had to be pulled away from it because of this. Paladin is Laurie’s pet bird, and we get introduced to him when Rue and Alamo’s other henchman, Bishop, are sent to Laurie’s for a run. The moment they arrive at Laurie’s place, the tension cuts like a knife through butter. Rightfully so, as this is the first time we see Rue and Laurie in the same room since the season premiere. Laurie has become an unpredictable force since she arrived in season two, but luring Rue and Bishop to her place by having another one of Alamo’s pigs storm through Rue’s strip club is copying and pasting what Alamo did last episode. Rue and Bishop’s visit becomes another game of moves and countermoves, layered with cheesy dialogue. 

On a brighter note, The Ballad of Paladin does provide an update as to what Jules has been up to lately. She moved to New York City to attend art school, but then became a sugar baby. It may feel strange seeing this, especially as Jules/Hunter Schafer isn’t the targeted piece of eye candy for the show. Levinson makes it another exploitative plot point, but at least Schafer doesn’t see herself in the same reputation dilemma as Sweeney. As for Jules, it appears she’s still looking for herself in the world of the show. Aside from her, Hans Zimmer provides his best work, providing the score thus far this season. His score hasn’t stood out much to me until now, so I’m hoping he continues this streak for the rest of the season, even if it’s nowhere near his career best. 

The biggest takeaway from The Ballad of Paladin is that it’s a step away from the first two episodes and not overly sexual or featuring any heinous, gross acts on display. It may help that this was a wedding episode, which I’m betting is the case, and next week’s episode will go right back to the cringy, mind-numbing chaos. It also helped me get more accustomed to the new tone and style that Levinson has decided the show will take for this season. It won’t come near the tone and style of the first two seasons, but that’s okay, as everything’s different now for season three. As for The Ballad of Paladin, it’s easily the best episode of the season so far and is hopefully the turning point of the show. 

3 1/2 stars