You’ll find that people who have watched Euphoria Season 3 will all have very different opinions. Some find it visually sumptuous, a kaleidoscopic delight fit for the big screen. Others call it a “grubby and humourless work that is obsessed with sex work and repulsed by it”. For many, including myself, it’s a bit of both: stunningly beautiful but a bit gnarly at times. We can all agree that there is one thing. Alexa Demie, 35, plays the character Maddy Perez who is the baddest and most captivating. We only hear her for a half-hour. AKA the real MVP in Euphoria’s third season. The action takes place five years after the characters left high-school, and Maddy is now working at a Hollywood agency. Despite her modest income, Maddy’s wardrobe is full of sheer blouses, sleek basics and gold crucifixes. Her fringe was gelled and pressed to a perfect “C”, on her forehead. Natasha Newman Thomas, Euphoria costume designer, told British Vogue Maddy was her favorite character to dress, largely because Demie is a “fashion dictionary”. Redditors have already started to track down her on-screen looks, probably because it feels the most “now”. Newman-Thomas explained to the New York Times that an entry-level employee appears so high-class by wearing Jimmy Choo shoes and perhaps her boss is throwing away her Gaultier suit from the ’90s. Maddy is ambitious, but she keeps her cool. She’s astute and nonchalant. She gets her job in the way that most of us only imagine in our distorted daydreams. She tracked down her prospective employer and sat next to her at a coffee shop. She says, “I know that my generation is entitled to certain things, but I do not believe anyone owes anything to me.” She says, “I won’t be a HR nightmare. I believe in capitalism. I’m not a vicitm. She knows what a Gen Xer who is time-poor, over it and generally cynical wants to hear. After inviting Maddy for a drink, ostensibly to apologise for stealing her boyfriend, she goes on to mine her for advice on how to make it as an OnlyFans girl-slash-influencer. She knows that Maddy’s opinion, with her sharp eye for details and blunt delivery, could significantly boost her success. Maddy, resplendent with a vintage Dolce & Gabbana Bustier and an overlined lips, says that the market is already saturated with girls like Cassie. She then suggests Cassie has bad taste. Cassie asks, “What do you think ‘taste” means?” Maddy replied with an eyebrow raised, “The ability of discerning quality and a high standard of aesthetics.”
