Ali’s revenge turns biblical as Rue’s death lands

Ali’s revenge – In the Season 3 finale of “Euphoria,” Rue’s death sets Ali into motion—sobriety becomes purpose, and empathy hardens into revenge. Colman Domingo walks through the episode’s quiet devastation, the Christ-like image he says was intentional, and the faith questi

Spoiler alert: this story contains spoilers for “In God We Trust,” the Season 3 finale of “Euphoria,” now streaming on HBO Max.

For the third morning, it doesn’t feel like waking up—it feels like the end arriving early.

Rue escapes Laurie’s (Martha Kelly) ranch before the DEA raid and somehow makes it back to Ali’s apartment. On the news, they learn that Fez has broken out of prison. Against Ali’s wishes. Rue rushes to her car to look for him. flashing through memories of Fez and then driving to her childhood home. She dashes past police tape as officers scream and chase after her. In the doorway, she tearfully greets her mother (Nika King) and reaches for her hand.

Then the episode shifts. Rue is shrouded in darkness, lying on her back and reaching up. All of it is a dream—her brain reels after an overdose on the Percocet provided to her by Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).

In real life, Ali wakes up to something he can’t undo. By then, Rue is already dead. Calmly, but in pain, he asks God to give her peace. He finds the pills on the coffee table, tests them for fentanyl, and the test comes back positive. He slams his fist on the counter and calls Rue’s mother to tell her.

When we next see Ali, he’s at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting—he says it’s his last one ever. In a long. carefully acted monologue. Ali tells other recovering addicts he used to believe empathy was the key to redemption. He says that if people had more empathy for addicts. “they could all begin to heal.” But now he adds a sharper edge to that belief: if you can empathize with the addict. you can empathize with the dealer. He no longer wants to live inside what he describes as a passive cycle. He tells the room he’s going to find another way to be of service.

The plan becomes unmistakable.

At home, Ali saws off the end of his shotgun and suits up in his old Army uniform. He has nothing left to lose.

He drives to Alamo’s strip club, the Silver Slipper, and demands that Kitty (Anna Van Patten) bring out the manager. G (Marshawn Lynch) comes out, and the two men sit across from each other at a table. Ali presses his shotgun discreetly against G’s crotch and threatens him—he warns G not to lie.

When Ali asks G where Rue got the fentanyl, G lies and says he doesn’t know. Ali shoots him. As everyone panics and hits the floor, Ali shouts that Alamo Brown needs to come out.

Strippers, patrons, and employees cower as the two men talk. Ali reveals he’s there to avenge Rue. They agree to settle their business “the old-fashioned way,” drawing their guns at the same time like an old Western movie.

But when Alamo tries to shoot—just a few seconds early—nothing happens. He looks to Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson), who was supposed to load his gun. Alamo realizes he’s been betrayed. “I’ll see you in hell,” he says, before Ali shoots him to death with all three of his remaining bullets.

Even with several other armed men in the club, Ali walks out unscathed.

The revenge continues somewhere quieter.

Ali drives to El Paso. Texas. to the homestead Rue told him was “the most peaceful place she’d ever been.” He tells the family that “Ruby. ” as they knew her. was “in a better place. ” and they offer their condolences. Ali introduces himself as Martin McQueen—his given name from before he converted to Islam. The family invites him in.

At dinner, he sits at the head of the table and imagines Rue in the empty seat across from him as he prays: “Let her memory be a blessing.” As the episode ends, the camera zooms out on the house with an American flag waving in the wind. In voiceover, Rue says, “May God bless us all.”

In conversation about the finale, Colman Domingo—who plays Ali—describes how the show’s ending shifted into something he felt he had to deliver as both character and story.

Domingo said it felt “incredible and purposeful and clear,” adding that it felt honest to Ali’s journey. He described watching a cut with series creator Sam Levinson a couple months earlier and being “floored. ” saying the episode carried forward what Levinson had talked about from the start. Domingo recalled Levinson saying, “I’m going old school. I’m going to the Old Testament. Because this is where we are in our society. in our world.” Domingo tied that choice to the show’s Western form and to the story’s clear moral structure.

He also pointed to the design of Ali himself. Domingo said one of the team’s choices for the episode came from asking what Ali was wearing when he commits to what happens next. He said they went back to a brain trust from Season 1. noting Ali was a former firefighter and in the military. then deciding Army. Domingo said the idea of Ali in Army dress belonged to Ali’s return to service—something he described as important to the character.

The most discussed part, in the way the episode lands, is the tone after Rue dies.

When Ali discovers Rue’s body, there’s no sudden collapse on-screen. Domingo said he made a “conscious choice” for Ali to be quiet because Ali is more sober about emotions than the way Domingo describes himself. He talked about how pandemic-era life. losing people. and his own sense of military service can shape a pragmatic relationship with death. Domingo said he wanted the moment to be “as quiet as possible. ” portraying Ali as assessing Rue quickly and moving privately—what can be seen is small. but what has happened is clear.

He also explained a specific choice that carries religious weight.

Domingo said the moment where Ali presses his arms against the doorway and bows his head—described by him as “a Christ-like image”—was intentional. He said Rue’s body is still lying on the couch when the moment happens. and that Sam and he both wanted “quiet anguish.” Domingo said when he brought his arms up and laid his head down. it felt like “on the cross. ” the instant in which Ali “turned into the other Ali. Into Martin.” He added that it was not tears and screaming, but something internal.

Domingo also connected Ali’s months between Rue’s death and his final AA meeting to searching. He said he thinks Ali walked the streets of L.A., driving through L.A. searching for something meaningful to make sense of what happened—purpose. Domingo said he imagines Ali had doubt and pain but couldn’t process it. then at some point felt so numb he started drinking. He described it as Ali picking up a bottle and trying to quiet his mind.

On the showdown at the Silver Slipper, Domingo addressed a charged moment of language. In the argument with G. Ali calls him a monkey. an insult that Domingo said is “an extremely charged insult for a Black man.” Domingo said most of the dialogue was Sam Levinson’s. but he added some colloquialisms in the moment. He said “Sit your monkey ass down” came from Ali understanding what he’s dealing with. what Marshawn Lynch was playing. and Ali deciding he isn’t scared.

Domingo also talked about the season’s larger landscape of Black characters colliding. He praised Darrell Britt-Gibson’s Bishop, describing uncertainty about whether Bishop is good or bad. He described Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje’s performance as extraordinary and said the episode harkens back to Blaxploitation. Domingo said the cowboy, western presentation mattered. He also pointed to Rue’s story: Domingo said Rue doesn’t have a Black father. but she’s influenced by different versions of Black manhood in scenes that bring those ideas together around her.

When Alamo is killed, Domingo said Ali experiences something like deadened liberation. Domingo described Ali as feeling “deadened” but believing he has killed off a “big part of this system.” He said Ali thinks it might resonate—hoping people will stand up and say. “No. you can’t use women like that. You can’t treat humans like that.” Domingo said Ali accomplishes the mission and still leaves the club without knowing what world he’s walking into.

For Domingo, the ending also leaves space for the kind of dream logic the finale already used.

He said he can imagine a version where Ali dies the day Rue dies and that everything that follows is Rue’s perspective—part of her dream in which Ali avenges her death and meets her at the Promised Land in a surreal world.

He added that. practically. there are unanswered questions about what happens after the shooting—no police. no visible aftermath—after Ali drives to Texas to the homestead. Domingo said he doesn’t know what exactly happens next. but he thinks Ali goes somewhere anonymous. “his redemption.” He described it as walking the earth—looking for truth and love and grace—with small moments.

Domingo tied those moments directly to the finale’s faith language.

Religion and faith sit at the center of the episode and Ali’s arc. Domingo said Ali found Islam late in life. appears to have left organized religion since he’s taken off his kufi and goes by Martin again. and that there’s Christian imagery throughout the season. He referenced Rue’s bible, the doorframe moment, and a Christian family at the homestead. He also noted Ali’s ending with a Jewish phrase: “Let her memory be a blessing.”.

Domingo said his conversations with Sam about faith were shaped by personal history, especially his brother Rick. Domingo said Rick was always searching for religion. He said he once went to a mosque with his brother because Rick was curious about religions and philosophies. Domingo described watching his brother stay up and read the Bible and listen to Louis Farrakhan. He connected that search to Ali’s curiosity.

He also spoke about addiction and religion—how people who suffer from the disease of addiction can become “addicted to religion.” Domingo said Ali exhausted himself searching through books and testaments while trying to find God in Rue. Domingo pointed back to Ali’s monologue: Ali says, “I stopped. I didn’t believe in anything. But that’s not the way to be.”.

Domingo said Ali believes you need something to tether you to the world, otherwise you can’t live. He said people can end up lost or lonely and not know what to do—whether to pray or meditate or what to put themselves through to make it through the world.

In the final stretch of Domingo’s remarks, he returned to the meaning of Ali’s search. He said Ali is trying to move with grace. larger thoughts about religion and spirituality. and that the world keeps failing him at times. Domingo said Ali keeps going anyway—brushes himself off, believes again—because grace and love are what make connection possible. He called the journey a gift, and if this is the final season, he said he’s given Ali everything.

And as the finale itself insists, it all ends with Ali.

Euphoria Ali Colman Domingo Rue Zendaya Silver Slipper Alamo Brown DEA raid Season 3 finale HBO Max fentanyl Alcoholics Anonymous