Warning: This article contains spoilers for Euphoria.
Euphoria star Angus Cloud addresses the fact that Fezco was meant to die in the season 2 finale. At the end of eight chaotic and divisive episodes, Euphoria season 2 wraps up with potentially big changes for all the characters. One of the biggest shifts, however, arguably belongs to fan-favorite Fezco. The drug dealer (played by Cloud) is getting ready to see the play spearheaded by Lexi (Maude Apatow). He’s visibly nervous and excited, wanting to look his best. But, at the same time, Custer (Tyler Chase) has been working with the police as an informant to arrest Fez for the murder of Mouse (Meeko Gattuso), a ruthless dealer.
As viewers will recall, though, it was actually Ashtray (Javon Walton) that murdered Mouse. And when he discovers that Custer is an informant, Ash similarly stabs him in the neck. This leads to a shootout between Ash and a SWAT team, in which Ash is seemingly shot and killed. Many fans of Euphoria are working on the assumption that, even though Ash’s death is never shown on-screen, the kid died in a foolish attempt to protect Fezco – who has been like an older brother to him.
Speaking with THR, Cloud opened up about the Euphoria season 2 finale. In particular, he spoke about the fact that the script kept changing. In one version, as Walton revealed to Esquire, it was originally Fezco that was meant to die in the SWAT raid. Cloud wouldn’t elaborate too much on why the switch happened, except to say: “I think they wanted it to be as dramatic as possible.” He also made sure he wouldn’t get blamed for spilling the details, adding with a laugh: “You better tell it was Javon who snitched.”
In comments of his own, Walton left room for the possibility that Ashtray might still be alive for Euphoria season 3. If that turns out not to be the case, it could be down to a number of factors. One point to consider is that Walton was around 12 years old when Euphoria started. He is now 15 and looks different, despite the fact that not much time passed in the show’s universe. This presents potential continuity problems for the show going forward.
Another reason that Euphoria creator Sam Levinson might have made the change is simply that Fez is a main character, with connections to Rue (Zendaya), Nate (Jacob Elordi), and Lexi. Ash is not. In that sense, it makes more sense to kill off a supporting character to see how that could potentially alter Fez in the long run. Fez’s death had also been foreshadowed so heavily in the runup to the finale that, in another way, it might have been a misdirect to steer away from the more obvious conclusion of Ashtray’s recklessness being his downfall.
Source: THR, Esquire