{"id":1974242,"date":"2026-06-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1974242"},"modified":"2026-06-05T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-222","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1974242","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
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\n\t\t\tMEET EUPHORIA\u2019S FAN-FAVOURITE FARM GIRL, JESSICA TRESKA<\/span>
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A week after Euphoria<\/em>\u2019s series finale, Wonderland<\/em> talks to Jessica Treska who played Rue\u2019s nugget of hope, Daisy.<\/h3>\n
\"Meet
Courtesy of Jessica Treska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s worth mentioning Moses doesn\u2019t make it to the Promised Land,\u201d Ali (played by Colman Domingo<\/a>) tells Rue (played by Zendaya<\/a>) in the penultimate episode of Euphoria<\/a><\/em>. The former substance abuser turned NA sponsor for Rue often used faith throughout the series as a tool for her to navigate her ongoing addiction issues. At first, and notably in the first special episode aired between Season 1 and 2, over pancakes at a diner on Christmas Eve, Rue rejects God. She\u2019s inexorably unable to believe in a power greater than. But by the time Season 3 rolls around, Rue wants to surrender herself to faith, in hopes of living a happier, more fulfilled life. \u201cNow you see, that\u2019s where we differ,\u201d Rue retorts.<\/p>\n

In the Bible, the Promised Land is described as an eternal haven, flowing with milk and honey, as promised by God. In Euphoria<\/em>, it manifests itself as a rural, middle-of-nowhere farm in Texas that Rue finds herself calling home for a short period of time in transit from smuggling fentanyl into the country. There in comes Daisy (played by Jessica Treska), the eldest daughter of the ultra-conservative, off-the-grid homesteader family. Despite their evident differences, the Miller family welcomes Rue (or rather Ruby, as they call her) with open arms, integrating her into their daily, simple life of prayer and tending to their pregnant cow. For Rue, this becomes the promise of a better life, and Daisy, a beacon of hope, with a face far too captivating to be shunned away from the rest of American society.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c[Rue] totally could have been born in that family, and been Daisy. And Daisy very well could have been born in Rue\u2019s circumstances and been Rue. So, I think she gives herself some grace when she realises that,\u201d tells Jessica<\/a>, when asked if she believed Rue could have lived the life she spent Season 3 dreaming of. The actor, who initially believed the role to be so minor it would most likely get cut, became an instant fan-fascinated character, with an impact that far outweighs her screentime.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Daisy became a lighthouse in the dark for Rue, shining light upon the safest path back home. And, despite Rue never having met the cow\u2019s newborn as Daisy had requested whilst parting ways in the first episode, despite her failing to make it back the Promised Land in life, despite her passing due to fentanyl-laced pain killers drug pin and employer Alamo (played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje<\/a>) gave her, Ali\u2019s prayer leads her back to face him during his final praying at the table with the Millers, locking eyes with the one who always showed her grace, Daisy.<\/p>\n

One week post-finale, Wonderland<\/em> sits down with Jessica to chat fan theories, filming that<\/em> final scene, and imagine a Daisy Miller spin-off show. Keep reading for the full interview\u2026<\/p>\n

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\"Meet<\/figure>\n
\"Meet<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Courtesy of HBO<\/p>\n

First things first, tell me about the audition process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

[It was a] pretty standard process. I got the audition, I had to do a tape. We got feedback pretty quickly that Sam liked how I approached the character, what I did with it \u2013 it was the scene of me and Rue in the car, that was the audition scene. But we had to go back and forth a few times to get my look right. [Sam] wanted me to look younger, so he played around with my hair. I had to do it a few more times, so that we could get approval from the rest of the team, on his side. Then within a few days, maybe he, we figured out that we were moving forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Did you have to do a chemistry read with Zendaya?<\/strong><\/p>\n

No, [I was] straight thrown into it. I feel like that\u2019s kind of the way that the industry has gone, is just you do the tapes and maybe a few rounds, and then you\u2019re in. It\u2019s funny because I actually had no idea that my scenes were going to be with Rue when I did the audition, the character name was something completely random.<\/p>\n

Oh, right!<\/strong> How did you imagine the character of Daisy fitting into the story? Obviously, this five year time jump was announced.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It definitely confused me. I know the show to be what it is, and you know how crazy the character story lines are. So, I never expected any of them to come across this farm in the middle of nowhere, Texas. I thought this is not even gonna matter, this is something super, super small. I just honestly had no idea.<\/p>\n

Ironic, considering how much attention your character got right off the bat. Everyone was obsessed with Daisy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was so crazy. I think there\u2019s some inclination that you\u2019ll see Daisy again after that first episode. I think people were speculating that in the way that it was done. But aside from that, you really don\u2019t know much. I think that\u2019s what intrigued people is they just let their imaginations run \u2013 where could this character go? Who is she? Why is there a focus on her?<\/p>\n

\"Meet
Courtesy of HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I was really intrigued by all the fan theories that started coming out of it, and personally, I thought there was a romantic connection between Daisy and Rue, and Daisy would maybe go follow Rue off to California or something. Did you have a favourite fan theory that you saw coming out after that first episode?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That was probably my favourite. It wasn\u2019t something that we had talked about on set. It wasn\u2019t something that Sam said was there, but it also wasn\u2019t something that he said wasn\u2019t. It wasn\u2019t really in my mind when we were filming, but looking back I can see why people suspected that. Especially because she is this Christian girl, who probably has had no exposure to those kinds of things. It\u2019s funny to think about what she would like or what she would do if she was in the modern world.<\/p>\n

What was also quite stark as well this season is the arc of Rue\u2019s faith, which she fully embraces in this season. In past seasons, we saw her either reject it or not necessarily fully giving into it, despite Ali\u2019s efforts. But she meets Daisy and the Millers and it seems like it\u2019s a real turning point for her in terms of her own journey with faith. Why do you think that the farm became this sort of idyllic paradise for her?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think on one hand she got a fresh start there. It was the first time that she could get away from her past and everything that she\u2019s attached to, and what people think of her. Daisy, that family, they knew none of that. They just knew Rue for Rue. And they don\u2019t even call her Rue, they call her Ruby. She wanted that fresh start on a greater scale with redemption and with God. So I think that was the first nugget of hope in that way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also think that she got to see a different way of life where people are truly happy. She sees happiness in her world with her friends \u2013 Cassie and Jules and Maddie. They\u2019re all doing these crazy things that are tied to materialism or vanity or pornography, and she sees those as kind of hurting these characters in a way. I think you can tell that they\u2019re not truly, deeply happy. So, it\u2019s the first time that she does see that, and the cause of it is these people focus on a few things that really matter to them: family, God, the life that they have there on the farm. She sees it as beautiful and something totally different than anything she\u2019s ever experienced, and it\u2019s working. And why couldn\u2019t it work for her?<\/p>\n

Do you think Rue ever stood a chance to have that sort of lifestyle?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, definitely. I think she realises too that she totally could have lived that life. She totally could have been born in that family, and been Daisy. And Daisy very well could have been born in Rue\u2019s circumstances and been Rue. So, I think she gives herself some grace when she realises that, because she\u2019s not this evil person. She has just been in some pretty tricky situations, and I think she starts to forgive herself a little bit when she meets Daisy because they really are no different. They\u2019re both young girls, and they\u2019re both just living the life that they were dealt.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Meet<\/figure>\n
\"Meet<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Courtesy of HBO<\/p>\n

Talk to me a little bit about working with Sam Levinson. What kind of director is he? Does he sort of come on set and have the vision? Does he like to play around quite a bit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I personally think he had the perfect mix of what you want and a director. He knew what he wanted. He knew what he wanted us to do with the characters, and he was very collaborative. We would do a take. He would give me some great advice, some great feedback, but he would still give me rope as an actor to do what I felt was right and to have my own interpretation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He made us feel for these characters and understand the importance of it. He shared with us that this is his story, Rue is his story in a way, and that we play a pivotal role in Rue\u2019s story, and therefore matter to him and his journey with God. So he was very upfront, and I appreciated that he shared that with us. He is just a very honest director.<\/p>\n

When it comes to filming that final scene, did you know what was going on? I know you had mentioned the scripts have been kept very much under wraps. Did you know that this was a goodbye to Rue?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had no idea until we were filming the scene. It was a closed set. I did not know that it was going to be a closed set until I received the call sheet, and in that moment, I was speculating, why is this a closed set? The scenes that are on paper are very much no spoilers, [a] run of the mill scene. So we get there, it\u2019s a closed set, only the director and executive producers really are allowed to be in there and watch the scene. Sam comes to me right before we shoot the cameras on me and he says \u201cyou\u2019re gonna have to react to what\u2019s actually going on because what\u2019s going to be said is not what was written on the page Ali is not going to be saying the prayer that was on the page he\u2019s saying a different one.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

So in real time I\u2019m learning that it\u2019s a prayer for Rue, that Rue has passed. It was the craziest experience of my life, acting wise. To be able to do that on the first take, and to take that all in. Then we just did it a bunch of times. We had Rue come back into the scene, and then film that part of it. So, no, I had absolutely no idea.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s crazy. Do you think that learning on the day helped you embody that shock of finding out such tragic news, and helped carry that emotion into the scene?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do think so, because I think if I knew that we were one of the final shots, and if I knew how pivotal that scene was, and that it was going to be this huge spoiler, that I probably would have put more pressure on myself coming into it. Maybe that would have tainted my ability to do that performance. I think just finding out right then and having to just put myself in Daisy\u2019s shoes helped me as an actress, honestly. Because I really had no idea how important that was going to be, I\u2019m glad I didn\u2019t let it get into my head or anything.<\/p>\n

\"Meet
Courtesy of HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So you filmed that scene at the table before the one where Ali gets out of the car and says \u201cRue\u2019s in a better place?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I believe we did, but even if we didn\u2019t, when he says \u201cRue\u2019s in a better place,\u201d we still hadn\u2019t really confirmed what that meant. It\u2019s either that we filmed it after or during that scene, we still didn\u2019t really know what that meant, and no one was really telling us much. I think they kind of wanted that reaction to be real.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s interesting because a lot of the discourse I\u2019ve seen surrounding the portrayal of Rue\u2019s death, and more so the reaction of other characters to it, is that the only real reactions we saw were Ali and Daisy\u2019s. We didn\u2019t see any of the other like friends that she grew up with, we didn\u2019t see Lexi. I thought it was still quite special to see the impact Rue had on Daisy, who was essentially a character she had spent a brief amount of time with, but had still meant so much to her, and as well the other way around. What did you think of you being the person who really took in her death and processed it for us, as well as viewers?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I understand that people wanted to see the immediate reaction of the other characters, but when I was watching it, I didn\u2019t notice that at all. I thought it was beautifully done. I thought you could tell that this is some time after, and so their reactions were a bit more muted, but I thought seeing Ali\u2019s reaction and Daisy\u2019s reaction firsthand, like you said, was beautiful. It tied back to the beginning, and what Rue ended up really caring about, which is faith and God, and you got to see people\u2019s reactions that are tied to that. So yeah, I can understand the criticism, but I also think that Sam wanted to give the other characters time to reflect on God and on faith. That does come in time with grief, like Lexi having that conversation with Cassie. I don\u2019t think you would have seen that if you saw their reactions immediately. I thought that took time, and I think that\u2019s why Sam created it that way.<\/p>\n

\"Meet
Courtesy of Jessica Treska<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Totally! Onto something more positive \u2013 if there was like a Euphoria<\/em> spin-off show about the Millers, what do you think they\u2019d be up to? Would Ali still be living there? Would Daisy travel to California and try to find out more about Rue? Would she go on the internet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, those theories are crazy. This is so cool that people are even bringing them. I would think that this is the first time Daisy\u2019s experiencing suffering or pain from the outside world. She thinks it\u2019s all flowers and roses out there, like it is on the farm. That\u2019s why she wants to go out there with Rue, but she obviously learns that maybe [she doesn\u2019t] want to be out there, maybe there\u2019s something bad out there. So I can see her kind of having a conversation with her parents, like \u201cyou\u2019ve made me think this thing about the world, but maybe it\u2019s not true, maybe there is something darker out there, and we are kind of on this bubble and I want to go see what that\u2019s like.\u201d I think it could make her more curious. It would certainly make me more curious if I felt like the world was perfect, and then this thing happens and I need to understand it, because it doesn\u2019t fit in with my view. So I can see her definitely wanting to go explore and venture, and maybe kind of like Ali, not avenge, but face what hurt Rue.<\/p>\n

People think they met in passing, but they really spent at least some weeks together. Rue was living on that farm for a bit. She does mean a lot to Rue and Rue a lot to her, maybe even more so than people realised.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It ties back to one of <\/strong>Euphoria<\/em><\/strong>\u2019s central themes, which is female friendships.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, definitely.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s next for you? What have you got planned in your post-<\/strong>Euphoria<\/em><\/strong> world?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People are gonna have to stay tuned. I would love to tell a story like this again, something that really moves people. That\u2019s really what I want to do as an actress. That is the most meaningful part of this for me, is that I got to be a part of a story that actually meant something greater than this world and this life, and greater than Hollywood. And I really do hope that it touched people.<\/p>\n

Words \u2014 Juliette Eleuterio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t5 June 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Culture<\/a><\/div>\n
Film & TV<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tWonderlist<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\tGuerin Projects Stage a Time-Sensitive Love Affair\u00a0<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland MEET EUPHORIA\u2019S FAN-FAVOURITE FARM GIRL, JESSICA TRESKA A week after Euphoria\u2019s series finale, Wonderland talks to Jessica Treska who played Rue\u2019s nugget of hope, Daisy. Courtesy of Jessica Treska \u201cI think it\u2019s worth mentioning Moses doesn\u2019t make it to the Promised Land,\u201d Ali (played by Colman Domingo) tells Rue (played by Zendaya) in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-1974242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1974242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1974242\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1974242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1974242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1974242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}