Danielle Deadwyler as Mama Brown in Euphoria season 3
Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO
Spoilers ahead for Euphoria season 3 episode 6
Every villain has an origin story and Euphoria season 3’s sixth episode, “Stand Still and See,” drops viewers into Alamo’s (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). His dates back to the ‘70s when he learned a tough lesson about his mother, Mama Brown (Danielle Deadwyler), and the lengths she’d go to live comfortably.
Her deception was the catalyst for a point of view he’s held onto for life—he would never let a woman play him again. It’s the reason actor Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje told TV Insider that Alamo has an “aversion to women.”
It all goes back to Mama Brown and the time she let Alamo believe he was going to have the American dream.
Ca’Ron Jaden Coleman as Young Alamo on Euphoria season 3
Photograph by Patrick Wymore/HBO
Mama Brown’s Get Rich Scheme On ‘Euphoria’
When Alamo was a boy, his mother told him that she was going to ensure that they were well taken care of. She shared that she’d met a man, and she needed Alamo to be respectful to him. Preston (Kwame Patterson) had scars on his face due chemical burns he’d sustained when a vat blew up at his job.
Mama Brown didn’t think Preston was handsome, but she believed he had a good heart and that’s what she prioritized. They attended church together, Preston assumed the role of a father figure in Alamo’s life, and the three of them were a family. But the whole community knew that Preston was waiting on insurance money from the accident, including Alamo’s mother.
Preston had assured Alamo that once it came in, they were going to live in the lap of luxury. He was going to send him to a white school in the city, the kind where the students have to wear uniforms. Preston made good on his word. When the check came in, he moved Mama Brown and Alamo out of their apartment and into a bigger, more spacious one.
Their home was decorated abundantly. They were always dressed in the finest clothes. Mama Brown as dripping in jewelry. It was everything Alamo could have wanted. He’d even been signed up for the school Preston told him about. But what sealed the deal on Alamo’s happiness was Preston’s intent on marrying Mama Brown. Preston asked for his blessing, and Alamo gave it joyfully.
The Death of Young Alamo’s American Dream
That Labor Day was the best moment of Alamo’s life. However, it came crashing down when their apartment was robbed. His mother left Preston over what happened even though he swore he could fix it. Her excuse was that the robbery was a sign that Preston was plagued by bad luck.
But Alamo would quickly find out that his mom had been running a con. She never intended to have a life with Preston. She tricked him out of his money and once she had everything she wanted, she had her man on the side stage a robbery. Mama Brown didn’t lose a thing, but Preston had lost everything.
Forced to move to a new city and live with a man he didn’t know, with the knowledge that his mother could hurt someone the way she did, changed Alamo. She said that she’d done it for him, and that he couldn’t understand because he wasn’t the one who had to kiss Preston’s scars.
But for a brief moment in time, Alamo had what people say you should—The American Dream. He had two parents, a loving home that was furnished well, he was being fed the finest meals, he wasn’t lacking for anything, and he was set to attend a school that would give him a leg up in life because white schools were well-funded.
In Alamo’s mind, his mother took that from him and it cemented his distrust of women.
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Alamo Brown and Zendaya as Rue Bennett.
Photograph by Eddy Chen/HBO
How Mama Brown’s Betrayal Affected Alamo
While speaking to TV Insider, Akinnuoye-Agbaje gave some insight into his character’s headspace that’s informed by what happened with Mama Brown.
“Alamo, he has a real aversion to women, which is why it’s quite unique for Rue to be employed because she’s the first female to be employed apart from the strippers.”
The same aversion applies to Laurie.
He said, “I mean, behind the scenes, he has an aversion to women and this is a woman that he set up in the business. So there’s a bit of a rivalry and a bit of jealousy that she’s broken free and now challenging him.”
No one likes being played, but Alamo receives it as a blow not just to his ego but how he sees himself as a man. He doesn’t care about being on the right side of the law, but he demands respect. Alamo’s fashioned his life around a cowboy aesthetic with an Old West mentality. He’s in charge and the world is full of gold for him to mine.
He can’t accept anyone disrupting the image he’s set for himself, but especially not a woman. Alamo refuses to end up like Preston. Alone, his dignity and his belongings stolen, with nothing left to his name.
New episodes of Euphoria season 3 air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream exclusively on HBO Max. Follow me on Forbes for weekly coverage of the season and news about the business of TV.