The Truth About Why Alamo’s Mom Left Preston in Season 3 of 'Euphoria'

Season 3 of Euphoria is just as intense as ever, and now viewers have gotten a sneak peek into Alamo Brown’s backstory. He is one of the biggest new characters in Season 3, and Episode 6 finally explained why he moves the way he does.

Alamo Brown is the Season 3 villain played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, with young Alamo played by Ca’Ron Jaden Coleman. He enters the story as a dangerous kingpin tied to drugs, guns, strip clubs, and a much darker adult world.

Season 3 premiered April 12, after a long break, and the show now follows Rue, Jules, Cassie, Nate, Maddy, and the rest of the crew years after high school. The season has eight episodes, with new episodes airing Sundays on HBO and HBO Max through the May 31 finale. But fans are especially hooked on Alamo’s story and why his mom left Preston back in the day.

Alamo’s mom left Preston because she appeared to use him for money and then run off after staging a con. In the Episode 6 flashback, young Alamo watches his mother, Mama Brown, start a relationship with Preston, a kind man with serious facial scarring from a chemical factory accident.

Preston wins Alamo over, receives a major legal settlement, and starts spending money on Mama Brown and Alamo. He even plans to marry her.

Then the story takes a turn. After a Labor Day beach trip, the family comes home and finds the house robbed. Mama Brown immediately blames Preston’s “bad luck” and decides she and Alamo need to leave. However, the twist comes when Alamo and his mother arrive at another man’s apartment, where all of the supposedly stolen items are sitting.

Essentially, she did not leave because Preston hurt her. She also did not leave because she feared him. The episode strongly suggests Mama Brown set Preston up, took what she wanted, and dragged Alamo into a new life before Preston could marry her.

Season 3 has pushed Euphoria into a messier, more adult space. Rue is now caught between Laurie and Alamo’s criminal circles after becoming a confidential informant for the DEA. Episode 5 ended with Alamo’s crew burying Rue up to her neck before Alamo rode toward her with a polo mallet.

Episode 6 reveals that Rue survives, but she is nowhere near safe. Alamo drags her deeper into his plans, while Laurie proposes using his Gold Rush Medical Services operation to move 80 kilos of fentanyl. The DEA hears the meeting through Rue’s phone, but Alamo still keeps pressure on her. By the end, Bishop hints that Alamo’s people have contacted Rue’s mom.

Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Luxury London that Alamo has “built an empire” by the time viewers meet him, and he sees Rue as someone he can use to reach a younger demographic. “At the time we meet him in the show, Brown has arrived at a point in his life where he’s built an empire and he’s always looking to expand it,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje said. “When he meets Rue, played by the wonderful Zendaya, she offers an opportunity for him to expand his enterprises into the Gen Z digital world.”