Euphoria‘s Darrell Britt-Gibson clarified the confusion surrounding Bishop betraying Alamo in the series finale.
“Bishop didn’t agree with a lot of what Alamo did, but it was a job for him,” Britt-Gibson told Variety on Monday, June 1. “I think what Alamo did to Rue was the final straw for Bishop.”
The actor explained how Rue’s (Zendaya) death affected Bishop, adding, “He’s also having that conversation with Maddy in the car. Rue was a bridge too far, and he’s like, ‘I promise I’m not going to let you get to Maddy.’”
Despite some viewers assuming Bishop didn’t care for Rue, Britt-Gibson thought differently.
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“There are a million different ways to look at it, from a character standpoint. It plays like he doesn’t care, but if you look deep enough, there are moments of Bishop being like a big brother who is hard on her,” he explained. “You know those figures in your life who are like, ‘Don’t hang out with those people. Those are not good people. You shouldn’t be here.’ The way [creator] Sam [Levinson] wrote it is up to interpretation. He gives it space for it to be seen however people want to see it.”
Britt-Gibson saw Bishop as someone waiting to take down Alamo, saying, “He’s been waiting. He’s so calculated. It’s chess. It’s always chess for Bishop.”
During the Sunday, May 31, episode of the HBO show, Ali (Colman Domingo) came into the Silver Slipper to avenge Rue’s death. He held Alamo (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) at gunpoint before they agreed to a Western-style showdown. But when Alamo drew his gun at Ali, it misfired.
It was later seen that his associate Bishop secretly unloaded the gun so there wouldn’t be any bullets. This caused Ali to spare Bishop, but it also left viewers perplexed.
“This is just my conjecture, but I think when you’re in a position of power like Alamo, there are always people within your fray that would want the top seat,” Akinnuoye-Agbaje told Variety on Sunday. “Bishop would be one of those guys. Kidd [Asante Blackk] has an opportunity to shoot Ali as well, because he has his gun, but Bishop tells him no. So it’s not just Bishop. Kidd doesn’t stand up for Alamo as a boss.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje teased a “changing of the guards,” saying, “Everything seems to be crumbling, and they’ve realized this is the time to take the reins with Bishop.”
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He continued: “Alamo could be somewhat demonstrative toward Bishop, too. He kind of puts him down, ridicules him a little bit. He says he’s got no manners, he doesn’t speak, he talks in this monotone. He plays him a bit like an idiot, even though he knows he’s useful.”
Akinnuoye-Agbaje went on to shut down theories that Bishop is a secret hero.
“I don’t think Alamo particularly likes the fact that, of all his henchmen, Bishop actually enjoys killing,” he noted. “There’s something extremely psychotic about him.”
Bishop’s decision was ultimately nothing more than a “power move,” with Akinnuoye-Agbaje concluding, “Bishop knows this is the time to do it. Maddy’s there, and I think he has intentions for her as well. This is probably the first time we’ve seen Bishop be favorable toward a woman. He’s plotting his own path.”
Britt-Gibson, for his part, saw things differently.
“I don’t believe Bishop genuinely enjoys killing. It’s like what we talked about before. That scene where he is about to saw up the bouncer [with a chainsaw] and he’s asked, ‘How are you today?’ he says, ‘I’ve been better,’” he recalled. “That’s a very specific thing to say, as opposed to “I’m good” or “I’m great.” Having to kill this man isn’t something he wants to do, but he’s detached from emotion. He’s like a psychopath, but he’s also not. It’s why I love the character so much.”
Euphoria is currently streaming on HBO Max.
