Miscommunication and stressful situations make up the majority of HBO’s brilliant show Euphoria.
Last week’s episode ended with Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer) having their romantic, long overdue kiss. The kiss made the audiences, and the characters of subject, question their relationship.
This week shows the two adolescent women trying to figure out what they are, with Rue stifling her overwhelming romantic feelings to take things slow and Jules trying to wipe away her one-night-stand mindset and see if the two could be something.
Rue is convinced the relationship is going to last, but it’s Ali (Colman Domingo) who snaps her back into reality and tries to convince her to take a step back and stop putting all of her sobriety on Jules.
At the same time, Rue and Jules invite Lexi (Maude Apatow) to hang out with them because Rue wants to make up for being a bad friend. While Rue is having a blast at the roller rink, Lexi and Jules have a conversation regarding Rue’s mental state. Lexi has noticed a huge change in Rue’s happiness and thinks it’s because of Jules.
“Rue seems really good,” Lexi said.
“Yeah, she does,” Jules said.
“It’s because of you, you know,” Lexi said.
This, however, puts a tremendous amount of pressure on Jules. The two haven’t even discovered what their relationship is fully, and now Jules feels like Rue’s entire recovery process is on her — which, to be fair, it is. Rue has admitted that she is staying clean because Jules wants her to, so imagine what would happen if Jules broke Rue’s heart. In the grand scheme of toxicity in relationships, this is certainly something that could pose to drive a wedge between the two lovebirds.
Meanwhile, after ending last week’s episode with a fight that left Maddy (Alexa Demie) with severe bruising on her neck, Nate (Jacob Eldori) and Maddy are going downhill this week. After passing out in class, Maddy is taken care of by paramedics who notice her bruising and report it to the principal.
After a series of interviews with eyewitnesses, the principal finally gets the police and Nate involved and calls Nate’s parents to the school to handle things. Maddy’s mom decides to press charges, and Nate lies to his parents and to the police about the events of that night. It’s doubtful that Nate will get in trouble, what with Maddy trying to cover for him, but there’s still a chance for some ramifications. If nothing else, Nate is suspended for an indefinite amount of time while the investigation goes on.
Maddy tries to contact Nate and he won’t answer, but she gets a notification from a secret messenger app from Nate, asking her to meet him at a motel. Maddy is convinced that no matter what Nate does, he loves her, and she’s convinced herself that no matter what, she loves him, too. The two meet at the motel and hug, leaving audiences to wonder what’s going to happen in the abusive and toxic relationship between the two.
The episode provides a lot of backstory for Maddy, who up until now was a pretty hateable character. However, after some insight, it’s clear Maddy is a take-no-prisoners, all-around queen who sets her sights on what she wants and gets it, no matter what the cost. She found a way to wrap Nate around her finger, and even though their relationship is completely toxic, she thinks she’s in control.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens next for the abusive relationship and the dependent relationship the week’s episode focuses in on.
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Euphoria airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on HBO.
