This week’s Euphoria is one of, if not the, most insane episodes of the show.
Last week, we got more backstory on Cal (Eric Dane) and we saw Rue (Zendaya) dive deeper into her drugged out dissent.
Now, Rue and Jules (Hunter Schafer) are growing further apart, and Elliot (Dominic Fike) and Jules are growing closer – even having sex with each other without Rue’s knowledge.
But, there’s so much more that happens in this episode. Cal flies off the handle, being triggered after revisiting the bar that he and his childhood love interest went to in last week’s episode. He goes home and basically tells his family they’re the reason he’s so messed up, even telling Nate (Jacob Elordi) that he is Cal’s biggest regret, and then Cal leaves. Whether or not it’s for good, we’re unsure. However, it’s clear we’ll be getting a very different dynamic from Nate’s house.
Additionally, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) is diving into the deep end as well. She basically spends the episode taunting Nate, threatening to blackmail him if he doesn’t stay with her and away from Maddy (Alexa Demie). Her scenes were some of the most interesting to watch because the cinematography reflected old teen-stalker-horror flicks, while Maddy’s cinematography was much more grounded.
But, the cinematography, as always, comes in several different formats and indicates more than the scripted lines in the episode did. In fact, it felt this entire episode like there was much more of a reliance on cinematography than normal, which for a show as heavily visual as Euphoria, is saying something.
There are several characters who are hitting rock bottom, a fact which is unsurprising as we are likely halfway through the second season. But, the overwhelming cinematography changes are setting up all sorts of chaotic events. Rue’s gospel-ridden scene (which featured the one and only Labrinth, performing a song he wrote for the show) seemed indicative of an overdose, as she interacted with her dead father and seemed very disconnected from the world.
Plus, now that Elliot told Jules about Rue’s lack of sobriety, everything is officially going to change for the worse – not to mention Kat (Barbie Ferreira) admitting she doesn't like Ethan (Austin Abrams) anymore. We’ll see what’ll happen next, but for this week and every other week, Sam Levinson’s cinematography is so incredible it’s almost over-stimulating. Make sure to pay close attention to the final scene, where there are beautiful, freeze frame-like scenes of each character.
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Euphoria airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO MAX and HBO.
