An interrupted play, broken friendships, the beginnings of a love story and a tragic loss sum up the finale of HBO’s Euphoria.
Season two of the hit show wrapped up at the end of February, leaving fans on the edge of their seats. In typical Euphoria-style, the eight-episode season opened at a hectic New Year’s Eve party.
The premiere sets the scene for the season, as we see what has become of each character since the season one finale which premiered in August 2019.
Protagonist Rue (Zendaya) is still struggling with her drug addiction which intensified after her girlfriend Jules (Hunter Schafer) left town at the end of season one. At the party, Rue bumps into Elliot (Dominic Fike), a new character who ends up disrupting the relationship between Jules and Rue and encourages Rue to continue with her drug use.
In the bathroom of the party, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi) begin their puzzling and secretive relationship. Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie’s best friend and Nate’s ex-girlfriend, is not aware of this at first, spending the majority of her time focusing on herself after parting ways from her abusive relationship with Nate.
Fez (Angus Cloud) encounters Lexi (Maude Apatow), Cassie’s shy younger sister, and the two spend the entire night having a prolific conversation on the couch.
As the season progresses, Cassie and Nate’s disastrous relationship unravels and Rue goes to extreme and dangerous lengths to get drugs. She gets involved with some questionable people like Laurie (Martha Kelly), an unsettlingly calm drug dealer and possible sex trafficker. Rue strikes a deal with Laurie, convincing her she will be able to sell a suitcase full of drugs.
The fifth episode is the climax for Rue as she goes through a serious withdrawal after her mother finds the suitcase and disposes of it. Rue panics and steals from a home to try and earn some of the money to pay Laurie back, exposes Cassie and Nate’s relationship to Maddy, runs from the police and eventually ends up back at Laurie’s home where she is given morphine to help with her withdrawal.
After the episode premiered, Zendaya was praised for her incredible and emotional performance, while Emmy nomination talks were in full force. The anxiety-ridden episode closes with Rue narrowly escaping Laurie’s home, allowing all of us to finally take our first breath of the night.
The next few episodes are a step in the right direction for Rue as she focuses on sobering up and attempts to mend her broken relationship with her mother, sister and sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo). But, while it gets better for Rue, it gets worse for the rest of the characters.
Cassie spirals completely out of control after her secretive relationship with Nate is revealed. Maddy deals with the ultimate betrayal and finds herself in a life-threatening situation with Nate as he tries to cover up loose ends from season one.
The show also focuses on Nate’s dad, Cal (Eric Dane), delving into his backstory which leads him to ultimately abandon his family, whom he resents, to become his true self.
The season shows us more of Lexi and Fez’s slow burn relationship as they bond over the film Stand By Me and speak on the phone every night, learning they truly do have a lot in common — I don’t know about you, but it warmed my #Fexi heart.
The characters’ messy lives all meet at the school auditorium for the last two episodes where Lexi, who comes into her own this season, puts on a play detailing events of her and the rest of the characters’ lives, fittingly called “Our Life.”
The play, like a major theme of the season, talks a lot about Rue losing her father, pinpointing her loss as the main reason for her drug addiction. Lexi also explores how her father’s leaving affected her and her family––as we have really only seen how that impacts Cassie––as she seeks love from every relationship she gets into.
The highlight of the play was the musical number to the song “I Need A Hero,” as Ethan (Austin Abrams) and his ensemble take a hit at Nate and the rest of the jocks.
The play leads Nate to break up with Cassie, causing her to completely lose her cool, and actress Sydney Sweeney gives an award-worthy breakdown scene in front of a mirror. After she calms down, Cassie gets on stage, disrupting the play. She calls out Lexi for humiliating her, which angers Maddy, and a full fight breaks out on stage.
Outside of the play, Fez’s home gets raided by the cops, busting his little brother Ashtray (Javon Walton) for a murder he committed in the first season.
The raid ends in tragedy as Ashtray is shot and killed by the police, and Fez is taken away.
The season, much darker than the first, truly focuses on Rue’s journey to sobriety and ends off with her walking out of the play as her narration assures us that she stayed clean for the rest of the school year.
While Euphoria didn’t disappoint with its beautiful cinematography, outfits, makeup, soundtrack and realistic portrayal of substance abuse, it did fall short for some.
Many took to social media complaining about the lack of depth in Kat’s (Barbie Ferreira) storyline. While she was a pretty consistent character in the first season, Kat’s story fell short for many as it only focused on her relationship with Ethan. Writer Sam Levinson was also criticized for the overt nudity, specifically for Cassie’s character and the focus on Nate and Cassie’s relationship in general.
However, Levinson knows how to keep his watchers interested as season two closed with many unanswered questions.
What happened to Fez? Will Laurie eventually target Rue for never paying her over $10,000 back? What happened between Elliot and Jules? Who was the anonymous caller Kat spoke to in season one? Is there hope for Lexi and Fez?
Luckily, the show has been renewed for a third season, so now all we have to do is wait patiently until 2024 and hope the next season addresses these pressing questions.