I’m becoming increasingly frustrated with “Euphoria.” It’s like Rue says in season one: the highs are high, but the lows are low.
This week’s cold open opened with a visibly high Rue being unsuccessfully (on account of the drugs) eaten out by her girlfriend Jules. Rue narrates how much she loves her as we jump from a series of shots framing Rue and Jules as some epic historical couple. In one, Jules takes the spot of Venus in the famous “Birth of Venus” painting; in another, they recreate the “Titanic” scene, and in an animated segment, Rue takes on the role of the Prince in “Sleeping Beauty.” It shows both Rue’s romanticized idea of relationships but also her view of Jules as an object of desire and a work of art while neglecting her actual personhood. Rue has never had any thought of how her actions impact others, and we saw in her special episode that this deeply affects Jules.
As a result, it’s not as maddening when Jules kisses Elliot, who just the episode prior took time to acknowledge and appreciate Jules as a human being. Rue puts Jules on an unfair pedestal, and her immense love for her is overwhelming and perhaps exists for the wrong reasons.
The episode takes on a few other storylines besides the Rue / Jules / Elliot situation, the most important of which being Cal Jacobs’ descent into madness. Last episode, he was beaten up by the extremely underage Ashtray and came to the realization that his incriminating sex tape with Jules is completely lost to him. This week, a heavily bandaged Cal decides to binge drink and drive, landing himself at the gay bar featured in his backstory cold open last episode. He hallucinates that he’s dancing with his best friend / lover Derek, and when he tries to recreate their wrestling intimacy, he’s thrown out of the bar. He drives home, urinates on the floor, and reveals his true self to his concerned family. Though his whole arc this episode was shaky, Eric Dane gives a great monologue as an incredibly lonely and frustrated Cal.
We also get to see Maddy’s birthday party, at which a frantic Cassie gets way too drunk as she mourns what could have been with Nate. She throws up in the hot tub, the girls freak out, Lexi looks on from the house, and its chaos. At the same event, Maddy reassures a sexually bored Kat that she doesn’t have to know what she wants. Maddy comes out looking great and Cassie looks idiotic.
The episode was frustrating because it dealt in more extremes than usual. While Rue is heading towards another overdose as she does unruly quantities of drugs mixed with alcohol, the hijinks at Maddy’s party feel pulled straight out of a show of “Riverdale” caliber. It so clearly is trying to be the gritty HBO drama it thinks it is, but at the end of the day it’s a teen drama. It would work if it was funnier or more self-aware, as last week’s episode showed. Even the acting this week felt overdone and stupid, and I pity Sydney Sweeney, whose character’s storyline has become increasingly idiotic and hard to watch. Sam Levinson has absolutely butchered her character, and she is easily the worst written character of the season.
The cinematography and artistic aspects continue to be its greatest asset, and there’s one shot that really captures it all. A tear-stained Cassie sits before her vanity surrounded in bright pink flowers that show subtle signs of wilting. It’s supposed to represent how the image of the “sweet” Cassie we know is not sustainable and is dying before our eyes, but it’s a sign of how the show is going: the outward appearance is not enough to make the whole thing work.
Before we let you go, we have officially launched our merch store! Check out all of our amazing apparel when you click here and type in GVN15 at checkout for a 15% discount!
Make sure to check out our podcasts each week including Geek Vibes Live, Top 10 with Tia, Wrestling Geeks Alliance and more! For major deals and money off on Amazon, make sure to use our affiliate link!
Emmy is a big fan of all things TV and movies. Among her current favorites are The Matrix, Midsommar, Titane, and Fleabag. Catch her on Letterboxd @ewenstrup !
