It was 8:59 PM ET, and my family’s hometown Cincinnati Bengals were up 20-16 in the third quarter of the Super Bowl. Though I wasn’t fully confident in their victory, I knew that it was time for “Euphoria,” where I was prepared to see another kind of Super Bowl, the final duel between Maddy and Cassie. I started the episode, though I kept my phone live updating.
Rue is in for a reckoning since last week’s mayhem. She begins the episode absolutely wrecked by withdrawals, unable to physically function. She narrates about forgiveness, and we see her mother help her to bed, bathe her, and make her drink water. Given the epic proportions of last week’s argument between them, the weight of that forgiveness is not overstated by Rue’s narration. She ends the cold open in hopes of more forgiveness, this time from her sponsor Ali. He forgives her, because he’s Ali and there was never any question that he would. It’s an emotional introduction that successfully reckons with the weight of last week’s episode.
Rue’s plotline this episode sticks to her fragile domesticity, with Ali coming over to make dinner and attempt to reconnect the broken family. In particular, he focuses on the younger daughter Gia, who has been torn between genuine love for her sister and the emotional burden of her addiction. Storm Reid is excellent in these scenes, complemented by the always stellar performance of Colman Domingo.
While Rue the character rests at home, Rue the narrator dictates the plot structure of the rest of the episode. She discusses the Maddy-Cassie-Nate feud most of all, and takes time to navigate between the three characters and their respective breakdowns. Maddy plots Cassie’s murder while she babysits. Cassie tries to kill herself with a corkscrew. Nate cleans up his father’s messes.
Alexa Demie has come far in her portrayal of Maddy this season, who has evolved from annoying popular girl to nuanced young woman. Her scenes this episode aren’t filled with the predictable unbridled rage but calculated plotting and understated grieving at the loss of her best friend. Maddy shares a scene with her boss in a pool moment full of unexpected yet electrifying chemistry, and the pair discuss the ways in which such love triangles have ruined their lives. Maddy wonders whether she and Cassie will ever speak again. Her boss thinks not.
Cassie, on the other hand, seems to grieve more the loss of Nate than her best friend. Her anxiety stems from self-interest, not genuine caring. Her (unexpectedly and charmingly hilarious) mother calls her a horrible friend, her sister Lexi calls her a crazy and stupid, and she spends most of the episode crying and whining. I can’t say I wasn’t entertained, but I wasn’t surprised in the way that I was with Maddy.
Nate seems to not really care about Maddy finding out about his affair, because he’s still reeling from the abrupt departure of his dad. He decides that in order to inherit his father’s business, he must destroy all evidence that he was a pedophile. In order to do so, he needs to track down the infamous Jules sex tape. He knows Maddy has it, and he shows up to her house with a gun. For about one minute, we see Maddy change after work while Nate sits ominously in the background, pointing his gun at her. He asks her where the tape is, and she claims to not have it. He pins her to the bed and holds the gun to his temple.
I check the score of the Super Bowl. There are just under two minutes left in the game, and it’s still 20-16. It’s first and goal, and the Rams have it at the eight-yard line. Nate pulls the trigger, and the gun clicks. There was no bullet. I check my phone again: third and goal. I breathe a sigh of relief. Nate pulls the trigger again, and it clicks again. Suddenly it’s first and goal again. Maddy admits she has the tape in her purse, and Nate apologizes and leaves. Now it’s second down, and the Rams are at the one yard line. I wish I could say I’m making up this timing. Nate confronts Jules, and ends up giving her the tape and apologizing. As she gets out of the car, he grabs her hand. Right as I think he’s about to threaten her once more, he says he meant everything he said, and the Rams score that fateful touchdown. Nate calls Cassie and tells her to spend the night with him. I accept defeat on two fronts: Cassie won, and so did the Rams.
We end the episode and find out that Rue has (somehow) been refused a spot at an inpatient rehab center. As she sleeps in the same bed as her sister, we hear her mother cry, “I know her, she’s going to kill herself.” If that’s any hint at the episode to come, we might be headed downhill again. This episode, thankfully, was a breath of fresh air and a much-needed break from the heaviness. In a poignant moment, Rue’s narration turns towards Jules before cutting away: “I don’t want to talk about Jules and Elliot.” It’s a subtler moment of self-awareness than the episode three discussion, but it shows that the show’s narrative structure intentionally uses its (relatively) lighter storylines involving Maddy and Cassie as escapist breaks from the darkness of Rue’s. Rue the character and Rue the narrator merge here in rest, choosing not to dwell on the consequential path of Jules but focus on what we all really want to know: what happened with Maddy and Cassie?
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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 !
