Euphoria’s midseason episode explores grief over what could’ve been
The relationship drama remains one-dimensional, but at least the chaos has an orderly through-line this week.
TV Reviews Euphoria
In “You Cannot See, Think Of Those Who Can,” Euphoria once again kicks things off by focusing on Rue and Jules’ relationship. Rue fakes an orgasm after oral sex with Jules because she is too high to feel anything. It’s not only an embarrassing moment but shows how drugs continue to interfere with every aspect of Rue’s life; she cannot immerse herself in a sexual experience. This is particularly concerning as Rue has put Jules on a pedestal, often placing her drive to be sober in the hands of Jules, and disparaging Jules if she deviates in any way. Rue previously lashed out at Jules in the Christmas special, when she told Ali how she felt wronged by Jules. Rue accused Jules of cheating on her, although they were not officially a couple, and has made her out to be someone who is inconsiderate and unreliable. This behavior suggests Rue’s replaced her substance addiction with a Jules obsession.
Jules discusses the awkward sexual encounter with Elliot, who asks her to demonstrate what took place. They go back and forth, trying to understand how the results occurred. Jules and Elliot begin to make out and do so until Rue texts Elliot that she is outside. They immediately stop, and Jules stares at the ceiling in bewilderment. While I enjoy the chemistry between the actors, Elliot’s actions are questionable. In last week’s “interrogation” scene, Elliot said Jules is a “nut” for being a trans girl wearing a binder. Here, he actively pursues Jules as they discuss her relationship with Rue. At first, Elliot appeared to be the exact opposite of Nate: Nate is here to wreak havoc, but Elliot is positioned as a relaxed and chill male friend. In reality, Elliot is subtly helping in the destruction of Rue and Jules’ relationship.
Next, a montage jumps between Cassie celebrating Maddy’s birthday, and Nate and Maddy seemingly reconnecting. Cassie plasters on a fake smile to hide her secret melancholy and uneasiness relationship with Nate. Maddy, Kat, and BB seem unable to notice. The sequence helps the audience understand that while everyone may love each other, they’re not always emotionally in tune with one another and able to detect issues. Cassie is clearly in agonizing pain and no one acknowledges it.
Cassie and Maddy’s relationships with Nate are juxtaposed. Cassie and Nate fight about her role in the rift between Nate and Maddy, while Maddy and Nate discuss their love for each other before holding one another. While both relationships have been shown to be volatile, there is an odd connection between Maddy and Nate. Cassie and Nate’s relationship is built upon their frustration with Maddy. The dysfunction in Cassie and Nate’s relationship is a product of two people going through separate episodes of mental health issues, and they both contribute to it. The dysfunction in Maddy and Nate’s relationship is solely caused by Nate, and Maddy is reacting to his actions.
Kat is slacking by herself at Maddy’s birthday while everyone else drinks and parties. Maddy pulls her into another room to have a heart-to-heart about what is bothering her. I was glad to get a scene between just Maddy and Kat, so we could see how their relationship had evolved after their falling-out in season one. But the continuation of the Kat and Ethan storyline being the reason for Kat’s sadness and this conversation was anti-climatic. The Kat and Ethan storyline has been drawn out for too long. This is something that could’ve been resolved by the second episode and used as a way for Kat’s relationship with online toxic positivity to develop. I would have loved to have seen Maddy give Kat advice about how she reconciles that with her approach to the world.
Rue, Jules, and Elliot decide to steal beer from a local convenience store, which Rue begins to drink at an alarming rate. Elliot asks her to stop. Jules takes this a step further by questioning why she is drinking. Rue asks to be taken home. It seems obvious that Jules is no longer Rue’s obsession or primary motivation for sobriety. Now that she’s no longer held in such high regard by Rue, Jules isn’t immune to the harsh aspects of Rue’s addiction. This night gives Jules a clearer insight into the future.
Nate arrives at Maddy’s birthday party and gives her jewelry from Tiffany’s. Cassie is clearly not pleased with the attention Nate is showering on Maddy. Cassie and Nate make eye contact as she is covered in vomit and crying. This mirrors the moment in the previous episode, when they passed each other in the hallways at school—Nate only acknowledges Cassie when she is dressed like Maddy. The scene underscores the truth about this love triangle. Nate will always put Maddy above Cassie. Nate will always only acknowledge Cassie at her lowest points because he enjoys manipulation and having the upper hand in their dynamic. Most of all, Nate does not enjoy a relationship where he can be on the receiving end of unpredictable behavior; he must be the one inflicting it at all cost.
Rue sits alone in her room before making her way into a church sanctuary. She walks down the aisle and into the arms of Labrinth, Euphoria’s music composer, who’s taken on the role of a pastor. She imagines she’s being held by her late father, and apologizes for who she has become. Meanwhile, Cal pulls his old car out from his garage and takes a joyride to the same club that he and Derek first kissed and danced together as teenagers. After returning home, he drunkenly urinates on the floor before awakening his sons and wife. He tells them about his sexual history with men, blames them for stunting his emotional maturity and abandons them.
Cal’s outbursts and Rue’s fantasized apology both echo the theme of grief. The two characters—really, all of the characters—are deeply yearning for a life that is out of reach, either because circumstances that are out of their control or consequences of their own actions. Euphoria has looked at grief previously through the eyes of its characters, primarily with the loss of Rue’s father. But the plot usually propels its characters into some other questionable actions: Nate runs from his sexuality, Kat becoming a cam girl, or Cassie’s love life. Here, Rue and Cal are given the time to express regret over who they have become. Cal’s monologue in particular consists of very few cutaways. We are forced to sit with the discomfort—flies on the wall of his home, as the years of suppression come pouring out.
Rue’s grief takes shape in one of Sam Levinson’s standard fantasy sequences, but still gets to the heart of her issues: the gaping hole that the loss of a parent creates in someone’s future. Both instances show that grief left to fester can be catastrophic for those grieving and everyone they love.
As we make our way through the halfway point of the season, Euphoria asks us to observe grief and complicated romantic relationships in their many forms. The show is at its best when it allows for real character work, and the heavy-handed teenage existentialism and fantastical visuals are used sparingly. The relationship drama remains one-dimensional, but at least the chaos has an orderly through-line this week.
67 Comments
I wish they made Rue and Jules relationship one that was less doom all the time. Good characters being eaten up with a snoozy storyline. (I also feel as someone in recovery, my loved ones catch on in a second when I relapse as much as I try to hide it, Rue’s eyes are legit back of her head every scene lol).Cal and Cassie are so tragic and terrible and comedic. Love their stories this season.Also enjoyed Maddy’s line about not wasting time about how we should feel, it’s truly something I do too much of.
My read has been that Jules suspects what’s going on on a subconscious level but is in denial herself/afraid to call it out due to her own codependency/mental health issues. But yeah—I feel like since her mom supposedly also had addiction issues, she’d be overcorrecting by running a million miles away the first time something felt “off” as opposed to biting her lip and hoping for the best.
I was not expecting Cal to blow up his life so spectacularly. That was crazy, but at least it might lance the wound that is that family
A lot of the discussion of this show (not this review specifically, to be clear) don’t give it enough credit for how funny it is. The sequence with Cassie in the hot tub is a masterpiece of cringe comedy.
Cal standing in the foyer with his dick hanging out busted me up too.
I mean, casting Martha Kelly as a drug kingpin is comedy genius.
Yes! I also see her in my mind as Martha, Costco employee, from Baskets.
I binged through this show at the recommendation of friends and I just don’t really get it. It seems like a hyper-dramaticized drama that’s as unrealistic about high school as any other high school drama show is, but with nudity and graphic sex scenes…it’s basically gritty Degrassi. Every character is awful in their own way and no one seems to ever have actual fun in the show except maybe Rue when she’s high and making an ass of herself.What’s the appeal of this show that I’m missing?
the visuals, acting and aesthetic mainly. I don’t know, I keep returning! I do think teens are more aware in this current generation, but I also feel like the show runner doesn’t really understand this new generation either?
I think teens who enjoy Euphoria are not fully being represented by the showrunner. But one thing he’s absolutely nailing, whether he knows it or not, is a teenager’s desire to present themselves as the edgiest, most hardcore, most DGAF generation that’s ever existed. So even though Euphoria is outrageously over the top, it still speaks to their desire to be seen as outrageous.
Less gritty Degrassi and more second generation of Skins with a prestige budget.
Eh I don’t think it’s anywhere near as good as Skins was early in its run. Skins was just as dramatic but the teenagers felt like real kids going to school and their friendships also felt real. And it really didn’t have over-the-top shit happening every episode – Freddy’s fate excluded. This show lacks both of those things and I really wonder why they didn’t just set it in college.
I assume they set the show in high school because the stakes seem so much higher when people look at that period in their lives, despite the fact that we only spend 4 years there. People come and go in college and those 4 or 5 years are going to be very humbling for everyone. Even though Euphoria is set in a town called East Highland it’s obviously Los Angeles and so I’m left to wonder if high school kids there are really so nonchalant about sex and drug use. They don’t look/act like 16-17 year old kids I’ve ever known, but then I didn’t own my own car until I was 23 so…
The first generation of Skins is Great.The second generation has a lot of this is too much, why are they even friends, why are they a couple, everyone makes the most damaging decisions. Freddy’s death is barely the tip of the iceberg of fucked up if you count Third generation and the last episodes with Effy, Cassie, and Cook.
Part of it is that they collectively read more as teens, including the awkwardness that entails. I think the average age of this cast is around 24 now and they act every bit of it. It’s much closer to 90210 in this respect.
Yeah, he original Degrassi was actually fairly gritty. Kids got aids, killed themselves, did acid. And the finale/movie “School’s Out” to this day is still the ballsiest, no fucks given finales to a show (which was mostly aimed at teens) I’ve seen. By the end of the episode, the star of the show has cheated on his girlfriend, with another girl he gets pregnant (who later has an abortion), his friend drives drunk, kills a little girl, and is tried as an adult, while another character who was in the car ends up in the hospital, possibly to never walk again. It leaves the characters in such a fucked up state. All for a show that would have been on after school.
Even the next Generation is rough at times. Like it’s kinda clean and generally positive but like I’m the Next GenerationEmma is almost assaulted by a paedophile in the first episode.Manny has an abortion.JT is killed.Emma and Spinner get married cause they’re the last two left.Bianca is used as sex slave for an indeterminate amount of time.
Adam dies.They try and put Drew, Adams brother, and Becky, Adams ex, together. It’s wild. How much happens on a show aimed at tweens and early teens.
The F bomb that every gen Xer and Xenniall remembers perfectly… “you were f%*cking Tessa Campannelli?” A truly classic line that lives entirely rent free in my head.
The appeal is that it’s a particularly stylized melodrama that, in its own clumsy way, manages to evoke just how completely Not OK the kids these days are doing.At a certain point, either later this season or in the inevitable next season, the wheels will fall off and it’ll be an artsy Shondaland series. But it’s not quite there yet.
See I don’t think it accomplishes that because it makes the kids so wholly unrealistic that I can’t see them as represenatives for real people with real issues.
Look being a grumpy Gen Xer ,I’m not the demographic for this at all , so my opnion doesnt matter, but to me :Its a bunch of vapid whiny pricks being generally annoying , navel gazing , or being sad as all the drugs partying and sex makes them feel unfulfilled or something.(Ok I exaggerate , and I know some of you love seeing these kind of characters, but its..not for me)Its basically an Al Qaida recruitment video.Seriously , the kids in this are the kind of people that , if they’re not being shish kebabbed by Freddy or Jason in the first 20 minutes I’m turning it off. Thankfully real life teens aren’t very much like the characters.
It’s not realistic. It doesn’t completely accurately portray what it’s like to be 17 right now. Who cares? It’s stylish and audacious and funny and ridiculous and awesome. Why is “it’s not realistic” always the complaint? Reality sucks, I’m enjoying more and more shows that create their own alternate universes.
I’ll start by saying that if you enjoy the show, please don’t see my comment as an indictment of that. Everyone has different entertainment preferences, different senses of humor, etc, etc. All I am posting is my own opinion.With that said, you asked why the complaint is always “not realistic.” Not really sure what you mean by “always” as I personally do not always have this complaint about every show. But the reason I have it here is because the show seems to be aiming for realism. It takes place in high school, has characters with realistic issues, and has stories that it wants you to take seriously. I assume the inclusion of nudity and sex is meant to add to that realism.As for reality sucking, I guess that’s for everyone to decide for themselves but I don’t see the reality of this show as one I’d escape to. I don’t really find it funny at all (could be forgetting something but don’t remember any moment I laughed at) and as I mentioned before, all of the characters seem constantly miserable. High school wasn’t great but I remember plenty of fun moments interspersed with the shitty ones.Maybe it’s just not for me.
I saw someone on the Internet speculate that the type of high octane drug use/partying is more typical for Millennials like Levinson, which feels generally accurate. Although the gender/social media stuff makes it more Gen Z/late Millennial…
Someone in the previous episode’s comment section pointed out that the high-octane drug partying is pretty much exclusively a “Sam Levinson is a son of an extremely rich Hollywood director/executive and grew up in a drug-party-bubble that’s extremely unusual even by a young rich drug party person standards” thing.
that seems accurate, I also feel this is the first gen to grow up with drugs being less stigmatizing and makes them less likely to just shame binge their drug of choice. I think it changes their perspective and they seem a lot more knowledgable about how to safely consume drugs.
ehhh, having hung around Gen Zs and done a lot of drugs, I don’t think they drug particularly more or less than millennials. If you’re in the ‘drug crowd’, you’re in the ‘drug crowd’.
I wouldn’t necessarily get into the Gen Z/Millenial distinction regardless, though. This is a ‘’’Gen Z’’’ show written by an old fart who just happened to be privileged enough to be able to snort everything all day every day with seemingly very little need to be ‘functional’ about it. And probably didn’t hide his rampant substance abuse as much as he thought he did.
Actual Gen Zs still have school, parents, and social lives, plus hard drugs are a very expensive habit to have.
I’m so fascinated with the weird ways Euphoria does and doesn’t engage with class signifiers. Like, Rue, Fez, Cassie, and Lexi all live in homes that are notably old/out of date—but if you take the time to look up Lexi’s actual clothes (because she’s had some great sweaters this season), they’re some of the most expensive on the whole show.
The show (which I really enjoy) is weird because I feel like it vacillates between gritty “realism” and hyper-stylized pop-art. It’s compelling because both parts are really well done, though the tonal shifts can be disorienting. I don’t know if you watched the two special episodes they did between seasons (focusing on Rue and Jules, respectively) but those were the height of the “realistic” side of the show and probably the flat-out best writing so far. By contrast, this season is leaning more into the unreality, breaking the fourth wall and whatnot. It’s almost been enough to take me out of the story, but not quite.
And some of it is just really beautiful. Look at the final shot of Cassie from this episode, with the floral background – it’s intentionally like a painting come to life (and possibly a callback to the “Jules and Rue as famous art” montage from the beginning of the episode). The potential downside of the show is that Levinson seems like he hasn’t decided whether or not he’s going for “reality punctuated with surreal moments to evoke certain feelings” or “surreal fever dream with just enough reality to attach a narrative to drive the story.” But because he does both really well, this “problem” feels like more of a feature than a flaw. I’m not sure it’s sustainable, but I’m also not sure the show itself can endure indefinitely, so it might be able to reach an endpoint without having to resolve the tension. (sorry for the long post).
what I find strange is that it doesn’t sound like the teenagers who watch it choose to watch it with their friends; some of the stuff they cover is just too awkward to watch even with a s.o. They’ll discuss it and recap it with their friends but gloss over the awkward parts.
it looks good, the actors are great, its fun, whats not to get?
I don’t get what is fun about it, as I said in my OP. Even when the kids are partying or hooking up, they seem to be having a terrible time. Maybe some people find the Rue stuff funny or fun but I find it mostly sad given she has a serious drug addiction issue that already put her in a coma once.I do get the show’s aesthetic / style appeal. It’s the substance behind that which I don’t see.
It doesnt HAVE to have any substance. Sometimes just being eye candy is ok. Im having fun watching it, i really dont care if THEYRE not having fun.
Maybe you’re misunderstanding my post (as others seem to be). I’m not criticizing you for liking the show (I never criticize anyone for having their own preferences for entertainment), I’m trying to understand what specifically you like about it is all. Saying it’s fun doesn’t really help me understand that.
so much..this!! I am wondering what is the appeal? And yet, of course, I keep..watching!! Teenagers dressing like OnlyFans content providers, and what is with the actors/actresses always having a gleaming shiny, greasy face?
I will sometimes read the AV Club’s episode reviews of shows I know nothing about to see if they pique any interest. I couldn’t even make it through more than two paragraphs of this review. It just seems like an utterly joyous series of “This person said this, then another person did this because of what the other said, which caused a third person to also say and do something.” I mean, I didn’t mind high school, but it sounds like this show distills all the absolute worst aspects of that time period… along with rampant drug abuse that would have been unfamilar to most of my peers at that age and time.
I didn’t get it at first either. I was too stuck in the “wtf what kids live like this?” About halfway through s1 it kinda clicked.This show is part tongue-in-cheek dramady – there are some remarkably lol moments if you take none of it seriously – and part analysis of addiction and grief. The flashiness, the soundtrack, and the over the top party scenes are just backdrop for what’s really going on. Once it clicked for me I thought it was brilliant.
i hope we see more of cal and he didnt just peace out of the show. i lowkey thought it was him at fez’s door looking for a place to crash, kinda of a running joke how fez keeps collecting stray people.
Cal’s story is just so freaking sad. Heartbreaking.
But the continuation of the Kat and Ethan storyline being the reason for Kat’s sadness and this conversation was anti-climatic. The Kat and Ethan storyline has been drawn out for too long.sam levinson hates barbieAfter returning home, he drunkenly urinates on the floor before awakening his sons and wife. He tells them about his sexual history with men, blames them for stunting his emotional maturity and abandons them.even though i’m not here for cal’s redemption arc, this whole scene was damn entertaining. i don’t want more of him. he already had enough screen time when there’s only 8 episodes. that screen time could’ve been for other characters. him walking out on his family is hopefully the last time we see him. we didn’t need his completely predictable backstory. i’m keeping my expectations low assuming there’s a nate redemption arc coming and i hate it already.
the brokeback mountain scene was “amazing…”sydney sweeney is acting her heart out this season.
Nate is already looking sympathetic, after seeing the shit hes gotta deal with with cassie and maddie, and his shitty father, and that viscious beat down.
I know its a generational thing , but to me it looks like ‘cay’ there had a stroke at the end of the first tweet.
Rue, Jules, and Elliot decide to steal beer from a local convenience storeI beg your pardon. They steal White Claw hard seltzer, which is extremely on-brand for high school drinking.And given all the other drugs Rue consumes immediately afterwards, it’s damn lucky the ABV isn’t any higher.
What cracked me up is Ethan suggests they steal liquor, then later tells Jules to steal beer, and they end up with White Claw. To these kids, they’re one and the same.
I had to google that. seems disgusting.
I was tricked into drinking a different, supposedly better hard seltzer because Founders made it, and your instincts are right—they are absolutely disgusting.I did try one from a local brewery (thought it was cider) that ended up being tolerable.
Oh yeah, the one with the chick who can’t act because she gets naked, right on!
Theres few Kat scenes because noone gives a fuck about Kat. She’s not needed, Shes just annoying. I feel like they felt like they had to throw her in, because they needed somebody who isnt hot.
She’s pretty hot.
objectively, no, she is not. If shes your type i guess she is-but for most people, no.
So subjectively, then, not objectively at all.
Are we supposed to feel sorry for Cal, now? Its kind of shitty that at the end he blamed his whole family for his life. I guess this is supposed to be the “better” , “enlightened”, “free” version of him, but he still takes zero responsibility for anything.
What’s signaling that we’re meant to find Cal better or enlightened? From where I sit he’s just more entertaining now, still a monster.
i could be wrong, but thats the impression i got. Like they were trying to say that the reason he was fucked up was from being in the closet, and now that hes accepted that, he’s free. But it IS Euphoria, i suppose next week he could just go back to being a villain. This ep really felt like we were supposed to feel for him, or understand him.
I think what he did to his family in this episode was pretty unspeakably villainous, though. And even the poor guy dancing with him at the bar!
He’s still a monster, but you can feel sorry for or even identify with a monster. Euphoria is an amoral show and I wouldn’t call anyone a hero or villain though obviously some characters are more outwardly terrible than others.
Y’all know not one singular teenager is watching this right? Moreso, adult..men..
I’m just curious, I can’t remember it being adressed, but who was the third kid in the Jacobs family portrait that Cal took off the wall?
They haven’t addressed the third brother, but the family photo has been spotted a few times through season one. There’s a few theories. More than likely one of their sons passed, or he simply doesn’t live at home anymore if he’s the eldest. There’s a crazy theory that it’s Ash Tray which makes zero sense, but some fans work so hard to try and make it work as a storyline that it’s actually worth a read if you need a laugh.
Thank you!!
Maddy is going to eventually take Nate back again and again and forever, isn’t she? I was so excited when she turned her hair trigger temper on him for a minor slight but I know it won’t last.
Cal’s story has, as with most things on this show, gone a bit over the top. The backstory from last week really hit personally for me but they had to dial it up with a too much of every instance of acting out (drinking/driving, bar, foyer). Treating this a bit more tenderly and focusing on loneliness and pain wouldn’t have made him any less of a current-day monster. Also, I must have completely missed that Nate had a brother.
I continue to admire Hunter Schafer for how Jules is played. The very little details like her adjusting herself after a make out make it feel so authentic. She has taken the trailblazing of Laverne Cox and a few transgender actors and made intimate details of her gender identity and sexuality so real for viewers, and I assume teens, in many small ways like this.
Jules is also the only one that feels like a teenager. She nails that in between time when you still have some childlike mannerisms and adult ones.I feel without her the show would feel very disconnected to the generation it is speaking on, which might be intentional idk.
Irrational fears are the basis of today’s youth existence. Drugs will do that though.
I feel like since season 2 the show has really upped its game. or is it an impression? I absolutely loved the two special episodes; and it’s still the height of the show to me; but these few episodes still feel better than season 1. Also it’s maybe better when it focuses on the two main characters; Rue and Jules. (also; reading the review; the church scene was clearly in Rue’s mind; but I’m not sure that’s what the reviewer means). Somebody here said that it better portrays queer relationships than drug use; and I think they might be onto something.
I know when I was Jules’ age, I had no idea how to orally please a woman.
so, we’re just doing boring plot recaps now? zero analysis? nothing beyond a surface-level retelling of every single scene? [yawn] these are supposed to be reviews, not recaps.