Last Sunday’s episode of Euphoria was one of the best to date. Zendaya completely ate Rue’s character up and served a fantastic performance. Let’s talk about some of the most memorable from the show, and most importantly, this award-worthy acting.
Opening Scene
This week, Zendaya gives yet another stellar performance. Which gives lets us know just why she won an Emmy in the first place. Since the beginning of Euphoria, Rue’s character has been battling drug abuse. She has faced many obstacles when it comes to getting sober and trying to stay that way. This episode shows just how difficult it is for Rue to stay clean. The beginning of the episode begins with Rue battling her mother and sister after being accused of using opiates again. She has another explosive fight with her mother and begins tearing the house apart looking for the pills.
Then, she finds out that Jules and Elliotte are the reason that her mother found out about the pills that she had begun using after she got them from Laurie in episode 3. This leads her into a rant where she breaks up with Jules and completely cuts off ties with her. From here, the plot thickens…
This scene served some of the most emotional acting from Zendaya, Storm Reid (Gia Bennett), and Nika King (Leslie Bennett). Zendaya’s portrayal of Rue was so authentic and it even had me CRYING. The strained relationship between the Bennet family is one that can be seen on screen, and felt off-screen! This right here is some award-winning acting if I do say so myself (wink to the Emmys…).
Cassie and Maddy
In this scene, Zendaya ends up at Cassie and Lexi’s home, where she is followed by her mother. There, Leslie, Rue’s mom tries to come to get her daughter. However, it completely goes left when Rue poses the question, “Cassie, how long have you been f*cking Nate Jacobs?” Then we already know what goes down, everything goes completely left. Maddie chases cassie, and Rue goes on the run again.
This scene sets up how the rest of the series will go involving the love triangle between Cassie, Maddy, and Nate. It was quite hilarious to see Cassie break into tears and be completely delusional when her best friend Maddy began asking her if she actually slept with Nate. This Sunday’s episode is going to be absolute hell. This leads me to the questions, is Maddy gonna release Cal’s sex tape, is Maddy going to beat the breaks off of Cassie, and how will Nate respond?
Rue and Fez
At this point, you could really begin to tell that Rue was spiraling because of her interaction with Fez in this episode. Rue is someone Fez considers a sister and typically tries to protect her. However, when rue attempted to steal pills from Fez’s grandmother’s room, this put him between a rock and hard place. This scene was one of the hardest to watch solely because of the relationship between Rue and Fez. At this point, Rue began bulldozing anyone and anything in her path at the hands of her addiction. It will be interesting to see how this pans out.
Rue on the Run
After leaving Fez’s house, Rue finds herself breaking into a couple’s home and stealing from them. One of my favorite parts of this scene is when Rue breaks the fourth wall and gives the camera a snide look. From this moment, all hell breaks loose. Rue, later on, has an interaction with the police. Then, she finds herself on a police chase. Each scene has taken an absolute turn, and Rue really begins to spiral more and more each time.
Laurie
In one of the last scenes, Rue ends up at Laurie’s house. Here she tries to pay Laurie back with money and jewelry she stole. However, Laurie is not going for that. She has a long conversation with her which eventually ends in Laurie injecting Rue with morphine. This scene was one of the hardest to watch because I thought we were really going to lose our girl. It was clear that Rue had completely hit rock bottom. Later on, Rue wakes up in Laurie’s house and has to figure out a way to escape. This was another moment that terrified me because I thought she’d never get out! Luckily enough, she did, and now what’s left to see if it was her who walked through the door to see her mother at the end.
Last week’s episode of Euphoria was an explosive one and definitely has viewers on their toes! Now we have to wait and see where Rue ends up. OH, and to see uif Cassie Kills Maddy and Nate! Until next time folks!
If you or someone you know is battling with substance abuse, please seek help with the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.