Warning: This article contains spoilers for ‘Euphoria’ Season 2, Episode 5.
Today I’m skipping an introduction because honestly, I’m at a loss for words. What did I just watch?
I’m pretty sure “Euphoria” fans, including myself, are bawling their eyes out right about now.
And no, it’s not because a beloved character dies, thankfully. I don’t think director, writer and executive producer, Sam Levinson, would do that to us. At least, not yet.
It’s because we just witnessed Rue (Zendaya) practically spiral out of control in the darkest way possible.
I can honestly speak for everyone when I say we are greeted with the best opening scene in “Euphoria” history.
Rue’s mother Leslie (Nika King) and sister Gia (Storm Reid) confront Rue about her drug addiction, which leads Rue to believing Gia ratted her out.
Gia (Storm Reid) watches her sister, Rue, turn into a madwoman.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max
But little does she know the real culprit is her girlfriend Jules (Hunter Schafer). Who gave her the confidence to walk up into Rue’s house and rat her out? I mean, obviously we are grateful she’s trying to save Rue’s life, but we can’t forget the fact that she slept with Elliot (Dominic Fike).
Pick a side, Jules.
Elliot (Dominic Fike) sits on the couch as he watches Rue scream in Jules’ face.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max
Now conscious of the fact that her mother knows she relapsed, Rue’s mind is only focused on one thing: the black suitcase. In an attempt to find her suitcase, Rue goes on a rampage, tearing up the house, yelling hurtful statements and obscenities, breaking doors and so many other things that would take a while to even explain.
I always knew Zendaya was worthy of an Emmy, but this scene truly validated that. As a seasoned actress, she knows how to regulate the peaks and valleys of emotions, and that’s what truly makes us empathize with her character, Rue.
At this point though, I think it’s time for her to win an Oscar.
Getting back to the black suitcase situation, Rue eventually calms down or should I say, takes a break from her rampage for about two seconds before she starts it all over again. She asks her mother one last time where her suitcase is, and out of nowhere we hear Jules say, “We flushed it down the toilet.”
Mic drop. Honestly, this is basically a family intervention gone wrong.
Jules (Hunter Schafer) sits in Rue’s (Zendaya) kitchen, crying as Rue disowns her.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max
Jules has been in the kitchen the entire time along with Elliot. Without prolonging it, Rue essentially disowns both of them, and she finally agrees to let her mother and Gia take her to the hospital.
This agreement didn’t last long.
Rue spends the rest of the day running while going through a withdrawal that’s extremely uncomfortable to watch.
Leslie (Nika King), Rue’s mother, sits down feeling helpless as she watches Rue tear the house apart.
Photo courtesy of HBO Max
Viewers see her stop by her go-to drug dealer Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) house in an attempt to get some pills. With that being unsuccessful, she tries Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) house. You can probably guess how that went.
She’s so desperate and hungry for drugs and money that she eventually takes it up a notch and enters a random house after seeing the owners leave.
It’s so chaotic and thrilling yet so painful to watch an addiction destroy a young teen and the people around her. I think we all feel so helpless just sitting behind a screen; that speaks for itself.
After barely escaping that random house, Rue gets caught in the street by police, but she made it known avoiding jail was not above drugs on her priority list. From pool parties to birthday parties, she essentially crashed every type of party just trying to escape the police.
What started as a soap opera quickly turned into a foot chase like “The Fast and The Furious.”
This episode was action-packed, which gave us something different than we’re used to seeing. With “Euphoria” being such a visual show, the camera blocking of the foot chase scenes was quite divine. Not to mention, even the camera movements are different this episode, which definitely paid off as we felt like we were running right next to Rue.
One thing is for sure, this episode doesn’t shy away from how ugly the life of a drug addict can be. Who knows if Rue will be alive or dead? Stay tuned.
