HBO's Euphoria

[Lip]

Also, can we talk about Storm Reid too? She doesn't show up much, but every time she does, she's kind of a stand out. She's a great actress. I hope to see more of Gia.

 

[KaijuDude1992]

If you take A Wrinkle in Time out of the equation Storm Reid has always put in some really solid performances whether its Euphoria, When They See Us, The Invisible Man or The Suicide Squad.

I thought she has been great in this show since Season 1, but jesus this episode was on a whole other level as far as what masterclass acting looks like with everyone pretty much holding their own.

The ending was a bit of a copout, but the opening of this episode was strong enough that it honestly didn't bother me that much and I pretty much died once again at Rue outing Cassie in front of everybody lol.

This show balances humor and serious moments so damn well IMO.

 

[Primal Slayer]

It was a good episode though I question that the cops would really put THAT much effort into Rue when all she did was throw up in front of them.

 

[Lip]

I'm still thinking about this episode. That first 15 minutes was insane.

There was at least 2 moments that made me jump out of the couch: when we hear Jules' voice saying they flushed the pills, which made me think 1) Rue is ****ed. And 2) Damn, Jules was hearing everything. That was so embarrassing.

The other one was when she outed Cassie. And to be honest, as obvious as it was that Maddy would be so mad, I thought she would actually be heartbroken to see this coming from Cassie.

Anyway, I love Maddy. I want to see what will happen now.

 

[antsman41]

It was a good episode though I question that the cops would really put THAT much effort into Rue when all she did was throw up in front of them.

Racism.

 

[The Shape]

Having personally known several people who have succumbed to drug addiction and overdose/died, these past two episode have been frightening and intense.

 

[Lip]

I heard it was a particularly difficult episode for people who has struggled with drug addiction (or know someone who has). And I get it if it's triggering. It was really hard to watch.

 

[The Shape]

I heard it was a particularly difficult episode for people who has struggled with drug addiction (or know someone who has). And I get it if it's triggering. It was really hard to watch.

It's also a very accurate depiction.

 

[Lip]

Thought this was funny

 

[green]

Thought this was funny

It is but I'd take it down, I don't believe that word is allowed of on the forums.


Lexi was basically me this entire episode. Her play is getting such good material lol.
also I have to say, yes Zendaya and Storm are doing some great acting but Sydney and her complete breakdown has been a personal favorite of mine, she's knocking it out of the park.

 

[Lip]

It is but I'd take it down, I don't believe that word is allowed of on the forums.

View attachment 53078
Lexi was basically me this entire episode. Her play is getting such good material lol.
also I have to say, yes Zendaya and Storm are doing some great acting but Sydney and her complete breakdown has been a personal favorite of mine, she's knocking it out of the park.

I've also been super surprised by her. I didn't pay too much attention to her in S01, except the episode focused on her character, which was very touching. But this season she is killing it.

I hope they give Reid a material as good as the one they're giving Sweeney.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah Reid is incredibly talented but I hope they give her more to do than cry while Rue freaks out. I feel they are kinda wasting her, tbh.

 

[Lip]

Yeah Reid is incredibly talented but I hope they give her more to do than cry while Rue freaks out. I feel they are kinda wasting her, tbh.

I feel exactly the same.

Gia is actually one of the characters I want to see a flashback. Gia, Ali and Elliot are in the top of that list. Lexi never had one, but I feel we got a lot of her context through Cassie and Rue. I'd like to also know more about Rue's mother and Ethan, who isn't appearing much (sadly as Kat).

But one thing I like about this is that, although every episode of S01 got a flashback, now in S02 they don't feel the need to shove one flashback every episode. They only do it when they have to.

I like that they made this decision, unlike other shows like Lost or OITNB that, in some cases, made us question the importance of certain flashbacks.

 

[Deck Rickard]

I feel exactly the same.

Gia is actually one of the characters I want to see a flashback. Gia, Ali and Elliot are in the top of that list. Lexi never had one, but I feel we got a lot of her context through Cassie and Rue. I'd like to also know more about Rue's mother and Ethan, who isn't appearing much (sadly as Kat).

But one thing I like about this is that, although every episode of S01 got a flashback, now in S02 they don't feel the need to shove one flashback every episode. They only do it when they have to.

I like that they made this decision, unlike other shows like Lost or OITNB that, in some cases, made us question the importance of certain flashbacks.

Yeah I totally agree. The flashbacks are interesting but I’m glad they aren’t doing them in every episode because like you said, it started to get really tedious on Lost. Eventually (on Lost) you started to feel like they were just being used to drag the story out and keep it from moving forward.

The lack of Kat and Ethan is starting to get frustrating though. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt early on because the show was introducing some new characters and delving deeper into others. But Kat was a major player in season 1 and aside from her Khal Drogo scene, she’s been a side character at best so far. Ethan’s barely appeared at all. I hope the rumors of Barbie Ferreira having a falling out with the show runner aren’t true but I’m beginning to wonder if they are.

Then again, there are also rumors that Nate and Jules had a falling out in real life and so the show was rescripted so that they don’t appear at all together. While that could be true, the same rumor also suggests that the Cassie/Nate storyline was actually supposed to be between Jules and Nate. I have trouble believing that, given the way that things ended between those characters last season. I tend to think Cassie has been featured more this season because Sydney Sweeney’s career kind of blew up in between seasons and the show understandably wants to capitalize on that (and perhaps her agent negotiated more screen time).

 

[Lip]

Yeah I totally agree. The flashbacks are interesting but I’m glad they aren’t doing them in every episode because like you said, it started to get really tedious on Lost. Eventually (on Lost) you started to feel like they were just being used to drag the story out and keep it from moving forward.

The lack of Kat and Ethan is starting to get frustrating though. I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt early on because the show was introducing some new characters and delving deeper into others. But Kat was a major player in season 1 and aside from her Khal Drogo scene, she’s been a side character at best so far. Ethan’s barely appeared at all. I hope the rumors of Barbie Ferreira having a falling out with the show runner aren’t true but I’m beginning to wonder if they are.

Then again, there are also rumors that Nate and Jules had a falling out in real life and so the show was rescripted so that they don’t appear at all together. While that could be true, the same rumor also suggests that the Cassie/Nate storyline was actually supposed to be between Jules and Nate. I have trouble believing that, given the way that things ended between those characters last season. I tend to think Cassie has been featured more this season because Sydney Sweeney’s career kind of blew up in between seasons and the show understandably wants to capitalize on that (and perhaps her agent negotiated more screen time).

I've heard those things and genuinely hope it's not true. I don't want them making creative decisions based on beefs between the cast and writers. The decisions have worked so far for S02, but that's not a good path to follow (assuming it's coming from beefs).

And yeah, the lack of Kat has been frustrating me too. I love her. And her "love yourself" scene this year was one of my favorites of the show.

And I want to believe they're giving Cassie this arc because they paid attention to Sweeney and understood what kind of material she's good at.

I actually love when shows do that. When they pay attention to the actors and write arcs to play with the actors' strenghts. I hope they do the same for different characters too.

 

[Lip]

I'm also giving a little the benefit of the doubt because I feel Maddy isn't showing up as much this season either. I mean, she appeared more than Kat, and she'll most definitely appear more after the last episode, but so far I feel she wasn't much of a big player.

 

[antsman41]

Holy ****, Nate... psycho.

The Rue/Ali stuff was cute.

The Fez/Lexi - Stand By Me stuff was even more cute... I love them.

Didn't really feel out those rumors about Kat's arc until this episode. Woah, the diner breakup was the worst scene ever in this show - easily.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah that breakup scene felt like pure character assassination for Kat. It’s like they want you to hate her, from her talking at length on the phone at the beginning of the date to her faking a terminal illness to her trying to manipulate Ethan into feeling like the bad guy. Just awful. I’m guessing Kat won’t be back in season 3.

As for the rest of the episode though… lots of good stuff there. Nate is a psycho for sure but it’s easy to see where he gets it from. Obviously Cal’s toxic masculine bull**** screwed him up but this episode also gave us some insight into his mother. That whole conversation they had was disturbing, from the way she brushed off his abuse of Maddie to the way she kept needling him over his anger like she wanted to set him off. Her reference to the way he changed (or “darkened”) has me wondering if something truly horrible happened to Nate as a child. Perhaps that was when he discovered his dad’s creepy home movie collection but I also wonder if something else happened to him that ****ed him up further.

His interaction with Jules was interesting too. I think he truly does have feelings for her beyond obvious lust and he regrets what he did to her. But I hope that doesn’t lead to the two of them hooking up at some point because I feel like Nate is irredeemable, especially after what he did to Maddie in this episode. ****.

Also, I loved Lexi’s and her mom’s reactions to Cassie’s self-absorbed meltdown.

Lastly, Ali felt like an audience surrogate in this episode for all of us who have been saying, “We want to see Gia do more than stand in hallways and cry.” Storm Reid still didn’t get a whole lot of screen time but at least they tapped into some of that anger and resentment that comes from being a sibling to someone struggling with addiction.

 

[Lip]

That breakup scene was. Absolutely. Terrible. And I'm not just talking about character assassination. It just didn't feel believable at all. If Barbie fought because of that scene, I totally get her.

Also, I don't really get why Kat is fully against Cassie, like Nate has no part in this. It doesn't feel in character either.

Levison is doing Kat dirty and it's lame.

Regarding Nate, I can only say I hate this character in a way I can't even express. But I'm happy they brought back that arc with Jules, which seemed to be forgotten.

And I'm a little disappointed with the outcome of Maddie finding out. I thought there would be at least some flashbacks of that night with Rue.

Last but not least, yes, I'm happy we got to see a different side of Gia.

I've been seeing a lot of theories that Rue is going to die this season. And I already had this feeling before, not from the story, but from how big of star Zendaya has become, and I figured she would move on. And after episode 5 I was certain.

If that happens, I feel Gia is a good candidate to step in as one of the leads. From her father to her sister, all the traumas, pain and anger she has... there's so much to unfold there.

 

[Sawyer]

Started binge-watching after some of the standout S2 moments caught my attention on Twitter. Seeing all the **** Nate pulled throughout the first season is going to make it so much more satisfying to watch the beating I know he’s going to receive in the second season premiere.

 

[Sawyer]

Also Alanna Ubach is low-key this show’s MVP. I cackle every time she comes on screen.

 

[green]

My thoughts on this episode are mostly aligned with y'all.
Loved the Fez/Lexi stuff, though I know it ain't gonna turn out well.
Nate did everything he needed to make sure all of the girls stayed quiet, he gave Jules the video and said what he said to get her to think he was an ok guy, he scared the hell out of Maddy into keeping her mouth shut and brought Cassie home to keep her in control ...was really surprised nothing about the third kid came up with his mom????
Cassies mom "That girls needs a f'n exorcism"
Since I'm on moms, that last scene with Rues mom on the phone was heartbreaking.

Now, I'm not as offended by what is going on with Cat as some of you. The "Love Yourself" scene was one of the best in this season so far, it hit hard and in a good way for viewers IMO. She, like some of the other characters, is in a self destruct mode, it happens and ruining her relationship is part of that. As to her sudden Cassie dissing, I think she wants to be Maddy, down to the way she was dressed this episode.
The real crime this season to me is that Jules has become Rues supporting character. Seriously I feel Cat has had a better storyline than Jules, at least Cats story has moved forward.

Oh and I don't think Jules will die, especially with season 3 being announced already, HBO knows she's the draw and she's an executive producer...Zendaya aint leaving this show while she's still getting Emmys people!

 

[Lip]

Kat's Love Yourself scene was one of the best in the whole show, but everything else dropped in quality and doesn't feel in character for her.

I hope they don't treat her like McKay next season.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Yeah McKay’s absence is even worse than Kat’s. They basically just dropped him as a character aside from one episode where he did nothing. Really disappointing; that guy is a great actor. He was amazing in Detroit. Shame they couldn’t be bothered to give him anything this season. I know it might be hard incorporating him into the story at times since he’s supposed to be in college but they made it work in season 1.

 

[Lip]

I have to be honest and admit I wasn't fully invested in McKay, and I rarely miss him. But he was unceremoniously dropped this season.


Edit: is E!Online a good source? I see they brought up the supposed feud between Barbie and Sam in their review.