Stars: 4/5
It’s been almost two months since “Euphoria: Trouble Don’t Last Always,” the first of two special episodes for the show, was unleashed upon audiences across HBO’s streaming platform. The episode followed a relapsed Rue Bennett (Zendaya) conversing with her NA sponsor, Ali (Coleman Domingo), during Christmas Eve. Equally breathtaking and unconventional, it was unlike any other episode in the show as it took place within one single location and was unafraid to get down and dirty with the show’s darling central character. The episode’s successor, however, is a much different, if not more emotionally compelling story.
Released last Friday night via HBO Max, “Euphoria: F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob” begins with a close-up of a distressed Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schaefer) as an unseen woman’s voice asks her, “Where do you want to start?” Visibly uncomfortable by the question, she hesitates to answer and responds with an “I don’t know.” The woman restates her question: “Why’d you run away?” She doesn’t answer.
Instead, we match cut to an illuminated eye. We then bear witness to a ‘greatest hits’ recap of her and Rue’s relationship told quite literally through Jules’ eyes as Lorde’s “Liability” hauntingly plays in the background, underlining the raw emotion within the scene. The scene lasts for the entire runtime of the song, where every powerful lyric is felt as the light shining on Jules’ iris as well as the show’s title fades into nothingness. The poetry of the scene is unparalleled, so to me if there was any one way to bring “Euphoria” back to its cinematically dazzling roots, this would be it.
Set during a counseling session with her therapist Dr. Mandy Nichols (Lauren Weedman), Jules has just recently returned back to the East Highland area where she discusses the events that transpired in season one and how they personally affected her. By doing this, the episode jumps back and forth between the present and past where light is finally shed on the reasoning behind the choices made in the first season, namely her relationship with Rue and the blackmail she receives from Nate Jacobs/Tyler (Jacob Elordi). This allows for the audience to truly see everything in perspective which makes the already complex relationships of the characters even more so. Aided by Jules’ pure-hearted narration, the clarity provided offers nuanced, if not heartbreaking, insight into the past, present and future.
The episode, co-written and produced by Schaefer, marks a true showcase for her, Jules and the entire transgender community. There is a major outpour of love coming from the trans community online that deems this special episode a truly relatable, landmark hour of primetime television. Her portrayal of the life of a transgender woman is earnest and entirely authentic which paints her a flawed individual that doesn’t want to be a transgender woman, but rather herself. It’s absolutely beautiful to behold.
However, I personally don’t feel like the entire episode contains all of the profound emotional potency of “Trouble Don’t Last Always.” This isn’t to say the episode is not moving, because it is. I just find myself more partial to Rue, yet nearly everything about the episode heightened my love for the show, and Jules as a character tenfold.
Now, with season two on the far horizon, it’s impossible for me to imagine “Euphoria” without these two special episodes with both of them perfectly bridging the gap between the premiere and sophomore seasons. They bounce off each other perfectly too with “Euphoria: F*ck Anyone Who’s Not a Sea Blob” serving as the definitive antithesis to “Trouble Don’t Last Always.” So, by allowing Jules’ reliability as a narrator to juxtapose Rue’s unreliability, the former is finally given a chance to tell her story candidly without it being construed by the other’s viewpoints as it typically was depicted in the first season. In short, it’s an episode that is subpar to its predecessor, but remains just as beautiful as the ocean.