Euphoria Recap: That Was Awkward

]

Euphoria Out of Touch Season 2 Episode 2 Editor’s Rating 3 stars * * * « Previous Next Photo: Eddy Chen/HBO

Up until now, Euphoria has stayed faithful to its structure, beginning with a cold open that establishes why each major character is, to put it lightly, such a mess. “Out of Touch” marks the first departure from the formula, but to the dismay of probably everyone, including me, the focus is back on Nate. The episode picks up right where we left off, on Nate’s bloody face after a brutal pummeling from Fez. He’s quickly taken to the hospital, the sound of a stretcher wheeling across the floor accompanied by a pair of clicking heels on either side. Nate is torn between his new, undeveloped relationship with Cassie — supposedly “in love,” he fantasizes about a white-picket-fence future with her — and Maddy, who just can’t escape from him.

This is when Euphoria’s maximalist style actually comes in handy for telegraphing Nate’s overabundant stress. Jacob Elordi has so far been required to exhibit the emotional range of a race car, so in his place, past, present, sex, rage, and fear are entangled in a cacophonous montage. It culminates in a baby wailing over his blissed-out smile, suggesting birth and (near) death going hand in hand. Or rebirth. Or something similar that looks profound on paper. It’s not like this will mean anything anyway. Despite the consequences of his actions literally smacking him in the face, he reverts back to his manipulative ways before his wounds have even healed. When Cal asks why Fez beat him up, Nate fabricates a lie about him, Rue, Jules to keep his father in the dark about his own involvement. Only now, Cal knows that his son is aware of the missing disk.

Cassie’s allure is explained in Rue’s perennial voiceover. “With Maddy, it was always a game,” she says. “Cassie was the opposite.” But it is all still a game to Nate. His ex-girlfriend is a fierce opponent, while Cassie is a pliable target. He constantly dangles the threat of Maddy finding out, sending Cassie into such a guilt-ridden spiral that she forgets to clean Nate’s blood from her legs, like an untouched crime scene. But the only thing that can take her mind off of Maddy is sneaking out to see Nate — she’s stuck in a neverending ouroboros of lust and loathing. He lies and manipulates her with such ease. “You don’t know how much power you have,” he reassures her, but the imbalance will always be in his favor.

As for Rue and Jules, I’m really unsure of where they stand right now. Not that long ago, the latter was confessing that she was in love with another girl. Now, the two are happy(ish) and officially dating. The only problem is Elliot. Since Rue’s death scare at New Year’s, she’s been taking drugs with him regularly, and an uncomfortable introduction with Jules leaves her jealous and heartbroken. The dramatic turnaround in how Rue and Jules feel about each other is abrupt, but their inability to address the train station goes in tandem with Rue’s secrecy, perhaps fueled by her resentment for what Jules did. So in Rue’s ignorance, she keeps hanging out with Elliot, and their mellow dynamic stands in such contrast to the charged connection between her and Jules. In his bedroom, she opens up to him about her dad’s death, but he won’t entertain the idea that her grief is inextricably tied with her addiction. (“I feel like everyone’s looking for a cause and effect,” he says. “Sometimes shit just is what it is.”) He’s her enabler, essentially. And though they’re both mildly aware that this strange little friendship they have isn’t healthy, they’re just in too deep to put a stop to it. “I just feel like we might not bring out the best in each other,” Elliot tells Rue. “I feel like I’m okay with that,” she concedes. At first, I was cautious of a potential love triangle with Elliot, but perhaps he’s just the catalyst needed to expose Jules and Rue’s rocky foundations.

Then there’s Kat, whose relationship is enviably perfect in the eyes of everyone except her — she just can’t understand why she isn’t head over heels for Ethan. Her confusion manifests in two dream sequences, the first involving a Dothraki-esque warrior violently murdering Ethan in one of the absolute worst cases of Euphoria’s obsession with excess. Sure, the show’s dalliances with fantasy do well to communicate the melodramatic, life or death stakes of being a teenager. Still, I also just think something like Sydney Sweeney’s evocative (and heavily memed) performance in the last episode resonates more than Kat having sex over her boyfriend’s rotting corpse.

The real problem, she decides, is herself. The Kat she was last year — the one who said that “there’s nothing more powerful than a fat girl who doesn’t give a fuck” — was only an act to hide the real girl who hates herself. Wallowing in her bedroom, she’s ambushed by an army of influencers hurling empty affirmations like, “every day you get out of bed is an act of courage.” Kat isn’t suffering in isolation but with access to the pernicious internet-famous preaching self-love. (Barbie Ferreira has criticized positive body activism, saying that what makes her “feel more empowered is quietly doing it.”) This season, Kat’s arc will likely be more complicated than simply learning to love herself and Ethan, but consider this: Does he actually have anything going for him? I adore him as much as the next Euphoria stan, but the only effusive adjectives Kat can muster for her pros and cons list are “cute,” “handsome,” and “funny.” Kat … this is the bare minimum for men!!!

After teasing us with a bigger role for Lexi last episode, “Out of Touch” follows through on that promise with her backstory. Reaffirming that she is the most well-adjusted character here, her major worry is lacking main character energy. She’s shy and quiet, willing to stand in the background while her sister steals the spotlight, but her passivity, in her mind, has also made her complicit in her father and Rue’s addictions. (Sam Levinson loves the word “passive” so much he wrote it twice into her segment.) So after Cassie rats out Fez, Lexi decides to finally take some agency by visiting him at the store — but when Cal waltzes in to intimidate the man who attacked Nate, she steps back to the sidelines once again. Baby steps. Things have moved slowly in “Out of Touch,” but for Lexi, the story is only just getting started.

Another Round

• It’s great to see Colman Domingo’s Ali return. Despite the charismatic, nonchalant air he emanates, his struggle to hide the truth about Rue from her mother is always present.

• It’s rare for any pairing (platonic, romantic, or familial) in this show to be uncomplicated, so the brief conversations between Jules and Maddy were a welcome change. For a minute, these teenagers are just teenagers supporting each other, as Jules tries to steer her friend away from Nate: “I wish you could see yourself the way the rest of the world does.”

• Speaking of, what a relief to see that the most scandalous thing Maddy is up to right now is a surreptitious fashion show at her babysitting gig. I’m assuming Faye made a more significant offense than pushing a motel manager off a balcony if the entire police force is looking for her.

• If you haven’t seen Labrinth play his transcendental score to his child … you’re welcome.

‘Euphoria’ co-stars Hunter Schafer and Dominic Fike spark dating rumors

]

Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Are Jules and Elliot dating IRL?

“Euphoria” co-stars Hunter Schafer and Dominic Fike sparked romance rumors Sunday night with a cozy outing in West Hollywood.

Schafer, 23, and Fike, 26, were photographed holding hands after having dinner together at the celeb-beloved restaurant The Nice Guy.

Fike wore a black and tan striped sweater with dark pants, while Schafer stepped out in a black jacket, a gray hoodie, a patterned skirt and a red face mask.

An eyewitness claimed to the celebrity gossip Instagram account Deuxmoi that Schafer and Fike were “kissing” and “dancing” inside the hotspot, where they were joined by castmates including Jacob Elordi and Alexa Demie.

Reps for Schafer and Fike did not immediately respond to Page Six’s requests for comment.

Schafer and Fike’s characters are in a love triangle on the HBO show. BACKGRID

The dinner took place as the second episode of “Euphoria” Season 2 aired on the East Coast, teasing an increasingly complicated love triangle between Schafer and Fike’s characters and Zendaya’s Rue.

Rue met Elliot at a house party in last week’s headline-making premiere after reigniting her relationship with Jules. Rue and Elliot continued hanging out — and doing drugs together — in this Sunday’s episode, which led a suspicious Jules to accuse her girlfriend of having a crush on Elliot.

Schafer and Fike posed for photos together at the “Euphoria” Season 2 premiere on Jan. 5. Getty Images for HBO

When Zendaya and Schafer first read the scripts for the new season, they were admittedly wary about a boy coming between their characters.

“I remember when [creator] Sam [Levinson] first kind of talked about the idea of this Elliot character, I wasn’t feeling it — as someone who ships ‘Rules’ to the bitter end,” Zendaya, 25, told Variety earlier this month. “And I was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we doing here?’

“But, in retrospect, and also as someone who understands where the show needs to go and what needs to happen for these characters, it’s crucial that Elliot exists and that he be the person that is honestly the catalyst for a lot of things that just have to happen.”

Zendaya’s character, Rue, has been spending time with Fike’s Elliot. HBO

Schafer echoed, “I think I was in a similar boat to Z when I first heard about this ‘Elliot boy.’ But, you know, as we saw more of what it brought into the story and the script, it became a more interesting and exciting prospect, and once Dom came on board, he made it a lot of fun.”

“Euphoria” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

When is Euphoria season 2 episode 3 coming out?

]

Euphoria season 2 episode 2 was the calm after the storm, but we know hell is around the corner! When is Euphoria season 2 episode 3, “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” coming out and what can you expect? Spoilers ahead!

If you missed Euphoria season 2 episode 2, catch up before reading ahead as spoilers are below!

The season 2 premiere of Euphoria was packed with shockers, from Cassie hooking up with Nate (we’re so disappointed) to Fez beating Nate (you go, Fez!), so it makes sense why season 2 episode 2 was more on the calm side. Heck, even the soundtrack was chill. But fans have a feeling that episode 3 is going to kick things up a notch, and we may not be ready for it. Don’t forget, Zendaya did warn us this season will be more dark and heavy. Here’s everything we know about season 2 episode 3.

What is Euphoria season 2 episode 3 about?

The upcoming third episode is titled, “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” and from the teasers released so far, the episode will largely focus on Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane). I guess we’ll be learning more about him and possibly why he turned out the way he did.

The teaser also shows Cassie being completely ignored by Nate in the hallway. But in a later scene, we see them together again. Could this be another day dream of Nate’s? Or perhaps Cassie this time?

In another clip, Jules (Hunter Schafer) tells Elliot (Dominic Fike), “I don’t like you.” You tell him, Jules! Sorry, I love Elliot, but he is clearly not the best influence. Finally, who do you think Rue is (Zendaya) proposing a business plan to? Watch the clip here:

When is Euphoria season 2 episode 3 coming out?

Euphoria season 2 episode 3, “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” is set to premiere on Sunday, Jan. 23, at 9 p.m. ET only on HBO and HBO Max. Don’t miss it!

‘Euphoria’ season 2 episode 2 recap: fallout from the fracas

]

Last week, Euphoria season two kicked off with a wallop – or should we say several wallops, thanks to Fezco (Angus Cloud) ringing in the New Year by beating Nate senseless. His bloodied, half-conscious face is the first thing we see in episode two, Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy (Alexa Demie) looking over him as a reminder of the other big drama from last week’s instalment.

Fortunately, Fez doesn’t inflict much lasting damage on Nate (Jacob Elordi). After some time in hospital spent fantasising about starting a family with Cassie and – more bleakly – his dad dying of a heart attack, he’s released to wreak more havoc on the interpersonal relationships of his classmates at East Highland High School. Perhaps to his credit, even after having his head used as Fez’s personal punching bag, he doesn’t rat the drug dealer out, shutting down his dad Cal’s questions about his attacker on the ride home from the hospital.

Cal, though, is unsatisfied with his son’s refusal to give him a name and decides to take another route. He sharply pinpoints Cassie as a weak link in the student body, who it’s implied have all claimed not to know anything about the assault, and pays a visit to the Howard house. When she returns home from school, her mum and her sister Lexi are sat at the table with her new fling’s father waiting for the interrogation to begin. She repeats the lie about not knowing who beat up Nate, but Cal forces her hand, threatening to get the chief of police involved and have him subpoena everyone’s phones and text histories.

Should that happen, Cassie and Nate could be in big trouble – not over the assault, but their joint betrayal of Maddy, Cassie’s best friend and Nate’s ex-girlfriend. After New Year’s Eve, Cassie decided hooking up with Nate in the bathroom at the party had been a mistake and texted him to tell him as much, but did little to cloak what she was talking about in the message. Seconds later, she received a phone call, with him warning her: “Don’t ever put that in writing again.” Back at the dining room with Cal, that caution ringing in her ears, Cassie cracks and snitches on Fez.

Meanwhile, another New Year’s rendezvous is threatening another of East Highland’s relationships, the reunited Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer). All seems well until Elliot (Dominic Fike), with whom Rue spent much of the party doing dangerous amounts of drugs, appears in the corridor, distracting Rue when Jules tells her she loves her. Instead of buzzing with romance, she’s thinking: “If this asshole says anything about doing drugs I will literally slit his throat in the quad.” She doesn’t have to worry about that, but she should be doing more to check her own behaviour, making Jules and Elliot’s introduction incredibly weird and awkward. Jules walks away from it thinking Rue has a crush on him and goes to cry in the girls’ bathroom.

Later, Elliot sees the pair fighting and asks Rue if he got her in trouble. “I feel like we should do drugs,” he suggests as a solution and the new friends head off to his house – where they’ve been holed up a lot since NYE – to smoke weed and rack up lines. Between imbibing, Rue tells him drugs are the only way she can be herself, which leads into a conversation about love and loss, the death of her father, and keeping her addictions hidden from her girlfriend. Elliot suggests he and Rue might not bring out the best in each other and, as we watch Rue cycle off to her NA meeting incredibly high, he might have a point.

On her way, Rue sees Cassie running to Nate’s car and kissing him when she gets in the passenger seat. Once she’s at the location of her NA meeting, she lazily takes a stairlift up the stairs and finds her sponsor Ali is waiting for her at the top. He immediately spots that she’s high and tells her she’s on a “suicide mission”. Once the meeting is done, he gives her a ride home and walks her to her door so he can introduce himself to her mum. Rue is nervous he’ll tell her she’s still using, but when asked if she’s doing well, he just says she has “a long way to go”.

Elsewhere, Kat (Barbie Ferreira) is struggling with her relationship with Ethan (Austin Abrams), which – as Maddy later puts it – has “no darkness, it’s just sweet”. Kat feels bad for not being happy with him and, when he’s in the bathroom, fantasises about a shirtless warrior murdering him before seducing her. Later, imaginary demons appear again in the form of beautiful women spouting trite self-help cliches about needing to love herself and find her inner warrior.

Lexi (Maude Apatow) is struggling with how Fez flipped from being so nice to her at the party to, 10 minutes later, almost killing Nate. She decides to confront him, but when she gets to his store is shaken by the presence of Faye (Chloe Cherry), who is staying at the house for a while. During Lexi’s visit, Cal turns up and begins asking Fez questions. Just when it seems like he’s going to pull a gun on the dealer, he instead calmly pays for his gum and crisps, responds to Faye’s question about his identity by saying he’s “just a concerned father” and drives off.

Nate drives Cassie out to an isolated part of town by a construction site and tries to break up with her, but when she runs off into the half-finished building, he follows her and they hook up again. Back at home, he finds his dad waiting for him, wondering why “some punk drug dealer” beat him up. Nate tells Cal that Jules had told Rue, who had, in turn, told Fez, about their sexual encounter and that he’d been trying to stick up for his dad when they threatened to go to the police. Cal tries to apologise, but Nate rejects it and reveals he knows he filmed Jules. Panicked, Cal asks him where the disc is, but Nate just stares back silently, foreshadowing more drama to come over Cal’s big secret.

On the soundtrack An unidentified cover of Noah Cyrus and Lil Xan’s ‘Live Or Die’ plays as Nate is in the hospital, building his dream life with Cassie in his head.

The chaotic hyperpop of ‘Haunted’ by Laura Les evokes the fire burning in Lexi as she decides to not sink into the shadows but confront Fezco.

The loose meandering groove of Can’s ‘She Brings The Rain’ soundtracks Rue’s cycle while under the influence.

‘Euphoria’ airs every Monday on Sky Atlantic at 2am in the UK – it is repeated at 9pm. Stream it via NOW

Lana Del Rey previews new song on Euphoria

]

Lana Del Rey appears to be teasing a new song in the preview for the next episode of Euphoria. Fans who watched this week’s episode were shown the “Next time on…” clip previewing episode three of the teen drama’s second season with a familar voice clearly identifiable. Check it out below. The FADER has contacted Del Rey’s team for comment.

Euphoria returned for its long-awaited second season on January 9. Musician Dominic Fike has joined the cast for S2, starring as Elliot in the hit show alongside castmates Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Alexa Demie, and more.

Del Rey dropped two albums in 2021, Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Banisters. Check out where they placed on The FADER’s Best Albums of 2021 list.