As with the close look of the Rue spiral for sobriety after Jules’ departure to “Problems don’t always last” EuphoriaThe last special episode is completely approaching, avoiding the plot for the sake of a close study on the character. This time, Jules is the protagonist. We don’t see exactly what happened when Jules left Rue on that train platform at the end of the first season. Rather, we see the consequences. The episode takes place mainly during a therapy session, where Jules soliloquies about gender, family, love, self-image, self-harm and more. The script is occasionally overly beautiful, but it all comes together because of the strength that Hunter Schafer is. It offers an indelible performance all the time, which makes it a very memorable and special TV episode.
The episode literally maintains a very close approach to Jules, which unfolds very much in very long photographs of Jules in the foreground talking about his feelings. Some of these feelings belong to her gender and sexuality: she is considering eliminating some of her hormones because she feels she has made many of her decisions in life based on becoming desirable to men. Some of these feelings belong to her mother, an addict with whom she has little relationship. Many of these feelings belong to Rue. All of these things touch. Jules expresses anger towards Rue for making her sobriety depend on Jules’ availability to her. At first he doesn’t realize he’s talking about Rue in the same way he talks about his mother. Your therapist should point this out. These little moments make this feel like a real, intensely incisive therapy session. Jules speaks as if he knows exactly what he’s feeling, but sometimes he can’t see what’s in front of him.
The direction of the episode is a little brighter than “Problems Don’t Always Last,” but there’s still a level of moderation that isn’t really seen in most of the show’s first season. The attractions of the therapy session are fluid and dynamic. “No girl had ever looked at me the way Rue did,” Jules says as we actually see Rue’s face from his perspective. Even the lighting of the scene feels intimate and warm. Euphoria it’s so good at evoking specific feelings, and this Jules-centered episode really feels like a deep dive into the character’s interiority.
TThe more flexible parts of the reality of the episode work pretty well, leaning into some Euphoriaan excessive aesthetic but one that remains strongly based on emotional narrative. Jules enters a kind of horrible landscape when he remembers having sex with “Tyler”, which really made Nate fish it. She created a fantasy when she was sexting, and that reality stings her reality. A reality in which Nate was trying to hurt her. The episode is distorted into a highly stylized sequence that depends on a throbbing score and a dance-like block. But he still feels strongly rooted in character, imbued with palpable emotions and creating a sense of fear and confusion.
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We also see literally how one of Jules ’nightmares is played out, and it’s a stark contrast to the fantastic life Rue imagined for her and Jules in New York. Rue’s addiction deeply affects Jules, especially because of his relationship with his mother. In the same way Euphoria lends as much empathy to Rue’s experiences as an addict, this episode analyzes all the challenges involved in being an addict’s support system and being intimate with someone who is struggling with addiction. We see it in the way Jules thinks of his mother and we see it in the way he interacts with Rue. The two share a lot. They love love so much, but that love gives and needs. There is so much care in Rue’s scene managing Jules ’shots. And then there’s so much destruction in the nightmare that Jules has so Rue can’t answer the door. Its dynamics remain the strongest part of the show, but it’s especially fascinating how hard it is to define. The romance between them is as poignant as the conflict between them. Jules and Rue devastate and enchant.
While not much happens in this episode, there are a lot of things at the character level. “I want to be as beautiful as the ocean,” Jules reflects at one point. This thought delves into her grandmother’s memories, a contemplation of femininity, a touch of spirituality with a trans goal. It is interspersed with shots of Jules in the ocean. It’s beautiful, but there’s also an intentional disaster. Remember the free-moving monologues of Angela Chase a My life called, and Hunter Schafer is as compelling as a teenager full of contradictions and complexity as Claire Danes had in this role. Watching the episode seems to read Jules’ diary. He has the feeling of getting an unfiltered, organic and intricate vision of his psyche. Her thoughts are intertwined between so many significant moments and memories of her life, but everything is connected. Euphoria it keeps us so strongly rooted in Jules ’perspective that it’s easy to follow her from one point to the next.
Again, none of this could really work if Schafer wasn’t so talented and commanded the material. The dialog activated Euphoria from time to time it may feel so intentionally poetic that it is almost presented as stretched or overloaded. Sometimes that’s true in “Fuck Anyone Who Is Not A Sea Blob,” but it’s also one of the strongest written episodes in the entire series. Sam Levinson is usually the only credit for writing episodes, but this time she shares a credit for co-writing with Schafer, making her the star of this episode on several levels. The script is a calm but powerful flow of consciousness that captivates. We see that Jules moves between so many different emotions, desires and perceptions of herself. It’s the good kind of mess …mess that feels deeply human. Euphoria leaves Jules full of contradictions. His monologues have specificity, but they also manage to play so many things at once. Writing does a lot with a little, and it’s not Euphoriathe usual speed.
Lost observations
- All awards for Hunter Schafer, please! Also, let her write more episodes because this script is really wonderful.
- I wasn’t really sure how I would feel about this episode, as I tend to hate it whenever the TV does therapy sessions, but actually this one feels like a pretty plausible therapy session.
- Zendaya and Hunter Schafer on screen together are so good.