Finale!
Here we are it all comes to tonight, the Junior formal. As all high school experiences end – in a dance.
Before we get to a night of a million gowns we left off with Rue destroying her insides. She is at the hospital after suffering a kidney infection. They prescribe her Vicodin (5mg) Rue is an expert at this time and watching her try to act like she doesn’t know drugs is despicable. She’s all stuttering “no Vicodin for me, but I remember last time I had my wisdom teeth out they gave me Roxi-Roxi’ and the nurse is like Roxicet? She’s like “yea! 25mg please.” WHAT! She gets shut DOWN by the doctor, they know you have a drug problem now, cuz the last time you were in the hospital you OD’d and were in a coma. The doctor is like due to you history – only Tylenol for you! And put her on Sepro??… I have no idea what half of these things are, but she is also on Lexapro. Now I know Lexapro from people I know who take it, and also that Kanye lyric (I know… he who shall not be named.)
HOMECOMING
Rue is in the hospital for 3 days this time. Apparently she loves hospitals, there is a certain type of order she can get down with I guess. They tell you when to eat, sleep give you pills and you have controlled exploration at your soft socked feet. She even feels like the beeps of the machines sound like birds and she imagines she at a poolside chair on a hot summer night in the Caribbean. UMMM gonna say da-nae-no, but to each their own.
Jules comes to visit while Rue is in the hospital, she asks if all this happened because she left. Rue says no – that she’s like this sometimes. I believe her, especially the way her mom acted, like this was not her first rodeo with this.
Jules says she hasn’t told Rue the truth – scandal! Everything about Anna is gonna come up! Nope – I think she tells Rue everything about Nate, because Rue narrates that she was 90% right, which is true.
Rue feels like Jules is different since her trip. Jules starts dressing Rue in like a dress and stuff, almost like she is trying to give Rue a style that maybe she has seen on someone else… hhhmmm Cough Anna Cough.
Rue is quite visibly uncomfortable in a dress, but Jules is intent on doing this makeover and Rue is a ride or die B so she goes along with it. Jules starts talking about Anna and how much Rue would die for her. Rue asks her if they hooked up, I had a moment like, is Jules gonna lie?? But no she is just as imperfect and perfect as they come. Jules says yes they hooked up and tells her everything, that they were high AF and Anna bit her and she liked it. You can see the intrigue and analysis on Rue’s face – like is that what you want?
Jules says Rue would flourish in that energy – and Rue’s just taking notes.
In front of the mirror with Rue in a burgundy corset for the first time Rue has a companion in her asides. Bothe Rue and Jules look at the camera while Rue says F Nate Jacobs. Then we have the best daydream of shooting Nate while he is on fire! Like Tarantino style and then Jules calling him a p***y. This is what I have always wanted, this visual satisfaction, even if it isn’t real – sigh.
WINTER FORMAL
Everyone is getting ready for the formal. In the background almost like the role of voiceover has been handed over for these few moments, Rue’s mom is reading her letter on how Rue’s addiction has affected their family at N.A. But her mom could only think of what to write to her past self on the day Rue was born. Such a beautiful gesture and narrative choice. I always felt like if Rue’s mom could have, she would have listened to Rue in the way she now knows she needs and give her the energy and attention that all the doctors wanted to prescribe drugs for. We see this mesmerizing montage of fighting with love and the ugly kind that hurts more because of the passion and emotional strain of care between to people. We see Gia involved and the pressures of trying to be a mother for two young women in a family that has been through so many things unseen.
“About balance stability the need to organize her feelings and thoughts so she can breathe better” – rue’s mom. Oh lordt, tryin not to tear up…
Of course in this we are given a glimpse at all the key characters. Nate is getting ready for the formal at home and taking pictures with some blonde girl. You realize right there is no way he could go to the formal with Maddy after everything that has happened, and his family would definitely not be about it. To top it off his mom whispers to him “I like her.” Of course she does Nate planned it that way.
Then we see Fez getting ready to kill someone – guessing the clockwork orange drug boss Mouse, which I DO NOT think is a good idea.
Kat is getting ready feeling a certain way about who she is after the altercation with Maddy and the hurtful truth. Kat’s mom looks solemn but also supportive, she tells Kat she doesn’t look weird but the opposite.
Rue and Jules are ready for the formal and Rue’s Mom and Jules Dad are drinking together and hitting it off nonetheless! I’m liking this actually, he is a good man I mean from what we have been shown and if they get together it would complicate the Jules and Rue situation so nicely!
Next Maddy runs out of the house all glittery and meets up with Lexi and Cassie in the car
Then all the girls get to the formal together Maddy is hugging Jules?? Have they ever even been introduced? Doesn’t matter because tonight is no stress.. right? Kat shows up, her and Maddy catch eyes for a minute and Maddy has that half closed eye look with pursed lips, like I haven’t forgotten trick. Kat has on a longer wig and a classic red corset leather strappy get up, she looks nice and also pensive.
At the table Jules gets a pic from Anna, and she asks for pics of Jules and leaves to the bathroom to take pics for Anna. Not to bring it there but the giddy texting reminds me of other scenes from previous episodes.. Awkward! But this time, I am hoping Anna isn’t a psycho blackmailer. On that note, she is texting Jules that she misses her.
Can I just say, teenagers be falling hard fast!
SPRING FLING
Nate arrives to the dance with this other girl’s butt in his hands, like full cupping grabbing situation and the whole place can see this girl’s a** like he is looking to give her a colonoscopy. Sorry it’s my age talking again.
Cut to flashback, Nate and Maddy fighting cuz he can’t get hard, it’s all tied to the fact that he knows she told people about the d*** pics on his phone. He was like, “I told you not to tell anyone”, she’s like I told people before you told me not to tell anyone. Legit, she told like 3 people in the span of a weekend. He says he has to go take a shower, they fight some more and Nate grabs Maddy like stop talking! Then he goes to the shower. Maddy sees a book on his dresser with something in it. So she grabs it and inside is the DVD! The on with Jules (I assume) it is the same case that we’ve seen…
As she’s leaving Kyle gives Maddy a pep talk. This guy is the king of unsolicited pep talks. He gives his two cents about how some people are just toxic for each other and they don’t need to be together. Maddy with that look is like whatever and leaves.
Fez is now jumping fences and putting ski masks on – this isn’t a good idea…
After seeing Nate on the dance floor all over this blonde girl, you can see the fire in Maddy’s eyes and everyone at the table is like no no no no don’t! Maddy jumps up grabs a random guy to make Nate jealous again – I cannot with them, it’s the first episode all over again. The girls all agree that they are that couple that is gonna get divorced like 12 times. I’m like if he doesn’t kill her on the 10th time and have a yard full of other guys bodies!! Sorry I went real grim there.
Kat sees the guy from science class Ethan B-lines it over there and asks if they can talk.
She tells him the truth, that she felt a certain way about him flirting with the girl at the carnival so she wanted to hurt him like he might hurt her. He said he liked her from the moment he sat next to her in science class and it’s not like “they will be together forever” cuz they’re just juniors in high school. He says he can’t guarantee that it won’t end in someone getting hurt but if it does, he will try his hardest for it to be him. That line was genius Ethan!
Nate leaves the dance floor and Rue follows – uh oh
Flashback to what seems like the last game of the football season or at least a very important game. It turns out Nate is back on the team after returning to school and he is not playing well. The camera pans across the cheerleaders, and you see Maddy and you also see that the blonde girl – she’s another cheerleader on the team. For being so calculated, he’s not very inventive.
SPRING SOCIAL
The conversation between Rue and Nate goes just as Nate wants, because he always knows how to stay sociopathic. Always knows how to keep the upper hand, he says nice things about someone so he never looks like the bad guy. He tells Rue she looks very pretty tonight – ugh, it puts the lotion on its skin.
Rue tells him to stay away from Jules and Fez or she’ll tell the world that his dad likes to f children. Nate looks at her like, you don’t even know the whole story and then says Jules is going places and Rue is a blip on her journey. F you Nate!!!
In his flashback he runs a touchdown, of course.
As they get home Kyle just has to have another talk with his son saying, “You may have won the game, but you lost control of the team, in the long run you’re gonna lose.” What lovely moments these are after you win a game, just father appreciation – JEEZ!
Nate snaps, he tries to hurt his dad tries to overpower him. Kyle is restraining him and Nate is saying F you! Calling him a f**t The whole time. He cannot best his own dad, and he
Starts sobbing, hitting his own head on the floor – having a toddler tantrum but like in an adult tortured body and mind. His dad leaves the room and runs to his own room looking mortified on the inside. Yea Kyle – you did this.
In the next scene Maddy has watched the tape… uh oh. I have no idea where that is going to go -eeek
Fez is still sneaking around what I believe to be the drug dealer compound
In what I can’t tell is a flashback or flash forward, we see Cassie and her fam head to the clinic all together. Her mom has a look on her face that gives probably the most comforting presence and to be honest, Cassie is well taken care of even though she is a bit of a numb wreck. She has to answer all these questions about depression and is really affected, you can see it in her eyes. I personally haven’t gone through this and I cannot fathom what goes on in someone’s head in a procedure like this but for Cassie, she is back on the ice skating to the music.
Meanwhile Rue meets up with Jules in the bathroom asking her what she’s doing. Jules says she feels like she really captured Rue’s style in this get up. Jules admits to wanting Rue to be spontaneous, to grab her and kiss her. Rue’s face looks like she doesn’t know the meaning of the word. Outside Rue asks Jules if she is in love with Anna she says yes, and then Rue asks if she is in love with her and Jules says yes – she’s poly! So Lexi has a chance… lol
Rue says, what if we just left this town and ran away to the city – She grabs Jules and kisses her.
Maddy and Nate meet up on the dance floor and are on the same page again, this time knowing they should not be together. I don’t know how far that will go, action speaks louder than words, but I think it is hitting them for real.
JUNIOR PROM
So Fez is actually in a house of someone whose an MD and he’s robbing him to get the money for Mouse, I see that now. Ski mask and all Fez puts a gun to the guys head and asks him for the money – this guy has a ridiculous amount of money stashed in his coffee table, like real easy to access. I kinda feel like is Fez had the capability he coulda Ocean’s 11’d this instead.
And without Fez knowing there is a gun under the table that this guy reaches for. Fez sees this but Fez also sees a kid across the hall and the kid sees him, but Fez has got to do what Fez has got to do and he starts beating the dad while the kid is watching. Fez is definitely more upset that he has to beat this guy in front of this kid, than the about the guy reaching for the gun. He’s freaking out and stashing money.
Mouse gets to the house, hehe that sounds funny, but this is no laughing matter. Fez gets back with the stolen money they see blood on it – Mouse says he knows he got raided and Fez is like but they didn’t find anything and Fez is like “we good?” So gangsta. Damn Fez I hope nothing happen to him, but it’s a hard knock life.
Rue and Jules are making their way to each of their houses to pack a bag, they are actually gonna run away together. With every step Rue gets more and more anxious, she’s thinking of the hard times with her mom and sister and everything she has gone through with them and put them through. She knows damn well she can’t run away like this. Couldn’t we just begin with short trip there? Just a visit for the weekend or a couple weeks in the summer? Why we gotta abandon our families, like Jules your dad?? Jules cannot truly comprehend the weight of the consequences that Rue is envisioning and begs Rue to come – but the last shot we see is a camera pulling away from a Rue – standing alone on the platform. AND that is heartbreak and responsibility all in one shot.
Rue returns home and throughout all of this we are seeing the final moments of her fathers life or rather the moments after his death. His body being removed from the space, and her mom weeping in the room, while she grabs his hoodie smells in and zips it up to her neck. At this moment you realize everything that makes Rue who she is – everything.
We’re back at the beginning and Rue sniffs something off of a book and begins her climb and fall in a well orchestrated chaos in which the music is interacting with us and with Rue and you are left thinking, who is in control, the drugs, the depression, or is it all Rue?
What a beautiful struggle we were taken on in this show. One of the most magnificently crafter, extraordinary shot, phenomenally acted and the best surrealist realism teen story written from the page to the screen. Season 2 has already been greenlit and I cannot wait, but to be honest even if we weren’t getting a season 2, I’m glad we got to experience it at all.
If you or anyone you know is going through anything touched on in this show and need help, visit Euphoriaresources.com or text EUPHORIA to 741741.
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