Euphoria
S.02, E.06 – “A Thousand Little Trees of Blood” (2022)
Now that the dust has settled on the amazing episode that precedes it, one has to ask what is going on in the world of Euphoria? While Rue definitely had the biggest, most shocking twist in the series so far, it wasn’t enough for Sam Levinson to stop there. No, he had to remind everyone that the entire cast is about to go through a bunch of tribulations. With three episodes left, he needs to start wrapping everything up. What’s impressive is that where last season ended more with emotional blows, it honestly does feel like somebody is about to get murdered and probably somebody else overdosed or in the hospital. So much is going on that feels downright nihilistic that it remains exhausting to be invested in this show, especially after this week’s run.
Because Nate is back up to his old tricks. Whatever he’s thinking of doing, he’s bringing in a lot of dangerous variables. At one point he’s seen attempting to shoot Maddy before putting the gun to his head. At another, he’s being threatened by Jules with a box-cutter. Having the Method Man/Mary J. Blige song “You’re All That I Need” play in the background only adds to the haunting undertone. Given that Cal is nonexistent this week, there’s plenty of room to run free, where Nate feels like the Jacobs with the most power in town. What’s telling is that he doesn’t seem to care anymore what messes he leaves around. Metaphorically, that’s anyone who may fall prey to his blackmail or sabotage. Quite literally, Cal’s urine is still on their floor, stinking up the joint.
With that said, the show finally gives Nate’s mother more of a chance to grow as a character. There’s the initial alarm of her thinking that Maddy deserved to be choked out and that Cassie is inherently better. There’s also the revelation that she thinks Nate is a terrible person, which could lead to more dangerous conflict down the line. Given that Nate is also reveling in the potential to run Cal’s construction company, he is trying to remove a few variables that could make either of them look suspicious. This includes giving Jules the sex tape and hoping that it’s buried – unless Cal made a back-up at all of it somewhere unknown.
He seems to be more of a loose cannon than usual. With that said, it’s on par for the other half of that trainwreck couple. Cassie is suicidal, playing the victim and suggesting that she has it worse than Rue. One thankful side note is that The Howards are aware enough to not be too critical of Rue’s outburst from the previous episode. Still, that doesn’t stop conflict from arising, where Cassie tries to play the victim and suggests that everything is awful except her. When Lexi confronts her about Fezco, there is a clear divide between the two. As I predicted, there is bound to be a Greek tragedy-style falling out among family members real soon. Given that Levinson only has two more episodes to pull it off, one has to wonder how that’ll look.
Because it is overtly dramatic. Cassie hasn’t been chill once this season. Meanwhile, Lexi and Fezco continue to bond in ways that suggest a romantic friendship. They gather at his house to watch Stand By Me (1986) and even have a cute moment where they sing. However, if Euphoria is telegraphing anything, it’s that death is looming. That film centers around trying to find a dead body. Given that Rue is also seen wearing a Malcolm X shirt (an activist who was murdered), there’s the continual suggestion that the worst is yet to come. Still, for the time being, they relish in their innocence, believing that everything will work out.
Fezco has a heart of gold, at least by the show’s standards, but he may be Lexi’s accidental downfall. He suggests that if her play is like Stand By Me then it will be great. It’s the type of non-constructive criticism that doesn’t help her see any faults. Given that she didn’t change McKay’s name (at least in trial runs), one can predict she’s not hiding too many details in subtle artistry. She’s about to go down hard for expressing herself. The previews for next week are less kind, suggesting that there may be an all-out riot about to happen and maybe something much worse. Still, one has to wonder why staff greenlit this project without fully analyzing the ramifications that it could have.
There’s also Maddy plotting her revenge against Nate. Her mother meanwhile discusses how messy she was in her teens and 20s, leaving the interpretation that it’s best for her to move on. The question is whether or not she will. Noticing that Cassie is an all-out mess, there’s no reason to want to get back involved with that, save for Nate being overtly forceful with her and maybe even killing her. Again, Nate is the type of character that’s easy to hate but only because he’s played perfectly. Even something as off as him opening his mother’s wine bottle feels logical because he has that type of power dynamic going on.
Then at the center is Rue, who provides a much-needed update on her life. Since the falling out, the question has become whether she is wanting to recover or if she will revel in this state of imbalance for a little longer. What appears to be the case is that she’s at rock bottom, realizing how everything is starting to look awful to her. She hates what she’s told people and her body is rejecting her in various ways. She groans from the pain of not having those fixes. Many other things are keeping her from feeling stable, though luckily she has her mother in tow to nurse her back to health, believing that she can get clean and stay better. There’s a suggestion that she may be going to the hospital, which Rue claims is great because they don’t judge if you’re a bad person. Given all the issues with self-esteem so far, there’s still some sadness in that exchange.
Again, the Euphoria title card appears free of a black background. It’s in clear focus on Rue as she decides to do the simple things. She takes account of those she hurt, including Gia. At one point she even calls Ali and apologizes. In what could easily be a moment of heartbreak and betrayal, Ali forgives her, believing that he doesn’t want to live with the grudge on his conscience. It’s better to see past this one mistake in the hopes that they can better their friendship and help each other stay sober and happy.
Ali has been one of the biggest highlights in the series every time that he shows up. This isn’t the first time that he’s appeared in The Bennett Household. In fact, he feels so at home that he’s able to make crass jokes around body odor and be accepted. At the end of the day, he’s a good man with some unfortunate past decisions. He understands and that sympathy reflects his ability to see past that one bad conversation and into something more beautiful. Rue is an addict and she had a bad period. Now she’s trying to get better. Why put somebody down for that?
While Ali isn’t the center of every moment of this episode, he stands out the most. This could be because he doesn’t take a predictable route. He doesn’t sit down with Rue and have a 20-minute heart to heart. The initial phone call is enough for him. Instead, he does something that’s actually sweet and turns to Gia, even pushing Rue’s mother away. This could be from his own guilt as a parent who was negligent to his children. Maybe he’s telling her things he wishes that he could say to them. Whatever it is, it feels important and that makes their brief time together incredible.
Because for what it’s worth, Levinson hasn’t given Gia a whole lot to do over two seasons. She’s been present and at times a useful supporting player, but she’s more an observer to the tragedy. There’s rarely been a chance to hear what she has to say or feel like her opinion matters. Instead, Ali has given her a platform, allowing her to feel like the center of the world. Here’s her chance to express all of the pain that she’s felt, hearing her sister talk about suicide and destroying their home. Even watching her recover yet again must be painful, having seen her before overdosed on the floor. Living with Rue hasn’t been easy, especially when there are clear divides between the two sisters. They are each isolated despite living down the hall from each other.
On the one hand, there’s the relief, the sense that recovery is in the works. Everything is as it should be. However, Levinson can’t help but end on one of his patented downbeats. As The Bennett Sisters lay peacefully, there’s their mother in the other room trying to plan for her recovery. The issue is that there’s some error going on, that Rue won’t get the immediate treatment that she needs. It’s a very repetitive scene meant to evoke fear, and it’s easy to see why. The word suicide is once again mentioned, and it’s not totally out of the picture yet. Rue had one good evening. She needs to try and get back to having a good life. She can’t do it without any significant support.
Speaking of, the one level of support she’s not getting is from Jules. While there’s a brief glimpse into Rue’s response to Jules, it’s one with a flippant kiss-off. She doesn’t care. If that means they’re truly over, one has to wonder what that means for Jules. There was such a strong bond there that one has to wonder if she will remain stable, capable of taking care of herself, and start a newer, healthy life. It’s clear that her father already is approving of that sentiment. The only catch is that there’s so much investment built up between them, so much co-dependence. What happens when Jules is freed of that? Will she fall into her own depression, or will she have a reckless path with Elliot?
Whatever it is, it’s probably better than what’s going on with Kat and Ethan. They’re almost nonexistent to the point where nothing in their rare scene makes any sense. Kat claims to have a brain tumor that makes her unstable, but there’s little substantiated evidence to back it up. Is it just that their relationship is going that poorly? Even the story with Custer and Faye feels more lived in and they were just introduced a few episodes ago. There’s rumblings that things could be falling apart real soon, but the interesting question is who and what exactly that is.
Maybe Cal will randomly show up and be the biggest villain. Maybe he’ll have life worked out. While I do believe that it’s going to be something involving Maddy, Cassie, and Lexi along with Nate and Fezco facing off, I’m not entirely sure what the end goal is for this story. It’s been a wild ride and there’s plenty of mess to clean up. It’s unwieldy at times and it does feel like tensions are being ratcheted up a bit too high. Still, if one thinks everything is bad, wait until next week when Levinson does a character assassination of Lexi, making her either this cute little girl who wrote a play, or one of the worst people in the world for exploiting her family’s misery.
For now, it’s a story that proves that Euphoria isn’t just a problem among teenagers. It appears that everyone comes from generations of conflict. Their advice is being handed down by people who maybe haven’t excelled in the right ways in life. Each of them gives depth to the dysfunction and proves how much wider the net can go. Even the fact that Fezco’s grandma, who doesn’t even appear in this episode, seems to have raised him better just by giving him a Stand By Me DVD. As everyone tries to make heads or tails of what’s going on, it’s exciting to know that something major is about to go down. All that one has to do is buy a ticket to Lexi’s show and attend the moment everyone’s going to be talking about. Can’t wait to see everyone there!
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