Euphoria
S. 02, E. 08 – “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name” (2022)
Midway through this season of Euphoria, I announced my theory that this would be the year of a Greek Tragedy. Something monumental was going to happen. Part of that was mostly due to Sam Levinson being at times downright sadistic to his characters, often throwing them in brutally compromising positions that left you feeling disturbed. I was of course aware of the “leaked” documents that made the rounds closer to the start of the season, but I wanted to believe that was a misdirect. The concerns over Fezco and Ashtray biting the dust felt like longshots, or at least something that I hoped would play out differently. This season felt like it started as a commentary on rivalry, down to the east coast/west coast rap tracks that alluded to various feuds of the 1990s.
In some ways that came true, I’ll give Levinson some credit this time around. His effort to not make this ending a downright bummer was an admirable goal. The choice to end on the rare upbeat feels striking, especially after having been through the wringer with these characters for 18 episodes, where we’ve seen them at their lowest and most desperate. The chance to see Rue find any form of clarity – in a quote from Ali no less – has this profundity to it that actually benefits the execution of the series. It would be easy to have Rue further in her addiction, running a drug kingpin ring or something even more barbaric. Still, for a show that got off on animosity for most of the season, it’s impressive that bonds were starting to be healed.
The most evident way was one that is surprisingly mature. Even when everyone’s stories veered far from each other’s, there was a shared need to have some grand revelation in the finale. Characters needed to learn empathy and open up to each other, finding something that would reveal the truth. As Lexi was told midway through the episode, sometimes you need to piss people off by telling the truth. While I personally think that the way Lexi did it was abhorrent and one of the show’s worst leaps in logic, the idea of it was affecting, finding a magnet for everyone to come out and express how they really felt about everything going on this season. The wounds had been opened. Now it was time to heal.
Part of me thinks that it’s brilliant then that the prelude to the season was two specials in 2020 and 2021 that reflected characters opening up and finding their vulnerability. While the show has largely sidelined Jules at this point, Rue got to have most of the high points of the past few episodes, forcing herself to find some balance in her own life. This was after experiencing her low as an addict, robbing homes, and doing everything to get a fix. Everyone had seen her at her worst and yet they came back to love her. In some respect, Levinson is maybe being too kind with Rue throughout the season by having her get all of these great moments of closure, but as a narrative device, it works.
She’s there talking for the first time publicly about her father, about the insecurities that lead her to addiction. Some of that was sparked by conversations with Ali, but some of it was just guilt of living a life where the only person she ever loved she expressed that feeling to while high. Here was her chance to find a gateway to a better life. Even the creative use of Truth or Dare from earlier in the season showed that there was no hiding anything. She wanted to express the truth to Elliot. The results may have been a bit aching, but they had something there that needed to be said. Instead of repressing it and feeling guilt, they said it and were allowed to finally move on with their personal paths.
This was also true of Rue and Lexi’s personal arcs. For those with eagle eyes, there are chances that their parallels seemed more obvious from the start: absent fathers, familial neglect, etc. The main difference is that Lexi had a path that was more productive, where her pain could be created into art that allowed her to say everything that frustrated her. She created something that may have been illogically produced, but it was definitely hers. Nobody could take away her outlet for expression, and in doing so allowed others to reflect on their lives and notice the ways they could personally improve.
Because sometimes that is what’s most important. There is a need to look at the world around you and share your pain. There’s also a need to recognize what you love in each other. Given how divided characters became, a lot of the simple catharsis here is powerful, allowing relationships to be mended. The Greek Tragedy that I predicted was averted in some respect, but it was not without so much backstabbing and pain. The way that Cassie and Maddy reunited has some touching moments, suggesting that they recognize the pain that Nate has put both of them in and there’s a need to find a way beyond this madness and restore their own independence.
That has been what’s always worked for Euphoria as a series. Levinson knows that complicated characters are compelling to watch, and thus fills the season with arcs that are at times unpleasant and even repugnant. Nobody is saintly. Cassie has her times of being annoying, but she is a tragic figure, in desperate need of saving. Rue has been at her worst and even manipulated people, but the road to forgiveness feels started. There is a path to hope that can be achieved. The only question is where Levinson is planning to take them next time because there’s no chance that he's going to make a bright sun-shiny day type show for the next outing.
To shift gears, there is of course the dilemma with Nate and Cal. Nate has been working on his latest plan to overpower his dad for a few episodes now. Everything looks like it’s in place for him to become the superior Jacobs and out his dad as a pervert. There is a need to arrest him and somehow seem altruistic. Even with his complicated backstory, he manages to use this moment as a chance to comment on how his father screwed him up, believing that Cal is responsible for most of his behavior in some capacity. The heartbreaking part? Cal cannot deny any of it. His own repressed sexuality leads him to conflicting choices and ones that may get more airtime whenever HBO brings things back around.
Because Cal no longer seems ashamed of who he was. It’s likely that he’s heading for a dark road of redemption, but there’s also the chance that his potential saving grace comes at the cost of others. Nate may be trying to take Jules down and finally get revenge that’s now two seasons in the making. He needs to always be tearing people down and, if Cassie is going to disappear from the equation, that can make things more frustrating. He could be a lone wolf waiting to fly off of the handles and attack. The idea that nobody loves him may be the most sadistic thing done to him, though who could blame them when he’s done little but hate back?
One of the more striking transitions of the show is how Nate confronting Cal is paralleled with Fezco and Ash being raided by the police. There is the first image of the episode where Fezco is seen looking in the mirror, suited up, and has a bouquet in front of him. It’s supposed to be a kind gesture for Lexi, but it also has vague similarities to a corpse. He looks like he may be about to die, and it may or may not have come true depending on how optimistic one wants to analyze the shoot-out. Still, having that framed with Nate pulling up on Cal with a loaded gun did make one wonder if there was a different kind of murder taking place. With police sirens flashing, Nate leaves Cal behind, closing the door as Fezco’s house is raided.
To be honest, I understand what his plot was going for but I don’t fully understand the way that things escalated. I get building his character as this sympathetic drug dealer with a heart of gold. What I don’t get is how they suggest that his new roommate somehow lead to an overwhelming shootout with the police. So much doesn’t feel practical even if it makes sense as the antithesis to the redemptive nature of the rest of the episode. Everyone else gets to learn and move forward from their mistakes. As for Fezco? It doesn’t seem as likely.
Then again, Ashtray goes A.W.O.L. in this episode and piles up on guns in the bathtub. It’s an insane detail and one that feels mostly designed to get us to the fourth iteration of the “open the door” scene that Euphoria has done. It’s definitely a powerful motif, showing some validation not being granted. It feels especially true because it does feel like there’s no better way for things to end. As Fezco stares down the sniper rifle, he sees the light. It’s too late. Everything that could’ve been prevented wasn’t and he’s doomed to at best minor injuries and some jail time. Meanwhile, Ashtray is gone after basically being a nutcase for most of the season without good reason other than he’s an aggressive, protective type.
It's maybe the closest that Euphoria got to The Greek Tragedy theory. In some ways, I’m relieved that the series didn’t just do what I expected because it means it’s taking creative risks. With that said, I find it interesting that this show is starting to favor certain characters at the expense of a well-rounded series. For an episode that centered around opening up to others, it feels rich that Levinson still hasn’t thought to have and/or acknowledge a writer's room for the show. There needs to be more to the characters besides being in the orbit of Rue – the one character that he’s rarely slipped up on. Given how Kat took a backseat because of small, petty arguments, what’s to stop the show from slowly writing anyone off? Even someone as central as Jules felt nonexistent for the last four episodes.
Sure, it could be part of the point that this is Rue’s story and we’re seeing her shift attention from the toxic past. There could be an effort to depict her in opposition to characters she used to revere. It’s hard to really say, but one can hope she gets there eventually. Still, I want to believe that the show cares about all of its characters with a certain effort to forward their story. I don’t necessarily believe that it was true even for those who got a lot of screentime, where Cassie was especially hammered with playing an abuse victim. I get that the stasis is kind of the point, but when you have so much to work with, find ways to not just make her hit the same hair-pulling level of insanity every time out.
At the end of the day, Euphoria barely skirted the idea of a second season being lesser. I do think that it’s good in that it created drama that kept the audience compelled. There were even moments that deserve to rank among the series’ finest moments. With that said, it’s on the verge of self-parody right now. Our Life felt like someone not self-aware enough to at least make it work within the show’s framework. The idea was effective, but how it was handled felt like an embarrassing, unrealistic mess. It’s one thing to have this in the imagination of characters trying to make like grandiose. It’s another to present it as the real world, where every budget and craftsman is at your disposal. I’m sure those less invested in theater will care, but it remains a potential sign of the show’s downfall if it’s not course corrected.
For now, I applaud Levinson on at least trying to tell a story with some hopeful conclusion. This isn’t a farewell, but one whose cliffhangers aren’t all evenly weighed as awful. Whereas season one ended on an eviscerating note, this one at least gives you hope that Rue will work things out. I can’t be so sure of Jules and Elliot though. Who knows how long it will be until East Highland comes back around. I like to believe that it won’t be three years like this previous time, but then again I love the idea of interlude episodes to build on character, to make the world richer. If this is the end until 2025, I hope we get more therapy sessions and Ali talking about shoes. That was a whole lot of fun and showed Euphoria at its best. It still has some charm, though Levinson needs to be careful going forward on where he wants to put it.
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