Friends, we have arrived at the end of one of the longest, most thrilling journeys of TV, and all I can say is: WOW! Let’s get into it. First things first… this play! If I had to say I was one character for the finale, it was Jules. I deeply enjoyed the play and behind-the-scenes wayyyy more than I should have.
For starters, yes, Lexi creating a play where she drags her sister, is a bit offensive. Considering her sister, she should have been prepared for some sort of backlash. So when Cassie slowly walked down the aisle, tears welding, ears shooting out steam, all we could do was hold on. But, as Lexi’s stage manager said, at least the play wasn’t boring! As Cassie had her moment on stage, her mom Suze joins them (drunk and singing the praises of her character in the show), and it was an all-out shit storm. Emotions were high, words were thrown, and we really got to see how dysfunctional this family unit really is. But, at least for me, this was really the pre-show for the main event.
“This bitch needs to be put down,” Maddy proclaimed as she snatched her shoes off and charged the stage. Hands were thrown. Friends chased and watched, all for Maddy and Cassie to finally have their moment. And if you thought Cassie finally catching those hands was the end, according to Maddy, it’s just the beginning. Cassie, girl, you’re single, without friends, and the subject of an intense play where all your dirty laundry is out, phew! How much more can she take?!
Meanwhile, we continue to jump in-between some important moments, including Rue, making amends. Rue addresses Elliot, forgiving him for telling on her. Perhaps he saved her life, even though, at that moment, as a friend, she felt betrayed. We were serenaded with a song, that all of us felt, took way too much time away from the plot, but hey, at least we know where those two stand.
Tension continued to rise as Fez and Ashtray found themselves in a very bad situation. Faye signals to Fez that they’re being recorded, and in a sudden twist of events for most of us, she aligned with Fez and Ashtray. But, as with all things Ashtray, shit got real, quick, and Ashtray takes Custer out of the game. At that point, we all knew what was next. The feds were moments away from knocking the door down, and while we’d all like to think that Fez would take the fall, not this time. Ashtray fresh off of his compulsiveness, wages war, gathering weapons and signaling for a fight until the end. While it was clear that the entire episode wasn’t happening sequentially, it was also clear that this would be the reason Fez never makes it to the show. In the end, gunfire went ablaze, and Fez and Ashtray are both shot. We don’t know who died and who survived, but, it’s been enough to stress us all out while we wait two years for the next season.
Nate and Cal also have a moment, that was much needed. Throughout the season, Sam often rode the intensity of the scene but raised the stakes with reckless car rides, sex, drugs, and tensions mounting; leveraging drama with a hint of catastrophe. And perhaps, the one family unit he did it most with was these two. With Nate carrying a gun, we can’t help but think he’s either going to kill everyone, someone, his dad, or himself. Instead, he opts to turn his dad into the police. Nate tells his dad all the ways at which he’s been hurt, coming to the decision not to kill him, but instead, for him to live with it in jail.
And that’s where we end things, my friends. Rue shares that she was sober for the rest of that year, hinting at, some time passing until we see them again. I can’t really guess where we’ll land because time isn’t really ever clear with Euphoria, and I think that’s one of the strongest themes Sam tackles. While using drugs to escape and reach a euphoric state, you often miss the world and never really know what’s going on until you are sober and have to sit still in it. And now we wait… until 2024!
