10 burning questions (and theories) ahead of Euphoria's season finale
Euphoria has already gone to some wild — at times controversial — places in its freshman season. With the season finale coming this Sunday, there are still plenty of things for it to explore and lingering questions we hope get addressed before it leaves us hanging until it returns for a second season. Here are the burning questions we need answered — plus some theories based on the episode preview (above).
Is Nate finally going to answer for his crimes?
Since the show’s June premiere, Nate (Jacob Elordi) has quickly risen the ranks to become one of the scariest and most toxic villains on TV. You hear the name Nate Jacobs, you’d be wise to run away. Now that the season finale is upon us, we need to know if the town boogeyman will finally get his comeuppance. And not just him, but his faithful girlfriend Maddy (Alexa Demie) who helped lie so that Tyler (Lukas Gage) would take the rap for Nate’s violent attack on her. It would be nice for them to experience a dollop of karma during the finale. Even Nate’s dad Cal hinted that he thought Nate probably deserved to be in jail. And boy, do we agree with Cal on one thing.
How will Mouse retaliate after Fez flushed his drugs?
In episode 7, Fez (Angus Cloud) warned Nate to leave Rue (Zendaya) and Jules (Hunter Schafer) alone or he’d “kill” him. Nate retaliated by snitching on Fez to the police, forcing Fez to quickly flush the drugs he was fronted by Mouse (Meeko). And as we’ve seen, Mouse is one dangerous, dangerous dude who probably won’t take kindly to losing who-knows-how-many thousands of dollars worth of drugs. In the worst-case scenario, Fez may have to answer for it alone. However, in the best-case scenario, since Nate was the rat who caused the money deficit, Mouse may just ask for his head instead and get Fez to bring it to him — which could shed a little light on why Fez is running around town in a mask like the Green Arrow and loading guns in the episode preview.
Is Rules still endgame?
Let’s be real: it’s been looking pretty dire for our favorite lovesick teens since it became clear that Jules was probably the only thing keeping Rue from relapsing and that Jules was understandably not okay with all of that pressure. Since then, we’ve witnessed Jules get intimate with a woman she admitted reminded her Rue in a drug-induced hookup, and Rue ping-ponging between manic and depressive episodes as she attempted to figure out what is going on between Jules and Nate. However, the promo for the finale episode seems to tease that our two lovebirds may be stepping out together again — complete with Rue’s mom, Leslie, possibly snapping a cute photo of them.
While we’re pumped for their much-needed reunion, we have some reservations about where this pairing may end up, specifically after narrator Rue’s eerie warning in the last episode that “this won’t end well.” Is it too much to ask for a somewhat happy ending for Rue and Jules?
Is Jules secretly-but-not-so secretly in love with Nate?
During Jules’ drug-fueled hookup with Rue-lookalike Anna (Quintessa Swindell), she hallucinated being with a glitter-covered Nate instead. While we were a bit skeptical about her feelings for Nate based on the fact that he is blackmailing her right now and she says she hates him, her hallucinations raise some interesting questions about if she does, in fact, have feelings for him despite him being a terrible person.
When do we get to learn more about Lexi?
After several episodes, we finally got more interactions with Rue’s friend and Cassie’s sister Lexi (Maude Apatow) in the last two episodes. She stole the show with her perfect Bob Ross costume and her unwavering determination to make sure Cassie didn’t get busted by McKay (Algee Smith) while possibly cheating on him at the Halloween party. Her quiet devotion to Rue — while Rue is not always the best friend to her — has even inspired some fans to cheer on a Lexi/Rue ship. So, where the heck is Lexi’s special episode? She’s become one of the most interesting characters on Euphoria and the more the show continues to tease information about her life and upbringing, the more we want to see her — especially in her own episode. So when’s that happening? Next season? One can hope!
Was McKay sexually assaulted?
Something happened to McKay during a hazing incident when a group of bros interrupted his romantic encounter with Cassie and threw him to the ground, but it was not clear exactly what they did to him. Was the attack on McKay sexual? While the incident happened during McKay’s special episode, not much has been done to develop his character or elaborate on since. Whether the attack was physical, sexual, or just emotional, here’s hoping McKay actually speaks to someone instead bottling it all up like his father has routinely suggested.
Will McKay and Cassie last after her pregnancy reveal?
We don’t know exactly how McKay’s unaddressed trauma from the hazing incident will impact his life, but it is definitely playing out in his relationship with Cassie — unaddressed or not. The promo for next episode shows Cassie in the hospital, possibly getting an abortion after McKay made it clear he wasn’t interested in raising a baby with her right now. Here’s to hoping both parts of this couple get more to do next episode and next season besides be sad and lost.
Who is Kat’s mysterious benefactor?
In the recent episode, Kat got her dominatrix script flipped on her when she finally let the mysterious benefactor who bought her whole Amazon wishlist see her. The ordeal quickly got weird when said benefactor requested to see Kat naked but refused to reveal themself. With their voice clearly being disguised, fans have been going wild trying to figure out who it is — including guesses that it might be Nate’s forgotten older brother. Other guesses include Ethan (Austin Abrams) who clearly has feelings for her or Daniel (Keean Johnson) who claimed not to remember dating her when they were younger.
Is Rue’s mom narrating the next episode?
Instead of the Rue voiceover that we’re used to, Rue’s mom Leslie (Nika King) is the one speaking over the promo. Does she just have a standout monologue or is the show switching narrators for the finale? If this is indeed a Leslie-themed episode, what has happened to Rue? Is she hurt? Or is she indeed dead like one popular fan theory suggests? Whatever the case, it seems significant. And we’re eager to learn why.
Why is Rue in the hospital (again)?
With her mother possibly narrating the next episode, we’re left wondering what in blazes is going on with Rue during the finale. There are shots of Rue in a hospital bed during the promo as well as shots of her seemingly having multiple breakdowns. In addition to this, that mysterious rooftop meeting between her and Nate has us feeling very…tense.
Got any interesting questions or theories about Euphoria’s season finale? Let us know in the comments below.
You can catch the season finale of Euphoria on HBO this Sunday at 10 p.m. ET.
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