That Messy ‘Euphoria’ Season 2 Finale Left Us With 7 Burning Questions

All over Twitter, fans of Euphoria are still reeling from Sunday night’s disappointing and perplexing finale. The HBO show’s tumultuous second season has featured an odd amount of loose ends, plot holes and unfulfilled character arcs. However, nothing prepared viewers for the shock of watching its main protagonist seemingly get off scot-free after owing a menacing drug lord $10K. And somehow, there were even more confusing developments throughout the hour.

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Our own Kyndall Cunningham and Cheyenne Roundtree break down Season 2’s biggest question marks and possibilities for Season 3.

Rue’s “Hopeful” Ending and That $10K She Owes Laurie

Cheyenne: I think we should start with Rue (Zendaya) since she’s “supposedly” the main character and somewhat fashioned after creator Sam Levinson’s life. Let’s start with how the finale ends because I felt like it was hastily wrapped up with a voiceover a la a bad teen movie. It seems they might be skipping really far ahead for season three, as Rue says she stayed sober for the rest of the school year and talks about her journey in trying to be a good person.

Kyndall: Yeah, especially because, at the end of episode five, we had that really dramatic ending where Rue’s mom is on the phone with the hospital. And she’s like, my child is literally going to die if you guys don’t make room for her. And then to go from that to Rue just enjoying the play and going to people’s houses and making amends and being so clear-headed—it just felt really abrupt. I also feel like the finale over-generalized her experience as a drug addict and someone with mental health issues. She was doing so much self-loathing throughout the episode, and the show seems to endorse this idea that she’s a shitty person. And I get that you obviously have to make amends for the harm you cause even if you’re suffering from a disease. But it just felt like a simple way to rationalize all of her issues.

Cheyenne: I don’t feel that she is a bad person. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Rue has really damaged her family with what she’s put her mom and sister through—and Jules, having to be in a relationship with someone struggling and lying to them about their substance abuse. But beyond that, is she really that bad of a person? But one of the biggest questions I have is: What happened with Laurie (Martha Kelly) and this $10K that Rue owes her? And was she sex-trafficked? Is she going to be sex-trafficked? They completely set the stage for that storyline, but then were like, never mind about scary Laurie.

Kyndall: Yeah. Bringing up the possibility that a child is going to be sex-trafficked and then forgetting about that is insane to me. When we find out that her mom got rid of the drugs, it’s like, well, was Rue even really planning on selling them to begin with? We know she’s using the drugs. But we didn’t get a sense of her backup plan or how she was going to pay for the drugs she was using.

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The Elliot and Jules Conundrum

Cheyenne: Moving onto Rue’s relationship with Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Elliot (Dominic Fike), why did she forgive Elliot, and not forgive Jules? She barely knows Elliot and he was such an enabler. Plus, he was going to have Rue cheat on Jules with him, but then he ended up having Jules cheat on Rue with him. Some friend!

Kyndall: Maybe because she wasn’t as emotionally invested in Elliot? But even then, it’s like, I would still be mistrustful of him.

Cheyenne: It’s my theory that Sam Levinson made Rue and Elliot make up just so they could plug that new Labrinth and Zendaya song. And they had an excuse to get Dominic Fike to sing and perform on the show.

Kyndall: I had no idea he was an actual singer until I looked on YouTube and apparently, he performed on The Tonight Show. And I was just like, ugh. It was four minutes!

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Cheyenne: For Jules, when Rue said in her voiceover that “Jules was my first love,” it kind of hinted to me that they were completely dunzo. Maybe it’s the inverse of Rue leaving Jules behind like Jules left Rue behind in the first season. I didn’t know if that was on purpose, but it seems like that romance is over for the moment.

Kyndall: Yeah, I was fine with that. Whenever Rue and Jules were on screen together, they always gave me a sibling energy that I just never really bought romantically. But I feel like there’s this Justice for Jules campaign happening online because she has nothing to do. I just feel like the season was such a disservice to her character, especially after that really good solo episode exploring her experience as a trans person.

Is the War Between Nate and Cal Finally Over?

Cheyenne: The other thing I had a question about was Cal’s (Eric Dane) tape. Nate (Jacob Elordi) already told Jules that the tape with her and Cal had the only copy that he had known of and yet the thumb drive, he says, has everything. We can assume the thumb drive contains more video footage of Cal filming people without consent, but I’d be curious if Jules will get roped into Cal’s criminal case. Also, why did Nate finally want to take down his dad? He came straight from the play to blow up his own family life and his dad’s life. Was the play that triggering?

Kyndall: A couple episodes ago, we’re told that the main reason he was trying to get the DVD from Maddy was because he wanted to inherit his dad’s real-estate business, and he didn’t want his dad to be known as a pedophile. And then those concerns just went out the window.

The Toxic Couple Nobody Asked For

Cheyenne: Nate and Cassie (Sydney Sweeney)—are they done for good?

Kyndall: I don’t think Cassie is done. I’m so disappointed in the portrayal of Cassie. I think it’s so boring when a character’s arc is just them gradually becoming crazy. Where do we go from there? I remember Maddy saying, “This is only the beginning with your relationship with Nate.” He thrives off emotionally torturing women, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see them together again. And Sam Levinson seems to be the most interested in this storyline, so he wouldn’t give it up that easily.

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Cheyenne: I don’t understand the reason for their attraction. Obviously Maddy (Alexa Demie) and Nate thrive off conflict, and being this toxic make-up, breakup couple. But Cassie likes Nate for what? Nate likes Cassie because she’ll do anything that he wants her to, and he can see a family life or this peaceful bliss, but that hasn’t happened. And Cassie has now transformed herself into Maddy, so where can they go from here?

Kyndall: We never got any conversations between the two of them. I think maybe we could grasp onto the relationship a little bit more if we saw similarities between their upbringings, but there’s literally nothing besides sexual attraction that we see.

What the Hell Happened to Kat?

Kyndall: It was so rude that Ethan (Austin Abrams) got more to do in the finale than Kat (Barbie Ferreira).

Cheyenne: Yeah! She just broke up with this guy because she doesn’t have feelings for him. Do you know the ick that I would get by seeing my ex-boyfriend be the star of this play? I’d have been like, “I’m not watching this, and also fuck you Lexi for making him the star of your play.”

Kyndall: It’s like Kat doesn’t even know that he’s in the play because she’s not reacting to him at all.

Cheyenne: Maybe Sam Levinson felt bad that Ethan wasn’t getting airtime because of whatever’s going on with Kat’s character, so he’s like, you can have the play.

Kyndall: Were you a fan of Kat in season one? Because I didn’t really know how to feel about it.

Cheyenne: I liked it. I liked seeing all the different struggles high schoolers face. I thought Kat’s storyline was engaging in terms of exploring themes about becoming empowered, having a sexual awakening, and becoming comfortable with herself. Then this season, it’s like she didn’t even exist and when she did exist, she was literally flailing, and it was kind of pathetic to watch.

Kyndall: I thought it was an easy out after all that messy exploration with her sexuality to give her a nerdy, nice boyfriend at the end. But then she’s punished for having a healthy relationship? I get being bored with a boy at that age who is a goody two-shoes, but we don’t have any idea of what she wants. We just saw her complaining. I mean, we have the fantasy sequence where she’s having sex with that Jason Momoa-looking character, but there’s no sense of what she wants in a relationship.

Is Fez Alive?

Kyndall: This is less of a loose end and more just being confused as to why so much of the emotional, gut-wrenching parts of the finale centered around Ashtray (Javon Walton) when we haven’t really gotten to know him. He’s always just sort of been there. And I get that he’s impulsive, but is he that dumb?

Cheyenne: ​​To me, it seemed Sam Levinson wanted some type of “whoa” moment. It made no sense to me, this ride or die mentality. Also, can you say something while you’re doing this?

Kyndall: I feel Fezco (Angus Cloud) doesn’t demand that of him really because Fez is so chill. I guess he does need a bodyguard in certain situations, but I don’t really see Fez encouraging that violent behavior.

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Cheyenne: Also, how is Fez not dead if they’re shooting back and forth?

Kyndall: Only one bullet wound?

Cheyenne: Is he going to die, or do you think he’s going to go to jail?

Kyndall: I really don’t want to watch a crime procedural about Fez going to jail. But I found it interesting, the montage they played of him and Lexi (Maude Apatow)—having phone conversations—right before he gets shot. We don’t see any of that throughout the season, apart from that one conversation where they were talking about Stand by Me. But, for most of the season, after they meet at the party, we don’t really get the sense that they’re in communication with one another. So, it felt like, “Oh, we have to let everyone know these are the emotional stakes between Lexi and Fez because we haven’t really done their storyline that much justice throughout the season.”

Cheyenne: I felt like the play served as a vehicle to throw in all the reasons for how things turned out. [The montage] was sweet to watch, but there was no harm in adding those scenes throughout the other episodes versus mashing them together then. Since the beginning of the season, we’ve always been invested in their relationship, so it would be great if we had those moments sprinkled in.

Kyndall: It was like reminding us why we’re supposed to care because the show didn’t do a good job.

Cheyenne: I honestly feel like it could go either way if he’s dead or not. But it’s because I feel that Sam Levinson doesn’t know what he’s doing next season—it could be his way of leaving his options open. I wouldn’t be surprised to watch season three and there’s a voiceover that’s like, “Lexi’s been depressed since Fez died,” and the show just moves on.

Justice for Maddy (and the Mysterious Minka Kelly)

Cheyenne: So, what was the purpose of that friendship between Maddy and Samantha (Minka Kelly)? I know Minka told you that she was there to serve as Maddy’s older, wiser sister, but in the context of this season as a whole, it feels there was no real reason to include that.

Kyndall: Originally, her role was a lot less important than what we see. There’s a scene where she’s supposed to unzip her dress and is naked. But she said [Levinson] decided later on that she should be this role model for Maddy, but she’s just a rich housewife with nothing really to say. She doesn’t seem too embedded in Maddy’s life aside from providing her a nice house to play around in.

Cheyenne: People were thinking that when Maddy was trying on [Samantha’s] dresses, an alarm clock actually had a camera in it. In the next scene, Nate goes over to Maddy’s house and on her wall is a sign that says, “Smile, You’re on Camera.” So, people thought that maybe Samantha was setting Maddy up for rifling through her expensive stuff, but instead she gifts her the dress that she’s been trying on.

Kyndall: It was trying to set that up, like make us think that there was going to be a bad outcome in that relationship. But it would have been more interesting if Maddy was stealing her stuff. It seemed like more of a storyline than what is happening now.

Cheyenne: It’s like they try to throw off the scent of what’s to come. What’s actually happening is so much less interesting than the red herrings that they’ve thrown in. Maddy getting in trouble is so much more fun than just letting her have a nice dress.

For more, listen to Euphoria’s Martha Kelly on The Last Laugh podcast.

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