When You Can Expect to See the Second ‘Euphoria’ Special Episode
In place of technicolor opiate binges and rooms full of genitalia and oodles of sex and rivers of alcohol—in short, in place of euphoria—HBO’s Euphoria opened its second season with a sobering special episode containing no partying, no strobes, only a little drug use, and almost one hour of pure, uncut but-for-the grace-of-God narcotics anonymous dialogue.
Euphoria’s episode “Rue” or “Trouble Don’t Last Always” plays out like a limited-set stage performance—a narrative minimalism, which feels both appropriate in the face of a COVID winter and also cathartic; trouble found all of us this year. The episode, a conversation between Rue and her NA sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo), was, in fact, inspired by recent events.
In an interview with GQ, Euphoria creator Sam Levinson explained the impetus for the one-off episode:
"I had a feeling that the pandemic was going to shut us down for a while leading up to it because I was watching what was happening to the rest of the world. So the day they called to shut us down, I actually pitched the idea of doing a super contained Euphoria movie … Then season two got pushed until 2021, so [HBO] asked if I could do COVID episodes. And to be honest, I loved the challenge that COVID restrictions put on the show as a medium. We shot everything in that diner in three-and-a-half days."
Of course, the episode was only part 1 of a two-part preemptive Season 2—covering the events following the Season 1 finale, after Jules leaves Rue, and Rue relapses.
When will Euphoria’s special episode part 2 come out?
While we were hoping for back-to-back Sunday episodes—the series' typical release schedule in season—it looks like we'll have to wait until 2021 to catch part two. In a post on the series' Instagram account, HBO announced that the second part will air on January 24.
What will episode 2 be about?
In part 1, Rue continues to relapse, taking pills in the diner’s bathroom on Christmas Eve before leaving in Ali's truck. Part two of the special—titled "Jules"—will likely follow a similar minimalism, given that the episode was also shot with filming restrictions.
The episode will likely follow Jules in Chicago. While it could also take place on Christmas Eve—but from Jules's perspective—given the release date, the episode may see a larger time jump.
Levinson has called the episodes "bridge episodes," both of which will not affect previous story plans for the second season, he said. So expect another deep character dive in "Jules," and another great stand-alone episode.
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