Did Rue Just Die a Horrible Death?
SPOILER ALERT: This story incorporates spoilers for “This Little Piggy,” Season 3 Episode 5 of “Euphoria,” now streaming on HBO Max.
Thus far, the third season of HBO’s “Euphoria” extra carefully resembles “Traffic” spliced with a cleaning soap opera than Sam Levinson’s authentic creation.
Gone are the Labrinth needle-drops and kinetic camerawork — whip-pans and dolly zooms have been given a technique to broad photographs on 65mm, as its forged of sizzling younger actors delve deeper into a huge wasteland the place hope does not spring everlasting.
When we last left the most depressing ex-high school click everRue (Zendaya) bought caught with a entire mess of medication and turned DEA informant; Kitty (Anna Van Patten), a new stripper on the Silver Slipper, will get a practice run on her by a group of repulsive middle-aged frat boys; “the fairy tale is over” between Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and Nate (Jacob Elordi), as the previous leaves the latter as a consequence of his $1 million debt; Lexi (Maude Apatow) will get Jules (Hunter Schafer) a job portray artwork for her well-liked cleaning soap “LA Nights,” solely to land in sizzling water after Jules unveils a portray that includes a scene of nude trans of us; At the urging of Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie seduces an influencer at a home get together in an try and go viral and drive traffic to her OnlyFans; and Big Eddy (Kadeem Hardison) will get shot within the abdomen and has the contents of his protected stolen on the Silver Slipper by masked gunmen in Obama masks who seem like pushed there by none apart from Faye (Chloe Cherry), with the group finishing up the hit in retaliation for the poisoning of Laurie’s beloved pet parrot, Paladin.
Deep breath.
Here’s what went down this week…
Attack of the 50-Foot Cassie!
Cassie’s viral stunt with mega-influencer Brandon Fontaine (Jeff Wahlberg, nephew of Mark and Donnie) labored, and he or she hits 50,000 OnlyFans subscribers. Now, Maddy has her participating in a smorgasbord of fetish content material for her devoted clientele, from ASMR soiled discuss to promoting her panties to masturbation with comically giant dildos, and happening a variety of podcasts preaching the sex positivity of OnlyFans work (with Trisha Paytas cameo!). We’re handled to a surreal sequence whereby Cassie transforms into the 50-Foot Woman, stomping throughout Downtown Los Angeles like a monster film, which all looks as if a pretext for a scene the place Sweeney’s large boobs burst by way of the home windows of a constructing.
Nate the Cuckold
Nate is so deep in debt that he sweet-talks Cassie, who nonetheless has emotions for him, into wiring him $35,000 to make the mortgage cost on their home — after which one other $30,000. He additionally encourages Cassie, who he calls his “last hope,” to maneuver in with the thirsty Fontaine and film NSFW content with him so she will “bring home the bacon.” Nate is such a fuck-up, nonetheless, that he does not repay any of his money owed with the cash, resulting in him getting his pinky turned off (once more) in addition to a finger by a thug.
Maddy Pulls a Fast One
When Cassie discovers that Maddy is just not a expertise supervisor in a doorman condo constructing however a low-level Hollywood assistant in a basement condo, she threatens to chop skilled ties together with her supposed “best friend” and strikes into a TikTok home — that’s, till Maddy dangles an audition with “LA Nights” and its star Dylan Reid (Homer Gere), convincing Cassie to signal a managerial contract with Maddy. There is not any audition, however Maddy strong-arms Lexi into getting her on the audition checklist, resulting in a brilliantly acted (if wildly out of character) audition sequence the place Sweeney’s Cassie performs a monologue from Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra.” She knocks it out of the park and lands the half.
Rue and Jules’ Flirtation
One of the numerous issues “Euphoria” has overpassed is its bedrock romance between Rue and Jules. Here, we see Rue and Jules flirt within the sugar daddy’s condo whereas consuming Chinese meals: “You want me? Make me yours,” Jules implores. The scene then cuts to Jules having loud intercourse with… the sugar daddy. Guess we’ll have to attend a few extra episodes for these two to get on the identical web page. Then, the sugar daddy discovers Rue’s flannel shirt in his condo and is none too happy together with his sugar child, pondering she’s been shtupping different males of their pad and worrying about contracting an STD: “I like you… but I love my family. And I will not put them at risk,” he tells her.
Rue Is in Deep Doo-Doo
It’s a miracle that Rue remains to be alive at this level. But alas, I digress. After Rue tries to border Magick (Rosalía) by sticking a couple coke baggies in her locker, Magick will get her revenge by convincing the large boss, Alamo (Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje), that Rue is a snitch who ought to’ve acknowledged the voices of the robbers, since they’re Laurie’s henchmen. So, whereas Rue and Maddy are confabulating over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive together with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson). While that is taking place, Alamo finds himself impressed by Maddy’s OnlyFans racket and the 2 get into enterprise collectively, positioning Magick and Kitty as the following OF stars. Back to Rue: Alamo’s guys make her dig a ditch out in the course of nowhere after which bury her as much as her neck in filth. Alamo reenters the scene, galloping towards her on horseback whereas swinging a mace and simply earlier than he connects together with her head… the scene cuts to black. Rue is conveniently absent from “scenes from the next,” so did she lastly meet her destiny?
