‘Euphoria’ EP. 4 Review and Recap

Previously on the HBO series Euphoria staring former Disney star Zendaya, a lot happened regarding each of the characters. Jules sent nudes to her secret lover who we know as Nate, the star football player. Kat did her first cam session with a creepy old man and Rue enlisted the help of one of her NA members, Ali. Other information that is important to know to understand this episode is that Jules had a sexual encounter with Cal, who is Nate’s father, and Cassie, a very pretty and submissive girl, is dating college football player McKay. The fourth episode, “Shook One’s Pt. II,” is centered around the trans feminine Jules and takes place at the towns carnival. There is a lot to unpack, so let’s dive in.

Jules

Jules’s backstory is very depressing, as she spent her childhood feeling terrible about herself. She was forced into a psychiatric facility at a young age where she attempted suicide. The backstory gets less depressing as Jules gets older and she transitions to a woman; the only downside is she developed an infatuation with sleeping with older men. In my opinion, I believe she does this to make herself feel more feminine and she believes that only a man can make her feel that way. Now in the last episode, Rue kissed her and I shipped them, but after getting a full synopsis of Jules’s childhood, it’s hard for me to picture her in a healthy relationship. The one thing I didn’t get about Jules’s backstory was when she hurt herself, the nurse or security guard knocked her over, and I didn’t get how that would help her, but I’ve never been to a psychiatric facility before, so what do I know.

During this episode, Jules spots Cal with his family and Rue senses the awkwardness, making Jules tell Rue about their encounter. Rue didn’t believe, her thus making Jules prove she slept with him by going up to Cal, who is selling chili. The awkwardness is very apparent, so much so tht Nate, who happens to be there, notices. I didn’t like this scene because I simply didn’t get why Rue didn’t believe her. Why would Jules make up that she slept with Nate’s dad? I think Rue should’ve just trusted Jules and then that awkward encounter could’ve been avoided. As if it couldn’t get worse, Cal approaches Jules alone and begs for her not to ruin his life, and the conversation is actually amiable, unlike Jules' meeting with the guy she’s been talking to.

Jules Meets Shyguy (Nate)

It was mentioned in the last episode that Jules and the guy she was talking to would meet at the carnival, and in the dark they did. We know that he is Nate, but Jules doesn’t know until he comes up to her. Like I expected, Nate had a second agenda and isn’t interested one bit in Jules. In this scene, Nate threatens to put Jules in jail for distribution of child pornography. He comes off very intimidating and acted as if he wants revenge. Unless Nate knows Jules spent a night with his dad, I don’t get what he has against her and why he made this plan to threaten her. It wasn’t until he said, “Don’t ruin my life and I won’t ruin yours,” that I realized he probably does know about Jules and his dad, whether it was from the chili encounter or Nate snooping on Cal’s computer. This scene made me furious, and I find it funny that Nate was threatening to put her in jail when he basically admitted he has her photos, making him complacent in the crime. At least I know if Jules goes down for this, he will too, unless he is smarter than I think.

Gia Smoking

Rue goes to the carnival with her best friend Lexi, Jules, and her little sister Gia. The four of them separate and Rue goes with Jules, while Lexi, who let's be honest, doesn’t contribute much to the plot, tags along. Rue is too captivated by Jules to notice Gia sneaks off with a friend who looks like the definition of trouble with a terrible attitude. After seeing Gia walk off with this friend, we don’t see her until later in the episode. She disappears and Rue, Jules, and Lexi have to find her, but of course, she doesn’t pick up her phone. After some time of searching the carnival, Rue finds Gia in the back of the carnival smoking with some boys. Gia witnessed Rue’s overdose, and I’m sure she has seen what drugs do to Rue, so I don’t get why she would want to try them. If I found my sister passed out on the floor next to a pile of throw up because of drugs I surely wouldn’t want to try them. Then again it is just weed, but it is a drug. Another thing to consider is peer pressure, and those boys she was smoking with probably were really convincing, but she should be stronger.

Maddy and Cassie

Maddy, who is Nate’s on and off girlfriend, shows up to the carnival in an outfit that doesn’t leave much to the imagination, and Nate immediately freaks. I’d hate to justify his freak out, but the carnival is a family place and she was dressed for the club. Nate, who’s with his parents, doesn’t want to introduce Maddy with her choice of clothes, and abandons her. Maddy then finds Cassie, who has also been left alone due to McKay not wanting to acknowledge her as his girlfriend in front of Nate and Cal. Cassie ditches McKay, and she and Maddy decide to not be sad over their guy problems, and do molly; apparently that’s the only alternative. They get the drugs faster than I can get my prescription at Walgreens and immediately begin to feel the effects in different ways. Cassie ends up being embarrassed in front of the carnival when she practically has an orgasm on the merry-go-round. Maddy, on the other hand, approaches Nate’s family and calls his mom a see you next Tuesday. Her attempt at getting Nate’s attention succeeds, but he ends up yelling at her and strangling her, leaving a bruise. After doing this, hopefully Maddy will officially leave him, but I doubt that will happen. Cassie’s molly high ends a little better and her and McKay end up making up, but Cassie of course doesn’t tell him about kissing another guy while on molly.

Rue and Kat

In the last episode, Rue is seen calling Ali, who offered to get pancakes with her after calling her on her bullshit about lying to her NA group. There isn’t much conversation there, but Ali does tell Rue that her relationship with Jules may not last as long as she may be hoping. He is quite pessimistic, but I think he will help Rue; all she needs to do is accept his help. Kat goes to the carnival with a guy from school who payed for her grapefruit, and he seems to actually like her. Too bad Kat sees him talking to another girl for a brief second and ditches him.

Overall Review

What I loved about this episode was that there was more action than narrating. This show can often come off as a music video rather than a TV show with the music and elaborate shots, but this episode stuck to pushing the plot forward. I liked Jules’s backstory and that I have a better understanding of her. The character I really want to see get a backstory is Fezco, because I feel that would be really interesting. Another thing that made this episode different from the rest is that it didn’t have a lot of inappropriate shocking scenes that made me want to turn away. Other than that, this episode was really aesthetically pleasing, and I love the fast-paced scenes and the music that went along with them.