'Euphoria' Ep. 5 Recap and Review

This episode of the HBO series Euphoria is centered around Maddy, who is the confident cheerleader and on- and off-girlfriend of Nate Jacobs. Previously on the show, Nate strangled Maddy at the parade for yelling at his mom, leaving a bruise on her neck. Earlier on in the show, Nate beat up Tyler, a boy who Maddy had intercourse with, and Maddy doesn't know about it. Aside from that, Nate also blackmailed Jules, and Jules has yet to tell Rue about this.

Maddy

Maddy's backstory is not what I expected, in the sense that she's always been confident since childhood. It's revealed she doesn't have much ambition in terms of wanting a career. Normally when TV shows reveal an abusive relationship, the girl is often depicted as someone who is insecure and shy, but that's the complete opposite of Maddy. Maddy doesn't lack any confidence and is quick to tell anyone off. She has no fear, and that's what I love about her character because it shows that anyone can be abused, no matter how confident they are. The whole episode, Maddy exhibits the normal abuse symptoms of someone who is being abused. The first symptom being that she's is denial, or rather doesn't know she's in an abusive relationship. She goes on to defend Nate and deny his actions, and the whole episode, I really felt for her.

Nate

Nate finally gets punished for his actions and I would've loved every second of it if the show didn't make me sympathize with Nate's dad, Cal. Don't get me wrong, Cal is a creep, but I can't imagine his emotions about finding out his son strangled his girlfriend. Moreover, Maddy's family presses charges against Nate, and he is suspended even though Maddy won't admit that he laid a hand on her. The part about this scene that infuriates me is when Cal tells Nate to keep your head up, which I find disgusting. Cal is Nate's dad, and should be teaching his son to control his anger and be an actual man, instead of someone who is proud of abusing someone. In the end, Nate still finds a way to see Maddy at a motel, so he really wasn't punished because he hasn't gotten Maddy taken away from him.

Rue's Sexual History

During the episode, Jules and Rue are discussing their sexual history, and Rue defines hers as brief, which is a complete lie. By the age of 17, she'd given blow and hand jobs, and she had lost her virginity. Compared to Jules and her one night stands, sure, her experience seems minuscule; but in reality and in high school, she has done a lot. None of these sexual interactions involve love, but they're still sexual interactions, and I think the show diminished them too much. This sends the wrong message to young teens watching who are now going to see these interactions as not a big deal when, to a certain extent, they are. On the other hand, Rue has been sober for more than a week, and that makes me happy; but at the same time, I feel like it's all going to end.

Kat

Kat's self confidence has grown and her clothes have gotten tighter this episode. She's still doing the video porn thing and coming off a high from having sex with a former popular guy at her high school. What bugged me about Kat during this episode was the fact that she totally disobeyed girl code. Maddy, who was in a terrible situation, calls her practically in tears, and Kat blows her off to hook up with a guy. The worst part is, Kat doesn't even feel guilty about her choice, and has a glowing smile on her face when she's done with the guy. I get that she's found confidence in herself, but she should still at least try being a good friend.

Overall Review

This episode was good aside from the diminishing Rue's sex history scene, and it lived up to my expectations that I had when watching Episode Five. One thing I did notice was that Rue doesn't seem as interested in Jules as she is in her, and I hope that's not the case and she's just acting weird because of her meet up with Nate. One thing I like about this episode and Euphoria all together is the choice of music and how it helps tell the story. I've recently been listening to the show's playlist and I love most of the songs.