Euphoria Episode 2 Recap: Existential Crises And Aperol Spritzes

Jules was referenced only briefly in the Season 3 premiere of "Euphoria," but she comes to the fore in this week's episode. Are she and Rue any better of an idea together than they were in high school? Nope — but that doesn't seem to stop them from falling right back into old patterns.

Speaking of bad ideas, Maddy becomes intricately involved in Cassie's OnlyFans hustle, and Nate owes scary men money. Read on for the highlights of this week's hour.

A flashback to Maddy's recent past shows us how she got her job: by approaching her future boss, cold, at a restaurant and pitching her services. "I'm not a victim, I won't be an HR nightmare, and I believe in capitalism," Maddy says, then answers the woman's cell phone without asking. She's hired on the spot.

Maddy's ability to identify a rising social media star leads to her acting as a "career architect" for the young woman. When they hit 1 million followers, Maddy convinces her client to shoot some sexy photos and start charging for them. She also leverages her day job to get the influencer a date with Dylan Reed, the hunk on Lexi's primetime soap. But when paparazzi photos of the pair hit the media, Maddy's boss is incredibly angry. Their agency represents stars, not p**n stars, she states, and she won't hear Maddy's argument that social media is a growth industry. She makes Maddy drop the young woman as a client.

A year later, Rue voiceovers, the social media star is making $700,000 a month... and Maddy is still an assistant.

We check in with Maddy later, as she's meeting Cassie at a pool bar. Cassie DM'd her, which was their first communication since high school, and it's only a few minutes into their conversation before Cassie is apologizing about the whole Nate situation. "I feel like I found the love of my life at the expense of the other love of my life," she says — which is a sad commentary on all parties referenced in that sentence — and that's when Rue's voiceover alerts us that Maddy is about to "go in for the kill." She smiles. They order Aperol spritzes. Mean girl game on!

After a few more rounds, Cassie is drunk, and Maddy is blunt. Well, even more blunt than usual. She tells her frenemy that, with her social media presence, she's "trying way too hard instead of just being." This leads to the episode's most amazing interaction, mainly because of the increasing panic that Sydney Sweeney injects into Cassie's thinking about something she's probably never before considered:

CASSIE: Being what?
MADDY: Yourself.
CASSIE: Who am I?
MADDY: That's a good question.

It becomes clear that, despite everything she said earlier about atonement blah blah blah, Cassie wants Maddy back in her life to help her become an online phenomenon. They talk OnlyFans. Cassie says Nate is fine with nudes "as long as I don't post on the main page." Maddy smiles wolfishly. "Well, then, let's have some fun."

At the same time, Cal — who narrowly avoided prison after Nate called the cops on him at the end of Season 2 — visits his son. (Side note: I'm glad Eric Dane was able to be a part of this season. Lord knows I'm no Cal fan, but I always enjoyed seeing how he played him.) He knows about Cassie's spicy photos side hustle because a guy at his sex-and-love addicts support group was talking about her. Cal wonders if Nate is in financial trouble. Nate says no. He most assuredly is: He owes a funeral-industry guy $550,000, and that number is climbing.

After a barbecue at which Nate becomes aware of exactly what Cassie is posting online, and also at which they have a very public fight in front of their friends, Cassie confesses that Maddy is helping her shape her public persona. "My Maddy?" he instantly asks. "My Maddy," she pointedly replies. What's more, she invited Maddy to the wedding. Nate instantly assumes his bride-to-be issued the invitation out of revenge. "I hate to break it to you, babe, but not everyone's in love with you," she shoots back. They kiss. Ugh this dynamic. 

Let's go back to Rue. Alamo has her feeding his pigs and erasing any evidence that Tish — the woman who OD'd at the party in the previous episode — ever was at his house. Alamo also calls Laurie to curse her out about the laced drugs; she denies responsibility, and Rue says it's not a lie: Wayne had forgotten to tell Faye to clean the scale, so the fentanyl in the Ecstasy pills really was a mistake. But the two kingpins don't know that, and Alamo demands that Laurie make it up to him. "You killed one of my b****es," he says, "I'm taking one of yours" — meaning Rue.

That said, Rue doesn't mind. Remember: She's on a pseudo-religious search, and her bar is set about a micron off the ground, so this tracks. He gives her $300 and promotes her to a jack-of-all-trades role at his Silver Slipper club. She's basically the right hand to the club's manager (played by Zendaya's "K.C. Undercover" co-star Kadeem Hardison, wearing some very "A Different World" coded flip-up glasses). Rue also takes instant notice of a dancer named Angel (Priscilla Delgado, "A League of Their Own"), who shares her coke and invites Rue to get it on in her car after the club closes one night. Rue agrees, then voiceovers that she misses Jules. (We'll get to her in a moment.)

But Angel, we learn, was in love/best friends with Tish... and she's increasingly worried that the other dancer disappeared without a word. Alamo spins a story that Tish caught feelings and took off with a guy, but Angel doesn't buy it. One day, when she's so mad that she's hurling stilettos (can you imagine being on the receiving end of one of those killer heels?) and demanding to know the truth, Rue tells her a version of it: "She OD'd," she says.

That news tosses Angel into a spiral, and when Alamo becomes aware, he tasks Rue with getting her to go to rehab — or else Angel has got to go, period. As they drive, Rue spins the facility as a vacation-like getaway. But when they arrive at Hope Springs, the Alamo-approved place is grungy and poorly lit. Angel, who is nearly vibrating with fear, makes Rue promise she'll come back to pick her up. As an attendant leads Angel down the dark, gross hall, Rue asks the front desk clerk if there's any paperwork to fill out. Nope, the woman says, barely looking up from the game she's playing. The whole thing is shady as hell, and Rue is uneasy as she leaves... unaware that someone we can't see is watching her from a nearby car.

Back at Laurie's, Faye and Wayne are having sex when the sound of breaking glass comes from the living room: a large pig is wreaking havoc indoors, relieving itself right there near the sofa. A nearby flag bearing the slogan "Remember the Alamo" lets us know exactly who's responsible for the critter's intrusion.

OK, on to Jules. Rue voiceovers that she used to visit her ex-girlfriend in the city when Jules was in art school, "but it never quite felt like it did in high school." Also? Rue had relapsed bad — we see a cutaway of her leaving a sobbing voicemail for her mother, asking to come home and lying that she's clean — and she "hasn't really been sober since." Oh honey.

We then jump to the present-ish, a time when Rue just shows up at Jules' building, lying that she's "California sober" but "I avoid things that can destroy my life." Jules fixes her with a look. "And yet, you showed up here?" the blonde asks.

Jules puts on a robe, pours herself a drink, and lights a cigarette. "Were we ever good together?" she wonders. "NO," I scream from my couch; Rue admits, "Not really." Jules refers to her "boyfriend," to which Rue says, "not just a financial agreement?" Jules seems to take offense at that, though under questioning, she confirms that he's paying for the apartment she lives in, and he's married.

"I don't think people are meant to be monogamous," Jules says, very above it all. "So what you're saying is, I still have a chance," Rue responds, because hope — and her propensity to make a bad choice — springs eternal.

At first, Jules seems like she's shutting it down. "You can't just show up after all this time and think everything is going to be the same," she says, stepping into the bathroom to run a bath. But then, a moment later, she reappears in the living area, robe loosened. "You're not going to keep me company?" she wonders. And around we go again!

Now it's your turn. What did you think of the episode? Sound off in the comments!