Warning: Spoilers for Euphoria season 2, episode 3 are ahead.
The end of Euphoria season 2, episode 3 is the show's darkest yet and it portends bad things for Zendaya's character Rue. When the season began, Rue found herself in the midst of a near-fatal relapse. One scene in the premiere saw her meet new character Elliott (Dominic Fike) and when Rue's heart nearly stops from a cocktail of narcotics, Elliott helps her revive herself with more drugs. Since then, Rue has been attempting to hide her drug use in various ways, from pretending to be completely sober in front of Jules to admitting to her sister Gia that she is smoking weed to take the heat off of her suspicions that Rue is doing much more than just smoking.
Euphoria's acute examination of addiction has always been one of its strong suits and that, coupled with Zendaya's performance, has helped the series rise above criticisms that have been leveled at its weaker spots, namely its preference for style over substance. With such a vast cast of characters, Euphoria has always centered Rue and her attempt to stay sober which shows an awareness of its strong suits. Still, Euphoria has a tendency to make its characters suffer and that looks to be what's happening with Rue as the show heads into the middle of its sophomore season.
Rue's story in Euphoria season 2, episode 3 centers around a mysterious plan that she has, something that her close friend Fez refuses to take part in. This leads her to Laurie, a local drug supplier, who gives Rue a suitcase of drugs that she is then supposed to sell. Of course, Rue intends to do most of them and the episode ends with Zendaya's character taking out a packet of fentanyl from the suitcase and putting it in her mouth. The camera intentionally lingers on the fentanyl label before the screen fades to black and this in and of itself is significant. In an effort to not glorify the drug use in Euphoria, the show has largely shied away from specifically naming much of the drugs that the characters do.
Focusing on the fentanyl in the scene, though, gives Euphoria the opportunity to highlight the opioid epidemic akin to shows like Dopesick, showing the effects that drugs like these have on people's lives. Even though Euphoria has shied away from glorification in the past, it walks a fine line between glamorization and realism. Now, however, the ending of episode 3 of Euphoria season 2 hints that this time around, things for Rue are about to get really dire. Zendaya's character already began using heroin at the beginning of the season, but her willingness to use fentanyl, and the amount of drugs she has at her disposal, don't bode well for her.
It's unclear what Rue's future looks like at this point - she has always said that she is not sure if she can live a sober life, but short of killing her off, there's not much the show could do besides having her return to rehab. First, though, it seems Rue will have to hit rock bottom and this could include her ruining her relationship with Jules and with her sponsor Ali, played by Colman Domingo. Euphoria season 2 has the chance to continue telling a poignant story about addiction through Rue, but the end of episode 3 hints that things will get much darker before they get better. Hopefully, the show doesn't give in to its worst impulses and prioritizes restraint and realism over its typical bombast.
Euphoria releases new episodes every Sunday on HBO.