I would say that Euphoria's special “bridge” episodes are merely crumbs to feed on until season two drops, but that would underestimate the power that these installments have. The first chapter, starring Zendaya as Rue, aired on HBO and HBO Max in December, and the second—"Part Two: Jules"—premiered over the weekend.
The second chapter, which was co-written by Schafer, is an hour-long therapy session where we become privy to Jules's insecurities, anxieties, and musings on love and personhood and femininity. While the first of these bridge episodes dealt with the fallout of Rue’s relapse in a vulnerable conversation with her drug counseling mentor, the latest entry dives into the ocean of Jules’s memories—and the result is a heady and ambulatory re-examination of the show’s previous events.
You know Euphoria best for its extravagant sequences filled with carnivals, high school house parties, and indulgent dance numbers (not to mention all the glitter), but COVID-19 restrictions forced creator Sam Levinson to rethink his approach to storytelling. Unlike the first season, the special episodes luxuriate in long-winded, and sometimes philosophical, conversations about what it means to be a person struggling in the world, and I, for one, am grateful for this new attitude. Levinson, I beg, please bring more of this energy to season two!
Anyway, these latest slices of the Euphoria universe are the best yet—so, of course, Twitter took notice.
The episode’s first needle drop—"Liability” by Lorde—caused emotional distress for some.
Any episode of television that STARTS with "Liability" by Lorde is destined to be dark as hell. Am I really ready for the emotional hell this new #Euphoria is bound to put me through?January 23, 2021
Hunter Schafer’s writing and acting are nothing short of revelatory.
YOUR EMMY CAMPAIGN STARTS NOW @hunters pic.twitter.com/XtjADMnW2qJanuary 25, 2021
FYI - the #Euphoria Pt.2 special with Jules is so wonderful. The acting, the writing were beautiful. Love is messy, painful, elusive, contradictory and @hunters brought all of that to light with her performance (she also co-wrote this episode). Brava! #EuphoriaHBO pic.twitter.com/2kRiun56g2January 23, 2021
society if hunter schafer wrote all of euphoria pic.twitter.com/weOnMDaQI9January 23, 2021
Fans are begging Levinson to make more “interpersonal episodes.”
Kinda want every euphoria character to have interpersonal episodes like this between seasons.....January 23, 2021
Can @hunters write every episode of #Euphoria moving forward because the Jules special might just be my favourite yet? And I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels that way. We need more messy, beautiful standalone character studies like this.I hope season 2 is just as mesmerising pic.twitter.com/FqiaUlpcG5January 24, 2021
People are really relating to Jules’s notes on femininity and gender.
Same, Jules.[CAPTIONS: "Like, what men want is so boring...how the fuck did I spend my entire life...[on] what I think men desire? ...It's embarrassing." #Euphoria pic.twitter.com/NrOVmd6ExPJanuary 23, 2021
Same, Jules.[CAPTIONS: "Like, what men want is so boring...how the fuck did I spend my entire life...[on] what I think men desire? ...It's embarrassing." #Euphoria pic.twitter.com/NrOVmd6ExPJanuary 23, 2021
And the ocean had main character energy, because of course it does.
The ocean... the ocean. @euphoriaHBO pic.twitter.com/S4IpwnyCFpJanuary 24, 2021
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Zoe Guy is the digital fellow at Marie Claire, where she covers pop culture, hot celebrity gossip, movies and TV. She’s obsessed with Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of The Age of Innocence, anything written by Jesmyn Ward and stan Twitter.
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