'Euphoria' Special "Part Two: Jules": How Fans Are Reacting

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.

Hunter Schafer’s writing and acting are nothing short of revelatory.

Fans are begging Levinson to make more “interpersonal episodes.”

People are really relating to Jules’s notes on femininity and gender.

And the ocean had main character energy, because of course it does.