Trouble Don't Last Always - Euphoria Special Edition

SPOILER ALERT! This blog post contains heavy spoilers!

The creators of Euphoria decided to make a two-part special edition, since they had to delay the second season till 2021 due to Covid-19. The first part recently came out on HBO GO, and just like many others, we couldn't resist watching it. It is not at all what we'd expected, but we mean it in the best possible way.

This episode starts off with a flashback of Rue and Jules waking up together, in their New York apartment. Rue showers Jules with "good luck kisses" for her presentation. Then as soon as Jules leaves, Rue rummages through the apartment to find all the items she needs to get high. As the drugs start to kick in, the episode continues in what seems like the present time. 

It gives us a look inside an addict's mind. Rue's mind. It is the closest we have gotten to the character. She is incredibly vulnerable, trying to decide whether to live or to die. She is still hung up on Jules and battling her addiction at the same time.

Most of the episode is set in a diner, where Rue is having dinner with her friend from anonymous addicts Ali, on Christmas eve. He is a 53-year-old former drug addict. He has been sober for 7 years, and now he is trying to be a good person and help others struggling with addiction. He is trying to mentor her and get her back on the right path. He seems to be the only person Rue feels comfortable around enough to be completely honest, to be completely herself. Maybe because he has gone through it all and that shows her hope.

We find that the show likes to work in metaphors in a way. Ms. Martia, the lady who works in the diner, could be interpreted as Rue in the future. She too, he battled addiction, she has been clean for 17 years. She opened Rue's eyes when she said she cannot date while trying to get clean. Her saying "Baby, trouble don't last always" means, not everything is lost, there is still hope for her. She can still get clean. But in order to achieve that, she needs to focus on herself.

During dinner, she confesses her shame about treating her Mom poorly, for being violent with her. She shared her doubts about being a bad person. This episode is Rue's self-reflection. Her dilemma is: "How should people remember Rue?."