(WARNING: Spoilers for the Euphoria Season 2 finale will be found below.)
The Euphoria season two finale made fans a ton of promises.
We were told to expect drama. We were told to expect catfights. We were told to expect the possible demise of some fan-favorite characters. And we were told to expect Zendaya to eat every scene she’s in. (Okay fine, that last part is always expected.) But, did the show’s final episode deliver? Here’s everything that happened in Euphoria’s eighth episode, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name.”
Ashtray Dies, And Fez Gets Hurt
It wasn’t shocking to see Ash bite the bullet this season — the kid was way too impulsive when he got a knife in his hand — but it was devastating to see the way he went out, and the emotional toll it took on Fez. The brothers opened the episode by handling the Custer threat. After Faye warned Fez not to say anything about Mouse’s murder when Custer brought it up, Ash realized he was a snitch and dealt with it in a fairly violent way: by slicing his throat wide open. To protect his brother, Fez intended to take the fall for the kill, telling Ash to surrender to the police outside, and he’d admit both murders. Ash wasn’t keen on going along with that plan so he threw some guns in a bathtub, locked himself in the bathroom, and prepared for a shootout with the police. While Fez begged him to come out and turn himself in, the S.W.A.T. team busted through the front door, prompting Ash to start spraying bullets — one of which knocked Fez in the stomach. By the end of the shootout, Fez and Faye were in police custody, and Ashtray was left dead on the bathroom floor. R.I.P. Ash — you were a little psycho, but you were also a ride-or-die.
Cassie Crashes Lexi’s Play
We left Cassie doing her best Jurassic Park re-enactment in episode seven, fuming after Nate broke up with her because of Lexi’s play. Unhinged and with nothing to lose, she stormed down the auditorium aisle and invaded the stage, dragging Lexi out from behind the curtains to accuse her of being jealous, too afraid to live her own life, etc. You know, normal Cassie Howard avoidant b.s. The girls’ mom, Suze, was forced to jump up on stage as the audience watched on in order to keep Lexi and Cassie from going for each others’ throats, eventually giving up as Cassie decided to take her anger out on her doppelganger. Maddy, who had had enough of Cassie’s emotional meltdown by that point, kicked off her heels and ran up on stage, slapping Cassie across the face before chasing her into the school’s bathroom. The “riot” ended with Lexi continuing her play — thanks in part to Rue’s well-timed chant — and Maddy ominously warning Cassie that her on-again-off-again with Nate was “just the beginning.”
Nate Turns On Cal
Nate, enraged over Lexi’s play and blaming his dad for all of his problems in life, began the episode by driving erratically while guzzling a beer and loading his revolver. He was clearly a deranged man on a homicidal mission, and when he pulled up to one of his dad’s properties, we were expecting the worst. (We’re talking patricide.) Things didn’t get that bad but they did get fairly awkward, especially when Nate crashed Cal’s new Queer, free-loving lifestyle. He was apparently partying with some new friends when Nate dropped in reminding him of how badly he screwed their family over. Nate even admitted to having nightmares about his dad raping him after finding the sex tapes that he secretly filmed with his many hook-ups. That last confession managed to clear the room of Cal’s crew which is when the two men really went at it with Nate revealing he wasn’t interested in Cal’s apology, he just wanted revenge. And it looks like he got it because, by the end of the episode, the cops had come to arrest Cal after Nate revealed he’d save copies of the sex tapes on a thumb drive.
Rue Makes Amends
Rue continued to take some monumental steps in her recovery journey. Lexi’s play opened her eyes to how much trauma she’s been through, and it showed her that something good might come from her pain. By the end of the episode, we saw her make up with Elliot — forgiving him for telling Jules about her addiction and thanking him for saving her life. She also said goodbye (for now) to Jules. Their love story might be on hold but at least they haven’t left any bad feelings from that tense intervention. But, most importantly, Rue reconnected with Lexi, going over to her house after the play to apologize for checking out the past two years and giving both girls the chance to share how heartbroken they still are over their dads’ death/disappearance. Rue ends the episode with a monologue narrating how she will remain sober for the rest of the school year, giving fans an optimistic outlook on where her sobriety journey is headed.