Euphoria Season 2 Episode 6 review: The series has found renewed life with yet another well-executed episode

Rating:3.5/5

Story:
A sobered-up Rue regrets her actions and decides to apologise to the one person who she believes deserves it the most - Ali. Nate decides to take matters into his own hands to retrieve the disc from Maddy, stolen from Cal’s office. While Cassie has multiple mental breakdowns, Lexi's friendship with Fezco is explored for the first time since the first episode of season two.

Review:
The much anticipated second season, despite starting with a bang, stuttered to find any sort of rhythm or balance in its storytelling until the fifth episode. For a show that is as revered as Euphoria on social media, this was mildly concerning considering the amount of hype it generates on the internet. But the fifth and sixth episodes have significantly stepped-up their game with back-to-back winners.

Much of the episode’s success can be attributed to Zendaya's astounding performance as Rue Bennett. Even though an argument could be made that her character arc has taken quite a beating thanks to some questionable creative choice, the Spider-Man: No Way Home star does not skip a beat and has produced one of the best performances of her career. Furthermore, Nika King as Leslie Bennett and Storm Reid as Gia Bennett also excel in their roles.

While the previous episode focused entirely on Rue, the sixth episode has explored the various subplots revolving around the other supporting characters. The Cassie-Nate-Maddy bombshell from the previous episode was understandably given importance. Even though the entire melodrama surrounding this particular narrative is tedious, the writers have managed to make it very intriguing largely thanks to the sociopathic version of Nate returning to cause distress to those around him. It is also worth pointing out that Cassie’s mother Suze is slowly becoming one of the more level-headed characters in the show - a far cry from her first appearance in season one.

The new friendship and possible romance between Lexi and Fezco are finally touched upon after the tease in the first episode of season two. Considering Lexi and Fezco are easily the best characters in the show, it’s shocking that it took another five episodes for them to feature prominently. Thankfully the audience won’t be subject to more of Kat’s absurdity as she ended her relationship with Ethan, rather embarrassingly. It has come to a point where Lexi, Fezco, and Ethan should form their own clique and distance themselves from the unstable Rue and Jules, and the gang’s ‘mean girls’, Cassie, Maddy, and Kat. While it wouldn’t obviously make much sense from a storytelling perspective, it would give the fans of the show a new subplot to truly get behind.

Verdict:
The sixth episode, titled A Thousand Little Trees of Blood, is one of the standouts of the second season. Zendaya delivers an Emmy worthy performance in what could easily be described as one of her most memorable performances.