Unpacking the Euphoria Season 2 Finale

Can 2024 come any faster? On February 27, 2022, our beloved Euphoria released their season 2 finale episode, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name.” And let’s just say there’s a lot to talk about. Season 2 consisted of eight episodes that aired every Sunday starting on January 9.

Before the first episode aired, Zendaya posted a warning on her Instagram that read “This season, maybe even more so than the last, is deeply emotional and deals with subject matter that can be triggering and difficult to watch.”

After a season that explored themes of betrayal, childhood trauma, substance abuse, and sexuality, there were a lot of plot holes to fill in the finale episode. So, without further ado, let’s unpack the final episode of Euphoria season 2.

Cassie’s Monologue

At the end of episode 7, the audience was left with the image of a manic Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney). After Nate (Jacob Elordi) breaks up with her because of her sister Lexi’s (Maude Apatow) play, she immediately becomes furious. With her head held high, Cassie storms onto the stage in the middle of the play and starts going off on her.

“You’re just a f***ing bystander,” she shouts at Lexi. In a rage, she begins pacing around the stage and threatening to kill Lexi. Even when their mom, Suze (Alanna Ubach), gets involved, Cassie does not budge and continues to tell Lexi that she “hasn’t even lived.”

Things took a turn when Maddy (Alexa Demie) had enough of watching Cassie complain that Lexi embarrassed her. Rushing onto the stage, Maddy gives Cassie a smack-down (literally) that everyone knew she had coming. The two ex-bestfriends continue the fight off stage, while Lexi breaks down and considers stopping the production entirely, but ultimately chose not to.

Elliot’s Song

While Rue (Zendaya) glances at Elliot (Dominic Fike) during the play, the audience is brought back to a moment between the two a few days prior. This is the first time that we’ve seen Rue and Elliot together since he told Jules (Hunter Schafer) that she was still taking drugs—and the heart-wrenching scene that followed in the Bennett’s kitchen during episode 5.

Rue tells Elliot, “I have a lot of ‘I’m sorry’s’ to do. But not a lot of ‘I forgive you’s.’” The dialogue quickly transitions into “Elliot’s Song,” which was written by Zendaya and Labrinth, as stated on Enter Euphoria. The somber tone and lyrics such as “I gave it all to see you shine again” create a “surreal” moment as Dominic Fike describes it. Though Elliot does not outright tell Rue it’s about her, the tears falling from her cheek reveal that she is beginning to understand why he betrayed her.

After playing the song, Elliot then asks Rue if they can still be friends to which she responds, “You know you’re the one who said we weren’t any good for each other,” creating a parallel to the moment when they first met.

Nate and Cal’s Talk

Season 2 delves into Nate’s childhood trauma and his relationship with his father Cal (Eric Dane). After Nate storms out of the play at the end of episode 7, the finale picks up right where it left off and he is seen pulling into Cal’s construction site with a loaded gun.

Nate finds Cal drinking with a group of people in the middle of the construction site. After taking a swig of some alcohol, he asks Cal “Are you happy?” Before Cal asks his friends to disperse, Nate reveals to the group that he has nightmares about his father sexually assaulting him due to the trauma he endured when he watched Cal’s sex tapes as a child.

After the group leaves and the two are alone, Nate tells his father that he doesn't need his sympathy but he “just wants revenge.” Red and blue lights then flash on the screen as Nate pulls out a flash drive with all of Cal’s tapes on it. After refusing Cal’s pleas, Nate is seen walking out of the construction site while the police walk in and arrest Mr. Jacobs.

Maddy & Cassie bathroom scene

After the brawl between Maddy and Cassie, the audience is taken to the high school bathroom where the two girls are debriefing. Though very little words are said in this scene, this is an important moment for the two.

Whilst cleaning their scrapes and bruises, Cassie says to Maddy “You know what’s funny? Nate broke up with me before I even went on that stage.” With a look of sorrow in her eyes, Maddy turns to her ex-best friend and replies, “Don’t worry, this is just the beginning.”

Though this moment doesn’t suggest that Maddy forgives Cassie for betraying her, she does still love her and doesn’t want to waste any more energy on fighting. Instead, she warns her of the troubling times that are bound to come in her relationship with Nate. The fate of their friendship is still uncertain, but we are thankful Maddy found the strength to leave the drama in the past.

The Police Break-In

Perhaps the most tear-jerking scene in the finale episode is when the police break into Fezco (Angus Cloud) and his little brother Ashtray’s (Javon Walton) house after Custer (Tyler Chase), a fellow drug dealer and friend of theirs, rats them out. In episode 7, when Custer comes into the house and places down his phone (which is clearing recording the encounter), Ashtray can sense that something is wrong.

Just like Nate’s scene with Cal, the finale picks up right where we left off with Fez and Ash. Custer tells Fezco that they need to talk about Mouse’s (Meeko Gattuso) death. In complete shock, Faye (Chloe Cherry) drops her glass and motions to Fez to keep quiet.

Ashtray then stabs Custer in the neck, killing him, which causes Fez to slap Ash and tell him that he needs to leave so he doesn’t get caught by the police (who are on their way). “I did this s***,” he tells Ashtray in an attempt to save him. Without saying anything, Ash does not oblige Fez’s request and grabs all of the guns and ammunition he can find and locks himself in the bathroom.

The S.W.A.T. team then barges in as Fezco screams at Ashtray to get out of the bathroom. The police handcuff Faye and head for Fez and Ash. Further emphasizing how young he is, Ashtray does not budge and begins shooting at the police through the bathroom door, ultimately striking Fezco in the abdomen.

In response, the police start shooting up the entire house, leaving bullet holes on every surface. When the S.W.A.T. team eventually gets to Ashtray, they point a red laser at his heart and then move it up to his head. An injured Fezco is forced to watch his little brother die and is then handcuffed and taken away. We are left wondering if Fezco survived the bullet wound, but Ashtray’s death was confirmed.

Rexi’s Rekindle

Everyone’s favorite long-lost BFFs share a special moment in the finale episode. After the play, Rue calls Lexi to tell her how much she enjoyed it which turns into her going over the Howard’s house. The two girls then have an emotional talk about everything they’ve been through.

Rue tells Lexi that her play was the first time she was able to look at her life and not hate herself. She continues to tell Lexi that she envies her for taking her trauma from her father (Nick Blood) and turning it into something amazing. The two girls begin to cry, realizing that they haven’t been dealt a good hand in life.

Rue stresses that Lexi’s father loves her more than she thinks because she has first-hand experience with substance abuse. Watching Lexi’s play gave Rue hope that she can be a better person—and we see Lexi realizing that in this moment. The two girls share an emotional hug to finish off this touching scene.

Rue and Jules Moment

After Rue told Jules that she was “dead to her” in episode 5, the fate of their relationship has been uncertain. At the conclusion of Lexi’s play, we see the two share a sweet moment together. Jules walks up to Rue and tells her how much she loves and misses her. Without saying a word, Rue reaches over to get and gives her a small kiss on the top of her head.

Though this scene does not indicate they will be together romantically, you can tell the amount of love ‘Rules’ has for each other. At the end of the episode Rue refers to Jules as her “first love.” After all the drama between them this season, we are happy to see it end in a full-circle moment.

Rue’s Closing epilogue

Last but not least, we have Rue’s epilogue at the end of the episode. She reveals to the audience that she was sober for the remainder of senior year, indicating that season 3 might pick up in the summertime. After watching Rue hit rock bottom this season, concluding the finale with a happy, sober Rue was definitely a beautiful moment to watch.

Although we don’t know if Rue will continue her sobriety journey when season 3 picks up, we are glad to see she is trying to be a better person. She explains to the audience that Ali (Coleman Domingo) says that the hope of being a good person is what helps him to stay sober.

This season has been a whirlwind of emotions and we hate to see it come to an end. Season 2 explored many dark and important topics—and the finale episode was no exception. The final episode of the season has left fans anxiously waiting for season 3 to air. Don’t mind us, we’ll be rewatching the entire series until then.

How did you feel about the Season 2 finale? Leave a comment below.