Headscratchers / Euphoria

• Why doesn’t the Jacobs family like Maddy? Nate said it to her face during the carnival, and the mom said she liked Natalie (the girl Nate took to Winter ball without underwear) better. So what’s the reason?
  • I don't think they ever mention why, but it could be a few things. It could be that Maddy has a bit of a reputation in the town they live in, maybe she's seen as a "bad girl" and the other girl might be more of a perfect girl in their eyes. I can definitely see it as a classist issue, that they think Maddy, who's from a low income, immigrant family with an unemployed alcoholic father, isn't good enough for their son. I don't think they have a real reason to dislike her unless she's been rude to them off screen. They could simply just choose not to like her.
• What’s the purpose of Nate not letting anyone know what his dad did?
  • There's probably a part of him that cares about his father too, but being the person that he is, it's probably mostly about him not wanting Nate would probably find it incredibly embarrassing at best, and he doesn't want his perfect little life to fall apart at worst.
  • Also, Cal is cheating on his wife, so little Nate keeping that secret could be out of a desire to not break up his family.
• How was Nate affected by the videos he saw of his dad hooking up?
  • Seeing images like that can be traumatic for a child, especially when it's their emotionally distant father doing that stuff. It messes with the way their mind develops. Not only that but it also taught Nate that women are just tools for his pleasure that should conform to what he wants, and that gay people are degenerates. It's implied he hates both because he thinks they ruined and corrupted his father. Maddie and Jules prove the fucked up shit he thinks is wrong, but he's too toxic to realize it.
  • Also, he had to keep it a secret that his dad was cheating on his wife for years, that would definitely mess up your mental growth somehow.
• What doesn’t make sense is how Tyler ended up at the party. He’s not in high school nor starting college, so how did he get an invite? Why did he go despite what might happen if he ended up having sex with Maddy? Why didn’t he even bother asking her age? He knew about the statutory rape laws but didn’t even consider whether she was at the appropriate age or not?
• If the theory that Rue has died and is retelling the story after her passing has been Jossed by Sam Levinson, among all of the other implications, why did season 2 episode 4 start out with that romance movie montage where Rue and Jules replace the actors in famous movie scenes where one of those lovers dies? And it’s always the lover who Rue is dressed up as that is the dead one?
  • It could either be Foreshadowing, or it could be references to Rue's suicidal ideations and how she wishes she was dead.
• Why is Leslie suddenly giving up and washing her hands on Rue? Maybe I missed something but I thought Rue has been clean since her horrific breakdown and detox these last two episodes?
  • She has been. Leslie was saying that if Rue relapses again (which I guess is especially raw because Rue already relapsed), she's done. I think she was telling Rue there would be permanent consequences to a second relapse.
• Why did Nate even like Cassie? It feels like it came out of nowhere. I thought he had no interest in Cassie, especially with her reputation, which he is aware of and likes to make fun. They never even talked before (except for probably a few greetings), and the only time he talked about her, was to slut-shame her and get Mckay to become more aggressive with her.
  • I don't think he ever really liked her like that. When he had sex with her at Maddy's party, I think it was a way to screw over Maddy (isolating her from her supposed best friend) and, perhaps more so, to embarrass/assert his masculinity over Mckay. Once they'd had sex and Cassie glommed onto him, I think she was a convenient outlet after his and Maddy's relationship, and that Nate twigged she craved his attention/affection and was prepared to be dicked around.
  • Also, Cassie is a very attractive girl and he is still a teenage boy susceptible to his hormones (which can be justifiably easy to forget since he is played by the 6'4", 25-year-old Jacob Elordi). The scene of Nate and Cassie in his car together on the way to the New Year's Party implies that, on top of ulterior motives like getting back at his ex, he is genuinely interested in her sexually, if the highly loaded looks he gives her when she is leaning outside the window are any indication. His fantasies whilst in the hospital also imply that the blonde, subservient, middle-class Cassie better fits his white-picket-fence ideal than Maddy, reinforced by his parents who seem to like the two white, blonde girls he brings home (Cassie and the girl he takes to Winter Formal) while he notes that they don't like Maddy.
• And on the same note, why does Cassie even like him? As mentioned, he slut-shamed her, and even Lexi says that it’s pathetic that Cassie would go after Nate, who made fun of her in the past. It just doesn’t make any sense.
  • Cassie has super low self-esteem. Mckay didn't really respect her and she's only just had the abortion. Then she and Mckay broke up, but Cassie is apparently desperate for male validation. That's a perfect storm for getting into an unequal relationship with someone like Nate who blows aggressively hot and cold. Plus, awful as he may be, Nate is still a big deal at their school, and he's somewhat willing to look after her when she needs someone, which is all Cassie really wants.
• How was Nate even invited to Maddy’s birthday? I thought, since they are broken up, he wouldn’t be involved in events, like a birthday. If Maddy did, why? They aren’t dating and aren’t even close so what’s the point? What I also don’t get is why it wasn’t at Maddy’s house instead of the Howard house. Why was it at that house? And why would Nate even bother coming, considering a) it’s his ex’s birthday and b) it was at Cassie’s house, meaning that Cassie can at any point tell Maddy about her and him sleeping together.
  • Was it confirmed he was invited, or did he just show up? Even if he doesn't want her anymore, Nate doesn't want to let Maddy move on, so he probably would've just shown up to make a point.
  • As for why it was at Cassie's house: Cassie's house seems a lot bigger, and Maddy is supposed to be from a lower income (though she does seem Pottery Barn Poor). She may not have wanted people from school seeing her house and, on a practical level, Cassie's house may have more space for more people.
• On the same note, if he just showed up, why wasn’t anyone questioning why he came? And why didn’t any of the girls, even Maddy, not bother to kick him out and allow him in? Isn’t it supposed to be Maddy celebrating with her girls, not Maddy, her girls, and her SOB ex? He just ruined the vibe. Not only that, but he literally put himself in the worst position. He’s lucky no one found out at the time that he and Cassie were hooking up. If the other girls did, Cassie would probably be chased after, while all the girls, especially Kat, would ask him to leave. And how did he even know where the party was? Did he even know it was at the Howard house or did Maddy tell him?

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