Typically, holiday episodes of shows tend to be a one-off extra episode meant for fun and holiday cheer. Every now and then they’ll have a little insight into plotlines that may come to unfold in an upcoming season, but they usually serve as a nice little moment with our favorite characters outside of the overarching storyline. But, much like Euphoria is unlike most other shows, so was their holiday special.
In the first of a two-part special, “Trouble Don’t Last Always,” which premiered on December 6th, we focus solely on Rue (Zendaya, Spider-Man: Far From Home). The whole look and feel of this special is completely different from what we’ve grown to know and love about Euphoria. The vibe is a much more toned-down experience. We see Rue with her Narcotics Anonymous sponsor, Ali (Colman Domingo, The Wire) who is patient, honest, and painfully realistic with Rue.
As we are dropped into the middle of this moment in Rue’s life, we get to really know and respect Ali. We as the audience, are privy to personal moments within his own struggles surrounding family and sobriety that Rue doesn’t get to experience. Ali is a recovering addict who has spent decades of his life battling addiction. He has gotten sober for long periods of time only to fall victim to his addiction again and start his recovery process all over. We also learn that he grew up in an abusive household and promised himself to never become that man yet, one day, found himself in those same shoes, with his children witnessing a physical altercation between him and his wife. He spends a portion of this episode on a private phone call attempting to mend and rebuild a relationship with his grown daughter and her children.
This moment in particular was the best few minutes of this episode. Much like Euphoria has done before, it pairs these intense feelings and words with a perfectly curated soundtrack, which helps to intensify the emotions and the response we as the audience have. In this particular scene while Ali has stepped out, we see Rue listening to Moses Sumney’s “Me in 20 Years”. And there’s this great juxtaposition of Rue being at the beginning of her adulthood and feeling so alone, both in that moment and in life while also seeing Ali and his seasoned experience of the ups and downs of addiction and how that has taken a toll on him and his family.
In addition to the amazing music, I loved the profound wisdom that Ali imparts on Rue, from hearing her bullsh*t about being able to be a functioning addict to finally opening up and speaking her truth about how she is tired and doesn’t plan to stay too long on this earth. He even helps her to see that, while we don’t have all the answers to why people like Rue’s dad have to die and other people get to live, there is poetry in surrendering to the mystery. He doesn’t try to change her mind, but instead looks to reframe her outlook. He helps her to understand that there are no answers for everything in life. Sometimes bad things happen, but if she doesn’t find something to truly believe in, she will never win this battle. Even getting super real with her by stating that, if she truly isn’t planning on staying long enough to make herself a better person, then what kind of person does she want to be remembered as by her mother and her sister? It’s some of the best dialogue of the entire series.
The cast is small, but powerful. The scene is one location, but we learn and experience so much. The discussion is slow and quiet, but so meaningful. If you are a fan of Euphoria, please do take the time to watch this particular episode. Just know that it is nothing like what has come before on the series, but it’s exactly perfect for what it is meant to be and possibly an indication of how the series intends to evolve next season. But before season two begins, we get an extra holiday gift, with Jules’ episode, Part 2 of this special airing January 24th!
