Euphoria was one of television’s most talked-about shows in Season 2, and that’s thanks in no small part to all of the shocking things that happened in its latest season. Suffice to say, the Euphoria Season 2 ending was an event many fans were looking forward to, as they wanted to know where all the characters ended up.
The HBO series certainly delivered some surprising updates on the characters and some clues on where things might be headed going forward. Let’s run through all that happened in the finale for the main characters, as well as what it could mean for their futures.
Rue
Euphoria Season 2 wasn’t a great season for Rue overall, but the final two episodes certainly showed some light at the end of the tunnel. The character hit rock-bottom with her drug addiction, and after a very tense episode in which she tried to literally run from her problems, Rue decided it was finally time for her to get clean.
Rue revealed in the final moments of Season 2, she managed to stay clean the rest of her school year, and the finale showed she managed to make amends with several people in her life, minus Jules. Rue said reconciling with Jules would take time, and their final conversation in Season 2 made it clear both weren’t quite ready to move forward after Jules told Rue’s mother about her relapse. Time will tell if the two make amends, but in the meantime, she’s regained her old friend Lexi, which is a plus.
Lexi
Lexi wasn’t a huge character in Euphoria Season 1, but she really stepped into the spotlight with her story in Season 2. The character decided to write her own play to prevent the school doing another production of Oklahoma and based it largely on her sister Cassie and her relationships with Rue, Maddie, Kat, and Nate. Lexi also made friends with Fezco, and despite their vastly different personality types, it seemed there was a chance for romance between the two.
Lexi’s play was a bit of a disaster, as her brutally honest take on her friends and their drama resulted in Cassie rushing the stage and trying to ruin the production. The crowd loved it all the same, and while Lexi felt accomplished. This was especially true when Rue told her the play made her able to forgive herself and understand that she’s been through a lot in her life. The only downside for Lexi was Fez didn’t show up to the performance, although I’m sure she’ll eventually learn he had a good reason.
Jules
Jules’ Season 2 journey was a unique one, as she hoped to reconnect with Rue after she fled the city and left her best friend/lover behind. Jules inadvertently caused Rue’s relapse, and while she wasn’t aware Rue was back on drugs until their new friend Elliot informed her, the two continually struggled to reconnect. Things only got worse when Jules told Rue’s mother about her relapse, and Rue went off on her friend.
Jules and Rue sat separately from each other during the performance, but afterward, Jules tried to make her way over to Rue. Her attempts to try and connect with Rue didn’t land, though Rue indicated in a conversation with Elliot that making things good with Jules would take time. We don’t know what that means, but for now, it seems like Jules isn’t hanging around with Rue anytime soon.
Nate
Nate Jacobs is one of Euphoria’s most problematic characters, and Season 2 didn’t start off too great either. Nate entered a relationship with Cassie, all whilst quietly trying to reconcile with Maddie. He also went through a lot, including being violently beaten up by Fezco, and seeing his father, Cal, abandon the family. Nate spent most of the season trying to deal with that and juggle some of the personal demons he’s fought since Season 1.
In the finale of Euphoria Season 2, Nate left midway through Lexi’s play after a scene that seemed to make fun of him and the other jock’s sexuality. Nate broke up with Cassie, using her alleged knowledge of the content of Lexi’s play as an excuse. Nate then left and found his father, who was entertaining some new friends at his business. After a brief conversation and brandishing a gun, Nate revealed to his father he called the cops and gave them a hard drive of all of his footage of having sex with prostitutes and possibly Jules. Cal got arrested, and Nate watched his father get arrested by the officer.
Maddie
Maddie spent a lot of Season 2 of Euphoria doing what she did in Season 1, obsessing over Nate. The two were in the process of reconciling, but that changed when she learned from Rue that Cassie was sleeping with Nate. The two officially ended things when Nate showed up at her home with a gun and demanded she return the stolen video of his father, Cal and Jules. Maddie was devastated, but it seemed that finally, their toxic relationship was over.
The Season 2 finale showed Maddie in the audience, though not much happened with her until Cassie tried to ruin Lexi’s play. Maddie rushed the stage and chased Cassie off, finally ready to deliver the ass-kicking she promised Cassie when she first learned about her friend’s relationship with Nate. The two sat in the bathroom towards the end of the episode, and it was unclear if they were friends again or not. My guess is no, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
Cassie
Cassie’s Euphoria Season 2 journey started with a chance encounter with Nate outside of a liquor store, which quickly developed into a romance. Cassie knew messing around with Nate behind Maddie’s back was a terrible idea, but committed to it anyway because she believed she and Nate were truly in love. Once Maddie found out, Cassie unapologetically started flaunting her relationship with Nate, all whilst trying to convince everyone she wasn’t the bad guy in the situation.
Later, Cassie (played by the talented Sydney Sweeney) interrupted Lexi’s play, and tried to ruin the event because the play presumably ended her relationship with Nate. As mentioned above, she then got beaten up by Maddie, and it’s unclear if the two are friends or ever will be again.
Fezco
Fezco’s story always operates outside the realm of high school, and most of what he did in Euphoria Season 2 took place in his apartment. Fez disposed of Mouse’s body after his brother Ash killed the dealer and took over his operations after visiting a previously unknown drug kingpin, Martha Kelly. It was through this that Fez took Faye into his house at the request of his friend Custer.
Fez taking in Faye ended up being more of a problem than anything, though not by any fault of hers. Custer decided to rat out Fez’s drug operation after he got picked up for unrelated charges, and he wanted Faye to help him to get Fez to confess to Mouse’s murder. Custer’s plan failed when Ash realized something was up and killed Custer. Police raided Fez’s apartment, and Ash barricaded himself in the bathroom with several guns. The firefight ended with Fezco taking a bullet to the stomach and Ash’s death. Fez appeared to be headed to jail at the very least, which meant he wouldn’t make it for Lexi’s big show.
Kat
Euphoria gave Kat a happy ending in Season 1, so it was only natural she had to have a fall from grace in Season 2. Kat began to take her relationship with Ethan for granted and ended up breaking things off with him. Kat was present during all the drama that happened with Cassie and Maddie and seemed to side with the latter in all that happened.
Kat didn’t really have a huge role in the back half of Season 2 of Euphoria but followed Maddie and Cassie after they left the stage. She was later seen standing with her arms crossed between the two of them and looked upset by the whole situation. It’s unclear what’s in store for her in Season 3 at this stage, so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s ahead.
Euphoria Season 2 is done over at HBO, but folks can check out every episode right now on HBO Max. The wait for Season 3 is officially on, and after everything that has happened in the series so far, I can’t wait to see what’s next.
