Euphoria: 9 burning questions after the insanity that was episode 5

Euphoria’s latest instalment; episode 5 ‘Stand Still Like the Hummingbird’ is by far and away the most uncomfortable – yet exciting – 54 minutes of TV that I have ever sat through in my life.

Episodes 3 and 4 led us through a moderately entertaining build up to episode 5 – a performance that has thousands of Twitter users campaigning for Zendaya, who plays Rue Bennett, to win a second Emmy, way before she’s even potentially nominated.

Almost every second from the opening scene – which sees Rue screaming at her sister and mother and smashing up the entire house while suffering drug withdrawals – was packed with nail biting action. And the question of whether Rue was going to survive until the end of episode 5 was dangled in front of viewers like a rabbit with a carrot.

While the Euphoria episode was nothing short of cinematic excellence – there are some baffling questions that I’ve been pondering since I managed to slow down my TV-induced racing heartbeat.

Heads up, if you haven’t yet watched the episode, you may want to X out, as spoilers galore are incoming. You can head to the HBO site to stream every episode of the drama series.

Question 1

The scene: In the opening scene Rue melts down and hits her mum after finding out she’s taken her drug stash.

After her breakdown, the camera pans to show that Elliot and Jules are there, and reveals that the pair told Rue’s mum that she was still using drugs. It’s been very evident that Elliot and Rue’s friendship has been forged over their joint love of illegal drugs.

Question: What was Elliot’s purpose of tattling on Rue?

Question 2

The scene: Rue jumps out of the car when she finds out that her mum is driving her to rehab. She winds up at Lexi’s house, only to be found by her mum and sister.

Trapped in a corner, Rue tries to shift the attention off herself by revealing to Cassie and Maddy that Cassie has been sleeping with Maddy’s ex boyfriend, Nate.

Question: Rue’s drug heavy habits have been revealed so why (after blatantly lying about her secret affair for so long) didn’t Cassie deny the accusation and chalk Rue up to be an untrustworthy source?

Question 3

The scene: When Rue reveals Cassie’s secret affair with Nate, Lexi gives her sister a look like she knew all along.

From previous episodes we are led to believe that Lexi has picked up on cues about the affair, and that it was set to be revealed in her scandalous upcoming play.

Question: Has Rue’s impulsive bombshell ruined the plan for Lexi’s high school play?

Question 4

The scene: Rue manages to escape out of Lexi’s front door after she reveals Cassie’s affair, and takes off at full speed. She manages to run what seems like miles around the suburb – even after we know she has a limp and a very upset stomach, both related to her withdrawals. She outruns a bunch of cops who are trying to keep up with her.

Question: Was Rue a former track star prior to her drug addiction?

Question 5

The scene: After a very lengthy sprint around the mystical suburb of Euphoria, Rue jumps about fifteen roofs, climbs a fence and finally, launches herself off a lit BBQ before finding a hiding place in a curb side rubbish bin.

The cops follow suit and arrive at the spot where she jumped the fence shortly after. They quickly leave when they can’t spot the teenager. Rue then pops out of the bin seconds later.

Question: Why didn’t Rue wait a couple of minutes before jumping out of the trash can? She literally leapt out seconds after she heard the cop cars drive off.

Question 6

The scene: During the aforementioned sprint, where Rue ran like an Olympic athlete, she legged it across a multi-lane main road, causing two cars to have a brutal head on collision.

Question: Is Rue technically at fault for the crash? After all, it happened as a result of her running in front of the cars.

Question 7

The Scene: After burning every single one of her friends, including the legendary Fez, Rue has no one to turn to, so she goes to drug dealer Laurie’s creepy house.

Here we see a locked door and hear ominous music – and subtitles confirm that there’s a scratching sound coming from behind the door.

In an earlier episode, Laurie has told Rue that if she doesn’t come up with the money she owes her, Laurie will sell her “to some real sick people”. Seconds before the show cuts to the locked door, Laurie also suggests that Rue could sell her body for drug money.

Question: What – or who – the fuck is behind that locked door and is it related to sex trafficking?

Question 8

The scene: Laurie takes in Rue who’s experiencing terrible drug withdrawals. She gives the teenager a bath and injects her with morphine, in a move that she claims will help soothe her symptoms. However, it takes Laurie – a top dog drug dealer and self confessed needle drug user – multiple attempts to find Rue’s vein.

Question: Rue’s vein was sticking out, wouldn’t a seasoned professional be able to inject the morphine straight in the first time?

Question 9

The scene: While it’s not 100% clear, when Rue wakes up it looks like there’s more than the two track marks in her arm that Laurie injected. Redditor’s are convinced that there’s additional track marks in the teenagers arm.

Question: If there are extra track marks, when were these done and how long has Rue been out for?

The trailer for Episode six gives away next to nothing about Rues current situation, so it looks like it’ll be a long six day wait until any of these questions are answered. Of course, in true Euphoria style, bets are on that there’ll be more new questions than old answers.

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Watch the Trailer for Euphoria Season 2, Episode 6:

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Danica Baker