Still Processing the Intense "Euphoria" Season 2 Finale? Here's a Recap

In the finale, we see Rue like we've never seen her before: bright-eyed and with freshly washed hair tied up in a ponytail. It's clear she's clean — a sight for sore eyes after the early episodes of the season where she was consuming large amounts of substances.

Unlike Lexi's sister, Cassie, Rue loves Lexi's school play. When they discuss it over the phone later, Rue tells Lexi that watching it was the first time she could look at everything that's happened in her life and not hate herself. She goes on to tell Lexi that she wants to find something to channel her pain into that's not drugs, like Lexi has with her playwriting. She knows she can't keep carrying the pain of her dad's death around with her if she wants to stay clean and sober.

We witnessed Rue at her lowest this season, and it's a breath of fresh air to see her clean. While Rue reveals she stays clean until the end of her junior year in high school, her monologue at the end of the finale suggests she's uncertain about the future of her sobriety but that she'll continue to try to stay clean.

After a tumultuous two seasons, at least there is finally a glimmer of hope for our Rue.

Related:

Yes, That Was Zendaya Singing in the "Euphoria" Season Finale

Jules goes through a lot with Rue this season. After learning of Rue's concerning substance use from Elliot in episode four, Jules makes the decision to tell Rue's mother, Leslie. Jules's love for Rue shows in this moment because even though she knows taking that action will be unforgivable in Rue's eyes, she tells Leslie anyway because she can't bear the thought of something bad happening to her.

After giving Rue space, Jules finally approaches her at the end of the finale and expresses her love for her once more. Whether it's because she still can't forgive Jules for telling her mother about her substance use, that she senses Jules hooked up with Elliott, or that she just knows a relationship isn't good for her sobriety at the moment, Rue is still unable to rekindle her friendship with Jules. Rue wordlessly kisses Jules's forehead and walks away, and the last we see of Jules is her left in tears in the auditorium.

In her final monologue, Rue says she's not sure if Jules was her first love or not because she was high for too much of their relationship to know for sure, but she hopes Jules will forgive her for what she put her through.

Throughout season two, the depth of Fezco's character is slowly revealed. His charm, compassion, and undying loyalty only become more apparent with each passing episode and remain true until the end. Season two begins with the budding flirtation between Lexi and Fez, which slowly builds up to the night of Lexi's play. Instead of arriving in his tux with roses in hand like he planned, Mouse's murder comes back to haunt him, and things take an unexpected and heartbreaking turn.

After an especially gruesome outburst where Ash kills Custer, Fez decides to protect his little brother by claiming responsibility for his actions. This results in Fezco getting shot in the abdomen during an intense shootout between a tearful Ashtray and the SWAT team who forcefully enter their home.

It's unclear what lies ahead for Fezco. The last we see of him is him being arrested and taken away by police. Assuming he receives swift medical attention for his injury, he'll likely survive the events of the shootout, but we don't know what charges he may face down the line. The bigger question is how Fez will cope with having witnessed his little brother's apparent death.

After spending all season being his big brother Fezco's right-hand man and bodyguard, Ashtray's protective nature seemingly proves fatal for him in the season two finale. After sensing Custer is up to no good, Ash kills him by plunging a knife into his throat. Despite Fezco's insistence that he should take the fall for Custer's death as his big brother, Ash decides to fight back against the authorities who are poised to raid Fez's house.

Gathering all of the weapons and ammunition in the house and locking himself in the bathroom, he proceeds to take cover inside the bathtub and opens fire at the SWAT team as they forcefully enter their home, even as Fez cries out begging him to stop. In the agonizing scene, Ashtray is shot and presumably killed after he injures an officer.

Despite feeling overwhelming guilt for sleeping with Maddy's ex-boyfriend, Cassie is too infatuated with Nate to end things with him. In her efforts to please Nate, Cassie becomes more and more unhinged with each passing episode, ultimately losing herself and dressing almost identical to Maddy by season's end.

Despite her best efforts, however, Nate dumps her in the middle of Lexi's play for something she didn't even do. It's clear that Nate dumping her will make her snap — and snap she does. In the finale, Cassie storms the stage in the middle of Lexi's play, and the intense emotions she's bottled up inside her for seven long episodes boil over. She even gets into a physical fight with the student who plays her in the play before Maddy climbs on stage and brings her rampage to an end.

In the finale, Maddy gets to give Cassie a piece of her mind — or fists, rather. After processing the betrayal of her best friend sleeping with her ex-boyfriend behind her back, she's finally given the perfect opportunity to let out her anger when Cassie interrupts Lexi's play to share their private drama with the entire school.

Maddy's indifference toward Cassie in the bathroom after their catfight implies she is absolutely done with Nate Jacobs and feels sorry for Cassie that she's become the next victim on his list.

Nate is surprisingly on somewhat of a roll when it comes to doing good things this season (albeit, in an ocean of bad things, aka a season of sleeping with Cassie while trying to get back with Maddy).

After returning the sex tape his dad, Cal, recorded of Jules to her in episode six, Nate does another good thing by turning Cal in to the police for recording sexual encounters without consent. Even though he turns Cal in for the wrong reasons (aka to get revenge), the scene unearths a rare moment of self-reflection on Nate's part: he's realized he gets off on hurting other people.

Apart from helping Jules and his move in the finale, Nate is still a horrible person. I'm looking forward to seeing if he stops hurting people and grows up in season three or pays for all his sins.

After a season of building up their relationship, fans got an even deeper look at just how close Fez and Lexi have grown throughout the season. They're so close, they discuss their futures and how many children they want. Even though Fez is unable to make it to Lexi's play because of the police raid, Lexi still dedicates her play to him.

Speaking of Lexi's play, it ends up being a work of art, even with the intrusion of a self-destructing Cassie appearing on stage halfway through it. Lexi's careful observational skills show throughout the season and amount to a play that is spot on and receives the standing ovation it deserves. Her quiet and shy personality has finally been peeled back, and we're able to see her truly shine in her element.

In the final moments of the episode, Rue calls Lexi to tell her how much she loved her play and goes over to her house to hang out. The long-time friends have a heart-to-heart reminiscent of their friendship before Rue distanced herself because she was too preoccupied with substance use. The scene seems to signal that the two girls will be closer moving forward.

Elliot brings chaos and mystery to season two and adds a competitive and playful dynamic to Rue and Jules's relationship. In the first episode of the season, Elliot tells Rue he doesn't think they're good for each other, and the episodes that follow prove he's right. From early on in the season, it's apparent Elliot's feelings for Rue go beyond their shared love of getting high, but even I didn't realize how deep his admiration goes until he shares an original song he wrote for Rue in the finale that essentially expresses his feelings for her and that he betrayed her in order to help her. Elliot seems to know the answer when he asks Rue if they can remain friends, but it's still sad to watch when they meet eyes from across the auditorium during the school play in the season finale, implying her answer is no.

Related:

Elliot's Lengthy Song Overshadowed These 9 Crucial "Euphoria" Plot Lines

We don't see much of Kat this season aside from her doomed relationship with Ethan, which comes to an end in episode six. There are, unfortunately, no new developments on her life in the finale. We still have room to learn about Kat's character and her journey to discovering herself, and my fingers are crossed that season three will provide.