S01.E07: The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed

[spinxella]

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Rue succumbs to the effects of a deep depression and decides to binge-watch over 20 episodes of a British reality show; Jules returns to an old friend for a visit; Cassie searches for advice to help her deal with the fallout of Halloween night.

[whiporee]

This one felt really disjointed. Maybe that was an attempt to feel like Rue was feeling, but the pieces of the episode never seemed to really fit together. 

I do have a hard time believing that both Tyler and Jules are stupid enough to fall for Nate's threat. Especially Tyler, whose lawyer would just explain to the cops and there'd be an investigation -- the guy was int eh hospital for a week with injuries. It's easier to track this stuff down than they are making it seem. Jules is a little easier to explain because she's younger and has experience in the system, but even she's got to know that these days, sending someone a nude isn't going to send you much of anywhere. Nate's twirling his mustache a bit much these days. 

Good lesson for all the kids out there though. Nudes never die. 

I didn't love how the guy from Married was being so dismissive of Rue the first time he met her. It seems like if you're trying to get together with a woman with two kids -- and she would have had to have told him about some of Rue's issues -- that he wouldn't have spent the first conversation with her in such a condescending, dad-like manner. My guess is he'd be trying to be overly sympathetic to her to show what a good guy he was. 

I didn't understand the stuff with Jules. Did her dad just allow her to go hang with a old friend who has his own place for a week? Or a weekend? Sometimes I think the show forgets these are high school kids unless it's for effect. 

Everything about Cassie was sad. Especially McKay's so natural but so quick reaction. But her desire to have the fantasy for just a moment was heartbreaking.  

[shouldbedancing]

Rue's mom needs to get it together. I feel like she hasn't put a ton of effort into Rue since the rehab. How does she get away with living in her room for a week? Sometimes it's hard to tell reality from fantasy in this show. I guess that's the point.

[SeanC]

Euphoria had better win the Emmys for drama cinematography and editing next year, because that club sequence toward the end was one of the most stunning sequences I've seen recently in TV or film.

Also, Jules was so very far away from being able to consent there; she was straight-up hallucinating.

Terrific depiction of Rue's mental state.

As a figure skating fan, I always enjoy seeing it depicted in media; that endears Cassie to me.  The casting for whoever played the young Cassie was spot-on, too.

My hopes for something painful to happen to Nate now rest on Fez's superiors coming down on him for snitching on all their drugs.

[DERRIBOS]

Aquest útlim capítol ha estat una merda. Em sembla un allargassament innecessari. Tal i com diu la de més amunt, està disjointed, desenquadernat. Potser vol mostrar els efectes de les drogues i tal però és molt confús. No m'ha convençut ni a mi ni a la meva companya de pis. Esforci-s'hi més, Sr. Levinson, si no vol perdre fans! 

[sd dude]

According to google translate:

"This unique chapter has been a shit. It seems to me an unnecessary lengthening. As it says above, it is disjointed, unfocused. Maybe he wants to show the effects of drugs, but it is very confusing. He has not even convinced me or my roommate. Work harder, Mr. Levinson, if you do not want to miss fans!"

Aside from that, I found this episode the most boring of the series thus far.  Occasionally challenging to figure out which scenes were actually happening to the characters and which were occurring in the characters minds, which is annoying.  However, I most enjoyed learning more about Fez, who has basically become my favorite character in the show.  So he cares for his comatose (persistent vegetative state?) mother?  Is this why he turned to slinging drugs in the first place, so he could support the extensive care his mom needs, and also keep the house and take care of his brother.  Dad is presumably absent, but why?  Nate stated that Fez quit school at age 20.  Is that even allowed?  I know kids generally can't quit school before the age of 16 (which I'm sure may vary by state) but how long can someone stay in public school?  I always assumed that after 18, you were through and had to go the GED route but I have no idea where I got that from.  Maybe just common sense.  There has to be some cut off, right?  Could you have a 35 year old high school senior taking algebra and PE with 17 year olds?

And Nate, you are so dead to me!  Torment and black mail the transgender girl if you must; strangle your girlfriend at your leisure; beat the college kid to within an inch of his life if you've got nothing better to do, but never never never fuck with my bru Fez!!!  Oh no you didn't!

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I couldn't watch the club scene with Jules because of the flashing lights.  Can I get a recap?  

[SeanC]

1 minute ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I couldn't watch the club scene with Jules because of the flashing lights.  Can I get a recap?  

Jules starts hallucinating between seeing the girl she was dancing with as Rue, and also as Nate, who she is scared of, then briefly makes out with, and then disses and tries to attack, then more flashing between Rue and the girl Jules is with, culminating in her seeing them in bed together.

[Zima]

I do not understand how the girl that Jules met through her friend reminded her of Rue. At all. I blurted out, "Is it because she's black?" Because wtf. 

Cassie is such a sad character. I hope she doesn't decide to keep the fetus, because that would be no good for anyone involved; especially the fetus.

The scenes where Rue was struggling to get to the bathroom were torture to watch.

Nate is awful, and I hope he gets his comeuppance soon, although it would be very realistic for a rich, white kid from the suburbs to come out of all of this unscathed. 

[BooBear]

12 hours ago, sd dude said:

And Nate, you are so dead to me!  Torment and black mail the transgender girl if you must; strangle your girlfriend at your leisure; beat the college kid to within an inch of his life if you've got nothing better to do, but never never never fuck with my bru Fez!!!  Oh no you didn't!

Fez might not be the brightest bulb but I found it odd that he didn't see Nate calling the cops on him coming. I wonder if a brief stint in jail didn't look like a way to deal with his dealer pushing him to move the drugs. 

I kind of feel like the writers cheated this episode. We haven't seen much of Bipolar Rue until now.  Kind of late to be highlighting this aspect of Rue. But I think Zendaya did a great job with it. 

[Higgins]

7 hours ago, Zima said:

I do not understand how the girl that Jules met through her friend reminded her of Rue. At all. I blurted out, "Is it because she's black?" Because wtf. 

Cassie is such a sad character. I hope she doesn't decide to keep the fetus, because that would be no good for anyone involved; especially the fetus.

The scenes where Rue was struggling to get to the bathroom were torture to watch.

Nate is awful, and I hope he gets his comeuppance soon, although it would be very realistic for a rich, white kid from the suburbs to come out of all of this unscathed. 

You will pee yourself. That was complete bullshit.

[scrb]

Common theme to all the kids seem to be that they all had sucky parents, who couldn't deal with their own shit let alone raise kids.

So it's mostly hands-off parenting -- or very indulgent parenting -- and in Cassie's case, the mother thinks she's hot and wants her daughter to be hot.

Cassie would be repeating history of her self-absorbed parents if she had the kid.

Rue has all these emotional problems.  I forget how they depicted her dad but he couldn't have been that great either the way she turned out.  And then she's passing judgement that her mother's bf isn't good enough for her.

Other than Zendaya, most of these actors aren't that well-known are they?  Seems like this show does offer them a chance to showcase themselves as young, relatively unknown actors.  So they certainly are telling the stories of several characters at once.

[SeanC]

25 minutes ago, scrb said:

Rue has all these emotional problems.  I forget how they depicted her dad but he couldn't have been that great either the way she turned out. 

Her father seemed perfectly nice.  Rue's problems are the result of clinical mental health conditions, not bad parenting.

[Zima]

1 hour ago, SeanC said:

Her father seemed perfectly nice.  Rue's problems are the result of clinical mental health conditions, not bad parenting.

While I agree with this to a certain extent, I do feel that Rue's mother isn't very diligent with being involved in her daughter's life. I would think that if a child ODed not too long ago, then monitoring said child would be priority #1. I get that Rue's mom is a single mother, but the shit that goes unchecked as far as Rue is concerned seems ridiculous. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Zima

[CynicalGirl]

Rue's dad died from cancer when she was maybe 12? She spent a lot of time with him during his illness, and that's when she first discovered opiates, swiping her dad's meds. 

So I don't think Rue's issues are due to bad parenting, more like a traumatic loss of a parent at a very vulnerable age, and yes, clinical mental health issues.  Maybe her mom didn't pay enough attention but she was dealing with her own loss, and becoming a single mom to 2 kids and the sole breadwinner. 

[BigDfromLA]

How did Lexi end up so normal, well-adjusted, reliable and productive? She had the same shitty parents that Cassie had. Give her credit!

Remember Rue was put on drugs (for ADD among other things) at a VERY young age...maybe six? That seems awful young to start that kind of medication. That may have been the biggest factor leading into what she would become.

[methodwriter85]

On 7/30/2019 at 12:48 AM, Zima said:

Cassie is such a sad character. I hope she doesn't decide to keep the fetus, because that would be no good for anyone involved; especially the fetus.

I hope the show has the balls to have Cassie get an abortion. The show is clearly written from a leftish liberal slant and I'll be annoyed if Cassie either has the kid or has a convenient bullshit miscarriage.

[tennisgurl]

The cinematography and editing on this show is really impressive, its the thing that makes this show stand out to me the most. The story telling is rather hit or miss to me, but the visuals they come up with to explain more about what the characters are experiences using almost only film language is excellent. The whole club sequence was a highlight of the whole series so far. 

Nate started out being the most interesting, is most unlikable, character to me, but has increasingly become a cartoon villain and lost a lot of what made him twisted but interesting. The guy is basically the human personification of the evil straight white guy, just with some more specific neurotic tendencies. Granted, I find a lot of the characters to be kind of broadly written, but he is the one who basically comes off like a one off bad guy on an episode of Law and Order SVU, but stretched out for a whole season.

Most of what I got here is that being a crappy or neglectful parent, even with good intentions like Rues mom, is going to lead to a really messed up kid.

[MelloYellow]

Kat needs her own spinoff.

[CynicalGirl]

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Most of what I got here is that being a crappy or neglectful parent, even with good intentions like Rues mom, is going to lead to a really messed up kid.

Well, none of them are helicopter parents, that's for sure. 

I was a child of the 70s, and they remind me of that parental generation. When I think back on all the shit we got away with, it's kind of unbelievable. 

18 minutes ago, MelloYellow said:

Kat needs her own spinoff.

Fat Kat: Cam Girl 

[laprin]

1 hour ago, MelloYellow said:

Kat needs her own spinoff.

I hope not. Unpopular opinion, but I don’t like Kat at all. I know we’re supposed to root for the fat girl that has confidence and learned to like her body, but Kat is bitchy.  Her confidence is also fake. The way she treated the guy at the carnival for just talking to another girl was a sign that she is still very insecure.  

[mikal768]

On 7/31/2019 at 3:01 AM, BigDfromLA said:

How did Lexi end up so normal, well-adjusted, reliable and productive? She had the same shitty parents that Cassie had. Give her credit!

Remember Rue was put on drugs (for ADD among other things) at a VERY young age...maybe six? That seems awful young to start that kind of medication. That may have been the biggest factor leading into what she would become.

Can’t speak to the other things but I have ADD and was diagnosed at that age with medication. No issues like her. 

honestly I see her as a classic bipolar with ADD , since I’m also bipolar (though that wasn’t diagnosed until later in life)

unfortunately for her she doesn’t seem to a support structure in place to help her. 

Many people with bipolar sometimes try and self medicate to a degree, which, along with her dad dying, turned her into what she is. 

But the doctors providing ADD meds causing her problems? Nah... not really. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by mikal768

[BigDfromLA]

2 hours ago, mikal768 said:

But the doctors providing ADD meds causing her problems? Nah... not really. 

I understand that children get prescribed ADD meds all the time that are helpful, but is it typical to happen at such a young age, 5 or 6 ? It seems like it shouldn't happen until the child is 10 or 11. 

[BigDfromLA]

I also think the use of music and song selection in the show is excellent! They used a remake of a great song from 1975, "I'm Not In Love" originally by the group 10cc (which featured innovative musical geniuses Godley and Creme). It fit tremendously in the episode, which is a very common occurrence for this show with its music. 

I thought what Kat said to Maddy about her crap was spot on and 100% true. I was shocked that Kat crumbled emotionally like she did when Maddy (who really is quite rotten as a human being) insulted her in response. Circumstances seem to be knocking Kat off of this "high horse" she recently created for herself. It will be interesting to see where she goes from here.

[methodwriter85]

On 8/2/2019 at 1:09 AM, BigDfromLA said:

I also think the use of music and song selection in the show is excellent! They used a remake of a great song from 1975, "I'm Not In Love" originally by the group 10cc (which featured innovative musical geniuses Godley and Creme). It fit tremendously in the episode, which is a very common occurrence for this show with its music. 

I kind of love that they're making it extremely clear that Jules is not into Rue in THAT way but she's trying to make it work because she wants to be loved and her plan A is psychotic and because she feels an obligation. That feels very real.

Jacord Elordi posted a Behind the Scenes look and he was rocking that eye make-up:

I feel like the make-up on fantasy Nate was supposed to signify that Jules wishes that Nate could be comfortable with all sides of himself- masculinity and femininity- and not engage in such toxic masculinity.

[meatball77]

On 8/1/2019 at 5:40 PM, BigDfromLA said:

I understand that children get prescribed ADD meds all the time that are helpful, but is it typical to happen at such a young age, 5 or 6 ? It seems like it shouldn't happen until the child is 10 or 11. 

The typical kid with severe ADD starts meds from 5-7.  It tends to rear it's ugly head when they start school and their lack of impulse control and inability to pay attention and follow directions starts to affect their academics and social life.   The change for the positive is generally drastic.

The problem with Rue is that she's Bi-Polar and was diagnosed early (so it's severe).  She also seems to be unmedicated for some reason.  Bi-Polar is hard.  I had a friend early in my marriage whose kid was Bi-Polar (and others like Rue).  She's run away multiple times and her parents adopted her child, she came home pregnant after one of her last disappearances.   Bi-polar is hard and it's hard to encourage those affected to take their meds because they love the highs so much.

[colorbars]

On 7/31/2019 at 3:01 AM, BigDfromLA said:

How did Lexi end up so normal, well-adjusted, reliable and productive? She had the same shitty parents that Cassie had. Give her credit!

I know the episode was focused on Cassie, so it might just be a result of that, but I got the impression that both of her parents favored her, especially her mother. The special attention from her messy mother might have done Cassie more harm than good.

On 7/31/2019 at 4:16 AM, methodwriter85 said:

I hope the show has the balls to have Cassie get an abortion. The show is clearly written from a leftish liberal slant and I'll be annoyed if Cassie either has the kid or has a convenient bullshit miscarriage.

Abortion is a lot more common on TV these days, I'd be surprised if they didn't have Cassie have one. If they don't, I doubt it'll be for anything other than storyline purposes. I don't see them shying away from it.

[heatherchandler]

On 7/31/2019 at 10:06 PM, laprin said:

I hope not. Unpopular opinion, but I don’t like Kat at all. I know we’re supposed to root for the fat girl that has confidence and learned to like her body, but Kat is bitchy.  Her confidence is also fake. The way she treated the guy at the carnival for just talking to another girl was a sign that she is still very insecure.  

Is it unpopular to hate Kat?  I cannot stand her.

On 8/1/2019 at 4:40 PM, BigDfromLA said:

I understand that children get prescribed ADD meds all the time that are helpful, but is it typical to happen at such a young age, 5 or 6 ? It seems like it shouldn't happen until the child is 10 or 11. 

5 or 6 is an ideal age to start the medication, otherwise they can fall behind in school and the longer kids go without treatment, the further behind they will fall.  It makes it harder to catch up to peers.  

[VagueDisclaimer]

28 minutes ago, heatherchandler said:

Is it unpopular to hate Kat?  I cannot stand her.

I don’t think it’s unpopular, in fact I think it’s intentional. Maddie's reaction to Kat this episode summarized a lot of where I think this storyline is and I don’t believe we’re supposed to look at any of this as empowerment or healthy at all. 

[BooBear]

6 hours ago, VagueDisclaimer said:

I don’t think it’s unpopular, in fact I think it’s intentional. Maddie's reaction to Kat this episode summarized a lot of where I think this storyline is and I don’t believe we’re supposed to look at any of this as empowerment or healthy at all. 

Agree. Maddie isn't great but Kat has been on a self destructive path since the start. She is pushing people who care about her away and devaluing herself. I think it is all going to come crumbling down soon for her. 

[Blissfool]

On 8/1/2019 at 4:40 PM, BigDfromLA said:

I understand that children get prescribed ADD meds all the time that are helpful, but is it typical to happen at such a young age, 5 or 6 ? It seems like it shouldn't happen until the child is 10 or 11. 

I have at least two student on ADD meds each school year. I teach 4-5 year olds.

20 hours ago, meatball77 said:

The typical kid with severe ADD starts pay attention and follow directions starts to affect their academics and social life.   The change for the positive is generally drastic

This!

[SeanC]

On 8/3/2019 at 3:21 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I kind of love that they're making it extremely clear that Jules is not into Rue in THAT way but she's trying to make it work because she wants to be loved and her plan A is psychotic and because she feels an obligation. That feels very real.

That's not what I took away from that sequence, personally, together with the preceding scene where Jules and Not-Rue talk about her relationship to men, etc. 

[chenoa333]

On 7/30/2019 at 4:53 AM, Higgins said:

You will pee yourself. That was complete bullshit.

In reference to what? I know we saw Rue sitting on the toilet for a looooong time trying to pee. And she said something about "your bladder can hold up to 2 cups of urine. If you don't pee it out ASAP, the toxins go back up to your kidneys." Is this true? Because I've had to hold my urge to pee many many times throughout my life. Does this mean I'm going to be looking at possible kidney failure? 

I hope this show isn't giving out false medical info!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Wow, A+ for whoever cast little Cassie. She looked so much like teenage Cassie. And ugh at poor Cassie getting the inappropriate comments and hugs from her male relatives.

I always feel for divorced parents because there's a fine line between not lying/sugar coating the truth about the other person and talking shit about them. Obviously her mom didn't have that concern and felt no compunction about telling her kids that their dad didn't want to be a father. And clearly her mom isn't perfect either, but as Veronica Mars once said, the hero is the one who stays. As imperfect as Cassie's mom is, she is still a parent who keeps a roof over her kids' heads and food on the table. He was a shithead even before he became an addict. The very least you can do is return your kid's calls/texts and show up when you say you're going to visit them.

Speaking of Veronica Mars, damn, sober Rue figured out that whole Nate/Maddy/Tyler/Jules case pretty quickly!

Rue's description of depression was really accurate. I know I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I totally cracked up when Rue told her mom's new boyfriend to go fuck himself. Sorry, Rick, telling your new girlfriend's daughter you heard that she has a new "best friend" with deliberate air quotes is a dick move. That's not funny so STFU.

At first I was like awww, Rue still wants to hang out with Fez even though she's clean! But then I got annoyed that once again, he told her that his supplier was coming and that she should stay out of sight and then she completely disregarded what he said and left his grandmother's bedroom. I was just relieved that the fentanyl guy didn't see her. But poor Fez. This whole "I'll front you the cash" deal/demand is not going to end well for him, and that makes me sad because he seems like the only person on the show with any sense. When Rue asked if they could scare Nate with one of Fez's guns, I was with Fez - that was the stupidest thing she'd said all day!

Poor Kat. She had the audacity to tell Maddy the truth (that all Maddy talks about is her abusive jackass of a boyfriend) only to have Maddy tell her that she doesn't like the new Kat. And even worse, not one of her so-called friends went after her when she left, which means they took Maddy's side, even if out of laziness.

As for Kat's newfound confidence, it clearly crumbled when her new pay piggy started ordering her around. I was glad when she slammed her laptop shut. You can afford to be picky, girl. Dump that client.

McKay's reaction to Cassie telling him she's pregnant was understandable but wow, could he have been any more selfish about it during that conversation? I'm not ready to be a father. I'm still in school. My parents and my football coach are going to kill me. Look, I'm not saying that Cassie should have the baby. She's in high school so the best life choice at this point would be for her not to become a teen parent. But instead of pointing out that she would be better off being able to finish high school and go to college before having a child, McKay just told her how inconvenient this would be for HIM.

If I didn't already know that Nate SUCKS, he called Fezco "bro" at the gas station. When Nate got in Fez's face and mocked him, I was like yup, that's typical Nate, which is why I laughed when Fez said that if Nate didn't leave Rue and her friends alone, he would kill him. Nate is so used to being the golden boy that I don't think many people talk to him like that. But I also knew that's exactly why it wouldn't end well for Fez. Nate is used to getting his way and the easiest way to get a drug dealer out of the picture is to turn him in to the police. I just hope that Nate's mom (or grandmother?) will be okay when he's in jail. We know Ashtray can take care of himself but hopefully he won't get put into foster care now that there isn't a conscious adult in the house.

Edited December 22, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[DrSpaceman73]

I can't believe that Nate is going to get away with reporting on the drug dealer.  His supplier finds out and Nate is dead in two seconds, which would be great.  

Nate being this great manipulator and mastermind is poor writing here.  It's feeling like house of cards where claire and francis manipulate people in unbelievable fashion and never get caught.  

I agree Kat is a bitch.  It's part of her story arc though.  All the characters have a trait, goal or sin that drives their Id and shapes there personality.  Kat likes the power being a dominatrix basically, at least in theory.  The problem is she can only doing it with weak men and people who don't see through her because it's an act.  And she is young and naive.  If she runs up against a truly powerful man she folds.