{"id":49495,"date":"2022-02-08T20:20:21","date_gmt":"2022-02-08T20:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=49495"},"modified":"2022-02-08T22:08:42","modified_gmt":"2022-02-08T22:08:42","slug":"zendaya-euphoria-episode-5-recap","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/zendaya-euphoria-episode-5-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Give Zendaya the Emmy, Already"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photograph by Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the season reached its halfway mark last week, HBO announced that the hit series Euphoria<\/em> is coming back for a\u00a0third season<\/a>. On the heels of that exciting news came the show\u2019s most emotional episode yet. In episode 5, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird,” the chaotic frenzy of an attempted intervention goes awry, and Rue (Zendaya<\/a>) unleashes on all her loved ones.<\/p>\n

Spiraling since Jules (Hunter Schafer<\/a>) left her at the train station in the season 1 finale, Rue\u2019s ongoing drug abuse is confronted by her mother. When she realizes her suitcase full of drugs (which she was supposed to sell for a drug dealer) is gone, Rue\u2019s palpable anxiety and rapturous withdrawal symptoms hit a boiling point when she becomes physically violent towards her mother Leslie (Nika King) and her little sister Gia (Storm Reid<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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Photograph by Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Photograph by Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Jules chimes in to tell her the drugs have been flushed, Rue realizes her destructive episode was being listened in on by her girlfriend and new friend Elliot (Dominic Fike). “I\u2019m really thankful that Jules did tell Rue\u2019s mom,” said Schafer in a behind-the-scenes clip. “It\u2019s one of the more mature decisions Jules has made. I think it comes down to her prioritizing Rue\u2019s safety and health and future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Setting fire to every relationship, Rue burns every bridge she has, from her sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo<\/a>) in episode 4, and now even her former drug dealer Fezco (Angus Cloud<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The 15-minute-long fight montage displays some of the harsh realities of addiction, and how it affects the world around you. In the post-episode featurette Enter Euphoria<\/em>, Zendaya<\/a> proclaims her love and empathy for her character, but says watching her pick apart all of her loved ones takes its toll. \u201cEpisode 5 has always been just a really difficult episode to tackle,” she said. “And it shows, I think, the devastation addiction can cause. Not only to the person who\u2019s dealing with it, but also the family that has to get them help.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Photograph by Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jumping out of the car and into traffic to avoid going to rehab, Rue finds her way to the Howard household, only to tear down the remaining relationships she has there, by exposing the Cassie-Nate-Maddy<\/a> secret triangle in response to some unsolicited advice from Cassie on taking it \u201cday by day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Escaping the confrontation and her mother by the skin of her teeth, Rue robs the house of a wealthy stranger out of desperation, like all other things she’s done throughout the episode. Prompting the police to hunt her down on a chaotic high-speed foot chase, Rue narrowly escapes, but finds herself in even more danger.<\/p>\n

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Photograph by Eddy Chen\/HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Euphoria<\/em> has often been accused of glorifying or glamorizing addiction, but episode 5 spun that around and showed the harsh realities. Proving there to be consequences for every action, Rue is found at her lowest with no one to turn to, after alienating everyone in her life. \u201cThe most important thing was to not shy away from how ugly those moments can be,” said Zendaya.<\/p>\n

Euphoria<\/em> creator Sam Levinson added, \u201cIf this show is going to be honest about addiction, it needs to be honest about the person that addiction can turn you into. The one thing that\u2019s certain about doing drugs to the degree that Rue\u2019s doing drugs, is it\u2019s going to get increasingly more chaotic. And the plane\u2019s gotta crash. I wanted to kind of portray what an intervention looks like, just from a family perspective. And how hard it is to reason with someone who\u2019s in a state of true irrationality.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a performance like no other, Zendaya displays a heart-wrenching authenticity to the role, causing Twitter to go ablaze with fans’ hopes that the star and executive producer receives her second Emmy Award. (A turn of events also echoed by her co-star, Cloud<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

The last scene Zendaya starred in that caused such a frenzy was one that earned her her first Emmy Award in 2020. In season 1, episode 3, Rue sobs and begs Fezco for pills after he refused to give them to her \u2014\u00a0 placing Zendaya as the youngest woman to ever win best actress in a drama series.<\/p>\n

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