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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Sit down, relax, and watch the true facts attack. This week’s episode of Euphoria is here to give a pause to the unfortunate events of its characters’ lives and has them literally look at where they are at at this point in time. The penultimate episode of Season 2 is titled, “The Theater and Its Double”. As always, it is written and directed by the series creator, Sam Levinson.
In this review, I will be discussing Euphoria Season 2 Episode 7. There will be no spoilers here, as the title of this article suggests. Although, I will discuss major themes present in the episode. Nonetheless, please read ahead at your own discretion to avoid any possible reveals!
Plot Summary
Following last week’s episode of Euphoria Season 2, the characters of the show finally get to see Lexi Howard’s (Maude Apatow) school play.
Discussion
This week’s second-to-last episode of Euphoria Season 2 engages in a metanarrative about Rue Bennett’s (Zendaya) past, along with recent events involving the girl group and Nate Jacobs (Elordi). Lexi achieves this feat through mimesis of their lives, providing a commentary on their lowest points. We are allowed to peek through the aperture of not just the play but the audience members as well. What this does is increase the dimensions of time and space albeit confined within a specific singular time and space. For the most part, that is. There is also a subplot transpiring in Fezco (Cloud) and Ashtray’s (Walton) residence. However, that is treated more as an aside for us, the (off-screen) viewer.
Apart from two obvious characters, Lexi’s play proves itself to be cathartic. Not only are most of the protagonists giving themselves an outlet to self-reflect but they are even realizing that they are not alone. Labrinth, Malone, and Stateman’s use of music and sound add flavor to the primary narrative of the episode. They help bring beauty to the storytelling of Lexi’s play in a way whereas reality could only be closer to decadence or nihilism.
For all of these reasons, we could extrapolate that the episode title points to a modern Gothic tone, a literary theme that features doppelgangers and obsession. As the play progresses, revelations take on a scandalous form, exposing the chaotic dynamics of Lexi’s reality. One part of her monologue includes the line, “But every relationship has its cracks, some bigger than others”. This shows that Lexi’s experiences, as an observer, are still far from pristine.
The Crew of This Week’s Euphoria
Marcell Rév returns as this week’s cinematographer. Series co-producer Julio C. Perez IV joins Laura Zempel as the editors. Nikola Boyanov serves as the episode’s co-editor. Andy Cruz joins Andrea Espinoza as the assistant editors, while Aaron I. Butler does additional editing.
Labrinth serves as the music composer, while Jen Malone acts as the music supervisor. Wylie Stateman designs the sound. Jason Tregoe Newman, Bryant J. Fuhrmann, and Zak Millman serve as the music editors, with Andrew Ransom as the assistant music editor.
Evyen J Klean serves as a music consultant, while Ryan Heffington returns as the choreographer.
Jason Baldwin-Stewart does the production design for the episode. Nick Ralbovsky serves as the supervising art director, with Alyssa Hill serving as the art director. Marcie Maute and Steven Hudosh serve as the assistant art directors. Eugene Adamov serves as the lead set designer. Sofia Midon assists Julia Altschul in set decoration.
Heidi Bivens designs the costumes and is assisted by Angelina Vitto. Lauren Ron Penizotto serves as the on-set dresser, while Ryan Salisbury does additional on-set dressing. David Sanford and Ted Hardwick join Jason Drury as the set dressers. Devon Patterson serves as the costume supervisor. Lola serves as the key set costumer, while Claire Redman is the costumer.
Doniella Davy is the department head of make-up and is assisted by Tara Lang Shah. Alex French serves as the make-up artist. Kim Kimble serves as the department head of hair and is assisted by Kendra Garvey. Teresita Mariscal joins as the hairstylist.
The Cast
Zendaya and Hunter Schafer play Rue Bennett and Jules Vaughn, respectively.
Maude Apatow portrays Lexi Howard and a depiction of herself, Grace. Sydney Sweeney plays her 433-day older sister, Cassie. Alexa Demie and Barbie Ferreira play Maddy Perez and Kat Hernandez, respectively.
Jacob Elordi plays Nate Jacobs, while Austin Abrams portrays Ethan Lewis, as well as depictions of Suze Howard and Nate Jacobs. Angus Cloud and Javon “Wanna” Walton portray Fezco and Ashtray, respectively.
Storm Reid and Nika King appear as Rue’s respective family members, Gia and Leslie Bennett. Eric Dane and Dominic Fike make appearances as Cal Jacobs and Elliot, respectively.
Sophia Rose Wilson, Chloe Cherry, Yukon Clement, and Veronica Taylor return as Barbara “BB” Brooks, Faye, Theo, and Bobbi, respectively.
Harvey J. Alperin and Audrey Linden appear as Robert Bennett’s respective father and mother, while Gwen Mukes returns as Leslie’s mom. Bernardo Hiller plays a rabbi, while Lamar Lyas plays a preacher.
Ethan J Runburg plays Mick, while Clara York plays a neighbor. Leo Llenas plays a makeout guy. Jacob Clarke plays a guy sitting next to Suze. Ansel Pierce plays Caleb.
Alyson Van, Kayla Zimmerman, Zonta Te’Ahnna Wallace, Nadine Olmo, and Stephanie Mincone play cheer dancers. Augustine Perez, Zak Schlegel, Marlon Pelayo, Nathan Kim, Jesse Johnson, Nico Lonetree, Jonathan Jongo Zeziel, Casey Johansen, Owen Scarlett, Grant Gilmore, Julio Marcelino, and Matthew Kubitz play Hero dancers.
Guest appearances include Minka Kelly as Samantha; Alanna Ubach and Nick Blood as Suze and Nick Howard, respectively; and Tyler Chase as Custer. Aja Bair, Eden Rose, Izabella Alvarez, and Isabella Amara play Jade, Hallie, Marta, and Luna, depictions of Rue, Cassie, Maddy, and Kat.
Performances and Character Developments
Apatow does something remarkable with her character’s play. She exhibits passion, confidence, and yet reminds the audience and high school crew members that this is, to her, both a personal and a professional endeavor. I can tell Lexi hits the books because I have not identified this many literary devices in this series until now.
Demie is wonderful as Maddy Perez. As an audience member who has had to face the harshnesses of her reality, her reactions are anything but spiteful. During this season of Euphoria, the character has developed profoundly in her relationships with her friends. While there is a challenge presented in Nate and Cassie’s (Sweeney) affair, Maddy’s responses are only human. In addition to this, I appreciate the transient transactions of friendship that she has with Samantha (Kelly).
This episode is the most we see of Abrams’s character, Ethan, in the season thus far. His portrayal of Nate Jacobs is surreal yet precise. As the double to the real Nate, I am shocked at how well he pulled this off… And let’s not forget he must have also been on stage depicting a version of the Howard sisters’ mother, Suze (Ubach).
Lastly, it is important to see that Zendaya’s Rue has cleaned up. This displays a progression of her well-being for the sake of herself and those around her. I hope she can head forward rather than back; we have been waiting for this since the Euphoria Season 1 finale.
Final Thoughts
“The Theater and Its Double” indeed presents, finally, a risk of passion that Lexi Howard has bottled up inside herself. As the late French philosopher and psychoanalyst Anne Dufourmantelle writes in her book, In Praise of Risk:
[T]his truth that one expects from the other is a weapon that can easily be turned against us. [Passion] is our capacity to imagine, to be astonished, to be disappointed, impressed, or undone by something inside us that compels us to love. [Passion] drives us to betray our promises, our attachments, and our moral principles, or to hurt those we love. This is why we often prefer to renounce passion, to turn away from it.
Anne Dufourmantelle, via ‘In Praise of Risk’ — “At the Risk of Passion” (pp. 17 – 19)
The narratives found in this episode are worthy of merit. With stronger substance in plot structure and the addition of more runtime, this could also be Emmy-worthy. Unfortunately, the nearly 59 minutes that Levinson provides us is insufficient as I felt there was more to expect. I hope Season 2 wraps up well; I was appreciating the past two or three episodes.
Euphoria Season 2 is now available to watch on HBO and HBO Max!
Have you been tuned into Euphoria Season 2? If so, what are your thoughts? Who is your favorite character? Let us know! For more drama-related news and reviews visit and follow The Cinema Spot on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
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