'Euphoria' Season 2, Episode 1 Recap: A Descent into Darkness

After more than two years of waiting, Season 2 of Euphoria is finally here. The premiere episode picks up exactly from where Jules (played by Hunter Schafer) special episode "F*** Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob" and the Season 1 finale left off — Rue (Zendaya) and Jules are apart, Rue has relapsed, Nate (Jacob Elordi) and Maddy's (Alexa Demie) relationship is as toxic as ever, Cassie ( Sydney Sweeney) is falling apart, and Kat (Barbie Ferreira) and Ethan (Austin Abrams) have finally admitted they have feelings for one another.

Ahead of the premiere, Emmy-winning star Zendaya and creator Sam Levinson spoke frequently about Season 2 being a much "darker" season for Rue and the gang, but fans may not have been as prepared for what was to occur in Episode 1.

Newsweek has the full recap below.

Euphoria Season 2, Episode 1 Recap

Poor Fez

The opening of Episode 1 begins with a flashback to Fez's drug-dealing machine grandmother walking into a strip club carrying a gun and shooting Fez's father right in the pelvis. Cut to a blood-soaked penis and a naked woman screaming, the tone has been set for the entire episode: sex, drugs, violence and twisted love.

We all knew Fez and his younger brother Ash (Javon Walton) had a bit of a troubled upbringing, but we didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. Being raised around drugs and violence now explains his violent outbreak in the Season 1 finale and what is to come at the end of Season 2's first episode. After all, his grandmother did teach him "violence is sometimes the best way to solve a problem."

Rue's in Dangerous Waters

After 10 minutes on Fez's backstory, Euphoria jumps to the present day where we are finally reunited with a troubled Rue, who is high snorting whatever-substance-of-her-choice in the back of Fez and Ash's car as they head off to do some "real serious business." with a dealer called Laurie.

In the meantime, Rue is spilling her heart out to a random girl named Faye (Chloe Cherry) in the back of the car about Jules leaving her at the train station and watches on as Faye shoots some heroin. Rue pleads with her not to do it but her cries go on unanswered thanks to two dodgy-looking dug dealers who drag them out of the car.

After a very uncomfortable strip search, Fez's drug deal is a success. Rue then spends the car ride home preaching about how the female kingpin they just visited was a "f****** legend" and there need to be more female drug dealers on the scene. Is this foreshadowing what is to come?

Happy New Year Nate and Cassie

Cassie and Nate just happen to conveniently bump into each other outside the convenience store where Cassie has jumped out of the car and left her sister following a huge fight. Straight off the bat, Nate asks all about Cassie's relationship with McKay (Algee Smith) and if they are still together. They aren't.

Fast forward a very fast car ride and to the party, Cassie and Nate are having sex in the bathroom, which is not a surprise, at all.

Their little rendezvous is quickly interrupted by Nate's ex Maddy who bangs on the door demanding to be let in to use the bathroom. Luckily she is completely unaware Cassie and Nate are together but that doesn't stop Cassie from breaking down in tears, terrified over the fact she has slept with her best friend's ex-boyfriend.

Cassie decides to hide in the bathtub with the shower curtain closed while Maddie uses the bathroom. Maddie is then joined by Euphoria newcomer Travis (Demetrius "Lil Meech" Flenory Jr.) to smoke weed together. They are completely unaware they have company until Cassie's phone starts vibrating in the bathtub.

Travis pulls back the curtain to find Cassie pretending to be passed out and she is saved only by Maddy's ignorance. She doesn't care about the anonymous passed-out girl and asks Travis to dance instead.

Rue's in Danger...Again

Meanwhile, Rue is in a utility closest to new boy Elliot (Dominic Fike) and there's a huge chance she has taken the heroin Faye left behind in Fez's car.

We don't see her take it, but it's seriously hinted at when Rue's pulse drops and she believes she is going into cardiac arrest and especially when Elliot helps her by giving her some adderall and asks "didn't we take the same amount of drugs?" and Rue shoots back a hard "no."

Some Awkward Conversations

Audiences may need to take some time to recover from the most uncomfortable conversation between McKay and Nate in this episode.

Just after McKay takes Cassie into a separate room to talk about their breakup at the New Year's Party, Nate is straight onto him, asking if they had sex and taunting him with all the explicit details, making McKay and audiences squirm.

McKay does well to keep his cool and audiences may be wondering if it is because he knows Nate and Cassie slept together just hours before at the party. After all, when Cassie told him she thinks she is "not a good person", McKay seemed to understand exactly what she meant. Is McKay planning some sort of revenge later down the line?

Rue and Jules Reunite

Rue and Jules also reunited over the fire and they seemed like total strangers rather than former best friends and lovers.

Rue confesses to Jules she relapsed the night Jules left her at the train station but later apologizes, telling Jules she misses her just as the clock strikes midnight.

Rue also admits to Jules she wants to be with her, leaving them both with more questions than answers.

Ultimately, the only people who came out of the New Year's Eve Party conservations not feeling awkward were Fez and Lexi, who may be the new Euphoria couple we are hoping for.

Fez Goes For Nate

After getting Lexi's number, things descend into serious darkness for Fez. Eyeing up Nate, Fez takes off his jumper, looking ready to kill.

Euphoria fans will remember in Season 1, Nate called the cops on Fez after he confronted Nate about his violent behavior towards women. With the cops onto him, Fez was forced to flush away all of the drugs he was to sell for Mouse (Meeko Gattuso), ultimately leaving Fez in a lot of debt.

Approaching Nate under the guise of wishing him a happy new year, Fez swings a glass bottle of Malibu and punches Nate to the floor, leaving him covered in blood and unconscious, leaving viewers not knowing where to look and gasping for air.

Perhaps, Rue summed it up perfectly when she was able to whisper a "damn!" under her breath.

Damn indeed.

Euphoria Season 2 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO max.