Euphoria season 1 had set up a clear villain from episode 1 itself. Cal and his son Nate Jacobs were the two characters who were completely dark with no shades of grey. While Cal was a middle-aged man who led a secret life sleeping with other people and recording those encounters, Nate seemed to have toxic masculinity issues, which manifested in the form of anger, possessiveness, and more.
Season 1 revolved around the misdoings of these two characters and a CD that recorded Cal and Jules’ sexual encounter. However, season 2 doesn’t seem to give as much importance to this arc. The CD is still with Maddy, and that subplot doesn’t seem to have moved ahead.
Furthermore, Cal and Nate have become grey characters who’ve mellowed down since season 1. As depicted in season 2, the two do have principles of their own, a moral compass, and for better or worse, are a product of their circumstances. This brings up the question about the main villain for season 2.
Who is the main villain of Euphoria season 2? Is it Laurie, or is it someone else?
Laurie might be the main villain of season 2. She is portrayed as an eerily calm figure who sells drugs. In episode 5, she talks to Rue about the effects of drugs and later injects her with morphine despite having other drugs to counter Rue’s withdrawal.
Laurie seems to check off all the boxes of the typical pure-evil villain archetype. Her speech is single-toned, calm, indifferent, and almost cold. But despite that, she seems like a logical person who doesn’t just harm people for the sake of it like Mouse did.
In episode 5, we see Laurie speak the longest. When Rue sits before her in a state of complete mess, telling her that she doesn’t have her money and would need some time, Laurie doesn’t even flinch. On the contrary, her demeanor is calm as usual, and she tells how she would’ve understood if Rue had told her the truth about her addiction.
Laurie then talks about the effects of drugs and how she used to have withdrawal symptoms too. She paints a bleak picture of how the mind becomes once it’s addicted to drugs and sneaks in a little detail that Rue might’ve missed at that moment. Laurie tells Rue that as a woman, people would want other things from her other than just drugs.
This is the second time Laurie mentions that she will sell off Rue to people who are into the trafficking business. Towards the end of the episode, she gets Rue to settle down in a bathtub and gives her morphine, a much more potent opiate than what Rue is used to.
This could indicate that Laurie wanted to kidnap Rue and either sell her off or use her to make money in other twisted ways. After all, we see Rue is locked in the house the following day before she escapes.
Since the time we’ve seen Laurie this season, her presence has affected Rue’s actions, and I have a feeling things are going to get worse for Rue. Laurie wouldn’t be too happy that Rue escaped, and we might see the repercussions of Rue’s actions in the upcoming episodes.
All this does set Laurie to be the main villain for season 2. However, there’s an alternate theory. In the episode, Laurie gives us a glimpse at her past, profession, family, etc. Considering Euphoria tries to give even the worst (say Cal) a redemptive arc that makes the character look less morally fractured, we might also see the same happen with Laurie.
While Cal and Nate were the obvious villains of season 1, they are now supporting characters in season 2. So there’s a chance we might either see Laurie’s origin story in the upcoming episodes of season 2 or in season 3, which makes her look less like a villain and more like a flawed character. While none of this is confirmed yet, I think it’d be interesting to know the story behind such a strong character who says so much with just a few words.
About Euphoria
Euphoria is a teen drama on HBO that is loosely based on the Israeli series of the same name. The series is written by Sam Levinson and stars Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Maude Apatow, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, and others.
The show revolves around Rue, a teen drug addict who is also suffering from Bipolar disorder. She meets Jules, a transwoman, and falls in love with her. Euphoria deals with themes of sexual violence, addiction, trauma, and self-identity.
The series was renewed for season 3 in February 2022.
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