After watching the latest episode of Euphoria, we get why there are rumors that Barbie Ferreira and Sam Levinson were in disagreement about Kat's story line this season.
The once-beloved character has turned into a person that we barely recognize. In one jaw-dropping scene, she brands Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) a "c--t," saying that she never trusted her because she "seems like the type of girl that would f--k your boyfriend."
This is immediately followed by a bewildering declaration that she has a terminal brain disorder. This supposed diagnosis is the reason why she can't be with Ethan (Austin Abrams), telling him that she can't imagine how their relationship will work out with "all the hospital visits."
When Ethan calls her out on her lie, she turns it around on him, saying, "The fact that you think I would even lie about something that awful means there's a big problem in this relationship."
By the end of the discussion, Ethan is, like us, questioning if he even knows the real Kat, who is accusing him of gaslighting her. And with the conversation going in circles, he decides to just break up with her.
It's an odd moment that had us wondering if it's true that Barbie and Sam got in a fight this season, a rumor that was started by the infamous and often unvetted Instagram gossip account DeuxMoi.
In January, the anonymous account owner shared an unsubstantiated tip suggesting that Barbie was upset with the way Kat was being written. As a result, DeuxMoi claims, "Barbie got into it with [Sam] on set and left one day. He then cut a lot of her lines."
And when fans noticed that Barbie was noticeably MIA from the Jan. 5 red carpet premiere, it only served to reinforce the belief that she and Sam were on bad terms.
But a source close to production denied the rumors. E! News reached out to Barbie's and Sam's respective reps for comment and didn't hear back.
In reality, it's likely that Kat is a representation of teens who spend way too much time on the internet. We've seen that she's internalized the toxic positivity of the self-care movement, so it's not hard to believe that she's normalized using words like "gaslight" and "incels." Moreover, just because we're not seeing every moment of a character's life, doesn't mean stuff isn't happening behind the scenes.
Life goes on, even if Rue (Zendaya)'s story is the focus of the episode.
Which brings us back to Rue. Now that she's safe in the comfort of her home, she begins the long and ugly process of recovery. After being chased by police and drugged by Laure (Marie O'Neill), she's a shell of the person that she was in episode five, barely able to open a Jolly Rancher.
But there's still Rue in there and she's holding onto the tiny bit of hope that she can be a good person again. She makes amends with Ali (Colman Domingo) and asks Gia (Storm Reid) to not give up on her.
Meanwhile, Nate (Jacob Elordi) spends some quality time with his mom, Marsha (Paula Marshall), revealing that Cal (Eric Dane) isn't the only one with problems. As she chain smokes and sips wine in the afternoon, she tells him that she was proud when Nate aggressively grabbed Maddy (Alexa Demie) at the chili cookoff. "I was thinking, 'That's my boy,'" she says, before adding, "but you didn't have to go so far as to choke her."
This mother-son bonding session is taking place as Cassie attempts to slit her wrists with a cork opener, because Nate is ignoring her. Lexi (Maude Apatow) can't understand why her sister is so distraught, so she seeks refuge at Fez (Angus Cloud)'s place. Dare we say this is the start of an adorable romance?
If all that wasn't enough, Nate puts a gun to Maddy's head, threatening to pull the trigger if she doesn't give him his dad and Jules' (Hunter Schafer) sex tape back. He then drives to Jules' house and gives it to her, before admitting that he meant everything he said when he spoke to her as Tyler.
Then, he tells Cassie to pack up her stuff and move in with him at the Jacobs home.
Suffice to say, Lexie has a lot of material for her school play.
Euphoria airs on HBO Sundays at 9 p.m.