Daddy issues, man.
The latest episode of Euphoria is proof that Nate (Jacob Elordi) is one of the most self-centered people on the earth. While he's recovering from having the life beat out of him by Fez (Angus Cloud), he dreams of Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) and the future he wants to share with her. It's a life filled with copious sex and nights by the fire, the kind of stuff that happens in porn, not reality.
Then, the fantasy is interrupted by his father, Cal (Eric Dane), who does yoga in the backyard and offers to hold a pregnant Cassie in the pool. This moment is a reminder that his dad is always there to mess things up, driving Nate insane and inducing a fit that has his father yelling for a doctor.
Once out of the hospital, Nate decides that he can't be with Cassie, the woman of his dreams and mother of his children. He has to stay with Maddy (Alexa Demie) because she's the one who stole his dad's sex tape with Jules (Hunter Schafer). So, naturally, instead of letting Cassie off the hook and telling her to move on, he treats her like any teenage boy would and gives her mixed signals.
In the season premiere, we see that Cassie is utterly and completely afraid of Maddi, her best friend who has proven that she's not afraid to rough people up. Sleeping with Nate was her first mistake but it was apparently so good, Cassie can't help but want more. Her mom and Lexi (Maude Apatow) are aware that Cassie is losing her mind but the girl won't open up about it. And in her frazzled state, she makes another huge mistake: She tells Cal that Fez was the one who put his son in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Lexi is crushing on Fez, having seen firsthand at the New Year's Eve party that he's not the person people think he is. Fez is actually a down to earth guy, who just so happens to be a drug dealer. There are worse men in the world. Like Nate, for example.
And Lexi isn't perfect; she's ashamed to admit that she's a pushover who's afraid to speak up to people. We learn that the one time she decided to speak up was just before Rue (Zendaya) overdosed. She told her best friend that she was going to tell her mom about the drugs but when Rue called her on her bluff, she backed down. Since then, she's vowed to speak up the next time something happened and Cassie's slip-up presented her with the opportunity to warn Fez.
But when she goes to the gas station, she loses her courage. It doesn't necessarily matter though, because Cal is already there, gun in his pocket and a smug look on his face. There's no gunfire and every one is okay, Cal just wanted to warn Fez that he knows he's responsible for Nate's hospitalization.
Cal then confronts Nate about Fez but the whole thing backfires. Nate comes clean about the sex tape and Jules, telling Cal, "Maybe I was sticking up for you."
As all of this is going on, Rue is back to her old ways. She and Elliot (Dominic Fike) continue to hang out and get high but are keeping it a secret for obvious reasons. Elliot knows it's wrong and tells Rue, "We might not bring out the best in each other."
Rue replies, "I feel like I'm okay with that."
Jules definitely isn't okay with that though, and is feeling insecure about her new relationship with Rue. But she isn't willing to admit that to anyone yet and instead, focuses on reassuring Maddy that she's better off with Nate.
Lastly, Kat (Barbie Ferreira) is by all appearances in love with Ethan (Austin Abrams). They kiss at school and share cute photos of each other. The thing is, Kat is faking being into Ethan. And it seems she might be missing her sex cam days.
Euphoria airs on HBO Sunday at 9 p.m.