More than two years have passed since Euphoria's season-one finale. Fans have been treated to two specials in the interim, but it's helpful to look back at everything that's happened ahead of the season two premiere.
So, let's start from the beginning, when Rue (Zendaya) returns from rehab, immediately relapses and meets Jules (Hunter Schafer), the new girl in town. Having left school to seek help for her addiction, Rue has become an outsider to her classmates, something that she and Jules bond over in the early days of their friendship.
But things take a turn when Rue begins to form feelings for Jules, who hooks up with various men she meets online, including Cal (Eric Dane).
Unbeknownst to Jules, Cal is the father of high school jock/bully Nate (Jacob Elordi). She only becomes aware of this development while attending the local fair, where she's supposed to hook up with Tyler, another guy she met online and sent nudes.
Only Tyler isn't Tyler—he's actually Nate, who knows about Cal and Jules' hookup session because he found a tape of their encounter. Now, using the nudes he manipulating Jules into sending, Nate blackmails her into keeping her affair with Cal's affairs a secret.
Why Nate is trying to protect his father doesn't entirely make sense, seeing as Cal is emotionally abusive with his own children. But this whole situation sheds a bit of light on Nate's anger issues and abusive attitude toward his girlfriend, Maddy (Alexa Demie). From an outsider's perspective, it seems that Nate is, A) trying to protect his family from more trauma, B) reflecting his father's behavior, or C) all of the above.
Nate isn't the only character to make questionable and often cruel decisions, but he's the only one who doesn't seem to have any regrets about it.
He does this when he tells Rue that Jules will never go for a girl like her, prompting Rue to brazenly kiss Jules and suggest they run away together without thinking about how this decision will impact her sobriety. For the first time in a long time, she's actually doing pretty well and now Jules has the ability to really hurt her.
And she does hurt her. Instead of waiting or looking for Rue after she didn't show up at the train station to start their lives in New York City, Jules just leaves. So, Rue relapses, as portrayed in the finale's dramatic and emotional dance sequence.
This scene left viewers wondering if she had overdosed, but in the special episode it's revealed that Rue was just hallucinating the moment.
When Rue discusses the relapse with her AA sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo), he tries to get her to forgive herself for being an addict and putting her family through turmoil because it was never her intention—addiction is a disease that makes people do bad things and the only way to get better is to focus on yourself.
Meanwhile, Jules is grappling with losing Rue and Tyler, both of whom she resents for different reasons.
In a therapy session, depicted in the second special, Jules admits that she resents Rue for making her feel responsible for her sobriety and because it brings up memories of her own mother's struggles with alcoholism. But Jules also says that she loves Rue, giving her mixed feelings about the whole situation.
As for Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), Lexi (Maude Apatow) and Kat (Barbie Ferreira), the finale left them in a relatively good place. Cassie had an abortion with the support of her mom and sister Lexi, while Kat decided it was time to end her sex cam business and pursue a relationship with Ethan (Austin Abrams).
But the trailer for season two showed that trouble is brewing on the horizon, with Cassie entering a new phase in her life, Rue potentially becoming a drug dealer and everyone else dealing with their own particular drama.
See how it all pans out when season two premieres on HBO Sunday, Jan. 9.