‘Part 2: Jules’, alternatively titled what may be the greatest title of any episode of television ever: ‘F*ck Anyone Who’s Not A Sea Blob’, is the second in a two-part collection of special ‘Euphoria’ episodes to bridge the first season to the highly anticipated second season (I reviewed the first bridge episode here). Much like its predecessor, the episode was borne out of the current global pandemic shutting down production on season 2 of the show and the crew having to come up with something that would tide over the show’s fans whilst being made in a way that was safe for cast and crew. That meant that the episode was stripped back when compared to the ‘Euphoria’ episodes of season 1, and was much more introspective in nature rather than the fast-paced barrage of quick-cuts, dizzying camera work and glitzy aesthetics we’ve become used to, though this episode was less stripped back than the Rue-centric bridge episode was. Another difference seen with this episode is that it was co-written by star Hunter Schafer (or as she shall be known henceforth, future Emmy winner Hunter Schafer– I’m starting her Emmy campaign myself) who has constantly brought her personal experiences and insights on transness to the character of Jules, but did so in a way that was much more significant and formal for this episode.
Up until this point, all of the events of ‘Euphoria’ have been shown to the audience through the eyes of Rue, a self-proclaimed “unreliable narrator” (something Rue told the audience in the very first episode of the show yet people seem to forget and take her version of events as the absolute truth) has meant that the way the audience viewed events was skewed entirely by Rue’s perspective, including their perception of her relationship with Jules. This episode offered Jules the chance to explore her own perspective on everything that happened with Rue in season 1, along with discussing her views on her gender identity, her relationship to men and the burden she bears in loving people with addictions – both Rue and her mum – through a therapy session in which Jules got to talk whilst her therapist, and the audience by extension, just listened. For some unknown reason (the reason is transphobia) following the first season, and in particular the season 1 finale where Jules ran away and left Rue, a large proportion of the show’s audience started to view Jules as the show’s villain and a lot of undeserved words like “toxic” and “manipulative” were thrown around in relation to her with one particularly memorable tweet calling Jules the “actual villain” of the show over Nate Jacobs, an abusive, violent homophobe and transphobe. This discourse is definitely something that the show’s cast and crew were aware of, with show creator Sam Levinson discussing how appalled he was with people vilifying Jules in interviews, and this episode was a much-needed shift in perspective that hopefully will put to bed people unjustly vilifying Jules.
Beyond directly addressing the perspective bias that drove the audience’s unfair treatment of Jules, this episode also served as a reminder of how important Jules is as one of the very few teenage trans characters shown in mainstream media by having Jules directly address her transness and gender identity. Jules’ character was introduced having already begun transitioning and though her trans identity clearly informed the character and the show never shied away from it, including in the way her injecting her hormones was never treated as something out of the ordinary by drawing special attention to it, her transness was also never the direct focal point of her story. This was revolutionary in itself as it treated Jules’ trans identity as part of who she is, but not all she is, which is important in not just normalising seeing trans characters in mainstream media, but also diversifying the types of trans stories told. However, in not directly exploring Jules’ trans identity I believe it perhaps allowed for people to not take her transness into consideration when analysing her decisions and actions. Jules’ trans identity is a core part of her character and has undoubtedly shaped her and the way she navigates the world which is why I firmly believe a lot of unjust criticisms of her character were actually rooted in transphobia or at the very least, ignorance. Through this episode, the audience were able to explore Jules’ relationship to her gender identity and femininity, and how that has shaped her relationship with men (including all the unsafe and dangerous sexual encounters we saw her have in the first season), but also with other women- prior to Rue, Jules had never kissed a girl.
All of this was explored in a measured and nuanced way which is down to not just Hunter Schafer’s tremendous performance (it’s astounding that Jules is her first role), but also her role as a co-writer which meant she was able to bring her own personal experiences as a trans woman to Jules, and her voice bled through in Jules’ monologues about the femininity of the ocean, how (cis) girls view her, and the spirituality of transness. The personal touch in this episode from Hunter’s contribution to the writing, along with how personal Rue’s struggles with addiction feel having been derived from Sam Levinson’s own experiences, all go to show the power of different voices contributing to the show. ‘Euphoria’ is a show that looks to explore a broad spectrum of issues including addiction, gender identity, domestic abuse, body image, and so much more and I think this episode highlighted how the show could perhaps benefit from having more voices in the writer’s room who can speak to and relate to the experiences Sam himself cannot, like with transness in this episode. My hope is that if there’s anything from these bridge episodes that is carried over to the show’s second season, it’s a more collaborative approach to the writing as was seen in this episode.
In a poignant essay written by blogger Jessica Grillo, ‘This is What it’s Like to Love an Addict’ , Jessica outlined what it is to love someone with the disease of addiction. One particular line in the essay that resonated with me was: “If you watch the person you love disappear right in front of your eyes for long enough, you will start to become invisible, too.”. Jules’ identity as her own person, along with her own personal struggles had begun to fade and become entirely tied to Rue and her addiction and sobriety both in the eyes of Jules herself who felt stifled by the weight of Rue’s sobriety which she felt rested solely on her shoulders, but also in the eyes of the audience, who viewed her struggles as secondary to Rue’s and any actions she took for herself such as running away as selfish. This episode represented a chance to bring to light the ways in which addiction impacts not just the person with the disease, but their loved ones in a way that was heartfelt and nuanced and I hope that people will be more empathetic of Jules going forward- not that she ever needed “redemption” in the eyes of the audience, you’re all just transphobic.
The Verdict: 8/10
-T
Small, Silver and Hardback 