Last week’s premiere was a great showcase for Sydney Sweeney, whose Toni Collette Level Eye Coloring and the ability to express terror has her own Twitter request Thriller A24. This week, we’re blessed with an additional GIF of Sweeney’s reaction to Cassie developing an unhealthy obsession with Nate and emphasizing the possibility of Maddy finding out. It turns out that watching Nate go through a near-death experience is the worst thing that can happen to this girl right after they get married, as her feelings for him have shifted from drunken lust into “I can fix him” territory.
We open up to Maddy and Cassie taking an unconscious Nate to the hospital while Rue recounts Nate’s inner monologue in voiceover. Nate imagines an alternate universe where he pursues Cassie during their sophomore year instead of Maddy. This fantasy, like much of the show, looks like an early Lana Del Rey music video. The two of them lay by the pool in a fenced-in backyard while Nate rubs Cassie’s belly and they have sex under red lights and on a bearskin rug. This already nasty scene becomes Nate’s nightmare again when we see images of Jules taking nude selfies – a reminder of his dad’s sex DVD owned by Maddy. As he slowly awoke from his coma, he was greeted by Cal at his bedside with his best impression of a comforting father. But just seeing him gave Nate a seizure. Oh, how the tables made Dr. McSteamy come back.
After Nate was discharged from the hospital, he and Cassie continued their secret love affairs. It’s hard to tell if these two chat or if Levinson just likes to show off they’re having sex. Nate warns Cassie that Maddy will be more mad at her than he is if she finds out. This is a correct reading. But from Nate’s mouth, everything felt like a threat.
Meanwhile, there are some dramas that are a bit less interesting amid another trilogy. Rue runs into Elliot and Jules at school and is forced to introduce them to each other. Rue is worried that Elliot will reveal that they used drugs together at a party last week (he didn’t). And Jules quite hilariously misinterprets her clumsiness as a sign that she likes him, despite the fact that Rue has shown negative interest in guys throughout this show.
Rue and Jules’ lightning reunion last week has increased some questions. Personally, I need a little more convincing that these characters should be related to each other and not just best friends. It may be because Rue’s character is portrayed too asexually compared to the rest of the cast, but I’m often distracted by their loyal and sisterly energy whenever they’re on the screen. Photo. In general, I think Levinson tends to underestimate the emotional investment that people have in people they don’t have sex with. And television history shows that stakes in those relationships (and sometimes, even more) are fun to explore. This show is so inherently consumed by unhealthy, interdependent relationships that it will be interesting to see how those problems manifest in their pure form.
In other news, Fez got a new roommate in Faye after she pushed the manager of the motel she and Custer were staying at off the balcony for saying “really mean things.” Seeing her in this scene reminds me of the 2017 Sean Baker movie Florida Project and its star Bria Vinaite. Adult performer Chloe Cherry shares her childlike seriousness when it comes to deliveries and even looks like her. There was a moment when she unnecessarily approached Fez’s face while he was having breakfast to tell him “good morning” that made me laugh. Together, she, Fez, and Ashtray feel like a drug-filled Misfit Toys Island.
Maddy, still oblivious to Cassie’s betrayal, is receiving flowers from Nate, who just wants to reconcile so he can get his father’s DVD. She also has a job as a babysitter for the children of a wealthy couple. The main perk is to try on her mother’s designer wardrobe (played by Minka Kelly). We get her in her evening gown and taking selfies until the couple gets home, and she has to do a quick cleanup of her closet. Kelly’s presence this season is so interesting, it seems her most notable role is on a popular high school show, Friday night lights, as cheerleader Lyla Garrity, who is also involved in a love triangle. Her rubbing Maddy’s hand after lifting her dress could be a sign of something erotic. But that’s also just how Levinson captures most of the interactions on this show. I hope we get more than one The Bling Ring/Parasites script out of this relationship.
“Together, she, Fez, and Ashtray feel like a drug-filled Misfit Toys Island.”
Then there’s Kat, whose storyline this season has felt like an afterthought. Last season, her arc was a bit messy and didn’t feel as confident performing as her peers. It’s like an easy escape from all that bitchy stuff for her to find happiness with a sweet, nerdy guy. I could also guess that she would get bored of him after a few months of dating. Likewise, this episode, we mostly watch her tell that she doesn’t care about Ethan with some very weird dream sequences.
In the first part, Evan walks out of his bedroom and is murdered by a Jason Momoa clone, who then proceeds to retrieve Kat from behind. Then a bunch of Instagram influencer type women showed up in her bedroom to give her a talk about a poor writer, which ended with them all swarming around her. and chanting “love yourself!” This scene would probably work better as a phone call with one of her girlfriends as opposed to this weird moment.
Maude Apatow as Lexi in Happiness
HBO
What’s great about Happiness on a purely entertainment level we can expect each episode to culminate in a hair-raising special event. Once you get used to Levinson’s language, though, you’ll know the longer it takes him to build tension, the less likely these moments are to end in something tragic. Likewise, after threatening Cassie to reveal Nate’s assailant, Cal arrives at the gas station with a gun in his pocket that he ultimately doesn’t use. When he returned home to tell Nate about hanging around with the wrong person, Nate replied that all his beef and Fez were because he slept with Jules. Of course, Cal didn’t make Nate bully Jules and turn into a villain. But he was right that his father was in no position to preach to him anything practical.
The episode ends with a cameraman Cal asking Nate if he has a DVD. At least the moments between this terrifying duo are bone-chilling. But I hope we get more of them because Jacob Elordi is having an impressive, underrated performance.
Unfortunately, Rue’s struggles with staying awake have begun to feel repetitive and overwhelming compared to other conflicts. Lexi also doesn’t have much to do in this episode other than observe the frenzy around her. But I’m trying to find more Lexco content in the future.
