‘Euphoria’ Season 3, Episode 5: Toe to Toe

11 May 2026 · 58 min · 32 chapters

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In short

Euphoria Season 3 Episode 5 (“Toe to Toe”) centers on Cassie’s humiliation/sex-work fantasy content and Maddie’s subplot as she gets pulled into Alamo’s dangerous orbit, with Rue’s recovery framed by the idea of “equanimity.”

Guests

This is a Prestige TV podcast episode with hosts Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney. No on-air guests are introduced in the transcript.

Guest backgrounds

Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney are the podcast hosts; the transcript doesn’t provide their professional bios beyond their roles as Prestige TV podcasters.

Key claims

The hosts argue the episode is a standout Cassie episode, especially the “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman” homage and its fetish-indulgent yet self-aware tone. They also claim Maddie is the episode’s strongest character engine, contrasting Rue’s chaos with Maddie’s grounded, religious/philosophical “equanimity” talk.

Notable examples

Cassie’s toe-sucking montage; the giant-breast “Attack of the 50-Foot Woman” sequence; Maddie’s “equanimity” monologue; Alamo’s “breadwinner/bread loser” and contract/ownership concerns; references to Rita Hayworth’s Gilda and Hollywood studio contracts.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Instant Reactions to Euphoria Episode 5

1:50 to 2:37

Hosts share their immediate thoughts on episode five of Euphoria.

“Spoiler alert, I really liked this episode.”

Austin Television Festival Highlights

2:37 to 3:59

Discussion on the highlights and events of the Austin Television Festival.

“And we were hoping to go, but we're really jealous.”

Looking Back at Teen TV

3:59 to 4:59

Hosts discuss the influence of Euphoria and other teen shows on the industry.

“So no free ads except for our pals at the Austin Television Festival, which is a great place.”

Analysis of Episode Themes

4:59 to 6:19

A deep dive into the themes and character development in Euphoria Episode 5.

“From all impressions, you really liked this episode.”

Discussion on Nepo Babies and Hollywood

6:19 to 8:34

Exploration of celebrity connections and the concept of Nepo babies in Euphoria.

“See, I just thought you were fond of the concept.”

Email Feedback and Audience Interaction

8:34 to 9:30

Hosts read and respond to listener emails about previous episodes and topics.

“And then Jazz wrote in to talk to us about Love Island USA, which we addressed last week that Jules was watching Love Island USA.”

Euphoria Episode 5 Detailed Breakdown

9:30 to 14:00

In-depth discussion of Cassie's storyline and the episode's key moments.

“Because like we had a real issue with the toe sucking.”

The Craft of Miniatures in Euphoria

14:00 to 14:36

Discover the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into creating the show's miniatures.

“in the behind the scenes sequence that it took them a year to build these miniatures which with all due respect to the artisans creating these miniatures.”

Pop Culture References: Attack of the 50-Foot Woman

14:37 to 15:43

Explore the cultural impact of 'Attack of the 50-Foot Woman' and its relevance in Euphoria.

“And perhaps their partner's like, give me a scale.”

Cassie's Contrast: Feminism and Fetish

15:44 to 16:41

Analyze the complexities of Cassie's character through feminist themes and fetishization.

Show all 32 chapters

Cassie’s Business Model on OnlyFans

16:42 to 17:22

Understand Cassie's OnlyFans strategy and the economics behind her content.

“and um what a bar give me that shirt are you kidding me um i thought the way that cindy when he peeked out from behind the flowers and she's like admitting that she wired him money.”

Maddie's Influence and Cassie's Struggles

17:23 to 18:29

Discuss the dynamics between Maddie and Cassie, highlighting their struggles and successes.

“Some nominal fee, I would think, for like the ASMR type content on top of the subscription.”

Contracts and Influencer Culture

18:30 to 19:19

Examine the implications of contracts in the influencer culture as portrayed in Euphoria.

The Pitfalls of Signature Contracts

19:20 to 20:25

Delve into the potential dangers of signing contracts in the entertainment industry.

“and their families and their friends and their lives.”

Alamo’s Character Development

20:26 to 21:40

Explore Alamo's character and his interactions with other main characters in the series.

“She might have just signed it and left it in her apartment and then, like, you know, tossed it on the dildo pile, like, when she got back from Maddie's apartment.”

Cinematic References in Euphoria

21:41 to 23:09

Unpack the significance of Rita Hayworth and other cinematic references in the show.

“and conversations throughout this season, most of which I felt like were just sort of like transported to a totally different kind of show or just like a poor imitation of another thing that we've seen before.”

The Legacy of Rita Hayworth

23:10 to 25:47

Discuss the impact of Rita Hayworth's life and career on the themes in Euphoria.

“Like, I don't think these things are in here by accident just for fun, right?”

Thematic Connections in Euphoria's Storytelling

25:48 to 26:18

Identify the themes of contracts and exploitation in Euphoria's narrative structure.

“I'm sure Euphoria would like us all to ask that question.”

Character Insights: Bishop and Rue

26:19 to 28:00

Explore the character dynamics between Bishop and Rue, focusing on their unique characteristics.

“I mean, that's all throughout this week's episode.”

Creative Freedom in Euphoria's Production

28:00 to 29:18

Discover how Euphoria's unique production allows for creative freedom and distinct storytelling.

“So I don't know if they wrote even more for them in this season, but I wouldn't be, by them, I mean the lone writer Sam Levinson.”

Season Differences: Subjective vs. Objective Perspectives

29:18 to 31:23

Explore the thematic differences between the subjective and objective perspectives in Euphoria's seasons.

“That's the Prestige, like, drill house style.”

Character Dynamics: Rue, Jules, and Nate

31:23 to 33:19

Analyze the evolving dynamics of key characters Rue, Jules, and Nate in the current season of Euphoria.

“I guess not finger enthusiasts, just digit fanatics of all sorts.”

Jules' Journey and Character Depth

33:19 to 35:31

Delve into Jules' character development and the implications of her relationships in Euphoria.

“previous conversation we had where one of our listeners was like, hey, this like hypersexual Rue that we see in the strip club, this angel Rue sexual dynamic doesn't feel like the Rue we've known before.”

Shakespeare in Euphoria: Cassie's Monologue

39:28 to 42:02

Discuss the incorporation of Shakespeare in Euphoria through Cassie's character and performance.

“Oh, obviously I want to talk about Shakespeare.”

Maddie and Equanimity: A Philosophical Dive

42:02 to 43:08

Exploring Maddie's philosophical insights and the integration of religious themes in her character arc.

“You know, I did love, you know, he's not a breadwinner, he's a bread loser.”

Rue and Maddie's Dynamic: Chaos and Control

43:08 to 45:08

Discussion on the contrasting dynamics between Rue's chaotic character and Maddie's calmness.

“Equanimity is the ability to remain calm and balanced regardless of external circumstances.”

Alamo's Impact: Power Dynamics in Relationships

45:08 to 47:40

Analyzing the power dynamics between Maddie and Alamo, and their implications for character development.

“But there is obviously a sense of doom in the way that it's shot when she enters the silver slipper.”

Hollywood Dreams: Maddie and Cassie's Choices

47:40 to 50:23

Examining Maddie and Cassie's differing approaches to their Hollywood aspirations and the consequences.

“It's a show I'm interested in, scared to watch.”

The Final Countdown: Insights on Episode Finale

50:23 to 52:40

Insights on the upcoming season finale, character arcs, and thematic resolutions.

“of course, is when Cassie's like, you're my best friend.”

Character Futures: Hope for Lexi and Rue

56:01 to 57:18

The hosts discuss the fates of Lexi and Rue in the latest episode.

“She's going to ride off into the sunset.”

Faye's Complex Relationship Dynamics

57:19 to 58:19

An analysis of Faye's relationship with a problematic partner and its implications.

“So, like, I think she's going to be fine.”

Nazi Influences in Euphoria's Narrative

58:20 to 58:58

Discussion on the troubling aspects of character portrayals in the series.

“Who does, in fact, answer the phone during that scene anyway.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00This episode is brought to you by Whole Foods Market. Spring is here, so celebrate it with fresh, juicy, seasonal produce and some very tasty limited time flavors. New Whole Foods Market Peach Apricot Rose Italian Soda. Perfect for a picnic or brunch, as is their trending mango yuzu chantilly cake. But if you're on the go, new 365 strawberry pretzels make a great sweet snack. That sounds delicious. Get savings with yellow sales signs store-wide and everyday low prices on 365 brand items. Enjoy the fresh flavors of spring. Save at Whole Foods Market. This episode is brought to you by Paramount+.

0:41On May 15th, Beth and Rip are back in a new series, Dutton Ranch. Kelly Riley and Cole Hauser return, and this time they're taking on Texas. As Beth and Rip build a future together, peace will have to wait as they face corruption, danger, and a ruthless rival ranch willing to protect its secrets at all costs. Legacy is a beautiful thing, but only if it survives. Dutton Ranch, starring Cole Hauser, Kelly Riley, Annette Bening, and Ed Harris, streaming May 15th on Paramount+.

1:28Rob:Hello, welcome back to the Prestige TV podcast feed. I'm Joanna Robinson. I'm Rob Mahoney. It's Mother's Day Sunday. Happy Mother's Day, Jo. Happy Mother's Day, Rob. In a nearly empty, rather spooky office, here we are to cover our sort of very instant reactions to Euphoria episode five. Having a real normal one at work once again here on a Sunday. Rob, how are you feeling? I'm feeling great. Spoiler alert, I really liked this episode. And I guess in the spirit of Happy Mother's Day, I mean, it really felt like a Happy Mother's Day to Suze, who I can only imagine is thriving seeing Cassie's content.

2:02Rob:Broving with pride, I'm sure. How could you not? I'm sure. Wow, okay. I didn't know that you really, that's so funny. I just sat and watched the episode with you. We didn't talk about it. I didn't know that you really liked the episode. I mean, our watching style is a lot of muffled, like, hmm, ha. I mean, we were basically magic's recollection of the hee-hee-ha-ha-ing. Like, that was us in a dark room watching this episode of Euphoria. So, again, very normal stuff happening. Very normal stuff here at work. All right, season three, episode five, This Little Piggy. This is a spoiler alert for that.

2:29Rob:Before we get into our Euphoria cover today, we just wanted to give a quick shout out to the Austin Television Festival. They have an incredible lineup this year. And we were hoping to go, but we're really jealous. We can't go. Loathe to miss it. But I just want to shout out a few highlights. It's House of the Dragon season three. They're doing like a big inside the Battle of the Gullet opening night thing for House of the Dragon. Incredible. The other Bennett sister, which is like a current TV obsession of mine, they're doing a panel for. And then they're doing a Sweet Vicious reunion. Sweet Vicious was a show when we first covered the pit, I was like, that's where I first saw Taylor Dearden.

3:03Rob:So like Taylor Dearden of the pit fame will be there. If you're a bellhead. Yeah, exactly. And they're doing a reunion of this great canceled too soon MTV show. Ramoni, what's the other big thing happening there that we're really bummed to miss. Possibly a giant anniversary collection of talent and celebration of Friday Night Lights, one of our favorite shows. Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler. In the flesh. Jesse Plemons, Scott Porter, Amy Teagarden, Adrian Palicki. Like the whole gang is going to be there in Austin. But not us. But not us. So it's May 28th through the 31st. You can still get tickets and badges and all that good stuff at atxfestival.com slash attend.

3:41Rob:We wish we were going, but we're not, but a lot of like great people cover television are going. And I've been many years at this festival. It's really incredible because it's very small and intimate. You get to sort of meet a bunch of people who write about television that you love. And if you're interested in getting into television, it's one of the best places you can go. So no free ads except for our pals at the Austin Television Festival, which is a great place. Well, let me make you a pitch, Joe. In the spirit of ATX and their tent pole attraction being Friday Night Lights, you and I have discussed possibly, you know, Euphoria has inspired us to look backwards at some other high school-oriented or high school-originated shows.

4:17I think we simply must podcast about one of the greats of all time, Friday Night Lights, in the near future.

4:21Rob:Wait, are you telling me Texas Forever? I mean, you already know that. Texas Forever on this podcast? Now more than ever. Okay, yeah. We are planning to check in with a couple classic teen TV shows that, like Euphoria, have generated a crop of talent. Yes. You know, like your Jesse Plummons is. We're also maybe, look, can I say? Yeah. Skins UK. Probably the closest Euphoria analog, I would think. Absolutely. And an amazing crop of talent came out of that show. So we are planning to touch on those shows this month on the Press of TV feed. But today, it's Euphoria Day. Okay. From all impressions, you really liked this episode.

5:02I thought it was a really good Cassie episode. And basically, like, a whole entire really good backdoor pilot Maddie subplot.

5:09Rob:I was actually, as I was typing up my notes, you and I like split up and typed up our notes. And I was like, I wonder if Maddie's number one boy enjoyed this. This is a great Maddie episode. What do you think I think, Joe? Yeah, well, I mean, like, I think the Cassie stuff, I feel very mixed on the Cassie stuff. And I feel like a lot of other characters are not being wholly served. You know, like, who was less served by this episode? Nate, Jules, or Lexi? I don't know. It's a toss up. But this is a stellar Maddie episode. Yes. And I'm really happy for Alexa Demi. So I told you before we watched this episode, I got some hints about like what was happening in this episode.

5:45Rob:And it felt like Mad Libs. And it was Attack of the 50-Foot Woman. So I did watch that movie earlier today. I don't think I needed to, but I did. We got the gist regardless. Attack of the 50-Foot Woman. I watched the original 1958 version, which is only like an hour long. And it's kind of a bop. So I recommend it. And then I knew there was going to be a Shakespearean monologue. I did not know it was going to be Antony and Cleopatra. We could talk about that. And equanimity as like a buzzword for this episode. Oh, that was in the word cloud too. Yeah. So we got it all. That's perhaps when she said equanimity and I was like, hmm.

6:19Rob:You might have heard me say that. See, I just thought you were fond of the concept. Yeah, absolutely. I thought you had found your own inner peace. Let's do quick mailbag, shall we? Okay. So we did a little Nepo baby roll call and I've got an update from our roll call last week. One of our listeners in the comments wrote something that I thought was so wild it could not be true. And then I looked it up and it is true. which is that your girl, Alexa Demi, is the step-granddaughter. Now we're getting in the weeds, but we're step-grand. No, but a step-granddaughter. All right. To Dennis. Like Rockefeller?

6:48Like who is it going to be? Dennis Wilson, one of the original Beach Boys. That one is pretty crazy.

6:52Rob:Yeah. So Alexa Demi. I mean, I'm not saying Alexa Demi, Nepo Baby, but related to the Beach Boys-ish in a way. So that's amazing. I mean, Maddie, I may not always love you, but as long as there are stars above you, et cetera, et cetera. Genuinely, I was like, which Beach Boys lyric is wrong? I'm going to quote to me when I say this. There's so many fucking bangers to pull from. It's true. I love the Beach Boys. And then we didn't mention, we didn't say it explicitly on the pod, but shout out our social media team who put it in the caption for the breakout. But of course, Sam Levinson himself comes from Hollywood royalty.

7:22Rob:Of course. Barry Levinson, his father, directed Rain Man, among a ton of other things. You may have heard of him. So, you know, it's a real like For Us, By Us, Nepo Baby production here. Thank you for it. All right. and then we got emails from a couple people I had mentioned that Kadeem Hardison who plays the Alamo employee who got got shot but I guess this is alive he's in the hospital apparently okay I mentioned that when he flipped his glasses I felt like that was a reference to his iconic character on A Different World what I didn't know because I'm too old is that he played Zendaya's dad on a Disney channel show Casey Undercover and he did the same move on that show.

8:06Rob:So apparently it's like That's just his signature move. It's just like in his contract that he has to do it. But I did not know that he played Zendaya's dad in like one of her early projects. So like I hope this was she's like get my TV done in Euphoria. It'll be really normal. Like you know. It is a generational blind spot for us though. Yeah. Because yeah the Gen Z people who emailed us were many. Yes. Were enthusiastic. Thanks for listening Gen Z. Thanks for listening. I'm glad you have this particular touchstone. I'm also glad to know that that particular move transcends role. It's like an Isaiah Whitlock Jr.

8:34like she. Right, right, right. It just can follow you anywhere you go. Just the move.

8:39Rob:And then Jazz wrote in to talk to us about Love Island USA, which we addressed last week that Jules was watching Love Island USA. What I did not know is that Zendaya and Hunter Schaefer in real life are huge Love Island USA fans. Jazz let us know. apparently recently when Zendaya was on the Jennifer Hudson show to promote the drama they like got a cameo from one of the like Love Island contestants and Zendaya lost her mind about it that's how much of a Love Islander she is but apparently Love Island USA is just I mean I I knew Love Island was a thing but I guess Love Island USA the last couple seasons has just like really exploded um in I think in Gen Z um so in Gen Z that's a weird way to put it but there you go um so that's the love island welcome to Sunday night euphoria anything else you want to mention that we got emails about or anything like that no I think we can keep it moving what do you want to start with from this week great question let's start with Cassie let's start with the Sydney Sweeney humiliation ritual which continues a pace it really does I mean look this whole opening montage is euphoria having its toes and sucking them too I was really I was really feeling for you as you as you continue to tally up your, the kink list of the season.

9:53Rob:You know. You and I both had a. It was quite something. It was toe to toe. Because like we had a real issue with the toe sucking. Yeah. And then when Nate's toe got re-ripped off, that was a tough one for us. That was really tough. Hard to watch yet again. But yeah, I thought this opening montage is like, I mean, this Euphoria is not a show that blanches at any of its fetish content. But it is a show that can do all this and indulge in it and comment on that content in a way that I do quite enjoy. And dare I say, for like a dildo-oriented montage, I find to be quite artfully done. This is a question that I had for you, which is what do you think the collective noun for dildos should be?

10:31Rob:I wrote down a plethora of dildos. I did look it up. There is a Reddit thread about this. I did ruin my own search history by typing in what is the collective noun for dildos? Happy Mother's Day. Do you think it's what our moms dreamed we would be doing with our careers? God, I hope not. Gaggle of dildos is what I read it. Gaggle is good. Yeah, gaggle is pretty good. For some reason, the first word that came to mind for me was smattering. A smattering. I think it was too many dildos to be a mere smattering. That's true. You know, they were like heaped on the counter. Well, they weren't just on the counter.

10:59Rob:They were on the dish rack. Yeah, they were everywhere. I will say this, especially during the very specific part of this section when we get like all the different things that Cassie is doing for her clientele, it made me miss Kat. Like the humiliation aspect. I was thinking a lot about Kat. that the way that this storyline was done for Cat in season one is among some of my favorite stuff that Euphoria did. So it just like, and that felt, this to your point, you're watching, you're like, oh my God, Euphoria, there's nothing like it, right? You're just like, it's wildly indulgent. It's all these things, it's maximalist.

11:32Rob:But I was just missing the profundity of that moment for Cat and what that meant for a young woman, like just discovering her power and her sexuality and all of that. You know what I mean? Well, especially when that whole plot line was just kind of jettisoned into the sun midstream. Like there was not a lot of follow through on it, like to much controversy around the trajectory of the show and that character. I mean, Kid and Queen did walk so that it's just me, Cassie can run. I'd miss it too. And I thought like, obviously there's more, like more than enough room on the internet for multiple women to tell men that they're nothing in order to get them off.

12:05Like it's a very crowded space. And how small their penis is. I mean, it's a crucial part of the formula, but revisiting that specific ground, It's very hard not to think about Kat.

12:13Rob:Absolutely. This is, the chaser to this particular shot is Cassie's tour of various podcasts. Want to come on the pod, Cassie? Manosphere-esque. That's the whiff of what's going on here. What do you think of her talking points, Jo? Well, I mean, men are treated as second-class citizens in America. I agree. I'm just waiting for you to say it. Thank you very much. I'm going to put it on a t-shirt. I thought what I loved about this sequence. So Trisha Paytas, you know, real life podcasting personality, who was recently very funny on the HBO show Hacks, shows up. And when Trisha Paytas, who is like a bit of a ridiculous person, is reacting to Cassie like, huh.

13:03Rob:I thought that was perfect, Cassie. Really sets the mark. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Really good. and this comes this all dovetails into the attack of the 50 foot woman sequence what did you think of that I feel like if you can't enjoy the show when it does this I fear you might be watching the wrong show like this is exactly again indulgent is the right word that you isolated as far as what euphoria can be this sort of like extended homage that is at one point like just ridiculous and funny and for me it's like all the little things it's the helicopter telling her to get on her knees specifically. It's the way she like swats the chopper with her ponytail.

13:41It's like stepping on this poor dude in his tent. Like there's so many just funny moments and yet it is also a giant Cassie literally praying to the Hollywood sign in a way that like this just is what the show is and I quite enjoy that part of it.

13:55Rob:The Jesus save sign on top of the Ace Hotel et cetera et cetera. They did mention in the behind the scenes sequence that it took them a year to build these miniatures which with all due respect to the artisans creating these miniatures. Well, my follow-up question is how long did it take to make the giant breasts? The breasts that like burst through the window. I had the same thought of like not even how long it took. But there is just, there is a craftsperson here in town who went home after a long day of work and they're like, honey, how was your day? I was like, you know what? It was okay. I had to create giant replicas of Sidney Sweeney's boobs that could convincingly puncture glass and smother this man to his satisfaction.

14:36That is a real thing that somebody had to do.

14:38Rob:And perhaps their partner's like, give me a scale. And they're like, nipples? Like this. On the Attack of the 50-foot Woman front, what I think is interesting, you know, they're playing not just with that imagery, but also Godzilla, which they mentioned, you know, overtly. Like, the helicopter is, like, you know, very Godzilla. Kaiju Cassie straight up. Yeah, absolutely. I wasn't so aware before I did my mini research today about how pervasive Attack of the 50-Foot Woman is in the culture. Like, I knew there was the 58 version. I knew there was a 90s remake with Daryl Hanna in 93. I did not know that both Beyonce and Lana Del Rey have incorporated it into their...

15:17Rob:Lana Del Rey did a music video and Beyonce is part of her Cowboy Carter tour, like, made it part of the visuals or Cowboy Carter tour. And Tim Burton and Gillian Flynn of Gone Girl fame, as of 2024 we're working on a version of it starring Margot Robbie so it's interesting what I think is kind of fascinating about using Attack of the 50 Foot Woman for Cassie is that it's kind of weirdly 1958 kind of a feminist bop like this woman has this horrible husband who's cheating on her and the whole town is like kind of gaslighting her she's very rich and so they're all and she has a drinking problem and they're all like she's a rich lady with a drinking problem we gotta to like bilker for all the money she has she has like one friend in the world and it's her employee her butler and then she just gets really big and just kills everyone wronged her and i was like all right which i can understand why both lana del rey and beyonce were like yes sounds great let's do it to put that with cassie in her i love men t-shirt is just an interesting uh juxtaposition it's funny i mean like many things with cassie there is a hollowing out to this poor woman that just like takes yeah the idea of like a kind of feminist text wrapped in its own kind of like fetish content a tale as old as time uh cassie's applications of most of these things are not quite so nuanced or complicated it's just like yeah she got really big and popular that being said when maddie's like talking about nate not being a breadwinner but a bread loser and um what a bar give me that shirt are you kidding me um i thought the way that cindy when he peeked out from behind the flowers and she's like admitting that she wired him money.

16:55Rob:It was really funny. I love that shot. But when Maddie's like cut him loose or else he'll get 50 % of everything you make, that's like literally a plot line from Attack of the 50-foot Woman where her shitty husband's like, I'm going to get her committed and or kill her so I can get all of her money. While we're talking about what Cassie makes, let's walk through as this episode explains them. Let's stomp through, please. Like the business model of what Cassie is working with here, which is subscription fees, obviously. She's on OnlyFans. You're paying in. 50 ,000 subscribers. I mean, that's not nothing.

17:25Rob:Yeah. Some nominal fee, I would think, for like the ASMR type content on top of the subscription. Oh, yeah. No, those, I mean, I'm unfamiliar with OnlyFans modeling, but I have seen a lot of like the cam girl business modeling. And it's just sort of like all of those special, like. Oh, for sure. Rack up money. But do you think the ASMR like whisper my name and what I would like you to do to me into this weird microphone? phone, is that above in cost to the$50 used panties through FedEx or is that below, do you think? I thought it was less than$50. That was my assumption. Yeah. And certainly less than a fart in a jar.

18:02Rob:Who's to say, man? Who's to say? Maddie's number one boy at gmail.com. If you know what the sort of price scaling for OnlyFans is often, I'm curious and I would like to know. And here's where I got really pissed at Cassie. How easily she's led in general, that's just her Cassiness. but both Brandon and Nate just swooping in trying to steal Maddie's shine like Maddie's nothing Maddie's not doing anything Brandon being like she's a Hollywood leech she's done nothing it's all because I tagged you well we have just watched a montage of Maddie grinding Cassie grinding literally but also like Maddie on the grind like you know and I got very mad about it as I'm meant to we did get an email from our listener Rio who was wondering so Brandon has an influencer house very hype house coded it's called Derilla House in the contract that Cassie signs we're going to come back to that in a second but I didn't know this our listener Rio wrote in within the last hour you can always email us the hour between when the episode airs and we start recording we encourage it yeah there's a Netflix docuseries Dancing for the Devil the 7 million dollar TikTok cult okay yeah and it's about this like church cult thing that you know lured influencers and sort of parted them from their money and their families and their friends and their lives.

19:22Rob:So do you think Brandon - You gotta read that fine print. Do you think Drill House is like, are we going to see something culty here or is it just a standard hype? I mean, because the thing about Hype House or any of these influencer houses, not that I'm an expert, but like it would be a far worse deal for Cassie to sign away any of her, like to sign that contract to Drill House and they own all of what Cassie makes. Yes. I think the percentage is going to be way worse than the mere 15 % that Maddie was taking. I would think, that said, we don't know what's in Maddie's contract. And the whole, like, let me get a picture of you with this autograph did seem a little like you want to read the fine print Willy Wonka Ursula style to make sure you know exactly what you're doing here.

20:05For both.

20:06Rob:Oh, 100%. Get a lawyer for both. Like, okay, but should we, I'm not a lawyer. Yeah. No? Should we be concerned that she signed this other contract? Well, she didn't deliver it, did she? Do we know that? I guess we don't. We saw her sign it. I'm just asking questions. We saw her sign it. If she delivered that and she signed it before she signed Maddie's contract, like, is that something? She might have just signed it and left it in her apartment and then, like, you know, tossed it on the dildo pile, like, when she got back from Maddie's apartment. I don't know. But I was just wondering about that.

20:36I think it's a totally fair question to ask. Both contracts clearly could be problems for Cassie. But I'm with you. anything that removes you from ownership of your own content for whatever purposes that may be even if your content is just I want to be the ninth person in this group that's learning the apple dance right like you just remove yourself from so much of the economic equation when you do that yes

20:57Rob:and like shouldn't we be worried about this contract that Cassie signed for Maddie given especially that Maddie is now getting into business with Alamo absolutely we should be absolutely depends on your point of view from a TV entertainment point of view am I concerned about it I'm not terribly Probably. Should Cassie be, should Suze be worried? Probably. Okay. Alamo has a real like Joe Pesci, Goodfellas, am I, like am I a comedian too? It's this funny like moment. Except it's about being 5 '9". Yeah. What did you think of this moment and what did you think of it like as a size conversation in contrast to this sort of like Cassie is enormous and then Alamo is feeling small.

21:36Rob:Like what did you think of that? I found this to be more effective than some of the other Alamo rants and conversations throughout this season, most of which I felt like were just sort of like transported to a totally different kind of show or just like a poor imitation of another thing that we've seen before. This at least captured, I think, something about this character that felt a little more interesting and a little more original, even if it is something like just being kind of metaphorically 5 '9". I was down for that part of it. And we kind of move on fast enough that it's sort of setting us up that, yes, this is a fixation point in this moment, but more importantly Alamo's just kind of on tilt right now yes it will take very little to get him on the polo horse yes okay does he strike you as a polo gentleman as much as Nate strikes me as a vinyl guy our Mel Torme guy Mel Torme guy now we do pan across the sea of sublime yeah 100 % 100 % but like streaming on Spotify not a physical media fan no no no I don't think so I got very excited about the Mel Torme but I did not think that it was something that Nate would listen to.

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22:42Rob:Speaking of what media people are consuming, so at one point when Rue goes in to talk to Alamo, he's playing the trumpet. Yep. Kitty is sort of sprawled down on the couch. It's a metaphor. They're watching Gilda, the Rita Hayworth movie, which people who maybe are not Rita Hayworth knowers might know from Shawshank Redemption. It's the very scene where Morgan Freeman is like, this is the part I really like when she does that shit with her hair. Like she flips her hair up, right? I was curious. Like, I don't think these things are in here by accident just for fun, right? Do you have any thoughts about why Rita Hayworth and Gilda might be here?

23:19Rob:I have no idea. Okay. Do you have any? I have too many thoughts. I mean, hit me, please. Well, something. So Kitty in last week's episode danced to an Anne Margaret track. Yes. And Sam Levinson. I went to this event last week with the Euphoria heads of department and Sam Levinson was there. And he was talking about how much this actress reminded him of Aunt Margaret. And the exact sort of ginger shade of her hair is like very Aunt Margaret sex kid. Rita Hayworth, other famous redhead. We get a Julia Roberts scene also. So we've got a bunch of famous Hollywood redheads. But Rita Hayworth is quite famous for a few things.

23:58Rob:Horrible marriages. A horrific makeover thing. Like, you know, they years of like electrolysis to like like heighten her hairline, you know, just to make her look whiter. You know, she is she's a Latina woman and they like dyed her hair red and did all this like cosmetic makeover to turn her into this like Hollywood ideal. So thinking of like the Cassie makeover and stuff like that. But I perhaps most importantly, the third thing that Rita Hayworth is known for is terrible contracts inside of the studio system of Hollywood. would, right? And this is an interview she gave in 1968 talking about her contract.

24:38Rob:She said, quote, I used to have to punch a time clock at Columbia every day of my life. That's what it was like. I was under exclusive contract like they own me. I think, and she's talking about Harry Cohn, the head of Columbia at the time. I think he had my dressing room bugged. He was very possessive of me as a person. He didn't want me to go out with anybody, have any friends. No one can live that way. So I fought him. You want to know what I think of Harry Cohn? He was a monster. So she sued to get out of her contract. It's like all part of the legacy. But like, I don't know I'm probably overthinking it but thinking about like Rita Hayworth as this sort of very famous like she's from the outside has been made synonymous with Hollywood glamour you think of Rita Hayworth and you're like that is you know golden age Hollywood glamour and the reality is horrifically painful makeover um died in an actually quite tragic way um and this like horrible like she did not think her life was a fairy tale.

25:33Rob:Yes. You know, and so this idea of like, especially if the other clip we see in this episode is from Pretty Woman, which famously starts with sort of like, what's your dream? You know, city of dreams, right? And it's sort of like the blend we're getting of the Hollywood studio system, the sex working industry. What's the difference between the two? I'm sure Euphoria would like us all to ask that question. I don't know. I think it's I'm curious Maddie's number one boy at gmail.com if you guys have different reasons why you think this is here but I always like to overthink why various film clips are being used I really don't think it's overthinking at all especially to have that scene be in an Alamo oriented setting where so much of his involvement in this episode and he lays it out kind of explicitly when he meets up with Rue and Maddie later it's like just like equanimity was probably on the mood board for this episode I think deals with the devil 100 % on the mood board for this episode And so that whole idea of a really corrupted contract that is like sucking all the life out of you before it casts you aside.

26:37I mean, that's all throughout this week's episode.

26:39Rob:Absolutely. What did you think of Bishop's cursed monologue that he had here? I quite like it. It gave me the revelation that I haven't had before about Bishop, which is he feels like the most Fargo character on this show. Absolutely. You could just drop him straight into any season of that show. And I agree, like Fargo, the TV show. The TV show specifically. Yeah, yeah, I agree. I agree. Like a season, a real season two. A real season two. I don't agree that Rue is cursed, but she does have like a certain chaos that sort of follows her everywhere that if you are as ordered as Bishop is, you could see as a curse.

27:10Rob:We love Daryl Burt Gibson. We think he's so good as Bishop. Something that Sam Levinson told me last week is that both Daryl and Anna Van Patten, who plays Kitty, he was so enamored and impressed by their performances that he expanded their roles for them. We really enjoyed Kitty's debut last week. He told me that he, at the last minute, wrote Daryl Britt Gibson, like, a huge speech for next week, episode six. Oh, exciting. You know, like, I kind of like knowing that about Euphoria, that it is almost instantaneously reactive to the elements that are working, you know? Like, in the behind the scenes that we get for this week's episode, when they are talking about the Maddie Alamo chemistry, like, I agree.

27:56Rob:I think the two of those, Adewale and Alexa, they were incredible together. So I don't know if they wrote even more for them in this season, but I wouldn't be, by them, I mean the lone writer Sam Levinson. But I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. Yeah. I think that's all you really want out of TV. And it's the unique opportunity that it has relative to a movie, right? Is you can really capture the lightning in the bottle and then you can chase it for much, much longer. Well, I think what's interesting is like with something like Euphoria, where you have a lone creator and a very long process of making the seasons, you have more, I would say, freedom to do that.

28:31Rob:Because for most other short season shows, like you're locked, you've written your scripts. And by the time you're shooting, that's what like the 22 episode seasons were for, because you would like write seven episodes at a time and you would react. And so like Euphoria is sort of distinctive in that way. It sure is, Jo. Another thing I learned, and I hope these tidbits are interesting, but another thing I learned is that Alamo's house is based on this abandoned Mike Tyson, Ohio mansion. And if you Google Mike Tyson abandoned Ohio mansion. I simply am going to do it right now. You will see some familiar visuals and it's quite interesting.

29:11Oh, wow. Yeah, you can see a pretty striking similarity in terms of some of the vistas, some of the architecture. Also, I would live here. I would, in fact, live there.

29:21Rob:It's just sitting abandoned in Ohio. Should we go there? I think we should. That's the Prestige Mansion. That's the Prestige, like, drill house style. This will be our content factory. And you have to work on Sunday nights, man. That's the hell we've created for ourselves. the Nate and Cassie house which gets even more blood on the carpet in this episode was based off they wanted something that felt like a casino like Sharon Stone who's in this show but like a hot mess express in casino so that's what they wanted is like proximate to a golf course the shag carpet all of that they're trying to a sliding glass door that somebody could like terminator their way through perhaps yeah yeah perhaps the really most fascinating thing I learned from this lunch that I went to though is that a couple people talked to me about the differences between I'm curious what your thoughts are on this the difference between season one and season season one and two and season three is that their view is that the perspective in season one and season two is subjective it is Rue's sort of we're inside her head fantasy subjective this season is meant to be much more objective and I I'm still wrapping my head around that because Like a man was literally smothered by giant Sidney Sweeney's breasts?

30:35Rob:Well, between the Rue voiceover, which is still here, so we're still, you know, less so. And then, yeah, we're still getting, like, fantasy sequences. So I think it's meant to be sort of a wider view and less Rue-centric, which is definitely true, you know. Absolutely. Perhaps due to Zendaya's schedule, I don't know. But, like, I don't know. I'm curious to keep tracking that idea of objective versus subjective. I'm not sure I fully have the sense of it yet. I'm not going to lie to you. It never occurred to me that Euphoria could be an objective show. Right. It's so impressionistic, regardless of if you're going into the weird kind of imaginative sequences or not, that, yeah, we're maybe not anchored so much to Rue, but I'm with you.

31:18We've broadened out the scope. It still feels tonally kind of similar to where we've been.

31:22Rob:checking in on the and obviously this is just a small sampling of the people who are watching Euphoria but checking in on the on the Reddit boards like which I like to do right after the episode aired there's a lot of frustration from people that they feel like Sydney Sweeney is sort of overwhelming this season which was one of my complaints earlier this season I did really like Cassie last week and I liked a lot of what's going on with Cassie especially now that she is like in Maddie's storyline in Lexi's storyline like all of that works much better for me but if you come to euphoria for jewels or for maybe even I would argue inside of this episode rue you might you know feel like you're not getting the show that you want to get well yeah do you want to talk about some of those characters because I think Nate's in that category too it feels yeah but who comes to euphoria for Nate I mean I hope nobody true sickos uh real toe enthusiasts of a kind.

32:19I guess not finger enthusiasts, just digit fanatics of all sorts.

32:23Rob:The velvet fog heads themselves. But I would say now that Maddie has been sort of pulled into the Alamo-Ru part of things, Nate and Jules feel like the most stranded on the outskirts of the story. And there are different ways that they could get pulled in at various times. But Jules especially is just like in her little like condo ivory tower uh not really interacting with anyone i actually did quite like the scene she has with rue here it's maybe like a little direct in terms of isolating what it is about those two characters whole deals but this concept that like jules is somebody who is always kind of like aspired for things and dreamed of things and rue is like kind of comfortably numb even when she's at her best that tension i do think is an interesting thing to highlight.

33:08Rob:Were you surprised to find out that they have not been kissing? No. Okay. Only because Rue is such a like chill on the couch kind of character. Well, so this is a follow-up to a previous conversation we had where one of our listeners was like, hey, this like hypersexual Rue that we see in the strip club, this angel Rue sexual dynamic doesn't feel like the Rue we've known before. And almost as if the show heard them, we get this scene with Jules, right? Where Jules is bringing up the same issue they had in season two, which is just like, are you passionate about me? I would like passion. The heartbreaking cut from, like, grab me by the face and kiss me and make me yours to, like, loud sex sounds.

33:49Rob:But, like, it's euphoria. And we're like, I know it's going to be the fucker, Ellis, you know? And then this, like—but what's interesting is the contrast between Jules' desire to be, like, wholly possessed, wholly passionately wanted. but then when when she's treated like a possession by ellis i thought i thought the moment where ellis is like i love my i like you but i love my family yeah right like here here's where you are on the ranking hunter shaffer's face jules's face in that moment was extremely heartbreaking and so like am i getting all the jules content i want no but hunter shaffer is like as always deliver Deliver, delivering.

34:35Rob:But what's interesting about Jules is like, unlike a lot of, well, no, I mean, I would say rude too, but like what's always been so interesting about the Jules storyline is that her dad, much more, you know, we saw much more of him in season one, but has always been depicted as like a really supportive, loving parent. And so - Like a little oblivious. Sure. But it's generally supportive. But I, you know, I was thinking, not as basic as daddy issues, But thinking about like what hole inside of her heart is Jules trying to desperately chase and fill here. I mean, the trauma of what her mom did to her is certainly there.

35:10Rob:But she does have this other loving parent, which is, you know, does not heal all wounds. But I don't know. I'm just like thinking a lot about Jules. And I want more Jules is what I want. I do too. I think that's what makes it hard to see these sorts of scenes. Because you're right. It just makes you want more and more Jules in the story. And I don't know what the inroads for that are. other than a continued exploration of everything going on with Alice, which I agree with you. To me, one of the standout moments in terms of just Hunter Schaefer's reactions as Jules there, and specifically the idea that it's not even that she's being treated like a possession.

35:42It's that she's almost like less than that. It's like if he had come in and been upset because he was feeling possessive of her, that would have been one sort of feeling. But it's not even that he's feeling possessive. It's just like, I don't want to catch anything.

35:55Rob:Right. And therefore, you can't be out there in the streets like that. You can't endanger my family. That's part of it. But also he literally wrapped her in plastic. So like, you know, also a possession. Yes. And she like loved it? Question mark? I don't know. Was game for it at the very least. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound Terzepatide may be able to help. Zepbound is a prescription medicine used with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity. Or some adults with overweight who also have weight related medical problems to lose excess body weight and keep the weight off.

36:27Rob:ZepBound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. ZepBound contains terzepatide and should not be used with other terzepatide-containing products or any GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if ZepBound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it. Or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2. Tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop ZepBound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction.

37:05Rob:Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. If you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking ZepBound with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-5979 or visit zepbounce.lily.com. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's Gut Health Challenge by enjoying two Activia yogurts a day for two weeks and see if you feel a difference.

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38:26Rob:ZepBound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, or 15 milligram injection. ZepBound contains terzepatide and should not be used with other terzepatide-containing products or any GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines. It is not known if ZepBound is safe and effective for use in children. Don't share needles or pens or reuse needles. Don't take if allergic to it. Or if you or someone in your family had medullary thyroid cancer, or if you've had multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, tell your doctor if you get a lump or swelling in your neck. Stop ZipBound and call your doctor if you have severe stomach pain or a serious allergic reaction.

39:04Rob:Severe side effects may include inflamed pancreas or gallbladder problems. Tell your doctor if you experience vision changes before scheduled procedures with anesthesia. if you're nursing, pregnant, plan to be, or taking birth control pills. Taking ZepBound with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-5979 or visit zepbounds.lily.com. All right, let's see. What else do I want to talk about? Oh, obviously I want to talk about Shakespeare. yeah as the foremost scholar here at the ringer joe oh that's not true how did you feel about cassie's representation of the bard okay again i was told there was a shakespeare monologue in this episode i happened uh sunday yesterday morning i had a breakfast with my high school english teacher a really normal thing to do uh we respect english teachers but that's just like the most joanna robinson shit i can imagine you saying shout out phil goodyear is the best um I had breakfast with him and this other woman who's an English teacher.

40:13Rob:And so I was telling him, I was like, there's a Shakespeare monologue, I've been told, in Euphoria. Which Shakespeare monologue do we think it is? We were sort of like all placing bets on what we thought it would be. None of us got it right. And I did text him while we were watching. Holy fuck, it's Antony and Cleopatra for some reason. Guess what? She's Cleopatra. I will say Mr. Gutierrez was the closest because he guessed the Lady Macbeth unsexed me here. And I'm kind of tempted to believe that they picked this particular monologue from Ante and Cleopatra so they could have Sidney Sweeney say, lay me stark naked and let the waterflies blow me into a whoring.

40:50Rob:I'm pretty sure that that's why this particular monologue was picked. You reverse engineer from there. Yeah. What did you make of the Shakespeare? I thought it was funny mostly in the like, if she can do Shakespeare, she can do L.A. Nights part. I think the way it was shot, we're meant to think she was good at it. I think she was reasonably good. I think she's better than you would expect Cassie to be at it. Better than somebody who was just negotiating whether she should fart in a jar and send it to somebody. It's a fact. Better than someone in like a butterfly halter you would expect would be.

41:23Rob:100%. She contains multitudes. I thought she did pretty well. Pretty well. Do you think the casting video itself had the same sort of like tasteful, intensifying, slow zoom? Slow zoom. that guy was just locked in on that zoom. That's one of my favorite tricks that whenever shows and movies are trying to depict someone acting in a way that everyone's impressed by, you can work with reaction shots of people being like, oh my God. But often it's the camera is doing like a slow zoom in or a pan around. It's like a really good visual shortcut. Can I tell you something? Yeah. It works on me every time.

41:59I am susceptible to that sort of manipulation.

42:02Rob:Okay. Maddie Rue and equanimity. What did you think of this? I mean, she's a philosopher. Yeah. You know, I did love, you know, he's not a breadwinner, he's a bread loser. I mean, that's phenomenal stuff. Maybe the quantity is keeping you from the quality. That's real. You know, that's a very real concept. And her whole spiel out of equanimity. I mean, genuinely unbelievable stuff for Maddie this week. When you're thinking about Maddie as a religious person. Yeah. That was news to me. well I was going to ask you I mean look we saw the crucifix dangling tastefully right above the butt crack at the wedding that's not where she dangles it you know what I mean like real Jenny calendar shit for Maddie um but yeah this the way in which the religious themes are and are not being either seamlessly integrated or sort of like hit you over the head with it this season is something that we're tracking equanimity is interesting because it is a it's a it's a religious it's a a philosophical idea, it's a Buddhist idea, it's a whatever idea, but it is an idea that comes up a lot in addiction and recovery.

43:04Rob:This is from a specific website that's devoted to women and recovery. Equanimity is the ability to remain calm and balanced regardless of external circumstances. The state of mind allows us to approach challenges with clarity, resilience, and compassion. Equanimity is particularly valuable in addiction recovery. It helps individuals navigate the ups and downs of the healing process, reducing the risk of relapse. So as Ru is on her journey of recovery, is equanimity and this idea of something bigger than yourself. I think that, you know, not just giant Sidney Sweeney boobs, but also just sort of like the religious idea of there's something bigger than me.

43:43Rob:This is how small I am in the grand scheme of things. And that can make all of my problems feel smaller and achievable. because, again, and it doesn't, you don't even have to, I have a friend of mine who's an astrophysicist who talks about how when she thinks about how massive the galaxy is, it makes her problems feel absolutely tiny in a way that makes her feel great, actually. So I think that's interesting. This is the narrow ledge we walk as human beings, right? Because there is that, do you stare out into the infinite abyss and feel like your problems are small or do you stare out into the infinite abyss and feel like you are small and you are insignificant?

44:17Rob:What kind of abyss gazer are you? I mean, it really depends on the day. Do you have a strong leaning? I think I take comfort in how small we are and what a brief time we're here in the grand scheme of things. I mean, it really just depends on what you're trying to talk yourself into. I'm not going to lie to you. But I did love Maddie's place in this and her as a counterbalance to Rue. Like, as we talked about earlier, Rue is such a chaotic character, at least at the center of a lot of chaos. having someone like Maddie who within this scene feels like she's being dragged into this incredibly dangerous world that Rue and Alamo inhabit and then you realize Maddie doesn't really get dragged anywhere.

44:59Rob:No, Rue's like, didn't you have to be somewhere, Maddie? And Maddie's like, nope, I'm good. I got a milkshake to drink. So is Maddie driving the Mercedes here? To a certain degree, yes. But there is obviously a sense of doom in the way that it's shot when she enters the silver slipper. She doesn't know everything she's getting into, certainly. She thinks she understands. She's like, I'm walking in with my eyes open. This is a sex industry and I understand the sex industry. And she's like, oops, I'm in the feeding corpses to pigs industry. I didn't know. I didn't know. Turns out they overlap. Uh-oh.

45:35Rob:What did you make of, oh, we both really enjoyed Zendaya's performance when Rue is nervously laughing when Alamo shows up. She's just a one-of-one like anxiety bomb actor. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So good. Also watch the drama for like increasingly effective versions of that. Alexa Demme is an incredibly tiny woman and Adewale is like a large man. He's not 5 '9", I'll tell you that much right now. But the way that they shot him sort of like the heaviness of his boots as he walked in, the way that he's looming over them, we get sort of feels like a callback to that shot of Kitty and like the silhouette of his hat and Kitty's legs that you called out last week as he's just sort of like looming over them.

46:16Rob:Maddie's taken in all of the accessories, which is what Alexa Demme said in the behind the scenes. But I think this, like, Maddie is so impressive. And I believe in her so much. And yet, watching this tiny woman and this massive, and we know that he is very dangerous. Incredibly so. More than she could imagine, I would think. Watching them cram together like in the Mercedes even is just like, and then the two of them almost like, I don't know, Wizard of Oz-esque like going into the silver slipper here. You know, I'm nervous for your girl. I am nervous, but I'm less so as just a general TV watcher because this illuminated something that's just true about Euphoria and the reason why I feel like Maddie is the best character on the show, she works with everybody.

47:01Like any actor, any character on Euphoria, this is the most I've been interested in Alamo since he's been on the show is seeing him with Maddie. Hard to say. I think Maddie's stuff with Rue is often electric. Maddie's stuff with Lexi can be really fun. And Maddie's stuff with Cassie has obviously been her, Cassie's best moments.

47:16Rob:Even with Jules at the wedding. Completely. Good stuff, yeah. And so it's like getting to see different sides of Alamo is what's exciting to me about that prospect. And I think what makes Maddie effective is like, she's not, it's not that she's a plain character that lets other characters pop. Like she's just operating on a frequency that I think brings the best out of these other constructions of who these other people are. And so if we get to see other sides of Alamo, even if there are very dangerous sides, that's a show I'm interested in watching. It's a show I'm interested in, scared to watch.

47:43Rob:Well, yeah. Well, yeah. Anything you want to say about the way the sort of meat market moment was shot, the girls, like where we see like first the legs and then the breasts and then finally the faces as Maddie is sort of prowling around them. Sizing everybody up. I mean, I enjoy kind of the articulation. It's almost like a test from Alamo, right? Of like a matter of taste a little bit. Like who will you pick out of this lineup? Like his satisfaction when she picks the two right girls. but you're right it's gross it's weird it is like understandably like reducing all of these women into like what are their most marketable characteristics and I love the inversion of Maddie's story as the show lays out of you know she's been taking people like Cassie and turning them into like OnlyFans models but the idea of kind of reverse engineering based on the willingness of how far someone is willing to go and that person starting out being a stripper or a sex worker all of a sudden the world is very wide I think it's also interesting to think about Cassie at this juncture where she has this LA Knights opportunity, which is like, yes, a small role.

48:46Rob:Lexi's pissed. I don't blame Lexi for being pissed. Brutal turn for Lexi. Really tough. But Cassie's got a small role that I could definitely see a Cassie turning into something bigger. Job applicant? I mean, that's a juicy part. so there's that and then there's whatever Maddie's about to drag her into the silver slipper like here's here's the fork in the road and you know like where does her career go from here what is her future what choice does she make or does she have a choice because she signed that contract with Maddie I don't know it's a great question I think one of the more successful aspects of the season overall is like it's a very Los Angeles show all of a sudden whereas I would say Hollywood Hollywood specifically but you know the earlier seasons were kind of like suburbs yes it's california but it could kind of be a lot of different places anywhere california but where we're getting to with maddie and cassie in particular these are like two very particular kinds of hollywood people right in in maddie someone who's like willing to completely fake it until they make it i really when maddie to lexi is like do you want to make an enemy of me on the warner brothers lot i was like i know that person i've talked to that person i know that person also i don't i don't want to make of them.

50:01But it's like Maddie is faking it in every possible respect, pumping herself up, pretending she's something she's not, even if she's cleaning up like chihuahua shit in her job time. And then Cassie is someone who's like willing to do anything for a slice of attention. And so this is taking the Cassie idea, I think, to an even deeper and potentially darker extreme in terms of who Maddie's going to be working with now.

50:20Rob:Something I think that's interesting is, I mean, I think the biggest laugh of the episode, of course, is when Cassie's like, you're my best friend. And Maddie's like, really? It's both maybe the funniest and saddest moment in Euphoria history. And that's really saying something. But what I liked about it is we heard Cassie like whine that throughout season two. Yeah. Maddie's my best friend. Like that's 80 % of Cassie's lines in season two. So she's hitting it pretty hard in this episode to like Nate to Brandon for Maddie to just be like, really? What are you talking about? So good. I thought it was really weird.

50:58All of their exchanges are so good. Like when Cassie's talking about like, what have I lied to you about recently?

51:02Rob:Recently. Again, I just thought, I thought both of them were kind of on fire in this episode. And the deployment. Ding, ding, round two, you know. I mean. The much promised. Please, please let it continue. Yeah. Maddie just being completely unbothered and getting on the fake phone call is just like incredibly good. But I mean, maybe that's her equanimity. It is her equanimity. She's sort of like, let's roll on to the next thing. I have found my peace. I mean, it just feels so of that character, too, for Cassie to, like, not even beat around the bush, but, like, beat around the garden that contains the bush.

51:31She's, like, so scared to step on anyone's toe.

51:33Rob:She's circling the perimeter of the room, literally. When she signs that contract, when Cassie signs that contract and holds it up for Maddie and she breathes just Dylan, like, his name. Yeah. I thought that was really, really funny. Shout out Homer Gear. Yes. I hope that your dad enjoyed being in this episode of Euphoria. I also thought that was a great bit of kind of like plot magic as far as, you know, you're right that you're kind of meant to be angry about the way Brandon is presenting Maddie and all these different things. But this idea that Maddie on some level kind of like knows Cassie well enough to know like the exact thing that she wants, even if she doesn't have it yet.

52:13It's like, this is a thing I can dangle. What man can I dangle in front of her? That's kind of all you need. And it's like Brandon is like talking to generalities and like go stand on this balcony and like isn't this lifestyle great? And Maddie's like, here's this like very real guy. And you can get his attention. I'm going to put you in a room with him as job applicants. And who knows what happens from there.

52:32Rob:Anything else you want to say about Nate? Oh, okay. So something I learned about this house is that they were told they could not. I was asking like, did you pick that house because you thought blood would look especially good on that carpet? and they were told they couldn't the only thing they couldn't mess up was the carpet so they had to source matching carpet swatches to like put Jacob Elordi on so he could burble blood and not ruin the original yellow shag that was in the house it did look like it had been completely cleaned out somehow yeah yeah I assume that's where some of the like the$30 ,000 went anything else you want to send Nate's I love you I love you I love you send me that money like anything I mean his yeah I guess their housekeeper no longer works there because the entire place is an absolute pigsty.

53:20Rob:Anything else you want to say about Nate Jacobs? I at least prefer this version of Nate to the early season version of Nate. He at least seems like an asshole. He's a shred. Yeah, absolutely. And a loser. Yes. Like Nate. A bred loser. A Nate who peaked in high school. Yes. And is now just like a real loser who, I don't know, gender norm, cannot provide for his family or whatever, but is just sort of like sitting around not even cleaning the house not even doing anything it's like go whore yourself out straight up pimping out his wife yeah yeah like I think the turn from now that there are no illusions out there they've all been shattered everyone knows he's a broke boy everyone knows he's a fraud it's like I guess now just like go ahead and make those videos you know like let's just get that money create a story with Brandon yes just a little tension a little flirtation the suggestion of a relationship online but then he's also like so lost in like drinks and day dancing in his living room that he like forgets to send the money for the payment and thus loses his finger anyway.

54:20Rob:No, can I just tell you that Nate getting completely bankrolled by Cassie, working her ass off literally like in this industry and him not making the payment even still. Chef's kissy for you. This is, that's very funny stuff. The breadiest loser that ever was. The henchman coming through the sliding door and him running upstairs. The head's been walking all the way across the golf course to get there. But just Nate running upstairs and like hiding in a bathroom. Oh, like a dumb blonde in a horror movie? Perhaps. Yeah. But also, you know what? If that's how you hide, I'm just going to say you deserve to get your finger cut off.

54:57You didn't even try.

54:59Rob:All right. Here's the last thing else. Is there anything else you want to say before I wrap us up? About Nate in particular? No, about you four. Where do you want to go? How do you want to wrap this up? Just some information that I learned about the finale. No spoilers, just some information I learned. How is it going to be information about the finale that's not a spoiler? They just turned it in last Monday. Okay. That's interesting information. That's info. It's 93 minutes long. Sure is. That Sunday is going to be great for us. That's interesting info. They gave me like a tone note for the ending, which I don't think is a spoiler.

55:33Rob:Okay. Would you like me to share it with you? I'm interested in a tone note. Okay. They said it's a hopeful ending, but not for everyone. Euphoria. Yeah. I would expect nothing less, frankly. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But like, okay, thinking about that, hopeful ending but not for everyone. Who do you, Maddie's number one boy, Yeah. most want to have or think will have a hopeful ending to this series? I mean, Kitty, obviously. She's going to ride off into the sunset. Nothing bad is going to happen to Kitty. No, she's going to be fine. They all seem kind of screwed in their own ways, don't they? Lexi. You're doing fine.

56:11I hope Lexi, but I think Lexi's just going to be still stuck in the purgatory that is her life in which she works really hard for something and her sister swoops in with a low-cut shirt and gets a better version of it.

56:21Rob:I can't believe that she learned nothing from the plethora of dicks moment with Jules where she like once again brought in someone from her real life into her job. You just can't do it. It's tough. It's tough. Lexi, I'm hopeful. I mean, the tone of the season and the religious through lines would tell us. Maybe it ends with Lexi having sex with someone she's really excited to have sex with. Dylan Reed? Dylan. He doesn't seem great. She hooks up with Dylan Reed and Cassie does not. Finally gets her win. That would be interesting. I'd be game for that. Yeah, I don't, I'm trying to parse like if any of the religious undertones and themes of this season would tell us like who is graced by God, you know?

57:03Who is the rue with the apple on the, like, I mean, but also she survives everything. Yeah. Including,

57:08Rob:I mean, we definitely think she's surviving this episode. There's no question, right? Like, zero question. They're coyly in the preview for next week. You do not see Rue. Very clever. You do see the two DEA guys, like, rolling up to the spot where she was buried alive. So, like, I think she's going to be fine. I know she's going to be fine. Like, it's Zendaya. They did not kill her. Off screen. Off screen. Did not happen. So why are we ending an episode this way? I don't know. That's a great question. I was a little irritated by that. Anything else you want to say? I want to circle back. You mentioned the Julia Roberts brief appearance in this episode via the TV.

57:43Rob:Pretty woman, baby. I mean, pretty woman. Incredible moment. Incredible scene. Is this relationship goals or relationship hell? What we see from Faye and I'm going to be straight up a Nazi dude just sitting around lounging, watching pretty woman. Can you pull the redeeming quality of that enough? Can you rewind that? Can we remove Nazi from the equation? I don't know that you can. He's got a Confederate flag phone case. I think Faye being like, please don't answer the phone during this scene from Pretty Woman is the best part. Yeah. Relationship goals. Nazi. Yep. Confederate flag phone case. Who does, in fact, answer the phone during that scene anyway.

58:24Rob:That's not great. Yeah. It's not great. But they seem to be in love. They sure do. And I don't think it's going to go well for them. So you don't think they're going to have the happy ending? I'm sorry, the hopeful ending. Guys. Slightly different. Slightly different. no I don't think it's going to go well for Faye to have been involved in the robbery of Alamo's nightclub but the Nazi guy maybe this is a show where the Nazis win I don't know it's the anti and glorious bastards we're crossing our fingers for the Nazis please pull that for social we love to have it on the gram alright anything else you want to say let's get out of here okay happy Mother's Day thank you to Jamie who's here with us and thank you to Rob Mahoney thank you Joe Thank you to HBO for this unique Sunday night experience.

59:09Rob:And we'll be back with perhaps a teen show flashback. Probably another Widow's Bay check-in later this month. Absolutely. And definitely more euphoria. Bank on it. Maybe 50-foot woman included? Do you think we'll get a return? The return of the 50-foot woman? I don't know. I don't know how the season ends. Maybe that's hopeful for somebody. You're like, they didn't spend a year building that model. certainly this businessman is hoping for it you know like he had big dreams yeah yeah yeah well here's hoping for Frank and we'll see you soon bye

From the publisher

Jo and Rob put their best foot forward to recap 'Euphoria' Season 3, Episode 5.

(0:00) Intro

(1:24) ATX TV Festival

(3:51) Euphoria S3E5 overall impressions

(5:17) Mailbag check-in

(8:25) Cassie

(12:04) Attack Of The 50 ft. Woman

(16:08) What is Cassie’s business model?

(17:14) People stealing Maddy’s shine

(18:21) Hype house/drill house

(20:06) Alamo

(21:35) Media consumption

(25:34) Bishop

(27:48) Location inspirations

(29:05) Is Euphoria subjective or objective?

(30:58) Underserved characters

(35:03) Cassie performs Shakespeare 

(37:30) Maddy, Rue, and Equanimity

(40:04) Maddy

(48:25) Nate

(50:41) Finale expectations

(53:14) Faye and her Nazi boyfriend

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Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney

Producers: Kai Grady, Devon Renaldo, and Jamie Yukich

Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles

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