EUPHORIA 1x5 & 1x6 REVIEW – NATE & MADDY ARE PSYCHOTIC

0:00Hey, I'm Seth Schackner. Check out my new show, Breaking Down the Bizz. Every week, I sit down with people who actually make movies, music, and media happen. Executives from Sony, Universal, Apple, NBC. Together, we cut through industry jargon and hype to show you how the business is built, what's key to making everything come together, and why it matters to you. From iTunes impact on the music industry to the advent of AI, from the Taylor Swift ticket sales fiasco to bad bunnies, meteoric rise, we break down the stories, the numbers, and the negotiations that shape the industry. I've been in the trenches of the entertainment industry for several decades with leadership roles at companies like Sony, Paramount, and Give Records. My guests and I are going to provide the same thoughtful, concise insights that I'm trusted to bring on TV networks like CNN and NBC surrounding the industry and its culture-defining moments. We'll touch on the business of music, filmmaking, and streaming and the emerging technology of our time. If you've ever wondered what really

1:00happens behind the scenes of the entertainment business, this is a bite-size insider guide. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform or watch us on YouTube so you never miss a beat. Let's make sense of this industry together. Well, let's do this on HBO because that's where it exists until they remove it from the server. Let's go. All right, gang. Well, if you made it to this point in the video, leave a like for wholesome activities and role model behavior. Also, don't forget to subscribe. And when you subscribe ring the bell, ring the bell. Be very careful with this thing. Also, big thank you to

2:04the team over at Perrepar for chopping these highlights together. This is one of the most challenging, you know, series that we cover here and they have their work cut out for them. It is a neon party every day in the editing bay and we appreciate their hard work very much. Also, if you want to get the full and complete euphoria experience alongside Tara and myself, you can come on over to patreon.com slash the real region slash the real rejects. And there you can see up with your own copy of you for you. We're streaming from HBO Max. But if you got a blu-ray box, whatever you got, you can sync up with the time code. Join us as if you're right across the couch, the living room, whatever you got. You also get a little glimpse at our shooting schedule day and day out. You get to ask us the questions that will help shape this discussion. And you can save yourself a little discount with some teas like this one or that one or even this one. That's so many teas. Maybe we'll make a euphoria tea season three. We said that I don't know what that sure would be and it would probably not be appropriate to show on camera. But anyhow, that's a great

3:08place to join up if you want to support the channel in any way. And I think that's all the housekeeping terror. Yep. How are we feeling? I feel a lot. Yes, I'm not if it's about what? Yes. A value for you. And it's obviously it's one of my favorite shows. I love these two episodes, but it's just because it tastes you through an emotional roller coaster. It's a real hard push and pull of watching teenagers hormones are flowing. Your decision-making is not all there. Nate's dad is teaching him also to bottle it up just like McKay's dad, but bottle it up in other weird ways. Like everyone's lives in this is effing tragic yet very real. And it's it's a ride. That's what I've got to say. It's a fricking ride. It is. That's a good way to put that. This would be I like if they opened up a euphoria ride at Universal Studios, you'd end up crying. I would do on

4:14that ride. I would I would OD on that ride. I would never want to go on that ride. Yeah, the show remains steadfast in doing the thing that it does, which is, you know, depicting all sorts of the harsh and heightened realities of coming of age and discovering the various vices in gray areas of the world has to offer you. Nate love that guy. Hilarious character. Really fun. I really want to see where his plot line goes. Hopefully he becomes the president by the end of the show. And, you know, yeah, they're Rue. I don't understand really anything that she's going through. Really boring stuff there. No, I mean, yeah, God, this is like a whole ass. It's just a lot. There's so much. There's a lot. I like that we got that little deep dive on like, okay, here's who Maddie is. Here's what her kind of formation has been up to now. Here's the foundation of her attitude and all that stuff

5:18and what she wants out of life. True. Fascinating character. And like she and Nate in ways are sort of made for each other. And there's this web of they're really good at depicting and sort of humanizing without making it feel good. The weird ways in which, you know, the people bend reality and convince themselves of a bent reality in order to cope with various things or in order to get the life that they want. Right. And so much of like, there's so much about Maddie that you can sympathize with. There are times where, you know, she's obviously like in charge and it's fun to watch. But also, she's at the center of a bunch of really destructive and awful horrible deceits. Yep. And, uh, and, you know, to then watch Nate go and, and like, he's in a serial killer movie. Like he's pulling moves, man. Like his dad is, is fascinating in a different way, because he's like a real guy who's like got an emotional person in there who's just like

6:22struggling to get out. And so like, yeah, he's repressed obviously. And he's found like some, what seems, uh, do obviously since Jules wound up in it dubious, but, you know, marginally consensual secret life to have. You're right. So you're like, this guy's messed up. But his son feels even more messed up than as a whole. Yeah, there's that whole reflection that he has with, uh, with the Mina characters. He was great. Uh, which, uh, fascinating moment too, because, you know, for, for her, it's just a gig. And you can feel how and where she checks out what she does. But like, same time, it is like a, a weird, it's like, it's almost a therapy. And you could tell that he probably wants some kind of soft and tender emotional space in his life that he probably doesn't have. So for him, it's like really, you meet, you meet the, the, the circumstance around him. And you're like, Oh, God, this is just harsh. And then, you know, at this point in the show, you're like, this is actually kind of sad. And this is obviously having very poor effects on

7:25your family life. And I'm trying to remember all of the context again to keep the things together. But it seems like there's a version of you that could live free and be okay if you could come to grips with certain things. Nate, Nate, I don't think is that's the K. No, Scott, like Nate is off the rail. So so path. And, and it has like willing to do anything. And he's got this really unassuming vibe and demeanor, which adds to his like serial killer equality. Totally. So like reserved and low key. But there's, yeah, there's a lot of great physical acting across this. Zendaya continually killing it. And it's nice to be in a few episodes with her. I can imagine a relapse or a dip is coming. But she has actually been one of the more steadfast characters in these two episodes. Anyway, yes, I felt more safe. And her journey as she's been sort of actually getting honest and clean was nice to see. I love guy. I don't trust anything on this show. But I love the

8:29common Domingo character and the little moments he shows up in are very affecting. Frickin, what's her name? Kat. Kat is breaking my heart. Yeah. Because Kat, you, because Kat, you mean in a really sympathetic mode. And you can tell that there's probably like somebody sweet inquiry. You're like, there's somebody sweet and creative in there. And there's also, you know, this, you know, dummy lusty, you know, fiend as well. Again, both can coexist, but they're so separated right now. And they're so compartmental. Exactly. And it seems as though her whole understanding of how to navigate, you know, sex and any type of physio emotional intimacy is through the filter of this empowerment that she's found through, you know, on these show cam shows. Yeah, on line. And yeah, like we're rapidly seeing, it's interesting because the thing with Ethan,

9:31you're like, this has been a really hard back and forth. And you feel bad for him, because he seems just like the one regular guy in this class. Yeah. Just like a regular earnest dude. For a guy who's like, yeah, and and he does do something for her that people don't tend to do. Right. And I feel like that has the potential to plant the seed. So I think so. Even though he didn't plant the seed, because he planted the seed in his pantaloons. But also, you know, like, yeah, good nuances and good spinning of the web. You see a lot of the like, oh, I see because all these deceits are operating and all these situations are going on, kind of right next to each other. How right? How it's that maddening thing about life where you're like, how could you be oblivious to this? But also people working really hard for very personal reasons. And then also the understood kind of social reasons. And it's it's good at depicting the mess. Yep. As as agonizing as that is. I'm with you. Jules. Also going through shit. I don't

10:33like how this is going. But she's also going through shit. Seems like she and Rue want different things. Yeah. And I'm really worried about how that's going to go. A couple of seconds with Fez. Happy about that. They got those friggin tattoos. They got those flip tattoos. That's why I was screaming so loud when Jules responded the way she did at the roast getting rink. I lost my mind. I knew then that it was a done. It was over. Yeah. Super conflicted. That's bad. Anyway, we forgot any plot, McKay and Cassie. Hey, that it's interesting because we got two dads here who were like trying to, you know, make their sons elite. Yeah. And like McKay's dad seems like a better version of that. Of course. He is not providing his son the tools to like confront, process and deal with doubt. Correct. It's sort of like don't ever doubt. And if you doubt, then you fucked up. Yeah. And like, yeah, like McKay is a manning character because there are

11:36so many ways in which he can't quite step out of his own way to truly communicate with Cassie. And there's other people. And then her acting out, it's like that thing with the Daniel guy who sucks is understandable. It's like it's like she's, you know, she's riding a really rough line. She is because she's so high. I will go what she's wearing. It's like a little confusing. You know, you're doing the dancing, making out and then but like, bro. But yeah, he's like, bro, there's you're gonna fucking devil. Yeah, you're like the second he kept spitting this good game of like, I really like you. And then yeah, then to immediately make that turn and be like, and that is why cat is how she is even though it didn't have to cat. Do you see what I mean? It's like a vicious cycle that we're looking into the eyes of all these freaking people in here. And they're all really not great. And like, even the one guy that she screws, it's carnival. She's just like, oh, I realize like all the guys are pathetic. Where it's like, you have to put them there. You have to stop them from getting that close. You say no to them and their emotional

12:40attachment first so that you don't get hurt, right? And that's what cats doing. But then we're like, maybe one of us, one of them gives us hope. And the one guy, I forget his name, the one who is panty. Ethan, Ethan, we like Ethan. But he's like, he's the one that we have a little hope in him. But then everyone else is a fucking disaster. And you then realize why all these 15 ages are making coco bananas decisions because like I said, it's a freaking rollercoaster. Well, it's easy to forget that like cat and Maddie are friends totally totally. And they're not getting the full context from each other. So there's that dual layer of like, I have suspicions about what my friends probably aren't telling me. And also then there's what they do tell me. And there's all that shit you learn about all the people around who you're like, I don't, yeah, you get why no one would want to open up to anybody. To be vulnerable ever to share an honest thought. It's coco bananas in here. It is. If I had a religion, a daily ritual, it would be liquid

13:43IV. I'm not exaggerating. I take it every single day, sometimes twice a day. In the past couple weeks, I've gotten into running. That's my thing now. And nothing depletes me like a long session in the sun. And this bad boy rehydrates me so well. And with all that glycogen depletion, this hydrates me so well. Even if you're not out there, crushing miles, hydration matters. Stressful workdays, brain fog, travel, when I get off the plane, I take one of these. Sometimes I'm just so busy that it helps me out. You feel it mentally and emotionally and more than just physically. And liquid IV's hydration multiplier hydrates faster than water alone. Just once stick to this in 16 ounces of water is powered by LIV Hydra science, which has everyone knows. It's an optimized ratio of electrolyte, essential vitamins, and clinically tested nutrients that turn ordinary water into extraordinary hydration. This has three times the electrolytes of the leading sports drinks, eight vitamins and minerals, 100% daily value of four essential B vitamins, plus vitamin C, backed by a scientific advisory board, and it's non-GMO, vegan gluten-free,

14:49dairy-free, soy-free-free, of bad stuff with no artificial colors and sweeteners. I personally take the sugar-free flavors and no sugar-at-a-ones, the mandarin orange, currently my favorite. So, Reject Nation, if you want to get on board this train, you can subscribe and save 30% at liquidiv.com-slash-rejects. That's liquidiv.com-slash-rejects, 30% off when you subscribe and save that. Liquidiv.com-slash-rejects, tear-poor-live-more. Should we do questions? Let's do some questions. We got some. J. Dow says, Rolling Jules have intense moment on the bed where Rue admit she doesn't really know who she is without drugs. Who do you think Jules understands the weight? Do you think Jules understands the weight of that confession, or is she seeing their relationship through a more romantic lens in the reality of Rue's addiction? Well, I think Jules is obviously, she's not even looking at Rue's addiction anymore, because if she was, she wouldn't be behaving the way that she is. She's more wrapped up in the fact that Nate is blackmailing her and saying,

15:52you're going to be a pito, but like, and that's just so much for a separate girl to use the clinically accepted terminology, PDF file. Yes, yes. Yes. Newly inducted. Oh my god. Oh my god. I can't. Yeah, and I'm like, Lucy, I understand that like, you know, Jules, sorry, Rue is going to take her while it's only two weeks. So yeah, she's not going to understand she is without drugs and she's going to weigh like all of herself onto Jules because there's just nowhere else to put all of that. How do you live life when like fentanyl was your best friend, right? And Jules is the only one that made her feel that close to it. So I don't blame her for being like, attached, being a little bit like a leech, like being a little bit like where she says, I'm a burden. I'm realizing it now.

16:57That's a sad thought. I hate it all of it. And I think she maybe understood the weight of it a little bit, but Jules is a little bit in her own bubble in her own world. Yeah, I would agree with that. It's like Jules is so preoccupied with so many other things and it does seem like they have that conversation about like, oh, what's your body count? What's your experience like? And, you know, clearly they seem to have a very different relationship to sex as it applies. And, you know, Jules says that thing about like it's not even always about that. You know, there's it does seem like these episodes of highlighted is sort of valley between their motivations and what they want. And yeah, it's like I can imagine she understands some degree of the confession, but I don't think it quite lands with the depth that it's hard because it's like you're in high school. So you know some of the full context, but you're not going to have the real birds eye view on how the whole cycle of addiction and being a person who's now kind of being detoxed

17:59and confronting this, you know, it's so much. So yeah, I feel like I think it's probably through the more romantic slash preoccupied lens. Yep. It doesn't seem like I'm yeah, I was fully seeing Rue at the moment, right? Unfortunately, and her whole spirit throughout this relationship has been more lighthearted, more like, yeah, free spirited. Yeah, like she seems to really enjoy Rue. Yeah. But her attention doesn't seem to be focused on her completely, where Rue is a little more subdued, but is very much pointed in Jules direction. Right. So yeah, I don't think she fully catches that, but but leave us your thoughts. Malik, thank you for joining in. You're Australia now. What are your thoughts on Rue leaning on Jules to stay sober? And what implications do you think will happen because of it went a little. It's really good.

19:02Well, we're kind of seeing the implications like I you saw me lose my lid when they're out of rolling and she didn't say anything. It's just by her look and by the friend asking her, you know that the fact that she's leaning on Jules to say stay sober and in what Jules is going through, even if she wasn't going through it. Let's pretend Nate doesn't exist and there's no black mailing. I still think that Jules would start to be like, it's too much because Jules is used to I'm exploring. I go to motels. I kind of don't mind it. I like what night stands. It's like learning more about it. It's not a big deal. What's your number? Like she's very free and open with this information. So the fact that anyone would need to lean on Jules specifically in that way to stay sober, I think is obviously going to be a giant disaster. And we're already seeing the likes of that now. Yeah, I'm here. I have learned to expect pain, suffering, and disaster in this show.

20:03So I'll only assume that bad things, bad tidings lay ahead. But I don't know, like at the end of during these episodes, especially at the party and when they have that altercation on the doorstep and she's really, you could tell how shitty she feels. She's like, you know, I got to look out for her. I can't just leave her here. Right. And there's there's something about that that says to me, like, okay, I think she's capable of being a little more clear-eyed and going like this person is not okay in their own way and probably isn't thinking of me the way I'm thinking of them. But but she still want to be a good friend to her, you know, in that moment, I guess. Yeah, and I think digging down into that well can sometimes take the last bit of, like, goodwill you would have to care for yourself and you're giving it to the person that you feel like you need to care for and to keep track of obviously because, you know, Jules is in a very precarious position.

21:03Yeah, but Rue leaning on her to stay sober is a precarious proposition at best just because, yeah, as we've been saying, Jules is having her own awakenings, explorations at all and otherwise and it just seems like they they have slightly different experiences and want slightly different things and they're it's good. It's good drama because it's like the Yin Yang of like, I can see how so many parts of this are great for Rue and I can also see how a lot of parts of this pretty tragic and dangerous. Yeah. J rushed in. Question. What rejects would make a great Bonnie and Clyde team? Also, Tom and Zendaya got married like during this stretch of episodes. Yeah, I wonder during this time or did they just, you know, I feel like, does wait, when did they get married? Yeah. But, uh, but yeah, who would we, who would you be your Bonnie and Clyde? Oh, I thought I did. Anyway, um, okay, Bonnie and Clyde, um, I don't, I don't know. Who do you,

22:08oh, they like, they just got married. As a March 2026 report to Nicky, this and Diane Tom have likely married and secret ceremony. Wow. Their style is confirmed. The news during 2026 actor awards, which just happened two days ago. Wow. Okay. I love that. That's awesome. Thanks for that, Jay. For them. I don't know, Bonnie and Clyde. I mean, I feel like everyone's just going to be like, oh, I don't know what you're, according to John. Everyone, every pair, every possible pair. It's all of us could make that awesome. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, that's a hard, to me, that's a hard question. Like, I feel like I need some more specific. I know it's going to be who would be the worst Bonnie and Clyde combinations of the reject team. Okay. I don't think Koi and Roxy together would get much done. Right. You're right. You're right. Okay. Uh, hold on. Let me think me, you and Aaron, me and Aaron. Yeah. I probably just end

23:14up vibing. I told you. We would just end up vibing. You would just hang out. Listen to the music. They couldn't get stuff. Yeah. We couldn't. Yeah. They couldn't. They would just have fun. A lot of time. Make jokes. Yeah. Definitely. Right. Um, let's see. Uh, Michael Tesla and, uh, it's weird. I think I'm not forgetting anybody, but I'm like, okay, who I don't know, like little John, maybe because they don't, because they don't, because they don't really know each other. They don't know each other that well. And somehow I, I mean, yeah, I don't, I think they would both be too like ethical and sensitive. I see. I think that exactly way too sensitive. They wouldn't be able to get shit done. Meanwhile, everybody here is afraid of me. Yeah. You would be the, on everyone's body and Clyde. Totally. You're exempt from being on any of the bad body and Clyde. Right. I'm only on the good ones. Yeah. Because everyone's like, oh, and in fact, even if you're like saddled with a not great Clyde, you could still probably make shit happen. Yeah.

24:17So I'll probably be like, I need you to do this totally, you know, totally, even though ideally, Bonnie and Clyde are doing it together. They're doing it together, but really, yeah. But yes, leave your thoughts on which of us, uh, which combos of us would be the best bunnies for Clyde's and also, uh, let us know what you got. Tom and Zendaya for their wedding. All right. Take it away, Jay Dell question two. Oh, okay. After the party in episode six, where everything between Nate Maddie and Cassie starts unraveling, do you think Nate thrives on the chaos he creates? Well, yeah. Or is he constantly reacting to the situations he's losing control over? Yeah. Yeah. It's, but it's both. It's absolutely both, Jay Dell. Like, yeah. I mean, he loves it. That's how he, his dad loves the chaos too. Um, I mean, just think about it, right? Nate has been looking at his dad's porn that his dad created from his secret solo life since he was like seven. Yeah. The dude is going, I don't know. It's real. I need now that

25:20into that. I'm now, I know how to, I'm going to bait people like blackmail like, yes, yes, yes. And he's constantly reacting to situations. Of course, he's losing control. He's gotten yes to both. Yeah. I think Nate is like a baby snake in a way like he's conniving and he obviously knows how to move. But I think he's also still young and still impulsive and still, you know, he's in a place where he doesn't have as much practice as his dad like crushing his emotions down. So they still like boil over in more significant ways. So yeah, I think it's both absolutely a pretty equal helping of both. I would argue because, uh, because yeah, he's a good crisis manager, I guess, uh, but also it's clear he thrives on the chaos he creates because of the way he's able to be so cool, calm and collected when doing these heinous things. And because of the fact that like so much of his and Maddie's relationship is one of the cornerstones is the, the,

26:22the volatility. Mm hmm. The toxicity. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The height of the fight as well as of the passion. Totally. So. And JDL gave us a little trivia saying all the episode titles, episode two, two, six are actually named after famous hip-hop songs here in season one, which we didn't know. So I'll appreciate that. That's fun. I was going to say I've seen a couple of the titles. Do they just, they just show that the euphoria title card. Exactly. They don't, they don't really. Yeah. So yeah, I catch, I, I glimpse the titles of the individual episodes like in here and there in between, but I have also noticed during that there will be like a lyric. If I don't recognize the song necessarily, there will be a lyric that like becomes the title or or yes, you're like, oh, right. Yeah. Yeah. So this is a roundabout way of saying I've, I've started to pick this up. We're picking it up now. We're picking it up now. Yeah. Like a fresh habit, baby. Uh, you got anything else to tell the people? No. All right. We'll be back for more of

27:24this. It was there eight episodes of season one. I think so. Whatever it is. We'll be back. We're going to go detox now. We're going to drink a gallon of water, sit in a sauna and then go cry, go cry and take a valve silence, live in the mountains until it's time to shoot the next one. Sounds good. No Wi-Fi. Peace. We would make a choice as kids.