Euphoria Season 2 Episode 7: The Theater and Its Double
The penultimate episode of season 2 of Euphoria aired this Sunday. Titled “The Theater and Its Double '' follows Lexi (Maude Apatow) as she performs her long-awaited play to an audience, including the majority of our main characters. However, unbeknownst to these characters, the play is about them.
This episode was fantastic. Lexi has been an incredible secondary character throughout these two seasons, however recently the audience has been able to get a closer look as to who Lexi is, and follow her as she embarks on a journey to write, direct, and star in her play based on her life.
The cinematography in this episode was flawless. Every frame was gorgeous and involved a ton of attention to detail. It also captured the feel of a student play, while looking very pristine. The color palettes for this episode are very deliberate and complement the emotions of the characters perfectly.
A perfect example of this is the final shot in which we see Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) looking into the play through a glass door. She is both angry and sad which is why a blue glow can be seen around her breathing heavily on the glass greeting a foggy aura.
The soundtrack for the episode was also brilliant. Labrinth has a very distinct style of music and although his music works perfectly for the show, it was important that this episode feels unique, meaning it featured a classical, intense score that pulsated throughout the episode.
The score made every scene tenser and made sense since it sounded like the play itself was being scored by the school orchestra.
Although the scenes work was notable, the acting performances in this episode were also spectacular. Maude Apatow killed it in the leading role.
Her character Lexi is a bit insecure, yet her emotion and persistence make it all the more satisfying that she is happy and confident in her skin during the play. Apatow was front and center, and she delivered a performance worthy of a leading lady.
Sydney Sweeney also delivered with her performance. She has been one of the most consistent actors in this show and yet again proved to the audience that she is a phenomenal actress. Cassie is very emotional all episode, this emotion can be seen through fear, sadness, and anger that she gets towards the end.
The scene in which she is in the bathroom trying to compose herself is probably the most well-performed acting in the entire episode. Cassie was very emotive while reacting to the play without speaking any words of dialogue and Sweeney was able to convincingly deliver these emotions to the audience.
The final noteworthy performance was Austin Abrams, who plays Ethan. Ethan has not gotten a ton of screen time this season and virtually no character development, however, who would have thought he would be such a great comedic relief.
Ethan is an actor in the play who plays the fictional version of Lexi's mom, dad, and Nate Jacobs. Abrams is having a ton of fun throughout his performance. His role is too funny for a serious show. It is the perfect amount of humor that can alleviate some of the tension and allow the audience to laugh. Hopefully, he can continue to shine as a hilarious character.
Overall, this was one of the best episodes of Euphoria. There was a ton of tension and suspense, a plethora of funny moments, and jaw-dropping cinematography and score. This penultimate episode exceeded expectations and made it all the more bittersweet that next week is the final episode of the season.
Jack Freiser is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email jef5614@psu.edu.
