Inside Euphoria, A Weekly Breakdown by Taylor Champlin: Episode 5

She would never say it out loud, but Nate going broke finally granted Cassie permission to follow her dreams. Within 24 hours of Branden Fontaine tagging Cassie, she had gained 17,000 new subscribers. Maddy worked her to the bone. From the second this episode begins, it’s glaringly evident that it was written by a man. Was it truly necessary to see Cassie grow giant-sized like Alice in Wonderland turned Godzilla, smashing the windows of an LA skyscraper with her breasts? No woman would ever write that. If anyone is wondering why so many women cannot stand men these days, look no further than this episode.

Cassie even confronts this question herself when asked why women seem to hate men, responding:

“I just feel like American men have been treated like second-class citizens. Well, in the past, men used to be hunters and gatherers and protectors, but now they’re being forced to walk around on their tippy toes. It’s not natural. Men should be free. They should be able to speak their mind, voice their desires. If a man today were to say he wants a girlfriend that can cook or clean, he might as well be screaming the N-word.”

What?

Thank God for the welcome Trisha Paytas cameo. She appears just as thrown off by that comment as most of us are. Some influencers go online every day and say ignorant things either for shock value or out of pure stupidity. To add insult to injury, Cassie calls Democrats “retards.” At this point, I genuinely cannot tell whether Sam Levinson is laughing with Sydney Sweeney or at her.

“The angrier these idiots get, the more money you make.”

I think the hardest part about this season is not knowing where the moral compass lies. Everyone in America seems desperate to know which side someone is on. Are you Democrat or Republican? Do you believe in human rights, or are you comfortable with the country descending into fascism?

I wanted to give this season the benefit of the doubt, but I have to admit I’m beginning to understand some of the criticism surrounding this season of Euphoria. Sex receives the most screen time and remains at the center of nearly every boundary the show attempts to push.

Exploitation is a language the entertainment industry speaks fluently. Business is often reduced to something inconsequential in conversation. “Talking business” can mean anything from mailing dirty underwear to signing away rights to your finances and body.

Given that OnlyFans creators, YouTubers, influencers, and TikTokers are now some of the most coveted professions in society, I’d argue that what many people dismiss as senseless actually holds immense power. In the entertainment world, the pursuit of fame can be ruthless. Love, loyalty, and friendship all become disposable if betrayal is rewarded with the right number of zeros attached to it. We see this when Cassie nearly leaves Maddy for a content house, in Angel disappearing, in Nate’s failed business ventures and marriage, and in the way Ellis treats Jules.

Rue’s lack of loyalty is beginning to catch up with her. Magick, Bishop, and now Alamo all seem to suspect her. She has, in many ways, dug her own grave.

Alamo shows up at a diner where Rue and Maddy are eating and, despite how strange the interaction is, the conversation between Maddy and Alamo offers some of the only real depth in the episode.

Maddy: That’s what I didn’t respect about my dad-he just accepted his fate.

Alamo: See now, that’s your mama’s fault.

Maddy: No, that’s his fault.

Alamo: Hold on now, a good woman is supposed to push her man-make him aim higher. Maybe the reverse is true, too. Can’t say I found it…Can’t say I suffer from a shortage of women.

Maddy: Mmm, charming.

Alamo: It ain’t the quantity, it’s the quality.

Maddy: Well, maybe the quantity is preventing you from finding the quality.

Alamo: So what’s missing in your life?

Maddy: Money…Last year, Hollywood made $8 billion dollars. Onlyfans made 7. That’s a lot of money being left on the table in my business.

Alamo: Guess they’re all afraid of the stigma. Too caught up in being known as good people.

Maddy: I’m not.

Alamo: Me either.

Maddy may be reduced to “just an assistant,” but she represents countless assistants and interns whose ideas are constantly overlooked. Her boss has her cleaning dog diarrhea instead of fostering her creativity and ambition. Although many OnlyFans managers have reputations for exploiting their clients financially, Maddy still never forces Cassie to do anything she does not want to do. She remains unwavering in her pursuit of money, but I have a feeling she is about to take a darker turn once she officially enters business with Alamo.

Lexi and Maddy are both playing the same game, trying to climb the ladder with some sense of integrity intact. Unfortunately, having morals does not always translate into achieving one’s dreams.

It is frustrating watching Cassie humiliate herself publicly while still getting everything she wants, while Lexi’s intelligence and talent seem perpetually overlooked outside of the play she staged in high school. Even that moment was overshadowed by Maddy slapping Cassie in front of an auditorium full of stunned classmates.

Nate is a bum. As Maddy says, men can either be breadwinners or bread-losers. Nate is clearly the latter.

He does not seem to care much about Cassie at all. He sits in their trash-filled home passively watching the content she creates. Their relationship feels anything but genuine. This is the same man who broke Tyler’s eye socket after Maddy hooked up with him in a pool, yet now he is encouraging his wife to manufacture a fake relationship with an influencer because he claims he is “a businessman.”

Apparently, jealousy no longer exists when profit enters the equation. I cannot help but connect Maddy’s earlier conversation with Alamo to Nate’s situation. Nate is not motivated by any of the women in his life anymore, and he has completely lost his drive. He does not seem interested in changing his circumstances whatsoever. He has accepted his fate.

At this point, the line between shock value and perversion has become increasingly difficult to decipher.

While Euphoria’s social commentary often contains truth, there is no denying how heavily sensationalized it has become. The brief period of hope each character seemed to have while building new lives for themselves has faded almost immediately.

It is difficult to even remember what their dreams originally were.

For Cassie, it was becoming the perfect trophy wife.

For Nate, a successful businessman, husband, and father.

For Rue, a successful gangster.

For Jules, a thriving artist.

For Maddy, a powerful businesswoman.

And for Lexi, recognition within the entertainment industry.

Given the state of today’s economy, I cannot entirely blame them. Their struggles feel painfully real. Many people abandon their dreams in exchange for stability and survival. One harsh reality is that many of the wealthiest people in this country achieved success by being anything but moral. At this point, Lexi feels like our last remaining hope as every other character becomes trapped inside the tangled webs they created for themselves.

Until next week.