“Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” is the fifth, and best, episode of Euphoria season 2 filled with brutal dialogue and heartbreaking acting.
“Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” is the fifth episode of Euphoria season 2, as all the show’s greatest qualities come together to create the best moments of the season. Euphoria season 2 may have more popular than season 1, but the quality does dip in the show’s sophomore installment, as creator Sam Levinson was allowing his more indulgent sensibilities to overload the already thematically rich series.
However, there are still bright spots in Euphoria season 2, namely “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird”, where Levinson’s strongest directorial instincts, the Euphoria cast’s best performances, and the most poignant Euphoria season 2 storyline come together. A little over halfway through the season, Rue (Zendaya) has majorly relapsed and made the dire decision to buy drugs from the unsettlingly amiable drug queenpin, Laurie (Martha Kelly). It’s this decision that drives episode 5 and the ripples of Rue’s drug use crash into everyone in incredibly grim, and sometimes surprisingly humorous, fashion.
The beginning of “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” wastes no time in setting up the brutal episode that is to follow. Rue wakes up to her mother, Leslie (Nika King), questioning her about taking pills. Rue immediately accuses Gia (Storm Reid) of ratting on her about smoking marijuana, but Leslie’s anger at Gia proves the younger sister never said anything. The argument escalates as Leslie tries to make Rue understand that everything is going to be okay, and they can go to the hospital or rehab. The shoe drops when Leslie tells Rue that Jules (Hunter Schafer) told her everything.
The scene comes to a grinding halt as Rue and the audience together absorb the implication. Rue runs to her bedroom looking for the bag of drugs from Laurie, worth $10,000. Her rampage is terrifying. She assaults her mother, curses her, kicks down a door, destroys her bedroom, and says things to Leslie that in most situations would be difficult to walk back from. By far though, the worst visual is a dead-eyed Zendaya, looking like she just awoke from a week-long bender, looming over her sister who is curled on her bed in the fetal position.
Rue has a slight build compared to Euphoria’s physically imposing characters of the show like Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) and Mouse (Meeko), but in this scene, she’s as frightening as anyone. Leslie and Gia may think they know what’s happening, — Rue has relapsed and this is a particularly bad case of something they’ve dealt with before — but the audience knows more. This isn’t just withdrawal, Rue is scared for her life because of Laurie, and when Leslie tells Rue she flushed the pills, Rue’s world collapses.
The harrowing fight and mesmerizing performance by Zendaya are artfully cut by the slightly wry revelation that Jules and Elliot (Dominic Fike) have been in the living room the entire time, hearing everything that was being said. Rue resorts to her old standby of spitting the absolute worst things she can think to say to Jules. She then collapses and Leslie once again proves why she’s one of the greatest parents in teen drama history when she forgives Rue and implores her daughter to go with her to the hospital.
Rue tearfully agrees, and it appears that perhaps the nigh-unforgivable words and violent actions of her withdrawal may have resulted in one good thing — her willingness to take care of herself. That, of course, falls apart in the car ride where Rue panics when she learns they’re going to rehab instead of the ERand jumps into the middle of the road in one of Euphoria’s most shocking scenes. The title card drops as Rue runs. Euphoria season 2, episode 5 is just getting started.
Maddy Learns Cassie Has Been Seeing Nate
Rue Figures Out How To Get The Attention Off Herself
Rue spends the day hiding and at night goes to the Howards’ house where Maddy (Alexa Demie), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), Kat (Barbie Ferreira), and Lexi (Maude Apatow) are all having a girl’s night. Suze (Alanna Ubach) says to Rue what everyone’s thinking — “You look terrible! I mean really terrible!” It’s an absurd and much-needed humorous scene as a withdrawing Rue tries to get out of a conversation while Suze chats about whether Rue is in AA or NA, as Suze is not a big fan of AA.
It seems like Lexi is the only one who knows what is going on, but when Rue uses the restroom, Suze proves once again that she’s always quietly a step ahead, “She’s not doing good,” she quickly says to Lexi. Then comes one of the funniest scenes of the series and a reminder that Euphoria understands there can be plenty of comedy that comes out of heightened situations in a TV drama. Suze, of course, calls Leslie, and Rue’s mom to come to pick up her daughter.
It’s a sweet scene of all Rue’s friends supporting her and telling her it will be fine. Cassie, in particular, is understanding and kindly tells her to go with her mother. Searching for a distraction, a quick-thinking Rue asks how long Cassie has been sleeping with Nate in front of Maddy and everyone. Rue basically throws a flashbang grenade into the room and while Maddy screams at a saucer-eyed Cassie, Rue makes her escape, yet again, continuing her trail of destruction through East Highland.
Rue Tries To Steal From Fez
Fez Draws A Line With Rue Around His Grandmother
Having burned nearly all her bridges, Rue goes to Fez’s (Angus Cloud) home. Fez, against his better judgment, allows Rue in. His concerns are proven valid when he finds Rue stealing medicine from his grandmother. Fez keeps his usual calm composure as he tells Rue to stop and leave, but when she refuses, Fez raises his voice for one of the few times in the show’s run.
He has a line with Rue that even she can’t cross, and it looks like his grandma is that line. Fez throws Rue out, no longer willing to tolerate her pleading. Angus Cloud tragically passed in July 2023 and it’s performances like this one that reveal how much emotion and rawness he could bring to Euphoria in only one scene.
Rue Robs A House And Flees The Cops
Rue Needs Money To Pay Laurie
With nowhere to turn, and realizing that it’s only a matter of time before Laurie comes for her money, Rue breaks into a house and manages to steal cash and jewelry before being chased out by a wealthy couple brandishing a gun. She runs right into a police patrol car, who give chase in a well-choreographed scene that runs through backyards, over fences, and across roofs. Rue is nearly caught but again, runs head-first into traffic. Cars crash and more police are called, but Rue survives and makes her way to Laurie’s home.
Laurie Takes Care Of Rue
Rue Finds Herself In The Clutches Of A Dangerous Woman
After everything Rue has been through, it almost feels like Laurie’s home is a safe place. Laurie’s not even mad that Rue doesn’t have the money, “Rue, why didn’t you just pick up the phone and tell me that?” In fact, Laurie’s never been angry in her whole life. Well, maybe that’s true, Laurie ponders to herself as much as Rue. Despite sharing her own experiences with addiction and withdrawal, it does not take long for the final shoe to drop. Laurie injects Rue with morphine and matter-of-factly tells her Rue can pay Laurie back as a prostitute.
Having pushed every person in her life who loves her away, Rue is now under the thumb of perhaps the most dangerous character in Euphoria. Laurie’s calm and spacey demeanor hides her shrewd understanding of how to entrap others and her diabolical disregard for others’ lives. The next morning, in one of the few frustrating plot moments of “Stand Still Like a Hummingbird”, Rue quietly escapes her imprisonment. Though Laurie won’t be heard from again, Rue won’t soon forget how much further her rock bottom can always fall.
Why “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” Is The Best Episode Of Euphoria Season 2
Season 2, Episode 5 Stands Above The Others For Its Story And Acting
“Stand Still Like a Hummingbird” combines the very best of Euphoria into one episode. On a basic level, the plot moves forward. Euphoria, especially season 2, often has episodes that don’t seem to go anywhere. They are still well-acted, and the writing is reflective, but the story points don’t proceed. Here, Maddy finds out about Nate and Cassie, Elliot’s part in Rue’s relapse is revealed to everyone, the drugs are flushed, and Rue has her confrontation with Laurie. This episode resolves or moves to the next stage on critical plot points that had been frustratingly lingering.
Season 2, episode 5 also has some of Zendaya’s best acting in the series. She won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for this episode. Her rage, helplessness, inability to concentrate, and desperation are difficult to watch, and yet she manages to hang onto the charm and aloof humor that has endeared Rue to audiences. Reid, King, and Schafer also give standout performances in the long opening scene, playing characters who are trying to love and help someone who is completely blind to their efforts. It’s heartbreaking.
“Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” is a reminder of what Euphoria can do when it’s firing on all cylinders. It’s a bleak look at how drug addiction can destroy families, friends, and lives and when it happens, the strongest-seeming people can seem helpless in its face. When Nate (Jacob Elordi) points a gun at Maddy later in season 2, his desperation feels cheesy, like a scene out of a soap opera. When Zendaya points her finger in Jules’ tearful but unflinching face, that feels real, and it’s that authenticity that makes this episode the best in season 2.
