Wait, Is Rue Dead?

Rue (Zendaya) is at a low point on Euphoria. After relapsing in the Season 1 finale, she’s spent Season 2 continuing to use while sneaking around with Elliot (Dominic Fike), lying to everyone she loves about it, and — most concerningly — buying a copious amount of drugs from a dangerous gun-wielding dealer.

In Episode 4, she plummets even closer to rock bottom. After Rue leaves the room to secretly do drugs, Jules (Hunter Schafer) and Elliot hook up behind her back. When she returns — still unaware of Jules and Elliot’s relationship — the three step out to steal some liquor. Jules gets nervous when Rue starts drinking, not knowing that she’s also already high. Rue lashes out, tells Jules she can’t f*cking stand her, and opts to walk home by herself.

At the end of the episode, Rue is alone with her suitcase of drugs and empties a couple of pills into her hand. She takes them. Suddenly, she is walking into a church hall to singing voices. It feels deliberately reminiscent of the time she relapsed, after which we saw a heartbroken Rue do an interpretative dance in a sequence that similarly featured a choir of church singers. That was enough to convince fans that Rue had died, and this scene arguably puts her closer: as she walks down the aisle of the church, Jules and Elliot are in the pews staring up at her blankly, as if at a funeral. She makes her way up to the stage where a man — played by Labrinth, the composer of Euphoria’s soundtrack — is singing. He embraces her and then suddenly, we are transported back into her home, the singer transformed into her late father. Rue apologizes for letting him down, for not being a good person. He protests and says he is always with her.

In this rare moment of vulnerability, we see just how much Rue misses her father, how deeply his death has impacted her. She holds onto him tightly and cries. But rest assured, this is most likely not the show’s way of signaling that she has now joined him: As the camera pans out, we see Rue swaying gently in her room, completely alone but still alive.

If you or someone you know is seeking help for substance use, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP(4357).