Zendaya still has scars and bruises from that painful moment in 'Euphoria' season 2
"It was a very hard day. I hit myself. I still have some scars on my legs and some bruises," Zendaya tells EW about the day they shot the impressive intervention scene from episode 5 of season 2 of Euphoria. It was a moment that was coming, but not because it was expected, it stops impacting both the viewers and the creator himself, Sam Levinson, who found himself with quite a challenge.
In the scene in question, Rue is confronted by her mother (Nika King) and her sister (Storm Reid), who have discovered that she has taken drugs again and not just marijuana. The episode begins like this, in full commotion, and plunges us into the harsh family situation they are experiencing. They say harsh things, they yell, they cry and they hit each other. For the whole team it was an intense day of work that went well thanks to the confidence that reigns in the environment.
"It was so intense and scary to tackle and obviously incredibly draining emotionally, but also physically. I care about Rue and I hate when she's in pain. I think in this whole episode, there's a lot of pain that comes to the surface and also crosses with his isolation, which is extremely painful physically," Zendaya tells EW in an interview.
It is a chapter in which we see Rue completely out of control. The protagonist of Euphoria has been like this all season, completely lost and not knowing which way to go, but it is now that we see it clearly. "She's lost control of who she is and you can see there's a little moment after that where it all turns to regret. You see her doing it and immediately afterward regretting it and wondering why she did it. And then she does it again, as if it were a painful circle in which we see her put".
The intervention marks a before and after in the character's trajectory. Everything that has happened so far in Euphoria has led us to this moment. Sam Levinson had a very clear path in mind for Rue and one of her high points has come in the second installment. "I think from the first season, Sam had the vision to do an episode like this, where everything is on the line and we would just be there, trying to tell him that he needs help, but it was a challenge to film it," actress Storm Reid tells EW. .
The recording was especially intense for Zendaya, whose empathy in her roles stands out above other qualities. If her characters are wrong, she suffers much more than they do. It was very important for her to have confidence in her team and to be able to take refuge in them every time she finished a take. "I'm so grateful to be in a space where I feel comfortable and safe, with actors and actresses that I'm obviously very close with. After every take, we hug and talk and check in on each other, because obviously it's like a war zone," explains the lead actress.
