Laurie Is Definitely Setting Up Rue, Right?

Laurie offers to give Rue a bath as she goes through withdrawal. While she's laying in the bathtub, Laurie lies to Rue about not having any opiate pills and instead offers to give her an injection of morphine, a drug she's never tried before. When Rue questions the safety of morphine, Laurie says, "All pharmaceuticals are safe, Rue." The line is conceptually correct when pharmaceuticals are used as prescribed, but Laurie herself knows the dangers of when they are not.

Some fans have theorised Laurie is trying to increase Rue's debt by getting her addicted to a wide variety of drugs. That theory also brings into question how Laurie plans to get her money back from the unstable teenager.

In episode three of "Euphoria" when Laurie gave the suitcase to Rue, she warned, "Rue, if you screw me, I'll have you kidnapped and sold to some real sick people. I always find a way to make my money back. I'm serious." The vague mention of sex trafficking seems to be enforced during episode five as Laurie tells Rue, "If I was going through withdrawal, I would do anything. It's one of the good parts about being a woman: even if you don't have money, you've still got something people want."

After giving Rue the bath, Laurie adds, "You know what's funny, Rue? When I first saw you, I thought this girl's gonna be in my life for a long time." Why? The day after Rue wakes up from her high, she discovers all the doors are bolted shut. In trying to open up a multitude of doors with padded locks, you can vaguely hear the sound of people scratching on the other side. Rue manages to jump out of window. Is she truly safe? Human trafficking would be quite the traumatic turn for "Euphoria," but it isn't far fetched.