Lexi Howard's (Maude Apatow) long-awaited play in "Euphoria [1]" has everything: half-dressed dancing football players, look-alikes of all her friends, and Ethan (Austin Abrams) playing her mom [2]. Lexi may have told her friends she was putting on "Oklahoma!" but her play is anything but. What her epic show is, actually, is the true story of her life, including all the sordid details of her friends' lives [3].
With all of her key subjects seated in the audience, Lexi puts on the play of her dreams to much fanfare. But we as an audience have only gotten half of the show so far. Viewers understandably have questions about some of the finer details of the play and what, exactly, everything meant. Here's everything you need to know before the "Euphoria [4]" season two finale airs on Monday, 28 Feb., at 2 a.m. on NOW.
What Did the Poem From Lexi's Play Mean?
The poem Lexi reads to Rue (Zendaya [6]) at the start of the play is "Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower" by Rainer Maria Rilke. While the meaning behind any poem can be debatable, this poem that Lexi chose seems to send a message to Rue that even though everything is bad right now, she can get through it.
One stanza reads, "What batters you becomes your strength. Move back and forth into the change. What is it like, such intensity of pain? If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine." These words feel like a message of support from Lexi to Rue, especially considering she knows Rue is hurting from her dad's death and because she becomes aware of Rue's increasing substance abuse issues and wants better for her.
What did the Nate and Cal Scene in Lexi's Play Mean?
There are some aspects of Lexi's play that are confusing because it's unclear if the scene is happening in Lexi's play or outside of it.
The perfect example of this would be the scene that begins with Lexi's voiceover explaining that Nate (Jacob Elordi [7]) and Maddy's relationship was her and Cassie's first idea of real love. At first the characters are played by Nate and Maddy's lookalikes, but suddenly, the camera pans to Nate in the audience, and all a sudden we're watching the real Nate watch Maddy undress, only for her to change into Jules, who approaches Nate and hugs him. Then Nate pushes a girl down on a bed and rips off her tights, but that girl is now Cassie. Finally, Cal replaces Nate as the man who's looming over the girl on the bed, but when he leans down, it's now Nate who's laying face down on the bed.
It's unclear if any of this actually transpired in Lexi's play, but chances are it did not, since it's hard to believe Maddie or Cassie would have revealed this much to Lexi, no matter how observant she is. It's more likely that, in cases like these, the characters in the audience are processing what's happening in the play in their own minds, and filling in the blanks.
If the scene did take place in Nate's psyche, it begs the question: what does it mean about Nate and Cal? Some fans believe the scene is hinting at the possibility that Nate was sexually abused by Cal as a child [8], but other fans believe that the scene is Nate processing the emotional and psychological effects of having watched Cal's porn collection. [9]
What Did the Locker Room "Holding Out For a Hero" Scene in Lexi's Play Mean?
Toward the end of the play (and the episode), Ethan (Austin Abrams) as Nate (Jacob Elordi [10]) finds himself at the centre of a very homoerotic scene in the locker room that features a choreographed dance (including a lot of grinding, humping, and generally salacious behaviour) to "Holding Out For a Hero" by Bonnie Tyler.
This particular scene has been the subject of debate. While some fans interpreted it as commentary on locker room culture [11] and what a boys' locker room sometimes looks like due to toxic masculinity, others felt the scene was a pointed statement meant to out Nate as queer [12] (which would not be OK on Lexi's part if it is the case). While viewers have long questioned Nate's sexuality since he frequented gay dating apps in season one and had a collection of penis pictures on his phone, it's hard to know how Lexi would have been privy to these intimate details of Nate's life that would clue her into this possibility. Since Maddy has tried to get Nate to acknowledge that sexuality is on a spectrum and he may be intro guys, it's possible she or even Cassie has said something that made its way to Lexi's ears.
Nate storming out of the auditorium and telling Cassie that the scene from the play was "homophobic" suggests that even if the scene wasn't specifically directed at Nate, that he took it to be about him.
Was There Anything Fake in Lexi's Play?
From what we can tell, Lexi stuck pretty close to reality with her play. She touched on all the details of her life over the past handful of years — everything from Cassie hitting puberty (which she insisted she would go through in exactly 433 days since she's 433 days younger) to Kat's (Barbie Ferreira) cam girl days and everything in between. All under fake names, of course. Considering what we know of the story of these teens, it all feels incredibly accurate, which doesn't seem to bother most of her friends. But if there is anyone who loves their portrayal in the story, it's Lexi's mom (Alanna Ubach)!
Did Lexi's Friends Know What Her Play Was About Before They Saw It?
Here's the thing with Lexi: She's been humming along in the background for two seasons (and years in the lives of her friends) just taking notes on everyone's drama, waiting for her moment. She's the quiet one who everyone feels like they can confide in. It seems pretty clear that her friends weren't aware of what this play was going to be about, but it also seems like most of them are not too upset? Despite their harsh portrayal at times, no one else seems to care. Well, except for Nate and Cassie, of course. Despite the fact that their own actions in season two have solidified them as antagonists in viewers' eyes, they don't seem to appreciate those actions being laid bare in the school's play.