The celebrated series dropped their special episode early on HBO Max, and fans had a lot of love for the powerhouse performances.
Christmas came early for Euphoria fans! The first of two "bridge" episodes -- which was supposed to premiere Sunday on HBO -- dropped early for fans with HBO Max, who got a chance to see the surprising episode Thursday night.
"Trouble Don't Last Always” followed Zendaya's character, Rue Bennett, as she "celebrates" Christmas in the aftermath of the season 1 finale, which showed her being left by Jules Vaughn (Hunter Shafer) at the train station and relapsing.
The episode was a notable change of pace and tone for the typically kaleidoscopic series, with little of the drug-fueled fantasy flair and glittery surrealism that kinetically heightened the visual language of nearly every bit of the first season.
Instead, this episode is almost entirely centered on Rue and her sobriety sponsor, Ali (Colman Domingo) sitting and talking at a diner after a Christmas Eve meeting of her Narcotics Anonymous group. It was a slow-paced and quiet acting showcase for Zendaya, who demonstrated exactly why she earned her historic Emmy award win earlier this year.
The remarkably low-key episode was met with some confusion from fans who were caught off guard by its tonal shift. However, there was no shortage of adoration for Zendaya and Domingo, and a lot of love for the show returning with two specials amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Zendaya made history at this year's Emmy Awards when she became the youngest person ever to win in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category for her role in Euphoria.
ET spoke with the actress after the ceremony, and she opened up a bit about the special episodes and plans for the second season.
"All I can really say is that season 2 won't happen for a while," she said. "But we do have a couple bridge episodes that we're shooting currently that aren't really part of season 1 or season 2 but kind of give people a little something different with Euphoria to hold us over a little bit until we're able to do a full season 2."
"But I'm very happy with the work that we're doing so far, and I can't wait for everyone to see it, really," she added.
For those without HBO Max, the first new special episode of Euphoria premieres Sunday, Dec. 6 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
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