TV

Euphoria stars Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, and Dominic Fike tease a 'murky,' 'messy' season 2

Fike's new character, Elliot, is "a catalyst for so much that's gonna come to a head," Zendaya says.

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Published on January 7, 2022 05:35PM EST

Euphoria season 2 has been a long time coming, and so has fan anticipation for the show's central couple, Rue and Jules, to finally be together. However, stars Zendaya and Hunter Schafer warn that the pair still have a bumpy road ahead.

"It's very evident that they love and care for each other deeply, but whether they know how to express that at the right time is just lost on both of them," Zendaya, who plays young addict Rue Bennett, tells EW. "Heading into season 2, it's pretty murky. They don't really know what's going on, and I think Rue's kind of trying to avoid having to interact with her just out of sheer anxiety."

Although the two special episodes of Euphoria written and filmed during the pandemic established that the best friends' romantic feelings were mutual throughout season 1, they also showed that Rue has continued to use drugs since the night Jules left her at the train station. "We're picking up with Rue having relapsed, and Jules is in the dark about that," says Schafer, who plays Jules. "And I think Rue's relapse also plays into some of what Jules was desiring from Rue in season 1, as far as a forwardness and a directness that unfortunately at the time, drugs can only provide for Rue."

Euphoria season 2 — Hunter Schafer and Zendaya on 'Euphoria'. HBO

"Rue feels that she's unable to communicate her true feelings and her love for Jules without that help," Zendaya adds. "So that's the depressing aspect to their love story."

In addition to drugs, Rules faces another roadblock in the form of new character Elliot, played by musician Dominic Fike in his acting debut. "He's a new kid who befriends both Rue and Jules, but Rue first," the "3 Nights" singer says. "It's like a stressful meeting. The whole entire relationship is very messy and all over the place, but there are light moments and I think it provides good comedic relief."

While Zendaya admits that seeing a character in the script who might threaten Rue and Jules' relationship initially gave her pause, she says Elliot "is a beautiful addition to this triangle, because he's also a catalyst for so much that's gonna come to a head, and without his character kind of cracking that open, there's a lot of changes within these characters that wouldn't happen and need to happen. And a lot of realizations that wouldn't be made without him coming into the fold."

Zendaya and Dominic Fike on 'Euphoria'. Eddy Chen/HBO

Further teasing the characters' arcs this season, she says, "You start the season off giving Rue everything she ever wanted. She's got someone that she can do drugs with, she's got her relationship that she can have, and she's just trying to keep both afloat because she thinks that that's how that's the best way to live."

Seeing Rue try to balance being a girlfriend to Jules with secretly doing drugs with Elliot will give viewers a "clear gut feeling that that is going to end, and not end well," Zendaya adds.

While Fike jokes that he was often asking, "Why does anybody want me here?" while filming, Schafer shares Zendaya's sentiments. "Even from a production standpoint, like outside of the characters, I think it was fun," she says of bringing Fike into the fold. "Z and I have a very established, goofy, set state of being, and Dom fit into that pretty well, in that he's very easy and fun to be around."