Why Rue Left Jules: Our Euphoria Fan Theory

graphic by sophie sternkopf

 Shirley Jackson, the renowned American author, once said “No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality.” The reason we place this quote here is to not sound ~pretentious~ but to describe the gist of Euphoria in under a sentence. 

For anybody who has ever watched even a second of the show, this is not unfamiliar territory for you. The show makes its business not to just be quality prime time television for teens and young adults but to also become an entity within itself. An entity that not only kicks and screams at you but drags you by the nape on its tumultuous path of destruction and you guessed it, ‘euphoria’. In other words, it’s frickn’ gold. 

So many of the characters are too. They are all semi-accurate yet relatable depictions of contemporary teenagehood that have mesmerized us every Sunday through our television screens. However, no character on the show gripped us quite like Jules and Rue. Yes, yes we get they are both the main characters of the show. But, like, for good reason!! The key factor that makes their relationship so encompassing is their almost diffusive connection. 

Now, stay with us here: The girl whose trauma-induced realism makes living more like survival paired with the girl who seeks to find genuine affection in a world that says that’s impossible. Together. All while wearing rose-colored glasses. That is how they became the unstoppable dynamic duo we rooted for till the end. 

So (*SPOILER ALERT*) then why did Rue leave Jules?! 

In order to answer a question that is so open to interpretation, we have to examine the common pattern between escapism and the characters who utilize it throughout the show. Escapism is not only a common theme but the lifeline of the show’s character development. They use escapism to, well, escape the brutality of their existence that their respective identities have caused. 

For Kat, the creation of her ‘Kitty Queen’ persona on Pornhub has allowed her the confidence and sexual liberation that she didn’t have before because of her size. For Maddy, it’s her ignorance of Nathaniel's abusive and suppressive behavior in order to reaffirm the confidence that she wants to keep. Subsequently, for Nathaniel, his abuse is a form of escapism to suppress his own homosexuality. The list goes on, but the main takeaway is the characters’ escapism is often extreme in comparison to what they actually want. In fact, the occurrence of these moments within the show never actually fix the problem, only bandage it. 

This exact sentiment is the reason why the relationship between Jules and Rue is so complex. Both characters participate in this toxic form of escapism and are able to see this within each other, but not in their own selves. Classic hypocrite type shit. Rue gauzes the painful invasions of her mental illness through crushed pills and LSD while Jules masks her insecurity as a transgirl through late-night hookups with middle-aged, closeted men in shady motels. So for viewers, it was only right for them to run away to San Francisco together on the train.

However, the difference between Rue and Jules is everything. It is ultimately why we think Rue abandoned Jules. Their awareness of how their actions affect the ones around them is completely opposite. Rue has more emotional consciousness because of her family’s attachment to her addiction, whereas Jules only has a very clueless father. If Rue had left, she would have no accountability for her addiction and would most likely fall into a never-ending battle between her mental illness and her co-dependency on drugs. 

Therefore, the train ride would be more synonymous with taking a willing path to eternal destruction than an actual one. In a way, the moment where Jules leaves on the train could also symbolize this point: The end of Rue’s addiction but the beginning of Jule’s own addiction. This is especially apparent because it occurs shortly after Jules starts drinking more heavily. Overall, the main point of this scene is to showcase something we have never seen in Rue before: The reclamation of her self agency. 

When you're an addict, you often find yourself slave to your poison of choice, so much so that you're not sure about your own decision-making skills anymore. But for Rue, she has finally decided to not be the host in her parasitic relationship with drugs anymore. In her final act of the season, she has decided that acknowledging her actions is more important than a submissive existence to the tangible illusions of choice.