Euphoria's “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” episode was a strong testament to what it does best

Vulture

The HBO teen drama can be frustrating when it loses focus, says Jen Chaney, which is why this week's stellar episode stood out. "What makes 'Stand Still Like the Hummingbird' such a strong testament to what Euphoria does best is its sense of focus," says Chaney. "By keeping its narrative simple and narrow — it zeroes in on what happens to Zendaya’s Rue during a roughly 24-hour period after her mother confronts her about relapsing — this episode goes to wild, emotional, and incredibly intense places without succumbing to the storytelling sprawl that has sometimes been a liability elsewhere this season. In keeping with Euphoria tradition, this 54-minute piece of television is doing the absolute most. But it is doing the absolute most while mostly staying in one lane. The approach mirrors the one-off specials that dropped at the end of 2020 and in early 2021, which also succeeded by stripping away some of the flashier Euphoria elements to create episodes that were exacting, intimate, and allowed the actors to submerge in their characters’ rough waters. During a week where certain social-media comments raised questions about whether the series functions episodically or as a larger piece, the latest chapter provides proof that Euphoria has as much impact in its segments as it does as a whole."

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• Euphoria is about teens, for adults: "I know that teenagers watch Euphoria, because I see their crystal-studded eyelids on TikTok, because HBO’s streaming service is actually thriving, and because no one makes funnier memes of Cassie sobbing in a high school bathroom than a group of tech-savvy people who may have also recently sobbed in a high school bathroom (or, more likely given the state of the American school system, sobbed about high school in a home bathroom)," says Jodi Walker. "But between Euphoria’s most pivotal music cues (Steely Dan! Sinead O’Connor! A lot of Gerry Rafferty!), the reflective themes of Season 2 that are pulled largely in part from 37-year-old Levinson’s own adolescence, and the tagline of 'the following is intended for mature audiences only' that opens each episode, it seems that Euphoria is yet another welcome addition to the ATFA oeuvre: shows About Teens, for Adults."
• Euphoria memes have been crucial to the show's success
• Before Euphoria, Martha Kelly spent two decades as a successful stand-up comedian
• Kelly didn't have to audition: She was contacted via her manager and offered a part after meeting with Sam Levinson
• Tom Holland got a VPN to watch Euphoria in Spain