Rue Bennett, played by Zendaya, is the primary protagonist and narrator of HBO's Euphoria. The riveting teen drama series has been praised for its acting. Zendaya, in particular, won an Emmy for Best Actress for her portrayal of Rue Bennett.
Rue is a 17-year-old girl who is fresh out of rehab. The show not only focuses on how the drugs affect Rue but also on how her addiction damages her family and her relationships. Rue is far from a likable character, and there are many times throughout the series when she proves just how terrible she is.
WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Euphoria, now streaming on HBO Max.
10 When She Steals Medication From Her Dying Dad
When Rue is in her early teens, her dad is diagnosed with cancer. It appears that he receives home hospice care, as he is set up in his bedroom with a machine monitoring his vitals and all his medication. The diagnosis and watching her dad wither away in front of her eyes is no doubt traumatizing to Rue.
Rue already suffers from anxiety and possibly bipolar disorder. One day while her dad is sleeping, Rue gets into his pills and steals his medication. She keeps doing this and even spends time with him while she is high because she knows he's too out of it to notice.
9 When She Goes To NA & Lies About Being Clean
Rue has to attend mandated Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Rue has no intention of staying clean, so her attendance at the meetings is mostly for show and an excuse she can use with her mom. After Rue gets her 60-day chip for being clean, a fellow attendee named Ali confronts her.
Ali asks Rue about her overdose and how she survived it. Then he tells her she probably never thinks about how her overdose probably scarred her sister for life, or how she stands up in front of other drug addicts who are also struggling with the same issues and lies about being clean. Rue tries to tell Ali he doesn't know what he's talking about, but Ali can see through her lies.
8 When She Refuses To Leave Fez's House
Rue hangs around Fez a lot because they are friends, but mostly because he can give her drugs. One day she shows up at Fez's house to get drugs, but Fez tells Ashtray not to let her in because their supplier is coming by. Fez tries to get Rue to leave, but she refuses.
Rue doesn't realize how dangerous of a situation she is in, but Fez does. She should have respected Fez, and left before Mouse showed up. Had she left, she wouldn't have been forced into taking fentanyl and passing out as a result. She causes Fez a lot of trouble when she's being difficult.
7 When She Tells Jules That She Can't Stand Her
In Season 2, Rue and Jules make their relationship official. However, every time they hang out, Rue is high. Rue lies about being clean to Jules, and in the same breath is praying Jules never finds out about it.
Rue doesn't necessarily try very hard to cover it up. One night when Rue, Jules, and Elliot are hanging out, they hit up a convenience store to steal beer. Rue starts drinking, and out of concern, both Elliot and Jules tell Rue it's not a good idea for her to drink. Rue gets upset at Jules and tells her she can't stand her, then demands that they pull over and let her out of the car.
6 When She Convinces Laurie To Give Her A Suitcase Of Drugs
One of the dumbest things Rue has done to date is convincing Laurie to give her a suitcase full of drugs worth $10,000. After her first encounter with Laurie and her goons, Rue should have stayed clear of her. Instead, she goes right back into the lion's den.
Rue is an addict and her whole "plan" with the suitcase centers around her being able to do drugs for free. Laurie knows Rue is an addict, and she also knows that she is not going to be able to follow through with selling the drugs. Consequently, Rue will be indebted to Laurie, which does not bode well for her.
5 When She Nearly Dies On Someone She Just Met
On New Year's Eve, Rue rides along with Fezco and Ashtray to a party. Once she's at the party, Rue stumbles into a washroom where she finds another partygoer named Elliot doing drugs. Rue is already loaded, and when she sees more drugs, she can't help but want to partake.
Although Elliot feigns innocence at first, he and Rue eventually consume cocaine. Rue tells Elliot her heart might stop and her head starts to drop. Elliot is worried and also put into a position he didn't ask to be a part of. Not only is it extremely dangerous for Rue to mix all kinds of drugs, but also not cool to nearly die on someone she just met.
4 When She's Rude To Ali When He's Only Trying To Help
Rue meets Ali at Narcotics Anonymous. After he calls her out one night for her lying, he gives her his card and tells her to give him a call when she's done trying to kill herself. After Rue kisses Jules, she thinks she's messed up their relationship and panics.
Rue finally turns to Ali for help, and he becomes her NA sponsor. The two become close through their conversations, but when Ali suspects that Rue is using again, Rue uses his past mistakes to take a jab at him. This is the one beneficial relationship in her life and she nearly ruins it by being rude to Ali, who is only trying to help her stay clean.
3 When She Blows Up At Everyone For Ratting Her Out
Due to his guilt over the matter, and the fact that he and Jules are growing closer, Elliot tells Jules that Rue is still using. Out of concern for her, Jules then tells Rue's mom about the suitcase of drugs, which they subsequently flush down the toilet. When Rue discovers her suitcase of drugs is missing, she flies into panic and rage.
Not only does Rue blow up at her mom and sister, but when she finds out Jules and Elliot also had a hand in it, she tells Jules she is dead to her and calls Elliot a rat. She destroys her house and has a breakdown over the missing suitcase.
2 When She Exposes Cassie & Nate
After her breakdown, Rue agrees to let her mom take her to the ER to get help with her detox. However, when she learns that she will be going back to rehab, she jumps out of the car and takes off running.
Rue resurfaces at Cassie's house, where all her friends are gathered. When her mom shows up again to take her, Rue creates a diversion by exposing Cassie and Nate's affair. The diversion works, but it also leaves behind a lot of damage.
1 When She Tries To Steal Medicine From Fez's Bedridden Grandmother
On the run and experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, Rue looks for any and every way to get her hands on drugs. She ends up at Fezco's house, but he doesn't have anything to give her because he stopped keeping drugs at his house since the police raid.
She asks where the bathroom is and tells him her stomach is sick due to the withdrawals, so he leaves her alone. However, Rue begins rummaging around to find something to take, and ends up in Fezco's grandmother's room rifling through her pill bottles. When Fezco finds her, he has to physically remove her from his home.