HBO gave us an early Christmas present this year in the form of a "bridge" episode of Euphoria. The hour-long special that feels more like a dialogue-driven play than a show once praised for it's movement (literally) finds Rue center stage after the tumultuous Season 1 finale where she relapsed.

In "Part 1" of the holiday prefaces to Season 2, Rue spends Christmas Eve eating pancakes at a diner with her NA sponsor and surrogate father figure, Ali. Together, the two sort through the nitty-gritty of topics you honestly probably would find two people having at a semi-abandoned diner before a holiday: What does it mean to be a human being struggling with addiction? How do you learn to forgive yourself? And how do you be a good person? It's a balm for the soul in this cold 2020 winter. A very sobering It's a Wonderful Life kind of evening, if you will.

We know there's a Part 2 coming, primarily from Jules' perspective, so I've decided to dive into what we learned from Rue's laying her soul bare and what we're hoping to discover when we hear from Jules about her side of the story.

Things We Learned From Rue

She's Not Sober

The Season 1 finale, "And Salt the Earth Behind You," saw Rue snort a line and embark on the seminal "All for Us" number, so we knew that her sobriety hung in the balance going into the next season anyway.