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The latest episode of HBO’s Euphoria proved the show’s biggest gangster isn’t Laurie or Fez — it’s someone smaller in stature.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Euphoria Season 2, Episode 3, “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” now available on HBO.
In HBO’s Euphoria, as Season 2 wades into the life of Rue (Zendaya) even further, her drug habit goes into overdrive. Rue’s pretending to be clean, but unlike her peers who are focusing on school and romance, her proclivity to use is taking her into dangerous waters. As a result, she’s been running into the path of some shady individuals, and as the latest episode proved, the show’s biggest gangster isn’t Laurie or Fez — it’s actually Ashtray (Javon Walton).
Laurie’s fronting Fez drugs to sell, and while the middle-aged woman cut a calm demeanor, she’s got terrifying thugs working for her. That aside, she has a killer mentality, warning Rue with her warm voice that if she screwed up on selling Laurie’s drugs herself, she’d murder the teen. However, she’s patient and is willing to believe in people before acting out.
As for Fez, he reminded Rue in the Season 2 premiere of how brutal he was when he beat Nate to a pulp at a party for ratting on him. Just when it seemed like he was leaning towards the light, the high-school dropout showed her, Lexi and everyone else, if anyone messed with his business or his small circle, he’d let them know about it. However, Fez is mostly calm and tempered, unlike his little brother, Ashtray, who’s fearless and trigger happy.
Season 1 had the kid pulling his gun a lot, but he didn’t really get to do anything with it. This was mostly because Fez kept him in check, but the show also gave the impression Ashtray was a wannabe. Sure, he had a violent streak with his mouth, but it was impossible to see someone with his stature being as threatening as some of the other characters. That drastically changed this season, however, because when Mouse and his guy had beef with Fez, Ashtray ran out from behind the wall with a hammer, and cracked Mouse’s head open. Fez was petrified about the act, and as they beat the other thug, it was clear he couldn’t control Ashtray anymore.
The kid was close to their dying grandmother, which flashbacks showed as someone who hit first and asked questions later. She had no composure, and Ashtray’s clearly been influenced by her temperament. And that attitude reared its ugly head in the latest episode when he found Cal (Nate’s dad) hovering outside their home. Ashtray held him at gunpoint, taking him inside for interrogation. Cal indicated he was looking for a sex tape he thought the boys had that could land him in jail, but Ashtray still battered him with the butt of a shotgun repeatedly.
Every time Cal spoke, whether it was insulting or apologetic, Ashtray hit him. It left Fez scared because it felt like, at any point, the boy could have killed the man. Eventually, Fez talked Ashtray out of it when Cal realized they didn’t have his tape, but the man was left bloodied, shaking and intimidated by the boy, who now has Fez thinking twice about the monster he and granny created.
To see Ashtray become the scariest gangster, Euphoria airs Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. EST and streams on HBO Max the same day.
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