One of the most mysterious aspects of Euphoria Season 2 Episode 7 was Nate’s dream.
Nate’s nightmare.
And although that dream supports a theory about Nate and Cal that popped up on back
of Episode 6, I have a different interpretation, so I’ll throw it out there and y’all can
let me know if I am way off base.
But first, let’s review the old theory.
We know that Nate found Cal’s CD collection at 11 years old.
But in episode 6, Marsha said that Nate darkened at around 8 or 9 years old.
She asked Nate if he remembered those years, wondering if something had happened to him.
A lot fans began to wonder if Cal had abused Nate.
And in episode 7, Nate dreamt of Cal on top of him.
So the dream plays into that theory.
Personally, I don’t think Cal did that.
There is a semi-related theory.
Shreya wonders if Nate’s nightmare wasn’t a memory of an event that happened.
But maybe it is a fear that Nate has always had about his father ever since finding the
CD collection.
I dig that.
But with that said, I am going to go a different direction.
I think Nate’s dream actually spoke to the little bit of Nate that is good.
And admittedly, I am the type of person that sees even empty glasses as half-full.
So my apologies in advance if this doesn’t make sense.
But here goes.
Nate has a thing for Jules.
He dreamt about her when he was injured.
And in episode 6, he extended her an olive branch by giving her the CD.
When she asked why, he said the reason is simple and stupid, but that it’d be better
if they just kept it a mystery.
That’s open to interpretation, but I believe that Nate loves her.
We will get back to Jules, but now let’s take a look at Nate’s relationship with
Cal and the concept of dominance.
Nate likes to be dominant.
As an example, Nate asserted his dominance by getting into McKay’s face.
But back in Season 1, Nate had gotten into Cal’s face, and Cal put him down.
Every dog has his day, but for now, Cal is the alpha.
That bothers Nate, especially since he loves Jules, and his dominant father has been with
her.
In Nate’s dream, Cassie was on top of him.
She said some things that, at face value, were submissive.
But the energy that she gave off was dominant.
Plus, this dream happened during a montage where Kat was being dominant on cam.
In Nate’s dream, Cassie put her thumb into Nate’s mouth the way that Cal had put his
thumb in the mouths of his partners, including Jules.
So in this scene, Nate was submissive to Cassie.
And that was not the only time.
Nat thought about Cal.
Then he pictured Cassie below Cal the way the Jules once was.
Then he imagined himself in that position.
And once again, Nate was in a submissive position.
So Nate was in two submissive positions.
Two positions that Jules had been in with Cal.
And to top it all off, the bed frame and the lights in Nate’s dream are the same as those
from Cal’s motel room with Jules.
And if you look closely, so are the bedsheets.
So, in theory, Nate’s dream may have been a reflection of Nate attempting to walk in
Jules’s shoes.
To put himself in her position in an attempt to understand what she has gone through.
At the beginning of the dream, Nate stood in front of a mirror, but he didn’t see
his own reflection.
Instead, he turned around and saw Jules.
So that’s where I stand.
I think that Nate’s dream was about him attempting to walk in Jules’s shoes.
But before we go, let’s dive deeper into this shot here.
I never would have known this, but Mandy mentioned that this imagery is a nod to a painting called
“Not to be Reproduced” by Rene Magritte.
One interpretation of the painting is the concept of reproduction.
So this imagery spoke to the play that Lexi was putting on.
A subjective retelling of past events.
A reproduction.
Another interpretation of that painting is that it speaks to us as the observer of the
painting.
We see the back of a man’s head, then we look to the mirror to see what he looks like,
but the mirror doesn’t give us the expected information.
So it’s a fun mystery.
Something like that.
And I don’t think I’ve ever attempted to interpret art before.
So bear with me, but here’s an idea.
Maybe this painting speaks to us as the observer, and tells us that that instead of trying to
figure out other people, we should take a good hard look in our own mirrors and figure
out ourselves.
I’m probably way off with that.
And it goes against the entire hypothesis of this video.
But it’s a nice segue into the next video.
After reading comments yesterday, I realized that I was ignorant in terms of the dance
number.
So I am going to keep reading comments in an attempt to learn, and then I will take
a second stab at that dance number.