HBO’s Euphoria is a complex show to discuss because it can sometimes be so shallow and, at other times, so profound. The actors are fantastic and make even the most simplistic storylines work. This season, the show has been working hard to make Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane) sympathetic. It is … a lot.
When we are introduced to Cal in season one, he is a violent man who has sex with young boys and trans women, recording them without consent. He does all of this while being an abusive, strict father whose actions have turned his son, Nate, into an equally toxic, violent young man who uses people for sex and power.
Spoilers for Season Two of Euphoria
In the season two episode “Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys,” we see a young Cal who was struggling with his own sexuality under the eye of his own strict father. While it’s not explicitly stated, we can get the subtext of the interaction between Cal and Derek (his childhood friend) when Cal’s father comes into the room and sees them on the bed together and thinks they are too close.
When Cal meets Marsha, they engage in a hyper sexual relationship and are not using protection. Right as Cal and Derek are finally comfortable enough to admit their feelings, kiss, and maybe move forward, Marsha ends up pregnant.
This event is framed as the end of Cal’s optimistic life. It stopped him from moving away and tied him to a woman that he didn’t really love. Mind you, they could have just, at any point, used protection.
In last night’s episode, Cal dives even deeper into a darkness of his own making, lashing out at everyone and puffing up his chest, only to be humbled by Ashtray and many others.
He walks into his home, after being kicked out of a gay bar for trying to wrestle with a guy he was dancing with (a callback to how he interacted with Derek in high school, also highlighting his own arrested development). After peeing in the foyer, he tells his assembled wife and two kids that he’s lonely and admits to having sex with a man for the first time while Marsha was pregnant with their first son.
Cal’s unraveling is supposed to be moving—but other than the excellent performance of Eric Dane, what we are really seeing is the regurgitating of every closeted bully trope of the ’90s and 2000s.
Thankfully, Dane seems to get this, as he shared his thoughts on Cal.
“There are causes and conditions to what made Cal, Cal, and I think watching episode three, you get a lot of insight as to how he became who he became,” Dane told The Hollywood Reporter. “It doesn’t explain all of it. You know, I think at a certain age, we are responsible for taking care of our own shit, and it’s incumbent upon us to do so. We’re no longer able to blame things on our parents.”
He continued: “You’re not going to walk away from this thinking, ‘Oh, Cal, what a great guy. I get why he does the things he does, and it’s excusable.’ But there is some insight to give the viewer a better understanding. I don’t condone his behavior. I don’t advocate his behavior. But then again, it’s not for me to judge.”
He may not judge, but we can as an audience. Is it tragic that he didn’t get to live his truth? Absolutely. But not getting to be out doesn’t mean you hunt after high schoolers, recording them without consent, and recycle abuse onto your sons.
Cal’s story doesn’t change how many people feel because, unlike his son, Jules, and others, he is an adult. He had the power to change his fate in the past.
(featured image: HBO)
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