# Trouble Don't Last Always
"Trouble Don't Last Always" is the first of two special episodes of the HBO teen drama *Euphoria*, released between the show's first and second seasons, and the ninth episode of the series overall[1](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Trouble_Don%27t_Last_Always). Written and directed by series creator [Sam Levinson](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-levinson), it consists almost entirely of a single conversation between [Rue Bennett](https://www.edgepedia.org/rue-bennett) (Zendaya) and her [Narcotics Anonymous](https://www.edgepedia.org/narcotics-anonymous) sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) in a diner on Christmas Eve[2](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbos-euphoria-returns-two-special-episodes-first-debuting-december-6) • [3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Series position | First of two special episodes bridging seasons 1 and 2 of *Euphoria*; ninth episode of the series overall[1](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Trouble_Don%27t_Last_Always) |
| Release | Early premiere on HBO Max on December 4, 2020 at midnight ET; HBO broadcast Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 9:00 p.m. ET[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fans-react-euphoria-bridge-episode-trouble-dont-last-always) • [2](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbos-euphoria-returns-two-special-episodes-first-debuting-december-6) |
| Writing and directing | Written and directed by series creator Sam Levinson[2](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbos-euphoria-returns-two-special-episodes-first-debuting-december-6) |
| Lead cast | Zendaya as Rue Bennett; Colman Domingo as Ali; Marsha Gambles as the waitress Miss Marsha[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/1953091/euphoria-s01-special-trouble-dont-last-always) |
| Setting | A diner on Christmas Eve, in the aftermath of Rue being left by Jules at the train station and relapsing[3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/) • [6](https://www.directv.com/guide/movies/Euphoria%3A-Trouble-Don%27t-Last-Always-1ce8c67e-4be3-ed05-81ad-4f1cf451f3a8) |
| Runtime | 57 minutes[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/1953091/euphoria-s01-special-trouble-dont-last-always) |
| Companion episode | "Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob", the Jules-centered second special, which aired January 24, 2021[7](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/24/tikitakas/1611514786_957431.html) |
## Place in the series
HBO announced the two special episodes on October 19, 2020, as a way to bridge the year-long gap between the first season, which aired in 2019, and the postponed second season[2](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbos-euphoria-returns-two-special-episodes-first-debuting-december-6) • [8](https://www.thefader.com/2020/10/19/hbo-announces-euphoria-christmas-special-to-air-this-year). The first special is titled "Trouble Don't Last Always" and is also referred to in some guides as "Part 1: Rue", while the second, "[Fuck Anyone Who's Not a Sea Blob](https://www.edgepedia.org/fuck-anyone-whos-not-a-sea-blob)", is "Part 2: Jules"[9](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34875684/euphoria-special-episode-part-1-2-soundtrack-songs/). The episode follows the season 1 finale, in which Rue was left by Jules at the train station and relapsed into her addiction[6](https://www.directv.com/guide/movies/Euphoria%3A-Trouble-Don%27t-Last-Always-1ce8c67e-4be3-ed05-81ad-4f1cf451f3a8). The specials take place around Christmas, roughly a week chronologically before the events of the season 2 premiere, which takes place on [New Year's Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-eve)[10](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Euphoria%3A_Special_Episodes).
## Pandemic origin
The special was filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, after production of season 2 was shut down[8](https://www.thefader.com/2020/10/19/hbo-announces-euphoria-christmas-special-to-air-this-year). Levinson said in a post-episode featurette that the diner discussion between Rue and Ali had originally been planned as a much briefer scene in a season 2 episode, and that once the pandemic postponed production he decided to make an entire episode from the concept[11](https://tilt.goombastomp.com/tv/euphorias-temporary-return-is-amazing-in-a-whole-different-way/).
## The diner conversation
The episode opens with a brief fantasy sequence imagining Rue and Jules living together happily in New York City, before cutting to the diner, where Rue, still high, sits down to her ritual post-Narcotics Anonymous pancakes with Ali[3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/) • [12](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/euphoria-special). Ali quickly realizes she has relapsed. Over the roughly hour-long conversation, the two cover addiction, depression, mental health, suicidal ideation, and abuse, with Ali delivering extended monologues about his own past and his philosophy of recovery[3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/) • [4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fans-react-euphoria-bridge-episode-trouble-dont-last-always).
A short scene with the diner's waitress Miss Marsha (Marsha Gambles) gives the episode its title: she passes on advice from her grandmother, "Trouble don't last always"[13](https://fullcirclecinema.com/2020/12/07/euphoria-trouble-dont-last-always/). The line is echoed at the episode's end, where Ali tells Rue, "Baby, trouble don't last always"[14](https://internationalactingstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Euphoria-2020-Trouble-Dont-Last-Always-Part-1-Rue-script-teleplay-written-by-Sam-Levinson.pdf).
The production deliberately stripped away the show's signature style. Where season 1 was known for neon visuals, glitter, and musical sequences, the special was a quiet two-hander, shot on 35 mm film, that reviewers read as a rebuttal to accusations that the series glamorizes drug use[3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/) • [15](https://www.themoviebuff.net/2021/12/review-special-1-of-hbos-euphoria-trouble-dont-last-always-a-keen-drama-that-keeps-intact-the-power-of-season-1/?amp=1) • [11](https://tilt.goombastomp.com/tv/euphorias-temporary-return-is-amazing-in-a-whole-different-way/).
## Reception and aftermath
Critics singled out [Colman Domingo](https://www.edgepedia.org/colman-domingo)'s performance. A Ready Steady Cut review called him the deliverer of "the small-screen performance of the year"[3](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/). Speaking to Esquire around the premiere, Domingo described the episode as a "sermon for 2020" and as an opportunity for two addicts to have a very raw conversation[4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fans-react-euphoria-bridge-episode-trouble-dont-last-always). Viewers on social media dubbed the episode "free therapy" and called for Emmy recognition for both Zendaya and Domingo[16](https://www.elitedaily.com/p/these-tweets-about-euphorias-special-episode-are-calling-it-free-therapy-48202180) • [4](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fans-react-euphoria-bridge-episode-trouble-dont-last-always).
Zendaya had already won an Emmy for her season 1 performance as Rue before the special aired[17](https://www.flicks.co.nz/features/the-first-of-two-euphoria-bridge-episodes-is-devastatingly-effective/). The special takes place around Christmas, roughly a week before the season 2 premiere, which is set on New Year's Eve[10](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Euphoria%3A_Special_Episodes).
## References
1. [Trouble Don't Last Always, Euphoria Wiki (Fandom)](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Trouble_Don%27t_Last_Always)
2. [HBO's EUPHORIA Returns With Two Special Episodes; The First Debuts December 6, HBO Pressroom](https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/hbos-euphoria-returns-two-special-episodes-first-debuting-december-6)
3. [Euphoria special episode recap – "Trouble Don't Last Always", Ready Steady Cut](https://readysteadycut.com/2020/12/04/euphoria-special-episode-trouble-dont-last-always-hbo-recap/)
4. [Fans React to "Euphoria" Bridge Episode "Trouble Don't Last Always", Teen Vogue](https://www.teenvogue.com/story/fans-react-euphoria-bridge-episode-trouble-dont-last-always)
5. [Trouble Don't Last Always – Euphoria S01 Special, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/episodes/1953091/euphoria-s01-special-trouble-dont-last-always)
6. [Watch Euphoria: Trouble Don't Last Always Online, DIRECTV](https://www.directv.com/guide/movies/Euphoria%3A-Trouble-Don%27t-Last-Always-1ce8c67e-4be3-ed05-81ad-4f1cf451f3a8)
7. [Euphoria episodio especial: Estreno, hora, y dónde ver los dos nuevos capítulos, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/24/tikitakas/1611514786_957431.html)
8. [HBO announces Euphoria Christmas special to air this year, The FADER](https://www.thefader.com/2020/10/19/hbo-announces-euphoria-christmas-special-to-air-this-year)
9. [Euphoria Special Episode Soundtrack, Men's Health](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a34875684/euphoria-special-episode-part-1-2-soundtrack-songs/)
10. [Euphoria: Special Episodes, Euphoria Wiki (Fandom)](https://euphoria.fandom.com/wiki/Euphoria%3A_Special_Episodes)
11. [Euphoria's Temporary Return is Amazing, in a Whole Different Way, Tilt](https://tilt.goombastomp.com/tv/euphorias-temporary-return-is-amazing-in-a-whole-different-way/)
12. [Euphoria Special – streaming tv show online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/euphoria-special)
13. ['Euphoria: Trouble Don't Last Always' Review: "A Much Needed Conversation", Full Circle Cinema](https://fullcirclecinema.com/2020/12/07/euphoria-trouble-dont-last-always/)
14. [Euphoria – "Trouble Don't Last Always – Part 1: Rue" (2020) Teleplay](https://internationalactingstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Euphoria-2020-Trouble-Dont-Last-Always-Part-1-Rue-script-teleplay-written-by-Sam-Levinson.pdf)
15. [Review: Special #1 of HBO's 'Euphoria,' 'Trouble Don't Last Always', The Movie Buff](https://www.themoviebuff.net/2021/12/review-special-1-of-hbos-euphoria-trouble-dont-last-always-a-keen-drama-that-keeps-intact-the-power-of-season-1/?amp=1)
16. [These Tweets About 'Euphoria's Special Episode Are Calling It Free Therapy, Elite Daily](https://www.elitedaily.com/p/these-tweets-about-euphorias-special-episode-are-calling-it-free-therapy-48202180)
17. [The first of two Euphoria "bridge episodes" is devastatingly effective, Flicks](https://www.flicks.co.nz/features/the-first-of-two-euphoria-bridge-episodes-is-devastatingly-effective/)
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