Warning: this article contains spoilers for Euphoria season two, episode three.

If there’s one thing we love about Euphoria, it’s the detailed backstories that we get from the HBO series.

Yes, everyone’s a little derailed in Euphoria but, much like real life, some things are better with context. Like uncovering Cassie’s tumultuous family life and understanding her need for relationships or the season two premiere which enlightened us with Fezco’s own history (and badass grandmother).

In the series’ most recent episode, titled Ruminations: Big And Little Bullies, we are treated to yet another clarifying story about one character’s past – Cal Jacobs.

Most of us are still wrapping our heads around seeing Eric Dane in a role that’s such a departure from Grey’s Anatomy’s Mark Sloan (also affectionately known as McSteamy) but it seems as though Cal (played by Dane) is still the series villain. He’s already used intimidation tactics on Lexi and Fez – also known as a big no-no in our eyes.   

After the second episode ended with Nate confronting Cal with that jaw-dropping revelation, this third episode started off in a rather unexpected way. That’s right, it was Cal’s turn for an emotional look at his past.

“When Cal was a senior in high school, he spent every day with his best friend Derek,” Rue narrates.

A high school wrestler, we see Cal happy, flirtatiously looking at girls in the crowd and having a great time with his best friend, Derek. A lingering glance or two reveals that Cal may actually be harbouring more than just platonic feelings for Derek and the two seem inseparable bounding from car to diner.

Rue continues: “The best part about his relationship with Derek was that they could talk for hours – about sports, girls, life, whatever. It didn’t matter.

“Or they could just sit in silence. They were that close, that comfortable.” 

Meeting Marsha in junior year changes things slightly, though. Even after having sexual experiences with her, Cal’s mind is still only on one thing – telling Derek everything.

In one scene, we see the two friends gossiping about Marsha in Cal’s bedroom until Cal’s father storms in and tells Derek to “hit the road”. Cal’s dad is stern, angry-looking and doesn’t appear to be impressed when Cal tells him he can’t get up because he doesn’t feel well.

We all know what’s going unspoken here and as Cal looks helpless, he proceeds to tell his family that he’s met a girl when sat at the dinner table – something that evidently brings them all joy, but especially his father.

The fraught father-son dynamic almost perfectly mirrors the one he has with Nate and if the term “like father, like son” could be plastered over an episode, it would most certainly be this one.

With the prospect of going away for college looming, the two best friends spend one last rain-drenched evening together. They drive up to the closest bar and, upon entry, we realise it’s a gay bar – something the viewer is clearly aware of but it seems like the duo explicitly ignore it. 

As the pair mess around, singing along to INXS’ Never Tear Us Apart, they finally share a heartfelt embrace and kiss. It’s a dreamy sequence of events and almost seems like they’re in their own world. They are and we are with them, until Cal picks up the phone to Marsha the next morning.

“Are you sure the test is accurate?” Cal asks.

As Cal sobs, we’re left realising that Cal was on the cusp of a very different life – one that would’ve made him much happier and obviously, would’ve led him down a path unlike the hateful one he’s taken throughout Euphoria.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Dane states: “If we start off with Cal being a bad guy from the jump, there’s really nowhere to go. Everybody starts out sweet at some point in their life, right?

“[Cal’s] been living a lie his entire life. The only thing you can say really bad about [young] Cal is his timing was a little bad. 

Speaking about his character arc and backstory, Dane adds: “You knew there had to be some sort of cause or condition that was placed on Cal for him to turn out the way he turned out, which is this horribly complicated, terrifically conflicted, and confused person who’s trying to figure out his journey, at however old he is, and start living his truth.

“You can look at the father and how rigid and unloving the father was. You can look at his instincts or feelings he had for friend Derek, but the circumstances of his girlfriend getting pregnant totally derailed what he wanted to do.”

While the episode provided us with some much-needed backstory details on Cal, it’s safe to say that we still think he’s a character to be watched.

He may not be as clued in to the lives of his son and Jules as he thought – Fez and Ashtray certainly showed him as much – but we can’t help thinking that this sweet backstory is the only time we’ll be seeing a vulnerable Cal on our screens.

The internet most certainly seems to think so:  

But we also can’t help feeling like:

Episodes 1-3 of Euphoria season 2 are now available to watch and will also air weekly on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW. Stream Euphoria with a NOW Entertainment Membership.   

Images: HBO