'Euphoria' special: Zendaya, Colman Domingo are spectacular in heartbreaking two-hander

Spoiler alert: This story contains details of the "Euphoria" special now streaming, and airing on HBO Dec. 6.

"Emmy Award winner Zendaya" has a nice ring to it.

In September, the 24-year-old became the youngest person ever to win the outstanding lead actress in a drama series Emmy Award for "Euphoria," HBO's gritty teen drama tackling drug abuse, sexual assault and self-harm. Zendaya portrays Rue, a recovering addict who falls in love with the new girl at school, Jules (Hunter Schafer).

The series premiered last summer and was expected to return for a second season this year, until COVID-19 shut down production. In the meantime, creator Sam Levinson shot two "special episodes" to bridge the gap to Season 2, the first of which is streaming on HBO Max. (The second is due on HBO Jan. 24).

The episode, set on Christmas Eve, picks up directly after the events of the Season 1 finale, in which Rue and Jules planned to run away together, only for Rue to back out at the last minute. Regretting her decision, Rue relapses by using what appears to be cocaine in a mesmerizing musical number that left many fans wondering whether she died in the season's final moments.

Friday's new installment reveals that Rue is alive but decidedly unwell, depressed and getting high in a diner bathroom in the episode's opening minutes. She's joined there by her Narcotics Anonymous sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo, "Fear the Walking Dead"), a no-nonsense former addict who doles out tough love and hard-won advice to Rue early on Christmas Eve.

Domingo is an acting powerhouse, and Zendaya reminds viewers why she won her Emmy in this grueling, heartbreaking episode, which revolves entirely around Rue and Ali's conversation. Over the course of an hourlong, nearly unbroken scene, they go toe to toe as Ali expounds on religion, Blackness, privilege and purpose.

"You've been fighting a losing game since the first day you got high," he tells Rue, reminding her that addiction is a disease and not her fault, despite society making her believe otherwise.

Rue is frank about why she uses, saying, "Drugs are probably the only reason I haven't killed myself." She struggles to make sense of her dad's death from cancer, and recalls how she once threatened to kill her mom. She believes she doesn't deserve love, from Jules or anyone.

"You're never really emotionally prepared for someone to leave you," Rue says. "Maybe this is punishment for me being a piece of (expletive) my entire life."

Ali counters, "Every time you do something unforgivable, you think, 'Why change? I'm just a piece of (expletive). I better keep going; what's the difference now?' Without realizing that forgiveness is the key to change."

The episode is ultimately about redemption, as Ali implores Rue to "look deeper" and not define herself by any one mistake. It's an emotional gut punch that ranks among one of the finest hours of TV this year, thanks to Zendaya and Domingo's bracingly honest performances and Levinson's perceptive writing, which mostly avoids clichés.

There are no easy answers at the episode's end, as Ali drives Rue home while "Ave Maria" plays in the background. But there is catharsis and hope that maybe tomorrow we can be better, kinder and more forgiving to ourselves. And isn't that a message we could all use right now?

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Euphoria' HBO special episode: Zendaya reminds us why she won an Emmy