Kitty Likes to Dance

Summarize Fact Check

Rue Bennett (Zendaya) is pulled over by a Drug Enforcement Administration car searching for her. After being arrested, she is interrogated by detectives Bowman and Jimenez (Hemky Madera). They give her two choices; go to federal prison for life or become and informant.

Alamo Brown (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) introduces Rue to new Silver Stripper dancer Kitty. Nate Jacobs' (Jacob Elordi) toe has been stitched back on. His wife Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) packs her bags and leaves with her manager Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie).

Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) is commissioned by Cassie's sister Lexi Howard (Maude Apatow) to create a painting for the soap opera she works for LA Nights. Jules parodies A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by with naked figures, that have breasts and penises.

LA Nights director (Colleen Camp) and producer Patricia Lance (Sharon Stone) are appalled and ask her give the women clothes. Patricia scolds Lexi for wasting production's time and money. Jules destroys her painting. Harley (James Landry Hébert) and his son Wayne (Toby Wallace) plot revenge for Alamo's murder of their cousin Lauire's (Martha Kelly) cockatoo.

Jimenez pressures Rue to set up a drug deal, but Alamo has cut off Lauire. Rue asks Maddy for help, who is filming Cassie's OnlyFans content; Maddy refuses. Lexi watches all three and chastises them for their careers. Nate pleads with the planning and zoning commission to allow him to build end-of-life care facilities despite the environmental protection of the white fritillary.

Cassie moves into Lexi's apartment complex. Rue plays a tense game of poker with Alamo, Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson), and G (Marshawn Lynch) while Bowman and Jimenez wiretap her phone and listen in. Alamo is suspicious, but she lies that she is using hard drugs to throw him off the scent.

Maddy brings Cassie to a house party thrown by influencer Brandon Fontaine (Jeff Wahlberg), with the goal to tempt him with sex so she can take a photo with him that will boost her online fame. Meanwhile, Kitty is raped by four men in a private room, which Rue watches on the CCTV.

Cassie encounters Maddy's former client Katelyn Adreans. Brandon takes a liking to Cassie and Katelyn and brings them to his bedroom. All three do cocaine off of each other's navels. Katelyn has a bad reaction and just as Brandon tries to have sex with Cassie, Maddy breaks in with a camera crew and snaps a photo of them.

Rue asks Kitty if she's being forced into sex work. Kitty simply replies she likes to dance. Magick (Rosalía), a stripper wearing a cervical collar to win a personal injury lawsuit, tells club manager Big Eddy (Kadeem Hardison) Rue is a snitch. Jimenez calls and tells her she's compromised and needs to discredit Magick. Harley and Wayne raid the Silver Stripper. The hold Rue and Magic hostage until Eddy opens the safe, he refuses and the shoot him in the stomach. He opens the safe, they rob everything inside and drive away. Rue recognises the getaway driver as Faye Valentine (Chloe Cherry).

Writing

The title of this episode is reference to when Kitty says "I like to dance" after her rape.^[1] Series creator Sam Levinson wrote the episode.^[2]

Filming

Location shooting for Brandon's content house took place at a $58 Million seven-bedroom estate in the Hollywood Hills that overlooks Los Angeles.^[3][4] Bowman's actor Bill Bodner is the former head of the DEA in Los Angeles.^[5] Speaking to HBO Max Bodner said "Everything in this show, it's just extremely accurate portrayal of the drug world. So intimidating, right? Because I've never really acted before. And to show up on set the first day, my very first scene to work ten-and-a-half hours." When Maddy gives Cassie a makeover, series makeup artist Doniella Davy, hair stylist Kimberly Kimble, and season 3 costume designer Natasha Newman-Thomas all make cameo appearances. Wayne and Harley wear balaclavas with Barack Obama's face on. In an official behind-the-scenes video uploaded to YouTube, Harley's actor Landry Hébert described the filming experience: "We had ski masks on and we were sweating bullets. [...] Nobody really knew where to stand, and Sam goes, 'Let me see the gun.' And he hops up on the desk and points it down and acted the whole beat out himself. It was fearless and specific, and suddenly it clicked.^[6] Influencer and model Vinnie Hacker makes a brief cameo in the episode, although Hacker claims he initially had a bigger role.^[7] Anna Van Patten (Kitty) said intimacy coordinator Mam Smith made her and the male actors feel safe during filming of the private room shots.

Music

"Whatchu Kno About Me" by GloRilla and Sexyy Red plays in the Silver Stripper in the episode.^[8] The closing credits are set to "Cold as Ice" by M.O.P..^[9]

Ratings

According to Nielsen Media Research, upon airing "Kitty Likes to Dance" was watched by 387,000 people. They estimated that 0.08% of the total 18-49 population in the US was tuning in.^[10]

Critical reviews

The review aggregator website Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 76 out of 100, based on five user ratings.^[11] In a B- review for The A.V. Club, Emma Fraser wrote that "Zendaya is terrific as Euphoria still struggles to find its footing", adding that "[the episode] dials up the sex, drugs, and money horrors as it continues to unpack the American dream."^[12] In a three out of five star review for Vulture, Rafaela Bassili wrote that "Zendaya puts up a valiant effort to infuse Rue’s new situation with emotion, but it’s not enough to make up for the fact that Rue, while Euphoria’s protagonist, has become passive in her own plot."^[13]