Jules did the right thing

There's been a lot of Jules slander lately, but what I've been seeing a ton of since Ep 5 are things like, "she deserved to be told those things" "she got what's coming to her" "rue didn't lie" "why is she crying about being lied to when she lied first" and my favorite "she shouldn't have ratted Rue out/shouldn't have told her mom" or "she went about it in the wrong way"

Firstly, Jules 100% did the right thing. If you know someone that is addicted and doing drugs to the extent Rue is, you should also "rat" them out. This isn't something petty like getting your friend grounded because you tattled that they smoked some weed; Rue was inches from ODing for a second time. Her mother needed to be told.

In fact, remember just a couple of episodes ago when everyone was sobbing over the scene when Lexi found out Rue overdosed? How we saw Lexi consider telling Rue's mom, decided not to, and when Rue inevitably overdosed she sobbed to her mom and said "it's my fault"??? That's what can happen when you choose not to tell anyone. I'm not blaming Lexi, it isn't her fault Rue became addicted to drugs, but she should have told Rue's mom. Jules did tell Rue's mom to avoid the same fate, and suddenly that's the wrong thing to do. It's not, it was the right thing to do.

Next, "why is she crying" and "she went about it in the wrong way." Listen, for things like this, their personal relationship has to take a back seat. Of course Jules is crying seeing someone she cares about falling apart due to addiction (for the second time in her life)?? Of course she's upset that Rue lied to her about doing drugs like heroine and fentanyl?? Yes, Jules lied to and betrayed Rue. I'm not defending what she did, but that's not the topic of conversation here. Rue's addiction is. Rue could have already found out that Jules cheated on her and they could have already broken up, it doesn't matter, Jules still did the right thing and has a right to be heartbroken at seeing someone she cares about reduced to what Rue is. I literally could not care less about what Jules is wearing, and seeing as Rue doesn't actually bring up the idea of Jules cheating on her with Elliot, which she absolutely would in that rage, I don't think that's what she's focused on either.

I also want to point out that Jules knows how to handle an addict; she didn't fight back, she didn't back down. She started crying because of course she did, literally who would not start crying if they were being screamed at like that by someone they care about, but she just let Rue scream the most horrible, vile things in her face and took it. She barely defended herself, she just kept reiterating that she loves Rue and cares about her. Rue doesn't believe it, but Rue won't believe anything or trust anyone that took away her fix. It's useless to try and fight with Rue, so she just has to stand her ground and take it. This is the exact same thing Fez did in S1 when Rue also screamed at him; she said he was wrong too and blamed him for her addiction, but there was nothing he could do but take it and reiterate that he cares about her. And I've seen people question if Jules really cares about Rue and like, yes, obviously she cares about Rue. She didn't tell Rue's mom to hurt her, she told Rue's mom to save her life.

Lastly, did Jules deserve it? That's for you to decide, I'm not going to debate it. But here's something I want to point out: I don't think that Rue would have ever, ever said anything like that to or about Jules if she were sober. She only said those things because Jules got in the way of her addiction. Throughout season 1 and into season 2, all Rue can talk about is how Jules is the best thing on the earth, she's better than drugs, she's the sweetest nicest person, she loves Jules more than anyone else, etc. Even in just the previous episode, it opens with her talking about how much she loves Jules but her addiction gets in the way of that love (her being so high she can't feel anything). And by the end of that very same episode, Jules gets in the way of her addiction by asking her not to drink, and suddenly that "I love Jules more than anyone else" is thrown out the window. Now, Rue can't fucking stand Jules. (and yes, I'm aware of and agree with the fact that Jules was a fucking moron for taking Rue with her to steal alcohol, giving Rue the alcohol, and then acting shocked when Rue drank the alcohol. Doesn't change how addiction completely changes Rue's outlook on Jules).

Then, continuing off of that, Jules has once again gotten in the way of Rue's addiction on an even bigger scale. Rue is having a meltdown, she's going through addiction rage, and she takes it all out on Jules, the one who stopped her from having her fix. She goes from loving Jules more than anything to Jules being dead to her in the span of an episode because the reality of loving an addict is that they will always love their addiction more. Whether or not Jules deserved it, I just think that's an interesting part to consider.

I'm going to end this by reiterating that if anyone you know is an addict and is doing drugs to the extent that Rue is, you should absolutely tell someone, especially if you are a teenager because there is literally nothing you can do. Yes, "rat" your friends out. They are going to see it as the ultimate betrayal, but you are saving their lives. It doesn't matter how close you are, it doesn't matter if you had a falling out, if you're angry at each other, if you love each other, none of that matters. What matters most is getting that person help and if you're a teenager, telling that person's parent or a teacher is basically the only thing you can do.