Stand Still Like the Hummingbird

Lore & Background

The episode's cold open depicts addict teenager Rue Bennett (Zendaya) as the truth of her relapse is revealed to her family. In the episode proper, she runs away from her intervention and attempts to pay off drug dealer Laurie (Martha Kelly) as she suffers from withdrawal. The plot follows Rue's desperate attempts to find money and drugs, including stealing jewelry, revealing Cassie's affair with Nate, and eventually ending up at Laurie's apartment where she is injected with morphine and later escapes.

Reader's Guide

The episode received universal critical acclaim, particularly for Zendaya and Kelly's performances and Levinson's direction. At the Directors Guild of America Awards, Levinson won Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series for the episode. Out of the sixteen Primetime Emmy Award nominations received by the show for its second season, three were specifically for this episode: Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for Kelly, and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Zendaya, which she won. The episode was watched by 353,000 people according to Nielsen Media Research, and holds an 88% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 8 critical reviews.

Did You Know?

• The title references Henry Miller's 1962 essay collection of the same name.
• Zendaya won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for the second season overall, not specifically for this episode.
• Martha Kelly was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in this episode.
• The closing credits song is 'It Never Rains in Southern California' by Albert Hammond.