“Euphoria” quickly became a hit when it came out a few years ago. The cinematography, the music, and the acting all came together to form a visual masterpiece, and I, along with many other people, was thrilled when season two finally dropped last month. Granted, the show has its issues, with its plot holes and discontinued plot lines from season one, but overall, season two fulfilled my expectations.
It’s clear that season two revealed some devastating and heartbreaking moments that show just how much these characters have gone through, and how far Sam Levinson is willing to take the story. Many have commended (and disagreed with) the show’s portrayal of addiction, but “Euphoria” also sheds light on many other topics that are worth discussing after the release of the season finale, and we can see many of these topics woven into the storylines of the main female characters.
Rue (played by Zendaya)
After her relapse at the end of season one, it was clear that Rue was about to spiral further and further into her addiction. Throughout season two, she takes her substance abuse to new levels, from experimenting with heroin in episode one to later acquiring a suitcase full of $10,000 worth of drugs. I felt frustrated seeing Rue constantly neglect herself, and never show any sort of care for the way her actions were affecting not only her but those who love her as well. However, this is what, I believe, the creators of “Euphoria” want you to feel because this is the reality of those who have loved ones struggling with addiction. That’s why episode five of the show is huge in her story and redemption arc.
In episode five, we see Rue on the run from her family while she goes through drug withdrawals as we see her sweating, cramping, yawning frequently, vomiting, and exhibiting irritable and anxious behavior. Rue not only gets into trouble with the police, steals from a wealthy family, and ruins almost every relationship in her path, she also winds up at Laurie’s place. Laurie, the villainous drug dealer, ends up taking advantage of Rue’s vulnerability and injects her with morphine. It’s one of the most painful moments of the show and Rue’s lowest point. But it’s this episode, along with the dreamlike sequence of her dancing with her deceased father in the previous episode, that makes us believe she’s worthy of redemption and love. I respect Sam Levinson for showing something as painful as addiction in an upfront way because it brings a lot of awareness to how this disease affects thousands of people every day, and that they’re worthy of care.
In the following three episodes, we see Rue on her journey of sobriety. While at first, we see how painfully excruciating withdrawal can be without access to rehabilitation and medical support, we then see her start to grow. It’s relieving to see her character happy, healthy, and overall just connected with life again. Her journey on the show is one we follow more closely and most of the time it’s dark and heavy. So it was refreshing to see Rue begin to reconnect with her family and friends, and come to some peace with her father’s death (as this played a pivotal role in her history of substance abuse), while also realizing she needs to choose and focus on herself in the end. This reveals her emotional and mental growth from last season’s finale with her relapsing. Some theorists think she will relapse again and believe she’s been “narrating from the grave,” but I’m choosing to believe that Rue will stay sober and continue working on herself into season three. But, I guess we’ll find out when “Euphoria” returns.
Jules (played by Hunter Schafer)
Jules used to be one of my favorite characters of the show because of her originality and fearlessness. However, this season she made some questionable decisions that quickly shifted people’s opinions of her, including mine.
Her character returns after disappearing at the end of season one, and shortly after she and Rue reconnect and begin to date again. Then, when the show’s new character Elliot (played by Dominic Fike) is brought into the mix, it changes things. Jules and Elliot start to form a romantic connection (right after Jules had gotten frustrated with Rue out of jealousy for talking to him in the hallway?!) behind Rue’s back, and Elliot tells Jules that Rue has been heavily using drugs with him since her relapse. Jules tells Rue’s mom, and after that their relationship seems to crumble. Rue blows up at Jules during episode five, and while she probably didn’t mean everything she said, it’s clear she meant some of it. In the finale, Rue leaves Jules alone in the theater and realizes that while Jules was her first love, she needs to put herself first. It’s poetic as, at the end of the last season, Jules chose herself. Now, we see Rue doing the same.
Aside from some of the controversial actions she took this season, Jules also more openly addresses her journey in exploring her gender expression and her search for femininity in being transgender, which is a beautiful layer we can add to her character. In season one, we rarely see Jules talk about her experience being transgender (with the exception of one episode) but throughout season two it’s mentioned more. I do appreciate this about the show; they represent Jules in a way so that we’re not only paying attention to her for the fact that she’s trans, but also to the fact that she’s so much more than just this single aspect of her character. If you haven’t seen Jules’ special episode, it’s definitely worth checking out as it goes deeper into this side of her story.
Lexi (played by Maude Apatow)
Lexi served in this season. While her relationship with fan-favorite Fez (played by Angus Cloud) was definitely a highlight (and I won’t be mad about seeing more “Fexi” content next season), she had some incredible moments on her own that show how important her character is to Euphoria. Besides how refreshing it is to have a very dramatic show broken up with moments of a very non-dramatic character, Lexi’s play in the last two episodes is what ultimately puts her on the top of the character list for me. The creation of “Our Life” is one of the most impactful moments in Lexi’s journey in my opinion because, while it did hurt some people’s feelings, she wanted to do this one thing for herself, and she did it with a bang.
While “Our Life” is at times hilarious and ridiculous (for example, the entire number of “Holding Out for a Hero”), it also shows how she made something beautiful out of the trauma and grief she’s felt growing up in Cassie’s shadow and amidst her dad’s addiction and absence. While everyone deals with things in their own ways, and we shouldn’t feel like we have to use our hardships as a means of being productive, “Euphoria” seems to revolve around unhealthy coping mechanisms. So this play, which came as a result of healthy coping mechanisms, was a change that felt well-needed as an audience member. It was also touching to see how Rue reacted to it as she mentions in the finale how Lexi’s play was the first time she looked at herself and didn’t hate what she saw. It provided a unique experience for Rue to see how she directly impacted someone’s life and she, in turn, uses this to reflect on how she wants to move forward. Seeing them rekindle their friendship felt like the right way this season needed to end.
Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney)
Where do I even begin? Cassie is probably one of the most problematic characters (besides Nate) of the season. In season one, I didn’t feel this way about her, but oh how I do now. Once she started sleeping with Nate (played by Jacob Elordi) in the first episode, we knew it was going downhill considering her relationship with her best friend, Maddy.
Cassie and Lexi grew up in the absence of their father, and it could be an argument that this has influenced Cassie’s insecurities, her need for validation, and her attachment to men. These issues come to light in her growing relationship with Nate over the course of the season. In episode three, she grows an unhealthy obsession with Nate to the point of waking up at 4 a.m. every morning to spend hours on an extensive beauty routine to make Nate notice her at school. It was frustrating to see Cassie doing all this for the attention of a toxic man, let alone a man she absolutely should not be involved with considering he dated (and abused) her best friend. Her obsession with Nate comes to a climax at Maddy’s birthday party when she believes Maddy and Nate are getting back together, and in a dramatic scene accompanied by wine, balloons, and throwing up in the hot tub, she seems to completely lose it.
We see Nate gaslight Cassie, mentally and verbally abuse her, and invalidate her feelings throughout the season and their relationship. It’s the painful truth of how many abusive relationships can go, and it’s sad to see Cassie consistently put herself through this because she’s blinded by what she believes to be true love. By the end of the season, their relationship is exposed to Maddy via Rue, and Cassie decides to, unfortunately, choose Nate. She basically moves in with him and, in an upsetting scene, says to Nate that she ruined her life for him. This concept is not romantic, and, in an even more uncomfortable moment, she even takes it further by later stating that Nate can choose what she eats, what she wears, and that she is his. As a woman, it’s frustrating to see her willingly let a man control everything about her, and treat her like a doll to be played with in the name of “love”. She even lets him dress her up in a way that resembles Maddy’s (and an argument could be made for Jules’) style. It’s sad to see her in this trance of doing anything to please the men in her life. We can even trace this behavior back to when she was younger after it was revealed in a flashback scene that Cassie got into the car with her dad, who was very obviously high, so as not to upset him. I hope that Maddy putting Cassie in her place at the end of season two was the wake up call she needed.
Maddy (played by Alexa Demie)
Maddy wasn’t my favorite in season one, but she’s definitely gone up on my list after season two. It’s refreshing to see her not with Nate anymore after seeing their relationship encompassed by verbal abuse, domestic violence, and emotional trauma, exemplifying almost every relationship red flag possible. In one of the first episodes of season two, we see Maddy also experience trauma bonding as she wishes to still be with Nate even after everything that occurred between them. We later see her grow from this experience as she recognizes the toxicity of her and Nate’s relationship, and realizes that he is not someone she wants to be with in the end.
While Maddy is portrayed as a strong, impenetrable force, we see her break down this season after finding out about Nate and Cassie. She struggles with depression after losing the relationship with her best friend, and we see her confidence and self-esteem take a hit. Throughout seasons one and two, for some reason, I never realized how close Maddy and Cassie were, but it becomes clear in the first moments of Lexi’s play when Maddy cries into Cassie’s arms about her parents fighting. After this, we get the full scope of how much Cassie and Nate being together affected Maddy.
In the end, we see Maddy again bring awareness to her own cycle of abuse she went through with Nate when she tells Cassie “this is just the beginning” regarding their relationship. This single line sheds light on how difficult it can be to break out of the cycle and leave abusive situations.
Kat (played by Barbie Ferreira)
The writers gave Kat very little screen time this season, and I was so disappointed. I would’ve loved for them to expand and build on Kat’s story more, and instead, we got to see maybe 10 minutes of her total. One of her moments I remember closely, because it’s so easy to experience this on a daily basis, is when we see her struggling with the effects of toxic positivity online. “Euphoria” recruited actual influencers for this scene, and the dialogue that takes place shows how common it is for teenagers to feel pressured to conform to toxic positivity, unrealistic beauty standards, and maintaining a “perfect” lifestyle that we too often see on social media.
Throughout much of the season, Kat also wrestles with her feelings for Ethan (played by Austin Abrams) and feels obligated to be happy with him because he’s treating her well. A conversation she has with Maddy sheds light on how forcing these feelings is at the expense of her own happiness, which is another common thing many of us can relate to. When you’re in a seemingly great relationship, it’s easy to feel guilty for your feelings just not completely being there, which isn’t something we can control.
While Kat isn’t an inherently bad character, one of her last moments in season two is extremely disappointing. She decides to end things with Ethan, but instead of doing so in a respectful and honest way, she does the opposite. Kat chooses to gaslight him and lies about having a “terminal brain disorder,” and says that’s the reason she needs to break up with him. It’s sad to see the writers close out her journey of season two this way because her character had so much more potential (as well as the actress that portrays her). While Kat didn’t get a ton of screen time this season, Ferreira made sure every moment of Kat’s counted.
“Euphoria” does a relatively good job of handling real-life issues in its fictional world, and that is evident in the way they portray these characters’ journeys. While no show that handles this amount of subject matter will ever be perfect in the way it displays everything, it should be noted that the creators and writers are putting in a significant effort to create more discussion around these topics, and I’m looking forward to seeing what season three will bring to the table.