Euphoria has the world in the palm of its hand. Its second season has repeatedly given its audience intense storylines, jaw-dropping moments and incredible wardrobes week after week. This season, we can’t help but be thankful for the characters, especially the side ones. They’re the ones who make Euphoria come to life and completely develop the storyline. Without further a due, here are the top 10 Euphoria side characters ranked.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
10. Faye
Faye had to be on this list. Her character is hilariously clueless and such a scene-stealer. Since becoming Fez and Ash’s third roommate, she has served as a comedic relief being almost completely out of it the entire time. However, Faye is slightly problematic, as she introduced Rue to heroine, but after clueing in Fez in the season finale, I think we can find it in our hearts to forgive her.
9. Samantha
Samantha is hands-down the most glamorous woman on the show. Samantha is the mother of the son Maddy babysits and Maddy idolizes her. She lives in a beautiful house among the hills and has the most amazing collection of vintage items. In one episode, she even gifts Maddy a purple long-sleeved dress. It’s right up her alley, and how might Samantha know this? A little spy cam that watches Maddy try on everything in Samantha’s closet. Also, Samantha just revealed in college she slept with her college best friend’s boyfriend. There are some red flags in her personality and she’s probably not our dream employer, but she’s still glamorous nonetheless.
8. Fez’s Grandma
This woman is a G. This woman is exactly what we needed to open up season two with a bang. She’s a tough, drug-dealing Grandma who taught Fez everything he knows. We love her more than enough for raising Fez, our favorite Mac Miller look-alike. This woman never let anyone walk all over her. I would consider her the definition of a girl boss. In my professional opinion, she does deserve her own show.
7. Barbara Brooks
Barbara Brooks, better known as “vape girl” on the internet, is an absolute legend. TikTok has gone crazy over her in the past few months, begging for more scenes of her character. We heartbreakingly haven’t seen much of her this season, but any scene she’s in has a mellow vibe. Barbra’s whole purpose is to be comedic relief, and she certainly does so by transporting us back to the 2019 aesthetic of the Hot Cheeto girl.
6. Gia Bennett
Gia is a character we simply need more of. She does an incredible job encapsulating all of the emotions that come with loving someone who has an addiction. We learn that she has been getting Ds in school. There’s such a genuine moment between Rue and Gia at the dinner table when we can see the hurt and fear in her eyes about Rue trying to get clean again. While her storylines have primarily centered around Rue, we’d love to see her get some of her own.
5. Ashtray
Not only does Ashtray have the coolest name on the show, but he has the hardcore personality to match it.
Even Fez knows this saying, “That’s not a kid. That’s my business partner.”
Ashtray has an undeniable loud presence in every scene he’s in. He’s proof that loyalty and love go beyond blood doing anything to protect his family, even if it means violence. I think I speak for the entire Euphoria fan base when I say every heart broke the minute we saw the red laser on his forehead. RIP to a legend.
4. Laurie
Laurie is the ultimate villain. A school-teacher-turned-drug-dealer that becomes kingpin, yet somehow the show still depicts her as mother-like with a deadpan demeanor. You literally can not get more villainous than this. She shows absolutely no emotion, leaving us in fear and trying to decide whether she’s ecstatic or furious. During Rue’s withdrawal, she gave her morphine, then told her to consider prostitution to pay her back. We genuinely have no idea what she’ll do next.
3. Suze Howard
Personally, Suze is my favorite side character. She’s Cassie and Lexi’s mother who titles herself a “cool mom” and struggles with alcoholism. While Suze makes questionable parenting choices, like letting Cal question her daughters in their kitchen, she stays a supportive queen. During Lexi’s play, she cheered all out the entire time. We can’t forget about Cassie being pregnant and season one and how she immediately went to Suze. She truly cares for her daughters and is blatant and truthful with them, even when it hurts. All we can wish for Suze in the next season is she’ll get to watch Million Dollar Matchmaker in peace.
2. Ali Muhammed
Ali is such a dimensional character in his connections and backstory. His friendship with Rue is the best friendship in the entire show. He connects with her on a level no one else can. He fosters her under his wing as she continuously works to become clean. Ali is the absolute sweetest, especially when we saw him introduce himself to Leslie. Even after the heartbreaking exchange between him and Rue a few weeks ago, he offers her forgiveness. He also offers advice to Leslie and Gia. Ali is such a genuine character with a deep background who’s workers to become a better version of himself.
1. Ethan Lewis
After Lexi’s play, it’s impossible to not rank Ethan number one. He was the best boyfriend to Kat and though we don’t blame her for not reciprocating feelings, there’s nothing he could’ve done better. He even read all of the signs when Kat was breaking up with him and just did it himself. He’s so unbelievably unproblematic. The highlight of his entire time on the show is definitely Lexi’s play. He killed multiple roles, but our absolute favorite was Jake in the locker room scene. The entire fanbase loves him, and we hope he gets more of a storyline or at least more dance scenes.
While we love our main messy main characters, we love our side ones too. They’ve left us with just as memorable performances as the main ones and deserve just as much recognition. We cannot wait to see what they bring to season three of Euphoria in 2024.