Recently, there has been a flood of Euphoria TikToks on my For You Page, and it prompted me to rewatch the show a year later since I watched it the first time it came out. If you don’t know what Euphoria is, it is a teen drama about a girl named Rue (Zendaya) who is a drug addict from rehab and who does not plan to stay clean. Rue’s life includes Jules (Hunter Schafer), Nate (Jacob Elordi), Chris (Algee Smith), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), Kat (Barbie Ferreira), and Maddie (Alexa Demie) who each receive an episode that explains their story. The show tackles subject matters such as substance abuse and exploring one’s sexuality. There is so much to this show, and I feel like I did not appreciate it enough the first time I watched it. For example, I did not appreciate the cast enough, especially the leading lady known as Zendaya. A queen and deserving of the Emmy she received for her role as Rue if I have any say. Not to mention, the spectrum of issues the show discusses that I just have to talk about. * MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Where do I begin? Why don’t I start with how much I hate Nate Jacobs? I have never hated a character more than I do with Nate Jacobs. Nate is a very complex character, but it is hard to find sympathy for such an evil character. Nate has a lot going on with his personal life ranging from the pressure he experiences from his dad to the confusions with his sexuality. However, he is also abusive and manipulative. In the episode “Shook One Pt: II,” he chokes his girlfriend Maddy and blackmails Jules to not expose the predatory behavior of his father. Furthermore, in the Halloween episode titled “The Next Episode,” we discover he gets away with abusing Maddy by blackmailing an innocent man known as Tyler to falsely confess to abusing her, and he further blackmails Jules into falsely stating to the police that she was a witness to Tyler abusing Maddy. While I was watching this episode, I was continuously finding myself getting frustrated seeing this horrible man get away with his crimes and to see Maddy, who seems to love Nate no matter what, go along with helping Nate not be charged with abuse. At the same time, I felt bad for Maddy for willingly being wrapped up in this abusive relationship. The ending of this episode truly made me mad when Nate arrives at the Halloween party with Maddy dressed as a prisoner as a way to mock how he got away with his crimes. In conclusion, Nate is awful.
Moving on, one episode that stands out to me, in particular, is known as “The Trials and Tribulations of Having to Pee While Depressed.” This episode discusses the effects depression can have on someone, and I feel it opens up a needed discussion about mental health and what teens endure. Throughout this episode, Rue experiences manic and depressive episodes to the point where she is too depressed to even use the bathroom, and she just binge-watches episodes of Love Island instead. I feel like this is an episode many teens can relate to when it comes to the concept of depression. One may feel like they would rather just lie in bed and binge-watch
reality T.V rather than do anything else. It’s an episode many teens can connect to, and I applaud the creators for wiring the topic of depression so smoothly into the story of the show.
One last thing I want to talk about from Euphoria is, of course, the mind-blowing last episode. One event that stuck out to me in this episode is when Cassie goes to get an abortion with the support of her mother and her sister Lexi. Cassie discovers she’s pregnant in the episode “The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed,” and she does not receive much sympathy from her boyfriend Chris McKay. However, her mom steps and takes Cassie to go get an abortion. The show walks us through the steps of getting an abortion, and the only T.V show I’ve seen do this is Sex Education. This part represents how nobody wants to get an abortion, and it is a heavy experience for anybody. However, during the procedure, support can go a long way. The scene I enjoyed the most from this sequence is when Cassie imagines herself as an ice dancer while “Still Don’t Know my Name” by Labrinth plays whose music adds a lot to Euphoria. That could arguably be my favorite scene out of the whole show. Finally, Rue and Jules decide to run away to the city together, but Rue decides to stay behind while Jules leaves. Throughout the show, it becomes clear that Jules is a replacement drug for Rue, so when Jules leaves she relapses again. Then the unexpected happens, and the show effortlessly incorporates a choir dream sequence with the song “All for Us” by Labrinth feat. Zendaya. Zendaya truly outsells in the final moments of the show through her depiction of the sadness and defeat she feels while singing, and this allows the audience to truly sympathize with her character. There are so many other events I could talk about from the show, but Euphoria is an amazing show that I feel definitely deserves the hype. You can watch the final moments of Euphoria and listen to “All for Us” here.