Spoiler warning! This article contains spoilers for season 1 of “Euphoria”
At the end of Euphoria’s first season we see the show’s main character, Rue, in the midst of a drug relapse. Her sobriety was dependent on her love interest, Jules, and right before the relapse, the pair split up. As Rue goes through this manic state waiting for her high to slowly build up, we are introduced to the only musical number in the series so far.
Composed by Labrinth, “All For Us” starts to play as Rue stumbles around her home singing the lyrics which explain her complex emotions.
The song explains how even though Rue’s actions are viewed as selfish by some, she makes those decisions in the best interest of those around her. But because of her addiction, her thoughts are skewed and only really benefit her in the end.
You might think it’s odd; why would such dark topics like drug addiction and relapse be explained through a musical number? Sam Levinson, the creator of Euphoria, did this intentionally. In an August 2021 interview with “The Hollywood Reporter”, Levinson states that the show’s musical ending “…was the right decision emotionally for the piece, so I had written it in there and it came down to the planning and coordination of it.” Levinson gives credit to choreographer Ryan Heffington and the composer of the show’s soundtrack Labrinth for making the musical number happen.
“…working with Labrinth and “All for Us” becoming this thematic thread of the temptation and also the guilt and the shame of addiction and the emotional turmoil that existed within the character of Rue, it just felt right for it to be that song,” said Levinson in the same interview.
Timothy Lee McKenzie, better known by his stage name Labrinth, is a 30 year old musician from London. He is the mastermind behind Euphoria’s hallucinatory technicolor-esque soundtrack for both seasons 1 and 2. Before the show, Labrinth was a well established artist, putting out music with Sia and Diplo in the supergroup named LSD along with co-writing the song “Spirit” with Beyonce for the live action “Lion King” movie.
While working on the show’s soundtrack, Labrinth meshed multiple genres together to find the perfect blend that would help represent and compliment Rue’s struggle in her addiction journey. He wanted to capture that young electrifying teenage essence while also reminding the viewers that as magical and aesthetically pleasing the show might look, there’s still always that lingering horror that comes with drugs.
“When you look back to your teenage days,” he said, “it feels semi-magical but semi-crazy and semi-psychotic. I wanted to make sure the music felt like those things,” said Labrinth in an October 2019 interview with “Rolling Stone Magazine”.
The music in Euphoria not only supports the plot but is able to show you the complex emotions of every character. When telling a story, music will always help guide the audience to see a different perspective. Both Levinson and Labrinth hit this sentiment right on the head and fans can not wait to listen to what they do for this next season. If you haven’t yet, go listen to the Euphoria soundtrack and get lost in its electrifying energy.
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