Spoilers for HBO’s Euphoria ahead. Reader discretion is advised.
This season, the characters of Euphoria had a lot of major changes and we got to see a lot of sides to them that were… questionable. By the end of the season, the characters had drastically changed from who they were in the beginning. Here is my ranking of the Euphoria characters based on where they stand after the last episode of season two.
- Nate
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He’s the worst and will always be the worst. Not only is he violent, rude and incredibly terrifying, but he also just truly sucks. I have never disliked a character more than I dislike Nate. He’s the most toxic person I’ve ever seen on screen, and I watch a lot of reality television. Not only did he actively pursue Cassie after saying he loved Maddy, but he also threatened Maddy with a gun in her bedroom. That was terrifying. He also just continues to be scary and make reckless decisions, which I assume is from his father but that isn’t an excuse. He deserved to get beat up by Fez in the beginning. I hope someone does it again at the beginning of season three.
- Cassie
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STOP MAKING EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU. You don’t get to play the victim every time someone tells it like it is. The entire season was just Cassie screaming and crying because she feels like a terrible person. Newsflash: if you do things that hurt people, they’re going to think you’re a bad person.
Cassie never thought through a single action she made, and instead, she tried to morph into Maddy. She craves Nate’s validation so desperately, and honestly, it’s really sad. I felt bad for her a few times because she’s just genuinely so lost.
But by the end of the season, I gave up on feeling bad for her because she had so many chances to redeem herself. There was no reason for her to cause a scene at Lexi’s play. That was incredibly uncalled for and immature. And I don’t know how she’s gonna redeem herself in season three — she needs to just stop.
- Cal
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Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about Cal. He’s a terrible father. He’s done a lot of terrible things. I didn’t care about him much at the beginning of the season because he was a terrible person, but by the end, it somehow got worse. I know he had pain and trauma from hiding his whole life, but that doesn’t mean he gets to commit disgusting crimes. I admit that he was funny at times. But he’s still awful. Nate turned him into the police and honestly it was probably for the best.
- Kat
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Kat is another character that was limited and diminished at the writing table. Kat was such an interesting and iconic character in the first season, and there was so much room for her to grow in this season, but she had almost no lines. And the lines she did have were actually hard to listen to. The manipulation and gaslighting? No thank you. Everything she said was either a few lines backing Maddy up or lying to Ethan. It was so disappointing.
- Ashtray
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Ashtray is such a lovable character who had such a hard life. He didn’t talk much and he didn’t have a ton of development throughout the season until the end. I understand that he was in a terrible situation and that he was scared. I understand that he was trying to protect Fez. He’s just a kid, but I wish he would’ve listened to Fez. It was frustrating to watch him make every decision he made. His decisions were so impulsive and it ultimately led to his demise. Rest in peace, Ash. I’m sad that we won’t get to see more of your character in the future.
- Elliot
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Oh, Elliot. I have mixed feelings about Elliot. I didn’t like the way he came between Jules and Rue throughout the season. He actively flirted with both of them and got with Jules, knowing she was with Rue. But that’s both of their faults. Every time Elliot was on screen it felt sneaky and weird, and he definitely wasn’t a good influence on Rue. By the end of the season, I felt a little better about his character since he finally realized what he did wrong and apologized for it, but I’m not sure I want to see him in season three.
Also, that song was so incredibly unnecessary and long.
- Jules
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You love her?? You LOVE her? Jules, I’m not gonna lie — it’s hard to be mad at you. But I am. You’ve done a lot of damage to Rue, and I know that it wasn’t easy for either of you but come on. I know that things were awkward with Rue because you didn’t know about her relapse and I know that wasn’t fair but that wasn’t any reason to give into Elliot’s moves.
I think it’s also important to note that a lot of the character development that was set up in Jules’ special episode was diminished in season two. A lot of her character development was reduced to a messy love triangle, which was disappointing. She’s such a complex character and there was so much that could’ve been done.
In her special episode, which Hunter Schafer had a huge hand in writing, Jules says “I think I’ve framed my entire womanhood around men, when in reality I’m no longer interested in men.” So it’s interesting that her entire character this season was reduced to her relationship with Elliot. I feel like the writers of Euphoria did her dirty, and diminished one of my personal favorite characters.
- Faye
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Faye told Fez the truth in the end and I’m so glad she did. It was sweet to see Faye, Fez and Ash become close throughout the season. Fez trusted her, and Faye trusted him. I never doubted that she would do what was right in the end, but it still felt nice to see. Faye was a breakthrough character this season, and she was so entertaining to watch. I hope she’ll be back in season three.
- Maddy
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Thank you for putting Cassie in her place and giving us what we wanted. Maddy demonstrated the emotions that come with teenage drama and feeling betrayed by the people you trusted. She gained the support of Euphoria’s audience as Cassie lost it, and she finally got some closure in the end. Maddy was lied to the entire season, and Cassie still tried to play the victim but Maddy was not having it. And I applaud her for that.
- Fez
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Oh Fez, you didn’t deserve that. Just like Lexi, we were able to see some more of Fez’s character this season, and that made him a fan favorite. From the beginning when he beat up Nate, Fez was taking his stance as one of the greatest characters of the season. I wish that we would’ve gotten more of his relationship with Lexi and that he could’ve made it to her play. I know that in season three, Fez is probably gonna be at a very low point and that makes me so sad. Hang in there, Fez!
- Rue
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Rue had the most character development this season by the finale. She had some of her highest highs and her lowest lows throughout the season. She hurt a lot of people and had to say a lot of apologies. It was hard to watch Rue make so many reckless and dangerous decisions throughout the season. It was difficult to watch her turn on everyone she loved and to give up on herself.
By the end of the season, Rue was finally able to get the help she needed to get sober, and she took responsibility for her actions. She was also able to get some closure with Jules and be the one to walk away this time. She grew a lot from where she was at her lowest lows. And frankly, I’m proud of her.
It was also really nice to see Rue and Lexi rekindle their friendship. They grew up together and had a lot of memories, and we haven’t been able to see a lot of that throughout the show. Lexi’s play helped Rue see herself as a good person, and I feel like that definitely contributed to her keeping her sobriety in the long run. I hope to see more of that in season three.
- LExi
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Lexi finally got her time to shine this season. She became one of my favorite characters, and I’m glad we got to see more of who she is. Lexi has a lot of the same trauma that Cassie has, but she copes with it in a healthy way through the arts. She called the others out on their actions and allowed them to see themselves portrayed on stage, which I thought was so iconic. Good job, Lexi! (Plus her outfit and makeup during the play were both so good.)
This season of Euphoria was incredibly different from season one, and made every character unlikeable at times if I’m being honest. Each character has a ton of flaws but they’re all uniquely their own, which I enjoy. I think I personally enjoyed season one more, but it was still fun to see how the characters evolved. I’ve become attached to all of these actors and their characters, and I can’t wait to see what happens to them in the future of Euphoria.