With the release of its eighth episode, “All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name,” Euphoria’s second season ended Feb. 27, officially giving the internet a rest from the weekly onslaught of fictional high school drama.
“Euphoria” is undoubtedly a polarizing show. Despite being about the lives and relationships of teenagers — its content, cinematography, dialogue and acting get ruthlessly analyzed and criticized. All of this attention, negative and positive, has made it the most-tweeted-about show in the last decade, according to Twitter.
Teenage curiosity about sex and drugs is completely normal, so we should expect fiction about teenagers to reflect that. The show’s depiction of addiction and withdrawal is devastating, a far cry from glorifying drug use. The show begins with a little sister walking in on the main character’s overdose, finding her unconscious, lying on her bedroom floor. Then this season showed us every step of Rue’s horrible withdrawal, beginning with her lashing out at all the loved ones she had left.
It’s not just drug use for drug use’s sake, either — “Euphoria” actually knows what it’s talking about. The show’s creator and writer, Sam Levinson, was addicted to hard drugs as a teenager, and many of Rue’s experiences are informed by his own. If the scenes with drugs and sex are overdramatized, it’s probably because those scenes reflect the exaggerated fantasies and complex inner-workings of emotionally intense teenagers. Or maybe it’s because it’s a drama show that exists for entertainment.
One message “Euphoria” gets across well about adolescence is that it can be confusing and tumultuous. For many characters, life becomes traumatic and heart-wrenching when bad things happen, but they don’t yet have the emotional tools to process what happened to them. The casts’ resulting array of unhealthy coping mechanisms, along with their struggles with sexuality, abuse and loss, is what ultimately drives the plot, and its second season is really no different in this regard.
However, the character development and dialogue in “Euphoria” does not always keep up with its impressive cinematography. This season especially, I would feel immersed in a scene, only to be ripped out of it by cringy dialogue. Elliot, a major culprit of this cringy dialogue, seemed to exist only to encourage Rue’s addiction and create conflict in her relationship with Jules.
Jules, who was a memorable and exciting character last season, gets practically no limelight this time around. Most of her scenes this season are her making mistakes and being yelled at. A big aspect of her plotline this season is her attraction to a man, which comes after a revealing special episode where she expresses doubts about her gender expression and says she needs to take a break from the male gaze.
Cassie is another character that could have used more development. Last season, we saw her make emotional transformations after breaking up with her college boyfriend and experiencing a never-mentioned-again abortion. She even dedicated herself to enjoying being single. This season, after bewildering plot twists, she was essentially the show’s villain. Despite what I would consider excessive screen time, “Euphoria” puts her actions in a bubble and attributes it all to “daddy issues.”
I could repeat similar criticisms for Kat and even Maddy. Really, many characters deserved more depth and better backstories. I found it odd that the school bully’s awful dad received the season’s most thought-out episode, one that explored his sexuality and life choices.
For a show that focused so heavily on its ensemble, cast, and intertwining plots in its freshman season, it’s unfortunate that it failed to pay as much attention and thought to them this time around. Still, it brought us incredible performances from every actor, stayed true to Rue’s story and struggles and looked amazing while doing so. What more could you ask for from a gritty teen drama?