Since the premier of its first season in 2019, Euphoria has become one of the hottest series of its time and HBO Max’s golden show. From high schoolers to adults, viewers immediately click the “Watch New Episode” button every Sunday at 9 PM EST when new episodes are released.
Season two wrapped up on Sunday, February 27th. Throughout the season, Sam Levinson took the show’s initial teen drama for a darker spin. This has been shown through the development, or lack thereof, of the characters.
*spoilers ahead*
Narrator, Rue Bennett (Zendaya), exhibits one of Euphoria’s main concepts: addiction. The way addiction has been depicted throughout the two seasons has undergone great controversy. Some argue that the show glorifies addiction, while others believe it’s an accurate representation of its severity. In season two, we saw Rue at her lowest points in terms of struggling with her addiction. Specifically, in episode 5, we get to see the true heights of Rue’s addiction. Prior to this episode, Euphoria displayed flashes of her reality, but never dove into all that Rue’s addiction truly entailed. This episode showed crumbling relationships, withdrawal, and an overall in-depth synopsis of how the show depicts addiction to look like.
In season one, Euphoria paints Maddy Perez (Alexa Demie) as an empowered woman raised with great confidence and aspirations of a materialistic lifestyle. It was made clear that one of the only threats to Maddy’s strong will was her boyfriend, Nate Jacobs. After an act of physical abuse by Nate, we see Maddy in a more vulnerable light than ever. However, this was only brushing the surface of the dark cloud that follows Maddy. Throughout season two, Maddy was put through the ringer and her story darkened with much more betrayal and heartbreak. Sam Levinson seemingly wrote Maddy’s storyline to plunge into how her hard-shell breaks more through the abuse and manipulation she deals with.
Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi), on the other hand, has been shown as dark and twisted from season one, episode one. However, the first season primarily highlighted Nate’s anger issues and abusive tendencies. The second season not only continues displaying his toxic attributes, but also capitalizes on his Cal Jacobs’ dark storyline to dive into twisted family dynamics. Nate has always stirred up a lot of drama and messed with many people’s mental health but now we get to see him tear relationships apart, go to new heights with his abusive personality, and try to handle his darkness.
Fezsco (Angus Cloud), the beloved drug dealer and close friend of Rue, grew to be a fan favorite after season one. To add on, Fez’s fame has only increased since season two. During the first season, Fez is painted as more of a background character; we are given his backstory and a gist of his personality but we see him mainly when Rue is involved. Season two grants Fez more of a main storyline. He even sparks a love interest! However, Fez’s happiness is clouded by the dark cloud that follows the relations in his drug dealing. At the end of the season, a tragic series of events leads to Fez’s lowest point. We are left with the question of whether Fez will catch a break in season three, or if his life will continue to be clouded by pain.
Without spoiling too much, these are four main examples of how Euphoria encapsulates a much darker tone in season two through the in-depth storylines of the characters. Although there are a few other characters, such as Jules and Cassie, who are involved in a lot of drama this season, Rue, Maddy, Nate, and Fez are arguably the biggest culprits of tinting the show’s genre. Will the third season of Euphoria bring even more darkness, or will there be some light shone at the end of the tunnel? Only 2024 will tell.