I remember when I finished the first season of Euphoria in 2019. I was all curled up in my freshman dorm, nestled in the safety of the blankets on my rock hard mattress, laptop nearby. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and chills shot up my spine as I watched the musical number with Zendaya during the finale. I closed my laptop with a smack and wiped both eyes, thinking to myself that I felt changed, renewed, rebirthed. I had never seen a show like that in my life, from the beauty and details, to the show’s aesthetics, to its deep and analytical storylines, I was utterly obsessed. I could not even begin to think about how I would be able to function without it while waiting two years for another season.
So this winter, like any other person who had long been anticipating Euphoria’s return, I flipped open my laptop’s screen every Sunday at 9 to watch the weekly episode. For weeks on end, the show was all that everyone was able to talk about, myself included, as I wondered what would happen to the characters this time around. After last night’s episode, and after a couple of discussions on this season, I have to say that that season 2 of Euphoria has been unbelievably underwhelming.
I feel as though we have had very little character development, and that the little that was present was very weak. Especially for a whole season’s worth of time. The only notable characters who seemed to grow in this season, for better or for worse, were Rue and Cassie. It was really tough to see Rue’s struggles this season, but seeing her finally reach sobriety and prioritize her wellbeing was beautiful and inspiring to see. Cassie’s growth on the other hand, was a hot mess. I really don’t understand why her character took such a turn this season after her backstory and introduction in the first. From dating her best friend’s abusive ex Nate, to randomly turning on people and ruining her sisters play, Cassie’s development felt like it was solely done with the intention of shock value. Oftentimes, her dialogue was just cringey and her actions were so out of left field. It was hard to believe that most of her outbursts weren’t a figment of another character’s imagination!
Toward the end of the show, the proclaimed drama started to feel more like satire. I was really disappointed that Kat’s story line was basically nonexistent. The only scene we really saw of her was when she broke up with her boyfriend, Ethan, out of nowhere, claiming she had “brain damage” and gaslighting him when he asked her what she was on about. This change was Kat’s entire storyline and her decisions seemed like such a weird contrast to where we left her off in the season 1 finale, when she finally got together with Ethan after crushing on him for eight episodes. This weird type of contrast was also seen in Jules’s character when she randomly cheated on Rue with Elliott, after their beautiful reunion at the beginning of the season. Jules never really made an effort to apologize for her actions or to explain herself to Rue. I feel like we never got enough reasoning/background into why she made those decisions, and the show never gave context for all of these sudden changes in her character.
I also thought that the nudity in this season of Euphoria was just bizarre, and occurred in such ways that felt unbelievably unnecessary, almost exploitative. Cassie had the most scenes by far. Her character is often showed topless in moments when it just doesn’t feel needed. There are also more penis shots than one can count on their hands. These all just felt like weird jump scares, coming out of absolutely nowhere to spice up even the most ordinary scenes.
So much happened this season, but at the same time, absolutely nothing. Rue and Jules got back together and broke up anyway, leaving us in basically the same spot we were in at the end of Season 1. Rue was kidnapped and lost 10,000 dollars worth of drugs, but that plot line is dropped and never revisited. Nate is still unbelievably dangerous and has yet to receive any real repercussions for his actions. I don’t even know what is going on with Kat because we saw her for a total of five minutes this season. We still really don’t know that much more about Lexi or honestly any of the characters. Ashtray is dead, and Fez ends up shot? We got so much context into all of the characters’ backstories in season 1 and I had hoped that season 2 would build onto those. The show consistently chooses to focus on really tough and traumatic situations that the characters go through, without allowing the viewers to fully process them.
All in all, I do really like Euphoria. Regardless of age, Euphoria brings people together, whether it’s to talk about the show’s beauty or laugh at its absurdity. The show brings up a ton of taboo topics that affect teens and adults alike, and sparks discourse and conversation which is honestly the most important thing. I guess I just hoped to get a bit more out of this season after two years of teasing. The show has been renewed for a third season, so I’m interested to see what comes of it. Here’s to hoping the wait isn’t too long until we are reunited with these characters once again.