Euphoria Season 1 & Season 2 Spoilers ahead

On June 16, 2019 the first episode of Euphoria was released on HBO. Since the show’s debut it has received critical acclaim for its approach to its mature subject matter and became a popular television series among various audiences, specifically teens. Euphoria is an American teen drama which was written by Sam Levinson. The cast of Euphoria has gained recognition for their acting performances. This also contributes to the show’s credibility because it’s lead actress, Zendaya, has won three different awards for her acting performance in the hit series. Zendaya is a fan favorite and helped to attract a larger audience. The show revolves around the complicated life of a 17-year-old named Rue Bennet and the other people in her life who grapple with struggles in their own lives as well. Because the characters in the show are attending high school and deal with issues that many teens face, the target audience is high school students and teens. 

At the start of the series the audience learns about Rue Bennet’s struggle growing up with multiple mental disorders which led to her drug addiction and her admittance to a rehabilitation facility after an overdose. After Rue is released from rehab the show begins. In the short span of time after that, events that took place shocked many viewers. To briefly summarize, Rue met Jules Vaughn, the new girl in town, at a house party. Also at the party were characters that would become more important as the show progresses. Before showing up to the party, Jules decides to meet up at a motel with an older man that she met over a hookup app. She lies about her age and they have sex. This is something that many viewers found quite uncomfortable and graphic, especially considering the fact that Jules was only 17. Many fans of Euphoria who have also watched Grey’s Anatomy were shocked to discover the familiar actor, Eric Dane, who played Mark Sloan. If anything this was the most shocking part of the episode. At the party, Jules is harassed by a drunk Nate Jacobs, who had just witnessed his ex-girlfriend Maddy Perez, having sex with a partygoer named Tyler. Nate is the star quarterback and the antagonist in the series. Jules threatens Nate and leaves the party accompanied by Rue. At the end of the first episode the audience discovers that Nate Jacobs returns home to his father Cal Jacobs, and Jules’s hookup. By this point, viewers were in a chokehold.

In only the first episode the writers introduce and characterize the main characters that will be significant in the remaining episodes. Each episode loosely follows the backgrounds and lives of the characters. The episodes in chronological order cover the struggles of the seven main characters Rue, Nate, Kat, Jules, Maddy, Mckay, and Cassie. These characters are loveable because they have complex lives and backgrounds that are relatable to me and the audience in at least one way.

The events that occur and the issues that the characters face are very reflective of the real world and the issues that many teen audiences and high school students endure. The writers touch upon mature and difficult situations with finesse. Not only does the series bring light to issues like mental health struggles, sexual assault/harassment, teen pregnancy, struggles with gender/sexuality, family struggles, and of course, drug addiction. As well as just bringing light to these dark issues, the show also has business implications with it being amid the #MeToo movement and evaluating politics and sexual mores in a digital world. This is highly important in a generation that values destigmatising and reevaluating traditional beliefs. IndieWire’s Benm Travers praised it for being  “a teen drama that actually strives to be honest.”  The cast has also addressed the weighty content that may be unfit for some viewers by posting warnings disclosing graphic or mature content that some viewers may find difficult to watch. This is important with the target audience of the show being teens and students in high school who may be easily influenced.

More recently Euphoria released Season 2, Episode 1 on January 9, 2022. This was a long awaited day for many fans of the show who previously watched Season 1 or the two special episodes that go in depth on Rue and Jules’ as characters which was released during the pandemic. 

My favorite episode is “Part 2: Jules” because of the cinematography, script, and the metaphoric comparison of the ocean and Jules’ femininity. The episode sheds light on Jules’ grappling with femininity and the burden of preserving Rue’s sobriety, Jules’ history with her mother and how her father gained full custody of her. The episodes following the release of this one only grow heavier and more graphic than the previous. 

Episode 1 of Season 2 takes a dark turn of events and the content becomes heavier and more mature than before. The actions of the characters and the events that occur begin to stray from the high school student narrative and the experiences of high school students. The most recent episode first discusses the childhood of Fezco, Rue’s drug dealer who took after his grandma and inherited the family business of drug dealing. This episode takes place the night of New Years Eve, where the writers bring a lot of extremely stressful and weighted topics to play. 

Rue, having been abandoned by Jules in the previous season, turns to her drug addiction and gets wrapped up in shady drug dealing exchanges with Fezco.They then attend a house party where the other characters make their appearances. Rue does heroin for the first time and other concoctions of drugs and has to ensure she doesn’t go into cardiac arrest in the laundry room at the party. This scene is upsetting and conveys Rue’s descent deeper into her drug addiction. The night ends with Jules and Rue’s reunion since Jules abandoned Rue and a fight between Fezco and Nate Jacobs which stemmed from Nate Jacobs tipping the police and putting Fezco’s livelihood on the line.

The weighted topics and extremely graphic content have evoked a lot of differing reactions and criticism from different audiences. This being said the show received criticism from Parents Television Council president Tim Winter argues that the series “appears to be overtly, intentionally marketing extremely graphic adult content — sex, violence, profanity and drug use — to teens and preteens.” This criticism was not directly addressed but HBO discussed the graphic and violent scenes that received a negative response and the network confirmed that Euphoria’s writers continue to have full creative liberty. The first one of the two special episodes received critical acclaim for the extreme shift in tone from the first season as well as change in pace. The second of the two episodes also received honorable recognition for its opening discussions of trans identity. Lastly, and most recently, Season 2 has been receiving positive feedback for its performances and cinematography, but criticism of the episode’s tone and pace. As more episodes are released weekly there will be more discussions of the mature explicit content and the season’s change in tone and pace.

After having watched all of Euphoria and evaluating the events and characters I look forward to seeing the events unfold and the writer’s explored use of a darker, heavier tone. The content, despite being hard to swallow sometimes, and unsettling to some viewers, continues to shed light on the struggles of high school students and teen audiences discovering adulthood while navigating relationships, mental health, and growing up. The actors playing high school students and teens in Euphoria were able to perfectly convey and represent the struggles that high school students face.  Although the content is extremely mature and graphic it is appropriately conveyed to teen audiences and high school students because there are grounds for comparison and teenagers alike are finding comfort in the representation of difficult issues and light being brought to dark situations.