There has been a lot of discussion online about Euphoria (2019-present). Before streaming changed the way we watch television, people would have 'talks at the water cooler'. This might have been more of a US phenomenon, but it describes how co-workers used to discuss the previous night's episode of The X Files, or Twin Peaks, or The Sopranos at the office water cooler. We used to wait in anticipation for the next episode of our favourite show to be released. Now with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus, we’re free to binge watch shows whenever we want (with a monthly fee of course).
Now viewers can discuss their favourite shows on subreddits and in comment sections of YouTube video essays, comparing fan theories. Before I started watching the show, I would see memes about it on social media a lot. I had reservations about it because I was expecting it to glamourise addiction and mental health issues. However, I think the show deals with some hard-hitting topics really well. Zendaya's character Rue acts as a narrator for the show. The narrator version of Rue feels like a version of her that exists outside of the Euphoria universe. She knows things about all the other characters’ lives, their conversations with other people, their thoughts, their feelings. She guides the viewer through everything.
Euphoria is beautifully shot, and that is a big part of its appeal. Season 2 was shot entirely on Kodak 35mm Ektachrome film. Series like The Sopranos really raised the bar when it came to cinematography in television. Breaking Bad is another example of a show with excellent cinematography. The Colour Theory applied to Euphoria is worth paying attention to. Colours can evoke emotions. Red is often associated with danger, blue feels calm, serene, and sometimes melancholy, purple can represent luxury, magic and mystery, yellow is often associated with happiness. Purple is used a lot in Euphoria. Viewers made the observation that when Rue is manic and happy, the colour that represents her is purple. When she's depressed or relapsing, she's surrounded by red. If we think about traffic lights, red means stop. We want Rue to stop using and get back on track. Red can also signify danger.
This video explains this better/in more depth.
From a young age, Rue showed signs of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder and Generalised Anxiety Disorder. In the pilot, we see her mum reassuring he:
Plenty of great, intelligent, funny, interesting, and creative people have struggled with the same things you struggle with.
She gives a few real life examples of people who have publicly struggled with mental health: “Vincent Van Gogh, Sylvia Plath, and your favourite: Britney Spears.” They used real footage of Britney in 2007 after she shaved her head. On the one hand, this felt exploitative, but on the other hand, Britney herself posted on Instagram about how she was enjoying the show, so it's safe to assume that she didn't have a problem with this being included. There are a few other times when they use real footage like this, a clip of Charles Manson is also included which I thought was interesting. This crossover from real world into fiction is interesting, and I haven't seen much of it in a drama before. In The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed, Rue describes her withdrawal symptoms and in the depths of her depression she binge watches Love Island, which I thought was a really funny real world reference for them to include. She describes it as a "British reality show" which I'm not sure if this was for some kind of copyright reason, but I'm sure ITV would be happy to be mentioned in a massive show like Euphoria.
There isn’t a character that you necessarily root for. Viewers feel loyalty to anti-heroes like Walter White or even Dexter, but all the characters in Euphoria are flawed and frustrating. In series 1, Rue has her likeable moments, and you want her to get clean, but it’s easier said than done. I liked Jules in Series 1, but she becomes unlikeable as time goes on, especially after cheating on Rue. We learn about Jules’ trauma when she was sent to a psychiatric hospital when she was young. Her mum took her for a tour of the hospital but leaves her there. The characters are four dimensional which is more than you say for some other shows. I was surprised by the amount of nudity, but then again it’s HBO, the same network as The Sopranos and Sex and The City. There are times when nudity can serve a purpose and can contribute something to a storyline, but in Euphoria it often feels like it doesn't add anything other than a feeling of voyeurism. Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie, said she once told the director Sam Levinson "I don't really think that's necessary here". Laura Mulvey coined the term 'the male gaze', which challenged the way that women are represented onscreen.
I absolutely despise Nate Jacobs. He is the human embodiment of toxic masculinity. When he was 11, he discovered his dad's sex tapes with other men. This traumatised him, and he became obsessive with proving his heterosexuality and masculinity. When Mckay starts dating Cassie, Nate tells him, “You and I are about to take a trip down the lane of shame bro” and shows him her leaked nudes and revenge porn. Nate can't stand the fact that he's attracted to Jules because she's trans. He secretly talks to her on a dating app with the username ShyGuy118, and uses nudes she sent him (not knowing she was talking to Nate) as blackmail. He's also emotionally and physically abusive to Maddy. Cal Jacobs, Nate's dad, puts on a front that he’s a Conservative man with traditional 'family values'. In reality, he lives a second life meeting people at motels and films them without their consent. We see from flashback scenes of Mckay growing up that his dad put an immense amount of pressure on him from a young age to succeed, and taught him unhealthy coping mechanisms when he felt angry, sad, or frustrated. When Cassie visits Mckay at college, we get a glimpse of the toxic and degrading frat boy culture.
Don’t try to ruin my life. I don’t want to have to ruin yours.
Fezco is Rue’s drug dealer but he's also her friend. He's one of very few likeable characters. I'm sure I'm not the only person who's made this observation, but he really reminds me of Mac Miller. When Rue goes to Fez's house asking for drugs, he refuses to open the door to sell her anything. She tells him he has no right to take the moral high ground since he was the one who sold her the drugs to begin with. In Series 2, Trying To Get To Heaven Before They Close the Door, we are introduced to Fez's glamorous mobster grandmother, which helps to explain why he became a dealer himself.
One of the most aesthetically pleasing sequences of Series 2
One of the most unrealistic moments of Series 2 was Lexi's play. I find it hard to believe that the school would let her put on a play like that, considering some of the content (the carousel scene for example) and the fact that it was quite clearly about real people, including her own sister Cassie. Cassie was somewhat likeable in Series 1 but her character development takes a massive turn in Series 2. One of the most tense scenes of Series 2 was the bathroom scene. She becomes the ultimate Pick Me Girl. She starts waking up at 4am to get ready for school so that she can impress Nate. She thinks that she can 'save' him and can't believe that he overlooked her all the years he was with Maddy. She becomes overcome with guilt and paranoia, which is heightened when Nate tells her that Maddy will actually kill her if she ever finds out about them. Sydney Sweeney does an excellent job, her expressions were giving Florence Pugh in Midsommar (2019). She'd do really well in a horror movie or thriller.
There's a lot of really great video essays and reviews on YouTube which delve into things further. Noel Miller made some great points in 'Is Euphoria mid?' and 'Euphoria is over'. I'm interested to see how the show progresses in Series 3. I'm also looking forward to the upcoming HBO series The Idol, which will be released in 2023.
Thanks for reading 👋🏼
Comments