Looking back on my teens I kind of miss them, all the dumb drama and being so deeply involved with each other’s lives for so long. I hated it at the time, but I look back on it somewhat fondly.
That being said, I had a an extremely uneventful time as an adolescent in comparison to a lot of people I know, and when compared to something like Euphoria I feel like I didn’t even live.
After hearing a lot of controversy surrounding the acclaimed HBO series, I ventured forth into a coming-of-age story full of sex, drugs, and a whole lot of trauma.
Rue Bennett (Zendaya) is seventeen years old and fresh out of rehab after overdosing on drugs. She’s been an addict since her father died four years prior, but since befriending new girl Jules (Hunter Schafer), Rue is determined to get sober…sort of.
But Rue’s far from the only person with problems as her peers Nate (Jacob Elordi), Maddy (Alexa Demie), Lexi (Maude Apatow), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), and Kat (Barbie Ferreira) all battle with their own inner demons, and each other as they navigate their late teens.
That being said, I had a an extremely uneventful time as an adolescent in comparison to a lot of people I know, and when compared to something like Euphoria I feel like I didn’t even live.
After hearing a lot of controversy surrounding the acclaimed HBO series, I ventured forth into a coming-of-age story full of sex, drugs, and a whole lot of trauma.
Rue Bennett (Zendaya) is seventeen years old and fresh out of rehab after overdosing on drugs. She’s been an addict since her father died four years prior, but since befriending new girl Jules (Hunter Schafer), Rue is determined to get sober…sort of.
But Rue’s far from the only person with problems as her peers Nate (Jacob Elordi), Maddy (Alexa Demie), Lexi (Maude Apatow), Cassie (Sydney Sweeney), and Kat (Barbie Ferreira) all battle with their own inner demons, and each other as they navigate their late teens.
Euphoria first came onto my radar around the time the first season was ending with social media buzz for it being at an all time high, as well as it being slated for numerous awards. Initially I wrote it off and I’m not really sure why, I had no reason to, I guess maybe I thought that an angsty teen drama couldn’t possibly be a contender against the majority of other shows that it was competing against. But how wrong I was.
Watching Euphoria can best be described as being repeatedly beaten over the head with a glittery baseball bat whilst you’re subjected to intense strobe lighting and blasted with some of the most bone shattering bass I’ve heard since Michael Bay’s Transformer’s films were dominating the box office. It’s sensory overload to the max, combined with some storylines that go to some very nasty places this is absolutely a show that wants to hurt you.
But, perhaps like taking narcotics, it’s such a brutally intense trip punctuated with moments of poignant peace and clarity.
I admired that Euphoria took a radially different approach to telling its story compared to how the vast majority of TV and films do so. Each episode felt distinct, felt as though it had been crafted in its own unique way. Each episode flows into the next like you would expect of a modern serialised drama, but the style is always evolving, shifting, and especially when it focuses on different characters the world genuinely feels different from different people’s perspectives.
Euphoria also was not afraid to experiment with off the wall and unconventional episodes. One such memorable one was the penultimate episode to Season One where the whole episode is a conversation between Rue and her sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) that takes place at a table in a diner on Christmas Eve. The episode covers so much ground and reveals so much about these characters that we didn’t know, despite both of them being extremely prevalent and well fleshed out in the show up to that point already. Or the two-part finale to Season Two which is acted out as though it’s a stage play and presents areas of the story we already know from a different perspective.
All of the characters are great, and whilst the majority of them are based on cliché archetypes the show tends to find ways to make them feel fresh or take them in an unexpected direction. I would say that Season Two does let things down slightly with some characters either not evolving much beyond where they were in the first season (Maddy), forgetting they exist at all (Kat), or in the most extreme case betraying everything that had been established about that character up to that point as was the case with Ash (Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton). Everybody’s a shitty person, but no matter how bad they get it never feels like any of them are truly beyond redemption.
Watching Euphoria can best be described as being repeatedly beaten over the head with a glittery baseball bat whilst you’re subjected to intense strobe lighting and blasted with some of the most bone shattering bass I’ve heard since Michael Bay’s Transformer’s films were dominating the box office. It’s sensory overload to the max, combined with some storylines that go to some very nasty places this is absolutely a show that wants to hurt you.
But, perhaps like taking narcotics, it’s such a brutally intense trip punctuated with moments of poignant peace and clarity.
I admired that Euphoria took a radially different approach to telling its story compared to how the vast majority of TV and films do so. Each episode felt distinct, felt as though it had been crafted in its own unique way. Each episode flows into the next like you would expect of a modern serialised drama, but the style is always evolving, shifting, and especially when it focuses on different characters the world genuinely feels different from different people’s perspectives.
Euphoria also was not afraid to experiment with off the wall and unconventional episodes. One such memorable one was the penultimate episode to Season One where the whole episode is a conversation between Rue and her sponsor Ali (Colman Domingo) that takes place at a table in a diner on Christmas Eve. The episode covers so much ground and reveals so much about these characters that we didn’t know, despite both of them being extremely prevalent and well fleshed out in the show up to that point already. Or the two-part finale to Season Two which is acted out as though it’s a stage play and presents areas of the story we already know from a different perspective.
All of the characters are great, and whilst the majority of them are based on cliché archetypes the show tends to find ways to make them feel fresh or take them in an unexpected direction. I would say that Season Two does let things down slightly with some characters either not evolving much beyond where they were in the first season (Maddy), forgetting they exist at all (Kat), or in the most extreme case betraying everything that had been established about that character up to that point as was the case with Ash (Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton). Everybody’s a shitty person, but no matter how bad they get it never feels like any of them are truly beyond redemption.
What I loved most about Euphoria though was the way the show looked and sounded. The production value for this show is incredibly high, with some of the most impressive cinematography, editing, and colour grading I’ve ever seen on TV. It looks more sophisticated than a lot of big films most of the time, and I really fell head over heels with how the show looked.
The score and soundtrack were also phenomenal. Composed by Labrinth, there’s an almost ever-present rumble that I could feel in my chest that gradually builds as the scenes grow ever more dramatic, creating this truly palpable sense of anxiety that just begs for release. Music is a huge element to the show, and I really recommend watching it with the best sound system you can for two reasons. Firstly, it just sounds amazing, and it should be appreciated. But secondly and most importantly, dialogue does have an unfortunate habit of getting lost in the mix when listened to on standard stereo speakers. This is a show I would recommend watching with subtitles on for the majority of viewing setups, and whilst I would normally consider this a problem, I feel that Euphoria does it for very specific reasons that can only be understood when you’re watching it in the moment.
I had a really fantastic time with Euphoria, and whilst I think Season Two isn’t quite as refined as the first, overall, this is two of the best seasons of TV I’ve ever watched. A winning formula of an incredible story, amazing performances from everyone involved, and some outstanding audio/visual design. But Euphoria is not an easy watch, and there’s a lot of material in it that people will likely take issue with. It’s a lot, and it’s not the kind of show where you can relax whilst you watch. I really can’t wait to see where the show goes for its third season, this might be my new drug.
The score and soundtrack were also phenomenal. Composed by Labrinth, there’s an almost ever-present rumble that I could feel in my chest that gradually builds as the scenes grow ever more dramatic, creating this truly palpable sense of anxiety that just begs for release. Music is a huge element to the show, and I really recommend watching it with the best sound system you can for two reasons. Firstly, it just sounds amazing, and it should be appreciated. But secondly and most importantly, dialogue does have an unfortunate habit of getting lost in the mix when listened to on standard stereo speakers. This is a show I would recommend watching with subtitles on for the majority of viewing setups, and whilst I would normally consider this a problem, I feel that Euphoria does it for very specific reasons that can only be understood when you’re watching it in the moment.
I had a really fantastic time with Euphoria, and whilst I think Season Two isn’t quite as refined as the first, overall, this is two of the best seasons of TV I’ve ever watched. A winning formula of an incredible story, amazing performances from everyone involved, and some outstanding audio/visual design. But Euphoria is not an easy watch, and there’s a lot of material in it that people will likely take issue with. It’s a lot, and it’s not the kind of show where you can relax whilst you watch. I really can’t wait to see where the show goes for its third season, this might be my new drug.