I am a little bit disappointed you didn't do character by character like you did with Riverdale. But i respect your opinion even if i desagree with somethings. Season 2 for me the first episode was weak, it was just a shock factor. Love ep 5, my fav
I feel like the problem this show has is that it doesn’t give us enough innocence in all the chaos. I went to a high school where a lot of shit went down, we partied, did drugs, hooked up with older people, gang wars, constant fights and drama ….. we did so much wild shit, but in the same moments we would be playing man hunt, water wars (an water gun war with teams that lasted for weeks to the point people got sprayed up at work) customized our parking spaces, painted banners for pep rally’s etc. What I’m trying to say is we were still teens at the end of the day. They don’t show enough duality in the characters. They always try and make this point about how the characters are not bad or good but they always lean heavy on the bad without showing the corrupted innocence. I think season 3’s most stand out character will be Gia with her Becoming the school focused character. She has some of that corrupted innocence that the rest of the character are missing.
This is exactly the problem with the show (ESPECIALLY season two). For a show about high schoolers there is a virtually impossible lack of innocent or “normal” moments where these characters depicted to be 17-18 actually do things appropriate for 17-18 year olds.
My god, I think you hit the nail in the head because some of these things did happen at our school, most of the school year was just us being kids and learning or hanging out like normal twens
there's a video essay by some guy on youtube called "How to Suffer Well: Sympathetic Characterization in Madoka and Magical Girl Site" It compares two animes, both using heavy and dark topics, except one of them is great and the other is infamously shit. the general talking point as to why some edgy shows are considered bad is boiled down to how the show portrays said heavy topics. however, this video actually brought up a unique point that you just so happened to poke at. to write a captivating and memorable story, you absolutely must give your audience a reason to see the ending. its never a bad thing to portray suffering, but when it's nothing but suffering, and your characters are experiencing bad things for every breath they take, then it's easy to predict what will happen next. to balance that out, well written stories that handle dark topics will ALWAYS have moments of peace. not only to establish motive and hope for the characters, but for the audience, who now gets clarification on why the characters haven't just up and killed themselves at that point. well, besides the fact that its anime and this show is obviously realistically based, it might be a bit easier to believe that some peoples lives never seem to have happy moments. but at the end of the day, euphoria is a fictional show written by some dude who HAS the capability to provide balance to his characters. it doesn't become a comprehensive story; it just becomes suffering for the sake of suffering, and if that's what this show is all about, im baffled as to why fans are excited for a season 3. what do they think is going to happen? they'll suddenly all find god and grow up to become model citizens? maybe they're subconsciously aware that the writing is so loose and distant that the main character, who's been suffering with an addiction this whole time, could just suddenly wake up and decides she'll stop being an addict.
I agree so much with your statement! I also grew up in a crowd that partied, drank, and smoked at the age of 14-18. (Minus drugs though) But we had as many goofy, silly, happy times as we had dark times. That teenage time is so full of duality. Seemingly all at once, we encountered so many new emotions and feelings. Yet, we were still children at heart.
"I'm not a spokesperson for your thoughts" is something everyone who watches youtube or consumes commentating content (including me) needs to hear and internalize, feel free to say it as many times as you need to
@@Digdigi no! That is not the point, I think. I mean, sure, you can dislike and leave of course, but I think the point is also to not think of content creators as a spokesperson for you, that you have to agree with 100%. So I guess two lessons: - youtubers are real people with complex thoughts, not spokespeople - we don't always have to agree on everything and that is just fine
I just love how Rue actually flees from the police who SEE her face, past several people who SEE her face, and then nothing ever comes of it. All the property damage she caused, THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT SHE CAUSED, the police never attempt to find her, it’s just… gone. Edit: For people saying this is normal in their places, I should also mention Rue took and lost 10K worth of drugs too. Laurie even already tried to sell Rue into sex trafficking but she escaped and… nothing ever comes of it. I don’t think people just let that kind of stuff go. I hope Rue actually has to deal with this stuff in season 3 and it’s not just swept under the rug.
Yeah I thought the same thing about that as well! Like getting out of the car in the middle of the road and causing all those accidents, then robbing somebody's home, then getting chased by the police (while in withdrawals mind you! Which coming from an recovering addict myself, I couldn't run from the cops on my BEST day let alone while in HORRIBLE withdrawals! Thought that was worth mentioning!) and causing all the damage she did on that police chase and using up police resources that she would at least have a warrant out for her arrest! But nope! Sam just glosses right over that as well! I've gotten charges for WAY less things than what Rue did!
I reeeally wish they made Kat being a victim more obvious because clearly people are taking it WAY the wrong way. And in the show itself, I felt like it was played off as her being a "Girlboss" and "powerful" for "owning her sexuality". Which sure, it *would* be that... if she were in college and not a highschooler. She's underage and becoming a sex worker and being abused by older guys. It's uncomfortable, and yet the "badass walking away with a smirk" scenes make it seem like that's super cool and badass of you. I just wish it was more obvious that that's damaging, especially to a highschooler's mind. That's not how you get into a healthy relationship with your own sexuality.
Imo it was pretty obvious, but people just still missed the point due to their own preconceptions about “empowerment” or whatever. I guess they could’ve made it more obvious, but it doesn’t make it a worse show that they didn’t. The show doesn’t like to over explain, but I guess some viewers require more explaining than others. They’re catering to the people who don’t need over explaining and can pick up on their messages, but the people who do need more over e planning are still watching the show and end up not getting it. Tough thing to solve- do you over explain and decrease the quality of your show but ensure every single person understands it? Or do you not over explain so that your show is better for those who get it, while leaving those who don’t to get the wrong message. Idk. But either way, people shouldn’t be letting their 13 year old kids watch this shit.
as someone who is currently 17 and has made that mistake a few times before, thank you for saying this. it’s fucking TRAUMATIZING, not exaggerating or joking, i feel so disgusting when i remember those times, and i’m sure that out of the many, many teenage girls who’ve also done the same thing, plenty of them feel similarly to me. edit: i did not sell myself out for sex or engage in prostitution, everything was online and for the most part anonymous, but it led to me being paranoid about someone finding out about it for months
@@user9180 I dont know how they're gonna write his character off man, he had that cliffhanger ending that we'll most likely never get to find out. Obviously a tv show is meaningless compared to his loss of life for his family but I can't help but think about how no one is gonna be able to replace his role and we'll never see him get with Lexi now 😭 I hope they don't unalive his character for shock in S3. I hope Sam chills and gives him a proper send off for the character to the best of their ability.
@@litneyloxan I don't care about the Lexi connection, but I seriously don't think I'll keep watching this show without Fez. And how would they "unalive" his character? It's just so awful that the cliffhanger was mostly about "is Fez alive? What's going to happen to him?" And now there is no Fez. Period.
@@litneyloxan Firstly, did you uninronically say "unalive"? Secondly, they're going to have to kill off Angus' character. He had gotten shot at the end of Season 2 after all. They can just say that he died from his injuries!
I think you're right about the sexual aspects - it being uncomfortable does make it weirder. I think it would be hard to watch even if they were adults. Sydney Sweeney's oversexualization is particularly egregious to me and her nudity is an example of it crossing the line into being for the viewer's pleasure rather than just portraying realistic sex between teen characters. It bothered me a lot and made me feel gross for watching the show.
That’s a really good point!! I don’t mind media that portrays the sex lives of teenagers, but if it’s portrayed in a way that meant to be received by adult vetoes as sexy or erotic, THATS an issue.
That there were multiple incidents of Sam writing in nudity, getting pushback, and immediately dropping it per the actor's request make me think he wrote that shit in just to see how far he could push it. But bc we're in the 2020s and the age of social media and accountability (to an extent), he wasn't about to behave like a 1930s studio head and threaten someone's career over their refusal to be sexualised and objectified. It just makes him seem that much creepier in my opinion; he'll do his best to get away with as much as possible without pushback. And that's kinda scary.
@@thecavalieryouth thing is one of the actresses actually has said she doesn't have as much choice to deny sexual scenes as Zendaya and has said she feels uncomfortable with the amount of sex scenes.
I mind. If you know teens are having sex why do you need to see it? We knew that Elliot and Jules fucked without seeing it. So why are sex scenes for teens okay to you?
@@justine4581 are you referring to the actress who plays Faye? Bc I read that about her. It makes it seem like Sam was taking advantage of her bc she was/is a sex worker, so in theory (in his mind) she wouldn't have any issues with nudity.
One of the biggest problem with Euphoria is Sam Levinson and his refusal to get a writing team. He writes it all himself and you can tell I think he would greatly benefit from having more than just himself in a room.
He definitely needs a few more writers or at least some people to bounce around some ideas for him because I think he's way to far up his own ass sometimes. I'm really upset he screwed up Kat's story line just because Barbie didn't feel comfortable with the eating disorder story line. I mean actors/actresses should have boundaries as well and not allow anybody to push them either. I mean I understand that writers/directors have "a vision" of their story but sometimes if you take things to far, it really makes the actors/actresses uncomfortable playing that role and it causes tension on set and you don't want that and I think that's just ONE of the reasons season 2 fell flat for me. A lot of unresolved story lines as well which really pissed me off!
In Retrospect, from a story perspective you are 100% right especially about season 2. It's so easy to get swept into the performances and cinematography. Hopefully season 3 is better
I’m really hoping they will write season 3 thinking of season 2 as build-up, it would still not make it up completely but at least it would give it the significance it desperately needs
I cannot say that there is much of any way that season 3 can be anything but a train wreck. They treat the characters so badly. They legitimately cut Kat out because her actress refused to do a Eating disorder arc, which is totally fair. The show is at this point a creepy collection of Sam treating characters who are underage to do gross and toxic things.
This show is stripping itself down to what I call bare bones reality time artistic shit.. the reason big setups never "GO ANYWHERE" is because they're not sposed to We've been CONDITIONED to watch shows where every moment LEADS to some big conclusion or ties into something theres even a sitcom/drama/movie language we all are accustomed to IRL.. shit just happens. assholes get beat up junkies go on crazy temple runs &girls become webcam/wattpad influencers then get bigheaded &fall off outa nowhere etc etc then once we've clicked away from that tweet/story/link we never hear about them again. Sometimes there's consequences.. mostly there ain't Cause no one gives a fuck Because THATS the life we live now.. shit just happens &we try to make sense of all this data but mostly we never really do &That's ok 🤷🏾♂️
@@FrancisFabricates that's a lie. the (racist) actress herself even clarified it had nothing to do with that. Hell shes even scrambling because the disagreement started when she demanded as much creative control as zendaya &hunter.. Levinson said no.. so she stormed off set &cost them like half a million dollars.. so alot of workarounds had to happen &the execs told Sam to cut some of her scenes (which were superfluous anyways) in favour of expanding on the play
I’m a former drug addict myself and I found your explanation on why this is a realist depiction spot on. When I was high i was the happiest I ever been however the pain and pure trauma from my experiences will never made the high worth it. I found this show so accurate that I honestly got triggered and had to stop watching because I was getting flashbacks and urges. Take this show for what it is but I think at least season 1 is very raw and true. Also The cinematography is some of the best I ever seen ever right next to breaking bad. Edit: season 2 is terrible though
Not a drug addict, but an alcoholic and I know 100 PERCENT what you mean, extremely uncomfortable to see, it had the right idea really, just poor execution of many fronts esp in s2
I struggled with opiate addicton and tbh I only think certain aspects are realistic. Like, it doesn't make sense that her mom didn't want rue to go to rehab and how she miraculously just stayed clean without struggling too much. Relapses are often part of recovery. I also don't like how they don't show even if you just try to use once and a while, for some all it takes is one use to become a daily user.
User of that White Girl. OR Blow. ONE OF THE ONLY FEW THINGS I can recall is the unsolved murder of my first uncle and the many trips of actually having to take my mother on pill buying trips on a daily basis and maybe that one time my friends rottweiler bit me in the arm. I still remember pieces of his blood all over the clothes because we live on an Indian reservation and the tribal police just suck. Besides all that sort of bs that haunts me in one form or the other? All I can really recall is the lit-up energy numness and adrenaline of false confidence that comes along with the tinnitus sound in my ears after spelling out my initials which prophetically spells out NB. Yeah, because that's what everyone needs. IS ALL OF US TYPE OF PEOPLE SPREADING THEIR SOB STORY, RIGHT?.....
I'm an alcoholic and I completely agree. When I'm drunk it's the happiest I ever am, I enjoy things, I have the motivation to pursue hobbies, but its also when I am the most numb. I feel nothing. Since becoming sober, I have to actually FEEL things again. That's the part about addiction I feel like is never really talked about. The numbness. And when sober, having to actually feel things, so it hits you like a freight train, almost forcing you to use/drink
@@liampatrick3110 Yea Rick Riordan has truly lost the plot, his earlier book series felt so genuine and straightforward. Now they feel so disingenuous, like he's looking at other modern book series and trying to replicate what they have, failing in the process.
I find it so ironic that for a show that always encourages it's audience to NOT categorise its characters as good or bad, they forever argue about whether characters are good or bad😂
Seriously! I just wrote a similar comment. It's so exhausting lol. I think a lot of the audience is younger, a bit too young to fully understand the nuance at all.
I mean.. the show clearly wanted you to think Cassie was bad this season. Had her get humiliated on stage and beaten up and the show just glossed over her VERY REAL problems with the play.
@@YourBlackLocal At the same time, they made Cassie raise valid points when she got up to that stage. I'm not sure it's (entirely) the writers fault people choose not to see the nuance. The audience just sees Lexie like she's perfect even though she was being a egomaniac bitch exposing people (especially her sister) like that. While I understand her show could have been presented in a more nuanced manner (in order to make people wonder and reflect more about everything rather than just scream SLAAAY cheering for her and that dude who played multiple parts) I still managed to see it with critical eyes, so other people could have done the same. Sometimes I almost feel the producers are expecting too much of their audience. Like when Maddie was toxic as fuck with Nate in the bathtub scene and everyone, again, just screamed YAS KWEEN SLAAAY. I honestly don't think that's what they were going for. Maddie was better this season but there were moments when she was bad and people totally "slept" on them - maybe because they hate people she's being bad to, which technically should be no excuse.
one of the best stories last season was kat’s story and jules special episode was one of the best episodes. so seeing kat and jules literally not do anything this season was what made this season lack
@@ayanda6208 Because she's like a 16 years old exposing herself to older guys on the internet, maybe? Because that's not really who she was, as she soon realized? It was awkward.
@@ayanda6208 felt too disconnected from the rest of the show and after watching season 2 I disliked it more cause it didn’t have an affect on the rest of the story. I understand why it’s there but just wasn’t enjoyable to me in the slightest especially when compared to the other stories
The “trying to justify the mediocrity of your show by arguing the show runner is secretly a genius and has some grand plan” reminded me so much of the Sherlock fandom
This is so funny to me because I was a fan but not in the fandom exactly (and I don't think I'd like it if I rewatched it) and when it ended I was like 'that was really shit' and mad at the waste of time for a bit, but didn't think about it after a while, and I had NO idea there was this whole... thing going on until recently
I really loved the little short sotires about each characters at the beginning...it's literally my favorite part of the entire show cause backstories are always my favorite kind of stories
I can’t get over how many people have basically said “Noooo the writing for Cassie hasn’t been a misogynistic mess!! Levinson *intentionally* made her into a laughing stock caricature of a hysterical woman (who receives zero care from anyone in-series) because she had an ab0rtion!!”
Yeah, but that's because most people don't share your particular political sensibilities. Because they are not fucking 12 and watch the media to form opinions.
Listen, Im not saying whatever his name is didn't write some misogynistic shit bht abortions can mess someone up emotionally and Cassie wasn't written as an emotionally strong person from the beginning - so something as serious as an abortion can affect people in different ways and honestly I believe is what made her so emotionally vulnerable to Nate (not excusing). Also, people weren't sympathetic to her because she slept with her best friends abusive - something she knew about - ex-boyfriend behind her back, which is wrong for many reasons. I'm pretty sure not many knew about the abortion
this!! i wish people had more sympathy for cassie, but i don’t blame people for not doing that because at the end of the day, sam did not write season 2 cassie in a way that would make it easy for audiences to sympathize with her. but i’m still rooting for her. she will get over her addiction to male validation ✊
thing is, he has good ideas, and i really think season 2 could have been really good had they let someone else in the writers room to put a stop to some of his bs and help him resolve the things he sets up, hopefully season 3 gets a more diverse group of writers and can be actually good
True, he should have had at least a cowriter or two in the writer's room this season. The oversexualistion of certain characters, especially Cassie, is so uncomfortable to watch, especially since Sydney Sweeney wasn't entirely comfortable with Cassie's nude scenes, to the extent that she had some cut.
As my husband says, this show is "character-driven" not "plot-driven." The deep dives into the characters in the beginning of episodes is interesting. You are correct; this show feels like a long-form music video (with good music). But this show feels like a "trauma dump" the way Degrassi did. It has to feature every single horrible thing that can possibly happen to people, ranging from drugs, to mental illness, abuse, etc.
as someone who typically gravitates more towards so--called 'character-driven' stories, I don't personally see euphoria as one. Maybe the 1st season, and definitely the 2 special episodes (which I really loved), but this 2nd season seemed to be more aesthetic-driven if anything. Many characters prominantly featured in s1 with promising arcs were completely dropped and I feel like some dropped down to being more cliche than fully realized character (or just suddenly absent lmao)
@@BooksRebound That definitely sounds like trauma-dumping 😅 I've read books with a lot of serious content, and what I always look for is: how does the trauma serve the narrative? Is is merely for shock value, or is there any philosophical value? Does it even make sense in context? Is it based on a true story? I feel like trauma-dumping is often mistaken for "true drama," with all its serious, depressing elements, but rarely do critics look under the hood and question the purpose. It becomes a contest of "who can throw the most trauma into the narrative."
The show may seem trauma dumping. Because the characters experience a lot of trauma in the show. If you have any triggers I suggest you don't watch Euphoria. But they handle most of these issues with tact. Mainly in the first season. We watch the characters backstories and understand why they act the way they do. And the harsh realities of the issues that they face. And how it impacts them emotionally and mentally. I'm able to relate to some of the characters on the show. And I know people like them in real life. I know other fans who can relate to the characters too.
I went to a high school in a wealthier area that was almost 100% white - like the city I grew up in is actually in the top 10 LEAST diverse cities in the entire US - and I knew students that were just as messy and tragic as the Euphoria kids. It was horribly sad. There was a boy in my grade that died of an overdose in front of his mother and aunt because they were the ones that gave him the heroin and were high themselves. That's just one example of the really bad and surreal things I knew some students were going through. That said, no high schooler should be watching this lol.
I also grew up in a wealthy area that was VERY white. (Literally the last census said that 1% of the population was not white.) My brother witnessed a kid OD in the lunch room of the high school. A kid I rode the bus with was arrested for kidnapping/assault/attempted murder. You're absolutely right. Teens don't need to be watching this. And I'm completely heartbroken that teens experience things like this.
America is over-medicated and the amount of people who can supposedly relate to messed up depictions of teen life should not be celebrated. Me living in a "third world country", I've never heard of anyone dying of an overdose or more than 4-6 people out of a total of 200 on my grade who did any kind of drugs and even then no one was a dysfunctional drug addict. It was just so normal, like most people actually studied and cared about their grades and almost all of them didn't do anything overly self-destructive. My perception of American highschoolers are dysfunctional people who disrespect adults for no reason and most don't bother to learn. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
i didn't necessary attend a highschool in a weathier area but i did attend a pretty well known perdominately white art school and the ammount of kids who acted like rue and cassie was extremly high.
@@elly6671 No, I'm saying Euphoria takes place in a diverse school in LA where the poverty rate is extremely high. People often have the impression that only these poor, inner city, diverse schools are filled with drug addicts and child prostitutes. I was just pointing out that that's not true in my experience, and that these same issues crop up even in wealthy white areas.
Something that Skins did amazingly, was having very young/Teen writers in the show, you can still find their interviews on YT of them breaking down the scenes and the logic it went behind storylines. I was the same age as the characters when it aired, and it felt super relatable, yeah there were very intense storylines (specially with Gen 2) but it felt really raw and truthful with some embellishment. It wasn't as polished, but it was part of its charm. Euphoria is very obvious about having grown-ass adults behind the scenes, so it adds to the ick factor. You can't shake the feeling that it's a grown-ass man writing and directing all of this. And as a lot of people have said, it forgets about the good parts of being a teen, Skins was angsty AF, but it was also extremely silly, there was a lot of joy and earnestness.
Yeah... I often wonder, "Who is this show for?" Teenagers shouldn't be watching it... and adults can't really connect with it... I mean... has anyone checked Sam Levinson's internet browsing history? Dude also wrote "The Idol"...
When Kat slept with that dude at the carnival, I was horrified. And watching Rue's struggle in season 2 was scary honestly. The fight with her family was something
And then she bragged about it to that creep online 🤢🤮 I actually liked Rue's blowup because it was real. Yes there was more to it than getting her next fix but if she hadn't been so strung out she could've communicated with her mom better about why losing the drugs was a dangerous choice. Real addicts aren't rational, real addicts scare their families with their desperation and rage.
kat could've had a strong storyline in this season. that 'influencer and confidence' scene was solid and they could have done so much with it. and this is coming from someone who has severe body image issues
Right? There was so much space for her to have so much happen. I expected her to be outed at a sex worker and have to speak about it. To have to face her trauma and to grow from that too. Sam all but erasing her needs to be a bigger issue. Because it shows that Sam doesn’t see plus sized women as actual humans unless they are taking part in the narrative he wants for them. Which is disgusting
Apparently they were going to give Kat an eating disorder this season, but the actress refused to portray that, so Sam Levinson basically just cut her from the season. Edit: lmao wrote this before I watched the end of the vid haha
I know right? This scene gave me so much hope for good storyline but then it doesn’t go anyware. And Kat is basically an extra. I also think it’s much more intresting if Kat’s problem in relationship would come from her not loving herself still and having problem accepting someone else to love her. But instead it’s just over cause it’s over. And don’t even get me started on their break up scene and the brain cancer thing….
@@meowv34 The first 2 episodes really set up that Jules, Kat, Maddy and BB(I think that's her name I dunno) were gonna have more time together but then like they barely ever spoke to each other it was frustrating. Maddy/Kat called Jules up to hang out with them at the bowling alley (where Ethan was third-wheeling poor thing) but then Jules was nowhere to be seen at Maddy's birthday??? Like they were both victims of Nate and Jules and Kat could have been an interesting dynamic to see but then nothing happened like what
@@isobel_mary dude if you don’t even know what you’re talking about don’t talk about it. That’s not true, stop spreading rumors. Her actress already spoke on it 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ y’all dumb fr
Sam Levinson’s work (mainly Euphoria, Malcom & Marie, and Assassination Nation) seems too preoccupied with portraying young women in dark, exploitative, and sexual situations. He seems to have a kink for writing them as helpless victims who need saving. Sam has no firsthand knowledge of the teen girl experience so why is that the demographic he’s writing about the most (and not giving his characters the complexity, nuance, and agency they deserve)?
And ppl are forgetting that this was the same issue in season 1. Season 1 is only slightly better than season 2 in my opinion. Maddy sleeping with a grown man at 15 but she was the one "in charge"? Kat becoming a sex worker as a way to "empower" her? Wtf..
@@pussydestroyer69285 exactly! Any decent writer would explore how those situations fucked with their heads but instead Maddy and Kat get written off as empowered and then ignored for other storylines.
i mean some particular type of characters are more appealing for people to write. Why do you have to always take it in a bad dierection and accuse the person?
@@aswatik387 uh, because its a 30+ year old man putting teens in sexually explicit and vulnerable situations, SPECIFICALLY. read what you said again and think of an excuse as to why he finds that 'appealing' to write that isnt skeezy....
i feel genuinely bad for the people who replied to that post like "might have to unsubscribe if I disagree" like? commentary channels are not for agreeing with every point. it's to hear someone's viewpoint, to challenge your own, or to just listen. how is someone so *obsessed* with a TV show that some guy's opinion on it matters THAT much? it's wild. to anyone replying to this saying i’m making a big deal out of people unsubscribing: YOU MISSED THE POINT. where is your reading comprehension?
I love this guy but I feel like he doesn't always explain his points well. He mentions something he doesn't like and leaves it there. For instance, HOW was Cassie ruined as a character? I know WHY she was written this way. Because of her daddy issues, she becomes obsessed more than ever on getting attention from men knowing full well how terrible of a person Nate is. Other than that, Season 2 WAS not very good. Also, on another video, I personally thought it was harsh he didn't even try to find anything positive to say about Supergirl. And that he missed out on Season 3 and 4.
As hard as it sounds, the scene of Maddy and Nate where he brings out the gun made a lot of sense to me (and hit me really hard). In an abusive relationship fear and power are essential. So if you think about it, a gun is the perfect depiction of those aspects. Maddy is a strong character and he knows even tho she probably still loves him, he betrayed her. He is aware he wont be able to manipulate her anymore. So to bring back that power he threatens not only her, but himself (someone that she cant help but love). And finally stating that it was a joke and telling her to stop crying serves to belittle her even more. As a “you’re crazy to believe I was capable of that”. He could have used any form of violence or item to scare her (like a knife of some sort or physical violence) , but a gun works perfectly because it allows him to turn the gun to himself with the added perk of knowing it’s not loaded. He has control. Finally the fact that there seems to be no consequence of that action is also reasonable. We have to remember Maddy has been abused. And victims of abuse more often than not refuse to talk about it. More over, her best friend, someone she trusted and knows everything she went through is WITH her abuser so… idk it makes sense to me.
I don't have a problem with shows acknowledging teens and their sexualities. That's just a fact of life. I do, however, get uncomfortable when this show and others like it display scenes that would not be allowed to air if they had used actual teenagers to portray the characters. Yes, teens have plenty of sex, but I really don't think we have to *watch* it happen. I've heard way too much about TV writers and producers using their shows as a way to get their sick kicks to believe they have no motives beyond accurate representation. I dunnow, maybe I'm just jaded?
No, I think you’re exactly right. Sam Levinson’s portrayal of teen girls is really gross to me. Feels like he’s fetishizing most of the time and using “art” as an excuse. Especially the way Sydney is portrayed in season 2- just really gross. Not sure if I can watch anymore.
This is the thing about HBO shows: the nudity, violence and beautiful aesthetics will naturally attract an audience who are either too young to understand the nuance of the stories involved, or those who straight up don't care and need a hit of emotional release through soap opera drama. Game of Thrones & now Euphoria have experienced this phenomena where the complexities of the stories being told, which are character-based and show so much promise, are increasingly overshadowed by visual storytelling and the emotion is lost. Although, it looks like Euphoria got to that place a lot quicker than Game of Thrones.
@@srizaghosh4474 Exactly. Let's not give them praises they don't deserve. A decent adaptation is the LEAST result a writing team for television must reach when adapting a book. Actually obtaining good results from the adaptation and correctly using the new medium is step up.
To be fair, Game of Thrones going to shit wasn't really the fault of the show writers. George R.R. Martin gave the writers his original intended ending for the series and then decided to change his mind about ending the books that way because everybody hated it in the show LOL. So the show became a kind of guinea pig.
The way Jules was written this season brings me so much disappointment. Especially because her special episode is fucking amazing and omg I was so excited to see Jules exploring femininity on her own terms but nope. We got the weird Elliot and Jules thing. SO UPSET.
Yeah, I expected her to have developed throughout all of season 2, but nope. The way they broke up Rue and Jules, by adding a man in between a lesbian relationship felt enraging to me. I just wish Sam left that tired trope to die, because it's such a bad and tired thing to make a guy come between them. Someone bring Hunter to write her character or this show will plummet more in season 3.
@@captainbeastwinger4940 I'm referring to her special episode. She states in the episode that the only reason she thought she liked men and hooked up with them was because as a Trans person she thought that was the way she could as she put it 'conquer femininity'. And the episode ends with her coming to terms with her realizing that she doesn't like men.
I never thought that euphoria glamorizes drug use. But from an outsider perspective I always kinda thought that it glamourized that detached, ulterior motive type of sex you mentioned. The overwhelming sentiment that I remember encountering from young fans was that Kat and Maddy were cool girlbosses for the way they used sex and sex work. And I do think that, Maddy especially is protrayed as very very cool, like all the time, which makes the way she uses sex seem cool and aspirational. It really feels llike encouraging young girls to enter into sexual situations they don't enjoy with the idea that they can acheive other things through those situations
This! 100% this! People call the sex in euphoria “realistic” but most people (especially teens) aren’t using sex as some 4D chess move, they’re doing it because they’re horny and sex is fun!
This show suffers from the same problem as "Stranger Things", in my opinion, in that they've introduced so many new characters, that previously important ones have ended up on the back burner. Jules and Kat suffer from this the most, with Kat being lucky if she got a line in an episode. This is due to Barbie objecting to Kat's proposed eating disorder storylines.
@Ks In Season 2, they added Max and Billy. They were alright characters, but didn't really feel necessary at times. However, by Season 3, with the addition of Robin and Erica, the cast feels more crowded, with Will, Lucas and Jonathan being pushed to the side to focus on other storylines. Will even had an interesting storyline about not wanting to grow up, while his pals are distracted by their girlfriends, but that gets forgotten about halfway through the season.
this problem with Euphoria stems from the fact that Sam Levinson is the only writer of the show. He would really benefit from some help to handle all of those storylines
@@trinaq well at least Stranger Things doesn’t have it as nearly as bad as Euphoria. They do the whole balancing a large cast thing better, at least imo
I'm sorry but, what new characters were introduced in Euphoria? Apart from Elliott, whose main service to the plot was to break Jules & Rue up by revealing Rue's using again, there wasn't anyone. Faye? She served her purpose and wasn't anyone that we knew any more than we needed to. The main cast were still the same, the only difference was that Sam just didn't bother to write for half of them.
i completely agree with how they threw away the cassie-mckay relationship out the window. it truly needed more explanation as to why they ended things so "abruptly" since they were only together for 5 minutes. cassie got an abortion, which is totally something that truly messes up with someone's head and body, and the way that they never addressed it properly was very confusing. she only said "i don't think i'm a good person," but she already made out with nate in a bathroom 5 minutes before that, so they expect the audience to completely forget about her last moments in s1. after they got rid of mckay, like you said, they made cassie to be nate's puppet, also completely ignoring the fact that she went through something very traumatic. big big Big plot hole there. like you said, a lot of the things in s2 happened "off-screen," and this was one of them
I wish they actually had a normal arc where it shows a woman getting an abortion and not caring. Seeing it as just what it’s meant to be and protecting their livelihood as well as the good for the unborn child.
I think the reason McKay and Cassie broke up was because the abortion it’s implied a little because McKay said he wasn’t ready but Cassie wanted to think idk and the abortion I feel like Sam didn’t want to adress it normally instead he took her abortion and took that into s2 and made her crazy because an abortion and the breakup made her like want someone to love her and kinda crazy I feel like she just wants someone to love her also mckays actor didn’t want to do euphoria anymore so
@@sweetreon7916 McKay actor didn't quit. He was written off and didn't know why. It was stated in the video. There is an article that explains it. Daily beast article on mckay . The actor said he doesn't know why he was written off. Also I think we are to believe mckay and Cassie broke up because of the abortion but the show contributed it to them being in different places. In their last scene together, the abortion is not even allured to at all. Her abortion was never mentioned ever. It's was like it never happened. We can also assume Cassie is going crazy because of the abortion but again the show chalks her insanity to her daddy issues.
Not only that but she didn’t even get held accountable for cheating, and they never addressed why mckay was there. Then they thought away mckays character who’s far more subtle and actually has many struggles many boys have said to relate to.
I just don’t get how someone can build up a second season so perfectly, only to then take literally everything into an entirely different direction? like you had the tape, the abortion, kat + ethan being together, the ending at the train station and the druglord at fez‘ house and then you have maddy give the tape back (holding onto it while being friends with jules, how was that not a storyline?), cassie immediately getting with nate for no apparent reason except drama + shock value, kat and ethan just doing nothing before ultimately breaking up (I will NEVER get over what they did to my girl), rue and jules getting back together within the first episode and ash just killing the guy with almost no consequences (in the beginning). so basically an entirely new clean slate and THIS is what you do with that?
Rewatching the show and finding this commentary years later but I can say, or speculate that Cassie, still reeling from the abortion, and Mckay, Nate just filled the void for Cassie. If it wasn't Nate, it would have been another guy. Nate became a perfect storm to illustrate Cassie's trauma, descent, vice for male attention trumped her friendship with Maddy--she showed some guilt during the bathtub scene but I feel llke more fear, the getting caught rather then losing her best friend--with the exception of her word vomit and actual vomit. I want justice for thunder Kitkat so bad. The sex work gave Kat this false sense of confidence and security---it became her entire personality and we watched her de-evolve, revert back to her "former self" and questioning this relationship with Ethan because she is so unsure of herself/who she is. That's all we saw of her this season. I'm fuzzy on the details though if I recall, Sam wanted to explore an eating disorder plot. I expected way more for her...I'm getting back into screenwriting and hoping to flesh out a story for her.
Cassie was definitely the most unrecognizable in season 2 as many have already pointed out. She went from being this soft spoken, naive but kind girl to some spineless, always yelling psycho in the span of a few weeks (winter dance to new years). Someone said that Sam has seemed to have found his "muse" in Sydney Sweeney and it's incredibly apparent when 80% of the show was centered around her. What's odd though is that for how much the show showcases Cassie (and her boobs) it does so little to actually explain *why* she makes the decisions she does regarding Nate. Episode 1, they have a normal conversation, get in his car and then she's taking off her panties unprovoked. *She* initiated their entire "relationship" with that move and it is *never* explained why. It seems like she legitimately loses any sense of self when in season 1, although she was incredibly naive at times, she did have some backbone (her arguing with Mckay at the carnival after he tried to play her in front of Nate). Nate and Cassie are almost always shown having sex or arguing about Maddy (disregarding Nates fantasies about her). Never talking about their "feelings" for each other. They never show *what* it it that makes her choose Nate and why she was so easily and willing to throw her friendship with Maddy away.
Well I mean they kinda do hint at the fact that she has daddy issues which resulted her need for receiving validation from men, she never had a proper fatherly/men figure in her life so she's striving to find that in someone else (don't know why she thought she would find that in Nate...but she loves to be loved so they say 🤷♀️). But I do agree that her character change and progression was quite drastic, they should've been more direct and explicit with her reasons rather than just hinting at it. This season was a mess overall, so many missed opportunities 🤦♀️
@@lunazen8661 that's the problem though, they only ever hinted at that. they did not take the time to fully explore why she was in this relationship with nate in a deeper way. the show never goes inside her head or bothers to really give cassie any sort of self reflection. so it feels so disconnected from season 1 cassie, and has no relevance to her character at that point.
@@chaaaargh Yeah I definitely agree! They made the focus solely on Nate's feeling whilst they were painting her as the villain. Not giving the audience any perspective or reasoning on why she was behaving like that. A quick narration from Rue explaining "why" and her "feelings" could've fixed that, cuz all of these characters are supposed to be very grey (neither good or bad), but they just made Cassie out to be the "bad" guy this season when it's obvious that she has internal struggles that needed to be explored. Its a shame.
It 100% feels like Cassie’s scenes / arc this season were meant to be Jules & Maddy’s. The Nate/Jules plot specifically. But I also can’t help but notice the show abruptly gave Cassie all of Maddy’s negative characteristics (with an added tone of “she’s so pathetic!! Let’s laugh at her and hope she gets beaten up!!” In the writing that was NOT there with Maddy) which are all gone from Maddy with zero actual development to justify this change in either of them. Most of Cassie’s scenes would make more sense if it were Maddy or Jules….
@@Movieslurge2 I agree, that theory lowkey makes sense considering that Jules and Nate did had a relationship dynamic that was never explored this season even tho it was built up in season 1. It also would've made more sense for Maddy to then have the tape. She could've used it as a way to threaten them or get revenge. The fact that she just gave it to Nate at the end of this season ruined the purpose as to why she had it in the first place. Why let her have the tape just for him to get it back ??? That storyline was so anticlimactic.
the thing about the show that bothers me the most is the way it sexualizes female bodies and lesbian relationships and then tries to frame it as subversive. showing naked female teenage characters for no reason will never be subversive, its just shock value built on exploitation. and the way this objectification of women bleeds into the lesbian characters is beyond gross.. the way jules said multiple times that she didnt like men and had an entire episode where compulsory heterosexuality was a main focus yet then SLEPT WITH A MAN ???? its beyond disgusting, bad writing is one thing but enforcing fetishistic oppression of marginalized groups in a generation defining show has astronomical consequences.
omg i didnt even think abt how her sleeping with a man literally aftering saying she isn't interested in them is like,,, the direct male fantasy of a lesbian... that's so gross
@@FA-cm3bu yep. and its made even worse with the scene of elliot saying rue and jules were playing "lesbian power games" with him and the very deliberate choice to play a song about a man in a lesbian bar in a scene of elliot jules and rue. thats what really cemented it as intentionally lesbophobic writing rather than just bad, accidentally offensive writing for me.
@@maddieatkinson1527 there are so many movies of those movies where the opposite of those things happen. I know the minority and all that but common its a scene in the storyline and not some social commentry. You may not like it but taking offence in a storyline is whole different dimension. If it is like that then don't also shout on countries that ban gay scenes. And what does "enforcing fetishistic oppression of marginalized groups in a generation defining show has astronomical consequences." mean?? You only care about it because it got popular, right? Its audience who makes something generational so shout out to viewers like you.
@@aswatik387 what?? men "turning" lesbians is a extremely common trope in media and its an attitude present in real life too. and yes it would matter regardless of popularity but its popularity makes it worse because more people are seeing it and not enough people are being critical about it. and im not a viewer, i stopped watching the show as soon as they had a lesbian sleep with a man. dont try to lecture an actual lesbian on how were portrayed in media when i deal with the consequences of this bs every single day. i couldnt even fit all the disgusting things men have said to me and lesbians i know in this youtube comment. how marginalized groups are represented in media MATTERS, media is a reflection of reality and media in turn can affect reality.
THANK YOU! as a lesbian myself it really grossed me out how jules' entire special episode centered her realizing she didnt like men, she liked the attention they gave her because it gave her a warped sense of validity in her womanhood and was trying to please them and VERBALLY saying she was no longer interested in men anymore... only to cheat on rue with elliot (one of the characters who not only slut shamed her, but didnt believe her when she said she didnt like men and planted the seeds of chaos between their relationship). Like sam idk what the fuck youre doing but thats not a good message to send at ALL
Season 2 just doesnt have any consequences to the actions which makes their behaviour and actions a bit more acceptable to the audience. Whilst season 1 has consequences thats where the glorfication comes into play. Even the darker moments in season 2 were shot beautifully but Rue had no real consequneces of losing the suitcase. The same with Jules cheating on rue and the cassie and nate situation. Yes we had a brief fight between maddie and cassie but like that completely went back on the character development of Maddie in season 2. There was zero consistency and too many stories and scenes that last no longer than 5 minutes making it feel messy. The issue with the nudity especially with season 2 is that it was mostly cassie and mostly when she was crying or being horribly manipulated. Nudity can be implied and doesnt always have to be seen on screen to be realised like yeah they were fucking of course shes nude. I feel betrayed because we got zero Jules which we were told we were getting in the Jules special ep. Season 1 had consistency and didnt leave all loose ends but was still able to have cliffhangers whilst season 2 was just zero finsihing to the story. Sam loves to insert himself to his work ie in Malcolm and Marie but also with Rue and Lexi in euphoria. Season 1 had years of this man writing so how can he expect a whole season written only be himself to be anywhere close to season 1. Season 2 felt like a fan made season. Theres no other way to explain it. I really enjoyed season 1 but non of the characters were recognisable so I didnt feel the conection i felt in season 1. They really thought the coolest thing they did was maddie and nate getting together but theres no end to it- he storms off and thats it they "break up"?? idk cos its not explained well ahh just so frustrating and I have no hope for season3 unless Sam gets other writers in the writers room.
I can see your point but how about this? Cal is arrested.. Fez and Ash’s season 2 story has consequences. Rue almost losing Ali was consequential plus her story with Laurie is not done yet. Maddy’s development wasn’t all undone simply because she got physical with Cassie.. the message she leaves to Cassie in the bathroom is the epitome of that. Yes Jules and Kat were minor this season. We had other characters develop this season.. Lexi , Fez, Cal , Rue and even Nate if people are rooting for him idk. I think the fan favorites from season 1 being sidelined are blinding the fans of other deeper storylines this season. That’s just my opinion tho. This is open floor for interpretation which equates to good writing. Yea Sam ain’t perfect but you can’t deny he has people hooked regardless if he reaches their expectations.
I partly agree. I think some things had consequences and others didn't. For example, Rue running around town and robbing a couple (and they caught her) and the police being after her for so long and then all of a sudden the police just give up? And the couple never report Rue? I thought for sure she was going to get arrested, she committed so many crimes and then nothing came of that? Reminds me of GTA where if you hide from the police for long enough they just forget about you and leave you alone. But, I do see consequences, or parts alluding to consequences that will take place in the next season, for example with Lorie the drug-lord lady, there was a lot suggested in that scene where she gives rue an injection and puts her to sleep in her house. So I know that Rue will have consequences for not paying her back the drug money and may have to pay... in other ways... in the next season.
It might not work out like this but i watched season two and by the end i expect everyone to get consequences in season 3 bc so much of that stuff happened in the last 3 episodes
When I was a teenage girl, I found every single drug use I saw in any film or show just glorious. I liked the kind of self-important misery it gave the characters. Even horrifying examples like Christiane F. looked cool to me. The only non-glorifying movie for me was Requiem for a dream.
Yeah I googled Christiane F photos and couldn't stop imagining myself in her shoes. Now when I read her story, it's the biggest anti-ad for drugs. But when you're a kid... You just shouldn't interact with some things
honestly, I feel ike the Euphoria is a "aesthetic tumblr gif blog" kinda show. It's interesting to me, but like you mentioned with ✨the vibe✨, these scenes all in isolation would be found on tumblr mood boards
As someone who works for a network, I cannot believe Sam Levinson has that much creative control? Yes, someone like him, that sells a complete vision, sometimes gets more slack, BUT season arcs, structure and character development would still be looked after by network executives or editors? Either everyone agrees with what he's doing or he has an immense amount of power over this show. Does he not get network notes?
Well a lot of people who are a part of it have explained that he does have the power? The show made intense amounts of money for them. The actors were bullied into doing a lot they didn’t want. The visuals were amazing because of the creative team. I know the lead makeup artist on the show and she is brilliant, her team are truly amazing humans, but they don’t overlap with Sam as much as others do. There is enough out there to show from the actors and other people on the staff that for whatever reason Sam had WAY too much power over this season. There are so many photos of the cast passed out all over the place. I also think tbh from what I have seen Hunter, Zendaya and Sydney say that he did a weird mix of pandering and then bullying of these younger (mostly in experience) actors to get them to do what he wanted and think that it was a good idea. Out of anyone, a well to do white guy having that much control over a show is the only type of person who could. I’ve worked on shows, edited scripts and been a part of many different areas of media and usually like you said it’s not absolute control. But you do find it happens even if it’s got a writing team the show runner will just pick what is most in line for them and edit what they want. But Sam did have control over everything on this and it’s why it’s such a big departure from season one.
it’s crazy to me how one of the biggest plot points of season 1 was the tape of jules and nate’s dad, the blackmail (and jules and nate’s relationship)… and the resolution in season 2 is so anticlimactic. had jules been given a bigger arc this season we could have seen how the tape affected her life, since she didn’t even know she was being SECRETLY recorded. jules story this season was just wasted.. sad
I am also made deeply uncomfortable by the sex scenes, but for a different reason. It makes me uncomfortable because unfortunately, the way sex is portrayed in the show is the reality for a lot of young women. I truly didn't enjoy sex until I was an adult and met a man who really loved me and prioritized my pleasure. Our culture surrounding sex is so fucked up. I worked at an adult store for a really long time and the number of women who I helped who'd never had an orgasm was so sad. I'm talking women in their 30's or 40's who just had sex with their husband to keep him happy. Anyways, my point is, yeah the sex scenes are deeply unsettling, (Especially since these characters are underage.) but I believe A LOT of women relate to at least one of the girls on the show and TBH Nate's attitude about sex is how I imagine most men view sex.
I like to play “what was that for” with this show, here’s a list: -Kat and Ethan, what was that for -Nate attacking Maddy with a gun, what was that for -McKay being assaulted, what was that for -Cassie’s abortion, what was that for -Fezco attacking Nate, what was that for -Elliot, in general, what was that for -Maddy and the milf, what was that for -Leslie’s crying asking to take Rue in rehab, what was that for -Jules cheating??? What was that for -Laurie drugging Rue hinting the whole human trafficking?? What was that for Update: before anyone replies please read the comments
Nate deserved to get his ass beat and for Leslie there is either 2 reasons Reason 1: She couldn't afford to send Rue to rehab and therefore was begging them to let her go Reason 2: Lots of rehab facilities don't even have that space to begin with, and therefore they try to occupy that space with the patients who "need it more", for example Rue, a 17 year old girl who still lives with her parents, isn't seen as being in the same danger as a middle-aged adult with no one else to turn to
Fezco attacking Nate made the most sense to me. He went to the cops instead of handling his own, Fezco beat his ass for snitching and almost getting him caught up.
Ditto, while Fezco beating Nate to a bloody pulp made a little sense based on what we already know about the two characters, the real issue is that none of these stories have any real bearing on the plot. They're simply tossed aside as soon as they no longer fit the narrative function.
@@Ploopbloopz He definitely deserved that, but did it bring anything to the story? It didn’t lead to anything else, everyone just brushed over that. I thought maybe it would be a conflict in Fez-Lexi relationship but no, I thought Nate was going to get revenge, but no. Nothing happened It was good seeing his ass getting beat but I don’t think we should glorify Fezco violence either (nor Maddy’s). A person beating the shit out of another one is weird, tho satisfying, it’s still a bad thing to do who leads to nothing in the end. Also Leslie, yes, the scene is absolutely great, the actress plays it incredibly well, But, they make it seems to be like the biggest event ever, just like Dylan said in the video, it’s like a matter of life or death, yet Rue stays clean without going to rehab, she does just fine, so the whole scene was there just for the performance and drama of it
@@sweetembrace6706 story line is supposed to have a point and bring somethings to the plot. A random ass scene thrown in the show for drama isn’t a story line, it’s a waste of time
The story ain’t special, but from the visual point of view it is a masterpiece. This is the same teen show with a huge budget and top cast. That's it. If this show was on the CW, people would have trash it.
@@sweetembrace6706 Saying something is about addiction isn’t automatically a sign of quality. It’s good, but the consequences of addiction are super inconsistent.
@@sweetembrace6706 every show has a theme, that doesn’t mean every show is good. You are right that it’s not for me, but the lack of attention to the writing is the main reason.
After watching it, I decided it exemplified the epitome of” fake deep” But, if I were 16, I would be modeling my life after it. So I can’t completely hold “loving it” and thinking it’s the best show ever against the younger generation, because I would have felt the same way 10-15 years ago. But it’s not the masterpiece it’s being made out to be. I also recognize that trying to tell almost anyone that is pointless. Last thing - nearly all of the commentary I’ve witnessed is almost exclusively about Maddy and Cassie and their relationships with Nate. That’s all I have seen anyone discussing. Because of this, I went into it expecting them to be the main focus of the show, but they’re not. They’re the B-plot, sometimes even the C-plot, in most episodes. They’re shoving Rue and Jules’ relationship and Rue’s struggle with addiction down your throat, and there is a LOT there to talk about, to learn and grow from, even. But I don’t see anyone talking about ANY of that. It’s all Maddy and Cassie and Nate. So… my point is that there is a lot of real sh*t to take away from the show, to talk about on a deeper level. But the only thing people are taking away from it? Maddy and Cassie and Nate, omg. It’s sad. 10:36 Kat, too. A million times more fascinating as a character with a deeper story that’s well worth discussing. But nope. She’s been reduced to having a few catchy lines, “slayyyyy Queen” and “boss bitch”… and I know. The target audience. Blah blah blah. But it’s depressing how much they’re missing the points that are worthy of discussing further.
The issue of Euphoria vs. Skins in terms of nudity is that the nudity in Skins isn't as overboard or unrealistic to me in comparison to the way the kids here acted. Euphoria was just a tad too adult to me in comparison to Skins because there just wasn't enough innocence and actual teenage mannerisms. Ethan was one of the closes to acting like a teen. The other issue is that pretty much every character is depicted as messed up and dark and not just innocent. There were plenty of normal kids without issues when I was going to school. Euphoria made it like everyone was so messed up and depressed and it's a little too ridiculous to enjoy.
I started watching this, but it put me in a really bad head-space. Definitely stressed me out. I think I watched 3 episodes of the first season. Visually, it looks fantastic and I like the music and colors, but even my love for Zendaya can't get me through another episode.
same for me, I watched with a friend and I couldn't finish the first episode without a pause LOL by the third ep I gave up. I have friends that suffer with drug addiction and I could not think about them while watching, it was painful
Same, idk if it was related but the day after finishing either the 3rd or 4th episode of season 1 I had the worst panic attack I’ve had in years, like I didn’t realize it was effecting me that much
I don't remember which ep this was, I think ep seven of season 2, when Cassie was talking abt how she was gonna let Nate control her and use her bc at least she'd be loved, it reminded me of my emotionally abusive and manipulative relationship with my ex and really made me upset and I had to take a break from the show for a little while
As an outsider having never watched the show and never intending to watch, it looks beautiful. I can understand the appeal and draw it has. But I think the way the subject matter is handled and the dark tone that does not let up alienates a LARGE group of people from watching the show. I have too much anxiety and PTSD from terrible things that this show would honestly give me a full on panic attack. And a lot of people feel this way. Shows should give subjects like this a voice, but this, in my opinion, missed that mark for me.
Also basing this on the fact that I haven't not watched the show but watch many many reviews and commentary on it by all different creators, some that love it, some that hate it and some just explaining the story and plots. It says a lot when all I could stomach was commentary explanations of storyline but can't bring myself to actually watch it.
this is me too, I've been through too much and am too scared by the stuff portrayed in this show to watch it, but I've been consuming so much commentary on it bc I still want to hear about it and see what people think, bc the conversations happening about the show are interesting. I just could never actually watch the show itself, I kind of wish I could, but I know my limits and it would be way too harmful for me mentally to be worth it
A show doesn’t “miss the mark” because it’s not palatable to some people. It could not be for you and that’s 100% up to your discretion, but that doesn’t mean the show did something wrong on that end.
Just because something is triggering to you doesn't mean it shouldn't be done, and I say this as someone who hasn't watched it yet because I know I might not be able to handle it. Not everything is meant to appeal to everyone.
when both the director and Zendaya say that it was never intended for teenagers (which I believe their intentions were genuine), I have to question how they didn't realize during the process of creating the show that it is so on the market for teenagers of this generation?? I mean having a damn good soundtrack and a show that represents and expresses the depths and darkness of some mental illnesses and addiction struggles while artists like Juice WRLD took the industry by storm. Also I can't think of a single TV show that was made in the past that was about teens, in the perspective of teens, NOT made for teens to watch (not denying the fact that there may be some out there, I just can't think of any). also possibly casting Zendaya, a recognizable actress from a Disney show that teens grew up either watching themselves or see ads for it as children could have contributed to it, and the fact that Zendaya is a beauty/fashion icon, could grasp their attentions as well. Also having cool aesthetics and beauty looks in an age where beauty gurus are a huge part of the internet and I know many teens that love aesthetics and vintage filters or cameras etc. Not to mention that by being edgy and delving into topics like sex and parties in high school on top of all of the aesthetics will naturally pique teens' interests, as they are curious and trying to grasp the meaning behind certain things themselves. Being someone who is in between generations and also works with teens, it's not surprising whatsoever that teens gravitate towards it. I know this is based off the Israeli show of the same title, but they had an opportunity to change it up, so it's hard not to question them when they say it was never intended for teens bc when you look at it, that statement can be hard to believe when it comes to how they chose to follow through with the show. (anyway this was a great video...as always!!)
I think they just cling on to plausible deniability. They must have known this was going to appeal to teens and even tweens, if not be mainly consumed by then. As you said, it was obvious. They can’t say they made a teen show that’s rated TV-MA (not suitable for people under 17), it would be admitting to making and selling age-inappropriate content.
@@xg2513 true...technically I fit within that category. Yet euphoria originally came out in 2019, which meant that a lot of the same people in that age group were under 18. still, I was referring to teens today, who don't happen to have a generation name yet hahah, not just Gen Z.
@@jamie2876 same. which makes me find it odd that people say gen z kids shouldn't be watching this. but like, who are they referring to? especially since most are in their late teens or early adulthood, usually emotionally mature enough to understand shows like this. yet they say gen z kids shouldn't watch it, because apparently all of us are immature tik tokers who lack the sense to comprehend any of the darker subject matter in this show. wish people wouldn't generalize an entire age group of people lol i suppose that's the internet for you.
I don't hate Euphoria but I feel like the stans who LOVE it and think it's groundbreaking are the same people who would repost "aesthetic" images and sad girl quotes on tumblr with nothing to remark besides quoting "queen" or "iconic". It's definitely visually striking but self-indulgent af (especially with the Sam Levinson self inserts...) to an obnoxious level at times. The fans definitely miss the mark on a lot of shit they think is "yass queen" moments, especially with the gross amount of teen sexual exploitation story lines featured. It's basically teen trauma dump porn. Like an R rated Riverdale. I can never take it seriously enough.
Very succinctly put. I knew someone who felt a sorta “literally me” thing from Cassie-particularly whatever the context of her crying in the bathroom was (I’ve barely started this video). This particular someone also clearly had undiagnosed BPD, and was very manipulative, and likely found comfort in being “broken.”
For me, it’s the fact that Euphoria doesn’t really show a lot of the characters having what would be considered “normal moments.” I knew kids who did drugs in high school, I knew kids who got into gangs, had sex with older people, all that jazz. But they also played TF2, argued about tv shows (mainly Avatar, if I’m being honest), and got part time jobs. It’s one thing to show all the characters as having issues, it’s another thing to show all of the characters as ONLY having issues. They don’t feel like characters as much as lists of edgy tropes.
Thank you! They are high schoolers but we never see them doing homework or stressing over exams or anything else school related the school is like a background , you could remove it entirely and it wouldn’t matter.
Being an 18 year old teen who watched the first season this Jan, I won't deny some representations and storylines were great (nd I'm not an aesthetic loving person so you can count I wouldn't watch it for that reason) but some aspects came out as really disturbing to me, specially the hypersexualization of minors. Apart from that, kats storyline with camming could have been used to make such a good point about teen subjecting to self exploitation nd grooming but they completely dropped it which makes it more like glorifyingggggg
@@sweetembrace6706 also you don't seem to really understand how 'grooming' works. It's not limited to one or two ways, there are multiple ways it can be done, intentionally and unintentionally
@@sweetembrace6706 ... Except that when they are minors CLEARLY there is a problem. Please, let's stop defending dropped storylines because we like the show.
@@sweetembrace6706 are you okay???? You can't groom people on the internet??? That's just plain wrong Edit: dude she's a minor camming she's going to be groomed. You need to stop watching this show if you can type out: " you can't be groomed on the internet" and not think you said something wrong immediately
He fact that grooming wasn’t even talked about was ridiculous. At the end of the day Sam erasing her because she wouldn’t do the eating disorder arc shows how Sam really see’s plus sized women, as people that aren’t worthy of being seen or heard unless they fit his narrative. It’s disgusting
Euphoria does feel like what being a teenager was, in some way. Feeling like you are some sort of badass, tragic person when really you're just a dramatic kid going through it
I feel like the show wasn’t made to be a representation of teen problems or a show about interesting people, but it was made to be talked about on the internet. Either with outrage from haters or obsessive fan girls making edits or fashion deconstructions.
The "confrontation" between Maddie and Cassie was one Benny Hill Theme from being a complete slapstick gold. Also, is McKay okay? He dropped out of the show completely after the premier of season 2. Also, "What's the point of that" is a very suitable tag line for the whole season. Which I feel somewhat peeked with episode 5 and never recovered.
I wish that more teen dramas would be set in college than in high school. Presumably the reason that "Euphoria" doesn't is for the shock value alone of underage teenagers dabbling in sex and drugs. "The Sex Lives of College Girls" is an underrated show about teens in college, and it's a fairly realistic depiction, in my opinion.
or maybe because a lot of these characters wouldn't realistically be at the same college, if they'd go to one at all. and, a lot of the audience have never been and never will go, and can't relate. plus all the storylines that revolve around their parents and any plot relating to being forced to go to the same school as your exes and people who hate you every day would become moot. when every character has the options to simply not show up to class, or move away, drop out, or not answer their parents' calls, it would drastically reduce the amount of tension the story can build. there are even less consequences for your choices in college. *that's* probably why teen dramas are set in high school.
@@sweetembrace6706 what did I just listen to. Equating people being homophobic to being against grooming that is a form of abuse, specifically against children
I think high school is right for Euphoria just because it’s not supposed to be very realistic, but more so to feel like a memory of what high school was like, and it hits the mark on that
@@sweetembrace6706 the sex in euphoria is sexualised. greatly. take a look at sex education; we see teenagers ages 16-18 having sex and not once do they try and make it ‘hot’ or ‘appealing’ to the audience. it’s just teenagers experimenting and having sex. euphoria on the other hand shows sex in a completely different light when they just don’t need to. the lighting, the camera angles, the acting- it’s all hyper-sexualisation. i won’t even get onto kat becoming a cam girl because people have already argued that case against you. if they were adults it’d be a different story, but they’re not. you shouldn’t be portraying teenagers fucking as hot or sexy. despite so many people correcting you on terms and such as grooming and sexualisation, you choose to stubbornly remain ignorant. not to mention you’re equating the sexualisation of minors to homophobia. calm down darlin
in my personal opinion, the show used to get away a lot with the beautiful cinematography. just because something looks good doesn't mean it is in terms of narrative. s1 was better because it was introducing characters and had a purpose. it still suffered from the same issues but it was easier to look away. s2 on the other hand dedicates its time to either being goofy or again trying to look pretty. The barely plot it had could be wrapped up in 3 episodes
Speak for yourself... that crap annoyed me in season one lol. "Hey this looks cool and all... but can I get back to.. whatever the story is here.. oh nvm.. another almost music video scene for 4 more minutes".
I think the one thing that made me the most frustrated in S2 was Jules' writing. Cause everyone that called her a villain in the first season never made sense to me. I loved Jules so much and with her special, Hunter was so heavily involved with the writing and story and it was beautiful. It really did seem they were setting up for Jules to be a trans lesbian and that was the direction her and Sam were going for. Like Jules said that three times she was no longer interested in men, only for her to cheat on Rue again with Elliot. And it made me so mad because it doesn't make any sense. I started to dislike Jules and I blame Sam and his writing because her hooking up with Elliot just backtracks all the development and writing they set up from season 1 and her special. The only reason I can say that happened was because as Rue said in episode 5 "You love being loved." And how Jules anytime someone gives her any attention through compliments or whatever or shows an interest in her she falls for them. Examples being Rue, Tyler (Nate) Anna and Elliot. So I can see that as justification for her writing as to why they wrote that, but it still never makes any sense given what they already built up. Her idea of femininity and how to concur I believed would change through making her own belief on what it means and it not being hooking up with men. Which was talked about in her special where she said how what men want is boring. So why did they just drop that whole storyline. All Sam did for Jules this season was make her make mistakes and give the fans who already dislike her more reasons for unexplainable hate. Hoping she gets fixed next season cause the character, fans and Hunter deserves better.
maybe Jules said she wasn't interested in men anymore because of the traumatic Tyler situation and the Nate's dad situation. or as you said maybe she fell for that dude because she literally falls for any- and everybody who does a few things to show interest. plus, even if you know you're not straight, when you're young it can be easy to fall into repeating the pattern of dating the opposite gender because you know what they expect and how you're supposed to act. actually going and sticking with women can be scary and you can just chicken out lol. all the dynamics can change, you might have to figure out what you want your relationships to be like from scratch without the convenient established framework of a straight relationship; at 17 that can be daunting. i know it stresses some people out so much they try to just forget about it and say never mind, or say i'll start dating women someday/soon/by age 20/after this relationship ends or whatever.
I feel all of this, love Jules, but I will say that Jules can be a lesbian and still have sex with men. A lot of people use the term lesbian to mean that their sexuality is defined by loving women, which is along the lines of what Jules said in her special episode. I felt it was more a flaw of Elliot's character writing rather than Jules 'backtracking' or whatever.
@@kat8559 nah, lesbians are not attracted to men, sapphic is the term you’re describing, but yeah she can still be a lesbian and have sex with men for validation, although i thought she would’ve stopped doing that after what she said in the special, although you could argue that people aren’t perfectly logical and come back to old habits, but idk i don’t think the writers (or i guess it’s just sam levinson) intended for that interpretation
"more reasons for unexplainable hate" Wtf, you just explained (and so does the show) why she could be hated. You just didn't see her that way during season one, but you yourself admitted a lot of people already did. Jules, like it or not, it's one character who has been actually cohesive throughout the show. Sure, s2 might have exposed some of her flaws more, but it's like you're mad the producers validated the "haters" opinions, which are only haters because they noticed bad things about her that you either didn't or chose to ignore. Jules isn't a very good person - she's never been. There's a lot of those people on the show and that's it. I'm sorry but the ideal of a character you were hoping to see was never there. There's nothing in her writing to get fixed and Hunter is one of the writers for the show, she has a strong voice there and I think she's fine with her character arc.
I have seen many trans women say that Jules was written like a manic pixie sex girl by Sam in season one and her special is the only thing that redeemed the character and they hoped Hunter would be more a part of her writing going forward. While I enjoyed her in season 1 I can from my own experience as someone who is gender diverse agree that yeah, it had a lot of issues and did nothing for representation for trans women. You don’t have to paint trans flags all over or do wild things for representation but Sam seems to deeply enjoy exploiting women in his show in clever and disgusting ways. Season 2 what he did to her was so horrible and having her be with a guy who talked down to her and was really cruel about things like her wearing a binder was not okay. She deserves better and Sam should be sidelined so he can just work on the visuals and people of colour, women and LGBT+ folk can write this so that it actually represents the people in the damn show.
This show has been so hyped I thought it was gonna change my life. I started watching it with some friends and after like 40 minutes of narration I was falling asleep and said "can we watch something else" which I only didn't say earlier to not ruin their enjoyment, but they all replied with "thank god, yes please" and the like.
I just know this show made me feel depressed as fuck for some reason. I really don't know what it was but that one episode where rue is having her depressive episode...that was me. Literally. I was continuously binging the series just like she was doing with whatever movie she was watching. Both laying in bed, not eating, not answering the phone, not going to the bathroom, just depressed. That was my reality in that point in time. And when i saw that and realized i had been doing the exact same thing but through every single episode i got even sadder at myself. Idk in my experience, I really don't think it did my mental health any good so I'd say if you're already kinda struggling up there or are feeling a bit susceptible like how i was feeling that week or so, it may be better to not watch it. I actually stopped myself from watching more even though i kinda do wanna know what happens but I think it's just better for me to watch something that actually makes me happy and laugh. Imma just stick to re-watching community xD
I fully relate. Watched season one a few months ago for the first time (after putting off watching it basically since it came out lol) and yup that was also me. Laying there, depressed as shit like Rue, I kinda found it funny. I tend to gravitate so much towards darker shows while depressed, and although I did like watching this show, it definitely wasn't helping too much lol.
@@chaaaargh Yeah for some reason I also do that and gravitate to more depressing shows when I’m feeling kinda down when I should do the complete opposite of that to help bring my mood up but idk I guess I’m just self destructive hahaha 🤣
@@orangegreen3769 Yup this show is just trying to be a high brow teen drama, whilst also managing to not be intrinsically transgressive, it's just 'dean'pressing
THANK YOU FOR SAYING WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT KAT! Soooo many people (like most of the discourse) completely misunderstands her story. I don’t even know if Sam Levinson fully understood how he was portraying her and what it meant either.
I didn’t watch this season because I felt absolutely disgusting watching someone who is supposed to be my age (I was like 15-16 at the time) do that shit... it definitely doesn’t come off as a victim, she looks like she’s doing it intentionally and she thrives on it and loves it
The fact that Sam L projects a story about teenagers and expect teenagers "not to watch it" is just 🙄. If it was meant for adults, he should've kept them as 18+ [Why Rue can't begin the story after her cold open, like "it was the beginning of summer, just after graduation, and I had no intention of staying sober" - something like that]. Neverthless, keeping aside the aesthetic and cinematic brilliance & bunch of shock moments, season 2 was weak but entertaining enough! And every single main character were flawed in S2, except fezco 🙌
Yes! Why can't these shows ever by set in college, especially if their intention was not to procure a teen audience?? Like the same themes are still ever-present (if not to an even greater degree) as a young adult than as a teenager.
@@Laura-oe2dl The Logic behind it, I believe, is that college kids are expected to be "Young adults" rather than teens, so many possibilities for drama are lost. Also, responsabilities become a thing. It's harder to write characters when people expect their actions to have consequences. Said so, It doesn't change the fact that people are stupid for expecting a 19yo dude to be closer to 23yo than to a 15yo. Every single year once you start being "a young adult" you keep noticing how more and more you are changing even beyond 25. Hell, possibly you are changing more now than as a kid, because you are actually becoming an adult.
Also, creepy obsession with teenagers and their lives, as they are between childhood innocence and adult life. I like stories about teenagers... But not TV shows like this. Because these aren't teens, not even idealized cool teens you would fine in comics or manga. These are the teens 40yo people believe exist.
Look, literally all of the problems I have with this show could have easily been solved if they had made the setting of the show college. Because I do for the most part enjoy the story but, at least to me, the fact they keep trying to put this in a teenager/high school mind set kills me. 1. People live at home and go to college ALL the time. 2. People drug exploration typically (not always) starts and is exasperated because of college mentality. 3. Basically the same thing with sex and how this show portrays the relationships. 4. A ton of their scenes would make since if they were college age instead on young teens who are monitored by their parents. Literally if they had just aged these people up a couple of years it would have made the whole story run more smoothly and make it so much less creepy with these teenagers acting like experienced adults. LITERALLY 18-22 WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. Maybe still a little awkward but the whole thing would have seen A LOT less excessive.
I agree, it would also make more sense if the show was truly NOT trying to get teens to watch because of course teens are going to be interested about a show about teens
@@aj_san3788 Um I'll have to disagree the show isn't "trying" to do anything to cater to teens, it's just young minds who are interested in sex and drugs and naturally idolize these things due to social pressures, a tale as old as time. That has nothing to do with the show but rather the teenage climate.
I fully agree with you. They could have easily been freshmen in college or going to a community college close to home or literally anything else that would have made the cast over 18, but still in a school setting.
Why would 18 year old be fine? What does happen to you people the moment midnight on your birthday strikes and you go from 17 to 18? I was just as messed-up as the day before, I looked the same, I had the same problems and everything bad that would happen to me after I hit 18 would be just as messed-up. I don't understand why it's universal ethical take. Also teenagers do drugs, have sex, drink alcohol, go through awful things too. A lot of them need some representation of their problems - maybe not in Euphoria form, but also not in Disney Channel form. At least actors in Euphoria are adults, not mistreated child actors
The reason so many teenagers are attracted to this show is because angst and melodramatic dialogue is what is most appealing to them. Their emotional gaps are not completely filled, they are dealing with a lot of amplified negative feelings, and this transfers over to what they like. This just goes to show that the audience is teenagers, because the writing is teenage level and the maturity as well, is not where it should be for such serious subject matters. This is why it exudes 'fake deep' and 'fantasy' rather than cold, gritty reality like it wants to be.
Honestly, I'm just glad Jacob moved away from his Kissing Booth role and into something that better suits his talents. Dude's a good actor and deserves so much better.
Euphoria probably would have appealed to me a decade ago when I was an edgy young teen wanting a tragic backstory because it seemed cool at the time. Being an adult now I'm like, kid me was fucking stupid, trauma isn't cool and it's not fun. But I can see how cinematic shots + teenage trauma appeals to kids at that stage of their lives and can seem glamorous. Never watched the show but seen enough on social media to guess that that's why teens love it
I don't see why people are blaming the show when it clearly does teenagers' interpretation of drugs, alcohol, and addiction. They glamorize naturally because that's what social pressures in a teenage setting will almost always be
Elliot singing in the finale I skipped ALL of it. It could have explained plot holes and I would have missed it because, I didn’t watch for Glee moments.
There’s ups and downs, but my most favorite thing about this is that it actually gives me a sense of euphoria. Something about the scenes and music just makes me feel a way I can’t describe and I’m addicted to it.
Euphoria is one season away from just becoming a stylized Riverdale and I’ve never been more terrified of a potential reality. Also let’s be honest TikTok is the reason this season blew up as much as it did
As wild as things are I don't think anything can ever reach riverdale's level. Riverdale literally has alternate realities(?) with the characters developing powers
I was waiting for his back story!!!! Him as another addict could have served as such an interesting character in comparison to Rue. The fact that Jules develops feelings for him even though he's the same as Rue could have had such an impact on Jule's character arc as well. Sam didn't give any effort this season. It's like he had these ideas but didn't flesh them out.
I thought it would add up to rue sobriety,for example I thought they would get really close then he would die from OD and it would be like a slap to rue , understanding how much it hurt her sister seeing rue nearly dying ,and that would help rue in trying to get sober
as someone that (still) struggles with drug addiction as well as bipolar disorder & extreme depression, both seasons did an amazing job with SHOWING how those things FEEL. like till this day when i go to someone’s house and i see a bottle of pills; no, the pill bottles do not literally talk to me, but thats how it fucking feels 😭 that moment when rue goes from manic to depressed in season one when she’s going home from fez’s house i can relate all too well to. i dont think the show is flawless, it has a lot of imperfections, but i still love how the show makes me feel. seen, in a way. it can be cringe sometimes but overall i think the show is great, especially season 1. i think sam being the only writer for season 2 was a giant mistake, one i hope he fixes in season 3. but yeah, as someone who knows all too well what rue deals with, its nice to be seen. also i’d like to add that kids having drug abuse problems is not unrealistic. my addiction started at 14 when i was put on hydros after a spine injury and its been downhill since then lol. i knew 11 year old drug dealers and 14-18 year old cam girls. but as dark as my HS years was, i was still a kid. i was still worried about kid shit and did kid shit. thats really the main thing this show lacks.
The amount of guns that are pulled with NO PAYOFF is insane. I love the show but season 2 feels exactly like the guns scenes, shit happens and people just move on, the tension is build and it has 0 payoff
It’s disappointing how easy it was for Sam Levinson to make season 2 good, he just didn’t take this chance. I still remember there is a guy in jail who serves time for assaulting Maddy, and he is there only because of Jules and Maddy corroborating Nate’s story. How interesting would it be to see these characters dynamic in regards to this situation after Nate and Maddy broke up. Would Maddy go and tell the police it was all made up by Nate? Would Jules admit she lied to the detective once she has the photos Nate blackmailed her with? It was a major plot line in s1 and it was never resolved, Sam Levinson just forgot it existed, and I really thought it should become something big in season 2.
I've given myself a pavlovian response of starting to be productive whenever I hear your voice because I use you for work background so often. Which is actually a net positive.
I’ve watched a lot of euphoria videos after finishing season 2 (and rewatching season 1 cause I forgot a lot of stuff). This has to be the BEST breakdown of the show I’ve seen so far. Amazing job! Always happy to watch your videos.
My problem with euphoria is that you can be dark and emotional and portray dark topics realistically either out having that be your whole show. For example Bojack Horseman is a very raw emotional and occasionally really fucked up show but they also have appropriately placed comedy focused episodes as respite for the views. Also while most characters are bad people or at the very least damaged, they have Todd as a source of innocence. It also helps that the shows emotional points are actuallt deep as they think it is.
"Aesthetics > storytelling" Euphoria 🤝 Riverdale Can anyone check if Sam Levinson and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa aren't the same two kids in a coat? How's that for a plot twist huh
I will admit... I get really annoyed at the constant, neverending, over use of what I call.. the "music video" scenes. Where some corny song comes on and I watch slow mo or random cool aesthetics. Seriously.. there's like 4 per episode.
the way sam wrote season 2 reminds me of the bojack horseman episode "int. sub" (i think?) where the writer of the show had one idea and diane had to sit him down and be like "ok, why are they here? what's the purpose of this scene? why would this character say this?" sam needs a diane
Although I've never watched Euphoria so I can't really judge it, the discussion about the portrayal of sex at 13:55 sounds almost exactly like how I've heard some of my more sex-averse ace friends describe what sex is like for them. "Sex is not fun and there is always an ulterior motive" is also usually the idea I see in the ace community, even I as sex-neutral see it as "something I'd be willing to do if my non-ace significant other asks for it as a way of compromising our sexualities" which is still an ulterior motive. Honestly makes me wonder if this show would be a good one to show to non-ace people for them to understand what being ace is like.
there are unequivocally many critiques to be had of euphoria, but one thing i can accredit as being well-done is their portrayal of addiction in rue. her bonus episode particularly struck a chord in me, as someone who has anorexia (which i understand isn’t clinically an addiction but there are a litany of similarities). especially love when ali says something along the lines of how ‘no one but an addict will consider addiction an illness’. it’s insanely true. things of that nature are typically seen as personal failures by society and this creates a real hurdle for those in recovery, who are denied the appropriate empathy and humanity. other aspects i appreciated was the familial response, how addiction disfigures your personality and poisons your actions, and the emphasis put on the source of addiction (trauma, pre-existing mental illnesses, grief).
I love season 1 of euphoria specifically the Rue and Jules stuff. I think their plot line specifically is really thematically rich and compelling. The way it tackles addiction on a meta textual level is really interesting and the interaction with masculinity and sexuality is compelling. Jules was one of the first characters I ever really felt seen by as a transwoman and I think her identity is extremely well integrated into the thematic texture. Rue and Jule’s relationship is carefully built and the way that you can tell both of them care for eachother but aren’t in a place to be together is great. I dropped season 2 as soon as Rue and Jules got together and I’m glad I did. It showed to me that the characters weren’t the characters I was attached to and I’ve never looked back.
i adored the first season. i loved everything about it and the special episodes just made me more excited for season two... didn't expect to be so disappointed so soon.
What felt off for me is that Rue is dealing with a very serious addiction that made her do and say horrible things to the people she loves and her sister and mother are having to handle all that and then so much time is spent on Cassie sleeping with her best friends ex when they weren't even together and Kat who is just not as interested in her BF as she should be. Like its so weird. I think a better route would be to look at the struggles of high schoolers when faced with someone who is in legitimate danger. Thats so much more realistic and relatable for all the people who did have serious addiction issues or had a friend with addiction when they were way too young.
The scene where Rue was doing a detective parody has layers to it that I'm not sure you appreciate. Her character has bipolar disorder. One part of having bipolar disorder is experiencing mania. When people are manic they often think they have special insights and get wrapped up in there all-consuming theories about things. The detective thing was a funny way to show this. Having said that I totally agree with you on a lot of the major plot points not paying off. I was scared for Rue not paying back the money to the drug dealer. I would imagine owing money to a crime boss would really bad thing and surely it wouldn't take the dealer long to retaliate.
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I am a little bit disappointed you didn't do character by character like you did with Riverdale. But i respect your opinion even if i desagree with somethings. Season 2 for me the first episode was weak, it was just a shock factor. Love ep 5, my fav
I feel like the problem this show has is that it doesn’t give us enough innocence in all the chaos. I went to a high school where a lot of shit went down, we partied, did drugs, hooked up with older people, gang wars, constant fights and drama ….. we did so much wild shit, but in the same moments we would be playing man hunt, water wars (an water gun war with teams that lasted for weeks to the point people got sprayed up at work) customized our parking spaces, painted banners for pep rally’s etc. What I’m trying to say is we were still teens at the end of the day. They don’t show enough duality in the characters. They always try and make this point about how the characters are not bad or good but they always lean heavy on the bad without showing the corrupted innocence. I think season 3’s most stand out character will be Gia with her Becoming the school focused character. She has some of that corrupted innocence that the rest of the character are missing.
I think that's why i liked early seasons of skins Uk (1st gen especially). It balanced those two things rather well.
This is exactly the problem with the show (ESPECIALLY season two). For a show about high schoolers there is a virtually impossible lack of innocent or “normal” moments where these characters depicted to be 17-18 actually do things appropriate for 17-18 year olds.
My god, I think you hit the nail in the head because some of these things did happen at our school, most of the school year was just us being kids and learning or hanging out like normal twens
there's a video essay by some guy on youtube called "How to Suffer Well: Sympathetic Characterization in Madoka and Magical Girl Site"
It compares two animes, both using heavy and dark topics, except one of them is great and the other is infamously shit. the general talking point as to why some edgy shows are considered bad is boiled down to how the show portrays said heavy topics. however, this video actually brought up a unique point that you just so happened to poke at.
to write a captivating and memorable story, you absolutely must give your audience a reason to see the ending. its never a bad thing to portray suffering, but when it's nothing but suffering, and your characters are experiencing bad things for every breath they take, then it's easy to predict what will happen next. to balance that out, well written stories that handle dark topics will ALWAYS have moments of peace. not only to establish motive and hope for the characters, but for the audience, who now gets clarification on why the characters haven't just up and killed themselves at that point.
well, besides the fact that its anime and this show is obviously realistically based, it might be a bit easier to believe that some peoples lives never seem to have happy moments. but at the end of the day, euphoria is a fictional show written by some dude who HAS the capability to provide balance to his characters. it doesn't become a comprehensive story; it just becomes suffering for the sake of suffering, and if that's what this show is all about, im baffled as to why fans are excited for a season 3. what do they think is going to happen? they'll suddenly all find god and grow up to become model citizens? maybe they're subconsciously aware that the writing is so loose and distant that the main character, who's been suffering with an addiction this whole time, could just suddenly wake up and decides she'll stop being an addict.
I agree so much with your statement!
I also grew up in a crowd that partied, drank, and smoked at the age of 14-18. (Minus drugs though) But we had as many goofy, silly, happy times as we had dark times. That teenage time is so full of duality. Seemingly all at once, we encountered so many new emotions and feelings. Yet, we were still children at heart.
"I'm not a spokesperson for your thoughts" is something everyone who watches youtube or consumes commentating content (including me) needs to hear and internalize, feel free to say it as many times as you need to
Agreed. If one disagrees than dislike and leave. No need for village march.
100%, yet it's sad that it does have to be said. It should go without saying, but ah well. Lol
@@Digdigi no! That is not the point, I think. I mean, sure, you can dislike and leave of course, but I think the point is also to not think of content creators as a spokesperson for you, that you have to agree with 100%. So I guess two lessons:
- youtubers are real people with complex thoughts, not spokespeople
- we don't always have to agree on everything and that is just fine
@@flykey1155 agree
LMAO are 1912 people seriously so easily influenced??
I just love how Rue actually flees from the police who SEE her face, past several people who SEE her face, and then nothing ever comes of it. All the property damage she caused, THE TRAFFIC ACCIDENT SHE CAUSED, the police never attempt to find her, it’s just… gone.
Edit: For people saying this is normal in their places, I should also mention Rue took and lost 10K worth of drugs too. Laurie even already tried to sell Rue into sex trafficking but she escaped and… nothing ever comes of it. I don’t think people just let that kind of stuff go. I hope Rue actually has to deal with this stuff in season 3 and it’s not just swept under the rug.
Especially for a burglary charge
Yeah I thought the same thing about that as well! Like getting out of the car in the middle of the road and causing all those accidents, then robbing somebody's home, then getting chased by the police (while in withdrawals mind you! Which coming from an recovering addict myself, I couldn't run from the cops on my BEST day let alone while in HORRIBLE withdrawals! Thought that was worth mentioning!) and causing all the damage she did on that police chase and using up police resources that she would at least have a warrant out for her arrest! But nope! Sam just glosses right over that as well! I've gotten charges for WAY less things than what Rue did!
also what happened w the suitcase she borrowed? did she ever pay that women back?
I come from a place in New York where drug addicts have done a lot more and nothing happened to them so that part, although dramatic, it has happened
I’m thinking that this stuff is coming back in S3. Laurie for sure.
I reeeally wish they made Kat being a victim more obvious because clearly people are taking it WAY the wrong way. And in the show itself, I felt like it was played off as her being a "Girlboss" and "powerful" for "owning her sexuality". Which sure, it *would* be that... if she were in college and not a highschooler. She's underage and becoming a sex worker and being abused by older guys. It's uncomfortable, and yet the "badass walking away with a smirk" scenes make it seem like that's super cool and badass of you. I just wish it was more obvious that that's damaging, especially to a highschooler's mind. That's not how you get into a healthy relationship with your own sexuality.
Imo it was pretty obvious, but people just still missed the point due to their own preconceptions about “empowerment” or whatever. I guess they could’ve made it more obvious, but it doesn’t make it a worse show that they didn’t. The show doesn’t like to over explain, but I guess some viewers require more explaining than others. They’re catering to the people who don’t need over explaining and can pick up on their messages, but the people who do need more over e planning are still watching the show and end up not getting it. Tough thing to solve- do you over explain and decrease the quality of your show but ensure every single person understands it? Or do you not over explain so that your show is better for those who get it, while leaving those who don’t to get the wrong message. Idk. But either way, people shouldn’t be letting their 13 year old kids watch this shit.
as someone who is currently 17 and has made that mistake a few times before, thank you for saying this. it’s fucking TRAUMATIZING, not exaggerating or joking, i feel so disgusting when i remember those times, and i’m sure that out of the many, many teenage girls who’ve also done the same thing, plenty of them feel similarly to me.
edit: i did not sell myself out for sex or engage in prostitution, everything was online and for the most part anonymous, but it led to me being paranoid about someone finding out about it for months
the actress herself is annoying having exposure for ED would be really important like wtf?
the show is literally glorifying abuse, this is just picking up where cuties left off
@@awakeandwatching953 lmao what?????
With the passing of Angus, I feel so melancholic about the show :(
right 😕
@@user9180 I dont know how they're gonna write his character off man, he had that cliffhanger ending that we'll most likely never get to find out. Obviously a tv show is meaningless compared to his loss of life for his family but I can't help but think about how no one is gonna be able to replace his role and we'll never see him get with Lexi now 😭 I hope they don't unalive his character for shock in S3. I hope Sam chills and gives him a proper send off for the character to the best of their ability.
@@litneyloxan I don't care about the Lexi connection, but I seriously don't think I'll keep watching this show without Fez. And how would they "unalive" his character? It's just so awful that the cliffhanger was mostly about "is Fez alive? What's going to happen to him?" And now there is no Fez. Period.
@@litneyloxan Firstly, did you uninronically say "unalive"? Secondly, they're going to have to kill off Angus' character. He had gotten shot at the end of Season 2 after all. They can just say that he died from his injuries!
I think you're right about the sexual aspects - it being uncomfortable does make it weirder. I think it would be hard to watch even if they were adults. Sydney Sweeney's oversexualization is particularly egregious to me and her nudity is an example of it crossing the line into being for the viewer's pleasure rather than just portraying realistic sex between teen characters. It bothered me a lot and made me feel gross for watching the show.
That’s a really good point!! I don’t mind media that portrays the sex lives of teenagers, but if it’s portrayed in a way that meant to be received by adult vetoes as sexy or erotic, THATS an issue.
That there were multiple incidents of Sam writing in nudity, getting pushback, and immediately dropping it per the actor's request make me think he wrote that shit in just to see how far he could push it. But bc we're in the 2020s and the age of social media and accountability (to an extent), he wasn't about to behave like a 1930s studio head and threaten someone's career over their refusal to be sexualised and objectified. It just makes him seem that much creepier in my opinion; he'll do his best to get away with as much as possible without pushback. And that's kinda scary.
@@thecavalieryouth thing is one of the actresses actually has said she doesn't have as much choice to deny sexual scenes as Zendaya and has said she feels uncomfortable with the amount of sex scenes.
I mind. If you know teens are having sex why do you need to see it? We knew that Elliot and Jules fucked without seeing it. So why are sex scenes for teens okay to you?
@@justine4581 are you referring to the actress who plays Faye? Bc I read that about her. It makes it seem like Sam was taking advantage of her bc she was/is a sex worker, so in theory (in his mind) she wouldn't have any issues with nudity.
One of the biggest problem with Euphoria is Sam Levinson and his refusal to get a writing team. He writes it all himself and you can tell I think he would greatly benefit from having more than just himself in a room.
So, he's like Tyler Perry?
@@suzygirl1843 yep
@@suzygirl1843 but Tyler Perry is 10x worse because his films and shows are basically the same just different titles
He definitely needs a few more writers or at least some people to bounce around some ideas for him because I think he's way to far up his own ass sometimes. I'm really upset he screwed up Kat's story line just because Barbie didn't feel comfortable with the eating disorder story line. I mean actors/actresses should have boundaries as well and not allow anybody to push them either. I mean I understand that writers/directors have "a vision" of their story but sometimes if you take things to far, it really makes the actors/actresses uncomfortable playing that role and it causes tension on set and you don't want that and I think that's just ONE of the reasons season 2 fell flat for me. A lot of unresolved story lines as well which really pissed me off!
Soo D&D again
In Retrospect, from a story perspective you are 100% right especially about season 2. It's so easy to get swept into the performances and cinematography. Hopefully season 3 is better
I’m really hoping they will write season 3 thinking of season 2 as build-up, it would still not make it up completely but at least it would give it the significance it desperately needs
I cannot say that there is much of any way that season 3 can be anything but a train wreck. They treat the characters so badly. They legitimately cut Kat out because her actress refused to do a Eating disorder arc, which is totally fair.
The show is at this point a creepy collection of Sam treating characters who are underage to do gross and toxic things.
This show is stripping itself down to what I call bare bones reality time artistic shit.. the reason big setups never "GO ANYWHERE" is because they're not sposed to
We've been CONDITIONED to watch shows where every moment LEADS to some big conclusion or ties into something
theres even a sitcom/drama/movie language we all are accustomed to
IRL.. shit just happens.
assholes get beat up
junkies go on crazy temple runs
&girls become webcam/wattpad influencers then get bigheaded &fall off outa nowhere etc etc
then once we've clicked away from that tweet/story/link we never hear about them again.
Sometimes there's consequences.. mostly there ain't
Cause no one gives a fuck
Because THATS the life we live now.. shit just happens &we try to make sense of all this data but mostly we never really do
&That's ok 🤷🏾♂️
@@FrancisFabricates that's a lie. the (racist) actress herself even clarified it had nothing to do with that. Hell shes even scrambling because the disagreement started when she demanded as much creative control as zendaya &hunter.. Levinson said no.. so she stormed off set &cost them like half a million dollars.. so alot of workarounds had to happen &the execs told Sam to cut some of her scenes (which were superfluous anyways) in favour of expanding on the play
@@o-wolf where did you get that info from?
I’m a former drug addict myself and I found your explanation on why this is a realist depiction spot on. When I was high i was the happiest I ever been however the pain and pure trauma from my experiences will never made the high worth it. I found this show so accurate that I honestly got triggered and had to stop watching because I was getting flashbacks and urges. Take this show for what it is but I think at least season 1 is very raw and true. Also The cinematography is some of the best I ever seen ever right next to breaking bad.
Edit: season 2 is terrible though
Not a drug addict, but an alcoholic and I know 100 PERCENT what you mean, extremely uncomfortable to see, it had the right idea really, just poor execution of many fronts esp in s2
I struggled with opiate addicton and tbh I only think certain aspects are realistic.
Like, it doesn't make sense that her mom didn't want rue to go to rehab and how she miraculously just stayed clean without struggling too much.
Relapses are often part of recovery.
I also don't like how they don't show even if you just try to use once and a while, for some all it takes is one use to become a daily user.
Same. You literally went in my brain and took the words out lol
User of that White Girl. OR Blow. ONE OF THE ONLY FEW THINGS I can recall is the unsolved murder of my first uncle and the many trips of actually having to take my mother on pill buying trips on a daily basis and maybe that one time my friends rottweiler bit me in the arm. I still remember pieces of his blood all over the clothes because we live on an Indian reservation and the tribal police just suck. Besides all that sort of bs that haunts me in one form or the other? All I can really recall is the lit-up energy numness and adrenaline of false confidence that comes along with the tinnitus sound in my ears after spelling out my initials which prophetically spells out NB. Yeah, because that's what everyone needs. IS ALL OF US TYPE OF PEOPLE SPREADING THEIR SOB STORY, RIGHT?.....
I'm an alcoholic and I completely agree. When I'm drunk it's the happiest I ever am, I enjoy things, I have the motivation to pursue hobbies, but its also when I am the most numb. I feel nothing. Since becoming sober, I have to actually FEEL things again. That's the part about addiction I feel like is never really talked about. The numbness. And when sober, having to actually feel things, so it hits you like a freight train, almost forcing you to use/drink
i feel like this was the perfect example of “success kills creativity”
(Cough)Rick Riordan(Cough)
@@liampatrick3110 Yea Rick Riordan has truly lost the plot, his earlier book series felt so genuine and straightforward. Now they feel so disingenuous, like he's looking at other modern book series and trying to replicate what they have, failing in the process.
I find it so ironic that for a show that always encourages it's audience to NOT categorise its characters as good or bad, they forever argue about whether characters are good or bad😂
Seriously! I just wrote a similar comment. It's so exhausting lol. I think a lot of the audience is younger, a bit too young to fully understand the nuance at all.
Lmfao ikr
This!!! Like euphoria fans who stay arguing blank character is good or bad are dumb asf😭
I mean.. the show clearly wanted you to think Cassie was bad this season.
Had her get humiliated on stage and beaten up and the show just glossed over her VERY REAL problems with the play.
@@YourBlackLocal At the same time, they made Cassie raise valid points when she got up to that stage. I'm not sure it's (entirely) the writers fault people choose not to see the nuance. The audience just sees Lexie like she's perfect even though she was being a egomaniac bitch exposing people (especially her sister) like that. While I understand her show could have been presented in a more nuanced manner (in order to make people wonder and reflect more about everything rather than just scream SLAAAY cheering for her and that dude who played multiple parts) I still managed to see it with critical eyes, so other people could have done the same. Sometimes I almost feel the producers are expecting too much of their audience. Like when Maddie was toxic as fuck with Nate in the bathtub scene and everyone, again, just screamed YAS KWEEN SLAAAY. I honestly don't think that's what they were going for. Maddie was better this season but there were moments when she was bad and people totally "slept" on them - maybe because they hate people she's being bad to, which technically should be no excuse.
one of the best stories last season was kat’s story and jules special episode was one of the best episodes. so seeing kat and jules literally not do anything this season was what made this season lack
Ikr, I missed Jules so much, honestly I didn't give a shit about Fez/Ash storyline or endless scenes with Cassie
I was happy there was no kat all of her scenes in season 1 were like filler and interrupted the flow of the other more enjoyable stories
@@doctorofthugganomicsphd8158 may I ask why you didn't find her scenes enjoyable?
@@ayanda6208 Because she's like a 16 years old exposing herself to older guys on the internet, maybe? Because that's not really who she was, as she soon realized? It was awkward.
@@ayanda6208 felt too disconnected from the rest of the show and after watching season 2 I disliked it more cause it didn’t have an affect on the rest of the story. I understand why it’s there but just wasn’t enjoyable to me in the slightest especially when compared to the other stories
The “trying to justify the mediocrity of your show by arguing the show runner is secretly a genius and has some grand plan” reminded me so much of the Sherlock fandom
Oh yes! I couldn't pin point what it reminded me of but you're exactly right! The fandom is also as toxic.
Yea ikr I'm a part of the Sherlock fandom and I agree that season 4 was above mediocre at best....idk y the fandom gets so defensive about it
And of Pretty Little Liars too.
Look at how much we excused Marlene and look where that got us.
This is so funny to me because I was a fan but not in the fandom exactly (and I don't think I'd like it if I rewatched it) and when it ended I was like 'that was really shit' and mad at the waste of time for a bit, but didn't think about it after a while, and I had NO idea there was this whole... thing going on until recently
@@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343 that’s a great example of this
I really loved the little short sotires about each characters at the beginning...it's literally my favorite part of the entire show cause backstories are always my favorite kind of stories
Same
sameee
same it makes them feel like people who’ve actually lived lives
sotires?
I can’t get over how many people have basically said “Noooo the writing for Cassie hasn’t been a misogynistic mess!! Levinson *intentionally* made her into a laughing stock caricature of a hysterical woman (who receives zero care from anyone in-series) because she had an ab0rtion!!”
Yeah, but that's because most people don't share your particular political sensibilities. Because they are not fucking 12 and watch the media to form opinions.
Listen, Im not saying whatever his name is didn't write some misogynistic shit bht abortions can mess someone up emotionally and Cassie wasn't written as an emotionally strong person from the beginning - so something as serious as an abortion can affect people in different ways and honestly I believe is what made her so emotionally vulnerable to Nate (not excusing). Also, people weren't sympathetic to her because she slept with her best friends abusive - something she knew about - ex-boyfriend behind her back, which is wrong for many reasons. I'm pretty sure not many knew about the abortion
Cassie her whole life was seen as nothing but her body so eventually she will snap : /
Cassie her whole life was seen as nothing but her body so eventually she will snap : /
this!! i wish people had more sympathy for cassie, but i don’t blame people for not doing that because at the end of the day, sam did not write season 2 cassie in a way that would make it easy for audiences to sympathize with her. but i’m still rooting for her. she will get over her addiction to male validation ✊
it’s batshit crazy that sam levinson was the only writer for season two… like ultimate power equals ultimate corruption
big budget for nothing
@@monisolaolubuyimo6024 frrr
thing is, he has good ideas, and i really think season 2 could have been really good had they let someone else in the writers room to put a stop to some of his bs and help him resolve the things he sets up, hopefully season 3 gets a more diverse group of writers and can be actually good
nah, more like ultimate power _reveals._
True, he should have had at least a cowriter or two in the writer's room this season. The oversexualistion of certain characters, especially Cassie, is so uncomfortable to watch, especially since Sydney Sweeney wasn't entirely comfortable with Cassie's nude scenes, to the extent that she had some cut.
As my husband says, this show is "character-driven" not "plot-driven." The deep dives into the characters in the beginning of episodes is interesting. You are correct; this show feels like a long-form music video (with good music). But this show feels like a "trauma dump" the way Degrassi did. It has to feature every single horrible thing that can possibly happen to people, ranging from drugs, to mental illness, abuse, etc.
as someone who typically gravitates more towards so--called 'character-driven' stories, I don't personally see euphoria as one. Maybe the 1st season, and definitely the 2 special episodes (which I really loved), but this 2nd season seemed to be more aesthetic-driven if anything. Many characters prominantly featured in s1 with promising arcs were completely dropped and I feel like some dropped down to being more cliche than fully realized character (or just suddenly absent lmao)
@@BooksRebound You dare speak on who should not be named 😰 lmaoo That book murder ya boy and forced me to keep reading. 😂
@@BooksRebound That definitely sounds like trauma-dumping 😅 I've read books with a lot of serious content, and what I always look for is: how does the trauma serve the narrative? Is is merely for shock value, or is there any philosophical value? Does it even make sense in context? Is it based on a true story? I feel like trauma-dumping is often mistaken for "true drama," with all its serious, depressing elements, but rarely do critics look under the hood and question the purpose. It becomes a contest of "who can throw the most trauma into the narrative."
@@BooksRebound sounds like the story is missing human/sex trafficking, prison and war.
The show may seem trauma dumping. Because the characters experience a lot of trauma in the show. If you have any triggers I suggest you don't watch Euphoria. But they handle most of these issues with tact. Mainly in the first season. We watch the characters backstories and understand why they act the way they do. And the harsh realities of the issues that they face. And how it impacts them emotionally and mentally. I'm able to relate to some of the characters on the show. And I know people like them in real life. I know other fans who can relate to the characters too.
I went to a high school in a wealthier area that was almost 100% white - like the city I grew up in is actually in the top 10 LEAST diverse cities in the entire US - and I knew students that were just as messy and tragic as the Euphoria kids. It was horribly sad. There was a boy in my grade that died of an overdose in front of his mother and aunt because they were the ones that gave him the heroin and were high themselves. That's just one example of the really bad and surreal things I knew some students were going through. That said, no high schooler should be watching this lol.
I also grew up in a wealthy area that was VERY white. (Literally the last census said that 1% of the population was not white.) My brother witnessed a kid OD in the lunch room of the high school. A kid I rode the bus with was arrested for kidnapping/assault/attempted murder.
You're absolutely right. Teens don't need to be watching this. And I'm completely heartbroken that teens experience things like this.
America is over-medicated and the amount of people who can supposedly relate to messed up depictions of teen life should not be celebrated. Me living in a "third world country", I've never heard of anyone dying of an overdose or more than 4-6 people out of a total of 200 on my grade who did any kind of drugs and even then no one was a dysfunctional drug addict. It was just so normal, like most people actually studied and cared about their grades and almost all of them didn't do anything overly self-destructive. My perception of American highschoolers are dysfunctional people who disrespect adults for no reason and most don't bother to learn. Correct me if I'm wrong here.
i didn't necessary attend a highschool in a weathier area but i did attend a pretty well known perdominately white art school and the ammount of kids who acted like rue and cassie was extremly high.
Can you explain to me why are you mentioning race? Or wealth? Are you saying that stuff that happens on euphoria never happens in poorer schools??
@@elly6671 No, I'm saying Euphoria takes place in a diverse school in LA where the poverty rate is extremely high. People often have the impression that only these poor, inner city, diverse schools are filled with drug addicts and child prostitutes. I was just pointing out that that's not true in my experience, and that these same issues crop up even in wealthy white areas.
Something that Skins did amazingly, was having very young/Teen writers in the show, you can still find their interviews on YT of them breaking down the scenes and the logic it went behind storylines. I was the same age as the characters when it aired, and it felt super relatable, yeah there were very intense storylines (specially with Gen 2) but it felt really raw and truthful with some embellishment. It wasn't as polished, but it was part of its charm. Euphoria is very obvious about having grown-ass adults behind the scenes, so it adds to the ick factor. You can't shake the feeling that it's a grown-ass man writing and directing all of this.
And as a lot of people have said, it forgets about the good parts of being a teen, Skins was angsty AF, but it was also extremely silly, there was a lot of joy and earnestness.
Skins is actually a really creepy show tho. They sexualized their underage actors
Yeah... I often wonder, "Who is this show for?" Teenagers shouldn't be watching it... and adults can't really connect with it...
I mean... has anyone checked Sam Levinson's internet browsing history? Dude also wrote "The Idol"...
When Kat slept with that dude at the carnival, I was horrified. And watching Rue's struggle in season 2 was scary honestly. The fight with her family was something
And then she bragged about it to that creep online 🤢🤮
I actually liked Rue's blowup because it was real. Yes there was more to it than getting her next fix but if she hadn't been so strung out she could've communicated with her mom better about why losing the drugs was a dangerous choice. Real addicts aren't rational, real addicts scare their families with their desperation and rage.
kat could've had a strong storyline in this season. that 'influencer and confidence' scene was solid and they could have done so much with it. and this is coming from someone who has severe body image issues
Right? There was so much space for her to have so much happen. I expected her to be outed at a sex worker and have to speak about it. To have to face her trauma and to grow from that too. Sam all but erasing her needs to be a bigger issue. Because it shows that Sam doesn’t see plus sized women as actual humans unless they are taking part in the narrative he wants for them. Which is disgusting
Apparently they were going to give Kat an eating disorder this season, but the actress refused to portray that, so Sam Levinson basically just cut her from the season.
Edit: lmao wrote this before I watched the end of the vid haha
I know right? This scene gave me so much hope for good storyline but then it doesn’t go anyware. And Kat is basically an extra. I also think it’s much more intresting if Kat’s problem in relationship would come from her not loving herself still and having problem accepting someone else to love her. But instead it’s just over cause it’s over. And don’t even get me started on their break up scene and the brain cancer thing….
@@meowv34 The first 2 episodes really set up that Jules, Kat, Maddy and BB(I think that's her name I dunno) were gonna have more time together but then like they barely ever spoke to each other it was frustrating. Maddy/Kat called Jules up to hang out with them at the bowling alley (where Ethan was third-wheeling poor thing) but then Jules was nowhere to be seen at Maddy's birthday??? Like they were both victims of Nate and Jules and Kat could have been an interesting dynamic to see but then nothing happened like what
@@isobel_mary dude if you don’t even know what you’re talking about don’t talk about it. That’s not true, stop spreading rumors. Her actress already spoke on it 🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️ y’all dumb fr
Sam Levinson’s work (mainly Euphoria, Malcom & Marie, and Assassination Nation) seems too preoccupied with portraying young women in dark, exploitative, and sexual situations. He seems to have a kink for writing them as helpless victims who need saving. Sam has no firsthand knowledge of the teen girl experience so why is that the demographic he’s writing about the most (and not giving his characters the complexity, nuance, and agency they deserve)?
Why is this 30+ man so obsessed with teenager's life and sexuality? Assasination nation was so trashy😣😣
And ppl are forgetting that this was the same issue in season 1. Season 1 is only slightly better than season 2 in my opinion. Maddy sleeping with a grown man at 15 but she was the one "in charge"? Kat becoming a sex worker as a way to "empower" her? Wtf..
@@pussydestroyer69285 exactly! Any decent writer would explore how those situations fucked with their heads but instead Maddy and Kat get written off as empowered and then ignored for other storylines.
i mean some particular type of characters are more appealing for people to write. Why do you have to always take it in a bad dierection and accuse the person?
@@aswatik387 uh, because its a 30+ year old man putting teens in sexually explicit and vulnerable situations, SPECIFICALLY. read what you said again and think of an excuse as to why he finds that 'appealing' to write that isnt skeezy....
i feel genuinely bad for the people who replied to that post like "might have to unsubscribe if I disagree" like? commentary channels are not for agreeing with every point. it's to hear someone's viewpoint, to challenge your own, or to just listen. how is someone so *obsessed* with a TV show that some guy's opinion on it matters THAT much? it's wild.
to anyone replying to this saying i’m making a big deal out of people unsubscribing: YOU MISSED THE POINT. where is your reading comprehension?
wasn't it a joke though?
I love this guy but I feel like he doesn't always explain his points well. He mentions something he doesn't like and leaves it there. For instance, HOW was Cassie ruined as a character? I know WHY she was written this way. Because of her daddy issues, she becomes obsessed more than ever on getting attention from men knowing full well how terrible of a person Nate is. Other than that, Season 2 WAS not very good.
Also, on another video, I personally thought it was harsh he didn't even try to find anything positive to say about Supergirl. And that he missed out on Season 3 and 4.
@@mariannestrgzr9374 sure the dm screenshot may have been, but people genuinely feel this way
No one dies from people unsubscribing
I disagree with your comment. I subscribed to your channel so that I could unsubscribe.
As hard as it sounds, the scene of Maddy and Nate where he brings out the gun made a lot of sense to me (and hit me really hard).
In an abusive relationship fear and power are essential. So if you think about it, a gun is the perfect depiction of those aspects.
Maddy is a strong character and he knows even tho she probably still loves him, he betrayed her. He is aware he wont be able to manipulate her anymore. So to bring back that power he threatens not only her, but himself (someone that she cant help but love).
And finally stating that it was a joke and telling her to stop crying serves to belittle her even more. As a “you’re crazy to believe I was capable of that”.
He could have used any form of violence or item to scare her (like a knife of some sort or physical violence) , but a gun works perfectly because it allows him to turn the gun to himself with the added perk of knowing it’s not loaded. He has control.
Finally the fact that there seems to be no consequence of that action is also reasonable. We have to remember Maddy has been abused. And victims of abuse more often than not refuse to talk about it. More over, her best friend, someone she trusted and knows everything she went through is WITH her abuser so… idk it makes sense to me.
very great analysis
Thank you
Yes very well said
But it makes no sense like… objectively. Like showing up to her house randomly with a gun makes no sense
Thank's for your explanation, now it makes sense to me
RIP Angus Cloud.
Was actually pretty devestated when i found out he passed away.
I don't have a problem with shows acknowledging teens and their sexualities. That's just a fact of life. I do, however, get uncomfortable when this show and others like it display scenes that would not be allowed to air if they had used actual teenagers to portray the characters. Yes, teens have plenty of sex, but I really don't think we have to *watch* it happen. I've heard way too much about TV writers and producers using their shows as a way to get their sick kicks to believe they have no motives beyond accurate representation. I dunnow, maybe I'm just jaded?
No, I think you’re exactly right. Sam Levinson’s portrayal of teen girls is really gross to me. Feels like he’s fetishizing most of the time and using “art” as an excuse. Especially the way Sydney is portrayed in season 2- just really gross. Not sure if I can watch anymore.
also the panning shots. So much of the camera staring at these girls who are supposed to be 16 at most
Aaaand it's kinda weird how a lot of teenage girls in a lotbof shows and movies are written by men... Why teenagers and why girls??? Kinda sus ...
@@empressfreya9872 they're 18
I totally agree and you guys should watch KennieJD video on it. She's pretty much spot on about how uncomfortable I felt watching the first season
This is the thing about HBO shows: the nudity, violence and beautiful aesthetics will naturally attract an audience who are either too young to understand the nuance of the stories involved, or those who straight up don't care and need a hit of emotional release through soap opera drama. Game of Thrones & now Euphoria have experienced this phenomena where the complexities of the stories being told, which are character-based and show so much promise, are increasingly overshadowed by visual storytelling and the emotion is lost. Although, it looks like Euphoria got to that place a lot quicker than Game of Thrones.
WATCH OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH
That is because GOT creators had the books to back them up. If the writing was left to D&D only, that show would have gone to shit a lot earlier.
@@srizaghosh4474 Exactly.
Let's not give them praises they don't deserve.
A decent adaptation is the LEAST result a writing team for television must reach when adapting a book.
Actually obtaining good results from the adaptation and correctly using the new medium is step up.
@@srizaghosh4474 BIG FACTS.
To be fair, Game of Thrones going to shit wasn't really the fault of the show writers. George R.R. Martin gave the writers his original intended ending for the series and then decided to change his mind about ending the books that way because everybody hated it in the show LOL. So the show became a kind of guinea pig.
The way Jules was written this season brings me so much disappointment. Especially because her special episode is fucking amazing and omg I was so excited to see Jules exploring femininity on her own terms but nope. We got the weird Elliot and Jules thing. SO UPSET.
Yeah, I expected her to have developed throughout all of season 2, but nope. The way they broke up Rue and Jules, by adding a man in between a lesbian relationship felt enraging to me.
I just wish Sam left that tired trope to die, because it's such a bad and tired thing to make a guy come between them. Someone bring Hunter to write her character or this show will plummet more in season 3.
@@ashleylio1861 RIGHTTT??? WHY CAN'T PPL LEAVE LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS ALONE???? WHY IS THERE EVER A NEED TO BRING A MAN INTO THIS?
I mean… drake is a producer in euphoria. Who knows he might have something to do with that messy storyline. Especially adding Elliot.
@Jongin Is Holy maybe because it's not a lesbian relationship jules is bisexual that was established in the literal first episode
@@captainbeastwinger4940 I'm referring to her special episode. She states in the episode that the only reason she thought she liked men and hooked up with them was because as a Trans person she thought that was the way she could as she put it 'conquer femininity'. And the episode ends with her coming to terms with her realizing that she doesn't like men.
I never thought that euphoria glamorizes drug use. But from an outsider perspective I always kinda thought that it glamourized that detached, ulterior motive type of sex you mentioned. The overwhelming sentiment that I remember encountering from young fans was that Kat and Maddy were cool girlbosses for the way they used sex and sex work. And I do think that, Maddy especially is protrayed as very very cool, like all the time, which makes the way she uses sex seem cool and aspirational. It really feels llike encouraging young girls to enter into sexual situations they don't enjoy with the idea that they can acheive other things through those situations
This! 100% this! People call the sex in euphoria “realistic” but most people (especially teens) aren’t using sex as some 4D chess move, they’re doing it because they’re horny and sex is fun!
The gun scene actually gave me super bad anxiety cuz I had a partner who put their gun to me too so that actually traumatized me a bit.
I’m sorry about that, I hope you’re doing a lot better
oh my god that’s awful
omg I’m so sorry to hear that
Bs lol
This "the writing is bad on purpose" gives me serious BBC Sherlock "secret good finale" vibes. Are we as a society ready to go through that again?
The copium for an episode 4 was immense. The fandom went insane for anything and everything to justify a story being mediocre instead of terrible.
💀🤣💀🤣💀🤣💀Subscribe to SarahZ ☕💀
Oh my god, you're so right!! I had completely forgotten about that.
@@alejandrocervantes3624did she make a video on this?? I love her but I don't think I've seen a video about sherlock if she actually has one.
@@orangegreen3769 "the johnlock conspiracy" almost 2 hours long
This show suffers from the same problem as "Stranger Things", in my opinion, in that they've introduced so many new characters, that previously important ones have ended up on the back burner. Jules and Kat suffer from this the most, with Kat being lucky if she got a line in an episode. This is due to Barbie objecting to Kat's proposed eating disorder storylines.
@Ks In Season 2, they added Max and Billy. They were alright characters, but didn't really feel necessary at times. However, by Season 3, with the addition of Robin and Erica, the cast feels more crowded, with Will, Lucas and Jonathan being pushed to the side to focus on other storylines. Will even had an interesting storyline about not wanting to grow up, while his pals are distracted by their girlfriends, but that gets forgotten about halfway through the season.
That shits actually wild. watching her try and explain her character arc in interviews is hilarious and kinda sad
this problem with Euphoria stems from the fact that Sam Levinson is the only writer of the show. He would really benefit from some help to handle all of those storylines
@@trinaq well at least Stranger Things doesn’t have it as nearly as bad as Euphoria. They do the whole balancing a large cast thing better, at least imo
I'm sorry but, what new characters were introduced in Euphoria? Apart from Elliott, whose main service to the plot was to break Jules & Rue up by revealing Rue's using again, there wasn't anyone. Faye? She served her purpose and wasn't anyone that we knew any more than we needed to.
The main cast were still the same, the only difference was that Sam just didn't bother to write for half of them.
i completely agree with how they threw away the cassie-mckay relationship out the window. it truly needed more explanation as to why they ended things so "abruptly" since they were only together for 5 minutes. cassie got an abortion, which is totally something that truly messes up with someone's head and body, and the way that they never addressed it properly was very confusing. she only said "i don't think i'm a good person," but she already made out with nate in a bathroom 5 minutes before that, so they expect the audience to completely forget about her last moments in s1. after they got rid of mckay, like you said, they made cassie to be nate's puppet, also completely ignoring the fact that she went through something very traumatic. big big Big plot hole there. like you said, a lot of the things in s2 happened "off-screen," and this was one of them
I wish they actually had a normal arc where it shows a woman getting an abortion and not caring. Seeing it as just what it’s meant to be and protecting their livelihood as well as the good for the unborn child.
I think the reason McKay and Cassie broke up was because the abortion it’s implied a little because McKay said he wasn’t ready but Cassie wanted to think idk and the abortion I feel like Sam didn’t want to adress it normally instead he took her abortion and took that into s2 and made her crazy because an abortion and the breakup made her like want someone to love her and kinda crazy I feel like she just wants someone to love her also mckays actor didn’t want to do euphoria anymore so
@@sweetreon7916 McKay actor didn't quit. He was written off and didn't know why. It was stated in the video. There is an article that explains it. Daily beast article on mckay . The actor said he doesn't know why he was written off. Also I think we are to believe mckay and Cassie broke up because of the abortion but the show contributed it to them being in different places. In their last scene together, the abortion is not even allured to at all. Her abortion was never mentioned ever. It's was like it never happened. We can also assume Cassie is going crazy because of the abortion but again the show chalks her insanity to her daddy issues.
Tbh, not every abortion messes with a person's head and body... Some people get over it fast
Not only that but she didn’t even get held accountable for cheating, and they never addressed why mckay was there. Then they thought away mckays character who’s far more subtle and actually has many struggles many boys have said to relate to.
I just don’t get how someone can build up a second season so perfectly, only to then take literally everything into an entirely different direction?
like you had the tape, the abortion, kat + ethan being together, the ending at the train station and the druglord at fez‘ house and then you have maddy give the tape back (holding onto it while being friends with jules, how was that not a storyline?), cassie immediately getting with nate for no apparent reason except drama + shock value, kat and ethan just doing nothing before ultimately breaking up (I will NEVER get over what they did to my girl), rue and jules getting back together within the first episode and ash just killing the guy with almost no consequences (in the beginning). so basically an entirely new clean slate and THIS is what you do with that?
TRUE OMG NO WONDER I FELT SOMETHING WAS OFF AND WAS SO MAD THANK YOU 💀💀💀
Rewatching the show and finding this commentary years later but I can say, or speculate that Cassie, still reeling from the abortion, and Mckay, Nate just filled the void for Cassie. If it wasn't Nate, it would have been another guy. Nate became a perfect storm to illustrate Cassie's trauma, descent, vice for male attention trumped her friendship with Maddy--she showed some guilt during the bathtub scene but I feel llke more fear, the getting caught rather then losing her best friend--with the exception of her word vomit and actual vomit. I want justice for thunder Kitkat so bad. The sex work gave Kat this false sense of confidence and security---it became her entire personality and we watched her de-evolve, revert back to her "former self" and questioning this relationship with Ethan because she is so unsure of herself/who she is. That's all we saw of her this season. I'm fuzzy on the details though if I recall, Sam wanted to explore an eating disorder plot. I expected way more for her...I'm getting back into screenwriting and hoping to flesh out a story for her.
"Audience of Euphoria is one of the biggest problems" GOD, YES THIS IS SO FCKNG TRUE
Cassie was definitely the most unrecognizable in season 2 as many have already pointed out.
She went from being this soft spoken, naive but kind girl to some spineless, always yelling psycho in the span of a few weeks (winter dance to new years). Someone said that Sam has seemed to have found his "muse" in Sydney Sweeney and it's incredibly apparent when 80% of the show was centered around her.
What's odd though is that for how much the show showcases Cassie (and her boobs) it does so little to actually explain *why* she makes the decisions she does regarding Nate. Episode 1, they have a normal conversation, get in his car and then she's taking off her panties unprovoked. *She* initiated their entire "relationship" with that move and it is *never* explained why. It seems like she legitimately loses any sense of self when in season 1, although she was incredibly naive at times, she did have some backbone (her arguing with Mckay at the carnival after he tried to play her in front of Nate). Nate and Cassie are almost always shown having sex or arguing about Maddy (disregarding Nates fantasies about her). Never talking about their "feelings" for each other. They never show *what* it it that makes her choose Nate and why she was so easily and willing to throw her friendship with Maddy away.
Well I mean they kinda do hint at the fact that she has daddy issues which resulted her need for receiving validation from men, she never had a proper fatherly/men figure in her life so she's striving to find that in someone else (don't know why she thought she would find that in Nate...but she loves to be loved so they say 🤷♀️). But I do agree that her character change and progression was quite drastic, they should've been more direct and explicit with her reasons rather than just hinting at it. This season was a mess overall, so many missed opportunities 🤦♀️
@@lunazen8661 that's the problem though, they only ever hinted at that. they did not take the time to fully explore why she was in this relationship with nate in a deeper way. the show never goes inside her head or bothers to really give cassie any sort of self reflection. so it feels so disconnected from season 1 cassie, and has no relevance to her character at that point.
@@chaaaargh Yeah I definitely agree! They made the focus solely on Nate's feeling whilst they were painting her as the villain. Not giving the audience any perspective or reasoning on why she was behaving like that. A quick narration from Rue explaining "why" and her "feelings" could've fixed that, cuz all of these characters are supposed to be very grey (neither good or bad), but they just made Cassie out to be the "bad" guy this season when it's obvious that she has internal struggles that needed to be explored. Its a shame.
It 100% feels like Cassie’s scenes / arc this season were meant to be Jules & Maddy’s. The Nate/Jules plot specifically. But I also can’t help but notice the show abruptly gave Cassie all of Maddy’s negative characteristics (with an added tone of “she’s so pathetic!! Let’s laugh at her and hope she gets beaten up!!” In the writing that was NOT there with Maddy) which are all gone from Maddy with zero actual development to justify this change in either of them. Most of Cassie’s scenes would make more sense if it were Maddy or Jules….
@@Movieslurge2 I agree, that theory lowkey makes sense considering that Jules and Nate did had a relationship dynamic that was never explored this season even tho it was built up in season 1. It also would've made more sense for Maddy to then have the tape. She could've used it as a way to threaten them or get revenge. The fact that she just gave it to Nate at the end of this season ruined the purpose as to why she had it in the first place. Why let her have the tape just for him to get it back ??? That storyline was so anticlimactic.
the thing about the show that bothers me the most is the way it sexualizes female bodies and lesbian relationships and then tries to frame it as subversive. showing naked female teenage characters for no reason will never be subversive, its just shock value built on exploitation. and the way this objectification of women bleeds into the lesbian characters is beyond gross.. the way jules said multiple times that she didnt like men and had an entire episode where compulsory heterosexuality was a main focus yet then SLEPT WITH A MAN ???? its beyond disgusting, bad writing is one thing but enforcing fetishistic oppression of marginalized groups in a generation defining show has astronomical consequences.
omg i didnt even think abt how her sleeping with a man literally aftering saying she isn't interested in them is like,,, the direct male fantasy of a lesbian... that's so gross
@@FA-cm3bu yep. and its made even worse with the scene of elliot saying rue and jules were playing "lesbian power games" with him and the very deliberate choice to play a song about a man in a lesbian bar in a scene of elliot jules and rue. thats what really cemented it as intentionally lesbophobic writing rather than just bad, accidentally offensive writing for me.
@@maddieatkinson1527 there are so many movies of those movies where the opposite of those things happen. I know the minority and all that but common its a scene in the storyline and not some social commentry. You may not like it but taking offence in a storyline is whole different dimension. If it is like that then don't also shout on countries that ban gay scenes. And what does "enforcing fetishistic oppression of marginalized groups in a generation defining show has astronomical consequences." mean?? You only care about it because it got popular, right? Its audience who makes something generational so shout out to viewers like you.
@@aswatik387 what?? men "turning" lesbians is a extremely common trope in media and its an attitude present in real life too. and yes it would matter regardless of popularity but its popularity makes it worse because more people are seeing it and not enough people are being critical about it. and im not a viewer, i stopped watching the show as soon as they had a lesbian sleep with a man. dont try to lecture an actual lesbian on how were portrayed in media when i deal with the consequences of this bs every single day. i couldnt even fit all the disgusting things men have said to me and lesbians i know in this youtube comment. how marginalized groups are represented in media MATTERS, media is a reflection of reality and media in turn can affect reality.
THANK YOU! as a lesbian myself it really grossed me out how jules' entire special episode centered her realizing she didnt like men, she liked the attention they gave her because it gave her a warped sense of validity in her womanhood and was trying to please them and VERBALLY saying she was no longer interested in men anymore... only to cheat on rue with elliot (one of the characters who not only slut shamed her, but didnt believe her when she said she didnt like men and planted the seeds of chaos between their relationship). Like sam idk what the fuck youre doing but thats not a good message to send at ALL
Season 2 just doesnt have any consequences to the actions which makes their behaviour and actions a bit more acceptable to the audience. Whilst season 1 has consequences thats where the glorfication comes into play. Even the darker moments in season 2 were shot beautifully but Rue had no real consequneces of losing the suitcase. The same with Jules cheating on rue and the cassie and nate situation. Yes we had a brief fight between maddie and cassie but like that completely went back on the character development of Maddie in season 2. There was zero consistency and too many stories and scenes that last no longer than 5 minutes making it feel messy. The issue with the nudity especially with season 2 is that it was mostly cassie and mostly when she was crying or being horribly manipulated. Nudity can be implied and doesnt always have to be seen on screen to be realised like yeah they were fucking of course shes nude. I feel betrayed because we got zero Jules which we were told we were getting in the Jules special ep. Season 1 had consistency and didnt leave all loose ends but was still able to have cliffhangers whilst season 2 was just zero finsihing to the story. Sam loves to insert himself to his work ie in Malcolm and Marie but also with Rue and Lexi in euphoria. Season 1 had years of this man writing so how can he expect a whole season written only be himself to be anywhere close to season 1. Season 2 felt like a fan made season. Theres no other way to explain it. I really enjoyed season 1 but non of the characters were recognisable so I didnt feel the conection i felt in season 1. They really thought the coolest thing they did was maddie and nate getting together but theres no end to it- he storms off and thats it they "break up"?? idk cos its not explained well ahh just so frustrating and I have no hope for season3 unless Sam gets other writers in the writers room.
I can see your point but how about this? Cal is arrested.. Fez and Ash’s season 2 story has consequences. Rue almost losing Ali was consequential plus her story with Laurie is not done yet. Maddy’s development wasn’t all undone simply because she got physical with Cassie.. the message she leaves to Cassie in the bathroom is the epitome of that. Yes Jules and Kat were minor this season. We had other characters develop this season.. Lexi , Fez, Cal , Rue and even Nate if people are rooting for him idk. I think the fan favorites from season 1 being sidelined are blinding the fans of other deeper storylines this season. That’s just my opinion tho. This is open floor for interpretation which equates to good writing. Yea Sam ain’t perfect but you can’t deny he has people hooked regardless if he reaches their expectations.
@@juliomoreno5212 I love this take
I partly agree. I think some things had consequences and others didn't. For example, Rue running around town and robbing a couple (and they caught her) and the police being after her for so long and then all of a sudden the police just give up? And the couple never report Rue? I thought for sure she was going to get arrested, she committed so many crimes and then nothing came of that? Reminds me of GTA where if you hide from the police for long enough they just forget about you and leave you alone. But, I do see consequences, or parts alluding to consequences that will take place in the next season, for example with Lorie the drug-lord lady, there was a lot suggested in that scene where she gives rue an injection and puts her to sleep in her house. So I know that Rue will have consequences for not paying her back the drug money and may have to pay... in other ways... in the next season.
@@highonshortcake6375 Thank you!
It might not work out like this but i watched season two and by the end i expect everyone to get consequences in season 3 bc so much of that stuff happened in the last 3 episodes
When I was a teenage girl, I found every single drug use I saw in any film or show just glorious. I liked the kind of self-important misery it gave the characters. Even horrifying examples like Christiane F. looked cool to me. The only non-glorifying movie for me was Requiem for a dream.
Yeah I googled Christiane F photos and couldn't stop imagining myself in her shoes. Now when I read her story, it's the biggest anti-ad for drugs. But when you're a kid... You just shouldn't interact with some things
I like the character backstories. It's an insight into why they are the way they are.
honestly, I feel ike the Euphoria is a "aesthetic tumblr gif blog" kinda show. It's interesting to me, but like you mentioned with ✨the vibe✨, these scenes all in isolation would be found on tumblr mood boards
As someone who works for a network, I cannot believe Sam Levinson has that much creative control? Yes, someone like him, that sells a complete vision, sometimes gets more slack, BUT season arcs, structure and character development would still be looked after by network executives or editors? Either everyone agrees with what he's doing or he has an immense amount of power over this show. Does he not get network notes?
Well a lot of people who are a part of it have explained that he does have the power? The show made intense amounts of money for them. The actors were bullied into doing a lot they didn’t want. The visuals were amazing because of the creative team. I know the lead makeup artist on the show and she is brilliant, her team are truly amazing humans, but they don’t overlap with Sam as much as others do. There is enough out there to show from the actors and other people on the staff that for whatever reason Sam had WAY too much power over this season. There are so many photos of the cast passed out all over the place. I also think tbh from what I have seen Hunter, Zendaya and Sydney say that he did a weird mix of pandering and then bullying of these younger (mostly in experience) actors to get them to do what he wanted and think that it was a good idea. Out of anyone, a well to do white guy having that much control over a show is the only type of person who could. I’ve worked on shows, edited scripts and been a part of many different areas of media and usually like you said it’s not absolute control. But you do find it happens even if it’s got a writing team the show runner will just pick what is most in line for them and edit what they want. But Sam did have control over everything on this and it’s why it’s such a big departure from season one.
Its hbo they allow dumb and dumber to do whatever they want with game of thrones
I was so shocked that he got to direct every. single. episode !
I'm still surprised that something as singular in vision as Season 2 of Euphoria could be so inconsistent, disjointed, and narratively untidy.
It might also be bc his dad is a big name in Hollywood
it’s crazy to me how one of the biggest plot points of season 1 was the tape of jules and nate’s dad, the blackmail (and jules and nate’s relationship)… and the resolution in season 2 is so anticlimactic. had jules been given a bigger arc this season we could have seen how the tape affected her life, since she didn’t even know she was being SECRETLY recorded. jules story this season was just wasted.. sad
RIP Angus Cloud
I am also made deeply uncomfortable by the sex scenes, but for a different reason. It makes me uncomfortable because unfortunately, the way sex is portrayed in the show is the reality for a lot of young women. I truly didn't enjoy sex until I was an adult and met a man who really loved me and prioritized my pleasure. Our culture surrounding sex is so fucked up. I worked at an adult store for a really long time and the number of women who I helped who'd never had an orgasm was so sad. I'm talking women in their 30's or 40's who just had sex with their husband to keep him happy. Anyways, my point is, yeah the sex scenes are deeply unsettling, (Especially since these characters are underage.) but I believe A LOT of women relate to at least one of the girls on the show and TBH Nate's attitude about sex is how I imagine most men view sex.
have i watched an episode of this show? no. will i eagerly watch this spoiler filled review and act like an expert afterwards? 100%
Exactly 😂
Preach, I mostly just "watch" this show through UA-cam reviews, and I have a fair gist of the storylines.
I will always appreciate the hours of my life that he has saved me by not having to watch these shows while still letting me feel cultured
same
Same
I like to play “what was that for” with this show, here’s a list:
-Kat and Ethan, what was that for
-Nate attacking Maddy with a gun, what was that for
-McKay being assaulted, what was that for
-Cassie’s abortion, what was that for
-Fezco attacking Nate, what was that for
-Elliot, in general, what was that for
-Maddy and the milf, what was that for
-Leslie’s crying asking to take Rue in rehab, what was that for
-Jules cheating??? What was that for
-Laurie drugging Rue hinting the whole human trafficking?? What was that for
Update: before anyone replies please read the comments
Nate deserved to get his ass beat and for Leslie there is either 2 reasons
Reason 1: She couldn't afford to send Rue to rehab and therefore was begging them to let her go
Reason 2: Lots of rehab facilities don't even have that space to begin with, and therefore they try to occupy that space with the patients who "need it more", for example Rue, a 17 year old girl who still lives with her parents, isn't seen as being in the same danger as a middle-aged adult with no one else to turn to
Fezco attacking Nate made the most sense to me. He went to the cops instead of handling his own, Fezco beat his ass for snitching and almost getting him caught up.
Ditto, while Fezco beating Nate to a bloody pulp made a little sense based on what we already know about the two characters, the real issue is that none of these stories have any real bearing on the plot. They're simply tossed aside as soon as they no longer fit the narrative function.
@@Ploopbloopz He definitely deserved that, but did it bring anything to the story?
It didn’t lead to anything else, everyone just brushed over that. I thought maybe it would be a conflict in Fez-Lexi relationship but no, I thought Nate was going to get revenge, but no. Nothing happened
It was good seeing his ass getting beat but I don’t think we should glorify Fezco violence either (nor Maddy’s). A person beating the shit out of another one is weird, tho satisfying, it’s still a bad thing to do who leads to nothing in the end.
Also Leslie, yes, the scene is absolutely great, the actress plays it incredibly well, But, they make it seems to be like the biggest event ever, just like Dylan said in the video, it’s like a matter of life or death, yet Rue stays clean without going to rehab, she does just fine, so the whole scene was there just for the performance and drama of it
@@sweetembrace6706 story line is supposed to have a point and bring somethings to the plot. A random ass scene thrown in the show for drama isn’t a story line, it’s a waste of time
The story ain’t special, but from the visual point of view it is a masterpiece.
This is the same teen show with a huge budget and top cast. That's it. If this show was on the CW, people would have trash it.
i disagree. i think the story surrounding these characters are very special , epesicslly rues. but sometimes it’s just not done properly
That’s the perfect definition of the show, style over substance
@@sweetembrace6706 Saying something is about addiction isn’t automatically a sign of quality. It’s good, but the consequences of addiction are super inconsistent.
@Ks exactly. The show is just about addiction and that’s it. Everyone in the show is addicted to something and that’s it.
@@sweetembrace6706 every show has a theme, that doesn’t mean every show is good. You are right that it’s not for me, but the lack of attention to the writing is the main reason.
After watching it, I decided it exemplified the epitome of” fake deep”
But, if I were 16, I would be modeling my life after it. So I can’t completely hold “loving it” and thinking it’s the best show ever against the younger generation, because I would have felt the same way 10-15 years ago. But it’s not the masterpiece it’s being made out to be. I also recognize that trying to tell almost anyone that is pointless.
Last thing - nearly all of the commentary I’ve witnessed is almost exclusively about Maddy and Cassie and their relationships with Nate. That’s all I have seen anyone discussing. Because of this, I went into it expecting them to be the main focus of the show, but they’re not. They’re the B-plot, sometimes even the C-plot, in most episodes. They’re shoving Rue and Jules’ relationship and Rue’s struggle with addiction down your throat, and there is a LOT there to talk about, to learn and grow from, even. But I don’t see anyone talking about ANY of that. It’s all Maddy and Cassie and Nate.
So… my point is that there is a lot of real sh*t to take away from the show, to talk about on a deeper level. But the only thing people are taking away from it? Maddy and Cassie and Nate, omg. It’s sad.
10:36 Kat, too. A million times more fascinating as a character with a deeper story that’s well worth discussing. But nope. She’s been reduced to having a few catchy lines, “slayyyyy Queen” and “boss bitch”… and I know. The target audience. Blah blah blah. But it’s depressing how much they’re missing the points that are worthy of discussing further.
The issue of Euphoria vs. Skins in terms of nudity is that the nudity in Skins isn't as overboard or unrealistic to me in comparison to the way the kids here acted. Euphoria was just a tad too adult to me in comparison to Skins because there just wasn't enough innocence and actual teenage mannerisms. Ethan was one of the closes to acting like a teen. The other issue is that pretty much every character is depicted as messed up and dark and not just innocent. There were plenty of normal kids without issues when I was going to school. Euphoria made it like everyone was so messed up and depressed and it's a little too ridiculous to enjoy.
I started watching this, but it put me in a really bad head-space. Definitely stressed me out. I think I watched 3 episodes of the first season. Visually, it looks fantastic and I like the music and colors, but even my love for Zendaya can't get me through another episode.
same for me, I watched with a friend and I couldn't finish the first episode without a pause LOL by the third ep I gave up. I have friends that suffer with drug addiction and I could not think about them while watching, it was painful
Same, idk if it was related but the day after finishing either the 3rd or 4th episode of season 1 I had the worst panic attack I’ve had in years, like I didn’t realize it was effecting me that much
Same! I think I made it to 5 episodes before I was like “yeah I don’t think this is for me.”🤷🏼♀️
I don't remember which ep this was, I think ep seven of season 2, when Cassie was talking abt how she was gonna let Nate control her and use her bc at least she'd be loved, it reminded me of my emotionally abusive and manipulative relationship with my ex and really made me upset and I had to take a break from the show for a little while
Fucking same, I used to have Rue’s depressing mentality in high school and this show just infects me right back with it
As an outsider having never watched the show and never intending to watch, it looks beautiful. I can understand the appeal and draw it has. But I think the way the subject matter is handled and the dark tone that does not let up alienates a LARGE group of people from watching the show. I have too much anxiety and PTSD from terrible things that this show would honestly give me a full on panic attack. And a lot of people feel this way. Shows should give subjects like this a voice, but this, in my opinion, missed that mark for me.
Also basing this on the fact that I haven't not watched the show but watch many many reviews and commentary on it by all different creators, some that love it, some that hate it and some just explaining the story and plots. It says a lot when all I could stomach was commentary explanations of storyline but can't bring myself to actually watch it.
100% same here! I'm not willing to put myself through the experience of watching this show bc I know it won't be good for me
this is me too, I've been through too much and am too scared by the stuff portrayed in this show to watch it, but I've been consuming so much commentary on it bc I still want to hear about it and see what people think, bc the conversations happening about the show are interesting. I just could never actually watch the show itself, I kind of wish I could, but I know my limits and it would be way too harmful for me mentally to be worth it
A show doesn’t “miss the mark” because it’s not palatable to some people. It could not be for you and that’s 100% up to your discretion, but that doesn’t mean the show did something wrong on that end.
Just because something is triggering to you doesn't mean it shouldn't be done, and I say this as someone who hasn't watched it yet because I know I might not be able to handle it.
Not everything is meant to appeal to everyone.
when both the director and Zendaya say that it was never intended for teenagers (which I believe their intentions were genuine), I have to question how they didn't realize during the process of creating the show that it is so on the market for teenagers of this generation?? I mean having a damn good soundtrack and a show that represents and expresses the depths and darkness of some mental illnesses and addiction struggles while artists like Juice WRLD took the industry by storm. Also I can't think of a single TV show that was made in the past that was about teens, in the perspective of teens, NOT made for teens to watch (not denying the fact that there may be some out there, I just can't think of any). also possibly casting Zendaya, a recognizable actress from a Disney show that teens grew up either watching themselves or see ads for it as children could have contributed to it, and the fact that Zendaya is a beauty/fashion icon, could grasp their attentions as well. Also having cool aesthetics and beauty looks in an age where beauty gurus are a huge part of the internet and I know many teens that love aesthetics and vintage filters or cameras etc. Not to mention that by being edgy and delving into topics like sex and parties in high school on top of all of the aesthetics will naturally pique teens' interests, as they are curious and trying to grasp the meaning behind certain things themselves. Being someone who is in between generations and also works with teens, it's not surprising whatsoever that teens gravitate towards it. I know this is based off the Israeli show of the same title, but they had an opportunity to change it up, so it's hard not to question them when they say it was never intended for teens bc when you look at it, that statement can be hard to believe when it comes to how they chose to follow through with the show.
(anyway this was a great video...as always!!)
Agreed :)
I think they just cling on to plausible deniability.
They must have known this was going to appeal to teens and even tweens, if not be mainly consumed by then. As you said, it was obvious.
They can’t say they made a teen show that’s rated TV-MA (not suitable for people under 17), it would be admitting to making and selling age-inappropriate content.
a large chunk of Gen z is 18-25 right now, so yes this show was meant for Gen z who aren’t teenagers/minors
@@xg2513 true...technically I fit within that category. Yet euphoria originally came out in 2019, which meant that a lot of the same people in that age group were under 18. still, I was referring to teens today, who don't happen to have a generation name yet hahah, not just Gen Z.
@@jamie2876 same. which makes me find it odd that people say gen z kids shouldn't be watching this. but like, who are they referring to? especially since most are in their late teens or early adulthood, usually emotionally mature enough to understand shows like this. yet they say gen z kids shouldn't watch it, because apparently all of us are immature tik tokers who lack the sense to comprehend any of the darker subject matter in this show. wish people wouldn't generalize an entire age group of people lol i suppose that's the internet for you.
I don't hate Euphoria but I feel like the stans who LOVE it and think it's groundbreaking are the same people who would repost "aesthetic" images and sad girl quotes on tumblr with nothing to remark besides quoting "queen" or "iconic". It's definitely visually striking but self-indulgent af (especially with the Sam Levinson self inserts...) to an obnoxious level at times. The fans definitely miss the mark on a lot of shit they think is "yass queen" moments, especially with the gross amount of teen sexual exploitation story lines featured. It's basically teen trauma dump porn. Like an R rated Riverdale. I can never take it seriously enough.
Very succinctly put. I knew someone who felt a sorta “literally me” thing from Cassie-particularly whatever the context of her crying in the bathroom was (I’ve barely started this video). This particular someone also clearly had undiagnosed BPD, and was very manipulative, and likely found comfort in being “broken.”
For me, it’s the fact that Euphoria doesn’t really show a lot of the characters having what would be considered “normal moments.” I knew kids who did drugs in high school, I knew kids who got into gangs, had sex with older people, all that jazz. But they also played TF2, argued about tv shows (mainly Avatar, if I’m being honest), and got part time jobs. It’s one thing to show all the characters as having issues, it’s another thing to show all of the characters as ONLY having issues. They don’t feel like characters as much as lists of edgy tropes.
Thank you! They are high schoolers but we never see them doing homework or stressing over exams or anything else school related the school is like a background , you could remove it entirely and it wouldn’t matter.
Being an 18 year old teen who watched the first season this Jan, I won't deny some representations and storylines were great (nd I'm not an aesthetic loving person so you can count I wouldn't watch it for that reason) but some aspects came out as really disturbing to me, specially the hypersexualization of minors. Apart from that, kats storyline with camming could have been used to make such a good point about teen subjecting to self exploitation nd grooming but they completely dropped it which makes it more like glorifyingggggg
@@sweetembrace6706 yass!! 17 year olds doing sex work is not exploitation because it's your FaVoRiTe ShOw. Please 12 year old, go nd watch cartoons
@@sweetembrace6706 also you don't seem to really understand how 'grooming' works. It's not limited to one or two ways, there are multiple ways it can be done, intentionally and unintentionally
@@sweetembrace6706 ... Except that when they are minors CLEARLY there is a problem. Please, let's stop defending dropped storylines because we like the show.
@@sweetembrace6706 are you okay???? You can't groom people on the internet??? That's just plain wrong
Edit: dude she's a minor camming she's going to be groomed. You need to stop watching this show if you can type out: " you can't be groomed on the internet" and not think you said something wrong immediately
He fact that grooming wasn’t even talked about was ridiculous. At the end of the day Sam erasing her because she wouldn’t do the eating disorder arc shows how Sam really see’s plus sized women, as people that aren’t worthy of being seen or heard unless they fit his narrative. It’s disgusting
Euphoria does feel like what being a teenager was, in some way. Feeling like you are some sort of badass, tragic person when really you're just a dramatic kid going through it
Ain’t never clicked so fast, been waiting for this one 😈
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Ong
I feel like the show wasn’t made to be a representation of teen problems or a show about interesting people, but it was made to be talked about on the internet. Either with outrage from haters or obsessive fan girls making edits or fashion deconstructions.
The "confrontation" between Maddie and Cassie was one Benny Hill Theme from being a complete slapstick gold. Also, is McKay okay? He dropped out of the show completely after the premier of season 2. Also, "What's the point of that" is a very suitable tag line for the whole season. Which I feel somewhat peeked with episode 5 and never recovered.
I wish that more teen dramas would be set in college than in high school. Presumably the reason that "Euphoria" doesn't is for the shock value alone of underage teenagers dabbling in sex and drugs. "The Sex Lives of College Girls" is an underrated show about teens in college, and it's a fairly realistic depiction, in my opinion.
you might enjoy Genera+ion, another HBO show. i liked it and there's even ace representation which is of course so rare on TV
or maybe because a lot of these characters wouldn't realistically be at the same college, if they'd go to one at all. and, a lot of the audience have never been and never will go, and can't relate. plus all the storylines that revolve around their parents and any plot relating to being forced to go to the same school as your exes and people who hate you every day would become moot. when every character has the options to simply not show up to class, or move away, drop out, or not answer their parents' calls, it would drastically reduce the amount of tension the story can build. there are even less consequences for your choices in college. *that's* probably why teen dramas are set in high school.
@@sweetembrace6706 what did I just listen to. Equating people being homophobic to being against grooming that is a form of abuse, specifically against children
I think high school is right for Euphoria just because it’s not supposed to be very realistic, but more so to feel like a memory of what high school was like, and it hits the mark on that
@@sweetembrace6706 the sex in euphoria is sexualised. greatly.
take a look at sex education; we see teenagers ages 16-18 having sex and not once do they try and make it ‘hot’ or ‘appealing’ to the audience. it’s just teenagers experimenting and having sex.
euphoria on the other hand shows sex in a completely different light when they just don’t need to. the lighting, the camera angles, the acting- it’s all hyper-sexualisation. i won’t even get onto kat becoming a cam girl because people have already argued that case against you.
if they were adults it’d be a different story, but they’re not. you shouldn’t be portraying teenagers fucking as hot or sexy.
despite so many people correcting you on terms and such as grooming and sexualisation, you choose to stubbornly remain ignorant. not to mention you’re equating the sexualisation of minors to homophobia. calm down darlin
in my personal opinion, the show used to get away a lot with the beautiful cinematography.
just because something looks good doesn't mean it is in terms of narrative.
s1 was better because it was introducing characters and had a purpose. it still suffered from the same issues but it was easier to look away.
s2 on the other hand dedicates its time to either being goofy or again trying to look pretty. The barely plot it had could be wrapped up in 3 episodes
Speak for yourself... that crap annoyed me in season one lol. "Hey this looks cool and all... but can I get back to.. whatever the story is here.. oh nvm.. another almost music video scene for 4 more minutes".
tl;dr style over substance.
@@thespy6707 In fact, if he speaks for himself when mentioning that it is his personal opinion.
I think the one thing that made me the most frustrated in S2 was Jules' writing. Cause everyone that called her a villain in the first season never made sense to me. I loved Jules so much and with her special, Hunter was so heavily involved with the writing and story and it was beautiful. It really did seem they were setting up for Jules to be a trans lesbian and that was the direction her and Sam were going for. Like Jules said that three times she was no longer interested in men, only for her to cheat on Rue again with Elliot. And it made me so mad because it doesn't make any sense. I started to dislike Jules and I blame Sam and his writing because her hooking up with Elliot just backtracks all the development and writing they set up from season 1 and her special. The only reason I can say that happened was because as Rue said in episode 5 "You love being loved." And how Jules anytime someone gives her any attention through compliments or whatever or shows an interest in her she falls for them. Examples being Rue, Tyler (Nate) Anna and Elliot. So I can see that as justification for her writing as to why they wrote that, but it still never makes any sense given what they already built up. Her idea of femininity and how to concur I believed would change through making her own belief on what it means and it not being hooking up with men. Which was talked about in her special where she said how what men want is boring. So why did they just drop that whole storyline. All Sam did for Jules this season was make her make mistakes and give the fans who already dislike her more reasons for unexplainable hate. Hoping she gets fixed next season cause the character, fans and Hunter deserves better.
maybe Jules said she wasn't interested in men anymore because of the traumatic Tyler situation and the Nate's dad situation. or as you said maybe she fell for that dude because she literally falls for any- and everybody who does a few things to show interest. plus, even if you know you're not straight, when you're young it can be easy to fall into repeating the pattern of dating the opposite gender because you know what they expect and how you're supposed to act. actually going and sticking with women can be scary and you can just chicken out lol. all the dynamics can change, you might have to figure out what you want your relationships to be like from scratch without the convenient established framework of a straight relationship; at 17 that can be daunting. i know it stresses some people out so much they try to just forget about it and say never mind, or say i'll start dating women someday/soon/by age 20/after this relationship ends or whatever.
I feel all of this, love Jules, but I will say that Jules can be a lesbian and still have sex with men. A lot of people use the term lesbian to mean that their sexuality is defined by loving women, which is along the lines of what Jules said in her special episode. I felt it was more a flaw of Elliot's character writing rather than Jules 'backtracking' or whatever.
@@kat8559 nah, lesbians are not attracted to men, sapphic is the term you’re describing, but yeah she can still be a lesbian and have sex with men for validation, although i thought she would’ve stopped doing that after what she said in the special, although you could argue that people aren’t perfectly logical and come back to old habits, but idk i don’t think the writers (or i guess it’s just sam levinson) intended for that interpretation
"more reasons for unexplainable hate" Wtf, you just explained (and so does the show) why she could be hated. You just didn't see her that way during season one, but you yourself admitted a lot of people already did. Jules, like it or not, it's one character who has been actually cohesive throughout the show. Sure, s2 might have exposed some of her flaws more, but it's like you're mad the producers validated the "haters" opinions, which are only haters because they noticed bad things about her that you either didn't or chose to ignore. Jules isn't a very good person - she's never been. There's a lot of those people on the show and that's it. I'm sorry but the ideal of a character you were hoping to see was never there. There's nothing in her writing to get fixed and Hunter is one of the writers for the show, she has a strong voice there and I think she's fine with her character arc.
I have seen many trans women say that Jules was written like a manic pixie sex girl by Sam in season one and her special is the only thing that redeemed the character and they hoped Hunter would be more a part of her writing going forward. While I enjoyed her in season 1 I can from my own experience as someone who is gender diverse agree that yeah, it had a lot of issues and did nothing for representation for trans women. You don’t have to paint trans flags all over or do wild things for representation but Sam seems to deeply enjoy exploiting women in his show in clever and disgusting ways. Season 2 what he did to her was so horrible and having her be with a guy who talked down to her and was really cruel about things like her wearing a binder was not okay. She deserves better and Sam should be sidelined so he can just work on the visuals and people of colour, women and LGBT+ folk can write this so that it actually represents the people in the damn show.
You said absolutely everything I thought but could never have said it this well. Great channel!!!
This show has been so hyped I thought it was gonna change my life. I started watching it with some friends and after like 40 minutes of narration I was falling asleep and said "can we watch something else" which I only didn't say earlier to not ruin their enjoyment, but they all replied with "thank god, yes please" and the like.
LMAOOOO me never watching this show but watching this video and seeing how trash it is
I just know this show made me feel depressed as fuck for some reason. I really don't know what it was but that one episode where rue is having her depressive episode...that was me. Literally. I was continuously binging the series just like she was doing with whatever movie she was watching. Both laying in bed, not eating, not answering the phone, not going to the bathroom, just depressed. That was my reality in that point in time. And when i saw that and realized i had been doing the exact same thing but through every single episode i got even sadder at myself. Idk in my experience, I really don't think it did my mental health any good so I'd say if you're already kinda struggling up there or are feeling a bit susceptible like how i was feeling that week or so, it may be better to not watch it. I actually stopped myself from watching more even though i kinda do wanna know what happens but I think it's just better for me to watch something that actually makes me happy and laugh. Imma just stick to re-watching community xD
I fully relate. Watched season one a few months ago for the first time (after putting off watching it basically since it came out lol) and yup that was also me. Laying there, depressed as shit like Rue, I kinda found it funny. I tend to gravitate so much towards darker shows while depressed, and although I did like watching this show, it definitely wasn't helping too much lol.
@@chaaaargh Yeah for some reason I also do that and gravitate to more depressing shows when I’m feeling kinda down when I should do the complete opposite of that to help bring my mood up but idk I guess I’m just self destructive hahaha 🤣
@@orangegreen3769 Yup this show is just trying to be a high brow teen drama, whilst also managing to not be intrinsically transgressive, it's just 'dean'pressing
#sixseasonsandamovie
omg same, I just couldn't bring myself to watch after that.
THANK YOU FOR SAYING WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT KAT! Soooo many people (like most of the discourse) completely misunderstands her story. I don’t even know if Sam Levinson fully understood how he was portraying her and what it meant either.
Also the sex comment! Your point about the way sex is portrayed in this show is so pointed
I didn’t watch this season because I felt absolutely disgusting watching someone who is supposed to be my age (I was like 15-16 at the time) do that shit... it definitely doesn’t come off as a victim, she looks like she’s doing it intentionally and she thrives on it and loves it
The fact that Sam L projects a story about teenagers and expect teenagers "not to watch it" is just 🙄. If it was meant for adults, he should've kept them as 18+ [Why Rue can't begin the story after her cold open, like "it was the beginning of summer, just after graduation, and I had no intention of staying sober" - something like that].
Neverthless, keeping aside the aesthetic and cinematic brilliance & bunch of shock moments, season 2 was weak but entertaining enough! And every single main character were flawed in S2, except fezco 🙌
Yes! Why can't these shows ever by set in college, especially if their intention was not to procure a teen audience?? Like the same themes are still ever-present (if not to an even greater degree) as a young adult than as a teenager.
@@Laura-oe2dl The Logic behind it, I believe, is that college kids are expected to be "Young adults" rather than teens, so many possibilities for drama are lost.
Also, responsabilities become a thing. It's harder to write characters when people expect their actions to have consequences.
Said so, It doesn't change the fact that people are stupid for expecting a 19yo dude to be closer to 23yo than to a 15yo.
Every single year once you start being "a young adult" you keep noticing how more and more you are changing even beyond 25. Hell, possibly you are changing more now than as a kid, because you are actually becoming an adult.
Also, creepy obsession with teenagers and their lives, as they are between childhood innocence and adult life.
I like stories about teenagers... But not TV shows like this.
Because these aren't teens, not even idealized cool teens you would fine in comics or manga. These are the teens 40yo people believe exist.
@@Laura-oe2dl right
@@Hyperversum3 !!
Look, literally all of the problems I have with this show could have easily been solved if they had made the setting of the show college. Because I do for the most part enjoy the story but, at least to me, the fact they keep trying to put this in a teenager/high school mind set kills me.
1. People live at home and go to college ALL the time.
2. People drug exploration typically (not always) starts and is exasperated because of college mentality.
3. Basically the same thing with sex and how this show portrays the relationships.
4. A ton of their scenes would make since if they were college age instead on young teens who are monitored by their parents.
Literally if they had just aged these people up a couple of years it would have made the whole story run more smoothly and make it so much less creepy with these teenagers acting like experienced adults.
LITERALLY 18-22 WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE. Maybe still a little awkward but the whole thing would have seen A LOT less excessive.
I agree, it would also make more sense if the show was truly NOT trying to get teens to watch because of course teens are going to be interested about a show about teens
@@aj_san3788 Um I'll have to disagree the show isn't "trying" to do anything to cater to teens, it's just young minds who are interested in sex and drugs and naturally idolize these things due to social pressures, a tale as old as time. That has nothing to do with the show but rather the teenage climate.
Finally someone said it all! Yasss 👏🏾👏🏾 I've had this biggest issue for years when it comes to shows like this
I fully agree with you. They could have easily been freshmen in college or going to a community college close to home or literally anything else that would have made the cast over 18, but still in a school setting.
Why would 18 year old be fine? What does happen to you people the moment midnight on your birthday strikes and you go from 17 to 18? I was just as messed-up as the day before, I looked the same, I had the same problems and everything bad that would happen to me after I hit 18 would be just as messed-up. I don't understand why it's universal ethical take. Also teenagers do drugs, have sex, drink alcohol, go through awful things too. A lot of them need some representation of their problems - maybe not in Euphoria form, but also not in Disney Channel form. At least actors in Euphoria are adults, not mistreated child actors
The reason so many teenagers are attracted to this show is because angst and melodramatic dialogue is what is most appealing to them. Their emotional gaps are not completely filled, they are dealing with a lot of amplified negative feelings, and this transfers over to what they like. This just goes to show that the audience is teenagers, because the writing is teenage level and the maturity as well, is not where it should be for such serious subject matters. This is why it exudes 'fake deep' and 'fantasy' rather than cold, gritty reality like it wants to be.
Can't wait for this deep dive of a show I've never watched to become a comfort video.
Same
Honestly, I'm just glad Jacob moved away from his Kissing Booth role and into something that better suits his talents. Dude's a good actor and deserves so much better.
The Kissing Booth is underrated tbph
@@liampatrick3110 It's ass are you high?
@@liampatrick3110 nah the movies are not good lol.
@@livin.4711 The first one IS, fight me!
@@liampatrick3110 your icky
Euphoria probably would have appealed to me a decade ago when I was an edgy young teen wanting a tragic backstory because it seemed cool at the time. Being an adult now I'm like, kid me was fucking stupid, trauma isn't cool and it's not fun. But I can see how cinematic shots + teenage trauma appeals to kids at that stage of their lives and can seem glamorous. Never watched the show but seen enough on social media to guess that that's why teens love it
Euphoria actually DID appeal to the teen demographic a decade ago, it was called SKINS.
I don't see why people are blaming the show when it clearly does teenagers' interpretation of drugs, alcohol, and addiction. They glamorize naturally because that's what social pressures in a teenage setting will almost always be
Elliot singing in the finale I skipped ALL of it.
It could have explained plot holes and I would have missed it because, I didn’t watch for Glee moments.
There’s ups and downs, but my most favorite thing about this is that it actually gives me a sense of euphoria. Something about the scenes and music just makes me feel a way I can’t describe and I’m addicted to it.
Euphoria is one season away from just becoming a stylized Riverdale and I’ve never been more terrified of a potential reality. Also let’s be honest TikTok is the reason this season blew up as much as it did
💀💀💀
I mean it is not realistic in the first place.Its is just like any other glorified high school show.
As wild as things are I don't think anything can ever reach riverdale's level. Riverdale literally has alternate realities(?) with the characters developing powers
TikTok has a knack for promoting stuff that really wouldnt get attention otherwise
Yeah, it truly gives me slightly more self serious riverdale vibes sometimes (although with much better aesthetics)
“Cassie wasn’t actually ice skating while getting an abortion” cracked me up I’m ngl
Eliott has to be one of the most pointless character in the history of TV shows.
I was waiting for his back story!!!! Him as another addict could have served as such an interesting character in comparison to Rue. The fact that Jules develops feelings for him even though he's the same as Rue could have had such an impact on Jule's character arc as well. Sam didn't give any effort this season. It's like he had these ideas but didn't flesh them out.
I thought it would add up to rue sobriety,for example I thought they would get really close then he would die from OD and it would be like a slap to rue , understanding how much it hurt her sister seeing rue nearly dying ,and that would help rue in trying to get sober
as someone that (still) struggles with drug addiction as well as bipolar disorder & extreme depression, both seasons did an amazing job with SHOWING how those things FEEL. like till this day when i go to someone’s house and i see a bottle of pills; no, the pill bottles do not literally talk to me, but thats how it fucking feels 😭 that moment when rue goes from manic to depressed in season one when she’s going home from fez’s house i can relate all too well to. i dont think the show is flawless, it has a lot of imperfections, but i still love how the show makes me feel. seen, in a way. it can be cringe sometimes but overall i think the show is great, especially season 1. i think sam being the only writer for season 2 was a giant mistake, one i hope he fixes in season 3. but yeah, as someone who knows all too well what rue deals with, its nice to be seen.
also i’d like to add that kids having drug abuse problems is not unrealistic. my addiction started at 14 when i was put on hydros after a spine injury and its been downhill since then lol. i knew 11 year old drug dealers and 14-18 year old cam girls. but as dark as my HS years was, i was still a kid. i was still worried about kid shit and did kid shit. thats really the main thing this show lacks.
bro i seriously need all of your outro music, its so friking good
The amount of guns that are pulled with NO PAYOFF is insane. I love the show but season 2 feels exactly like the guns scenes, shit happens and people just move on, the tension is build and it has 0 payoff
It’s disappointing how easy it was for Sam Levinson to make season 2 good, he just didn’t take this chance. I still remember there is a guy in jail who serves time for assaulting Maddy, and he is there only because of Jules and Maddy corroborating Nate’s story. How interesting would it be to see these characters dynamic in regards to this situation after Nate and Maddy broke up. Would Maddy go and tell the police it was all made up by Nate? Would Jules admit she lied to the detective once she has the photos Nate blackmailed her with? It was a major plot line in s1 and it was never resolved, Sam Levinson just forgot it existed, and I really thought it should become something big in season 2.
I've given myself a pavlovian response of starting to be productive whenever I hear your voice because I use you for work background so often. Which is actually a net positive.
I’ve watched a lot of euphoria videos after finishing season 2 (and rewatching season 1 cause I forgot a lot of stuff). This has to be the BEST breakdown of the show I’ve seen so far. Amazing job! Always happy to watch your videos.
Personally, the two stand alone episodes with Rue and Jules were the best the show had to offer for full episodes.
I am WAY too excited for this episode!!! I find myself watching series wondering what your take is going to be.
Euphoria is like a magnificent dumpster fire that I want to put out, but won't because I can't look away from it.
Poor Space Ninja sounds more exhausted in every video with these shows
ugh, I hate when someone makes EXCELLENT points about shows I really like
My problem with euphoria is that you can be dark and emotional and portray dark topics realistically either out having that be your whole show. For example Bojack Horseman is a very raw emotional and occasionally really fucked up show but they also have appropriately placed comedy focused episodes as respite for the views. Also while most characters are bad people or at the very least damaged, they have Todd as a source of innocence. It also helps that the shows emotional points are actuallt deep as they think it is.
"Aesthetics > storytelling"
Euphoria 🤝 Riverdale
Can anyone check if Sam Levinson and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa aren't the same two kids in a coat? How's that for a plot twist huh
you spot on
I will admit... I get really annoyed at the constant, neverending, over use of what I call.. the "music video" scenes. Where some corny song comes on and I watch slow mo or random cool aesthetics. Seriously.. there's like 4 per episode.
LMAO
I still think Euphoria is by far better😅
K let's not get carried away
the way sam wrote season 2 reminds me of the bojack horseman episode "int. sub" (i think?) where the writer of the show had one idea and diane had to sit him down and be like "ok, why are they here? what's the purpose of this scene? why would this character say this?"
sam needs a diane
Yes lmao. I'm a huge bojack fan and just did a rewatch recently and that's all I could think of
Cheers
Although I've never watched Euphoria so I can't really judge it, the discussion about the portrayal of sex at 13:55 sounds almost exactly like how I've heard some of my more sex-averse ace friends describe what sex is like for them. "Sex is not fun and there is always an ulterior motive" is also usually the idea I see in the ace community, even I as sex-neutral see it as "something I'd be willing to do if my non-ace significant other asks for it as a way of compromising our sexualities" which is still an ulterior motive. Honestly makes me wonder if this show would be a good one to show to non-ace people for them to understand what being ace is like.
Girl no , just send them this video LMAOOOO.
Tf is ace. What is wrong with you people
Asexual. So a straight person is now to be called a non ace cis person. Like cmon man
there are unequivocally many critiques to be had of euphoria, but one thing i can accredit as being well-done is their portrayal of addiction in rue. her bonus episode particularly struck a chord in me, as someone who has anorexia (which i understand isn’t clinically an addiction but there are a litany of similarities). especially love when ali says something along the lines of how ‘no one but an addict will consider addiction an illness’. it’s insanely true. things of that nature are typically seen as personal failures by society and this creates a real hurdle for those in recovery, who are denied the appropriate empathy and humanity. other aspects i appreciated was the familial response, how addiction disfigures your personality and poisons your actions, and the emphasis put on the source of addiction (trauma, pre-existing mental illnesses, grief).
almost forgot to add how the depiction of pseudo-recovery resonated with me, with all the complications and burdens that accompany it.
I love season 1 of euphoria specifically the Rue and Jules stuff. I think their plot line specifically is really thematically rich and compelling. The way it tackles addiction on a meta textual level is really interesting and the interaction with masculinity and sexuality is compelling. Jules was one of the first characters I ever really felt seen by as a transwoman and I think her identity is extremely well integrated into the thematic texture. Rue and Jule’s relationship is carefully built and the way that you can tell both of them care for eachother but aren’t in a place to be together is great. I dropped season 2 as soon as Rue and Jules got together and I’m glad I did. It showed to me that the characters weren’t the characters I was attached to and I’ve never looked back.
i adored the first season. i loved everything about it and the special episodes just made me more excited for season two... didn't expect to be so disappointed so soon.
I just love the cinematography, the storyline is extra
What felt off for me is that Rue is dealing with a very serious addiction that made her do and say horrible things to the people she loves and her sister and mother are having to handle all that and then so much time is spent on Cassie sleeping with her best friends ex when they weren't even together and Kat who is just not as interested in her BF as she should be. Like its so weird. I think a better route would be to look at the struggles of high schoolers when faced with someone who is in legitimate danger. Thats so much more realistic and relatable for all the people who did have serious addiction issues or had a friend with addiction when they were way too young.
The scene where Rue was doing a detective parody has layers to it that I'm not sure you appreciate. Her character has bipolar disorder. One part of having bipolar disorder is experiencing mania. When people are manic they often think they have special insights and get wrapped up in there all-consuming theories about things. The detective thing was a funny way to show this.
Having said that I totally agree with you on a lot of the major plot points not paying off. I was scared for Rue not paying back the money to the drug dealer. I would imagine owing money to a crime boss would really bad thing and surely it wouldn't take the dealer long to retaliate.
That was my favorite scene in the show
I loved that part.
this. Exactly!!