Euphoria – Yay or Nay?

Euphoria is an American teen drama based on the Israeli television miniseries of the same name. The series premiered in July 2019 and season 2 came out in January 2022. The plot follows a group of high school students as they navigate their issues of identity, trauma, drugs, love, toxic masculinity, self-harm, body shaming, sex, and pretty much every other teenage issue you can think of. It’s trending with the youth and even has Instagram reels and videos creating the same aesthetic as the series. This show is unlike anything else we have ever seen. 

What’s the show all about

Episode after episode, Zendaya delivers tear-jerking performances as Rue Bennett, an anxiety-ridden 17 year old returning to school from rehab. Rue’s road to addiction is the main focus of Euphoria. Zendaya’s performance is at a career-best and her most substantial role to date. She continues to be the narrator of the show. Rue’s (Zendaya) life intersects with her high school peers, from swaggering sociopathic jock Nate (The Kissing Booth’s Jacob Elordi) to sexually unsure college freshman Chris (The Hate U Give’s Algee Smith) to body-conscious Kat (Model Barbie Ferreira) to, most notably, new girl Jules (Trans activist Hunter Schafer).

Positive treat

The positive treat is that the direction, cinematography, and camerawork all worked well to showcase each character’s emotional turmoils. The louder scenes are graphic and bold, and at the same time, the quieter scenes are equally powerful, thus, a well-balanced drama that knows when to push and when to pull back. It’s difficult to predict where it’ll go, which adds to its wild appeal, but it’s already one of the most ambitious and effective new shows we’ve seen this year.

Review

The acting is commendable, the show has created characters who might be loveable or hateful, but it’s definitely worth investing time and emotion in. The show has created a bold, over-the-top aesthetic that some could definitely criticize but we found it intoxicating and refreshing to watch. It’s an extreme experience and not for everyone. It could be a nightmare for parents since there are multiple drug counts, occasionally violence, nudity, and several tales of child pornography.  

We think it’s definitely worth watching. So Yay!

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