Euphoria review-

Triggers: Drug abuse, domestic violence, statutory rape, violence, sexual content, self-harm, suicidal ideation is mentioned

Euphoria: A Contradictory Show

Glittery tears. Labrinth. Vibrant cinematography. Even if you haven’t watch the show I’m sure you are familiar with it’s aesthetic. I think this aesthetic is paradoxically both a strength and setback for the show, which I’ll get into later. I used to have a love-hate relationship with the show which has settled to mostly love. I think it’s an incredibly well made show but there are some things which still make me both uncertain and uncomfortable. I will say right now do not watch this show if you have a lot of triggers as some plotlines and scenes are incredibly disturbing.

The story follows Rue (Zendaya) a 17 year old drug addict as well as her other peers. The narrative structure is similar to Dear White People where each episode focuses on one character and their backstory, unfolding what drives the character with Rue narrating in the background. I think Rue is the richest character of the show. She has both severe depression and bipolar disorder and well as possibly OCD. Due to her addiction issues she is predictably self-destructive and can be extremely selfish or cruel at times. She often pushes her old best friend Lexi in giving urine so her mum doesn’t find out she is still using and often lashes out at people. Her drug dealer is one of her closest friends and ironically is the sweetest character on the show, however the show thankfully does not shy away from the ugliness of addiction and Rue gets herself into some extremely scary situations. The creator Sam Levinson based both the show and Rue on his own experiences as teenage drug addict, so understandably he’s not going to underplay the severity of addiction. However, despite Rue being a fairly toxic person there’s something about her I can’t help but like. I would say she’s strangely one of the most down to earth and relatable characters in my opinion. She has this awkwardness which is quite endearing at times and a biting sense of humour. Despite her issues, you can really tell she loves both her family and friends and is trying her hardest to do her best.

Her relationship with Jules is in my opinion the best part of the show. There’s this sweet and carefree energy where you actually remember that they’re just kids. However their naivety really becomes apparent. As revealed in the Christmas special, Rue idolised Jules too quickly and Jules is incredibly out of her depth in dealing with Rue’s addiction. Jules is often unsure whether she actually loves Rue. I really don’t think Jules deserves the vitriol she gets in regards to this relationship, Jules may have her own flaws but she’s also a teenager dealing with a very toxic and damaged girlfriend. Whilst dealing with her own tribulations. I think Jules is one of (if not the) the best trans representation on TV. Before the confirmation, there are fairly subtle clues she’s trans when she injects oestrogen and flashes of an app which looks like Grindr. Jules being trans is an important part of her character but it’s not something which consumes her storylines. However, her relationship with men is both interesting and unsettling to digest. Being bisexual, Jules doesn’t seem overly into men and mainly sleeps with them to “conquer femininity”. I find her plotline with the main “villain” of the show Nate fascinating as he’s an interesting subversion of the overdone “closeted jock asshole” trope. Nate is a vindictive sociopath but you can’t help but feel that he both envies and respects Jules. Nate shows how pervasive misogyny is and how it damages men as well as women. Jules often has hookups with older, cis men on Grindr which at times can turn out to be pretty disturbing encounters, which is a sad, unspoken reality for some LGBT teens and shows why predatory behaviour can be so insidious within the community.

I find the show’s treatment of sex and female sexuality pretty uncomfortable and even confusing. Rue and Jules’s relationship is honestly a refreshing escape from the often elicit and transactional nature of most of the relationships. Popular alphas Cassie and Maddy often hypersexualise themselves for the benefit of their boyfriends (Maddy rehearses pornographic moans by herself). There’s a unsettling flashback to 14 year old Maddy on the beach getting approached by a much older man who she’ll lose her virginity to and Rue narrates saying “Which sounds kinda rapey and weird, but really she was the one in control”. Considering this show is created by a man with Drake (of all people) as an executive producer, scenes like this leave me feeling incredibly uncomfortable. I don’t deny encounters both Maddy and Jules experience happen in real life, but I feel uncomfortable with the blasé attitude the show takes. However, Maddy herself is a very self-assured girl who complicates the image of victimhood we all have etched in our minds. Her closeted (probably bisexual) boyfriend Nate abuses her regularly and whilst he is of course abhorrent, the show shows that Maddy is not blameless either. Maddy provokes Nate by openly cheating on him (not that this excuses his behaviour) and to remain spoiler free, she does something later on which literally ruins the life of an innocent guy. Plus, Maddy is rather bitchy and is a pretty flaky friend. Of course, Maddy deserves our sympathy being a victim of abuse however the show stresses she herself is very flawed. Maddy’s friend Kat is played by the very beautiful plus sized model Barbie Ferreira and begins the show as an insecure girl who is mocked by her friends for being a virgin. After that said virginity goes during a house party, the boy secretly filmed her and uploads it on Pornhub  (yeah most of the guys on the show are real pieces of work…). After seeing complimentary comments on the video, Kat “takes back her power” by becoming a cam girl. She starts exploring her sexuality and begins wearing dominatrix like outfits on an everyday basis. I like that by the end, the show began to explore the more disturbing and seedy aspects of sex work, as I feel like for most of the first season it was dealt in a very shallow “Girl Power TM” way. I think it’s sad and sort of frustrating that most of the girls essentially use sex as a means of validation from guys. However, I think that is sadly very realistic and most young girls can fall into that trap due to our hypersexualised society. I think it would be unrealistic and incredibly naïve to shy away from this, like most stories do. Cassie is a very timid girl who often lets her partners film her in compromising positions and barely ever stands up for herself when she gets treated like absolute shit by the guys she’s with. This of course is frustrating and upsetting for feminist viewers like us. However, sadly a lot of girls do struggle using their voices when they’re that young and I think it’ll be a disservice not to explore these complex power dynamics. I do wish there was at least one girl other than Rue and Lexi who don’t pander to the men in their lives and I hope these girls eventually learn to genuinely own their sexuality.

However, I think the recent Christmas special shows the true potential of the show. No explicit images, no Pat McGrath inspired high couture makeup, everything is stripped back from cinematography to setting. Just Rue with Ali (a fellow recovering addict Rue met at N&A) in a diner talking about religion, revolution and how Rue’s addiction is slowly killing her. I truly hope the show continues in this direction and calms down with the distracting aesthetics or plotlines done for shock value. Rue is so vulnerable and lost here, you’ll definitely will want to hug her, despite her problematic behaviour. This is the true strength and potential of the show. Every character is flawed and yet the show can handle their  fallibilities with delicate compassion. However, there definitely are problematic elements of the show which are very polarising.

Juliette