Season two of HBO’s acclaimed show “Euphoria” just wrapped up on Sunday. The finale drew over 6.6 million viewers, and the show became HBO’s second-highest watched series behind “Game of Thrones.”
Season 1
Season 1’s finale aired in August of 2019, so we had a while to wait for the Season 2 (almost two years later). Show creator Sam Levinson captured the attention of audiences with his gripping storytelling, love-able yet hate-able characters, and cinematic experience.
Zendaya stars as the main character. A struggling narcotics addict and 17-year-old high schooler named Rue. She is supported by a stellar breakout cast including Sydney Sweeney as Cassie. Alexa Demie as Maddy. Maude Apatow as Lexi. Barbie Ferreira as Kat. Angus Cloud as Fez. Jacob Elordi, fresh from the fame of Netflix’s The Kissing Booth, stars as Nate.
In season we get all the character back stories by way of Rue's narration. We watched the characters navigate extreme dark times such as battling narcotics addictions and domestic abuse.
Season 2
Season 2, however, kicks off with a bang. We're reintroduced to the familiar themes of pain, heartbreak, and grief, along with a more refined viewing experience that took a step back from violence. Standout moments of Season 2 include the budding romance between Lexi and Fez or #Fexi and a showstopping musical number set to “Holding Out For A Hero” by Bonnie Tyler.
Nonetheless, every episode is packed with action, lies, and betrayals. Every week we are left on the edge of our seat wondering how characters navigate through these scenarios.
The sophomore season also brought new cast members, with Chloe Cherry as Faye and Dominic Fike as Elliot.
Sam Levinson also chose to switch from shooting digitally to filming the second season on 35mm Kodak Ektachrome film. He said it provided a hazy, worn out feeling to match our run down characters he said.
“Euphoria” also became the most tweeted about TV show of the year, with over 30 million tweets since Season 2 aired in January. On TikTok, #Euphoria has 33.8 billion views, as with every new episode released on Sunday came new trending audios for users to create videos.
Many fans on social media have criticized the second season for being littered with plotholes and complained that the finale failed to tie up many loose ends. Where is Laurie? What happened to the camera recording Maddy? Will #Fexi ever happen? But, was this really a failure on the writers’ part, or an opportunity to lay the groundwork for season 3?
Viewers will have to wait until the show returns in 2024 to be sure.
