Now that the long-awaited third season «"Euphoria »" has finally dropped, it seems like a weekly ritual has developed around the show. With each new episode, fans, critics, and haters alike take to social media to discuss how this HBO melodrama has completely gone off the rails. While I won't argue that the show doesn't adhere to its roots in any way, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out the fact that «"Euphoria"» was a completely insane show long before Sydney Sweeney started eating out of a dog bowl. In fact, I'm not even sure what a "derailment" would look like in this weird teen sex drama.
The euphoria was always excessive.
Euphoria
Already from the first episode «"Euphoria"» It's a strange show. It centers on sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll, but it's all told through the lens of a Southern California high school. Personally, I've always thought stories like these would be much better suited for a university setting, because I don't remember suitcases full of heroin being passed around in my tenth-grade high school literature class. Maybe I was just old-fashioned back then, but I think stories about female empowerment through sexual freedom are better received when the woman has reached adulthood.
The first season features a whole storyline about a curvy young woman who discovers her worth by becoming a nude webcam model. From her perspective, this makes her a true villain, but watching the show as an adult highlights the predatory nature of unsupervised teen internet access. She may not see herself as a victim, but she is a teenager whose self-worth is entirely determined by her value to disgusting perverts in kinky chat rooms.
Euphoria
I'm sure many teenagers have had drug problems and sexual adventures, but that's the exception rather than the rule. It's important to note that most high schoolers still yell "six-seven" in the hallways and, for some reason, watch people open Pokémon cards on Twitch. Not every show has to be hyper-realistic, but «"Euphoria"» has always struck me as predatory in its dark and dramatic portrayal of children.
Out of sorts from day one
Of course, even adult characters are not immune to madness.« Euphoria »" One of the most bizarre storylines in the show (and perhaps in television history) involves Cal Jacobs, played by Eric Dane. Throughout the first season, Cal is portrayed as a powerful construction magnate, responsible for the construction of half the city. In the second season, he is hit over the head with a sawed-off shotgun by a child under ten. The blow leaves Cal with a concussion, after which he returns home to his family and dramatically announces that he is now gay.
Euphoria
Explaining that he's gay and has suffered a concussion, Cal urinates on the hallway floor in front of his children, demonstrating a strange, animalistic form of dominance. He then leaves his home and goes to live in an unfinished house in the middle of nowhere. Later in the season, we see him settle into a community of homeless gay men who use unfinished houses as meeting places. I can't emphasize enough that my description makes this entire plot seem less absurd than what unfolds on screen.
From the point of view of a viewer who has watched the series from the very beginning, I think that «"Euphoria"» is less crazy today than it was back when Cal Jacobs was literally squandering the family legacy. Sure, Sydney Sweeney's character seems to exist primarily so creator Sam Levinson can test his thinly disguised sexual indiscretions, but at least she's playing an adult now, thanks to the time jump between seasons. Zendaya's character also faces problems related to a major drug trafficking operation, but this seems more logical now than in the first season, when she was supposedly playing a 16-year-old.
Euphoria
Honestly, I think the main highlight is «Euphoria» There's always been an absurdity to it. The show exists to irritate social media users, who then drive more traffic to HBO with their complaints. It just seems like people have forgotten that now that the show is less about school plays and more about Sydney Sweeney wearing a diaper and using offensive language toward people with disabilities.
Series «"Euphoria"» Available for viewing on the Max platform.