#Season 2 Is Bolder, Deeper, And More Relentless

“Euphoria” season 2 is emotionally relentless. It commits to every bold narrative maneuver it makes, but to a warts-and-all portrayal of addiction most of all. As someone whose loved ones suffer from addiction, I’ve often felt disappointed by stale and hollow takes on the topic, but “Euphoria” cuts to the quick. I’ve never seen a show so willing to transform its hero into the worst person you’ve ever met in the name of accurately communicating how the often-misunderstood disease looks and feels. That’s a good thing, as Rue’s rock bottom might be the show’s finest hour. But for anyone with some level of attachment to these characters, it also undoubtedly feels really, really bad.

Zendaya anchors this tightrope walk of a performance beautifully. As non-sober Rue, she’s all slouched laziness, eyes half-closed as the character smiles and shrugs her way through her adolescence. And when she does fall off that tightrope, fully and resoundingly with no soft place to land, Zendaya also takes on that gutsy task with seeming ease. The series has a widely talented cast, but aside from Zendaya, this season asks the most of those who see Rue at her worst, including sister Gia (Storm Reid), drug dealer Fezco (Angus Cloud), and newcomer Elliott (Dominic Fike). Each of these actors matches Zendaya’s energy, elevating the show far beyond typical teen drama territory. 

“Euphoria” used to rely on stylized, character-specific cold opens, but as the second season unfolds, these mostly fall away. A lot of the series’ artifice falls away, leaving only the ugliness of the situations these lonely, angry, depressed teens find themselves in.