Euphoria: A TV Show Review

 Euphoria is a teen drama show that premiered on HBO on June 15, 2019, and was later renewed for a second season which is yet to release this year. Focusing on Rue, which is played by Zendaya, a 17-year-old drug addict who just came out of rehab because she overdosed and has no intention of staying clean. What’s great about Euphoria is that it also focuses on the other characters just as much as the main character. Rue doesn’t actually feel like the main character as all the characters get almost as much screentime and storytelling. They all have many complex layers, yet Rue still feels like the glue that sticks it all together as she narrates the whole show.

The opening shots of each episode before the title card contain about a maximum of 10 minutes to tell you as much as they can about one of the main characters and introduces you to them from when they were young through flashbacks as well as a summary to that character’s life from when they were born to let you know why they are the way they are in the present time, it’s really smart and it makes you care about each and every character because they are intriguing.

 Now, this show is so hard to describe without spoiling anything, I can’t really talk much about the characters except that they deal with a wide range of subjects such as drug use, sex, violence, WILD relationships and just so many more that has never been tackled on TV It sounds so shallow like it’s another cheesy teen drama but it’s not. Euphoria is proof that teens deserve better content than 13 reasons why and Riverdale and I can’t stress enough how much drug addiction was portrayed so accurately in this show. And here’s the best part, it DOESN’T romanticizes addiction, mental illnesses, toxic relationships, and such things. It’s so dark, raw, and sometimes hard to watch because these things actually happen in real life, and it’s not cute, it’s serious, and the show knows that. There’s never a scene that is graphic just for the sake of being graphic, traumatizing just for the sake of being traumatizing. The show doesn’t lie about its nature and doesn’t advertise itself with things like "being aware" or "starting conversations about mental health", it’s just a GOOD unique show that was mainly created for entertainment and to make you feel something for each of these characters.

 Speaking of art, let’s move to the visuals and the directing of this show. This is one of the most consistently directed shows in terms of its tone, visuals, lighting, and cinematography. It has its own unique style that makes it’s own thing, its philosophy in visual storytelling, its use of colors and lighting, and it's almost impossible to copy. You can take any clip from Euphoria out of context and you would know it’s from this show because it has such a recognizable style and cinematography even though four different directors and three cinematographers worked on the show together. Shows like these that are so unique in its identity and visuals are what separates them from literally any other TV show and takes them to another level.

 The camera movements are crazy, just insanely creative. The show does a good job of framing characters in stressful situations and discomfort, sometimes the background is blurred and the characters are fully in focus to keep our attention on the character’s raw and unfiltered emotions, and when the camera is so focused on a character in such a claustrophobic way to truly focus on the emotion of a scene, it takes not good but great acting. And the actors here delivered, all of them. They all have their scenes in which they truly shine but I think Zendaya undoubtedly won me over with her performance.

 I had mixed feelings about Zendaya before watching this show. Her role in the spider-man movies with Tom Holland was just bad as she had no chemistry with Tom, which actually is not her fault at all. The character’s looks and personality that she played doesn’t fit her at all, so it was just a bad casting choice. However, Zendaya killed it here and I just immediately became a fan. She did an amazing job portraying a drug addict that has a lot of personality and maturity. It really is a difficult role and I think she was perfect for it. She definitely deserves an Emmy.

Last but not least, one of my favorite aspects of a movie or a show: if the music is good then the show or movie might go from good to great real quick, and the music here is no exception. Whether it’s the original score or the soundtrack, it’s amazing, mixed with these stunning visuals of the show, it’s just SO good. If you have never seen Euphoria you should definitely check it out. It's super underrated in my opinion. I would personally give it a 9/10. I'm looking forward to season 2 and so should you.