A conversation about life, loss, addiction, trauma, and mental health. All I ever asked for in a teen drama that aims to tackle subjects like mental illness, sex, drugs, love, and even social media, in a mature and risky way, was to have conversations about the real stuff that would actually help; uncut and raw as the truth of the world we live in is. It needed to be sincere and expressive, important and impactful. Most TV-shows are afraid of having 20 minutes in their runtime that is just a conversation between two people that is intimate and meaningful; but not Euphoria. Euphoria will give you 60 minutes of just that; of people talking, and making you actually think about the topics being discussed. The show wants to be purposeful, but still be entertaining, because it’s a TV-show, not a documentary. The courage in that, is to make an entire episode that is just characters talking, and getting to see their emotions, without ever leaving the same space. Yet for it to be extremely engaging, it has to have something all of us could relate to. The simplicity of that is too risky for mainstream shows, but a generation defining series embraces that, and that’s what Euphoria is. Euphoria’s special episode that aired just about two months ago, reminded me of films like The Shawshank Redemption and Good Will Hunting, due to it being very therapeutic and comforting; also optimistic. Those who have seen those movies will know what I’m talking about. It is specially important for everyone to watch during these times. This episode was so beautifully written. The dialogue felt like it was not written on a computer or a piece of paper, it was genuine and felt like how normal people would talk. Euphoria was already pretty high in my book, but this is the episode that made it clear that it’s one of the best TV shows ever made. It felt like an out-of-body experience. From the music and dialogue to the acting and cinematography all blended together to achieve a wonderful piece of television that is incredibly relevant as well as timeless. All thanks to Sam Levinson, the creator, writer, and director of this show who single-handedly wrote this episode. As well as Zendaya and Colman Domingo with their extremely heartfelt performances. I watched it twice and I can’t recommend it enough to everyone. Those who haven’t seen the show will get something out of it as well. I want more like this in TV-shows that speak directly to teens, I want more deep, life-altering and mature conversations about the topics that these shows want to discuss, and less sugarcoated and glorified representations of adolescent problems, that is truly miserable and not ideal. Euphoria in general doesn’t glamorize this life. This series tackles those adolescent problems with real scenarios, that’s among the many reasons why it’s special. Overall, that episode was nothing I expected, but everything I needed; simply outstanding and highly recommended to all ages.
