On January 9th, HBO’s Euphoria made its comeback after 2 years of leaving its audience in anticipation. The cast, including Emmy Award winner Zendaya, have openly stated that the pandemic is responsible for the extended period of time that it took to produce the second season. The new season returned with a bang, leaving the fans beyond satisfied after the prolonged wait. The series delves into the lives of teenagers who juggle relationships, drugs and social media whilst being high school - the equivalent of sixth form or college - students. For Season 2, the audience has been warned that it is a dark (if not darker) season, which raises “different conversations”.
Thus far, only 2 episodes have been released. With the approaching release of the 3rd episode, Euphoria’s audience does not refrain from coming up with theories as to what will happen next. The trendy social media platform Tik Tok has been flooded with such theories, edits and Euphoria-inspired makeup looks. Not only is Euphoria a great success in itself, but it is boosting the sales of colourful, vibrant makeup products and clothes that are lookalikes to those that are worn in the series (for example, Maddy Perez’ black dress in ‘Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door’). The viewers of the teen drama are keen to recreate the characters’ looks and even try to look as much like them as possible! Even the character's personality traits are hypnotising, such as Fezco's charisma and loyalty which has made everyone adore him.
It is evident that the series has brought and continues to bring teenagers and adults together worldwide. Comments from the interviews of the cast on YouTube include “the fact that I have to wait a whole 7 days to see the new episode makes me want to crawl out of my skin and hibernate until next Monday. Addicted.” and “the Kat scene was so intense and real”. The series touches on and explores a myriad of themes such as self-love, sexual assault and trauma. The widespread range of topics that the series brings to the screen in a meaningful way is arguably the most attractive and appealing part of it.
Despite the show’s immense success since 2019 and prevalently in the current moment, some dictate that the lifestyle of the 17-year-olds is shockingly unrealistic. Conversely, others say that it is in fact realistic, as some teenagers are less fortunate in a way that they might not receive the amount of attention they need - among a plethora of other driving factors. Hence, they live in the same or similar way as the characters do. On top of this, another controversy is that it has the tendency to glamorise drug use amongst teens. Simultaneously, it cannot be disregarded that the show highlights the flaws of it vividly - such as Rue's near fatal overdose. Euphoria’s ability to empathise with a vast and diverse audience just from one storyline is truly worthy of praise. Ultimately, this is what propels such a proportion of people to watch it; the viewers feel understood.
Ferwa Jilani, 16, confessed: “I feel like it is a very overwhelming show, it makes me feel depressed, but I can’t stop watching it”.
Unfortunately, whilst US viewers have the luxury of watching the new weekly episodes every Sunday, UK viewers must wait until the next day. In fact, some even wait for 2:00 in the morning before sleeping so that they can watch it. Needless to say, Euphoria is the priority at the moment. In secondary schools and sixth forms, as well as Woodford County High School, Euphoria has been the hot topic of the moment for weeks. Every Monday, students are eager to finish the school day, go home, and watch the new episode in the comfort of their beds. Fans are so enthusiastic and devoted to the series that they do not waste a minute before creating and uploading edits or discussions of the latest episode. Those who have not yet watched the latest episode have to be cautious when going on social media so as not to have the recent events of the show spoiled for them!