Euphoria sensationalizes teenage debauchery but is hard to look away from

Euphoria’s got all of the makings of a perfect teen series—drugs, sex, and drama—wrapped up in a glittery, aesthetically-pleasing bow. 

This may precisely be the problem with it. 

Euphoria, written by Sam Levinson, is based off of an early 2010s Israeli drama by the same name and draws from Levinson’s past experiences with drug abuse and mental health struggles. The show follows several individual high-school students as their lives intertwine, often resulting in the type of chaos that leaves your nails bitten and your brain struggling to process what you just watched.

It’s not like this style of teen drama hasn’t been done before (see Skins and Degrassi); it just has rarely been done this graphically and sensationally.

Sometimes it feels like Euphoria, whose second season concluded on HBO on February 27, sacrifices actual plot points in favor of prioritizing shock value. One common complaint about the show surrounds its excess of nudity, which often focuses on characters who are supposed to be underaged. Though all of the actors are above the age of consent, several are depicted nude and/or engaging in sexual acts in nearly every episode. It’s so frequent that it has become an inside-joke with the fanbase. Some actors, such as Sydney Sweeney and Minka Kelly, have even commented on this phenomenon.

“I’m very proud of my work on Euphoria—but no one talks about it because I got naked,” Sweeney, who plays Cassie Howard, said in an interview with the British online newspaper The Independent. 

Another complaint is its “glamorization” of drug abuse. 

The series’ primary focus is on Rue Bennett (Zendaya), a drug addict fresh out of rehab who has no intentions to remain clean. Surrounding her is a small group of other comparably screwed-up teens, giving the illusion that, somehow, everyone at the high school is as reckless as Rue. 

However, Rue’s journey with drug addiction is not sugar-coated. Euphoria shows it all: Rue lying unconscious covered in vomit after overdosing; getting forced to do fentanyl by a drug dealer and praying that she doesn’t die; stealing urine from childhood friends to pass drug tests; terrorizing her mother and sister while in withdrawal; and resorting to risky “business” deals to acquire large amounts of drugs without any intention of paying the dealer back. Rue is very clearly not supposed to be a role model—if anything, her behavior is supposed to serve as a cautionary tale. 

Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way, which is where the issue lies—teenagers are notoriously impressionable, and even if a show isn’t intended to glorify something, its fanbase can make it appear that way. 

Levinson, as well as various cast members such as Zendaya, have asserted that Euphoria is not trying to glamorize anything. It is simply entertainment and nothing more. Some argue that the lack of ill intention is not an excuse when your fan base consists of young teens. The show depicts teens in high school and therefore attracts teens in high school. If Levinson had wanted to create a show intended for adults, he should not have set it in the one environment that all teenagers share. 

TikTok and Twitter have blown up with Euphoria-centered discussion with every airing. It’s nearly impossible to escape. Every Sunday night, thousands of users live-tweeted so vigorously that it felt like they were having one big watch-party. The airing of the sixth episode of the second season overlapped with the 2022 Super Bowl, but the program still garnered 5.1 million views, a testament to the unwavering popularity of the show. 

Euphoria has also had a large impact on clothing and makeup. The show is full of shimmering eyeshadow, rhinestones, multicolored graphic eyeliner and glitter tears. Individuals on social media have begun to mimic this style, often sharing “Euphoria-inspired” makeup looks and outfits. The show’s makeup artist, Doniella Davy, posted photos of the looks up close on Instagram after the airing of each episode, explaining what the makeup says about the character and how it reflects their current situation. 

“When we first see Cassie she’s already drunk and eating powdered donuts (the best) on the curb, so we loved keeping her skin dewy with super flushy cheeks and lips for this episode,” one post reads. “As the night goes on, her anxiety-terrified-totally-freaked-out eyes are framed by this delicate, […] innocent, twinkle.”

There have also been several TikTok trends relating to the show, such as the “Euphoria High” trend, where individuals mock the outrageously revealing, extravagant, un-school-like outfits of the characters. 

The clothing and makeup tie into the absurdity of the show—we never see the students actually doing anything related to their education. Where are their notebooks? When do they do their homework? How do they have the time to make these terrible decisions during their junior year (notoriously considered the most academically rigorous of the four)? During my junior year, I considered a “fun Saturday night” to be playing video games until 1 a.m. with my friends on FaceTime. Perhaps this could further the argument that, though the characters are intended to be high schoolers and a lot of the show takes place inside of a high school, it is not actually intended to be a high school drama. 

So, are the good parts of Euphoria worth the bad? Is it damaging the next generation and setting negative examples as to what teendom is “supposed” to look like? There is no definitive answer, unfortunately. 

All in all, Euphoria is artfully crafted. Even though I just wrote hundreds of words criticizing it, I do enjoy the show wholeheartedly. I watched it weekly without fail, I talked about it with my friends every Monday, I loved browsing through the live-tweeting watch-parties. I am one of those 5.1 million people who switched the channel from NBC to HBO on Super Bowl Sunday. 

All of this being said, I am also guilty of looking at the characters’ lives and thinking, “Am I lame because I don’t live my life like these messed-up fictionalized teenagers?” Obviously, it’s a silly question to ask, but it demonstrates the impressionability of youth—even when consciously aware of how absurd the show is.