Source - IMDb
After stumbling upon countless social media posts about the brilliance of this series, I finally decided to give in to the hype and prepared myself for an all-nighter-binge-session of Euphoria. What happened afterward resulted in this chaotic and borderline despairing write-up.
Introduction
Series: Euphoria (Season 01)
Creator: Sam Levinson
Genre: Drama
Number of Episodes: 08 (+02)
Screenplay: Sam Levinson
Cast: Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi
Language: English
Plot Synopsis - No Spoilers!
Euphoria revolves around the lives of a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.
Series Review
Euphoria, an ironic Title in itself, brings to life the tale of some troubled individuals and attempts to dissect their lives by contrasting their journeys with those around them in a small fictional town of East Highland.
The Narrative Structure of the show isn't that different from others of the lot. Each episode starts with an unpleasant sneak peek into the lives of various characters who carry the burden of troubled childhoods and lost aspirations.
This is topped with the slightly dramatic present developments in their lives which involve their school and friends to some degree, thus making it relevant to the overall protagonist's-pov-driven plot.
Some things that do help Euphoria in standing out though, include the fact that one of the most striking themes encapsulating the plot is that of generation. The opening scene of the show introduces the audience to the protagonist, Rue, but how it does so, captures the most fascinating and unique strength of the story.
Rue's story begins with resistance and the pain of having to survive in a world where she's destined to fall. This perspective is highlighted throughout the course of the series and also draws parallels between Rue's character and her generation.
Euphoria celebrates the spirit of GenZ and attempts to mimic an honest portrayal of how society works with the product of its very own making.
Be it the pop culture references, (heavy emphasis on Anime and the use of social media) background music, makeup, costumes, or even the platform on which it is available and how binge-watching content on the internet till we forget about everything and everyone around us embraces the essence of what it means to come from our generation.
Apart from these aspects some of the darker themes explored in the show include substance abuse, mental health issues, the importance of sex education, navigating unhealthy relationships, and giving up on any viable aspiration of making it big in the real world.
Though most of these themes have been explored with in-depth character arcs and realistic plot transgressions, some of these recurring themes often feel unrealistic owing to the graphic depiction and highly unreasonable choices made by some characters.
This point of criticism can however be opposed by stating the fact that these high school teenagers and the way their worldview shifts focus from one dilemma at a time to another, points towards an ugly truth of our society, which is that the majority of our generation doesn't really have anything to look forward to.
In one of the scenes from the series, Rue can be seen shrugging off her mundane responsibilities by saying something like 'What's the point, the world's gonna end anyways?'.
This realization is the reality for most of these characters. Why? Simply because the meaning of Euphoria to these kids is not the same as the generation before them.
The tone and pace of the series are very engaging and enable the audience to delve deeper into the ticks of each character. This, fortunately, is successfully elevated to the next level owing to great performances by the leading cast.
One of the many things that this series is turning heads for is the technical brilliance of it and rightfully so.
The cinematography of Euphoria relies heavily upon camera movement to establish shots and narrates the emotion visually through dramatic zoom-ins, camera pans, mirror work, glittery color palette, and patterned backgrounds.
A lot of iconic shots have been recreated in a distinct way to capture the mental turmoil of the characters. (Ex - use of rotatory setting to depict an out-of-body experience - inspired from Inception, visual jump cuts with mirrors to establish the passage of time - inspired from La Haine, etc.)
My favorite aspects of the series include sequences where the protagonist breaks the fourth wall to interact with the audience while daydreaming about something far from reality.
The special episodes also leave a memorable mark as they explore the philosophical depths of the two main characters in private settings and don't necessarily draw any conclusions but offer an opportunity to understand the inner workings of people operating on the verge of a collapse.
The Bottom Line
As the entire world waits for Euphoria's new episodes every Sunday, There lies an important question that needs to be addressed and asked.
This question demands the need to be reflected in the audience's understanding of what they are witnessing as it holds the power to truly impact and influence those 'young-bloods' who relate to this phenomenon and show-off their 'Euphoria inspired' look as they put themselves out on social media for the whole world to see: Is this show glorifying and/or exaggerating what our generation is going through collectively or are we all in the truest meaning of the word, doomed?
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Streaming Now on: HBO Max
Written By: Janshi
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