****************************************CAUTION BOLD STATEMENTS AHEAD****************************************
against popular opinion, we, here at twinsAF hate the show euphoria. we know, we know!! we may have sparked our first set of haters, but we can't keep up our act of indifference any longer. and now, the only thing we ask of you is to give us this sidenote before you enlist your hate.
like most people, we watched season one and thought that it was good. we may have had our own opinions here and there, but they were okay being unmentionable when the season ender was ballsy enough to end in a music-video-styled fashion. the show was bold and, for the most part, appropriately artsy. yet, when we excitingly made our way to the second season, we were more than disappointed. suddenly, problem after problem arose, and we couldn't believe that this was the same show from the first season. we knew that we had to be fair and give the show a fair shot, so we powered through the rest of the weekly dropping episodes painfully. and after giving it the fair chance of all eight episodes to have some sort of magical tie together conclusion, we were still let down.
we understand that not everyone is going to see it the way we see it, but we listed out the most fuming of our fuming complaints, hence the following:
ALL THE REASONS WHY WE HATE EUPHORIA
&, yes, this is important to write out
~SOME INCLUDE SPOILERS~
trying to relay life as gen-zers, but it is only a millennial’s take on what gen-zers are like, meaning it’s a take on if millennials were gen-zers. this is irresponsible, because that makes the actual gen-z viewers think that what they are seeing is okay and a part of their generation. we are on the older side of gen-zers, but for the younger zoomers, they may not be able to even watch this show, and, if they do, they are being exposed to lifestyles (drugs, sex, parties) that are very much adult. and then because this is supposed to be what gen-zers are like, they may perceive all of the show’s actions as things that they should be doing. example: “oh, these thirty-year-old actors are actually supposed to be my age, then it’s okay if i go out and have crazy sex and do crazy drugs even though i’m not ready for it, because the show is exposing me to it.” hashtag irresponsible storytelling!!
they try to be realistic to themes of drug use and abuse - but how can it be taken seriously when everything is a hyperbole. the fashion and makeup alone create a barrier from this (the plot) ever feeling real.
character evolutions from season one to season two switch bipolarly. there are no positive role models, and seriously, if you are going to take on the big plot of having an abortion, take it seriously and respectfully. don’t then turn around and act like it was nothing, making cassie into some kind of sob-monster flooze.
its storyline is just revolving around eye candy, becoming a hyper-sexualized dram (aka tv-ma porno), that has no point. there is no reason whatsoever for it to be this sexed up. it has nothing to give to the plot. bbbbooooooooo!!!!
teaching the audience bad boundaries through relationships that we are supposed to root for, manipulating the viewers’ brains and teaching them the wrong messages.
who the hell gave the greenlight on the script where rue gaslights her sister and informs the audience on how to get away with drug relapse. sure, it may be all humorous at first (with the first season teaching us in the same style about the good and bad d!ck pics), but nothing is funny about lying to your sister - or family in general - about suicide. one could say that maybe the audience knows better and that gaslighting is bad, but when you have zendaya, an actress that the majority of people stan, it becomes less evident. “oh, but it’s zendaya from disney….” nothing about this storyline is okay. period.
and rue outrunning the police?? no way in hell is that realistic!! first off, let's mention the elephant in the room. zendaya most definitely has some sort of eating disorder or disorder eating (to be fair she isn't the only one on the show). however, because of this, her bones aren't going to be the strongest. so, when we see rue jumping on car hood to car hood and then over fences and stuff, we are being fed the hollywood version of her strength. now, that's not saying that zendaya can't do all of those things, but now when we put this into perspective of rue, who also has a drug addiction and is going through mother f-ing withdrawals, the hollywood version just got more hollywoodized. adrenaline can be a factor here but trying to convince the audience that this epic chase would end up like this is completely false. and what if someone actual goes to ensue a police chase like this and gets hurt?? bet they didn't think of that. so, not only is this spotlighting unrealistic societal behaviors, this is showing girls an unrealistic and unhealthy body type - which is a whole bigger issue.
so it’s okay to abuse your girlfriends now?? hotty elordi can portray nate, who hurts and bruises maddy, and nothing happens to him?? he gets away scott clean with maddy still wanting him. sure abuse is a tricky relationship to come out of, and most people who are abused don’t want to leave their abuser in fear, but, when maddy does finally leave him, what are you teaching the male audience when season 2 nate can just hook up with cassie and then emotionally abuse her?? so now the guy can act bad and get the girls?? where are the morals?? where are the consequences??
at this point we aren’t surprised, but inconsistencies in the storyline, c’mon!! at the beginning of season two, when jules and rue meet again, jules asked rue when she had relapsed. she knew rue had relapsed!! so why does she in the next episodes act like rue is clean when rue is acting anything but that!! don’t single tear us, jules.
let’s talk about kat’s breakup with ethan. ethan is by far the nicest guy on the show, and we are teaching the audience that he’s not the fun and sexy type, because all there is to a relationship is sex?? season one ended them on good terms. they were happy. but season two begins, and kat is not excited with the relationship anymore?? and then for her to break up with him by making up an illness, and then gaslighting him about it, the sensitivity around her illness - for those who actually have it - was not considered, and that breakup was not needed. simply, it was an overdramatic way to kill the relationship.
nate pulling a gun out on maddy should have never been filmed. it should have never been aired. it’s a storyline that should have never been made. there is no reasoning nor answer for its purpose to the show besides a shock gimmick. it is not serving anyone, and only further puts that choice of aggression into audience’s minds, when they were perfectly fine not knowing that that was ever acceptable. thanks, euphoria.
season two had not structure, and the storyline was lazy. obvious critique!!
A24 trying too hard to be an insta aesthetic - it defeats A24’s whole purpose. the show’s aesthetic now just screams ‘i wanna look cool’ and ‘i’m popular but different’ in the most annoying way. the choice of cinematography has no point to the story or characters. LITERALLY NO POINT AT ALL!! it just looks like a child went crazy on cool looking colors and sets. the flower vanity - no purpose. the spotlight on kat and ethan in the car- no purpose. elliot in the church - no purpose. where did the meaning of this show go?? it just looks like a cheaply made kaleidoscope tripping on acid. A24 became a chore to watch.
0% feminism. maddy not wanting to do anything - just wanting a man. and cassie dressing to impress nate. there goes all our hard work.
the little spins that the show took like when nate wakes up from the hospital and his maddy vs. cassie dream with a baby’s cry. it seemed like the director and producers just said ‘sure why not’ to everything in the show, assuming that the audience would ‘get it’ or that the audience would think that the show was artsy because of it. it’s the wrong type of artsy. you’re just being nonsensical.
responsible storytelling was also shot at the foot with the drunk driving scenes. appearing several times in the second season, we witness cal and nate (even slightly elliot) all driving uncontrollably. their alcohol swishing in their hands, and their car swerving lanes, it is so surprising that they make it out without even a scratch - especially when driving on a cliff. to that point, the message (whether intend or not) paints the act of driving while intoxicated less dangerous then it is. this may not be taken too seriously, but euphoria is a widely watched show with several fans, and, if all these fans are being exposed to this type of behavior with lack of consequence, there is a very serious and potentially fatal result to this storytelling. euphoria is making drunk-driving seem not as bad as a problem, which (intended or not) mistakenly promotes it.
speaking to this irresponsibility, the show makes vaping seem way too casual and unproblematic. sure, there is a trend in the younger generation to vape, but the normalcy to the characters in the show vaping makes it seem okay for its viewers. and, like, this is a drug show - why they prioritize herione and pill addiction over alcohol and vaping - it's, like, why? especially when alcohol is one of the hardest drugs to come off of.
now….the play. serval offenses were made here, but one of the biggest ones was the gym-musical-number. we can all agree that nate is such a dude (*the highest offense to call someone*), but that doesn’t mean that lexi and those a part of the play had any reason to out nate like that. clearly making the play about the people in her life, lexi wasn’t trying to hide who the people in the play were supposed to be. so, when it came to ethan as nate in the locker room/gym, telling the on-stage maddy to leave him and the guys to workout, the euphoria school audience was not naive to the fact that the homosexual-insinuating dance number was all about nate’s sexuality. like we said, even though nate is horrible-horrible, he still has the right to come out on his own. and even at that, lexi’s play didn’t have to make nate being gay comical - it just felt like the number was created around an old homophobic stereotype that 'guys working out together is so gay' which is not the case. once again, this is very, very insensitive (and probably going to be something that is called out for being so insensitive in the years later).
you may argue that the audience should be well aware of some of the dangers we mentioned or that they should know better than to act like the show predicts, but it is also irresponsible to believe that tv doesn’t have a persuasion over people and their actions - especially when it comes to viewers whose minds aren't fully developed. just take a look at what has happened before. the matrix became inspiration and an echo to the shooters at columbine, and the violence in christopher nolan's batman movies allowed for the dark knight rises aurora shooting. and we know people may think 'well euphoria isn't gonna start a shooting' but what about the other things the show teases - domestic violence, drug addictions, depression, etc??
our beef aside, we cannot stress this enough. movies and tv shows need to be responsible for the 'art' they make. they cannot be naive to the influence that they have, and they can't pretend like what they let by isn't affecting the mental, physical, and emotional health of all viewers. specifically right now when suicide rates in the younger generations are specifically at a high.
shows should be telling stories not telling people they aren't good enough!!
and that is why we believe euphoria is not as great of a show as people are making it out to be, and we believe that it needs to be held responsibly for what it's showing. and please know that we are always here for you. whether that be someone to talk to or someone to root for you, we are here. we've all been at a low point in our lives, and we can all lift one another up.
only promoting love (and movie reviews 😆),
xo the twins
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