Euphoria season two is a bad adaptation of real life
It's a TV show, I understand that, but it is just completely ridiculous in so many ways since this show is kind of like an R-rated teenage drama. I was a teenager for a while and I presume most of you were at some point in your lives as well.
The way that the kids behave and how they live their lives in Euphoria sounds as if it is part political programming and part absolutely silly fiction. I'm not just talking about the over-the-top presentations of how pretty everyone is either.
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I recall liking this show a great deal when I first watched it and yes, a lot of it had to do with how often Sydney Sweeney gets naked. I'm going back to watch it again because season 3 just dropped and I had no recollection of what happened in S2 and as I watched all the episodes over the course of 3 days I came to the realization that actually, almost nothing actually did happen other than a bunch of very pretty teens doing anything other than go to school, getting away with it, and then just arguing with adults the entire time.
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I also think that the film is trying to pander to the "modern audience" and normalize certain behavior while also not actually coming out and saying that it is a suggestion. Here are a few examples.
The boys in the film have such "cool" parents as they will invite their girlfriends to stay over and are clearly having sex in the house and the parents are totally cool with that. They will go so far as to walk around the house in revealing outfits. The parents of the girls are aware of this as well and I'm sorry, there are no parents like this and there shouldn't be.
There is a trans girl in the show, she plays a trans in the show and is one in real life, she's a pretty awesome character actually. But nobody ever refers to this in any way other than a positive way. Look, I don't care about this sort of thing and want everyone to do whatever they want. But this is not how that would be. But then again, if they had subjected "Jules" to some level of bullying or parental disapproval, they likely would have been too preachy about it anyway so maybe it is better they left this one the way they did.
The fat girl, who is not attractive in a traditional sense is not just accepted but encouraged to continue being that way. This is a body-positivist message that I think is very damaging to teens
Some of the kids have what appears to be rather unlimited access to drugs and they use them in the houses where I can only presume parents life. These are not kids whose parents don't care about them either. This wouldn't be capable of happening to anyone I have ever known.
not only are parents cool with their kids drinking alcohol, they give it to them and their visiting friends like this is a completely normal thing to do.
Lot of the characters, most of whom you would presume are not legal adults considering it is a show about high school (for the most part) have tattoos. Some of the more ridiculous ones have multiple tattoos on their face.
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This one kid, named "Ash" is super hardcore even though he is only something like 12 years old. He is meant to be a tough one that is dedicated to the gangster life despite being young, having never attended school, and not having any parental guidance in his life ever. I'm ok with presenting us with unusual things to be afraid of, but a 12 year old that easily kicks the crap out of adults? Sorry, I don't buy it.
There is widespread drug use to the point of glorification and despite not having jobs as far as I can tell the kids who have access seem to have rather unfettered access except for the central character "Rue" played by Zendaya (it's stupid she has a one word name, what are you? Prince or Sting?).
By the time season 2 wraps up even though there has been plenty of drama, nudity, drug use, and violence, not a great deal has actually happened in the overall story. It's amazing how you can really stretch out a story when Sydney Sweeney is stripping down at least once an episode. She is paid nearly $1 million per episode after season 1 where she only made a paltry $44,000 per episode for baring it all.
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The last 2 episodes of season 2 revolve around a school play and somehow this disturbed me more than the ridiculous other aspects that are too far-removed from reality. I know that in school plays you have almost no money, and very little actual talent to draw from. Somehow this particular school is able to have Broadway levels of technology involved in their production including perfect set design complete with a revolving stage that only massive theaters actually even have.
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The final couple of scenes in the play are incredibly gay and while I don't have a problem with people living this lifestyle, no public school would ever be allowed to put something like that on stage. There's also the question of how people in high school would almost certainly never agree to behave like this on stage in front of an audience. Some parents would be outraged.
It's fiction, I know but maybe I am just more of the kind of person that likes for my fiction to be at least somewhat rooted in reality.
Now, that being said, this is still a very good show and I enjoyed it. Season 3 just dropped a few days ago and I watched the first episode and it was really good as well. It will be interesting to see how they include all the of the high school kids in their different lives seeing as how several years have passed in both real life, and in the timeline of the show.
I'd like to say that they are going to keep it grounded, but I know that isn't going to be the case.