'Euphoria' Season 1: A Teenager's Perspective

Euphoria, starring Zendaya, is a TV series on HBO that channels in on the untold life of teenagers and their individual struggles with drugs, sex, and violence. Each episode of the series introduces us to a different character, allowing us to understand them better, and why they turn out the way they are.

The series takes place in a suburban setting with high school students. They are trying to pull back the curtains to reveal why teens get caught up in these bad influences, varying from bad parenting, their social circles, or just their current predicaments.

For example, Rue (Zendaya) is a drug addict, and her former past consists of many medical conditions which could have been fatal. Furthermore, her father is dead, and her depressing life has made her a loner.

How This Connects to Me

I’m 16 years old, a rising senior in high school, and in my experience, Euphoria has depicted this teenage lifestyle correctly to an extent. Drug use is very prevalent amongst high schoolers, and I often see people addicted to weed, nicotine, and pills; however, as for some that I do know very well, they often have problems at home, whether it be their parents, stress, or they were caught up from peer pressure or just trying to assimilate to be “cool.”

I think the show wants to underscore the factors that play into the problems of teenagers, rather than trying to demean their flaws through drug addiction, slut shaming, or otherwise “expose” teens.

Moreover, the show wants even those who are older to see in retrospect their lives as teens, and feel the same struggle and empathize before they criticize. Additionally, teenagers don’t always know any better, and they are often looking for identity, like Rue, who often is the loner, but finds her best friend (Jules) in the first episode.

Throughout the episodes, we see the characters either get worse or get better, despite the harsh realities they all face. In addition, the show highlights the importance of how the relationships between these characters will shape their overall outcome.

For example, Nate gets worse and worse as the show progresses, as he becomes more manipulative, exploiting his power and dominance by forcing his crimes on others, while also “snitching” on Fez.

However, for Rue, her relationship with Jules ultimately drives her to becoming drug free, motivating her to confront her addiction when we see her take the big step of admitting to lying during her sessions, but we see unfortunately in the end when Rue and Jules separate, that the cycle returns to the beginning.

Rue had learned to become more selfless, while she realizes how her actions might affect her sister’s behavior. Moreover, she takes responsibility for herself, like the time when she held back at Fez’s house from the pills, showing her progression, and how she's leaving her past.

The last episode of the show highlighted the importance of understanding, and the power of love. They empowered each other, and it was important for them to find the right people to feel accepted and valued. Nate and Maddie’s relationship was always “confused” where they didn’t understand their love; which was why they fell apart and often sought revenge.

My Thoughts on the Show

The overall storyline is very touching, and I can oftentimes empathize with the characters. The structure of how the story plays over time is very good as they give a very consistent timeline of all the characters throughout.

Additionally, the scripting of the show was very compelling, as it left every episode on a cliffhanger, making me eager to continue watching. The narration of the story was a great idea, and the introductions of each character developed them well, allowing us to have more insight to them individually.

The characters all had a very holistic background where we can see through all of them, and try to relate to them.

Overall, this show has kept me thinking for a while after watching each episode; I was left inspired trying to connect them to the problems I see in my high school, though the show presented more of an extreme as compared to my school.

I used to feel bizarre whenever I saw kids smoking weed, especially when their parents know. A friend once said, ”Imma keep doing it cause she [his mom] doesn’t know how it feels to be high so she can’t say it’s bad.”

I always knew it was bad to do those things, and I knew I’d have a feeling of regret if I ever did them, but after watching the show, I can understand that feeling of helplessness and wanting to escape sometimes.

I’d give this show a solid 9/10.

I can’t wait for season 2 to come out. Thank you so much for reading, and big thanks to Jonathan Sim for proofreading my poor grammar.

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