There aren't many shows that come along where I just have to continually tip my hat to the director, actors, sound editor, and writers all at once but this HBO gem is really something else. This is the most wonderfully-crafted show that is basically a work of art, that I have seen in a really long time.
When I first looked at who the main star of this was I nearly skipped the entire thing simply because of her presence and how the only thing I had ever seen her in was a Spiderman film that I didn't particularly care for. Man would have that been a mistake if I had stuck with my gut instict.
You probably recognize her face as well and her name is now simply Zendaya even though her real name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman. I just hope she changed it because her real name is too long and not because she is heading down "nutso road" like so many young actors and actresses have.
Let me tell you this: Her performance in Euphoria is absolutely outstanding and much like Marlon Wayan's performance in Requiem for a Dream, Zendaya totally and completely exceeded my expectations of her in this role that was totally not in her wheelhouse at all.
Now I will say this about Euphoria; it may initially annoy a bunch of people and I thought it would annoy me because it is for the most part a completely impractical teenage-love-story-fantasy that would never happen to kids in the real world. It also could be consider very risqué or perhaps even obscene because there is a ton of nudity and sex in this series and almost all of the people they are portraying in these scenes are meant to be minors.
I'm not going to display any of those images because I don't do NSFW content but trust me, it won't take very long before you encounter it in the series. Also, for anyone that is uptight about girl-on-girl, guy-on-guy, stuff - this won't be for you either. They don't do it in a preachy way like Netflix seems to, but just in a matter-of-fact sort of way.
There is also a ton of drug use in this and this is something else that seemed really impractical to me. These teenagers don't seem to have a lot of parental supervision and are able to effortlessly get their hands on booze, weed, cocaine, heroin, and opiates in a way that really wouldn't happen in the real world. The financial limitations alone would be enough to stand in their way.
Now, cheesy elements aside, I want to talk about how the dialogue - which is something that normally bothers me with teenage-esque dramas, is actually extremely well-written. And above all else, the art-direction and musical direction is purely a work of art. I have Shazam'd at least one song from almost every episode. This is best exhibited in one of the clips someone put together from an episode.
I really didn't think I was going to like this show and there are a lot of people that don't like it but I think that their reasons for feeling this way might be politically or religiously motivated. While far-fetched, the story touches base on the impractical nature of teenage-romance, drug-addiction, family relationships, and the importance of being true to one's self, even at a young age.
Should I watch it?
Unless you are turned off by the VERY explicit subject matter I believe that this is one of the most masterfully-crafted series that I have watched in 2022. I can compare it's directorial excellence only to Better Call Saul and I have never been bored during a single episode. The use of narration to speed things along is used, but it isn't overused like it is in a lot of other series. There also is very little in the way of "filler" material and the 8 episodes per season doesn't ever feel as though they didn't have enough material to actually make it through it. The show focuses mostly on Rue Bennet (Zendaya) but each of the characters has their own story going on and some episodes will focus almost completely on them with Rue playing an outside role. They do a really good job at getting us into the complete mind of each major character in the series by using this tactic.
I believe that everyone should at least give this a shot although I will admit that it will end up being too graphic for a lot of viewers. It certainly isn't something I would be comfortable watching with my parents and for the parents out there, this is not something that you should encourage your kids to watch. There is a bunch of controversy surrounding the series because of this.
I think that many of the actors and actresses in this series will use their performances from Euphoria to move on to greater things and this is especially true for Zendaya. Seriously, she will blow you away with her skills in this show.
