Official Trailer
Rating: 8.3/10 | Genre: Drama | Seasons: 3 | Episodes: 24 | Status: Returning Series
Starring: Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie
Okay, so I just finished Euphoria and I have a lot of feelings about this show. Not all of them good, but also like, I can’t stop thinking about it. That’s worth something, right? This is one of those shows that’s gotten so hyped up that you’re almost afraid to watch it because what if it’s actually just okay? Spoiler alert: it’s not just okay. It’s genuinely great. But it’s also kind of a mess in the best and worst ways possible.
The show is dark. Like, genuinely dark. It’s about high school students, yeah, but this is not your typical teen drama. We’re talking drugs, sex, trauma, self-harm, and a whole lot of Instagram filtered sadness. It’s the kind of show that makes you feel exhausted after each episode. In a good way though. Most of the time.
Season 1
Season 1 is where I fell in love with this thing. It’s tight, it’s focused, and it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Eight episodes and you’re done. The first episode introduces us to Rue, a 17-year-old girl who just got out of rehab and has zero intention of staying clean. She meets Jules, this trans girl who just moved to town, and suddenly they’re best friends in that intense way that only happens in high school.
The show doesn’t judge these characters for their choices. It just shows you what happens when you’re a kid making terrible decisions. Rue gets deeper into drugs. Kat starts camming online for money and validation. Cassie sleeps with Nate, which is a whole thing because Nate is basically a sociopath. Maddy gets tangled up with Nate too and ends up in an abusive relationship. It’s heavy stuff.
What makes it work is the characters feel real. Zendaya is incredible as Rue. She’s charismatic and funny and also absolutely heartbreaking. You want her to be okay even when she’s making decisions that are clearly going to blow up in her face. Hunter Schafer as Jules is also fantastic. There’s something so magnetic about her energy.
The cinematography is insane too. Every episode looks like a music video. It’s beautiful and dreamy, which kind of makes the horrible things that happen even worse because you’re looking at them through this gorgeous filter. That’s the whole vibe of the show, I think. Pretty packaging for dark content.
Season 2
Season 2 is where things get messy. And I don’t mean that in the good way. The season starts strong enough. Rue and Jules reunite after spending Christmas apart, and there’s all this tension about what their friendship really is. But then the season gets kind of lost in its own ambition.
The problem is that Season 2 tries to do too much. There are these fantasy sequences that feel self-indulgent. There’s a whole Rue and Elliot subplot that doesn’t really go anywhere satisfying. The pacing gets weird. Some episodes drag on forever while others feel like nothing happens.
That said, there are incredible moments. Cassie’s spiral in this season is truly devastating. Sydney Sweeney’s performance when she realizes what she’s done to Maddy is just gut-wrenching. And the episode where we get Cal’s backstory is actually brilliant. Jacob Elordi’s dad is horrifying and sad all at once.
But yeah, Season 2 feels like the show lost the plot a little. It’s still good. It’s still worth watching. But it’s not as sharp as Season 1. The show gets too interested in making pretty scenes and forgets to make sure the story actually lands the way it should.
Season 3
Season 3 is a complete tonal shift. We jump five years into the future and suddenly these characters are adults trying to figure out their lives. Rue’s debts are catching up with her. Maddy’s in the city trying to make it work. Jules is in art school. It’s basically a completely different show.
Here’s the thing though. I don’t know if this works. The jump in time is so big that it almost feels like you’re watching a different series. The show loses a lot of what made it special. The high school setting, the immediacy of it all, the way everything felt urgent and personal. Now it’s just kind of sad adults dealing with consequences.
I think the show was always going to have a problem sustaining itself past high school. That’s just the nature of it. But I’m not sure the writers figured out how to make Season 3 compelling enough to justify it. It’s still beautiful to look at. Zendaya still kills it. But there’s something missing.
The show is returning for more episodes, which is good because Season 3 feels unfinished in a way that’s actually frustrating rather than exciting. It doesn’t feel like a natural stopping point. It just feels like it got cut off.
Look, Euphoria is worth watching. It’s one of those shows that stays with you. The performances are incredible across the board. The look and feel of it is unlike anything else on TV. But I’ll be honest, I’m not sure the story is holding up as well as the visuals and the acting. The first season is genuinely great. The second and third seasons have their moments, but they’re not quite hitting the same way. Still, if you’ve got the time and the stomach for some heavy content, it’s worth your attention. What’s keeping you from watching it if you haven’t already?
Episode Guide
Season 1 (8 Episodes)
Episode 1: Pilot (7.8/10)
Seventeen-year-old Rue returns home from rehab with no plans to stay clean.
Episode 2: Stuntin' Like My Daddy (7.6/10)
On the first day of school, Rue has a new friend, Jules, but struggles to put the past behind her.
Episode 3: Made You Look (7.6/10)
Kat starts camming. Jules falls for a boy online. Rue is confronted at NA, and Cassie visits McKay at college.
Episode 4: Shook Ones Pt. II (8.1/10)
Rue, trying to get clean for Jules, chaperones Gia at the carnival. Jules encounters Cal with his family.
Episode 5: '03 Bonnie and Clyde (7.6/10)
Maddy and Nate must deal with a police investigation. Rue and Jules each reflect on their relationship.
Episode 6: The Next Episode (7.3/10)
On Halloween, Rue worries about her reliance on Jules when she starts acting strange.
Episode 7: The Trials and Tribulations of Trying to Pee While Depressed (7.6/10)
Rue gets depressed and watches 22 straight episodes of a British reality show. Jules visits an old friend.
Episode 8: And Salt the Earth Behind You (7.5/10)
It's the winter formal at East Highland.
Season 2 (8 Episodes)
Episode 1: Trying to Get to Heaven Before They Close the Door (8.2/10)
Rue and Jules cross paths for the first time since Christmas as East Highland rings in the new year.
Episode 2: Out of Touch (7.5/10)
As the new semester kicks off, Jules questions Rue and Elliot’s new friendship, while Cal hunts for answers.
Episode 3: Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys (7.6/10)
Rue pursues a new business venture, Cassie settles into a routine, and Cal finds a target.
Episode 4: You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can (7.7/10)
Jules and Elliot grow closer, Maddy celebrates her birthday and Cal takes a trip down memory lane.
Episode 5: Stand Still Like the Hummingbird (8.7/10)
Fate has a way of catching up with those who try to outrun it.
Episode 6: A Thousand Little Trees of Blood (7.7/10)
Rue tries to recover, Lexi questions putting on her play and Nate celebrates his newfound freedom.
Episode 7: The Theater and Its Double (7.7/10)
Art imitates life as the East Highland crew watches their complicated dynamics play out onstage.
Episode 8: All My Life, My Heart Has Yearned for a Thing I Cannot Name (8/10)
As the show goes on, fragments of memories collide with the present and future.
Season 3 (8 Episodes)
Episode 1: Andale (6.6/10)
A few years after high school, Rue's debts finally catch up with her. Hoping to finance her dream wedding, Cassie tries to become internet famous – to the disapproval of Nate, who's juggling the demands of running Cal's business.
Episode 2: America My Dream (7.1/10)
Maddy arrived in the city with no money, a suitcase full of clothes, and a plan.
Episode 3: The Ballad of Paladin (7.2/10)
While in art school, Jules learns she can fund her dreams by going on dates with rich men. Having worked her way up in Alamo's organization, Rue is sent on a special mission with Bishop. Meanwhile, Cassie's storybook wedding doesn't go as planned.
Episode 4: Kitty Likes to Dance (8.3/10)
Rue is offered a risky deal that draws her deeper into Alamo's world. While Nate battles the city council, Maddy gives Cassie a mission that could skyrocket her new career, and Lexi enlists Jules to create an original painting for LA Nights.
Episode 5: This Little Piggy (5.9/10)
She would never say it out loud, but Nate going broke finally granted Cassie permission to follow her dreams.
Episode 6: Stand Still and See (6.8/10)
Rue makes a deal with the devil in the form of a promise to Alamo…and gives a word of warning to Maddy. Later, Cassie gets her first real taste of stardom on the set of LA Nights, and Rue paints Jules a picture of her ideal future.
Episode 7: Rain or Shine
Episode 8: In God We Trust
Where to Watch
Stream on: HBO Max, HBO Max Amazon Channel, Spectrum On Demand, Sky Go, Now TV, Crave Amazon Channel, Foxtel Now, WOW, Wow Fiction Amazon Channel, JioHotstar, VI movies and tv, Claro tv+
Buy on: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Sky Store, Fetch TV, maxdome Store, MagentaTV, Videoload, Canal VOD, Orange VOD, VIVA by videofutur, Premiere Max