Tomi: A number of actors this season, including Sweeney, Minka Kelly, and Chloe Cherry, who plays Faye, have talked about asking Levinson if they could cover up in scenes that initially required nudity. Do you think there’s too much nudity on the show?
Shannon: I didn’t notice as much of it this season — presumably because the actors had these conversations! — and thank god. I think nudity has its place, of course, but in a TV show by and about teens that’s already extremely sexual (you need only to look to Euphoria High memes to tell you everyone’s barely wearing clothing anyway). I’m glad the actors were able to advocate for themselves.
Michael: The nudity definitely seemed gratuitous at times, but it feels like the show pulled back a bit more as this season unfolded. I think Euphoria straddles the line between being titillating and voyeuristic. That said, I’m glad it seems like Levinson was open to listening to the actors’ concerns if they felt they were revealing too much.
Tomi: Zendaya is on her way to Emmy #2 no doubt. In Episode 7, Rue’s mom Leslie (played by Nika King) basically gives Rue her blessing to keep doing drugs, saying she’d rather have one daughter than lose two. What do we think? What are we to make of her parenting generally? I know there have been some memes about how a Black mother would react to their child’s drug use.
And are there any decent adults on the show?
Shannon: Zero. Except for Ali, kind of. And the thing is, that’s true to a lot of young people’s experiences. There’s plenty of not-great parenting out there, from neglectful to abusive, and I’m glad that Euphoria is delving into some of the many traumas of the nuclear family.
Michael: It’s hard to say anything definitive about Leslie’s parenting because we still don’t know much about her. What’s clear is that she loves Rue more than anything, but the drama she’s endured because of her daughter has begun to wear on her. And not only that, it’s beginning to affect Gia, Rue’s younger sister, whose grades have been slipping. I think Leslie is in a tough spot because she realizes while trying her hardest to save one other child, she could potentially end up losing both, and so she makes the difficult decision to invest more in Gia’s well-being in the hope that she doesn’t make the same mistakes as her sister. I’d say Leslie, along with Ali, are examples of decent adults. They’re doing the best they can to steer Rue in the right direction with the tools and resources they have at their disposal. With Leslie, this is a mother’s unconditional love and with Ali, it’s his life experience.
And sure, a lot of the adults are pretty messed up on this show, but that feels true to life to me. So many people don’t heal and overcome their trauma so they cope by self-medicating or indulging in dangerous behaviors until they succumb to their vices. No D.A.R.E., but, in a way, the adults seem to illustrate the kind of future that awaits the messy teens if they’re unable to clean up their act.
Who’s our favorite new couple? Do we approve of Jules and Elliot?
Shannon: The fact that the two are dating in real life is charming to me. And both Hunter Schafer and Dominic Fike are so good in these roles. I know their relationship on the show has been controversial, but I’m actually a fan of how their dynamic has unfolded. Typically I’d be pissed off that a guy is coming between two girls — we’ve seen it too many times — but I think the extent to which Schafer has collaborated with Levinson on Jules’ gender journey gives her interest in Elliot more weight and depth. I have a couple of friends who are super pissed that Jules would cheat on Rue, but Rue is such a wreck right now, has blamed Jules for relapsing, and is not giving Jules what she needs sexually, emotionally, or otherwise. Elliot is hot and cool and seems to really see Jules. I’m totally into it!
Michael: I 1,000% approve of Jules and Elliot. If Rue had her life together and wasn’t lying about her drug use and pushing away the people who truly want the best for her, there’s no doubt in my mind Jules would still be there for her. I think the dalliance between Jules and Elliot happened in a pretty organic way, and I’m curious to see how it develops over time.
What is going on with Kat this season? There have been rumors that Barbie Ferreira, who plays her, and creator Levinson have butted heads, and she hasn’t exactly come out and debunked these rumors.
Shannon: This is such a bummer to me. I love Kat and I love Ferreira. Her only plotline this season has been disliking her boyfriend so much that she pretends to have a traumatic brain injury — her character doesn’t feel in the thick of things at all. If the rumors of Levinson trying to foist an eating disorder plotline on Kat this season are true, I’m so glad that Ferreira was like, Dude, no. Her character deserves a story that has nothing to do with her body.
Michael: An eating disorder storyline — though this obviously happens in real life — would seem like a lazy way to explore Kat’s story. You can tell her role has been diminished because she seems much more like Maddy’s sidekick this season, and I can’t think of any standout moments aside from the self-love parody from Episode 2.
On that note, do you feel the lack of a writers room with this season of Euphoria?
Shannon: Boy, do I. Imagine what even one (1) Black woman writer could bring to this show. It’d be major. Levinson has imbued Rue’s story with parts of his own, as someone who’s struggled with drug dependency in the past, but I don’t think Levinson is a capable enough writer to do Rue and her family true justice when it comes to how her drug use intersects with her race and gender.
Michael: I definitely feel the lack of writers room, but I don’t think I’m against it. There are times when a creator, ahem, auteur, could use a little help from others — hi, Tyler Perry — but I don’t think any of Levinson’s choices have come across as being really beyond the pale for me. Euphoria is, as Slate noted in early January, a dozen different shows, but I think that’s part of why it’s so polarizing. Sure, Levinson could probably consult others when bringing to life characters of a different race and/or background, but there’s something electrifying about Euphoria because it tends to go against what people feel the show should be doing. I may hate the decisions Levinson makes at times, but I love dissecting and talking about them even more!
Which characters do you want to see less of? Who do you want to see more of?
Michael: I think I’d like to see less of Nate, mainly because he seems to get a lot of play and airtime because he’s a good-looking (and maybe very disturbed) white boy. I’m also not sure what else there is to say about Nate and his family now that his dad is out of the picture. I want to see more of Gia. Storm Reid is such a good actor and has been criminally underused so far. Her anguish is always used as meme fodder, but we don’t know much about her beyond that.
Shannon: Totally agree — more Gia! And I’d love more of Leslie, too, to contextualize her parenting approach and help us actually get to know her. We were teased with like, five seconds of her backstory growing up in the church; I hope they’ll get back to it.
Where would you like to see the next season of Euphoria go?
Michael: Honestly, I know the show has been deemed too much for certain viewers, and while they deal with dark and heavy themes, I think it could be darker. That’s not to say I believe the show should become a slog, full of predictable stereotypes about teens and drug use, but I think the stakes could be a smidge higher. Rue’s always teetering on the edge, but she always seems to find her way back, even if it’s temporary. Fez pummeled Nate’s face at a party, but it doesn’t seem that getting his behind whooped made him radically change his behavior. It’d be more interesting to see more of the characters faced with real repercussions for their actions, things they can’t easily be rescued from.
Shannon: Yes please to higher stakes. This season the stakes were seemingly super high — Rue was nearly sold into prostitution — and yet never felt earned or real, because as you mentioned, Michael, Rue’s always OK in the end. She needs to face some real consequences. By the finale her voiceover suggests she’s grown, in some way, but have we seen any of her actions really suggest as much?●
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/tomiobaro/euphoria-season-finale-review-reactions