“Euphoria” Season 2 Review

Story posted March 13, 2022 in Arts & Entertainment by Erell Williams.

Euphoria’s second season was once again directed by Sam Levinson and led by its usual cast while also giving more attention to side characters and introducing Dominic Fike as Elliot.

The expectations for most viewers this season were more drama and a whole lot of changes, but overall the season when put together did not live up to the expectations.

Visually, this season was outstanding. From the lighting to the sounds there was not a moment in which the presentation of this season was lacking.

Some of the most creative scenes Levinson has come up with were in this season and made for temporarily exciting periods to watch.

If each episode of “Euphoria” was a standalone episode, there would only be good things to say about this season.

Unfortunately, to tune into more regrettable aspects, a lot of the drama during this season was cut off or resolved poorly. Questions were met with more unrelated questions and no way to guess where the story will go.

The attempt at character development was there, but not entirely and quite frankly, overall, it missed the mark.

Characters who were important in the first season barely got any screen time and felt like they were written off.

The few characters that did receive genuine character development were amazing for the most part either deepening or revealing the true nature of each of them.

Of course, it was nice to see some of the best acting the show has seen, especially from Zendaya and Sydney Sweeney, but the quality of each episode felt a little drowned out by the lack of focus on the overarching plotline which might not have even existed.

Throughout the season, the plot was lost. There were certainly consistent themes presented like forgiveness and love, but overall the presentation of the season felt stagnant and less appealing than the last.

It’s possible that the lack of movement was because there wasn’t anything new about the characters, but there were constantly new situations that the characters were in.

It was almost like every moment was supposed to be high stakes only for nothing to come of those risky moments.

It was also nice to have fewer nude scenes than the previous season which was a huge source of discomfort for most viewers, but even so, it appears as though the extra time gained from subtracting mature scenes was not utilized to its full potential.

At the start of the season, Levinson claimed that he was taking this season into a better light and focusing on symbolism and directing. The reality of the situation, however, is that the actors of the show are the true reason for the best parts of this season.

In terms of creating beautiful images and fun scenes, Levinson’s directing was amazing no doubt, yet it amounted to nothing by the end of the season. Some scenes could’ve been huge story changers, created more dramatic events, or important character shifts.

It is a huge concern that Levinson may try to resolve some of the big factor moments in-between seasons or not at all and that will permanently write this season as a flop.

Another factor that negatively impacted this season was the writing.

The idea of creating a season with intense sequences that make viewers curious about how it will affect their beloved or hated characters and then doing nothing with those instances is just bad writing.

In the few glimpses of the original dialogue, there were times when the actors changed the whole thing to not only make it sound more natural but give the scenes more meaning.

There is nothing wrong with improvising and oftentimes some of the best scenes come from raw emotions from the actors themselves, but it is possible that this season fell flat because the actors were doing all of the work.

For the next season hopefully, the writer’s room looks a little different and Levinson chooses to direct scenes to match the actors and what is happening with the characters.

It would be a shame for the next season to mirror this one at all, and it might be best to revise the approach to directing and have more focus on the storytelling.

The one person each episode idea worked for the last season and was present throughout this one, but unless they can manage to provide viewers with the same feeling from the concept, they need to change it up.

Overall, the season was a real disappointment in hindsight. There weren’t any real plot developments and the story went in a continuous loop when it came to making life changes.

If the next season is this frustrating, there shouldn’t be another one.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Erell Williams is a first-year majoring in broadcasting journalism. To contact her, email exw5303@psu.edu.

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Erell Williams

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Erell Williams is a first-year student, and her intended majors are Broadcasting Journalism and Chinese. She grew up in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. She is a member of the CommRadio News and Arts department. To contact her, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).