I’m not suggesting you have feel happy enjoyment for a show to be good. There are many things I love where the end goal is not to make you feel happy. The feeling of dread or depressing situations can make for incredible pieces of art. Something that can make you feel uncomfortable can be powerful. As a bad example, there’s the ending of Twin Peaks, or even the whole film Fire Walk With Me. I watch those things and feel that overwhelming sense of dread, but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying it. In fact, in those cases it’s part of why I love it.
I don’t think Euphoria is one of those shows that gets it right cause it’s not doing it in any way that means anything beyond surface level shock. I am reminded of another thing that thoroughly depressed me, which is Requiem For A Dream. I find that film very difficult and unenjoyable, but I think that’s the point. And I think its points being made are well executed. Here, it doesn’t feel that way. Euphoria wants to be two different shows, but that push-pull results in messiness, from both a general tv viewing point and a critical one. It looks visually appealing, but its visuals are enhancing traumatic situations, almost to the point of glamorizing them, which I know people will disagree with but whatever. Never mind the fact that these are all supposed to be teens, so it feels almost voyeuristic and weird for adults to watch the highly sexualized scenes and get some enjoyment out of them. Yet, this doesn’t feel like a show made for teens. I struggle with seeing what the appeal is for either audience, or whoever is the target audience.
I also am not suggesting it needs to have a moment of sincerity necessarily, where characters are sat down and told by their parents or other adults how their decisions are bad or something. That’s not this show, and generally not something I want to see in a show. I just feel the show isn’t making any points other than “hey teens are fucked up.” That’s a problem to me cause it’s tired and dumb. And I do genuinely get the sense that the creator and writers and whatnot are giddy about showing the depraved scenes, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It doesn’t seem to be coming from a place of genuine concern or understanding or curiosity, but instead a place of just desperation and depression. And to have the tone and messaging be so off base when it comes to these very real and very serious issues is a bad look. A montage of statuary rape shouldn’t just be thrown into a show with no real weight put behind it. And no consideration at how awful it is.
It’s insane to me that a show like 13 Reasons Why can get people up in arms over the belief that it’s glorifying suicide (which I do not believe), but when it comes to Euphoria people are defending this? This? They are very different shows, each unique in a way and over dramatic in their own ways. I would never argue to suggest 13 reasons why is a good show. It has bad acting, a messiness itself, dumb situations, but it remains consistently watchable. And let me just give them credit here for a second, because when you get to the end of season one and have to watch Hannah’s rape scene, it is really tough. It made me feel horrible. But I would say it wasn’t glamorizing it, or presenting it in a non-realistic way. The acting, the shot composition, the lead up to the event itself...this is why it works. Euphoria has none of that. It’s stylization on top of rape, which is, sorry, a really fucked up way to present these scenes. And I am baffled that people can watch that and get enjoyment out of it, and then defend it.
The result of me feeling awful while watching this show isn’t just the situations themselves. I’ve seen worse. It’s the presentation of those situations. It’s the gross feeling of someone getting away with something that bothers me, and by someone I mean both creator and audience. The dead-eyed emptiness (coupled with the visual flair of a music video) of the show’s mood as it cycles through unpleasant event after unpleasant event does not make for good tv in my eyes. It’s not toeing a line between so over the top it’s fun or funny, nor is it rich in substantive material. Instead, it feels just empty. Beautiful emptiness, sometimes, but emptiness nonetheless. And this isn’t even considering all the other issues with the show, such as dialogue, storylines, story writing, a lame voice over narrative device that doesn’t really make sense, irritating bits of some songs (not sure the songs), and a lack of true characterization. Summing up a person’s personality at the beginnings of the episodes is not character development. It’s lazy. And within individual scenes with characters, it often feels like there aren’t real people present. No body feels real, or even like a character. With the exception of a few here in there.
The addiction storyline could be great, if they bothered to really dive deeper into that. The Jules and Rue relationship could be great too, if there was more of a focus there, with more fleshing out. The drug dealer and Rue’s relationship is interesting, Rue looking out for her sister is interesting. There’s a decent show in here. But at the same time, it’s far from it.
And that’s that. I have my opinion, which is an unpopular one. But that’s okay. I think I’ve said much of what’s been on my mind, and I’ll just leave it there.
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