Euphoria season 2 review: A beautiful mess

3/5

Story:
A relapsed Rue (Zendaya) struggles with existentialism and depression, which drives her to lash out at those close to her with words seething with venom. Isolating herself from her family, Jules (Hunter Schafer), Lexi (Maude Apatow), Ali (Colman Domingo), and her new friend Elliot (Dominic Fike).

Nate (Jacob Elordi) gets a new lease of life after Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) merciless assault, while his father Cal (Eric Dane) gains a new perspective about his life and family. Nate’s new clandestine relationship with a vulnerable Cassie (Sydney Sweeney) threatens to create chaos if Maddy (Alexa Demie) were to find out.

Lexi finds a new friend in Fezco, who becomes her pillar of moral support as she puts all her efforts into writing and creating a play focusing on the lives of Rue, Cassie, herself, and those around her.

Review:
The first episode of season two was a slight departure from the narrative structure that the series generally follows, and it was better for it. Each of its primary characters were given plenty of screen time to define their arcs for the rest of the season. Instead of unnecessary suspense and ambiguity, there was a sense of linearity with the narrative with its slow build-up and shock ending where Fezco unleashed his wrath on the conniving Nate Jacobs. This scene was minutes after Fezco and Lexi struck an unlikely friendship and the look of horror on Lexi’s face at what Fezco was capable of was one of sheer disbelief. The scene is in fact a pastiche to the iconic scene from the Game of Thrones episode, ‘Battle of the Bastards’, where Jon Snow beats Ramsay Bolton to a pulp, as a stunned Sansa Stark looks on.

The scene should have ideally set the tone for season two, but instead, it was followed up with underwhelming episodes until the fifth. The melodrama that these episodes incorporated into its narrative was bordering on the cusp of being as ridiculous, illogical, and poorly written, akin to other teen dramas such as Riverdale. These episodes nearly killed any meaningful character development the series may have had, and made its lead and narrator, Rue Bennett, one of the most loathsome protagonists ever written for television. Not that it made any difference to its popularity, as the series continued to hit dizzying heights in terms of viewership figures.

There was an overindulgence in the ‘shock-and-awe’ factor on top of the vibrant visuals and unique cinematography. This helped mask the deficiencies in its writing as it stumbled into the fifth episode. The fifth episode, however, is one of the best-written episodes of the entire series, it is also the best performed. Zendaya delivers her best performance of her career as her character, Rue, struggles with withdrawal. And since its fifth episode, the series rejuvenated itself with the focus moving away from, the borderline silly, love triangles. It also shifted its narrative to Lexi, who is by far the most interesting character of the show.

The psychedelic frames and excessive nudity was toned down to deliver a compelling character-driven story towards the end of the season. And unlike the first season, the narrative does not delve into the ‘rinse and repeat’ arcs of several of its characters. The finale, in particular, offered a fresh outlook on several of its primary protagonists, with Fezco emerging as one of its best-written characters. It remains to be seen what fate has in store for him after the events of the season finale. While several plotlines have been given a satisfying conclusion, new tangents to the narratives have emerged setting the stage for a potential third season. Creator Sam Levinson does demand adulation for the remarkable narrative style for the final two episodes in how he has used Lexi’s high-school play as an exposition to weave multiple storylines in multiple timelines into one package. The series is ultimately a collection of great moments, cringeworthy moments, some truly forgettable moments, and some edge-of-your-seat moments.

Verdict:
The second season improves on the first with stunning performances by the cast and the excellent use of visuals and sound design as a narrative tool to elevate its storytelling aspect. But it’s held back by its overindulgence in melodrama and lack of consistency in its pacing of the narrative.