The first season of “Euphoria” aired on HBO Max in the summer of 2019, and while it was quite popular back then, this season the show saw its popularity skyrocket. The show is now officially the second most popular HBO show of all time, only behind “Game of Thrones.” Despite its massive audience, the quality of season two is heavily debated.
Sam Levinson is the sole creator and writer of the show. Some people praise his work, while others beg him to share control over the show. Levinson has a specific vision for how he wants the narrative to play out. The question is if the story he is building makes any sense. Let’s look at some storylines that are still unresolved.
Spoilers ahead.
Kat is a character who saw a significant reduction in screen time this season, supposedly because of disputes between Levinson and her actress Barbie Ferreria. Barbie had issues with the direction her character was going in, and from the limited scenes she had this season, I can see why.
The scenes that were cut probably relate to her “online business,” for lack of a more appropriate term to use. Her scene from season one with the anonymous FaceTime caller still has not been explored. Her journey through self-discovery was also largely placed on the sidelines, with her becoming an observer of Cassie’s (Sydney Sweeney) and Maddy’s (Alexa Demie) drama by the end of the season.
Another forgotten storyline is one that was discussed a lot in Jules’s (Hunter Schafer) special episode, but was never really seen. Jules did not get an arc about self-discovery; her relationship with Elliot (Dominic Fike) isn’t even touched on after the fourth episode. Now that it is clear that Rue (Zendaya) has gotten over Jules, let’s hope season two can further explore her character.
Laurie (Martha Kelly) is a character who scares me to no end. She is so calm and calculating that I actually miss Mouse (Meeko Gattuso). Laurie is the character I missed the most in the finale since there was so much build-up for her to do something wicked. Also, Rue owes her at least ten-thousand dollars. Laurie’s influence over the characters needs to be more prominent. I think she can be the next major villain now that Cal (Eric Dane) is redacted to avoid spoiling too much.
There are still a lot of questions left to be answered, like whatever happened to McKay (Aglee Smith). It is easy to get frustrated and call this show a mess. However, I think this show has moments that are truly beautiful. The point of “Euphoria” is for it to be messy and real. Sam Levinson has built a world that I am deeply interested in exploring at every facet. It might not make the most sense, but it is something I look forward to watching.
There is still so much to be touched on, and I have hope that he will get there eventually.
