I wish that more teen shows would be set incollege, as opposed to high school. It's uncomfortable to see what are supposed to be underage kids engage in sexual activities and drugs, and that they're being sexualised.
I wish they did too. But I think the fact that hs is universal experience makes this a thing. It’s like they want the setting to be relatable but it ends up unrealistic/unethical.
@@jasmined9607 I feel like they can get away with more of the outlandish stuff that they do if the were adults/in college. For example, the number of parties they go to in this show and Kats's story(cam-girl storyline)😂
@@catuzumaki yea, I’m not disagreeing with her at all. I’m just thinking that’s the only rational reason for shows continually ignoring college as a setting. Other than writers s**ualizing teens which is gross.
@@jasmined9607 what you are writing makes no sense. sexualize means nothing. do teenagers have sex life? yes. are they interested in sexuality and topics? yes. are they allowed to have sex? yes. then? no sex teen life would be unrealistic, if we are talking about large groups, not one singular person.
the fact that the whole aesthetic of euphoria wich is what the show is most known for was actually stolen from a photographer and artist who never saw A DIME of it is insane to me (her name is Petra Colins, she has talked about her experience with the show, Sam basically hired her for the project, stole her art concept and then fired her) and speaks volumes about the kind of person Levinson is
I was on Cassie's side during Lexi's play. She had every right to be upset over her dirty laundry being aired for all to hear, though thankfully, Lexi didn't mention the abortion.
Yes! And everyone seems to forget that Lexi had a whole episode where she admitted she just wanted to be the main character. She didn’t do the play so the others could see their flaws or whatever BS people use to defend it. She did it so she could be in the spotlight and popular
She definitely did it knowing how it would make her feel, and she also had said in that play that she was overshadowed by cassie growing, she resented cassie and wanted the spotlight for once and also, I hated how she portrayed cassie as an dumb pretty girl and reduced her to that, cassie had trauma and on the outside she's constantly being seen by men that way, but there's a lot going on inside her head
fr everyone was like yass queen when irl thats just cruel. maddy (who was actually hurt by cassie) didnt even try to get back at her like that. lexi just seems like a resentful bitter pick me.
i really hope there isn't a season 3. the roll outs are so far apart, half the cast has left/refuses to film together, not a single person alive likes sam anymore after the idol, and obviously angus cloud's heartbreaking death. the show and it's bts has always been such a mess i really don't see the point in it
I would love to see a third season but I much prefer if the third season becomes the official final season to complete it all, there’s no reason to continue the show afterwards
as a teenager i'm kind of tired of shows like euphoria portraying teenagers as sex-obsessed junkies. what about all the teenagers that just hang out and goof off and have fun? does it always have to be "realistic?" i just feel so overlooked sometimes.
It's also unrealistic because Gen Z has less sex than any other generation. But when u consider that Boomers had loads of sex as teens and are the ones producing/overseeing the creation of these shows, the depiction of teenagers having more sex than they actually do makes more sense. They are also the largest consumers of teen p0rn so...
In high school, me and my bff were kind of doing a Lexi-type move (without the malice or airing of peoples dirty laundry). We just made comics of the nonsense people on our track team, including ourselves, would get up to. Track was a no cut sport at my school so we were considered the band kids of school sports. We tried to capture the wholesome chaotic fun of goofing around before practice or weird conversations that happened.
i dont know if its because im from germany fro a middle-class family, but having teenagers having sex isnt realistic at all. It actually feels very disconnected from reality. I think even most adults dont have a life like that
THISSSSS! Like I'm a teen and literally have ZERO interest in sex, relationships, boys, drugs, and anything like that. Why can't teenagers be virgins in media if we exist irl?? 😭
Literally. Like 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 yes but in every other context of life they r definitely still teenagers which r essentially kids. If your age ends in the word TEEN I believe that makes you a teenager
Trigger was a term used in mental health usually in ptsd treatment and has been commandeered by the internet to mean something trivial and entirely different than it’s intended meaning. But many mental health terms have been warped by this like narcissism
i think one of the main reasons why people get so defensive over this show is because people find themselves so deeply in the characters, as euphoria covers such heavy topics that some people can really relate to and then when others criticise the character you find yourself defending them like how you would for your self. even though it’s more the writer’s fault for screwing up a character fans of the show not only see the characters as real people but alternate versions of them selves
You are so right! I think euphoria for women is like Bojack horseman is for, well, a lot of people, but especially certain types of men. The creators of Bojack had to even clarify that while it’s ok to see parts of yourself in the characters and empathize with them (especially the MC) fans shouldn’t see them aspirational or an excuse to continue their bad behavior. And I think it’s especially important to remember that for euphoria considering that 1) the writers can’t do their jobs and 2) the characters are traumatized, messy teenagers. On that same note, I had an old friend who way over identified with Maddy. And sure Maddy has some good character growth and is a complex character worthy of compassion. But my old friend used Maddy as an excuse to live out her toxic queen bee fantasy and used her trauma (which is very similar to Maddy’s) to excuse her actions. And keep in mind, my old friend was in her 20s.
I think a lot of what made Euphoria so immersive and successful was the time it came out and the visual/music aspects of the show that really sucked you in. And to teenagers (I was around the same age as the characters), seeing a teen show like Skins or something in that vein in a very stylized way was a big thing. It was perfect for a social media, aesthetics-driven, Gen Z audience. You could dress up as a character and people would know who you were.
I think its also because at the time it came out, mental problems we're a "trend" on social media. Where Im from, visiting the hospital because of mental problems became such a trend, that my classmates, when they hadn't learned for a maths test, they would just go to the psych hospital for a week and later come back and brag how funny it was. I'm not making this up, because I honestly think that such behaviour is extremely offensive to people who actually need the help and struggle with mental illness. Especialy during Covid it became so popular, that being depressed and hurting yourself became "cool". Thats just so sick in my opinion, especialy because I have family members who actually struggle with inherited mental illness and its not funny but its heartbreaking and it hurts everyone around you.
@@pewdipiekjelberg7938 I have complicated feelings about how mental health is shown in the show. On one hand, the show does explain how destructive addiction is. Rue has a lot of scary moments because of her addiction (Gia finds Rue when she overdosed). At the same time, I feel like it doesn't show enough of the good or have many moments of happiness to contrast it. And, the main point of view we get on her addiction is Rue's. If we had an episode on Gia or more than flashback montages on "good times" for the Bennett family, those parts where Rue romanticized her addiction would feel tragic. The show walks this line of romanticizing these problems because it doesn't spend enough time on the "better parts" of their lives or another pov. Even with the Maddy/Cassie/Nate plot, we don't get Maddy's pov. We see Cassie get embarrassed over and over (no insight into Maddy and Cassie's friendship, her feelings about her abortion. Yes, we get Lexi's play but, shoving that into the last 2 episodes kind of softens it). We see Nate's feelings but even his motives make no sense. Everything "good" is in a flashback montage.
I think a lot of the love ppl feel for euphoria comes from something they don’t realize and that’s community. We were all watching it. Making memes, TikTok’s, twitter threads. It’s was something to look forward to on Sunday.
i started watching euphoria when i was 13 or 14 and season two came out when i was 16 and now at almost 19 i definitely have a different feelings towards the show and its exploitative nature
It’s amazing how much our minds mature within only a couple of years! I go back and watch shows I grew up with & adored often, they never quite live up to the hype I had in my head. It’s never the same, which isn’t a bad thing, it just shows us we’ve grown, we’ve matured. Nostalgia is best left to our imagination! Lol
the aesthetic of euphoria was stolen from Petra Collins a famous photographer who worked on season 1 with Sam Levinson but she was fired from season 1 when it was pretty much complete. thats why season 1 is so much better quality and why season 2 has a diff aesthetic and why the storylines didnt continue very well from the first season. petra collins cried when she saw all the work she did stolen with no credit towards her. look up her photos, it all adds up
I thought the show was incredible when it came out, even tho I had similar concerns with exploitation. I think my problem was that I couldn't relate this to my HS experience whatsoever. Our cool kids smoked weed, there was grinding at dances, and yeah there was sex behind closed doors but we definitely had more adult monitoring. Euphoria lacked the presence of any teachers or parents. Our idea of a crazy night was drinking mountain dew and talking about crushes. Maybe prank calling or yelling penis! in a cornfield. It was a BIG deal if someone was able to bring a bottle of vodka to a football game (and most of the time they were caught and reprimanded anyway). Theres a lot of normal teens out there and not that many Euphoria teens
I agree with ur first sentence but instead I couldn't relate to euphoria at all because I don't have sex, do drugs, or have any drama among my friends or overall life like the teens in the show do so to me this show is purely vibes/entertainment and doesn't resonate too deeply with me in any way.
I tried watching this show because I heard it was really good thematically but I couldn't deal with all the sex and nudity. I would've been able to deal with it implied but as you put it, the fact the characters are so young it grossed me out and I just couldn't keep going. I am someone who doesn't really think sex scenes have a place in any movie (unless you want a certain... "Genre" lol) but the fact the characters are meant to be younger (than me especially) I just felt weird even though the actors are mostly older than me. I do still like watching character deep dives though to get the stories.
Nate didn't threaten Maddie originally for Jues he did it to protect to his dad at first because he even tho he hated his father he still felt loyal to him. He said in his speech to Cal before he was arrested. I think once he made his choice he didn't to give it to her because he realized he didn't care for her and honestly felt bad.
Nate and Jules could've been one of the most interesting relationships and they just dropped it Edit: 1:02:00 i think she also didn't tell him to stop because sometimes that just makes it worse, especially when a guy is in that kind of "mode"
i could be completely wrong but i think i read somewhere that Hunter and Jacob were having issues behind the scenes and the decided to scrap their relationship and bring in Cassie and Nate
Thank you for your wonderfully well-thought-out video! Would just like to point out a tiny piece of information that could add to your Sam Levinson bias, however. The creative direction and visual 'aesthetic' of the show was also a concept that was stolen from Canadian photographer, actress, and model Petra Collins. Here is a detailed video about the incident: th-cam.com/video/PWTiGbA9_Xg/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=FinalGirlStudios Now you can confidently criticize Sam for lack of originality as well! :)
Someone already commented something similar. But, I couldn’t watch this show all the way through. I’m 23. I did a lot of crazy stuff, like the characters, 18-21 or so. “Suspension of disbelief” wasn’t able to happen, nobody in high school looked like these actors. I could just never get past the fact the story was set “in high school”. No doubt, Euphoria would have been one of my favorites if the plot called for them being in college.
I love you for this! Tbh, I don't think I'll watch the show anymore. I've outgrown it lol. S2 sure was entertaining, but a dumpster fire mess. And Levinson is very unlikeable.
I was the same age as the characters when this show started. I feel like with time and growing, I don't really have the same attachment to it as I did when it started.
Honestly I really related to Cassie in season 2. I think it was poorly done esp because it didn’t really have any lead up to her relationship with Nate and it was kinda random but I was very similar to her in HS. She gives very relatable symptoms to having borderline personality disorder (although it doesn’t say she has it in the show). The low self worth, the abandonment issues, the seeking male validation, the over idolization, the devaluing, the trying to justify her actions that she feels ashamed about, and her impulsivity esp with promiscuity. It’s very very sad to watch.
The way that literally every single character could have been in their first years of uni but SL absolutely wanted teenagers doing sexual stuff ahhh Also yeah that whole "teens do all these drugs and sex" always felt wack bc like, sir, which teens, where tf do you live
lolita trope is literally the worst. that is sooo creepy and no okay, thanks for emphasizing this. love your video essays tho, you are doing a great work and I genuinely enjoy them. thanks for all your work!
I feel like they can get away with more of the outlandish stuff that they do if the were adults/in college. For example, the number of parties they go to in this show and Kats's story(cam-girl storyline)😂
You make me realize I have to rewatch skins because I watched it when I was so young and immature that the lens I saw it in was oh it’s not that dark, it’s a bit unserious. I knew it dealt with heavy topics but I almost took it as an edgier degrassi
Just rewatched it and Oml it’s so camp! 😆 Not as dark as I remember! There will never be another skins, thank god😆 I think they could’ve made Maddy hilarious similarly like Chris if they dulled down the the trawma a bit !
Fun fact, none of the people accused in the Salem witch trials were burned at the stake. All of them were hanged, except for a man who was tortured to death.
I 100% agree with you and can relate to the feeling of detachment the most when it came to rue and Jules and then it was a little bit better with Maddie/cassie/nate but the only duo I truly felt excitement while seeing on screen was lexy and fez :3 damn those two got me giggling at my phones screen like a kid
I personally think Lexi should have included the scene on Cassie because, although we sympathize with Cassie because we see situations from her POV, we need to see how she looks from another perspective. Although I thought the carousel scene was a bit too far, I think it’s fair to look at it from an outsider looking in. Cassie abandoned her family to live with Nate after disregarding everyone in her life. Much like her dad, she’s a victim and a perpetrator, but either way her family and friends cannot trust her anymore. Cassie needs a wake up call and honestly her behavior is so bad that Fez was right “sometimes people need to get their feelings hurt.” Cassie can only help herself now and she either continue to fall into her whole or take some accountability even if it means she needs to get a wake up call. She always talks about herself but diminishes how Lexi feels and the fact that she suffers too. Lexi explains that the stuff Cassie does doesn’t just affect herself, it affects Lexi and she deserves an apology. But Lexi isn’t asking for an apology, she’s asking for people in her life to come back and center themselves and the only person who responds the way she wants is Rue.
I don't consider it to be prudish not to approve that much minor nudity. What is the problem here, I think, is that it is not supposed to be a show targeted at a teenage audience. Then, it is aimed at adults. However, I am uncomfortable with adults enjoying what is supposed to be a teen nudity? Like, it gives me an ick. I am a 23 female who has graduated uni and done master's and I don't care much about an adult man take on teens' problems. I agree with one of the comments here that we lack shows taking place in uni or college with older characters. So many opportunities with a combination of personal and intimate life issues and finding your place in the world and job force and stuff.
lots of shows are depressing for, well, actually no reason. it is just what certain people like and certain people hype. i don't really like a lot of famous tv shows...
I was waiting for you to mention skins, because I’ve always been confused on why everyone finds Euphoria so extreme and shocking because Skins was SO much worse 😂 and better! And we ate that shit up over a decade before euphoria. I totally see the criticisms of euphoria, but I also don’t believe in censorship of TV and cinema. Teens do have sex, do drugs, and all those things and they deserve to be represented. The only thing I’d leave out is the actual nudity, and I do hope to see a shift towards more college age settings
trigger isnt an offensive term; i know youtube tends to hate the word but its a legit psych term. its meant to let people who have triggers (oh yeah, its a real thing, not an internet thing) be aware of things that can give them like -- an episode, a reaction, whatever. trigger isnt the issue, its people using it lightly.
48:15 my thoughts on why Nate was even there is it was literally just a plot point. Cassie needed to hear Maddy say those things because of her insecurities and the love triangle and her own struggle to be perfect for Nate like Maddy like copying her outfit and the obsessive skincare routine. She throws up in disgust because Nate said the same thing to both of them, and knowing that she was just another girl to him made her sick to her stomach due to her insecurities (and the alcohol haha) she comes out at the beginning of that scene trying to be sexy in her bikini and the walk to the hot tub to assert some sort of dominance over Nate or Maddy. Cassie gets in her own head and it was sort of a plot point reality check. Feel free to discuss this with me!
I think Skins feels rougher because it portrays all these themes and situations in a more realistic and natural way, when you watch it it really feels like something that could happen to you or that you’ve already experienced or seen
Your words about Nate made me think about Tony and how messed up he was. So I wonder who is more scary to you? I'd say that Nate is but I feel like it's because he is so violent when he isn't in control, but at the same Tony is never violent and he just enjoys making people feel some shity things for his own enjoyment. So hmm..
Season 1 was nice even my mother liked it but season 2 is really bad my mother totally agreed with me i don't think i will watch season 3 sam to me isn't a great writer season 2 and the show the idol definitely are proof of that sam in his mind believes he's similar to David lynch which he isn't David can actually write
He reminded me a lot of David Lynch especially in season 2's visual choices. He also reminded me of Showgirls with the aesthetic of showy makeup, lighting. But, showgirls even with how campy it is still had this viewpoint on misogyny and s*x work and the different aspects of that. But, Sam doesn't have an actual viewpoint or direction to go on. Like, Maddy gets brutalized and abused over and over for what?
I am all for you adding ads to your videos, which you have worked so hard on. However, this specific video has so many ads that it's distracting. I can't keep track of how many times I zoned in and out. I love your content and style of videos, just some feedback.
I only selected to put three ads in this video! So I am quite annoyed about this because it seems recently like TH-cam is adding in all these extra ads i don't want
I remember hearing that Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi weren't getting on well on set, so that's why the Jules X Nate plot got changed. Plus they included that new guy
As a dark skin woman yeah no representation at all. Never any representation so it’s alright I guess. I feel like season 1 and 2 were so different like z whole different show. I can’t stand the way Levinson just leaves plot holes EVERYWHERE. The SA of McKay just for him to disappear….like historically that would touch on a subject that affects black masculinity till this day. That nepo baby aka Lexi…her parents really were like increase her role! I don’t like the character of Jules….like she’s a bad girlfriend/friend. Nate love him. Rue…how much money with of stuff did you steal/do…that lady is gonna get her. The black mom…but Zendayas mom is white…like can’t write a role for young colored women but we can be moms to uphold the facade of diversity?? The erasure of the young black girls. SIDENOTE…lowkey happy we were left out of Sam’s twisted fantasy. Cassie’s and Maddys stories were the most interesting to me…men like to do things and not ask for consenting. McKay chocking Maddie…been there and worse. I need a Nate spinoff!!!
I do agree kids Watch too much adult things but I was one of the kids watching adult things, like I was 8 watching Flowers in the Attic (so much incest) but I just didn’t understand the adult themes 😭😫 so maybe it’s a similar thing?
This amount of nudity is highly unnecessary. There are a few Netflix series such as Gangubai and Heeramandi (both of these focus on prostitutes and prostitution) but none of these series have a single nude scene. You will never see the actresses completely nude. Both of these are immensely famous.
This show makes me so uncomfortable!! Same uncomfy feeling I get from Thirteen. It shouldn’t exist.. 10:21 exactly !!💯 17:20 Degrassi and Adam lol. I wouldn’t call her sweet at all lol 43:49 she’s unapologetically herself.
how is it a hate crime against lesbians and trans? There is the inclusivity of a trans character for one, and blatantly displays love between two women. Yes Jules has sex with men too because not every trans person is attracted to the same sex only. Nate was actually the kindest to the trans person. I dont understand why the LGBTQ community always feels targeted by everything.
@@theoriginalbunnygirlnate is nice to her? The pilot has him speeding and running her off the road, making her a spectacle and unwelcome/threatening her at the house party (og script had him calling her a slur and saying she is basically a pathetic attention speaker) and he’s basically obsessed with her because he resents that she lives authentically. He’s jealous and wants to possess and dominate her. It’s all self centred motivations. He’s not nice in a genuine way, it’s all coercion and manipulation. Guy has problems. Even his ‘nice gestures’ have horrible intentions behind them. I’m not playing devil’s advocate for him because he clearly is just written as the repressed and aggressive jock that pushes the plot forward by being hyperbolically cruel. There’s a lot to be said about voyeuristic content showing underaged queer people being sexually assaulted and suffering. It’s no coincidence the strongest episode was the one hunter wrote with her dialogue and therapy scenes. Idk it’s obvious euphoria was competent about telling the story of an addict because the director wrote what he knew there, the rest is frivolous.
I don’t know about the UK, but in America, specifically in Los Angeles, teens are sexually active in high school. It’s not unrealistic to depict teens having sex, because teens have sex. That’s not saying that having adults watching it isn’t creepy on some level, but the actual depiction of teens in a sexualized manner is not out of the norm when compared to real life.
That’s not the issue, i think the issue is how graphic the show gets in its depiction. What teenagers do is between themselves, but to so explicitly depict a bunch of minors for a big tv show is a whole different issue.
Any man or person wanting to choke you is a blaring red flag alarm. It is extraordinarily easy to kill someone via choking. Do not do it! PSA over. This is a show that is aesthetically lush but an emotionally harsh mountain range. The issue is characters today are often written so badly and unpleasantly the shows are impossible to care about. And part of this is wholesome characters are usually nowhere to be found. At some point the glorification of dysfunction becomes grotesque. Overall wholesome or positive content is almost wholly absent from the current landscape of media. I enjoy gritty topics, but it seems everything is variety of grimdark without relief. Also, the trans issue is another reason this show is off putting for me. The hormones for “trans” can kill your pancreas, give you cancer, cause brain swelling or shrinkage and more. Puberty blockers have been shown to cripple people and give them chronic pain. And the surgery is basically butchering the most sensitive body parts you have and often make people incontinent as well setting you up for literal constant infection and chronic pain. Also, now it has come out that corn is purposefully pushing people into more extreme tastes and they push trans on purpose. And we know corn can warp people….. And that all ignoring that trans is targeting people with trauma, different sexualities, gender nonconformity and neurodivergence who can have difficulty accepting their bodies. Never mind this is erasing women’s rights because if women includes men as a definition then it backdoor alters all law about women. Encouraging this is a heinous egregious wrong. Trans is modern foot binding. Grotesque and harmful.
I agree with your points 💯. Its nice to see people actually talking about the dangers of changing one's sex. Society tries to glorify it like its something normal when in reality a lot of it is grounded in deep deep trauma...
@@theoriginalbunnygirl Yes, the sa stories and few available stats on the crossover of how that can cause this spiral of body discomfort is hair raising and not for the faint of heart. And I don’t recommend anyone search how the orgs setting standards of care for trans have connections to groups with a kink for this…eunch archives and wpath. Google at your own risk. We live in a dystopian novel.
I wish that more teen shows would be set incollege, as opposed to high school. It's uncomfortable to see what are supposed to be underage kids engage in sexual activities and drugs, and that they're being sexualised.
i totally agree, this show could have been equally interesting set in college
I wish they did too. But I think the fact that hs is universal experience makes this a thing. It’s like they want the setting to be relatable but it ends up unrealistic/unethical.
@@jasmined9607 I feel like they can get away with more of the outlandish stuff that they do if the were adults/in college. For example, the number of parties they go to in this show and Kats's story(cam-girl storyline)😂
@@catuzumaki yea, I’m not disagreeing with her at all. I’m just thinking that’s the only rational reason for shows continually ignoring college as a setting. Other than writers s**ualizing teens which is gross.
@@jasmined9607 what you are writing makes no sense. sexualize means nothing. do teenagers have sex life? yes. are they interested in sexuality and topics? yes. are they allowed to have sex? yes. then? no sex teen life would be unrealistic, if we are talking about large groups, not one singular person.
the fact that the whole aesthetic of euphoria wich is what the show is
most known for was actually stolen from a photographer and artist who never saw A DIME of it is insane to me (her name is Petra Colins, she has talked about her experience with the show, Sam basically hired her for the project, stole her art concept and then fired her) and speaks volumes about the kind of person Levinson is
Also she had previously worked with most of the female cast of Euphoria so she should recieve credit for casting as well
As much as I appreciate the graphic, the visual and aesthetic on Euphoria, but the storyline is about sexualizing teenagers is totally uncomfortable.
I was on Cassie's side during Lexi's play. She had every right to be upset over her dirty laundry being aired for all to hear, though thankfully, Lexi didn't mention the abortion.
Yes cassie totally had every right
Yes! And everyone seems to forget that Lexi had a whole episode where she admitted she just wanted to be the main character. She didn’t do the play so the others could see their flaws or whatever BS people use to defend it. She did it so she could be in the spotlight and popular
She definitely did it knowing how it would make her feel, and she also had said in that play that she was overshadowed by cassie growing, she resented cassie and wanted the spotlight for once and also, I hated how she portrayed cassie as an dumb pretty girl and reduced her to that, cassie had trauma and on the outside she's constantly being seen by men that way, but there's a lot going on inside her head
fr everyone was like yass queen when irl thats just cruel. maddy (who was actually hurt by cassie) didnt even try to get back at her like that. lexi just seems like a resentful bitter pick me.
@@camdecayReally Lexi’s the pick me? 😭
i really hope there isn't a season 3. the roll outs are so far apart, half the cast has left/refuses to film together, not a single person alive likes sam anymore after the idol, and obviously angus cloud's heartbreaking death. the show and it's bts has always been such a mess i really don't see the point in it
I really hope there isn't a final season too, especially because it won't feel the same anymore now that Angus is gone 😭😭
I would love to see a third season but I much prefer if the third season becomes the official final season to complete it all, there’s no reason to continue the show afterwards
@@SerenaSkybourneI like your hair
as a teenager i'm kind of tired of shows like euphoria portraying teenagers as sex-obsessed junkies. what about all the teenagers that just hang out and goof off and have fun? does it always have to be "realistic?" i just feel so overlooked sometimes.
It's also unrealistic because Gen Z has less sex than any other generation. But when u consider that Boomers had loads of sex as teens and are the ones producing/overseeing the creation of these shows, the depiction of teenagers having more sex than they actually do makes more sense. They are also the largest consumers of teen p0rn so...
@@grandempressvicky6387I’m getting sick of it!!!
In high school, me and my bff were kind of doing a Lexi-type move (without the malice or airing of peoples dirty laundry). We just made comics of the nonsense people on our track team, including ourselves, would get up to. Track was a no cut sport at my school so we were considered the band kids of school sports. We tried to capture the wholesome chaotic fun of goofing around before practice or weird conversations that happened.
i dont know if its because im from germany fro a middle-class family, but having teenagers having sex isnt realistic at all. It actually feels very disconnected from reality. I think even most adults dont have a life like that
THISSSSS! Like I'm a teen and literally have ZERO interest in sex, relationships, boys, drugs, and anything like that. Why can't teenagers be virgins in media if we exist irl?? 😭
I think it’s so funny when people refer to a 17-year-old as a “kid” but refer to 18-year-olds as “adults” lmao
Literally. Like 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 yes but in every other context of life they r definitely still teenagers which r essentially kids. If your age ends in the word TEEN I believe that makes you a teenager
Trigger was a term used in mental health usually in ptsd treatment and has been commandeered by the internet to mean something trivial and entirely different than it’s intended meaning. But many mental health terms have been warped by this like narcissism
i think one of the main reasons why people get so defensive over this show is because people find themselves so deeply in the characters, as euphoria covers such heavy topics that some people can really relate to and then when others criticise the character you find yourself defending them like how you would for your self. even though it’s more the writer’s fault for screwing up a character fans of the show not only see the characters as real people but alternate versions of them selves
You are so right! I think euphoria for women is like Bojack horseman is for, well, a lot of people, but especially certain types of men. The creators of Bojack had to even clarify that while it’s ok to see parts of yourself in the characters and empathize with them (especially the MC) fans shouldn’t see them aspirational or an excuse to continue their bad behavior. And I think it’s especially important to remember that for euphoria considering that 1) the writers can’t do their jobs and 2) the characters are traumatized, messy teenagers.
On that same note, I had an old friend who way over identified with Maddy. And sure Maddy has some good character growth and is a complex character worthy of compassion. But my old friend used Maddy as an excuse to live out her toxic queen bee fantasy and used her trauma (which is very similar to Maddy’s) to excuse her actions. And keep in mind, my old friend was in her 20s.
I think a lot of what made Euphoria so immersive and successful was the time it came out and the visual/music aspects of the show that really sucked you in. And to teenagers (I was around the same age as the characters), seeing a teen show like Skins or something in that vein in a very stylized way was a big thing. It was perfect for a social media, aesthetics-driven, Gen Z audience. You could dress up as a character and people would know who you were.
I think its also because at the time it came out, mental problems we're a "trend" on social media.
Where Im from, visiting the hospital because of mental problems became such a trend, that my classmates, when they hadn't learned for a maths test, they would just go to the psych hospital for a week and later come back and brag how funny it was. I'm not making this up, because I honestly think that such behaviour is extremely offensive to people who actually need the help and struggle with mental illness. Especialy during Covid it became so popular, that being depressed and hurting yourself became "cool".
Thats just so sick in my opinion, especialy because I have family members who actually struggle with inherited mental illness and its not funny but its heartbreaking and it hurts everyone around you.
@@pewdipiekjelberg7938 I have complicated feelings about how mental health is shown in the show. On one hand, the show does explain how destructive addiction is. Rue has a lot of scary moments because of her addiction (Gia finds Rue when she overdosed). At the same time, I feel like it doesn't show enough of the good or have many moments of happiness to contrast it. And, the main point of view we get on her addiction is Rue's. If we had an episode on Gia or more than flashback montages on "good times" for the Bennett family, those parts where Rue romanticized her addiction would feel tragic. The show walks this line of romanticizing these problems because it doesn't spend enough time on the "better parts" of their lives or another pov.
Even with the Maddy/Cassie/Nate plot, we don't get Maddy's pov. We see Cassie get embarrassed over and over (no insight into Maddy and Cassie's friendship, her feelings about her abortion. Yes, we get Lexi's play but, shoving that into the last 2 episodes kind of softens it). We see Nate's feelings but even his motives make no sense. Everything "good" is in a flashback montage.
I think a lot of the love ppl feel for euphoria comes from something they don’t realize and that’s community. We were all watching it. Making memes, TikTok’s, twitter threads. It’s was something to look forward to on Sunday.
i started watching euphoria when i was 13 or 14 and season two came out when i was 16 and now at almost 19 i definitely have a different feelings towards the show and its exploitative nature
It’s amazing how much our minds mature within only a couple of years! I go back and watch shows I grew up with & adored often, they never quite live up to the hype I had in my head. It’s never the same, which isn’t a bad thing, it just shows us we’ve grown, we’ve matured. Nostalgia is best left to our imagination! Lol
you guys have been asking for longer videos so here we are 🍷
Thank you!!!!!!
the aesthetic of euphoria was stolen from Petra Collins a famous photographer who worked on season 1 with Sam Levinson but she was fired from season 1 when it was pretty much complete. thats why season 1 is so much better quality and why season 2 has a diff aesthetic and why the storylines didnt continue very well from the first season. petra collins cried when she saw all the work she did stolen with no credit towards her. look up her photos, it all adds up
I thought the show was incredible when it came out, even tho I had similar concerns with exploitation. I think my problem was that I couldn't relate this to my HS experience whatsoever. Our cool kids smoked weed, there was grinding at dances, and yeah there was sex behind closed doors but we definitely had more adult monitoring. Euphoria lacked the presence of any teachers or parents. Our idea of a crazy night was drinking mountain dew and talking about crushes. Maybe prank calling or yelling penis! in a cornfield. It was a BIG deal if someone was able to bring a bottle of vodka to a football game (and most of the time they were caught and reprimanded anyway). Theres a lot of normal teens out there and not that many Euphoria teens
I agree with ur first sentence but instead I couldn't relate to euphoria at all because I don't have sex, do drugs, or have any drama among my friends or overall life like the teens in the show do so to me this show is purely vibes/entertainment and doesn't resonate too deeply with me in any way.
I miss teen shows like Degrassi
This show is the definition of wasted potential
Agreed.
Absolutely
I tried watching this show because I heard it was really good thematically but I couldn't deal with all the sex and nudity. I would've been able to deal with it implied but as you put it, the fact the characters are so young it grossed me out and I just couldn't keep going. I am someone who doesn't really think sex scenes have a place in any movie (unless you want a certain... "Genre" lol) but the fact the characters are meant to be younger (than me especially) I just felt weird even though the actors are mostly older than me. I do still like watching character deep dives though to get the stories.
Lexi's intent wasn't good.
Lexi just wanted to make something.
There was nothing thoughtful or kind about her play
FACTSS
Nate didn't threaten Maddie originally for Jues he did it to protect to his dad at first because he even tho he hated his father he still felt loyal to him. He said in his speech to Cal before he was arrested. I think once he made his choice he didn't to give it to her because he realized he didn't care for her and honestly felt bad.
Nate and Jules could've been one of the most interesting relationships and they just dropped it
Edit: 1:02:00 i think she also didn't tell him to stop because sometimes that just makes it worse, especially when a guy is in that kind of "mode"
i could be completely wrong but i think i read somewhere that Hunter and Jacob were having issues behind the scenes and the decided to scrap their relationship and bring in Cassie and Nate
i JUST Watched this show for the first time in the past like week… so excited that you’re covering this !!
I would love to know- do you feel any differently about the show now it's been out for a while and the initial hype has died down?
Thank you for your wonderfully well-thought-out video! Would just like to point out a tiny piece of information that could add to your Sam Levinson bias, however. The creative direction and visual 'aesthetic' of the show was also a concept that was stolen from Canadian photographer, actress, and model Petra Collins. Here is a detailed video about the incident: th-cam.com/video/PWTiGbA9_Xg/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=FinalGirlStudios
Now you can confidently criticize Sam for lack of originality as well! :)
Hey Serena, have you seen the TV show Orphan Black? If so, would you consider making a video on it?
Someone already commented something similar. But, I couldn’t watch this show all the way through. I’m 23. I did a lot of crazy stuff, like the characters, 18-21 or so. “Suspension of disbelief” wasn’t able to happen, nobody in high school looked like these actors. I could just never get past the fact the story was set “in high school”. No doubt, Euphoria would have been one of my favorites if the plot called for them being in college.
I love you for this!
Tbh, I don't think I'll watch the show anymore. I've outgrown it lol.
S2 sure was entertaining, but a dumpster fire mess. And Levinson is very unlikeable.
I feel the same way
I was the same age as the characters when this show started. I feel like with time and growing, I don't really have the same attachment to it as I did when it started.
Honestly I really related to Cassie in season 2. I think it was poorly done esp because it didn’t really have any lead up to her relationship with Nate and it was kinda random but I was very similar to her in HS. She gives very relatable symptoms to having borderline personality disorder (although it doesn’t say she has it in the show). The low self worth, the abandonment issues, the seeking male validation, the over idolization, the devaluing, the trying to justify her actions that she feels ashamed about, and her impulsivity esp with promiscuity. It’s very very sad to watch.
The way that literally every single character could have been in their first years of uni but SL absolutely wanted teenagers doing sexual stuff ahhh
Also yeah that whole "teens do all these drugs and sex" always felt wack bc like, sir, which teens, where tf do you live
lolita trope is literally the worst. that is sooo creepy and no okay, thanks for emphasizing this. love your video essays tho, you are doing a great work and I genuinely enjoy them. thanks for all your work!
I feel like they can get away with more of the outlandish stuff that they do if the were adults/in college. For example, the number of parties they go to in this show and Kats's story(cam-girl storyline)😂
I LOVE ur deep dives never stop xxx
You make me realize I have to rewatch skins because I watched it when I was so young and immature that the lens I saw it in was oh it’s not that dark, it’s a bit unserious. I knew it dealt with heavy topics but I almost took it as an edgier degrassi
Just rewatched it and Oml it’s so camp! 😆 Not as dark as I remember! There will never be another skins, thank god😆 I think they could’ve made Maddy hilarious similarly like Chris if they dulled down the the trawma a bit !
Fun fact, none of the people accused in the Salem witch trials were burned at the stake. All of them were hanged, except for a man who was tortured to death.
Drowned too 💔
buckle up the queen has prepared us a feast
you know it 💅
I 100% agree with you and can relate to the feeling of detachment the most when it came to rue and Jules and then it was a little bit better with Maddie/cassie/nate but the only duo I truly felt excitement while seeing on screen was lexy and fez :3 damn those two got me giggling at my phones screen like a kid
I personally think Lexi should have included the scene on Cassie because, although we sympathize with Cassie because we see situations from her POV, we need to see how she looks from another perspective. Although I thought the carousel scene was a bit too far, I think it’s fair to look at it from an outsider looking in. Cassie abandoned her family to live with Nate after disregarding everyone in her life. Much like her dad, she’s a victim and a perpetrator, but either way her family and friends cannot trust her anymore. Cassie needs a wake up call and honestly her behavior is so bad that Fez was right “sometimes people need to get their feelings hurt.” Cassie can only help herself now and she either continue to fall into her whole or take some accountability even if it means she needs to get a wake up call. She always talks about herself but diminishes how Lexi feels and the fact that she suffers too. Lexi explains that the stuff Cassie does doesn’t just affect herself, it affects Lexi and she deserves an apology. But Lexi isn’t asking for an apology, she’s asking for people in her life to come back and center themselves and the only person who responds the way she wants is Rue.
omg I’ve been waiting for thissssss🦋✨⭐️
I don't consider it to be prudish not to approve that much minor nudity. What is the problem here, I think, is that it is not supposed to be a show targeted at a teenage audience. Then, it is aimed at adults. However, I am uncomfortable with adults enjoying what is supposed to be a teen nudity? Like, it gives me an ick. I am a 23 female who has graduated uni and done master's and I don't care much about an adult man take on teens' problems.
I agree with one of the comments here that we lack shows taking place in uni or college with older characters. So many opportunities with a combination of personal and intimate life issues and finding your place in the world and job force and stuff.
Your hair/make up looks so nice!
Yess i'm here for it 💅 nice makeup btw
thankyou 🥰
Love your eye makeup!!
i wanted to try something new 💗
Loving your lighting
literally the reason ive never watched euphoria is because i know it'll just be depressing and i dont want to watch a show like that.
lots of shows are depressing for, well, actually no reason. it is just what certain people like and certain people hype. i don't really like a lot of famous tv shows...
I was waiting for you to mention skins, because I’ve always been confused on why everyone finds Euphoria so extreme and shocking because Skins was SO much worse 😂 and better! And we ate that shit up over a decade before euphoria. I totally see the criticisms of euphoria, but I also don’t believe in censorship of TV and cinema. Teens do have sex, do drugs, and all those things and they deserve to be represented. The only thing I’d leave out is the actual nudity, and I do hope to see a shift towards more college age settings
Skins is way better written!!
trigger isnt an offensive term; i know youtube tends to hate the word but its a legit psych term. its meant to let people who have triggers (oh yeah, its a real thing, not an internet thing) be aware of things that can give them like -- an episode, a reaction, whatever. trigger isnt the issue, its people using it lightly.
ngl turned me off from finishing the video. i have no personal triggers. but diminishing those who do is icky, sorry
@@daytonaisabeach2772fr!!
I love your videos sm
Will the PLL's weren't cheerleaders and the boyfriends weren't exactly jocks? Golden hour is thet the noon hour?
48:15 my thoughts on why Nate was even there is it was literally just a plot point. Cassie needed to hear Maddy say those things because of her insecurities and the love triangle and her own struggle to be perfect for Nate like Maddy like copying her outfit and the obsessive skincare routine. She throws up in disgust because Nate said the same thing to both of them, and knowing that she was just another girl to him made her sick to her stomach due to her insecurities (and the alcohol haha) she comes out at the beginning of that scene trying to be sexy in her bikini and the walk to the hot tub to assert some sort of dominance over Nate or Maddy. Cassie gets in her own head and it was sort of a plot point reality check. Feel free to discuss this with me!
Have you already posted the season 2 part? I'm having a major deja vu
Yes that second part is a repost! I thought it needed to be compiled together into one video to look more cohesive
@@SerenaSkybourne Ok thanks for replying :)
I think Skins feels rougher because it portrays all these themes and situations in a more realistic and natural way, when you watch it it really feels like something that could happen to you or that you’ve already experienced or seen
Your words about Nate made me think about Tony and how messed up he was. So I wonder who is more scary to you? I'd say that Nate is but I feel like it's because he is so violent when he isn't in control, but at the same Tony is never violent and he just enjoys making people feel some shity things for his own enjoyment. So hmm..
Season 1 was nice even my mother liked it but season 2 is really bad my mother totally agreed with me i don't think i will watch season 3 sam to me isn't a great writer season 2 and the show the idol definitely are proof of that sam in his mind believes he's similar to David lynch which he isn't David can actually write
He reminded me a lot of David Lynch especially in season 2's visual choices. He also reminded me of Showgirls with the aesthetic of showy makeup, lighting. But, showgirls even with how campy it is still had this viewpoint on misogyny and s*x work and the different aspects of that. But, Sam doesn't have an actual viewpoint or direction to go on. Like, Maddy gets brutalized and abused over and over for what?
I am all for you adding ads to your videos, which you have worked so hard on. However, this specific video has so many ads that it's distracting. I can't keep track of how many times I zoned in and out. I love your content and style of videos, just some feedback.
I only selected to put three ads in this video! So I am quite annoyed about this because it seems recently like TH-cam is adding in all these extra ads i don't want
I remember hearing that Hunter Schafer and Jacob Elordi weren't getting on well on set, so that's why the Jules X Nate plot got changed.
Plus they included that new guy
As a dark skin woman yeah no representation at all. Never any representation so it’s alright I guess. I feel like season 1 and 2 were so different like z whole different show. I can’t stand the way Levinson just leaves plot holes EVERYWHERE. The SA of McKay just for him to disappear….like historically that would touch on a subject that affects black masculinity till this day. That nepo baby aka Lexi…her parents really were like increase her role! I don’t like the character of Jules….like she’s a bad girlfriend/friend. Nate love him. Rue…how much money with of stuff did you steal/do…that lady is gonna get her. The black mom…but Zendayas mom is white…like can’t write a role for young colored women but we can be moms to uphold the facade of diversity?? The erasure of the young black girls. SIDENOTE…lowkey happy we were left out of Sam’s twisted fantasy. Cassie’s and Maddys stories were the most interesting to me…men like to do things and not ask for consenting. McKay chocking Maddie…been there and worse. I need a Nate spinoff!!!
Who cares
couldn't agree more with you
Amazing!
I do agree kids Watch too much adult things but I was one of the kids watching adult things, like I was 8 watching Flowers in the Attic (so much incest) but I just didn’t understand the adult themes 😭😫 so maybe it’s a similar thing?
lexi is definitely my favorite character, but her airing out everyone’s (including her SISTER.) drama/dirty laundry, was plain out wrong.
This amount of nudity is highly unnecessary. There are a few Netflix series such as Gangubai and Heeramandi (both of these focus on prostitutes and prostitution) but none of these series have a single nude scene. You will never see the actresses completely nude. Both of these are immensely famous.
Supposedly the next season is coming out next year… we shall see… and the quality…🤔
Thanks!
💗💗
my icon
love you 🥰🥰
Watching on x1.25 and you now sound Aussie 😂 welcome
This show makes me so uncomfortable!! Same uncomfy feeling I get from Thirteen. It shouldn’t exist.. 10:21 exactly !!💯 17:20 Degrassi and Adam lol. I wouldn’t call her sweet at all lol 43:49 she’s unapologetically herself.
this show is a hate crime against lesbians and trans women and i fully only thought it was good cuz there was pretty girls in it. i played my self.
how is it a hate crime against lesbians and trans? There is the inclusivity of a trans character for one, and blatantly displays love between two women. Yes Jules has sex with men too because not every trans person is attracted to the same sex only. Nate was actually the kindest to the trans person. I dont understand why the LGBTQ community always feels targeted by everything.
@@theoriginalbunnygirl because your moms fat
@@theoriginalbunnygirl i dont go to target i go to aldi
@@theoriginalbunnygirlnate is nice to her? The pilot has him speeding and running her off the road, making her a spectacle and unwelcome/threatening her at the house party (og script had him calling her a slur and saying she is basically a pathetic attention speaker) and he’s basically obsessed with her because he resents that she lives authentically. He’s jealous and wants to possess and dominate her. It’s all self centred motivations. He’s not nice in a genuine way, it’s all coercion and manipulation. Guy has problems. Even his ‘nice gestures’ have horrible intentions behind them.
I’m not playing devil’s advocate for him because he clearly is just written as the repressed and aggressive jock that pushes the plot forward by being hyperbolically cruel.
There’s a lot to be said about voyeuristic content showing underaged queer people being sexually assaulted and suffering. It’s no coincidence the strongest episode was the one hunter wrote with her dialogue and therapy scenes. Idk it’s obvious euphoria was competent about telling the story of an addict because the director wrote what he knew there, the rest is frivolous.
Yayy
stoppp first comment💅🏼💅🏼
i love this for you 😉
I though Cassie was over reacting during the play, until the carousel scene
Rue is the worst character.. i can’t deal with whining 24/7
I don’t know about the UK, but in America, specifically in Los Angeles, teens are sexually active in high school. It’s not unrealistic to depict teens having sex, because teens have sex. That’s not saying that having adults watching it isn’t creepy on some level, but the actual depiction of teens in a sexualized manner is not out of the norm when compared to real life.
That’s not the issue, i think the issue is how graphic the show gets in its depiction. What teenagers do is between themselves, but to so explicitly depict a bunch of minors for a big tv show is a whole different issue.
OMG your face almost looks like Sydney Sweeny´s! Just bleach your hair and you could just about pass as her!
Sam Levinson is a good writer is that that he is arrogant and he’s counterculture he’s not like a liberal or anything like that
Any man or person wanting to choke you is a blaring red flag alarm. It is extraordinarily easy to kill someone via choking. Do not do it! PSA over. This is a show that is aesthetically lush but an emotionally harsh mountain range. The issue is characters today are often written so badly and unpleasantly the shows are impossible to care about. And part of this is wholesome characters are usually nowhere to be found. At some point the glorification of dysfunction becomes grotesque. Overall wholesome or positive content is almost wholly absent from the current landscape of media. I enjoy gritty topics, but it seems everything is variety of grimdark without relief.
Also, the trans issue is another reason this show is off putting for me. The hormones for “trans” can kill your pancreas, give you cancer, cause brain swelling or shrinkage and more. Puberty blockers have been shown to cripple people and give them chronic pain. And the surgery is basically butchering the most sensitive body parts you have and often make people incontinent as well setting you up for literal constant infection and chronic pain. Also, now it has come out that corn is purposefully pushing people into more extreme tastes and they push trans on purpose. And we know corn can warp people….. And that all ignoring that trans is targeting people with trauma, different sexualities, gender nonconformity and neurodivergence who can have difficulty accepting their bodies. Never mind this is erasing women’s rights because if women includes men as a definition then it backdoor alters all law about women. Encouraging this is a heinous egregious wrong. Trans is modern foot binding. Grotesque and harmful.
I agree with your points 💯. Its nice to see people actually talking about the dangers of changing one's sex. Society tries to glorify it like its something normal when in reality a lot of it is grounded in deep deep trauma...
@@theoriginalbunnygirl Yes, the sa stories and few available stats on the crossover of how that can cause this spiral of body discomfort is hair raising and not for the faint of heart.
And I don’t recommend anyone search how the orgs setting standards of care for trans have connections to groups with a kink for this…eunch archives and wpath. Google at your own risk. We live in a dystopian novel.
The quality of your videos is going up I love to see the progress, you can tell big things are coming your way as a result of your hard work 🤌