Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Euphoria.”
No one is precisely sure when Season 2 of “Euphoria” is set to premiere. Still, there’s no harm in getting reacquainted with the storyline from Season 1 and the two holiday-released bridges.
If you’re new to the show, “Euphoria” discusses some themes that may be a bit off-putting, as the series deals with teenagers and their turned-upside-down lives. The show highlights teenage strifes with identity such as sexuality and orientation, toxic relationships, domestic abuse, addiction, abortion and even the sense of loss induced by death. It’s rather troublesome material for a show that involves teenagers, but fear not, the actors are all actual adults.
There is much to look forward to in Season 2 of “Euphoria.” First, fans can anticipate the potential and inevitable reunion between Rue and Jules because, c’mon, who doesn’t stan those two as a couple? The show will have to address the toxicity of Nate and Maddy’s relationship and whether they stay together for better or most likely for worse. No one can forget about Kat, her romance with Ethan and the newfound confidence and empowerment she has stumbled upon. Audiences are eager to empathize with Cassie’s recovery after her abortion and her uncertain relationship with McKay.
Of course, no one will forget about the show’s supporting characters, who are the ones that add depth to the story and pique everyone’s interest, so Fez, Lexi and Cal Jacobs have storylines worth waiting for as well. Whether someone is entirely new to the show or not, the complexity has only just begun. Since the show was left with many cliffhangers, it’s salient to refresh our memories a bit.
Rue and Jules
It’s destined for their stories to continue. Rue and Jules are two major characters in “Euphoria” who receive a lot of screen time. It’s not a secret that while Rue and Jules pull their fans’ heartstrings, the turbulence in their individual lives results in a sort of co-dependent relationship. Rue’s drug addiction and mental illness coupled with Jules’ abandonment issues and struggles with body dysphoria in Season 1 and the bridge episodes further complicate their relationship. It’s not to say that they can’t make it work, but they both have a lot of healing to do, separately and together.
Rue’s apparent drug addiction, which she developed after trying her cancer-ridden dad’s painkillers, is heavily affected by how her relationships are going in her life. When she meets Jules, she is lovestruck with joy and feels like she has found her person. However, Rue’s self-sabotage and destruction take a heavy toll on Jules as she deals with her demons.
The audience learns that Jules is a trans woman who was sent to a psychiatrist at a young age by her mother, who was concerned for her. Her encounter painfully leads her mother to begin abusing drugs, thus abandoning her and leaving her fortunately loving father to take care of her.
Jules deals with body dysphoria, which is apparent from Season 1 in her backstory and bridge episode, and she indicates that she is contemplating going off her hormones.
It’s also relevant to note that, although there has been one season and two bridge episodes, Rue and Jules are often entangled in their own personal lives, so it’s relatively difficult for them to get to know each other on a more profound level. With the clarity delivered by part one and part two of the bridge episodes, though, it’s learned that Jules is in therapy, and Rue is meeting with her sobriety sponsor, Ali.
These actions taken by the main characters seem to be a step in the right direction where both can grow from their trauma or at least understand it better. One can only hope Rue and Jules have a happily ever after together.
Nate and Maddy
Nate, it seems, has a lot of beef with everyone including Rue, Jules, his dad and even his girlfriend, Maddy. Nate has repressed emotions from his childhood after discovering his father’s self-recorded video collection of him having sex with men and trans women. His discovery undoubtedly left him confused and caused a problematic relationship with his dad.
As for his quibble with Jules, he knows of her sexual relations with his father, and Nate will do anything to prevent this information from getting out, including catfishing Jules and blackmailing her. This automatically makes Rue hate him, but it’s not like she cared for him in the first place with his very particular views on and taste in women.
Finally, there’s Maddy. As someone who doesn’t know anything too deep about Nate, Maddy is the one person Nate feels comfortable with; it also doesn’t hurt that she checks all his boxes for a girlfriend. But by the end of Season 1, Maddy has caught on to several of Nate’s secrets — though pieces of the puzzle are still missing — and has received the brunt of Nate’s anger, perversely leading him to choke and badly bruise her.
We also can’t forget Tyler, Maddy’s hookup in the pool who Nate framed as Maddy’s assaulter instead of himself. After all of this, will Nate continue his malicious spree of hurting everyone around him, or will he come to terms with his trauma, seek help, mend his relationships and possibly see jail time? It’s tricky to tell as there is not yet a trailer out for Season 2, but one can only hope Nate finds his way — without skipping the drama the fans live for, of course. Fans are eagerly awaiting the future of Nate and Maddy’s relationship.
Let’s be honest, Maddy has the confidence of a million people combined. She knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to go to great lengths to get it. Maddy is very extroverted, and fans rarely see her have a scene to herself. Yet, the progression of her and Nate’s relationship takes a mental toll on Maddy as she confides to her friends that Nate makes her feel bad about herself.
When Nate disrespects Maddy and they go on a break, he regains her love even though it disgusts her to stay with a person like him. For some reason, Maddy remains with Nate, which perhaps ties to her mom and dad’s strained relationship. Her mother and father’s marriage seems to lack the qualities one would describe as making up a healthy marriage. They rarely communicate, never spend time together and show no passion toward one another. Perhaps this is why Maddy decides to be with Nate; she wants to prove that they can love more than her parents.
On the other hand, Maddy had something special taken from her when she was a child. Maddy was no longer allowed to compete in beauty pageants, something she excelled at, all because one man involved in a pageant was arrested for molesting a child. This sudden consequence Maddy endured due to a situation that had nothing to do with her may have sparked the need to control the men in her life and be in charge.
Hopefully, Maddy can regain some of that missing confidence, avoid toxic relationships and learn to become the best version of herself in Season 2 of “Euphoria.”
Kat and Ethan
Kat is a fan favorite in “Euphoria.” Many American teenagers can relate to her backstory: a relatively happy childhood and minor trauma. While her story isn’t as intense as characters like Rue, Kat still has difficulties that have followed her from age 11 to the present time. Kat became very self-conscious of her body image right after returning from a vacation in Jamaica, where she gained 20 pounds in one week.
When she returned to school, her then-boyfriend broke up with her because of her weight gain, or so it was implied. Ever since then, Kat distanced herself from romance in real life but ironically began an intense fixation with romantic movies and fantasized about one day where she could be in a genuine relationship.
Kat is also a very talented smut writer and has accumulated thousands of fans even though no one knows she writes them. Throughout high school, Kat keeps to herself, though that’s not the type of person she really is. After being peer pressured to have sex at a party with a student from another school, a video of the encounter is leaked online. This entire incident humiliated Kat, but it sparked her notoriety on the web because a lot of people were intrigued to see more of her.
Thus, Kat began recording herself for a porn site and gained many admirers, some quite sinister by the look of her last customer. Kat began to accept and see herself in a way she never imagined and started to dress up in clothing that represented her awakening. However, Kat’s new appearance and attitude were backfiring a bit as her relationships began to suffer, especially with her friends.
Kat’s relationship with Ethan, her main love interest who she consistently rejects because she fears rejection herself, ends on promising terms at the end of Season 1. It’s probable Kat and Ethan will begin their relationship and face hurdles of vulnerability and intimacy, and perhaps both Kat and the audience will learn more about Ethan’s backstory.
Cassie and McKay
Cassie is an underestimated character in “Euphoria.” She is often slut-shamed by her college boyfriend McKay and is treated like an airhead. Still, Cassie is so much more and knows what it’s like to have parents who are addicts and how to transmute those feelings into a superficial exterior. She has been chasing a love that she never received from her father and tried to find that in McKay. To her dismay, he isn’t ready for a relationship nor the baby she was pregnant with. Cassie makes the hard decision to get an abortion. In Season 2, fans are likely to see how Cassie is recovering, how she learns to love herself and what is left of her relationship with McKay.
Supporting Characters
The supporting characters of shows sometimes are forgotten for simple reasons. Their parts aren’t big enough and the drama from the main characters’ universe is more addicting to watch. Many people are guilty of this, but fear not, for the supporting characters are still in the hearts of many. So, yes, they may have more minor roles, but let’s not leave Fez, Lexi and Cal in the dust, because they are crucial to the storyline.
Disagree? Well, who was it that finally woke Rue up a bit and made her realize she needed to get clean for herself and the people in her life? Yes, that’s right, it was Fezco, or Fez, who is the local drug dealer in town. He gets mixed up with the wrong people sometimes, but that doesn’t indicate that he doesn’t mean well. Hopefully, Fez’s storyline is less vague this next season, and fans can get to know his background and what led him to sell drugs and deal with dangerous people in the first place.
Who is the one character that has stayed out of trouble and lived life like a typical teenager compared to the other characters in the series? Lexi is the show’s most level-headed character as she typically minds her own business. It’s subtly indicated that Lexi has a lowkey crush on Rue throughout Season 1, though she seems confused about how they’ve drifted so far apart since they were younger. At the same time, Lexi and Rue had become closer as the season progressed, but it’s hard to tell whether they would ever spark up a romance considering Rue and Jules’ current state and Lexi’s inability to accept her feelings for Rue and, moreover, to do anything about it.
As for a nail-biting return of Cal, Nate’s father, fans will be on the edge of their seats. Fearing for his life once he finds out Jules goes to the same school as his son, Cal is desperate for his reputation not to be damaged. Cal is widely known in his community, and his closeted ventures, which mostly take place in motels, would not only tear his family apart but lead him to face possible jail time. For now, fans must sit tight and not-so-patiently wait for these characters’ stories to expand.
Ending Thoughts
Season 2 of “Euphoria” has big shoes to fill, and there is no doubt that will happen. According to news from the actors on “Euphoria,” they’ve got Season 2 in the bag, ready for their fans to react with so many emotions. Apart from the characters and their sometimes-melodramatic storylines, the Season 2 soundtrack better live up to the first as there were some sharp bops by Labrinth, Lizzo, Donny Hathaway, Bobby Womack, JID, Santigold, Blood Orange, Andy Williams, Anderson .Paak and so many more.
Some new characters are set to be introduced in the upcoming season, so one can only anticipate they’ll continue to add more flavor to the show. With them, the infamous and highly awaited outfits and makeup will return, creating once more an aesthetically pleasing display of euphoria.
