What Happened to Euphoria?

Euphoria season three causes controversy amongst fans. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Euphoria_sigla.png

With Euphoria’s new season coming out, there has been discourse amongst fans about whether the show feels consistent with seasons one and two. The previous season of the show aired in 2022, leading Sam Levinson, director of Euphoria, to make a decision about following the timeline or time-jumping with the audience. 

Choosing the latter, season three starts five years later, going from the characters dealing with high school drama to now navigating through the complexities of careers and relationships. While the time-jump might have felt necessary to keep the show relevant, fans are wondering if the original idea of the show has been lost. 

The central themes of drug abuse, toxic relationships and sex carry into season three; however, there seems to be a disconnect in how it was executed in the earlier seasons and season three. Season one and two explored those themes by connecting them back to the character’s individual trauma. 

The audience was able to connect emotionally to the characters through the element of storytelling, understanding the reasons behind the characters’ actions. While the extent of what the characters experience has always been extreme and at times exaggerated, it was rooted in a realistic storyline. 

This new season has lost that element of emotion and storytelling, leading to a disconnect between the characters and the audience. 

Nate Jacobs is one of the characters whose story is followed closely in the show. In seasons one and two, he is portrayed as an angry person and an abusive boyfriend. The show explores how his trauma and toxic relationship with his dad affect how he navigates his relationships with other characters. 

His storyline in the earlier seasons dives into the complexities of a family trying to preserve their reputation while battling individual struggles, giving the audience a better understanding of his character. In the latest season, not only does Nate not seem like the same character, but the audience does not get an inside perspective into his story the way they did in the earlier seasons. 

There has been a lot of discourse amongst fans on why Nate lost his anger. When compared to seasons one and two, Nate has undergone a drastic change in character with no explanation as to how or why. 

While Nate is the most obvious example of the new season’s inconsistency with character development, the show has changed how all the characters are presented to the audience, focusing less on the depth of the characters and more on the dramatization of the show. 

Sex and violence have always been prominent themes in Euphoria; however, in the first two seasons, these themes were explored in tandem with the characters’ storylines. Now, they have become the central focus of the show, making the characters vessels for these themes instead of simply incorporating them into their individual stories. 

There are also prominent discrepancies in the cinematography of the show and the noticeable absence of songwriter and composer Labrinth in the score. Overall, it is hard for fans to feel like the show is the same as it was. With fans having a certain expectation going into season three that was not met, the show doesn’t resonate with people in the same way it used to.