TW!!!

To start the New Year, HBO has released its second season of their 2019 hit show, Euphoria. Starring Zendaya, its newest season has captivated their audience once again. So far, 4 episodes have been released for this new season and let me just say… There’s a lot to unpack.

Cal

Episode three. Cal’s backstory. The bar. The phone call. My emotions during the intro to this episode were everywhere. It’s totally evident that Cal has some sort of internalized homophobia. He was in love with his best friend but instead of admitting it, he had a baby with Marsha at 18. Now, one could argue that he was just being a decent human being and that’s what you’re supposed to when your girlfriend tells you they’re pregnant. But another could argue how internalized homophobia can impact LGBTQ+ members as they get older. And that’s worth talking about.

Cassie and Validation

And we can’t forget about Cassie. Cassie falls in love with Nate… We’re only four episodes in and we can see how much that’s affecting her. She goes through a phase of depression, not being able to even rinse Nate’s blood off her thighs the morning after the party. And then she goes into a state of mania, waking up at 4am before school and spending hours getting ready for Nate. Cassie’s dying need for Nate’s validation and attention literally drives her insane. Losing her father to drugs was very traumatic for her and this dying need for validation could stem from the fact that she does not have that positive male figure in her life anymore.

Maddy and Nate

All throughout season one, Maddy and Nate were the walking example of a toxic relationship. Manipulation, domestic violence, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, you name it. In the latest season, Maddy talks about how she’s considering getting back together with him. Now, why on earth would she ever think about doing that after everything they’ve been through? Well… That’s exactly that. Nate is all Maddy knows. All the trauma they’ve been through is how she was able to bond with him, that’s why she can’t shake him off.

Lexi and Her Coping Mechanism

We find out in the third episode that during her parent’s divorce, she’d often imagine that her family wasn’t really her family and that she wasn’t actually there. Obviously, this is a coping mechanism. The trauma she had to endure growing up with her father’s addiction, parents’ divorce, Rue’s drug addiction, etc was a lot for someone that young to deal with. And how else is one supposed to deal with trauma if not suppressing it? Lol.

Kat and ‘Being Positive’

Let’s talk about Kat’s breakdown in episode two and the whole idea of “Being Positive” all the time. This scene was so good showing how social media puts this idea on young women that they need to live this perfect life and that they need to reach a certain beauty standard in order to be accepted. In the last season, Kat was the perfect example of doing that. She was pretending to be someone she wasn’t to fit in with society, and in the latest season, we can start to see how it’s starting to affect her.

Now these are just some points in the show that I thought I’d bring up. But believe me, there’s a ton more. All these issues that are mentioned in the show, anybody can relate to. Everybody goes through their own obstacles, and this show does an amazing job at showing that.