By: Anna Boyd

Drugs, sex, and violence are not three words that anyone would expect to describe high school students. However, in the hit show on HBO Max, Euphoria, those are the only terms to describe the characters. The show made its premiere in June of 2019 and continues to release new episodes every Sunday.

The show follows Rue, she is a high school student struggling with her mental health and drug abuse. She is arguable the most controversial character of the show. In season one we see the beginning stages of Rue’s addiction and how it began. She goes into her back story of struggling with different mental health illnesses and using drugs to help her control her feelings. After her dad died of cancer, she spiraled into a deep depression which led to severe addiction.

She soon overdosed and was sent to rehab. The show is progressive due to the director Sam Levison wanting to keep scenes like this as real as possible. In many interviews, Levison has noted his own experiences with family and friends with their drug abuse and how he wanted to show the reality of these situations.

The second season pushes many more buttons than the first season however, in one episode specifically they follow Rue through a full drug withdrawal. Many viewers claim the directors went too far, while others say it needed to be shown to give the full effect of withdrawal and how it affects the abuser and their families and friends.

Towards the beginning of season 2, we watch the protagonist Rue hit her rock bottom. She is going through a withdrawal and she is cutting her friends and family off at the same time. She screams at her girlfriend and best friend during an intervention held for her that they don’t know what she is going through and begins running the streets of L.A. She is shown running, to symbolize her wanting to run away from all the problems in her life.

While Euphoria isn’t based on a true story it is meant to look true. Levison wants to make viewers feel uncomfortable in a good way. He wants to open the eyes of others that just because

the characters in the show aren’t based on a true story doesn’t mean that this isn’t happening in real life.

Euphoria is a show that is not for the faint of heart but for those who want to feel for people who have struggled with addiction. It is a show meant to make viewers feel uncomfortable but give insight into the struggles some people face. New episodes come out every Sunday on HBO Max at 9 p.m.

Image Credit: Collider