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Though it seems I may be a bit late to the party (considering there have already been plenty since the airing of Euphoria’s long-awaited second season), I think it’s in my best interest to recap season 1 (and maybe even the first four episodes of the new season) before our jaws are dropped yet again for episode 5 on Sunday at 9 PM EST.

Euphoria premiered back in the summer of 2019 and prompted much of Gen Z to become entranced by the show’s cinematography and plot line. From there, it seemed like everyone around us was buying glitter, outfits worn by the much beloved characters, and even convincing themselves their gummy vitamins were maybe something else a bit more inappropriate.

The role of protagonist and controversial problem child, Rue Bennett, is fulfilled by none other than Zendaya, much to everyone’s surprise and liking. Rue’s world is a revolving tragedy filled with drug addiction, typical teen angst, grief stemming from the death of her father. But her newly found love for the new girl at school, Jules who is played by Hunter Shcafner, encourages Rue to stay sober for part of the season. This ultimately ends, much to our dismay, as Jules leaves her at a train station in a heart wrenching breakup and goodbye scene. This triggers Rue to relapse and the season ends on that note. 

The critically acclaimed HBO show also has numerous other characters (that nobody REALLY needs a refresher on but here goes) that include but are not limited to Fezco: everyone’s favorite drug dealer, Kat: good girl turned slightly less good girl, Cassie and Lexi: sisters who couldn’t be more different, Nate: classic villainous high school quarterback who has lots of emotional baggage, and Maddy: Nate’s very much on and off girlfriend with an attitude we all love, and our new character introduced in season 2, Elliot: the maybe not so good influence on Rue but overall pretty chill dude. All of these characters have their own crazy plots that would require too much time and detail to fully commit to explaining them all…

Season 2 of Euphoria began with its first episode on January 9 of this year and cycles out episodes every Sunday at 9 PM EST on HBO Max. And please, don’t be inspired by Rue (or anyone on this show for that matter) and think you need a slight upgrade from the Advil you take for your headache.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.