Why you NEED to watch HBO's Euphoria đź“ş
In the past several years HBO seems to be leading the pack when it comes to high quality television, the network’s new series Euphoria continues that trend. Written, produced, directed, and created by by Sam Levinson (each episode has a new director, cinematographer, and co writers), Euphoria is a look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues like drugs, sex, sexuality, and violence.
We don’t believe in spoiling shows midway through a season here at Grand Gentlemen, but we will tell you why you should watch Euphoria. This show executes in 5 major ways that lead to good programming.
1. Is the story good? Although we’re only three episodes in, Euphoria’s method of story telling hasn’t just been good, it’s been brilliant. Levinson has drawn us in to this world by slowly developing several different characters each episode, basically by revealing their trauma, but we’ll talk more about that later. It started off with learning about “Rue” brilliantly played by Zendaya, and her drug addiction, and by episode 3 we’re diving into the character “Kat” played by Barbie Ferreira, but all the seeds for episode 3 were brilliantly planted in episode 1. The pacing so far has been brilliant and each episode leaves you wanting more.
2. Is the acting good? With the exception of a few cliches, the acting in the series has been phenomenal, we can’t say too much here without giving away some plot points, but Zendaya has really been given the opportunity to let her star shine as she plays the character of Rue Bennett brilliantly, portraying everyday life as a high schooler as well as a recovering addict.
3. Is it shot well? Yes. Yes is is. Euphoria really shines in its cinematography by living up to its name, the Euphoric drug trips and flashback scenes are some of the best shots in all of television right now. Theres a scene in episode 1 that almost left us speechless, wondering how exactly they did it. We also have to acknowledge how sharp the editing is through the first 3 episodes! The show changes character perspective several times throughout each episode and every transition is seamless.
4. The Music. Euphoria has an incredible soundtrack through 3 episodes and it is very diverse, ranging from Drake to Bobby Womack, every use of music feels organic and fitting to whats happening on the screen. Also, each episode title besides the first pilot is named after a hip hop song, which is incredibly dope. However, the show is executively produced by Drake so we’re not all that surprised.
5. Does it do anything different? HELL YES! The amount of representation in the show is admirable. HBO and the production team did a wonderful job of making the cast extremely diverse. Euphoria displays marginalized groups in ways that are respectful as well as natural and believable. The show has a way of keeping these characters grounded in the realism of everyday life as to not make any member of the audience feel as if they’re having some sort of message jammed down their throat, and thats a good thing. Does that mean things can get ugly? Sure, but it adds to the experience in ways that continue to draw the viewer in. For instance, there is a brief piece of dialog fat shaming Barbie Ferreira’s character, “Kat”, and the following episode we see her dealing with her own self image and coming up with ways (albeit in a way she may end up regretting but hey, high schoolers make dumb decisions. right?) to take back her confidence! This actually makes us invested in the character more than just feel sorry for them! And Euphoria seems to use this same formula for multiple characters all going through completely different issues and THIS is why diversity and inclusion matters! These writers have us invested in several storylines and NONE are the same!
If you haven’t started this show, thats okay. They average out at about an hour long each, and this Sunday is only the 4th episode so you can binge your way right into it, even if you’re using your free 7 day trial!
