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Every Sunday night, fans of “Euphoria” huddle around the television, anxiously waiting for the newest episode of the second season.

“I watch it every Sunday with my roommates,” said Mackenzie Quinn, a junior at Syracuse University. “It’s something I look forward to throughout the week, it’s a good show.”

Regardless of how you may feel about this HBO original, “Euphoria” has taken the internet by storm and has been a subject of discussion among SU students.

“There’s a big hype around it, so if you’re not watching, it kind of feels like you’re missing out,” said Vivi Collymore, a senior at SU.

The show follows various characters’ lives as they navigate the drama of friendships, identity, drugs and sex. It gives viewers frequent glimpses of these characters’ own upbringings and explains how each of their perspectives has taken shape.

“Euphoria” has been popular since its 2019 conception and has managed to influence makeup and fashion trends with the bedazzled and glittery creations often donned by the characters in the show. The looks have been so iconic that the show’s head of makeup, Donni Davy, is developing her own makeup line, Half Magic. This is part of why people are drawn to the show.

“I just think the costumes, the makeup, the way that it’s filmed — it’s all beautiful,” senior Maddie Roberts said. “The style and aesthetic of it all is appealing to younger people, too.”

Other students believed the appeal of the show lies in the drama of its plot. Common themes include the struggles of addiction, mental health and abuse.

“I think the fact that there are things like drugs and alcohol make the show more interesting for viewers,” Haley Busse, a sophomore, said. “Instead of it being about just some people in high school, it’s about people in high school really going through things.”

As a show set in high school, its relatability to teenagers and young adults is a topic that comes up frequently. For senior Rae Newsham, the show’s portrayal of high school was pretty accurate. During her time in high school, it was not rare for peers to be using drugs and having sex, she said. Quinn shared similar thoughts as well.

“Season one especially was pretty spot on with my high school experience, with the partying and relationships and stuff like that,” she said. “I didn’t think it was that unrealistic with drug use and the portrayal of relationships.”

For other SU students, the show didn’t compare to their experiences at all. Collymore said she didn’t relate to the kinds of characters in the show and that the drug culture wasn’t prevalent at her high school.

Claudia Miranda, a freshman, said she couldn’t relate to the show either but has met people who can since her time at SU.

“In my case, I never experienced anything like that, but watching it made me realize that other people do. Now that I’m in college, I have met people that have told me they’ve experienced things similar to what goes on in the show,” she said.

The show has wormed its way into popular culture by making stars out of its main cast. It launched the already-beloved Zendaya into mega-stardom in the eyes of some students and made her the youngest woman to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2020.

For Newsham, Zendaya was the appeal of the show and the reason she started watching, if not because her friends begged her to watch.

Being part of the greater conversation surrounding this show is part of the reason why some SU students watched “Euphoria” in the first place. Cast members like Angus Cloud and Sydney Sweeney regularly post their reactions to new episodes on social media, which further spurs discussions between fans.

“I started because everyone else was watching it, but then I ended up liking it,” Miranda said. “It’s pretty disturbing, of course, because it’s a lot of hard truths.”

“Euphoria” is certainly not without controversy, but some SU students like Roberts said that this doesn’t change the fact that people watch new episodes weekly.

Some SU students believe that the show’s popularity is not completely warranted.

“It’s a decent show, but overrated. They could have done a better job at portraying the issues they’re trying to portray,” Newsham said.

Busse agreed with Newsham. She said that while Rue’s character is based on Sam Levinson’s — the showrunner for Euphoria — drug addiction, she found it hard to support Rue when she’s hurting her friends, family and herself.

No matter what happens throughout the show, students can’t get enough of the cliffhangers.

“We always get pissed off when the episode ends,” Roberts said. “Thirty minutes after the episode ends we’re still talking about it.”

Published on February 24, 2022 at 12:03 am