This article contains spoilers concerning the finale of Euphoria Season Two.

Lexi’s Play

Lexi’s play lasted two whole episodes and while the production design was impeccable, the relevance of it to the plot was not clear. In fact, it pretty much summed up the whole Euphoria series, and it was not needed. The one aspect of the story that worked was to show how unhinged the high school in Euphoria is. There were many parts of the show that would not have been acceptable in a real high school play. There were some slight glimpses into Lexi’s life and how she’s been affected from being Cassie’s shadow but it didn’t progress the story in any way. Some of it seemed like it was for shock value, especially the vulgar piece about Nate Jacobs’ sexuality. The best part of the whole play was Suze, Cassie and Lexi’s mom.

Maddy vs Cassie

The moment the audience was waiting for arrived! The battle between Maddy and Cassie finally happened. However, the fighting was not as satisfying as expected. This could be because it was hyped up so heavily on social media that viewers had higher expectations compared to how the scene was depicted. Maddy gave Cassie a good smack on the face, but there was really no force behind the slap. The one confrontation scene did reveal how loyal Maddy was to Cassie. When Cassie bangs on the door, it is a clear betrayal to Maddy as she begs for some kind of answer from Cassie. The plot was more satisfying when Nate broke up with Cassie than the fight itself. Maddy’s character was bold and confrontational not only verbally but physically. The audience would think that her character would absolutely defeat Cassie’s character. Overall, the fight should have been unforgettable; however, it was just uncomfortable.

Nate and Cal Jacobs

One plot the viewers may never understand is the relationship between Nate Jacobs and his predatory father Cal Jacobs. In the final episode, Nate’s character is hyped up as he drives while loading a firearm. This scene leads viewers to believe he is out for blood, and, primarily, his father’s blood. When he reaches his father’s hide out, Nate is confronted with a decision that will completely annihilate Cal’s character. Since season one, Cal has been one of the worst antagonists throughout the entire show. He is involved with unforgivable crimes. In season 2 there is a moment the audience feels sorrow for Cal because he was never able to have the future he wanted after being trapped by his now-wife, Marcia. In the final episode Nate pulls out his firearm leaving the audience believing he is about to kill his dad as revenge for all the crimes he committed. However, the scene ends with the police arresting Cal after Nate handed over a flash drive containing all of the recordings of Cal’s crimes. There was ultimately no point in bringing a weapon to this showdown other than to have the audience on the edge of their seat waiting for Cal’s death. 

Rue’s Sobriety

In the final scene, Rue is seen walking out of the school and she is heard in a voiceover explaining the rest of her school year. Though her recovery seems tremendous to viewers, it seems almost implausible that she had all of a sudden found sobriety. The ominous tones of “staying sober the rest of the school year” begs the question: did she relapse? There is also no mention of Fez.  The plotline of Rue’s recovery from addiction is a bit unrealistic and doesn’t go into enough detail due to the fact that the producers  tried to squeeze in Lexi’s play. 

Elliots Irrelevant Solo

As a part of Rue’s recovery, she visits Elliot, played by Dominic Fike, and proceeds to forgive him for revealing that she had not recovered from her addiction. Starting off as a sweet sentiment of appreciation for helping in her recovery, the audience ends up receiving an unnecessary solo song from Elliot. This moment felt like a way to fill time for the last episode, and the song had no real purpose for advancing the plot. The singing scene seemed to pose as a way to boost Dominic Fike’s singing career but ended up deviating from the point of the episode.

Faye’s and Kat’s Character Development

In this season of Euphoria, the audience was introduced to a new character, Faye. Faye was an audience favorite in the season. She was trending as number one on Twitter after every Euphoria episode aired. Faye was known for her big lips and big personality making her one of the most memorable characters. Her personality always gave the audience a good laugh and the scenes she was featured in would later be used on social media as TikTok sounds. During the season finale, Faye proved herself trustworthy after having the audience believe she was against Fez and Ashtray. Faye’s character development shined through the whole season, from being the town junkie, to being the audience’s ally in the finale episode. 

This season Kat took a backseat to the entire plot, and, when she was mentioned, her main portrayal was to  complain about her boyfriend. There was a slight mention of how Kat was unhappy with herself which, in turn, made her miserable in the relationship. In the end, when she broke up with Ethan she poorly gaslit him into thinking that she had a brain disease. Instead of adding this element of the character, the writers could have delved more into the aspect of struggling to love someone else when you don’t love yourself. This season it felt like they just completely forgot about Kat, and the producers didn’t really develop her character any further. This underdevelopment of character is in contrast to Faye.  This element of the story was disappointing because by making her a new character, it provided her with a much bigger character arch compared to Kat.

Overused Funeral Scene

The scene where Rue is addressing her father after his death is impactful because the viewer can see how much this death has affected Rue and her sobriety. The scene was used one too many times such that it lost most of its emotional effect on the audience. The scene was something that felt overplayed, and, at some points, it didn’t really drive the plot. The time used for the funeral could have been used to discuss other characters or clear up obvious plot holes.

Ashtray

The inevitable scene everyone knew was coming but didn’t want to happen was the death of Ashtray. It was rumored on social media before the final episode aired that Ashtray’s character would be killed off due to the actor Javon Walter’s desire to change of  was going to focus on his real-life boxing career.  Because of this direction the actor wished to take, he would no longer match the physical traits of the character.  Throughout the entire season 2, the audience can see that Ashtray seems to have no impulse control. He attacks Cal and when ‘interviewing’ him he beats his face in and doesn’t let his victim speak at all. The death of Mouse made sense because he was protecting Fezco, but the violent and impulsive actions throughout just wasn’t in step with Ashtray’s character. Considering Ashtray’s age in the show, choosing death did not seem viable. The whole plot could have been completely avoided after Faye recovered the conversation by blaming another character for the crimes earlier committed. In the end, Ashtray’s death seemed like a copout to just get the viewers emotional.

Disclaimer – Euphoria contains difficult topics such as drug addiction, depression and sexual assault.  The star of the show, Zendaya, also issued her own disclaimer via Instagram:  “I know I’ve said this before, but I do want to reiterate to everyone that Euphoria is for mature audiences.  This season, maybe even more so than the last, is deeply emotional and deals with subject matter that can be triggering and difficult to watch. Please only watch it if you feel comfortable. Take care of yourself and know that either way you are still loved and I can still feel your support.”