Sam Levinson
Euphoria - Season 1

THE REVIEW

[NO SPOILERS, DON'T WORRY]

Generally, people talk about "teen drama" because "teenagers who get high and have random sex" sounds too harsh. The genre is now well established, having produced a large number of almost indistinguishable films and television products, and people tend to attribute little value and high stereotyping to it. So why would anyone over twenty bother to watch "Euphoria"? Especially considering that the main protagonist, Zendaya Coleman, comes from that talent pool of future drug addicts with personality disorders known as Disney Channel. Yet, despite its obvious limitations, mostly dictated by the young age of its target audience, it has qualities ranging from the ability to engage the audience with a well-crafted plot to a detailed and coherent character development that many series aimed at a more adult audience lack.

The first point of comparison that might come to mind is probably "Skins". Unlike the British series, however, here we find little taste for surreal situations and much for the extreme ones. Obviously, it goes to the extreme, but even with their load of violence, substance abuse, and sexual perversions, the situations depicted are terribly realistic. As the events begin to unfold, one can't help but wonder how depraved the protagonists will manage to become and how severely the illness that distinguishes them will degenerate. It heavily treads on the line of pornography, without having too many qualms about diving right into it.

Zendaya not only delivers a good acting performance, but thanks to a well-calibrated writing phase, she proves to be a particularly apt choice as the narrator who reveals many uncomfortable truths about the humanity surrounding her. A humanity, as we said, certainly borderline but not entirely disconnected from a reality, the American one, which has always had a marked propensity for producing monsters. The high school context, with its array of caricatures and hormonal storms, in the end, remains a rather marginal detail. It is in the unleashing of the most hidden urges, in the loss of inhibitions, that the episodes find their balance.

Unfortunately, in the last two episodes, the narrative fabric, almost impeccable until that point, begins to unravel visibly. The authors manage to avoid a glaringly disappointing ending only at the last moment, and this cannot help but weigh negatively on the overall judgment. A real pity because the start is truly explosive, in an ascending climax of ideas and devices that always know how to intrigue and entertain. From a purely technical point of view, however, there is little to report, but then again, an expensive HBO production should not be poorly shot. In conclusion, "Euphoria" manages to fully tap into an overly exploited imagery, reworking it and presenting it in a fresh and absolutely current light. It's to be hoped that they don't drag it on too long because even though the decline in the final part is evident, the potential for a small cult is all there.