Bravery can come in many different forms. Historically speaking, maybe a brave person is someone who fought at the front lines for their freedom. This is nothing compared to the true bravery it took for me to get through each episode of the very popular show called Euphoria.

If you haven’t heard of Euphoria, it is a high school drama that was released in 2019 starring Zendaya, who portrays a teenage drug addict by the name of Rue. Following the popularity of its first run, the show has since released a second season. I spent a week binge-watching this show to see what all the hype was about.

From the very beginning of episode one, the viewer is introduced to the biggest flaw in the entire show. We are haunted by the voice of Rue narrating events, over-explaining the backstory of every character for the first 10 minutes of each episode. This is the “Narrator Rue,” the omnipotent God that knows everything, not to be confused with the “Real-time Rue” that we see actually interacting with the other characters.

The plots laid out for the first season are the main characters’ struggle with drug addiction. Jules, the best friend character, is hooking up with grown men. Nate, the handsome jock, is shown to struggle with his sexuality. There are other loose plots, all of which get swept under the rug by the opening sequence of the next episode, if not by season 2 it is as though it never even happened.

After my monotonous journey trudging through the first eight episodes of Euphoria, I made it to the second season. By the very first episode, I realized the first season was entirely pointless. The first three episodes of this part also begin with the narrated backstories, but for the remainder of the show, we are spared from such horrid opening sequences. This series of episodes is by far more entertaining; it dives into the story of Rue’s drug dealer, Fezco.

We also learn more about the relationship between Nate and his dad. The show tries very hard at hinting that his dad molested him as a child by waving it in front of your face without any subtlety. If you were wondering what the show is best encompassed by, then look no further than the second to last episode. It takes everything that has happened so far, pushed into one slow-burning uneventful episode.

You could watch the last two episodes of the show and have just as much understanding of its entirety as someone like me who studied each and every minute.

After finishing the series, I am left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. From the pilot episode, it is made clear that this is a very ambitious project and it has the potential to go in a very good direction. Sadly it did not go in such a way.

If you were to look up negative reviews of the show, many will say it romanticizes drug use. This is something I completely disagree with; the portrayal of drug use is ugly and real. What the show lacks are real characters. The majority of the characters fall flat, and the opening sequences are to blame.

Before seeing how these people behave and their actions, we are given their backstories. The most three-dimensional character in the whole show is the main character’s drug dealer. It is no wonder that people get the wrong idea. The best example of a bad character is Nate. The very second episode opens with his back story. For the rest of season, he behaves like a comically unrealistic villain, a teen with an identity crisis of the Batman and the Joker trapped in one body. By the second season, he is reduced to comic relief.

If I had to sum up the entire show, it is best described as a very easy show to watch. It doesn’t require much thinking, if you turn away from the screen you won’t miss anything that won’t be shown again 20 times. If you are fascinated by the simple digestible nature of reality TV maybe Euphoria is the show for you.