EUPHORIA Thoughts on the Pilot

Euphoria premiered this week on HBO and we have some thoughts to share on the pilot episode.

A little information on the show, in case you are unfamiliar – Euphoria is based on an Israeli show of the same name and stars Zendaya (Spiderman – Homecoming). The show looks at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.

Check out what we thought below and join us next week for our thoughts on episode two.

Fitting in is hard when no one can figure it out – the only solution? Euphoria.

Euphoria is like Degrassi and Skins (UK, we don’t acknowledge the US version) with more backstory and better visuals. There’s a raw flow of emotion that pushes you along without asking much of you. The aesthetic is beyond pleasing, but the true star factor is how seamless the transitions are. When seeing the different lives and perspectives of the characters, one thing that really caught my eye was how complex each character was without shoving a gimmicky “shock factor” down your throat.

In the background, there’s a big psychological thriller that takes a hold of you and doesn’t let go. It’s so realistic you go back to that mindset you had when you were in high school.

Our narrator for the episode, Rue (Zendaya), has three mental illnesses which include OCD, ADHD, and Bipolar. Her mother and father “fear” their daughter isn’t perfect and from childhood, they have medicated her to the gods. For me, one of the best parts of the show is they don’t focus solely on Rue as the only one with a problem. The show makes sure to let you know everyone is addicted to something even if it’s not drugs.

Zendaya does a really good job of acting indifferent and her tone of voice while narrating matches her peculiar style of long sleeves and shitty tie-dye shirts from the ’90s. She even pulls out a repurposed TLC silk pajama top and I live for it. She always looks slightly disheveled and like her head is in the clouds, not quite high enough to be obvious but still a little off. She truly reminds me of those kids in high school that used to smoke weed in the bathroom during class.

We also meet Jules (Hunter Schafer) who has recently moved to the suburbs to live with her dad after an ugly divorce between her parents. Her main storyline, so far, is that she is transgender. Mix in her reckless behavior of meeting men online and we are given a glimpse of how unsafe it is and how hard it is to feel accepted in a small minded world.

There are a good amount of characters at the forefront sharing equal amounts of time, but Euphoria has created a seamless rendition of a panoramic view of the life of a teenager. There’s the typical jock, the sweet boy surrounded by bad influences, the popular hottie, the school “slut”, the girl uncomfortable with her weight and the insurmountable need to be perfect. A lot of girls; a lot of boys. A lot of cliques and a decent amount of people who aren’t either of those things.

This is so reminiscent of the real world straight down to the white kid who looks like Paul Wall. You know, what James Franco thought he was in Spring Breakers.

And just like that, I can’t wait to see how this show progresses.

Euphoria airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO. Follow our Euphoria coverage here.