Warning: Spoiler Alert

Season two of ‘Euphoria’ ended this past Sunday on Feb. 27 and while the season had plenty of positives to keep it trending on Twitter, there were enough negatives to leave a sour taste in some die-hard fans’ mouths. Still, the positives are worth mentioning.

One positive—and major improvement—that is definitely worth mentioning is the cinematography. There was never a moment where the composition lacked in this series.

In some parts, it felt like you were watching a movie. Personal favorites for me came during the New Year’s Eve party in the first episode.

Ashtray, a beloved secondary character in the series, runs to start the car outside of the party in preparation for what was about to go down. 

To further hype up this moment, the scene cuts to show’s main characters still inside the house. Each important character is illuminated by a bright light highlighting them while the rest of the background is still shrouded in darkness, and once the light turns off it’s transitioned to another character within the same setting. 

While I loved this scene because of its critical foreshadowing of events that would soon take place in the series, I couldn’t help but be blown away by the elevated quality of production produced during this moment. 

Another beautiful scene comes in towards the end of episode four with Cassie Howard. She’s sitting in a room full of hanging pinkish-white and red orchids with tears streaming down her face, and while viewers can see that she’s distraught, the composition of the shot is so aesthetically pleasing that you can almost forget the pain that she’s feeling. 

The music during this scene only helped to elevate that feeling more, as once again ‘Euphoria’ nails its musical composition. 

If only the writing could have been just as phenomenal… 

The writing was season two’s weakest link. After ending on such a high note in the first season, I was looking forward to seeing how the main characters would move forward in their development this season. 

But outside of Cassie, Rue, and Lexi, it’s as if the rest of the girls were forgotten and pushed aside, as seen with Kat Hernandez. 

Kat was such a prevalent character in season one, and I was expecting her to have that same presence in the new season. 

I, for one, was looking forward to her new relationship with Ethan and her newfound confidence in herself but the only thing I received was her breaking up with the only stability in her life and dealing with the repercussions of her other friends’ dramas. 

Let’s not forget about Chris McKay, either. McKay had one moment this season, and that was in the first episode. After that, he basically disappeared for the rest of the season. 

The writing for the characters wasn’t the only downgrade. In general, the writing for the show was a huge step down from last season. 

Many episodes felt out of place and out of order because of how they were written. Crucial characters that we were introduced to in the last season were finally getting their development this season—right in the middle of tense moments that makes it feel inconsistent with the storyline.

 It felt like Sam Levinson was trying to put too much into each episode which led to a lot of important plot details getting glossed over like Laurie threatening Rue with human trafficking but the most minute things being given the greatest detail like Lexi’s play.

‘Euphoria’ season two could have been better. The writing this season was not its strongest point, which is unfortunate because I thoroughly enjoyed the direction the first season was in.

This season felt inconsistent, and while there were episodes that were nothing short of amazing with Oscar-worthy performances, it still doesn’t take away the fact that this season was weak. 

With season three confirmed, perhaps the writing will come back to the quality that it once was in season one. 

Rating: 7/10