Euphoria is Disappointing

The dangers of "shock value"

Last week, I wrote about the obvious fetish content in the season three premiere of Euphoria. This week, after Sunday’s episode…. I think the shock factor of this fetish content is really to make up for Sam Levison’s poor writing.

Euphoria, as many know, had a critically acclaimed first season. Euphoria has had many controversies and setbacks over the years, from actors’ passing, to writers’ strikes, and a worldwide pandemic to top it off.

However, season three has been in the works for four YEARS, with a bigger budget than ever! So what’s the real issue here?

Sam Levinson.

Just like the premiere, episode two to riddled with fetish content. I’m sure this will continue throughout the season. This episode featured the highly controversial image of Cassie dressed as a baby for OF. The narrative attempts to condemn this behavior by having a friend of Cassie’s tell on her. But this falls flat.

We, of course, have a montage of Cassie naked, because an episode of Euphoria wouldn’t be complete without it. And then Faye…. oh Faye.

Again, Faye and Cassie take on most of the strange sex shock factor that Sam Levinson is implementing. These scenes seem to be just for the shock factor. Not because there is anything deep or thought-provoking behind it.

The purpose of the shock factor in storytelling is to shift the audience’s point of view. Cassie dressed as a baby is just a cheap and disgusting trick to stir up publicity, and just bad writing.

When you, as a writer, rely on shock value like this, it reads a lazy and in this case just gross. The characters don’t feel familiar at all to previous seasons. Why is this? Because shock is easier than development. It’s easy to have one of your characters do something uncharacteristic and label it as “shock value.”

Of course, characters develop and change, but we still need to recognize them. I’m eager to see where the rest of the season goes. Let me know your thoughts!