Despite its success, Euphoria does not avoid criticism. Season 2, currently airing, raises questions among fans who wonder why certain characters are less present in the new episodes.
Currently being broadcast on OCS in France, season 2 of Euphoria is coming under some criticism, particularly on the representation of drug addiction. The anti-drug education program DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) accuses the series of glorifying the use of drugs and glamorizing addiction.
Zendaya responded to these criticisms in an interview for Entertainment Weekly saying that the HBO show wasn’t “not a moral tale to teach people how to live their lives or what they should do”.
The goal is “to help people feel a little less alone in the face of their experience and their pain“. And episode 5 of season 2 of Euphoria proves him right when we see Rue’s descent into hell because of his addiction, far from being glamorized.
Characters less present in season 2
But what saddens the majority of fans has nothing to do with this question. Audiences of the HBO series are wondering about the screen presence of certain characters in these new episodes, including McKay (Algee Smith) and Kat (Barbie Ferreira).
HBO
Very present in season 1, the first has, so to speak, almost disappeared from the new season of Euphoria. The character made an appearance in the first two episodes and has not returned since. Which may surprise some and some knowing that McKay experienced a traumatic episode in the first season where he was the victim of a sexual assault and that the subject has not been treated since.
Fans expected that the new episodes evoke the consequences of this event on the trajectory of McKay but it is not so and we do not know much about what is happening in his life. And his interpreter Algee Smith seems a little lost and is not more aware of the future of his character, as he explained in an interview with the Daily Beast :
“I don’t really know, to be honest. I think that’s a question to ask our showrunner Sam Levinson about how he sees the course of history. We haven’t gotten that far in the discussion on this subject, both.”
It is true that season 2 gives pride of place to other characters, less visible in the inaugural season, such as Fez (Angus Cloud) and Lexi (Maude Apatow). Perhaps we will see more of McKay in season 3 of Euphoria, already ordered by HBO?
Backstage disagreements?
Another absence is much talked about with the community of Euphoria fans, that of Kat. Even if this character is much more present than McKay’s, he still has a shorter screen time than in the first season. Rumors are swirling about this lesser development of Kat: it would be a disagreement between the actress and showrunner Sam Levinson.
HBO
Aficionados noticed that actress Barbie Ferreira was not present at the preview of Euphoria season 2, because of the COVID according to official sources, and that she spoke little about the series on her networks social, unlike other actors and actresses.
According to anonymous sources reported in the Australian version of the magazine She, Barbie Ferreira and Sam Levinson reportedly argued behind the scenes regarding Kat’s trajectory on the show. Disagreements would have quickly appeared between the two on the set, which would have led the showrunner to cut many of his scenes:
“The new season of Euphoria is going to be really dark. So much so that some actors, especially Barbie Ferreira, weren’t in tune with the director’s vision.”
According to the anonymous source, the conflict between the two proved detrimental to Barbie, who saw her lines and on-screen presence greatly reduced as a result. For the moment, Sam Levinson and Barbie Ferreira have not reacted to these allegations, but Euphoria fans have already made up their minds on the subject and are quite angry. Hopefully Kat will feature more in Season 3 of the HBO series.
Translation: “There’s definitely a feud between Sam Levinson and Barbie Ferreira because it’s a bit dodgy, she’s got 12 SECONDS OF SCREEN TIME IN EVERY EPISODE.”
Translation: “Apparently Kat is going to be sidelined throughout the season because Barbie Ferreira disagreed with Sam Levinson’s approach to writing the character and the image she has about herself and her body and they fought about it. So Sam decided to cut her from the season…??”