Euphoria: Character parallels and love.
Mar. 20th, 2022 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452As stated in my previous post, which was my season review of Euphoria, this will be focusing specifically on my thoughts on certain storylines and their importance. So, kind of an addendum meta-piece, if you will. There's a lot that I wanted to examine, but two particular points really caught my attention this season that I had plenty of thoughts on, and hopefully I can convey coherently.
Rue and Cassie: Driven By Addiction
I mentioned in my review that most of the characters in Euphoria parallel and are foils of one another in some way, and often times in multiple ways, it stuff like that makes me go absolutely wild because I love me some juicy narrative parallels, but season two focused heavily on Rue and Cassie and the way their journeys sort of mirror each other intrigues me.
They're both on self-destructive paths with their respective addictions (for Rue it's drugs, for Cassie it's male love and affection), they're well aware of this fact even if somewhat in denial because they want to keep this pleasant feeling they've been having for as long as possible; they both get so obsessed with their addictions that it utterly consumes them, they are barely recognizable anymore because they don't do anything else but obsess over that particular thing that, even in the previous season they would be doing other things outside of what they were obsessed with, they've had breakdowns when cornered and have pushed the people who love and care for them away with their words and actions, and going along with that they both bad reality checks about themselves from Lexi's play but just reacted quite differently (Rue's was positive, while Cassie's negative). Hell, they even parallel each other when questioning whether or not that they're a good person. It's just super interesting how they mirror each other so well, and yet people mostly take Rue's storyline more or less seriously than Cassie's. Perhaps it's the way Cassie's storyline was framed this season, because most cannot stand Nate and seeing all their scenes together, seeing how Cassie was blatantly disregarding everything that Nate was and betraying/lying to her best friend was unforgivable for most people, and understandably so, but that's another thing I think both Cassie and Rue have in common this season is how the audience reacted to their arcs this season due to their poor choices.
I also think that, because Rue is our leading character and narrator since day one, most people are willing to forgive her despite her being unlikable episode five, whereas with Cassie we haven't spent that much time with her until this season where we see her making bad decision after bad decision. I also think, because we never really did revisit some of the other aspects of what she went through last season (what we learned of her past of being sexually exploited at a very young age, sex tapes/photos of her leaked and spread around, her getting pregnant and then having an abortion) most probably forgot and merely just judged her based on her actions instead of trying to understand why she is the way she is, similarly to how we understand the way Rue, and most of the other characters, are.
In general though, it's just something that fascinates me, their parallels, the way their arcs overlap each other. If season one was about experiencing that high, season two was essentially about the crash that follows, and both Rue and Cassie hit rock bottom hard this season for sure, suffering the consequence of their actions and behaviors in the most brutal way possible.
"You Love Being Loved."
This is a quote that was repeated a couple of times in this season. It was said by Maddy to Cassie, and the later in the season said by Rue to Jules, and it's done with significance to each of their arcs, but it also holds an importance to what the series is essentially about.
As a general statement, it rings very true to everything that most of the characters are striving for, and what many of us as a whole want. To be loved, to be loved by others, and to feel that sense of happiness being loved gives us. And this is a show that focuses on the fleeting moments of happiness that many of the characters are trying to reach for, filling that void inside of themselves even if it's unhealthy, even if it's wrong or that they may regret it later. When you're young, you live in the moment without thinking of the consequences, and many of these characters are still trying to figure things out about themselves and that means making mistakes and bad decisions along the way.
Characters like Cassie and Jules have a complicated relationship with love because of the things they've personally experienced, that even though their journeys are entirely different they share similarities with how they've explored and expressed themselves through their sexuality, and so they equate with being with people, mainly men, as feeling loved even if it's not entirely real. Jules even says in her special episode that she falls in love easily because half of the relationship lives inside of her head, which is something that I believe Cassie does too, living inside her own version of what is happening rather than the reality. It's why she deflects so hard and why she clings desperately to that fantasy inside her head, even at the cost of her friendship because to her, losing a friendship is worth that fantasy where she can get that love and so desperately craves (and it's why, in the end, when she loses Nate she goes on a rampage -- she sees that she has nothing else to lose since she's lost everything else already before losing the relationship she desperately clung to, so why not create a scene? If she cannot be loved she might as well be hated, after all).
Many characters in Euphoria have a complicated relationship with love, some want love but don't know what kind of love they're looking for, others turn to other means of finding love that isn't a person (aka Rue with drugs, because as much as she loves Jules drugs overrode her relationship with Jules this season because, again, addiction becoming an obsession), but ultimately, they all want to be loved, healthily, unhealthily, with the wrong people, with the right person at the wrong time, in whichever and whatever way possible. Even the subject of self-love was addressed this season, but even that was challenged when it's through toxic positivity.
I don't know, I just found it an interesting thing about this season and why it held a lot of significance to certain characters and what was going on in their arcs, but it spoke to many in the show, and to us, overall. We all want love, but we can be blinded by what kind of love we're looking for. Not all love is positive, not all love is healthy, and the definition of love can differ from person to person.
I'm curious to see what happens in the upcoming season and how this theme is going to continue, especially considering the fallout of certain characters and their relationships (romantic, friendship, familial, etc) and the outcome. Furthermore, I'm looking forward to seeing what other parallels are going to be at play.
Rue and Cassie: Driven By Addiction
I mentioned in my review that most of the characters in Euphoria parallel and are foils of one another in some way, and often times in multiple ways, it stuff like that makes me go absolutely wild because I love me some juicy narrative parallels, but season two focused heavily on Rue and Cassie and the way their journeys sort of mirror each other intrigues me.
They're both on self-destructive paths with their respective addictions (for Rue it's drugs, for Cassie it's male love and affection), they're well aware of this fact even if somewhat in denial because they want to keep this pleasant feeling they've been having for as long as possible; they both get so obsessed with their addictions that it utterly consumes them, they are barely recognizable anymore because they don't do anything else but obsess over that particular thing that, even in the previous season they would be doing other things outside of what they were obsessed with, they've had breakdowns when cornered and have pushed the people who love and care for them away with their words and actions, and going along with that they both bad reality checks about themselves from Lexi's play but just reacted quite differently (Rue's was positive, while Cassie's negative). Hell, they even parallel each other when questioning whether or not that they're a good person. It's just super interesting how they mirror each other so well, and yet people mostly take Rue's storyline more or less seriously than Cassie's. Perhaps it's the way Cassie's storyline was framed this season, because most cannot stand Nate and seeing all their scenes together, seeing how Cassie was blatantly disregarding everything that Nate was and betraying/lying to her best friend was unforgivable for most people, and understandably so, but that's another thing I think both Cassie and Rue have in common this season is how the audience reacted to their arcs this season due to their poor choices.
I also think that, because Rue is our leading character and narrator since day one, most people are willing to forgive her despite her being unlikable episode five, whereas with Cassie we haven't spent that much time with her until this season where we see her making bad decision after bad decision. I also think, because we never really did revisit some of the other aspects of what she went through last season (what we learned of her past of being sexually exploited at a very young age, sex tapes/photos of her leaked and spread around, her getting pregnant and then having an abortion) most probably forgot and merely just judged her based on her actions instead of trying to understand why she is the way she is, similarly to how we understand the way Rue, and most of the other characters, are.
In general though, it's just something that fascinates me, their parallels, the way their arcs overlap each other. If season one was about experiencing that high, season two was essentially about the crash that follows, and both Rue and Cassie hit rock bottom hard this season for sure, suffering the consequence of their actions and behaviors in the most brutal way possible.
"You Love Being Loved."
This is a quote that was repeated a couple of times in this season. It was said by Maddy to Cassie, and the later in the season said by Rue to Jules, and it's done with significance to each of their arcs, but it also holds an importance to what the series is essentially about.
As a general statement, it rings very true to everything that most of the characters are striving for, and what many of us as a whole want. To be loved, to be loved by others, and to feel that sense of happiness being loved gives us. And this is a show that focuses on the fleeting moments of happiness that many of the characters are trying to reach for, filling that void inside of themselves even if it's unhealthy, even if it's wrong or that they may regret it later. When you're young, you live in the moment without thinking of the consequences, and many of these characters are still trying to figure things out about themselves and that means making mistakes and bad decisions along the way.
Characters like Cassie and Jules have a complicated relationship with love because of the things they've personally experienced, that even though their journeys are entirely different they share similarities with how they've explored and expressed themselves through their sexuality, and so they equate with being with people, mainly men, as feeling loved even if it's not entirely real. Jules even says in her special episode that she falls in love easily because half of the relationship lives inside of her head, which is something that I believe Cassie does too, living inside her own version of what is happening rather than the reality. It's why she deflects so hard and why she clings desperately to that fantasy inside her head, even at the cost of her friendship because to her, losing a friendship is worth that fantasy where she can get that love and so desperately craves (and it's why, in the end, when she loses Nate she goes on a rampage -- she sees that she has nothing else to lose since she's lost everything else already before losing the relationship she desperately clung to, so why not create a scene? If she cannot be loved she might as well be hated, after all).
Many characters in Euphoria have a complicated relationship with love, some want love but don't know what kind of love they're looking for, others turn to other means of finding love that isn't a person (aka Rue with drugs, because as much as she loves Jules drugs overrode her relationship with Jules this season because, again, addiction becoming an obsession), but ultimately, they all want to be loved, healthily, unhealthily, with the wrong people, with the right person at the wrong time, in whichever and whatever way possible. Even the subject of self-love was addressed this season, but even that was challenged when it's through toxic positivity.
I don't know, I just found it an interesting thing about this season and why it held a lot of significance to certain characters and what was going on in their arcs, but it spoke to many in the show, and to us, overall. We all want love, but we can be blinded by what kind of love we're looking for. Not all love is positive, not all love is healthy, and the definition of love can differ from person to person.
I'm curious to see what happens in the upcoming season and how this theme is going to continue, especially considering the fallout of certain characters and their relationships (romantic, friendship, familial, etc) and the outcome. Furthermore, I'm looking forward to seeing what other parallels are going to be at play.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-04 02:10 pm (UTC)I was quite surprised with Rue's reaction to the play, since Cassie's was the more expected, obvious reaction. But, in addition to other factors (like their generally different personalities, and especially the past close friendship between Lexi and Rue meaning that Lexi actually understands how Rue felt at least up to some point), I think one of the reasons is that Rue saw the play after she hit her rock bottom, and for Cassie it was right in the middle of it. But then again, I don't think Cassie would react positively even after she'd get a bit better? She wouldn't have a breakdown over it, but I think she still wouldn't like it simply because Lexi doesn't actually understand her.
I was also shocked by fandom's reaction to Cassie this season. I mostly watched Euphoria without reading anything about it online, but every time I stumbled upon anything Cassie was getting so much hate. I'm not judging anyone for feeling this way, but I agree with you that not giving Cassie her POV apparently made her not relatable for people the way Rue was. Personally, I feel for both of them and I don't hate Cassie in the slightest. She's sort of even more relatable to me than Rue? Simply because I've never taken drugs or anything else that could be physically addictive, but I have done things that could be considered mental addiction (though not romantic in my case), so this type of feeling is easier for me to relate to. Nate is a pretty much an actual drug for her, and a really bad and dangerous one, and I just want her to be free from it.
no subject
Date: 2022-04-05 02:50 am (UTC)Yeah, I mean, when you get right down to it the play was essentially reopening a lot of wounds that puts tension on an already tense and distant sibling relationship. At the end of the day, neither of them understand each other and it shows with how they treat and talk to and about one another.
(Which I have to admit, I find it incredibly interesting how despite how she was initially received, the play really kind of shows Lexi being more morally gray than we realized. Sure, she had doubts whether or not the play was going to be well-received by others, but she still went along with it anyway and it revealed that she could be just as petty and messy as any of the other characters on the show. That intrigues me.)
I was also shocked by fandom's reaction to Cassie this season. I mostly watched Euphoria without reading anything about it online, but every time I stumbled upon anything Cassie was getting so much hate.
I barely pay attention to the fandom because I'm mostly there for the gifsets anyway, but what little I've seen repels me greatly because of all the bad takes, black and white thinking and just a general lack of critical thought. It's a trashfire and a half.
It's one thing to be annoyed with characters because of their bad decisions, we're supposed to be, but it's another to hate on them just because. Cassie is not my favorite character on the show, I don't really relate to her much at all (I mostly relate to Rue), however I understand where her character is coming from. I'm just standing on the sidelines shaking my head going, "oh honey no, this is gonna end badly for you, please stop". Sadly, because season two doubled in its viewership the show got more popular than the first season, however I think it got popular for all the wrong reasons, and the hate that Cassie received was part of this reason. People liked turning her into a meme without understanding the context, and it's just frustrating because there's a lot to unpack with her emotional and psychological trauma that has her seeking out the affections and validation of men, and yet it's treated like a joke by the fandom, and by non-fans who don't even watch the show, too.
no subject
Date: 2022-05-22 09:57 am (UTC)Knowing nothing about the show, this was a fascinating view in to it. Would you be willing to post a link to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
meta_warehouse, or have me add it to a links post?
no subject
Date: 2022-05-22 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-05-23 12:00 pm (UTC)Thanks! Fair warning -- I post intermittently, so it might be a while before you get a random influx of people