Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Euphoria season 2
The final two episodes of HBO Max's Alexa Demie as Maddy, Sydney Sweeney as Cassie, Alanna Ubach as Suze, Eric Dane as Cal, Barbie Ferreira as Kat, and Austin Abrams as Ethan, with many more making up the ing cast. However, while the show succeeds on many levels, season 2's play highlights perhaps its biggest problem.
Throughout Euphoria season 2, Apatow's Lexi (the sister of Cassie) has been talking about a play she's putting on at school, which is mostly spoken of in ing, with no signs of her actively preparing for it, from writing to casting to set building to rehearsals, etc. Lexi frequently sits on the sidelines, watching every other character go through their massive drama, which makes sense for her character as a writer, yet there is nothing shown or built up as to her involvement in making the play come to life. In fact, she seems fairly bored and aloof, entertaining a burgeoning romance with Fez, and generally just being a wallflower among the events around her. The only concern Lexi ever expresses over the play is that she's concerned it might hurt some feelings, as it's based on the lives of her and her friends (although unbeknownst to them up until they actually see the play). When the play kicks off in Euphoria season 2, episode 7 "The Theater and Its Double", it becomes apparent that the play is serving as an autobiographical tale that also serves as an expose of sorts of her friends lives, including deeply personal aspects of them, from sex, drug abuse, death, etc.
The play, for all intents and purposes, would have cost a small fortune to put on, with rotating sets, an intricate lighting system, expensive props, complex choreography, and a multitude of moving parts that would make Lin-Manuel Miranda balk. However, Lexi is suddenly completely immersed, in charge, and intensely focused on the play as it kicks off, which simply doesn't add up in of her personality, let alone the complete lack of build-up to the moment. No adults are present to help execute this massive undertaking either, which was seemingly approved and budgeted without any issue, despite the contentious content and obvious hefty price tag, even for a major Broadway production. The adults in the audience eat the play up, laughing and applauding, even as it exposes the deeply personal lives of their children, including suggestive dancing, simulated sex, drug use, profanity, etc. Despite the amazing performances and technical strengths of Euphoria as a show, Lexi's play is a perfect demonstration of the show's worst problem, which is its complete detachment from reality as it attempts to sell itself as a reflection of it.
Lexi Manages To Put Euphoria's Complex & Expensive Play As If It Were A Minor Inconvenience
Lexi is seen talking about her play in ing throughout Euphoria season 2, but is never seen rehearsing, planning, casting, building sets or coordinating with the many people (and monetary sources) it would take to pull off such a massive endeavor. This is a problem, as she never shows an ounce of stress about the play, other than a mild concern that it might hurt some feelings, which it most obviously is meant to do. In fact, Lexi spends a large portion of her time in a burgeoning romance with Fez, the two of them talking, texting, hanging out, and watching movies, etc. at all hours and without a care in the world. Lexi appears to have nothing but time on her hands and is never seen preparing the magnum opus that would be her play, which most certainly wouldn't come together as presented with anything less than her entire commitment, rather than the ing indifference she presents until it happens.
Sex, Nudity, Drug Use, & Swearing: A Standard High School Play In Euphoria
The content of Lexi's play is a massive problem, featuring simulated sex, raunchy dance moves, nudity, profanity and complex subject matter that would never be allowed in a real high school play. This isn't to say that high school plays never deal with complex subject matter, but certainly not at this level. According to Broadway World, the most-produced high school plays of 2020-21 were The Addams Family, Clue, and Check Please, none of which even compare to the risque material in Lexi's play. High schools send kids home for wearing offensive t-shirts these days, so they definitely wouldn’t allow anything close to what Euphoria is portraying in a stage play. In addition, no one of any authority seems to have even approved Lexi's play, which is a deeply personal expose of real people at the school, bordering on bullying in some instances. In many ways, Lexi's play is more like an adaptation of "The Burn Book" from Mean Girls, bringing out hurtful messages of truth and lies about the people at the school.
Adult Supervision Need Not Apply In Euphoria's Universe
The lack of adult supervision, interaction, approval, direction, etc. is nonsense for a play like Lexi’s. There are far too many moving pieces and resources needed from adults to make something like this happen, and yet Euphoria portrays the whole thing as if it were run completely by kids, which is simply beyond the realm of reality. Beyond that, the adults in the audience seem to just buy into it all, having no problems whatsoever with anything going on in the play, even when it turns into an actual onstage brawl that carries into the hallways. There are no teachers, s, or school security on hand for any of this, with only one adult taking the stage (Suze) to stop her daughter from interrupting it. Even after the violent onstage altercation, the play still goes on, as if nothing ever happened.
It's entirely possible to enjoy Euphoria on its own merits, and some viewers may choose to suspend their disbelief enough to forgive the riskier narrative swings it takes, but for some aspects, such as Lexi's play, it may be a bridge too far. The characters and performances have never been an issue with the show, even if some inconsistencies may arise, producing some outstanding acting in its first two seasons. The show shines in a multitude of ways, existing almost like a modern-day Shakespearean fantasy take on Beverly Hills 90210, but with very little guidelines in of what's meant to be real, imagined, or somewhere in-between. For all its excellence in the aforementioned areas, Lexi's play epitomizes the worst problem with Euphoria, which is the way in which it attempts to portray the events as realistic, while existing in a fantasy world that only has to be able when it wants to.