Season 2 of the HBO Max original ‘Euphoria’ premiered on January 9th and every Sunday since then has been full of chaos, heartbreak, and the occasional viral one-liners, leaving fans on edge until the next “Euphoria Sunday.” If you haven’t heard about ‘Euphoria’ by now it’s a drama series that follows the main character Rue, portrayed by Zendaya, as she battles drug addiction following her father’s death.

‘Euphoria’ is known for its aesthetics, from the unique outfits of each character to the cinematography, but that’s not all. Many sing high praises of this HBO Max exclusive due to the representation of issues that not many shows would display to the mainstream, especially when the characters are high schoolers, such as abusive relationships, navigating sexuality and gender, drug addiction, and the long battle of grief.

Unlike season 1 which received heavy criticism for the supposed romanticization of drug use, season 2 shows the tragedy that is addiction and how it affects a person and the people around them. From scenes where Jules, (Hunter Schafer) Rue’s girlfriend, attends a therapy session and unpacks the pressure of being the reason for someone’s sobriety, to an entire episode dedicated to Rue burning every bridge she once had with the people in her life.

Much to viewers’ relief, this season included more screen-time for fan-favorites such as Fezco, (Angus Cloud) Lexi, (Maude Apatow), and Ashtray (Javon Walton). We also were introduced to two new characters, Elliot (Dominic Fike) and Faye (Chloe Cherry).  Though this change didn’t go unsacrificed. A noticeable difference in Barbie Ferreria’s Kat was the significantly less screen time and a few uncharacteristic decisions. Worst of all, in the finale we see what is the implied death of Fezco’s little brother figure, Ashtray, after a gruesome shoot-out with the FBI.

The ending leaves a conflicted feeling of what’s to come in the confirmed season 3  as the finale closes with a monologue from Rue confirming that her and Jules’ relationship is no more and that she managed to stay sober throughout the rest of her Junior year. Many believe that this is a set-up for a time-skip to later in life where we would be able to see the further consequences of the decisions that each character had made. Whether this is true or not, we’re going to have to wait a while as it is rumored that season 3 will be premiering 2 years from now in 2024.