It’s time to let Euphoria die

The production of Euphoria’s third season has been delayed (not for the first time), and the cast have been given permission to pursue other roles. While the producers insist that the season will still be forthcoming (and even that it will be released next year as planned), the news has raised serious doubts about the show’s future. While I like Euphoria, I’m not worried about it ending – for the following reasons, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to let the show slip quietly into the night. 

EUPHORIA HAS ALREADY LOST SEVERAL CAST MEMBERS

Fez was always a most popular character, and when actor Angus Cloud (who plays the role) died last year, critics and fans alike eulogised him as the heart of the show – an integral and irreplaceable part of what made it work. They could continue without him, but it won’t be the same – and by recognising this, ending the show now would arguably be a mark of respect. 

While it happened due to less tragic circumstances, Barbie Ferreira (who plays Kat) has also left the cast. So as it stands, Euphoria will be proceeding without two of its most beloved characters, and that’s assuming that the rest of the cast will stay on board – they are presumably locked in, but there are ways of getting out of a contract if you have a canny enough Hollywood lawyer. Now that Sydney Sweeney, Zendaya and Jacob Eloridi are bonafide A-listers – starring in major blockbusters and acclaimed indie dramas alike – they might decide they have better things to do with their time – and based on the somewhat gleeful reaction to the news of the delayed production, I don’t think many Euphoria fans would begrudge them.

WHAT WOULD SEASON 3 EVEN BE ABOUT?

Figuring out what to do once your characters graduate is a perennial problem for high school dramas, and few of them have pulled it off successfully. We don’t yet know much about the plot of season three, but it doesn’t sound like Euphoria: The College Years is on the cards. Zendaya has said that it will explore the characters outside of high school, including a range of far-flung international locations from Rome to Singapore. Speaking to Sam Levinson described the season as a “film noir” that will “explore what it means to be an individual with principles in a corrupt world”. 

Honestly, I think that sounds pretty good (season two was at its strongest when it veered into crime thriller territory), but unless it’s going to be a Rue solo adventure, this doesn’t solve the problem of how and why these characters would still be hanging out. At least some of them would be going to college: Lexi – an over-achieving perfectionist who brought Broadway-level production values to a public high school play – would be off to Yale; Jules would attend whatever liberal arts college is the closest American equivalent to Goldsmiths (Oberlin? Sarah Lawrence?); Nate would be studying Finance and playing football at a respectable but not especially prestigious institution in the MidWest; and I’m not sure about the rest – but they wouldn’t all be hanging around.

Maybe the writers will pull it off (we are talking about the genius minds behind The Idol, after all), but the solution seems likely to be contrived. Maybe we should let these characters move on with their lives instead of forcing them to hang out with their friends from high school, forever. 

IS THE SHOW STILL RELEVANT?

It’s to Euphoria’s credit that it was so of the moment, both in terms of aesthetics and ripped-from-the-headlines subject matter, from opioid addiction to revenge porn. It will be remembered as a cultural touchstone, and as a defining cultural artefact of the late 2019s – I have no doubt that people will wearing groovy eye-shadow to Euphoria-themed parties, or writing thoughtful essays on what it said about the Gen Z experience, in 20 year’s time. 

But the moment in which it first emerged has passed, and the world is a lot different now – the zeitgeist is more likely to be captured by something new, rather than the long-delayed third season of a show which premiered in 2019, helmed by a middle-aged man who everyone has now decided they hate. 

Don’t get me wrong: if season three ever does come out, I will be right there laughing and crying along with my good friends Rue, Jules and Maddie, booing and hissing whenever the loathsome Mr Jacobs darkens the screen. But when you love something, sometimes it’s better to let it go –  I learned that from watching Euphoria.