An Examination of Euphoria’s Season Two Cinematography

Courtesy of HBO

After closing out its second season, Euphoria became the most tweeted about show of the decade. Rapid discussion of the HBO Max hit series can be attributed to many factors, such as the emotional performance of the actors, each episode’s chilling cliffhangers, and the newest looks that have snatched the audience’s attention this season.

However, the most stark factor that sets Euphoria apart from other TV programming is its distinct stylization. The symbolic cinematography and creative liberties taken within each shot are what created the universe of Euphoria that many have been emotionally latched onto since its premiere in 2019.

While Euphoria’s cinematography has proved itself a force to be reckoned with throughout both seasons, there are some important aesthetic changes made between seasons that resemble the changing dynamic of the show and character development that takes place as the show takes a darker turn in its most recent episodes.

Director Sam Levinson has said that season two of Euphoria should be a different viewing experience for audiences.

“If season one was a house party at 2 a.m., season two should feel like 5 a.m., way past the point at which everyone should have gone home.” Levinson said during a behind-the-scenes interview.

This new visual aesthetic was achieved through the use of film rather than digital camerawork. After using Kodak Ektachrome film for the two special episodes that came out between seasons, Levinson and Euphoria cinematographer Marcell Rév decided that they needed to continue to film in this direction in order to push the correct narrative forward.

“We wanted to go a little more intimate, a little more personal this time around. By its nature, film is more intimate.” Rév said in an interview with Artnet.

Courtesy of HBO

Intimacy is exactly what we got from Euphoria’s second season. 

One of season two’s standout episodes was episode five, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird”, in which audiences got an hour-long, grueling, and invasive look into Rue’s addiction through the most horrific of lenses.

In this episode, Rue, portrayed by Zendaya, reaches her lowest point. Aggressively trying to fight off her family and friends’ desperate attempts to get her sober and trying to recover a lost suitcase of drugs she must repay, Rue finds herself entangled within a world of trouble that leaves viewers on the edge of their seats and cautiously awaiting the episode’s end.

Euphoria’s depiction of addiction is heartbreakingly sincere. Seeing Rue’s self-destructive tendencies take over any compassion or willingness to see from the perspective of her friends and family is difficult to watch.

One of the show’s most chilling sequences also occurs in this episode. After a chaotic police chase, Rue finds herself at the doorstep of Laurie, a quiet school teacher turned drug dealer whose monotone dialogue in itself is enough to unsettle viewers. Not only does the stellar performance of the actors in this scene create tension, but the cinematography also adds an unnerving layer of discomfort that foreshadows something dark.

After Rue throws up, Laurie offers to help her ‘clean up’ in the tub. While this scene is going on, the camera focuses on a bottle of morphine and a syringe lying on a surface nearby. For nearly two whole minutes, the camera is focused solely on the morphine, blurring out both Laurie and Rue in the background of the scene. This makes an already sinister scene feel even more threatening as Laurie’s false apologies echo behind her true intentions seen in the foreground of the shot.

Courtesy of HBO

Some of the most powerful symbolism in the show is also depicted through the cinematography rather than the dialogue, which is a unique choice that not many other modern television programs mimic. Rév has mentioned that Euphoria’s creative team drew great inspiration from certain works of art, especially 20th century Mexican murals, which served as the inspiration for the now-iconic scene of Cassie, played by Sydney Sweeney, holding back tears while surrounded by a curtain of roses.

The sharp camerawork throughout the series creates emotionally-driven depictions of each character’s lowest moments in ways that reflect back onto their specific story arc, fitting each particular cinematic choice into the larger puzzle that is the Euphoria universe. 

Levinson said his goal was to create a world immersed in emotional realism, trying to focus each shot on the characters’ emotional drive and perception of their own world in a given moment.

Another unique artistic choice taken by the Euphoria creative team can be seen in the opening sequence of season two, episode four, “You Who Cannot See, Think of Those Who Can”, where Rue and Jules are depicted in various star-crossed lover scenarios, including parodying scenes from movies like “Titanic” and “Ghost”. Depicting Jules, played by Hunter Schaefer, as Frida Kahlo, was a choice made in order to show the ever growing and unhealthy obsession between her, Rue, and their individual ideas of their relationship.

Courtesy of HBO

Not only does the uniqueness of each shot in Euphoria display the immensely powerful creative liberty at play, the camerawork itself is something to be praised. One of the most powerful aspects of Euphoria’s cinematography is its transitions from scene to scene, character to character.

While Euphoria’s first season had this practice down to science (who remembers the carnival episode!), season two toyed with both the cinematic transitions and the audiences’ heartstrings at the same time through mode of Lexi’s play.

When season two, episode seven began with a minute-long overture, viewers knew something big was about to go down. The simple use of music alongside a static image of a flower created such a sense of dread while watching that it instantly became one of my favorite creative choices within the show. In the world of the theatre, overtures indicate what is to come, what themes to expect, and the kind of emotional ride a show is about to take you on.

Transitioning between real-life memories and staged reenactments, the last two episodes of Euphoria’s second season created a sense of normalcy in playing pretend. It became difficult to distinguish which moments were actually happening before our eyes and which were flashbacks or memories that the audience was being fed in between. The transitions were seamless and purposeful in keeping the audience guessing - where would we be taken next? What did the characters want us to see, and what secrets were we being let in on as unwanted observers?

Euphoria’s most powerful moments lie not only in the camera work, but in the emotions conveyed by the actors, the sheer force of the subject matter. The unique choices made by Euphoria’s creative team has provided inspiration for the future of dramatic television. The creative genius of the entire team has created an eclectic giant that is both an engaging and sincere example of how to handle the rawest parts of humanity; shining a mirror unto society itself. 

Now we wait for season three.

Strike Out,

Writer: Gabby Macogay

Editors: Theo Skinner & Grayson Keglovic

Orlando