(Spoiler alert!)

Most teens today have watched the show Euphoria, but how many parents have actually approved of it? The show is known to be controversial because of the nudity, violence, and sex. However, it does portray many real aspects of life that most shows do not address. There is so much diversity in sexual orientation, race, gender, and body type. This TV series allows us to feel the characters’ sadness and despair as they struggle to deal with the never ending heartbreaking drama, whether they experience it themselves, or have to hide behind the shadows of supposedly more significant characters. 

Euphoria is an American teen drama television series on HBO Max. It is inspired by the Israeli television series with the same name. The main character, Rue Bennett, is a drug addict who cannot seem to get clean no matter what her family and friends attempt to do. The other characters also have their own experiences with drugs, but they definitely have the biggest impact on Rue, as not only she, but also her family, have to deal with the danger and drama that comes along with being an addict. 

Jules, Rue’s friend and love interest for some of the episodes, is a transgender girl who views Rue at first as a blessing, but eventually a burden. She is a character that many viewers love to hate which is inevitable due to her proximity and conflicts with Rue. As viewers, we are obligated to rely on an unreliable narrator, which does not give us much insight on the truth about Jules. There are many reasons as to why Jules is controversial, but most of the mistakes she makes revolve around her attitude towards Rue.

In the beginning of the TV show, Jules does a lot of things with Rue that obviously make Rue uncomfortable. For example, when she first meets Rue, who just got out of rehab, Jules offers to do drugs with her. Soon after, Jules asks Rue to help her take nude pictures of her to send online, and does not seem to notice Rue is disturbed with this situation. Although this is a valid reason for viewers to dislike Jules, we only see the show through Rue’s point of view, and Jules has a lot of problems that she deals with on her own, such as trying to feel validated as a transgender woman, being harassed by Nate Jacobs, and her mom leaving her. Her problems likely had an impact on the way she acted towards Rue, but most people seem to forget that as the story addresses Rue’s own issues more. In addition, in Season 1, Jules was the only friend Rue had, so while she made evident mistakes, they weren’t worse than Cassie’s attitude towards her best friend, Maddy, and high school friendship will always be complicated, so mistakes are bound to be made. 

In the second season of the show, Jules seems to cause even more conflicts, especially since she and Rue aren’t even friends anymore by the end of the season. Firstly, people blame Jules for causing Rue to relapse when Jules leaves for New York City, as she relapses due to the loneliness she feels. I do not think that it is fair to accuse Jules for that as she too is a teenager, and as the audience we cannot expect her to know exactly what to do so that Rue stays clean. Furthermore, Jules just wanted to have fun outside of where she lives, which is not abnormal for a teenager in high school. 

Jules does however, try to help Rue, even though her methods may not be the best. Viewers got annoyed with Jules when she drank alcohol in front of Rue and got mad at her when she tried to join. In reality, she was just trying her best to keep Rue safe while still having fun herself. She knows that she has to keep Rue company and, knowing how the characters act in the show, we cannot expect Jules to sacrifice having fun in order to make sure Rue stays sober. That being said, she still makes many efforts to keep Rue from dying even though it involves getting Rue in trouble.

 Some people blame Jules for being a “snitch”, when she told Rue’s mom that Rue was still doing drugs. One of Jules’ biggest fears is Rue dying, so when she tells Rue’s mom it is not out of selfishness, but out of worry for her best friend. Rue could have died if it wasn’t for Jules’ intervention. People argue that it was to get Rue out of the picture in Jules’ relationship with Elliot, but if Jules really wanted Rue gone, letting her die from drugs would have probably been easier.

Most of Jules’ actions that are controversial are often an attempt to help or protect Rue. People cannot expect Jules to babysit Rue, yet she still tries to help her. It is possible that people’s strong feelings towards the main character are what causes them to dislike Jules so much. Because Jules is so close to Rue, she is inevitably going to cause her a lot of pain. Jules is so misunderstood and is just a teenager who wants to be free, but is burdened with her best friend often almost dying. 

Most teens can find a character on the show to relate to, which is pretty uncommon with so called age appropriate television shows in which the main character is straight, white, and conventionally attractive. This TV series is pretty recent as the last episode of the second season just came out a few weeks ago. Many teens seem to be saddened by the ending and were left on the edge of their seats by the tragic, yet captivating, ending. 

Overall, this show causes conflicts when it comes to parents allowing their teenagers to watch it because it may not be age appropriate, but it remains one of the few shows that emphasizes the complexity of friendship, and just life in general.