Euphoria was a huge success story for HBO when it launched in 2019.
The series returned with Euphoria Season 2 earlier this year, and the show emerged as an even bigger hit than before.
With the series renewed and Euphoria Season 3, there are many questions about where the show can go next.
Many long-running arcs concluded on Euphoria Season 2 Episode 8, meaning there will need to be significant changes to keep the action flowing for another season.
There was a certain finality throughout the final episode, and it’s hard not to think about whether this would be the best place to end it.
TV shows rarely know when to wrap up these days, and Euphoria runs the risk of only returning due to the popularity of it all.
Rue is in a very good place for the first time since the series began, having remained clean for the remainder of the school year.
We don’t know whether she managed to pay Laurie back the money for the suitcase of drugs, but the lack of urgency to tell viewers what happened suggests something could have happened off-screen to quickly conclude that storyline.
Either that or Faye throwing Laurie under the bus to the cops found the drug kingpin getting arrested off-screen.
The huge changes from the original scripts undoubtedly meant that some storylines were left on the cutting room floor in the end.
Rue has been battling her addiction since Euphoria Season 1 Episode 1, and it was nice to see a healthier, more focused iteration of the character.
The series clearly didn’t want to wrap up her storyline in a bow, but this was the closest we got to it.
All of the conflict seemed to diminish for Rue because she was focused on her recovery, and sometimes a more open-ended conclusion works better.
The sad part was the lack of Jules on Euphoria Season 2 Episode 8. For such a pivotal character, the series acted like she was a supporting player this season.
Rue’s admission that she might have been high for much of their relationship was huge because it cast a dark cloud over any future reunion.
If the show has taught us anything, it’s that they work better as friends. There’s been so much pain in their relationship that they’ll probably resent each other if they get back together.
Then there was Nate. He’s not even a polarizing character at this stage, he’s just plain horrible.
A major part of his arc has been his desire to take down his father, and while I was convinced he was going to shoot his father or himself, turning him into the cops was infinitely more satisfying.
Nate has got to be the most unpredictable character out there. There’s a darkness within him that comes out to play when we least expect it, and seriously, he needs help.
Cal coming out to his family earlier on Euphoria Season 2 was a huge development, but the show largely dropped the ball on the aftermath of his admission.
It’s hard to imagine Eric Dane returning for Euphoria Season 3 because the case against Cal is pretty damning, so there should have been a little bit more from Cal ahead of this big reveal.
Nate is not someone who deserves a redemption arc, either. His actions have been despicable since the beginning of the series, but there’s no telling where he will go next.
He could become a pariah after the play, more so after his father hits the headlines, or maybe he’ll return to the school without a care in the world.
The resolution for Maddy also felt like the end of something big. She had been struggling with Cassie sleeping with Nate, but there was an element of relief when she realized Nate was her former best friend’s problem now.
The emotional torment Nate put Maddy through was horrifying, and Maddy conceding that Cassie being his new target was a satisfying enough conclusion.
Then there’s Lexi. The school play was bizarre, but in the end, she realized she could have her own identity. Finding her way out of her sister’s shadow was worth it in the end.
Granted, she’s probably lost her love interest in the process, but where can the show really take her next?
Fez and Ashtray knew there would come a time the cops would close in, and unfortunately for them, it was during the season finale.
Ashtray’s actions were shocking, as were the multitude of bullets sent between the different sides in the house.
Ashtray’s death should have been shocking, but it was clear the show was building towards a shocking demise for the kid Fez raised.
How will Fezco be able to move on from this? He witnessed the S.W.A.T team shooting Ashtray in the head, and now has a lengthy sentence behind bars to look forward to.
The only character who had a storyline that didn’t reach an emotional conclusion was Jules. She was largely left in the backseat throughout Euphoria Season 2, which was a surprise.
Euphoria has never been a show filled with happiness, but knowing there’s another season on the way, it’s hard to be excited when you know these characters are going to be pulled into more needless drama.
What are your thoughts on the end of Season 2?
Do you think it should have been the end?
Hit the comments below.
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Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.
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