If HBO's 'Euphoria' Makes You Uncomfortable, It's Because It's Supposed To

"Euphoria", which premiered for streaming on HBO in 2019, quickly became the center of the conversation. With its first, eight-episode season having been available to watch since June, there has been plenty of time for it to draw attention to itself.

And it has.

Responses to the show have ranged from "It triggered panic" to "worth the risk", but the fact of the matter is this: if "Euphoria" makes you uncomfortable, that is because it's supposed to.

Euphoria brings attention to some of society's worst, and most prominent, issues among adolescents, including addiction, rape, and abusive relationships, to name a few- but the show does it right.

With disclaimers included at the beginning of each episode, "Euphoria" approaches risky topics by warning viewers first, as it should. Scenes are graphic, truly leaving nothing to the imagination, and sometimes it gets hard to watch, but it's meant to be this way.

It shouldn't be easy to watch teens overdosing and developing serious substance abuse issues, but this is something we need to acknowledge instead of turning a blind eye.

It shouldn't be easy to watch statutory rape, but this is something we need to acknowledge, too.

It shouldn't be easy to watch a girl get repeatedly abused and take advantage of by her boyfriend, it shouldn't be easy to watch a family crumble as a result of drugs, and it shouldn't be easy to watch episodes of extreme mania and depression- but these are all issues that require our attention.

The show brings issues to light that either are often overlooked, misconstrued, or glossed over, exposing them in a way that is shocking, but necessary. For example, when considering drug addiction, oftentimes the general public overlooks the fact that many addicts don't want to be the way that they are. Many people suffering from an addiction wish they could change, and try to change, only to fall victim to substance abuse once again- and this is something we see in the show's main character, Rue, played by Zendaya.

Citing a show's "shock factor" as a means of portraying it negatively is not valid, especially when that shock factor stems from problems you should be paying attention to, but probably aren't.

"Euphoria" might make you feel uncomfortable, but at least it makes you feel something.