The discussion critically examines the recent seasons of *Euphoria*, highlighting its visual extravagance and strong performances—especially Zendaya’s as Rue—but notes a fundamental flaw in character depth and narrative cohesion. Key issues include shallow character arcs, particularly for Cassie, and the use of nudity and sex work as narrative tools instead of emotional development. The wedding episode is praised for its emotional moments, like Maddie’s grief, but criticized for cringey execution and lack of consistency. The conversation also expands to real-world drama from *Summer House*, where leaked audios reveal emotional betrayals and friendship fractures, sparking outrage over dishonesty and toxicity. Fans emphasize the need for authenticity and accountability in storytelling, especially regarding relationships and trauma. The analysis is further enriched by a deep appreciation for Lena Dunham’s candid, introspective work, which explores themes of gender, illness, and self-awareness with honesty and vulnerability. Ultimately, while the show's visuals and performances are impressive, the lack of narrative grounding and moral complexity leaves many viewers feeling disillusioned.
Girl, today drained me.
Today already drained me.
You know, I don't have earrings on.
You don't even know how crazy that is.
Oh, that's stressful.
My mom would have a word with you about that.
And I would have a word with myself, too.
That's true.
But you know what I have on?
The monk hat.
Because bad bitches love monk.
And we've always said that.
We need to have a conversation, though.
Yeah.
Because what is going on with Euphoria?
You know I'm tired, Hunter.
You know I'm a tired woman.
Imagine how tired we are.
Euphoria is giving money laundering.
It's truly giving, like, who has a warrant out for their arrest?
Because this show has gone so far off the rails.
I mean, it's an entirely different show.
Like, it's just, like, the same actors.
That's just simply how I feel.
I'm like, we are. I mean, I was excited for the wedding episode.
Yeah, yeah, I'm proud of it.
Okay.
Did you watch last night's?
Mm-hmm.
Oh, yeah.
Well, go ahead.
Go ahead.
Wedding episode.
And I was, like, excited to see them all in the same place again, at least.
To be, like, maybe this, like, unifying factor will, like, create some more, like, fun awe for me.
And it sparked notions.
Oh, joy.
The craziest thing about the wedding episode. Except the dance.
The dance gagged me.
I know the dance background.
I know the dance got you.
Yes, yes.
Him, like, doing the thing.
I was like, ha, ha, sorry.
And, like, her in a deep squat, like, I was like, this slut obsessed.
I'm just like, I'm not coming to your wedding.
I know how you're about to act.
No, so I think the issue for me is that, first of all, this story belongs in high school.
We need to get these kids back to high school.
Who cares?
People 30 years older in high school.
Every single day on television.
It's called TV.
Look it up.
That's first.
Ben and Drama.
Yes, thank you.
Finally.
Second of all, I think that all of the stories feel so on different paths.
It truly is like everyone else is on a different show.
What I liked about the wedding episode is that they're all together.
But there really feels like there's drama between Maddie and Cassie over Nate.
The shot of Maddie, like, went on for a little bit too long.
But just her at the table, like, feeling a lot of, like, grief.
Yeah.
Over this version of her life that she thought she was going to live out was the most compelling
moment of the entire series so far, of the season so far.
Yeah, I would agree.
And yet, it just, like, she just goes home after.
It was so crazy.
I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Like, Alexi Deming looks amazing.
Yeah, let's keep her in that dress.
Like, she looked sickening.
Oh, my God, Alexi Deming in that dress.
With that little, that little, uh, what's it called?
Because you can't, you, you, you know God like that.
You're on the terms of God like that.
The rosary.
Yeah, the rosary above her ass crack.
Diva.
Oh!
She got me good.
Yeah.
But I just, I've, it's, we're always so, we're, not always, we are sometimes so close
to something, and then it's immediately, like, taken away.
Yeah.
I don't know.
I mean, I will say I love seeing Bebe come back, though.
Bebe pregnant?
Bebe pregnant!
Bebe was one of my favorite characters.
I hate a vape, but I love a vape queen.
But I will say that when people pointed out that she looks like Taylor Swift.
Who said that?
Who said that?
Who has been saying that?
I retweeted, I retweeted hard, too.
I will show you.
I will literally pull it up, and it's like, she looks exactly in this one frame.
She looks exactly like Taylor Swift.
It's crazy.
Did you saw Taylor Swift on the cover of the New York Times Magazine?
She always has that one fuck-ass pose.
Yeah.
She's always like, it's not a bad thing to know your angles.
I'm not mad at it.
That's the only angle she knows.
It's okay.
Have you seen Zoolander?
It's hard to model, by the way.
Don't I know it.
Don't I know it.
This is a woman who, every event we go to, she's like, oh, can I just get a solo?
I gotta get the shot.
I love that about you.
You know, she taking notes now, too.
And Hunter will watch me watch her, and I'll be like, hands up.
But the hands up.
And you're like, oh, sorry.
No, whenever I'm like, I freak out.
She's like, oh.
Okay, let's get it back on track.
Okay, cameos this season.
We have Sharon Stone, Rosalia, Natasha Lyonne, Danielle Deadweiler, who I adore, Marshawn Lynch, and Trisha Paytas.
Wait, who's Danielle Deadweiler?
We haven't seen her yet, but she's in this season.
Okay.
I mean, I want Marshawn Lynch in every fucking thing.
I think he's a natural-born star.
He is.
But I will say, like, Rosalia, she can act.
Why did that feel offensive, the way I rolled my. No, I think it was good, actually.
You have to say it in the higher. Rosalia!
Yeah.
That was good.
Look at that.
See, I'm really liking. I'm, like, already wanting so much more from her acting career.
I mean, she's such a full-body performer in general, obviously, so I think it makes perfect
sense to put her in this environment.
The neck brace is sending me.
The neck brace is great.
The neck brace is a great accessory.
Also, that's going to go crazy on Halloween.
No, truly.
Yes, yes.
Me being like, wait, is that us?
And I'm like, no, it's not.
It's not at all.
But I'm really liking her in this, at the very least.
I feel like Ru is a lesbian and Rosalia in this is, like, the fun I'm having so far.
Yeah.
There is something about the gratuitous nudity and sex work in this season that just, you
know, I'm not trying to clutch pearls, but it feels a bit like nudity in place of character
development in some ways.
The Cassie of it all.
I'm, like, so happy for her with her deadbeat husband trying to get them back in the black,
like, get them money, whatever.
However. It is a bit, like, that's all she can do as a character, just, like, have big tits.
And, like, I feel like they're, I mean, I have so many feelings about Cindy Sweeney and
maybe that's a separate episode.
Yeah.
But, like, it feels so deeply offensive to me how stupid they're playing Cassie in a
way that I'm, like, she wasn't that dumb.
Like, do you know what I mean?
Like, can we give her a little bit of grace?
There's this one shot, and I know this is really specific, of her chugging champagne in a way
that's, like. Like, it's so. Yeah.
She's not a mindless baby.
It's one thing to take on a persona, and I think she's smart enough to know, like, something
is performance art versus something is, like, a real character trait.
Yeah.
And it's just so belittling to Cindy Sweeney, again, who's someone I don't even think that
highly of, but. I mean, body is tea, but it's just, like, her body. She's a good actress.
Like, we can say that.
Yeah.
I think. And I think, like, it's sad to watch her do all that.
I think it's sad to watch her do all this.
Yeah.
For what?
But I'm also, like, to what end?
Because what is Maddie's end game here?
Like, she's trying to basically manipulate Cindy Sweeney into making both of them money,
which is fine, but it also feels like a complete retread of their entire dynamic from seasons
one and two, basically.
Also, I have to appreciate that that scene of Maddie walking into the pool for their
first meeting in a full mink coat.
Ugh, sickening.
Ugh, diva.
I also. Hello?
So, if we're going to have. If we're going to be making the Sharon Stone and Cassino. Oh, reference.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
In season one, we need to have a scene between Maddie and Sharon Stone in season three.
At some point.
Sorry, we deserved it.
At some point.
I mean, I was going to say, something that's pissed me off is I haven't seen a contract
come out yet.
So, you know my Virgo rising ass and getting a little strict with it.
I'm like, Maddie, you're going to get played with again, because if Cass is going to be
the face of it, I need to see a pen to paper, I need a signature come out.
Because I feel like if you're going to at least milk her for this 10% or get your, like,
lick back or whatever you're going to do, it needs to be legally binding.
Yeah.
And Maddie's a smart cookie, so I think I'm just, like, waiting for her to figure that
out.
Another scene in the most recent episode that was like, huh, was Jules painting for the
TV show.
Yeah.
And, like, drawing a bunch of, like, trans figures, which, like, I will say, like, objectively
doesn't make any sense for the TV show.
I thought the painting was beautiful, but I am like, girl, this is network TV.
Turn it on a little bit.
Just, you know, God bless.
That's what's going to work.
And it felt like it was trying to do some, like, woke, radical commentary when they were
like, she's trans.
And I was like, what?
Like, it's just, it's totally normal to give feedback to be like, so we actually can't
have, like, phallic symbols, like, in this painting that's for Netflix.
But also, the one part where they're like, okay, so you have to take out the penises.
And she's like, what about the breasts?
And they're like, well, yeah, those too.
It's an equal opportunity.
No.
It's actually just no nudity.
Overarching note, no nudity.
Which is a normal note.
And it's like, and then she throws the red paint on it.
It's just kind of like, wait, like, can someone have a lick of sense?
I do.
If Ru has the most sense on this show, then where are we?
Yeah.
Yeah.
But I think overall for me, Euphoria has been, except, I mean, I really like the Maddie,
Cassie, Neat love triangle season two.
I think that was very impressive.
But it really has always been, like, more visually arresting than it is, like, writer
character arresting.
Yeah.
And even the visuals this season feel kind of phoned in.
It's like, these, like,
big, expansive, big shots, like, very Western.
Yeah.
But that's it.
It just looks, like, expensive, but not necessarily anything.
Like artistic.
Internal happening inside the frame.
I agree.
Sam Levinson, make a music video.
That's it.
Just let your freak flag fly in three minutes or less.
Well, speaking of.
Yeah.
So Z used to really ride for Sam.
Yeah.
I mean, we all saw Malcolm & Marie.
I was there on the front lines.
Not many were.
Yeah.
And I said, and I was alone in that.
I'll see you on the other side.
But literally at the premiere, Zendaya was running from Sam Levinson.
Truly, like, it was Beyonce seeing Jason Lee, that blogger that Rihanna loves.
She was, like, just looking for anywhere else to go.
Like, just anyone.
Anyone.
Please.
Call from God.
Yeah.
And I mean, if he wrote me this season, I'd be like, you take that back.
And work on it again.
Because I don't want to read any more of these damn pages.
Because what do you mean I just keep driving around the whole season?
I will say, and it sucks because I just really love Zendaya's route.
I think it's, like, the first time I really see her embody a character that is fully hers
and feels totally separate, then, like, I'm not seeing Zendaya Coleman at all.
Like, and it's so impressive what she's able to do with that character.
And it's such a disservice to her that she is still in this season doing, like, whatever
the, what is she doing right now?
Is she the DEA?
I don't know.
Yeah.
I mean, I have to say, I did really love the scene where the DEA calls her and they're,
like, "You've just been fired."
just been compromised we need to discredit that girl and she like her and Rosalia going at it
together that was like oh this is like why Zendaya is the best actor on this show yeah yeah um but
then it's like then something dumb as hell like me getting his toe cut off and then saying the
next episode totally it's like sewn back on maybe he has good insurance he doesn't have a job
he doesn't have a job I have to say moment of silence for Eric Dane I seeing him I was like
surprisingly emotional oh of course like I surprisingly only because you know I don't cry
that much I know yeah I try I try to get it it doesn't work it just hurt my feelings that was
one time that's hilarious okay sorry keep going Eric Dane Eric Dane yes it's so like sad to see
him on screen and
you
but it's so nice to see him on screen too yeah yeah yeah yeah and I like that they wrote in like
because he I think he went to St. Levinson said like I'm slurring my words now because of ALS
um so now they made him an alcoholic and seeing him in the show is yeah yeah I like how do you
feel about seeing like seeing Fez in the show it's okay I mean it was odd to me for some reason I
can't pinpoint why so it's not like you know I'm not dying on this hill but for some reason I'm
kind of like I think it's okay to like let him rest and not I don't know how much he needs to be
so
I wish that it was more just that one call of Zendaya talking to him and like that moment of
like oh my gosh like fantasy that he's still with us yeah that I thought was very sweet but then
you know all of the um Lexi stuff like even talking about him I'm kind of like
Lexi is a girl who wears two patterns at once she's not thinking about her high school
Lisa says god you know what I mean she does she does if it if it has plaid she'll pair with a
different plaid she will do that if it has plaid she'll pair with a different plaid she will do that
she will do that I was like okay we have to start at a low so we can end at a high because we have so
many great things to talk about including summer house updates y'all about to be sick of us or
you're welcome I don't know either one and then what else are we talking about what's our oh my
god famesick Lena Dunn's famesick Lena Dunham at large our our meeting of Lena Dunn or you might
have met her before actually no I haven't oh oh just in the DMs so herstory herstory happening
later on this episode are you looking for a safe space for your secret celebrity opinion do you
need someone who understands your latest internet obsession we are decade-long best friends who
connect over fussing and discussing all things pop culture we're your first stop after that TMZ
push alert from higher ground audio I'm Peyton Vicks and I'm Hunter Harris and this is let me
say this let me say this let me say this it's a jungle out there let me say that oh my lord
let me say this
summer summer
time summer summer summer time summer house drama sorry love it totally absolutely no and keep that
energy actually keep that energy I will um summer house drama I cannot believe that we have gone
from being summer house illiterate to summer house evangelist girl the way I would fall on a cross
for only a few of them I was gonna say yeah for who for who Sierra Mia and now Lindsay
oh mother Hubbard with Lindsay I mean we've been talking about this for a long time and we've been
talking about this for a long time and we've been talking about this for a long time and we've been
I mean, because Lindsay's rocking with us.
Yeah, I didn't say that.
Um, I, okay, we need to talk about the leaked audio.
We need to talk about what's going on in real life.
We need to talk about what's going on in, like, showtime.
Because I was actually, like, it unsettled my spirit.
Yeah, it's tough.
To watch the show and West and Sierra making up, knowing what we know now.
Let's start with the leaked audio.
Yes.
I want to say Mia graduated into Hall of Fame Bravo Star, like, for a first season performance.
For me, when she told Amanda in the leaked audio,
you went from being married to being one of West's side bitches?
That's crazy.
It's a beautiful line reading.
True.
It's up there with, like, Real Housewives of Atlanta, like, season four, five, six.
So it's canon now.
She's, that really shook the table for me.
If that's not in the final edit, I'm calling Bravo and I'm calling NBC Universal.
It's a perfect pickup on page, too, who, like, I love a girl that really doesn't play about her bitches in a real way.
Mm.
Amanda doesn't play about her bitches in a very fake way, clearly, obviously.
Yeah.
But we needed that energy.
We needed that heat.
I also want to talk about, there's, in one of the leaked audios, Amanda says,
I was terrified to admit the truth to Sierra because I knew that no matter what,
this was going to be a friendship deal breaker for us.
And that scared the shit out of me because I had already crossed the line.
So a few things I want to discuss here.
Mm-hmm.
Same.
She was terrified because she knew it was a deal breaker, not because it was going to hurt her friend,
but because she knew it was, like, going to go scorched earth.
And then she was already scared to do that because she'd already done it.
She'd already hooked up with Wes.
She'd already started the, you know, started their relationship.
And I just cannot believe, and Sierra says this in one of the audios, like,
out of the millions of men in New York City, you chose the one man that you knew our breakup had fucked me up.
And I know that people are like, oh, they were just a situationship.
Oh, they were only together for two months.
Have you ever heard a Taylor Swift song?
I was like, those are the worst ones, by the way.
The three to six month shit, that'll fuck you sideways.
I'll tell you that.
Hunter's like, not now.
We've already gone through that.
No, it's okay.
Okay, like, and some of us have survived three month situationships that should have sent us to the mental ward.
And some of us, and I did.
I was wearing my grippy socks.
You jumped in.
Okay, go, keep going.
But I really do empathize with Sierra because it's like, you know what?
It doesn't matter if we were together for five years or for five days.
If I tell you this person truly hurt me and you, I can't forgive that.
And I think something that was also crazy about,
which she was like, you can't help it.
And she was like, you literally can't.
But you know what that was a reference to?
It was a reference to Sierra talking about dating white boys.
How like, you can't, I know, which I did not even clock that until I saw it on Reddit.
People were, because then even on the transcript, she's like, well, you said that not according to you.
You said that on an episode that she was like, you can't.
And it may be something not specifically white boys, but just like who she has dated on the show.
Which is so incredibly different from like your best friend, your best friends who you've like held cry over a person.
Yep.
And cried with Sierra over West.
That episode of her being like, I see you.
I see you and you don't deserve it.
I was like, you're nasty.
No, it's really nasty, bitch.
It's evil, dark sided, down in the gutter.
No, that's a gutter girl.
Gutter girl.
That's a gutter girl striking out.
I'm trying to make a bowling reference.
It may not work.
It might not land.
Gutter bowling.
Gutter girl bowling.
Strike it.
And when I wanted to go bowling the other night, you said, you called me country.
And I didn't lie.
And that's okay.
But it's really nasty behavior in a way that I would never.
I mean, like, yeah, West, I mean, Barr is always on the floor for men in general.
Yeah.
IMO.
Yeah.
But I do think like the proximity of their relationship, especially in this season where
now that Paige is out, like they're kind of like, I mean, Lindsay a little bit, but Lindsay's
a mom, so she's a bit more busy.
But I do think like the closeness of their relationship, it is so haunting to be watching
them in real time now.
And like knowing that they're not okay.
It's one thing to physically be with someone, but to like emotionally be like, that's my
boyfriend now.
Like they're, they're like, allegedly she had said to a fan, I guess, that she was like,
oh yeah, that's my boyfriend.
When someone asked who he was to her.
And I am like, and then Lindsay did an interview with Andy Cohen, I think for Watch What Happened
to Him.
Yeah.
That was like, you know, physically, maybe it started in February, but it definitely
emotionally started before that.
And I just, I personally am like, oh, it's so much worse.
Like it's, it's again, it's horrible, but still one thing to like physically, you know,
be like, have sex, hook up, whatever, but to be like, oh, like I'm developing feelings
for this person.
I'm pursuing them and acting on them when you actually have the choice to like treat
your friend better and choose differently is.
Or even to like apologize to her, like be more respectful and how you're rolling it
up.
Because that's another thing Sierra said, why are you breadcrumbing this on Instagram?
Like, why were you hanging out together?
Whatever.
Even Jesse Solomon on Watch What Happens Live was like, we went to a brunch all together.
And then just after that, West and Amanda went to their own secret brunch.
What are you talking about?
Secret brunch.
Secret brunch.
It's not 2014.
Oh my God.
I love that every single other member involved in this, like, you know, normally people will
be like, you know, like, I'm not going to weigh in.
Everyone's like, oh, and another thing.
Well, because, and I know, listen, I think that like in general with cheating stuff,
sometimes we're a little bit too like puritanical in how we address it.
However, I think that everyone in the house is owed an apology because they have lied
to every single person in the house and they've jeopardized and hurt multiple friends and
multiple friendships in the house.
Because it's not just Amanda and Sierra.
It's also.
Kyle and West had a friendship and Kyle, Kyle is Princess Diana to me.
That's an insane thing to say.
It's really not.
I think that he gets a bat.
He was, there were three, there were three people in that marriage.
Okay.
Kyle, Amanda and Amanda's delusion.
So that's a mic drop.
Okay.
Let's go to what's happening on the series right now because I was sick to my stomach.
I was sick to my stomach.
The moment you said about Amanda telling Sierra, I see you was after West hooked up with a
girl, was making out with a girl literally right next to Sierra, like closer than we
are at this table.
She was on his lap.
It was.
And then him being like, you know, fuck it, whatever.
And I just want to bring this all back to eventually when West and Sierra had their
kind of reunion at the boat dock.
He said, he literally told her, I resented you for the way that the fans treated me after
our.
Split and I, if I'm Amanda watching present day, I would jump in front of traffic.
However, the second thing I would do is think about if West presents Sierra for how the
fans treated him after their.
whole thing how do you think he's going to resent you after you've brought all of this drama into
your relationship how is that going to happen and you're a side bitch just to be a side bitch
him the him seeing other people at the same time is clinically insane not of not of him i mean it
is because he's a man but like her to be like fuck it like i'm what's that uh sizzle song
the weekend yeah you like nine to five i'm the weekend yeah turn it up bitch okay that's your
song that's your track that is crazy to me i will say where we are i've i've always fallen yeah yeah
where i've fallen into summer house obviously because of this drama but i'm staying for
everything else i'm like i'm still having so much fun with this show like i didn't realize i would
like it so much and i think like i've come around to lindsey i just like i like do you like carl now
i like carl but he needs to get up you know what i mean like if we're still having the same like
there's a flashback to him being like oh give me the ick he goes he's very like where my hug at i
hate i hate a boy who's asking for his hug just disgusting i mean that's a thing in general for
me i'm like don't touch me but him being like can i get a hug how i feel whenever you're all
touchy-feely but that's friendship i'm not trying to clink clink hunter he's trying to clink clink
lindsey and he's like where's my hug and then he goes harder i'm gonna be sick to my stomach fam
no i hated that it made me the ick the soft bar is gonna close soon it's not a lucrative idea
but i stand with him obviously in his sobriety i will patronize soft bar because you i'll pay
12 for some juice i don't care you've done it before you like if they got lemonade she's gonna
be buying it i love a lemonade oh my god lemonade it heals me it heals me i will say i really really
love the new cast members i really i love mia i'm so taken with her she's so fun she's such a good
person um who else what's the other kj kj i struggle with but kj it's just he's so online
i like him a lot on the show however on the internet he posts on threads i don't know if
you've seen this like he's a high school athlete whose job it is to post he's it's always like
these like random non-sequiturs or like probably getting paid to post they don't pay me enough
that's why i haven't posted that's why i have not threaded in my life phantom thread even
but i want to go back to carl for a second because the scene between lindsey and carl's mom
yes yo now listen i like carl a lot yeah i think he's very sweet now his mother
no she's a little something she was doing too much i'm like what do you mean lindsey doesn't
owe you anything she dated your son they broke up yeah really he broke up with her on camera
so there's an agreed party here it's kind of her but what do you mean you you know you feel like
you're owed a hug you feel like you're owed a confrontation whatever you guys are not close
yeah you never were she's just trying to be on the show and i get that i respect that it's crazy
for i'm trying to get her mother isn't that crazy for a mother cut to me as a mom in a couple years
i'm like and another thing sister i think it's it's definitely like she just wants her screen
time she said she's a boy mom down she's so a boy but yeah she does not sit well with me you know
who i didn't sit well with me at first and now i'm like fucking obsessed with her sabrina the
like like braless witchy one like she's like she's like she's the kind of girl you hate yeah
you know i don't get down with all that witchy your aura is like i'm totally sensing something
like epic on you like a lot of green maybe like she is you know i like that shit a little
a little she's i don't she doesn't feel additive to me she's definitely not but i like that vibe
um dara kj really kj's girlfriend dara excuse me dara she really goes to the mat for her and
i'm kind of like why whatever it all of these relationships between uh ben and kj feel so like
forced zero to a hundred so quickly well i mean they even say that on the show
ben is the australian one right yeah we're like you were being single all summer you were like
ready to like party and then this girl kind of comes back up out of nowhere and then to me it's
pretty home but i do think there is something between how amanda was with ben talking about
oh like you wanted to sleep with me in italy like we went skinny dipping whatever she's just looking
for a place to land like that is male centeredness to its core she has it all over her you like that
girl which goofy girl that new goof girl oh bailey or something yeah yeah yeah she's fine
is she the one who's like kind of talking to carl yeah totally you ride with her totally
whatever carl somebody gotta give him a little love oh lord sorry someone needs to give him his
hug harder oh okay what else um i gotta bring us down bring us
down r.i.p to west's grandmother and a moment of silence sorry that i laughed before the moment
of silence yeah hope she's well well she's well she's not i'm sorry both of my cameras for that
one no okay so i'll tell you what i read last night yeah west this sounds so crazy but this
is the latest reporting that west's grandmother was murdered by his cousin over not doing chores
his cousin was living with his grandmother
they got into a fight because she said he didn't do enough chores and then swear to god
allegedly he shot her in the face
yeah in the face yeah and he's now been arrested and this all happened i think the timeline is
that it happened the morning of uh the reunion so who knows if west knew that going into the
reunion oh my god i'm not even like the kneecap like no face square on the nose is insane well
like you know men hate doing dishes like that like i know but also girl that's insane that's crazy
now west has not spoken out about this yet there hasn't been a statement about it maybe that's good
no i think that's i think that's for the best given the statement with amanda when i think
it's for the best no more statements from either of them yeah quiet is kept quite on the western
front um but i will say something that was really funny i'm sorry where are you gonna go say the
funny what what could be funny oh no it's not about grandma i was gonna say i they they have
this show called like in the city or something like that oh yeah some spinoff or whatever yeah
and i was just cracking up because all the comments are like we're boycotting until you
cut amanda out of this show and i'm like so this is where the internet loses me well no so that
she's the drama like i if the whole if all of this show was just everyone turning their backs
on amanda and just bullying her all season i'd watch every episode appointment television i'm like
i everything is normal until it's not on the internet you know what i mean like it's obviously
like fuck west and fuck amanda but it's also so crazy to be like spam comments about like boy
that's what i mean everyone being like she should be fine or whatever it's like that's not how this
works no no sorry this is reality tv this is the drama that kind of makes the world go around i
feel like people are acting like the way we acted when tiger woods cheated well they they had alarms
non-stop they had like helicopters flying around looking for him like who's doing this i don't know
i did see a tweet yesterday that was like every two years tiger woods either wins the masters or
like gets into a car and dies oh god and it's not not true although it's not untrue him being like
i'm on the phone with trump was crazy after he got arrested after he got arrested yeah yeah i mean
yeah not defending him obviously and not defending amanda or west either but i just like the symmetry
is astounding well i'm not defending anyone in this however i do think west nudes leaking
well i hate that that's where we're doing too much yeah that's where it feels like that's
actually really invasive also illegal and also doesn't have anything to do with this drama
absolutely i feel like that's the thing that like i mean a clearer line but like the comments is one
thing revenge porn is always a totally different one yeah it's so inappropriate it's so heinous
it's such as like it's such a nasty response to what's going on and i feel like i mean i don't
know who leaked them i haven't seen them do you have you seen i saw them one to ten that's like
and that's why it's not okay and that's we just and we just acted out a scene of what you should
never do when faced with nudes leaking i i they simply just saw them on twitter oh twitter oh
twitter's kind of nasty like that i forgot one more thing about west though yeah his dad
and you've brought you brought this to my attention before west's dad
sexy sorry him falling into that split at that wedding like okay like father like
son why can't they both hit a split that's crazy can west hit a split he hit a split a few times
in fact in a way where i was like stretch my brother your dad don't need stretch he was off
book dad was off book west different story but if we're admitting some truths at the moment
bro there there's a guns mining but why was i listening why was i streaming
jesse solomon's music and why is it kind of good i was like not
too much well let me say this i am a bit of a jesse solomon defender i know you are he's looking
your type no he literally is wait when you were watching the show and you were like oh this big
old grin i know you like his ass i was like i do guess what i do um that's so funny i was at dinner
with some friends a couple weeks ago and i was like oh like okay like girls let's talk about
summer house yeah and the boys at the dinner were like uh now hold on now it's not just for girls
like i'm i'm jesse solomon's number one streamer
on Spotify
when he's in my
Spotify wrapped
Then you know it's to you.
His music is very, like, Michael Buble, kind of.
Yeah, kind of folky a little bit.
He's definitely, like, the pen doesn't go crazy,
but, like, he has a really nice tonality to his voice.
And I remember it when he sang his first,
What would Jesse Solomon do?
I haven't listened to the music.
Is that the real song?
No, it's when he sings on the show.
And it's, like, a full track.
Like, there's a bridge, like, in front of everyone.
It's crazy.
It was, like, his first season.
And everyone's, like, wasted singing along, like, yes!
Wait, I thought that was, like, truly a joke track.
Nope, it's on Spotify.
Wherever you stream.
I know what I'll be doing tonight.
I like Jesse Solomon.
Except for when he asked Wes for permission to kiss Ciara.
That, I hated.
I hated how that went down,
even though I actually felt like I understood.
Because he did the right thing.
Which is, like, if you're going to mess with your friend's ex,
I think it's great to at least ask.
I just think he's probably dumb.
Well, of course.
I think he was well-intentioned,
but it just came out in a bad way.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Um, well, I can't wait to listen to Kyle DJing
sometime soon in the near future.
We should go!
We go to Soft Bar to pregame.
Yes.
Softly.
And then we take a shot, Loki, at a different bar,
and then we go to see Kyle on his ones and twos.
I can't wait.
Playing that Wes diss track.
Okay, last question.
What do you want out of the reunion?
A fist fight.
I want the girls to tussle.
And I want Ciara to. You know I like when girls fight.
I'm, like, problematic like that.
Country.
Country.
What do you want?
I want that one scene of Mia.
I will stand at attention and salute
when she says,
you left your marriage to be one of Wes' side bitches.
That's crazy.
You know what you're going to be?
You're going to be, like, the Eagles lesbian fan.
Yes, yes!
That's like, let's go!
Let's go!
That's you when Mia clears her ass.
That is literally you.
I can't wait.
I can't wait.
I'll film it.
I'll film it.
I'll post it.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Just as a bit,
love or hate her, Lena Dunham?
Love. And then let's react and say, you know. Oh, you don't want to say anything like that?
Because they killed me in the comments?
No, no, no.
No, no, no, no, no.
He's like, you saw the. I'm. Choke.
I got. Listen.
We're going to start over.
I'll say. Okay.
Go ahead.
Well, I'm scared now.
Oh, my God.
I. I'm a lover of Lena Dunham.
I love her.
That's my mother.
And you can tweet until you get blue in the face.
I don't care.
She can have whatever she wants.
She is a. She is a full plate at our table.
Come on out, Lena Dunham.
It's a real bullshit.
Oops.
I'm sorry.
I'm a mess.
Here we go.
Okay.
No, let's get in it.
This is the thing about Lena Dunham
that most people don't understand.
Panko's crazy every single time.
Every single time.
Except for Sharp Stick.
Other than that,
Panko's crazy every single time.
Good for you.
I think that truly she is
one of one in every way possible.
And also, like,
the stuff that she has lived through. She's, like, been a woman on the internet
at the exact wrong time
to be a woman on the internet ever.
Oh, my God.
Yes, yes.
Like, the constant kind of
Gawker, Jezebel,
Cut, Vulture,
Think Peace era,
BuzzFeed,
Business Insider,
you know, whatever.
All of that,
plus being in Brooklyn,
First Lady of Brooklyn,
plus making a really incredible TV show
that had no diversity,
and then they brought in
Republican Childish Gambino,
and, like, that didn't work.
That was Republican Childish Gambino.
It was insane.
But you are telling me
that I'm supposed to hate the woman
who put Marnie singing Stronger
and Adam Driver dancing to Valentine
by Fiona Apple.
I'm supposed to hate her?
She put them in the same episode.
I'm supposed to hate that?
And you're supposed to hate
the one who had the line,
Did you leave in a rush?
That's an auteur.
One Man's Trash, anyone?
Oh, wait, which one was that?
That was the Patrick Wilson episode.
Oh, that one
and the Marnie episode, obviously.
Oh, Panic! at Needle Park.
Of course.
Panic! at Central Park.
Yeah, that was a real idol.
When I say,
we have to come clean about something,
we do,
we hate to brag,
but this is just the truth.
That's the most L.A. thing
I've ever heard.
I hate to brag,
but it's just the truth.
It's just the truth.
Okay, go on.
It's my life.
What did I say?
We met Lena Dunham
at Gloria Seidem's house.
You said that?
You said that, like,
that's our drag normally.
That we just, like,
go to Gloria Seidem's house
all the time.
No, no, I said it like,
like, it gooped me,
it gagged me to be like,
wait, what are we doing
in her home?
Like, we should have to pay
a fee or something.
But,
and the funny thing is,
when we arrived at the event
a little bit late,
we are,
they were like,
does anyone want to sit
in the front?
Oh, girl, I got my purse.
Hunter, I said, let's go.
She literally charged
in the front.
One thing about Peyton,
she loves to take a seat.
She loves to pop a squat.
If there's even
a halfway
bench-like surface.
Don't bring it up.
She's gonna sit.
She's gonna sit.
She's gonna take a sit.
And I grabbed Hunter's
little wrist,
I said, we sit in the front.
I said, Rosa!
We sit right in the front
because I was like,
this is a woman that raised us.
Like, I am so,
we are so,
she went through the trenches,
as you said,
so that we could fly now.
She walks, we could run
a little bit.
Yeah.
And a lot of people
in a lot of ways.
Yeah.
It's like a little less
of a heinous time
to be a woman online.
But we talked,
it was a talkback
for FameSick,
her new book.
And it just,
you know how sometimes
a talkback can be like,
okay, like you are just
wanting to hear the sound
of your own voice.
I felt so involved
in the conversation.
I felt so invited in.
It felt so,
just like warm and honest.
And I feel like this,
you know, I'm not,
I'm only like 300 pages
in right now,
but I think like,
I've already taken
so much away from it.
It's like doing
the artist's way.
I've like released
so much shame
while reading it.
I'm not even joking.
I'm literally like,
oh, I feel like
to be in a body,
especially as a woman,
is a baseline of prison.
And then like one,
really grappling with like
what it's like,
how we treat sick people,
especially chronically ill people.
And I just,
I think doing like a public,
like being real,
doing like a public facing
job is really hard.
And it's so easy
to constantly think about
what other people
think of you.
Yeah.
And for,
to watch her approach
in 40 with what seems like,
I don't want to say grace
because that feels like
it like pedestals her
in this way,
but it's just like honesty.
Like just being like,
this is exactly what I am
and who I am
and it's beautiful.
No, speaking of that
sort of reflection,
one of the parts
of the talk back
that I really resonated
with the most
was her saying,
looking back,
I don't think I was like
ready for public consumption.
Like growing up,
like among artists
as a city kid,
things that felt provocative
to other people
did not feel provocative
in her house growing up.
And that she always
wanted to be
you know,
like center of attention,
like hanging out with adults,
like being around older people.
And all of those qualities
which made her
such a good writer
also made her like
truly not aware
of how things
would come across
to people who
didn't grow up
the way she grew up.
Like if you grew up
in the suburbs,
had like a conventional upbringing,
yeah,
she would be pretty shocking
like not wearing pants ever.
And all of those things
I thought like
that's a really,
you have to reach
a real place
of like self-awareness
to see that
and also to not take that
with a lot of
blame, guilt, and shame
that I just grew up
in a different way
and things that
are normal to me
are not normal
to other people
and I was unequipped
at that time in my life
when you're like 24.
And that's another part
of the book
that I really love
is like I wish
it had gone more
and I would love
to ask her this
like how she thought
about how much of girls
to talk about in the book
versus,
because it does kind of
move pretty quickly
through the seasons
but the most time
on the like
talking about the show
is spent on
like the pre-production
whenever she was like
casting Jemima,
whenever she was like
writing the scripts herself
and that stuff
was really moving
because it's like
oh, none of this
happens overnight
and for someone
who has seen like
such an overnight success
it really,
that moment of her
and Judd
and Ginny Conner
working on this show
they didn't know
there was going to be
they just wanted
to make it together
was very special
to read about.
Yeah, and I think
also something that
this was like in some
I think it was
Las Costas Risas
where she was talking
about how like
she wrote her first book
in like eight months
and then wrote this
in eight years
and it really,
just being reminded
of the value of like
taking your time
with a thing
where like
we're only taught
to like over-consume
and over-produce
and most of it's half-baked
and like
which is why
we're probably always
seeped in regret
of like a thing
that we didn't really
fully sit with.
It's so nice to see
like this version of her.
I think something
that really struck
a chord with me
was not just in the book
her health issues
which like felt
so difficult to read
as an empathetic person
or a person
with a heart and a brain
but when
in that talk back
when she was like
you know people want
to shame everyone
for self-diagnosing
on TikTok
but it's because
we just aren't
afforded the tools
and this is a person
with money and privilege
and is still not knowing
what's going on
in her body
and it reminded me
of this one time
I have now been
diagnosed twice
with pretty severe ADHD
Hunter's like
I've known
some fucking college bitch
who could never
tell a story straight
but she's like
I could have written
that for you
but I remember
the first time
I talked to a doctor
he was like
oh well you graduated
college so
and you live in New York
on your own
so I don't think
you have ADHD
verbatim
and then
was like
you know what
I don't think
you need Adderall
I think you need
to be on birth control
and I was like
wait what
and he's like
you said you weren't
on birth control
and I was like
no
and he was like
well why
I'm like
well I'm gay
and he was like
you still need
to be on birth control
and I was like
I'm gonna close
my laptop now
but that's like
a very normal experience
for a lot of young women
and that's like
so small scale
compared to like
everything that she went through
and I don't know
it just made me really think about
like
how little we think about chronic illness and like how much,
we're taught to like push through especially in women like how illnesses show up in women is
under research under diagnosed i have adult onset adhd self-diagnosed however in my self-diagnosis
i did do a lot of research into how a lot of girls are not diagnosed with adhd until they
become adults because in boys it's like oh his grades are bad or it looks like this in boys but
women are just naturally trained to be high achieving and to be so you know accommodating
that it yeah like endure and i only found out because my all my friends who are women of a
certain age were then getting diagnosed later in life and that's very similar to the email that she
got was an email or letter it was an email from a woman who has like i've read everything you've
written on lenny letter about your illness i've seen everything that you've written on instagram
about your illness and i think that you have this very rare connective tissue disease and it matched
every single one of her symptoms and then i think another very important moment in the book is after
the hysterectomy that she gets at 30 she gets a lot of pain and she's like oh my god i'm gonna die
and she's like oh my god i'm gonna die and she's like oh my god i'm gonna die and she's like oh my god
elective elective hysterectomy um jenny her writing partner at the time calls her mom and
is like okay great so like now she's healed and her mom is on the phone like no no this is only
the beginning like now we have a diagnosis that's the first step in you know how to live in this
body in this life yeah and that was like a real moment of of um that really shook the table for
me i thought that was really beautiful yeah speaking of her mother i her mom and her dad in
like all right that's enough like let's get let's be strict with it but also like it's so like a
fierce protection too and it's so lovely to watch or hear about the way that she had been parented
yeah which is i think she's saying says a lot is such a rarity yeah to like really have parents
that like are real with you but also ride for you in a very serious way and like always be behind
you yes and one of the i think more unexpected parts in the book that i really really loved was
her writing about how her parents
how they like you know sort of had to reorient their lives around her fame and her art and how
they'd always been the artist and her mom like her mother's work was so important is so important to
her mother and yet now she's just lena dunham's mom yeah yeah and i thought wow as a woman that
must be you know for some people um and gloria signum said this like she felt like she was
living through her mother's like wishes totally as a writer and reporter because her mom didn't work
um whereas lena on the other side of the room it's like no you
actually have lived your own dream because your mother lived her dream and yet you've eclipsed her
in some ways and that's that's just a totally different experience and like also really
beautiful i feel like we've probably talked about this before but like what girl are you
and you can make it complicated if you want you can do like sun moon rising i'm not gonna make
it complicated because you know what you post about leo's on your close friends i said she's
getting into it i i didn't realize i was an ai video i feel so stupid now just like my dad oh
my god
no i'm like every old person i like got taken in my ai video but it did say that leo's have a warm
heart but a long memory and that is true don't pull up those files girl if it happened to me i
didn't i didn't and it happened to you i didn't forget it either that's true actually if you mess
with me once hunter will never forget it i will never you you know you can't tell me everything
because i'm gonna keep a grudge she played with me but she don't play about me i'll tell you that
okay what girl are you what girl um i you know what
i think i'm a shoshana i think i used to be a marnie but i think i'm way more of a shoshana
because the marnie the marnie um singing career that's like too delusional i'm way more shoshana
where i'm like i'm gonna we're gonna make it happen we're gonna be a little grounded in reality
yeah yeah but yeah that's i think that's you and you have sense yeah but like also like when you
want to crack it open pure heart oh my god which girl are you um jessa rising of course oh here we
go this is how i know you're making complicated yeah yeah okay okay i'm i'm a jessa rising i would
say i'm a marnie's son maybe shosh moon i said all of that maybe hannah moon yeah probably i said
all of that and you know which girl i am i am andrew randles yes you are and your dad is gay
you are so what's his name in the show um oh shoot i can't remember elijah yeah when he
wears when he shows up to lunch wearing the scarf and saying he's gay and hannah is in is in
disbelief she's like that little scarf is like is this about a scarf no the scarf doesn't help
anything oh wait okay top scenes and girls it's gonna be elijah hello elijah's introduction
it's gonna also be did you leave in a rush did you leave in a rush that's the only thing that
has ever done that i will ever appreciate line reading and and then it's going to be a little bit
the the beach house dancing at the end of when they're like all doing it together yeah but i
also really really love when hannah is talking to shows and she's like well i say you're a little
unstimulating and jess is like no i've seen her read the new york times in paper maybe i am more
of a jess than i think like um okay i okay piggyback on that it's it's not the dancing
but it is when shosh is crashing out i love when a beautiful woman oh yes you know what i mean
oh i also have to say in that episode when when elijah's like those carrots are very thinly sliced
and marnie's like they're julienne that's what it means to julienne something
if that you know that's me yeah and also it's like so hungry to be like so pissed about like
just invite him over to dinner we have one no truly okay top three moments and girls
piggybacking off that when um my favorite episode of tv maybe all time which is uh panic in central
park was the part where they're
getting robbed and she was like i didn't even know people got robbed anymore
so me that is literally so you oh my god oh oh my god what the hell like
love her um perfect episode and then i mean i'm such a marnie i might be stronger yeah
i can be your white kate moss tonight just the whole like the true like rearrangement of the
song for her to sing it is like in that dress too about this it's a star to me i also have to say
to me what she made actually oh so that's crazy um but speaking of you know sleeping with your
friend's boyfriend amanda and sierra i do i don't like this episode i don't like this relationship
but i do like when jessa dates adam and they have that big fight that hannah overhears and jessa
says we could die in the same bed and i would never forgive you for like distancing me from
my best friend yeah that was like yeah and even just the shot just of when he's doing that play
and they're across the way from each other and you know i have that exact outfit which does not bode well
for me unfortunately i have that just a cheating outfit i walk around that people are like oh she's
about to ruin a friendship oh also very good taylor swift song um well we could talk about
this all day we could how about you tell us your favorite girls moment yes and tell us which girl
you think we are oh yeah i love that there are wrong answers in that by the way but yeah there
are right ones too like how dare you say i'm a jessa you know that's not true finish artist way
and then i think maybe cut we're done it's done
hi i'm nicole felts global fashion news and features director at vogue and co-host of the
run-through podcast each week on the show our listeners get an all-access pass into the world
on tuesdays join me as i interview influential designers like calvin klein rachel scott and some
on thursdays join chloe mal head of editorial content at vogue us and choma nadi british vogue's
head of editorial content as they explore fashion through the lens of culture with guests like doja
cat and margot robbie listen and watch the run-through with vogue wherever you get your
podcasts and vogue's youtube channel your body is always changing and those changes can feel like a
lot to navigate
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midi health gets it because midi was built for exactly this by women for women their clinicians
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Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The show *Euphoria* has become overly sensational and visually striking but lacks cohesive character development, with storylines feeling fragmented and disjointed.
The wedding episode, while emotionally powerful in moments like Maddie’s grief, is undermined by cringey scenes such as the dance and unflattering depictions of characters like Alexi Deming and Cassie.
Critics express discomfort with the show’s heavy use of nudity and sex work, viewing it as a substitution for meaningful character growth and emotional depth.
There is strong backlash against the portrayal of Cassie, feeling she is reduced to a shallow, objectified figure despite her complex past, and the narrative feels rehashed from earlier seasons.
Fans appreciate Zendaya’s powerful performance as Rue, especially in scenes of vulnerability and emotional authenticity, but are frustrated by the show's lack of narrative coherence and artistic depth.
The leaked audio from *Summer House* reveals deep emotional betrayal and friendship fractures, especially between Amanda and Sierra, highlighting real-life drama with shocking intensity.
The show’s portrayal of West and Amanda’s relationship is criticized as emotionally manipulative and morally questionable, with fans pointing to the hypocrisy of emotional intimacy while engaging in betrayal.
The discussion highlights broader cultural issues—such as gender, chronic illness, and online misogyny—through the lens of Lena Dunham’s work, which is celebrated for its honesty and vulnerability.
Summary:
The discussion critically examines the recent seasons of *Euphoria*, highlighting its visual extravagance and strong performances—especially Zendaya’s as Rue—but notes a fundamental flaw in character depth and narrative cohesion. Key issues include shallow character arcs, particularly for Cassie, and the use of nudity and sex work as narrative tools instead of emotional development. The wedding episode is praised for its emotional moments, like Maddie’s grief, but criticized for cringey execution and lack of consistency.
The conversation also expands to real-world drama from *Summer House*, where leaked audios reveal emotional betrayals and friendship fractures, sparking outrage over dishonesty and toxicity. Fans emphasize the need for authenticity and accountability in storytelling, especially regarding relationships and trauma. The analysis is further enriched by a deep appreciation for Lena Dunham’s candid, introspective work, which explores themes of gender, illness, and self-awareness with honesty and vulnerability.
Ultimately, while the show's visuals and performances are impressive, the lack of narrative grounding and moral complexity leaves many viewers feeling disillusioned.
FAQs
The show is criticized for lacking strong character development, relying more on visual flair than narrative depth, and for making some characters feel stereotypical, especially through excessive nudity and shallow storylines.
The wedding episode was initially exciting as a unifying moment, but it was criticized for awkward scenes, such as the dance sequence and the prolonged shot of Maddie feeling grief, which many felt were underdeveloped and off-putting.
Cassie is seen as being reduced to her physicality, with her storylines focused on body image and sex work rather than meaningful character growth, leading to accusations of being shallow and sexist.
Fans are generally positive about Rosalia's casting, praising her physical presence and performance, and believe her inclusion adds a bold, authentic energy to the show's themes.
The leaked audio reveals emotional truths, such as Amanda's fear of hurting Sierra’s friendship by confessing her relationship with West, which fans feel adds depth and realism to the show’s drama.
The relationships between characters, especially in moments involving betrayal or emotional conflict, feel forced or performative, with fans noting a lack of genuine emotional complexity or growth.
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