‘Euphoria’ Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Made You Look’ Review: KittenKween

Euphoria takes a look at the world from a troubled young adult’s perspective. It brings to life an array of unique characters, all capable of catching and keeping one’s attention. At this point, the focus shifts to a particular person, along with her memories and troubles. In an upper-class suburb, the show brings us the stories of young adults living their lives in America.

On Sunday’s episode of Euphoria, Kat Hernandez (Barbie Ferreira) enters the world of camgirls. Meanwhile, Jules Vaughn (Hunter Schafer) falls further in love with a guy she met online, Tyler, who is Nate Jacobs (Jacob Elordi) secretly using a gay dating app. Meanwhile, Chris McKay (Algee Smith) and Cassie Howard (Sydney Sweeney) spend the weekend at McKay’s college frat initiation. That night, Rue Bennett (Zendaya) lies to everyone at Narcotics Anonymous.

Online Sensation

Eddy Chen/HBO

The summer before high school, Kat started writing fan fiction about One Direction. Her works became surprisingly popular online, but she remained anonymous in real life. After her sex video goes viral online, Kat realizes that the people on the internet surprisingly want her. Also, Kat’s identity remained private, so she stays unknown. Because of this, Kat decided to be a camgirl. At first, it was merely a playful experience, but when she meets Johnny_Unite_USA (Jeff Pope), she realizes that she can make money out of being a camgirl.

Kat’s insecurity developed during her childhood, so resorting to the internet to get a sense of validation came naturally to her. Even as she reached young adulthood, Kat still faced the idea of body shaming, perhaps more prevalent compared to her younger years. Once again, she finds strength in getting applause (and money) from online strangers. Kat’s situation mirrors situations that happen to an arguably considerable amount of young adults. The era of the internet brought a new way for people, not just young adults, to connect and feel wanted.

Tyler

Eddy Chen/HBO

Much like Kat, Jules also relies on the internet for yet another integral part of human interaction: love. A lot of things stand in the way for Jules to build friendships, let alone find love in a new neighborhood. Most people do not pay much attention to her because of being the newbie, and her sexuality was also something that made people (particularly men) ridicule or belittle her. Aside from Rue and Kat (though not really), Jules had no friends, so when Tyler comes into the picture, she readily goes head over heels for him.

Jules and ‘Tyler’ have a forbidden relationship. Jules may be out in the open, freely living as she pleases, but Nate is still in the process of exploring and accepting his sexuality. Being raised as a strictly masculine man turned Nate into who he is now. However, it is his discoveries about his dad, Cal Jacobs (Eric Dane) that plant the seed of doubt in him. Nate’s age range is usually the time for a person to be having self-realizations aimed for crafting one’s identity. With that said, the show seems to hint to Nate’s story as a journey of such circumstances.

College Frat House

Eddy Chen/HBO

Cassie and Chris’ relationship portrays what is new in a modern-day romantic relationship. Geographical distance is all but a hindrance in their case. Also, liberal concepts such as sending nude photos to your partner practically become a way of expressing love. Parties, although often portrayed as avenues for breakups and cheating, can be a means for a couple to have fun. In Cassie and Chris’ case, it was Chris’ college frat initiation. Perhaps one scene that best describes their experience is when they each drank a shot of water with live goldfish in them. Freaky.

Indeed, the traditional boundaries of a relationship no longer exist in this generation. Technology beats distance, nude pictures become the currency of love, and crowded house parties become venues for wild dates. The American dating scene does not necessarily require all these things, but they sure are mundane and acceptable. Goodbye bouquets and chocolates, hello nude pics and [apparently] goldfish shots.

Fraudulent Sixty Days

Eddy Chen/HBO

Rue initially had no intention of staying drug-free, but meeting Jules changed that. Her experience at Fezco’s (Angus Cloud) involving a gangster/drug dealer expectedly should have sealed the deal and stopped her from doing drugs, but that is not the case. Now that Jules was falling for a guy online, Rue found herself alone, especially after the awkward kiss. Arguably, guilt was the only reason that Rue still went to Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Unfortunately, that guilt is the same reason that made her resort to drugs once more, and a fellow NA goer decidedly stepped in to put Rue on the right track.

The trickiest part of the show is how it handles Rue’s situation. The tension within her can be felt by the audience no matter how hard Rue tried to hide it with witty jokes and remarks. Despite the many characters of the show, Rue remains the most important but does not necessarily overshadow the others. Often, she narrates the story of the other characters. Rue unites all the others even though she does not maintain close friendships with them, except for Jules, of course.

‘Euphoria’ Season 1, Episode 3 ‘Made You Look’ Final Verdict

Euphoria exemplifies in presenting the complexities of the society through the looking glass of our generation. Each facet of a young adult’s life has a corresponding character in the show. Also, despite its premise found in many TV series, it stands well thanks to its unique way of presenting its take on such a proposition. It relies on making situations real and relatable rather than shock value scenes and typical angsty atmospheres.

Euphoria continues Sunday, July 7th with ‘Shook Ones Pt. II’ at 10/9c on HBO.