Season 2 of Euphoria continues to illustrate that Zendaya is the program’s most valuable asset, as she delivers yet another outstanding performance in the HBO series. The 25-year-old multi-hyphenate began her career on the Disney Channel original series Shake It Up, but she has steadily progressed into more mature roles with better success than many of her colleagues. Zendaya originally appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming and has since played MJ in all three MCU Spider-Man films starring Tom Holland, as well as roles in The Greatest Showman, Dune, and the Netflix film Malcolm & Marie. Zendaya, on the other hand, shines brightest in Euphoria.
In the HBO drama, Zendaya plays Rue Bennett, a juvenile addict who has struggled with mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and OCD since she was a child. Rue has struggled with drugs since the beginning of the program, as a result of this, as well as the death of her father when she was young. The show also centers on Jules, another Euphoria character, and her confusing connection with Rue, and the cast is rounded out by a slew of irresponsible teenagers who test the show’s credibility. Thankfully, Zendaya is there to bring it all back to earth.
Rue is the show’s main character. Rue’s voice can be heard throughout Euphoria as the omniscient narrator of events at East Highland High School. While it can be difficult to sell narration or even change people’s preconceptions of voice overs in a genre where they are frequently overdone, Zendaya’s lifelike acting is ultimately what makes the narration, as well as numerous other aspects of the series, work. Zendaya also embodied this grounded acting style in the Netflix film Malcolm & Marie, but it’s the HBO program where she really shines.
One of the most typical accusations directed at Euphoria is that it places a premium on style over substance, but Zendaya has always been the film’s secret weapon. After winning Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Primetime Emmys for Season 1, Zendaya became the youngest woman to do so, and Season 2 of Euphoria proved it wasn’t a fluke. She makes the program incomparably better, and she reinvigorates it when she’s in scenes with other characters whose plots are otherwise flat—she’s show’s throughline, the one who grounds it and communicates its so-called mission statement.
Euphoria is ultimately an examination of addiction, informed in part by writer Sam Levinson’s personal experiences, and it’s now one of HBO’s best shows, thanks to Zendaya’s candid representation of a very real problem. After Rue’s relapse at the conclusion of season 1, Euphoria season 2 appears to be looking into this further, but it’s clear that this tale wouldn’t work without Zendaya’s performance to anchor it. The “style over content” complaints are not without merit, but they may be overlooked when a performer like Zendaya is able to honestly convey a very real struggle that rises above the din. Euphoria isn’t perfect, but it’s an unflinchingly honest and harsh portrayal of something that affects millions of people, with a central performance that elevates the film’s other, more salacious content.
