The Euphoria Special Episode is a Character Study (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Yes! It is time for me to once again gloat about the fact that I can write my subscription to HBO Max off on my taxes by making yet ANOTHER video about Euphoria! HA ha ha ha!

___________

Readers, for those of you who watch and follow the show, the first special episode of Euphoria dropped on HBO Max just in time for Christmas 2020. Take that HOWEVER you will.

While not exactly a season 2, due to the current filming rules regarding the current health and safety crisis kinda making it hard to do so, this series of special episodes -- while still taking place after the events of season 1-- are supposed to be more intimate moments with specific characters of the show as a way of giving us something to tide us over until there’s a way for A24 to film the second season safely.

/And, as you would imagine, the first episode is centered around Zendaya’s Rue./

The setup is actually quite clever. Rue and Ali, a character she met in her AA meetings that took it upon himself to be her Jiminy Cricket during the second half of season 1, meet up in a damn near empty diner to talk about the events of the season 1 finale and how life has been treating them since then

We find out that the end of the season 1 finale wasn’t just a special segment to celebrate it being the finale; Rue really did relapse when Jules left to the disappointment of a lot of us

We also get a better look at Ali’s character and worldview since this episode focuses on the two of them, and Rue makes the decision to inquire about a few things regarding his own struggles with addiction

/But the most important takeaway from this special episode -- and probably the tone thats now going to be set for all of the OTHER special episodes as a result -- is how it acts as a character study for not only Rue, but for every other character that’s gonna be the prominent focus in future special episodes/

You see, it all trails back to what I said about season 1. While there is in fact a plot in the first season, the show is written first and foremost with the characters in mind and allowing them to follow the trail of the overall plot of the show at their own pace.

As I stated in my video about season 1, this is the difference between being a plotter writer and a pantser writer.

Plotters plot out damn near every single aspect of the story in order to set a proper pace for the progression of the plot. This even includes character progression, which is why depending on the writer or the property, sometimes it feels RUSHED.

Pansters, however, tend to let the characters actions and decisions set the pace of how the plot progression is handled.

Which, while is GREAT for people who prefer stories with more fleshed out characters within them, might suffer from things like the story moving too slow for some to properly enjoy.

Euphoria has been established as a show that favors the pantser ideal of a character writer over the plotter as I’ve stated in my video about the first season.

And this first special episode -- especially considering how it handles dealing with Rue postseason 1 -- is proof of that, considering it mimics an aspect throughout that usually goes hand-in-hand with this type of writing.

/Now, considering the type of things Ali talks with Rue about before the intermission -- and yes, that smoke break was sure nuff an intermission -- it might be a bit hard to catch considering. But Ali actually goes out of his way to grill Rue about some interesting stuff that seems to all summarize how Rue has developed over the course of the previous season./

Some of these things we already knew about her, considering what we’ve seen throughout said development of season 1, and some we just...assumed about her BECAUSE of what we’ve seen.

But it’s thanks to these direct questions and receiving a proper dissection of the answers she gives him that we get to see the root of certain beliefs and experiences she’s had.

Such as why she doesn’t believe in God. Such as why she doesn’t believe she’s worth redemption after threatening her mother.

/And the deeper it went, the more I realized as I watched the episode that I wasn’t just watching a Rue-focused episode. I was watching Rue’s character sheet./

Now I know the term character sheet might mean something COMPLETELY different according to the person, and trust me, I understand. But in this case, I must establish that I’m NOT talking about D&D or any other tabletop RPG. Let me explain.

So, if you’re anything like me, then you were introduced to the world of text RP forum boards by your weeb high school anime club acquaintance turned one of the only good and close friends from high school that you still talk to.

You laugh, but I’m absolutely POSITIVE that there are some of you who relate EXACTLY.

When you’re creating your character in the world that this text RP forum is based in, you have to fill out and post a character sheet that -- depending on how edgy they are or lack thereof in some cases -- will either get approved or denied by the moderators.

On the character sheet that you’re filling out, there’s the traditional stuff: Name, age, sex, sexuality, backstory, things like that

But also on said sheet, there’s more complicated stuff. Like Personality Traits. Goals. Wants and desires. Likes and dislikes. All the things that separate a character from a concept.

Depending on the type of person that you are, you either already have that associated with the character you’re creating and are ready and willing to type it on the character sheet template, or you’ve only gotten as far as the basic stuff and the backstory and have to really think about what makes the character you’re creating truly tick.

And it’s totally fine if you’re one of those individuals who are the latter. Actually, I think it's safe to say that we’ve ALL been the latter once in our lives for those of us who enjoy telling stories.

What Rue’s episode has shown us in this regard in adding to the fact that Euphoria allows its characters the pantser freedom of following the plot at their own pace as opposed to the plotter’s linear line...

Is that these special episodes are going to be visual depictions of these broader and more detailed versions of the character sheets I described.

They’re gonna allow us to see what these characters truly are on the inside now that the initial information we were given about them over the course of the first season has been updated following the finale...

And we now have a better chance to understand their headspace and true machinations going forward.

That way, when season 2 does arrive, we have these special episodes -- these character sheets -- to reflect on why whatever decisions and actions they decide to make over the course of it have been made. Because now that we have them, we can better understand them.

Am I saying that Plotters can’t utilize character sheets or special episodes the way Euphoria is currently utilizing them? Absolutely not.

But considering that Euphoria is a character-driven pantser narrative in the same way that George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series is a character-driven pantser narrative -- A Song of Ice and Fire, not Game of Thrones; there is a difference...

It benefits a show that focuses first and foremost on the characters over whatever endgame there is, to give as much attention to them as possible.

/And the best way to do that for a show with a character-driven pantser narrative is to see what truly makes them tick. And Rue’s special episode does that BEAUTIFULLY./

But, I digress Readers. Your homework assignment for the day:

Write in the comment section below what you thought of Rue’s special episode of Euphoria if you’ve seen it.

Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, the first time you were introduced to the concept of character sheets outside of tabletop RPGs

Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d LOVE to know your thoughts.