Euphoria has gained a huge following over the last few years and the second season has continued to grip fans. With the show's heavy focus on high-school students and coming of age stories, the characters are prone to making questionable choices.
The show focuses on a number of serious subjects and themes such as drug abuse, sexuality, and toxic masculinity, and every character has their own internal struggles. From Rue's gaslighting of her family, Cal's dramatic meltdown, and Cassie's relationship with Nate, the characters' chaotic behavior has continued throughout season 2.
Leslie Bennett
Leslie is often in the background, but she is integral in showing the impact of her daughter Rue's addiction. While she has a number of tense confrontations with Rue in both seasons, Leslie reaches the end of her tether during season 2.
In a particularly honest conversation, she tells Rue that she needs to focus more on Gia instead of her, showing just how tired and defeated she feels as she tries to keep her daughter clean. Although she doesn't always make the right choices, Leslie clearly has her daughter's best interests at heart and is understandably devastated to see her falling apart.
Gia Bennett
Gia is often overlooked both by her mother Leslie and the show in general due to her sister, Rue's troubles. Although she's still very much in the background, during season 2 viewers are able to see the true impact of Rue's behavior on Gia.
Gia is clearly terrified about what will happen to her sister and it's mentioned by Leslie that she's begun acting out at school. She is also gaslit by Rue, as she believes her about the drugs she's taking, and it's clear just how much she's struggling in the little screen time she gets.
Kat Hernandez
Despite being one of the best Euphoria couples in season 1, Kat and Ethan get very little focus in the second season. Kat acts more like Maddy's sidekick and is by her side most of the time.
When Kat is seen with Ethan, she is shown doubting the relationship and struggling to understand her own feelings or be honest with him. When the subject finally arises between the couple, she tries to manipulate him into believing the breakup is his fault, which is a disappointing direction for her character. Ultimately, Kat is given so little focus in the season that her feelings around her relationship with Ethan are unclear and never fully explored.
Lexi Howard
Lexi is often on the sidelines and even describes herself as an observer; this is perfectly highlighted in the second season through her play. She draws on her own trauma and the experiences of her friends in order to put on a suitably dramatic performance, showing just how much she really does notice.
Lexi and Rue have one of the best non-romantic relationships on Euphoria, and their conversation about the loss of their fathers in the final episode of the season is a perfect showcase of this. While she is certainly one of the more sensible characters, Lexi's choice to present her friends' and sister's trauma in her play without telling them first is slightly questionable. She seems very aware of the chaos the play may lead to but goes ahead with it anyway; however, this is refreshing, as Lexi is finally doing something for herself and stepping out of her sister's shadow.
Fezco
Despite his 'profession', Fezco is actually one of the more rational characters on Euphoria. Early on in the season, fans finally get to see Fezco's backstory, which explains how he found himself in the lifestyle he now has.
At the beginning of season 2, he badly beats Nate at a party in front of several witnesses which could have had dire consequences. Through his newfound bond with Lexi though, Fezco really turns a corner and somewhat distances himself from his usual way of life. That being said, this means he takes his eye off the ball and doesn't notice what is going on around him in regards to the police raid at the end of the season.
Maddy Perez
Maddy's toxic on-off relationship with Nate certainly makes her one of the most chaotic characters in season 1. However, the lack of a reunion with Nate in the second helps to keep her more grounded than before (even though this is more down to Cassie's involvement with him rather than her own doing).
Maddy does consider getting back with Nate prior to this though, despite the awful state their relationship left her in previously. Unsurprisingly, she also prepares to get violent with Cassie after Rue reveals she's been seeing her ex, and she even sends her crashing face-first into a wall during the last episode. That being said, for Maddy the confrontation is still fairly restrained, and she warns Cassie that her ordeal with Nate is far from over, which shows she has grown and can finally reflect on the true toxicity of their relationship.
Jules Vaughn
Although Rue tends to overlook her and treat her badly, Jules certainly isn't the ive girlfriend she wants everyone else to think she is in the second season. Jules' part in Rue's intervention comes from a place of , but her connection with Elliot certainly doesn't.
While Rue is extremely distant and even cruel at times due to her own troubles, Jules deals with this in the worst way possible. Instead of trying to talk to or understand her girlfriend, she instead confides in Elliot. When Elliot comes along, Jules is suspicious and jealous, but it's actually her who ends up cheating with him, which is something that Rue has yet to discover.
Nate Jacobs
Nate is one of Euphoria's biggest villains and has a lot of internal issues stemming from his relationship with his Dad. Nate's toxic masculinity means he mistreats most of the women in his life, and his relationship with Cassie is no different. He constantly pulls Cassie in only to ignore her later, and he even berates her for the inappropriate nature of their relationship.
Dating his ex-girlfriend's best friend isn't the height of Nate's chaotic behavior in the season though, as during a terrifying confrontation he threatens Maddy with a gun. Nate often uses anger to express himself, which is shown multiple times throughout both seasons.
Cal Jacobs
Cal is definitely one of the most morally bankrupt characters in Euphoria. In season 2, Cal obsesses over his past and causes a scene when he goes back to the same bar where he shared his first same-sex kiss as a confused teen.
Cal spirals out of control after this and in a drunken meltdown, he confesses his infidelity to his whole family and cruelly names Nate as his worst mistake. He then flees the family home, leaving them to deal with the aftermath of his revelations. By the end of the season, all of his relationships have broken down and he is finally arrested for his crimes.
Ashtray
Despite having very little dialogue, Ashtray has a large role to play in the second season. In the beginning, fans finally learn how Ashtray and Fezco first came together. However, in the present Ashtray's behavior spirals out of control when he brutally kills Mouse and Fezco is forced to deal with the aftermath.
Ashtray's behavior is at its most chaotic in the season finale when he kills Custer and refuses to back down during the shootout with the police. Ultimately, despite Fezco's pleas for him to stop, Ashtray shoots at the police and is seemingly killed as a result.