Euphoria’s second season premiered January 9 consisting of eight, hour-long episodes. So far this season, the actors have delivered phenomenal performances, specifically Sydney Sweeney and Maude Apatow, who play Cassie and Lexi. Not only did they give emotional performances separately, their scenes together really showed the actors’ off-screen chemistry. Luckily, this new season has included more scenes with them, specifically Lexi, who wasn’t done justice last season with minimal scenes and a weak storyline.

At the beginning of each episode there’s a flashback scene dedicated to a single character that allows viewers to learn about their backstory. This gives insight on why such characters behave the way they do. More specifically, Cal Jacobs, was given quite the bittersweet origin story despite being, arguably, the most unlikable character on the show. Yet, I felt a lot of empathy for him. It doesn’t excuse his actions, but it’s a logical explanation for why he’s treated people the way he has.

I felt like some of the storylines have been dragged on, leaving less room for other characters to shine, for example: the Nate, Maddy, Cassie love triangle. Sure, it’s interesting, but it seems way too predictable. In my opinion, I feel like the creators are spending too much time on Nate. He frequently taints his life, and the lives of the girls he decides he wants to use to distract from his own inner conflict with his sexuality. I wish there were more scenes exploring some of the new storylines such as Lexi and Fez.

The cinematography was out of this world amazing. Much of the stories were told visually, with less dialogue. That being said, the heavy visual allusion is reliant on watchers understanding the symbolic references. Although it was aesthetically pleasing, at times I felt confused trying to understand the important plot points.

The final two episodes were dedicated to Lexi’s play, in which she depicted the show’s main characters through her point of view. She’s previously been such an overlooked character and it was refreshing to see key events solely through her perspective. These last two episodes were by far my favorite as they had great comedic elements, while filling the missing storylines I was hoping to see.