The hand that rocks the cradle.
Warning: Spoilers ahead. Do not proceed if you have not watched the second episode of ‘Euphoria’ Season 3, ‘America My Dream’.
Before the second episode of “Euphoria” Season 3 aired, Sidney Sweeney’s OnlyFans baby clothes were already receiving backlash. When the shocking footage was shown in the trailer, viewers criticized it as “disgusting.”
Sunday’s episode, “America My Dream,” sheds some light on that background, but it doesn’t make series creator Sam Levinson any better. This whole failure shows how he lost the plot.
In this episode, Cassie (Sweeney) wears a diaper, a sheer pink top and braids, spreads her legs, and poses for a photo while sucking on a pacifier. Her intention is for the photo to be “sexy”.
Kathy then showed her baby photo shoot to a friend, explaining that she did it to cater to “a whole subculture…adult babies.” She continues to receive “all kinds of requests,” she says.
As she explained in the season premiere, she’s doing these photoshoots to make money on OnlyFans to pay for the $50,000 flower arrangement she wants for her wedding to Nate (Jacob Elordi).
On screen, other characters call it “disgusting” and “disturbing.”
So the show doesn’t act as if it’s acceptable. But just acknowledging it is not enough. Who is this visual of Cassie dressed as a baby aimed at? If Levinson scores any points other than shock value, he misses it by a mile.
It’s good for shows to be provocative, but this goes beyond that. This is such a loaded image that one fan commented, “That’s pedo shit,” but it’s irresponsible for Levinson to present it without interrogating it and with minimal comment.
In an interview published on April 12, the showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter that Cassie’s OnlyFans outfit was supposed to be “absurd” and “humorous,” as well as “depressing.” But there are thousands of other outfits that can convey that. It didn’t have to be a baby.
While the first two seasons had some vulgar and surprising moments, “Euphoria” portrayed the girls’ lives with a degree of empathy. Season 3 just stares at them and dehumanizes them.
In season 2, Cassie humbled herself for Nate. The show seemed to be having fun with it too much. But there was a bigger point to that story, as it explored how a girl like Cassie can destroy herself because of a toxic man. It’s an experience that many viewers can relate to or recall witnessing.
When Cassie dresses up as a baby in season 3, “Euphoria” isn’t saying anything thoughtful about a particular experience. It’s not asking us to understand her actions. It makes for such a mean punch line that it feels mean to her.
Euphoria premiered in 2019, before the star-studded cast including Zendaya, Sweeney and Elordi became big stars. The first two seasons depicted the hedonistic antics of high school students.
First, the question is, “Who is this aimed at?” It turned out that almost all of them were. When Season 2 aired in 2022, it became the second most-watched show on HBO after “Game of Thrones,” with more than 18 million viewers.
It resonated beyond Gen Z because it was full of old pop culture references that weren’t realistic for Gen Z (like characters in Halloween costumes from Taxi Driver and True Romance) and encouraged Gen X and Millennial viewers to reminisce about their own teenage experiences.
When Cassie wears baby clothes in season 3, I’m not sure it resonates with anyone, aside from creepy people.
At the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Levinson was asked about the sexual content in the show. He answered, “We live in a very sexual world. In terms of the psychology of young people, the influence of pornography is very strong.”
Sure, it’s a thought. And in season 3, he doesn’t have it anywhere other than vaguely gesticulating about it and flaunting the fact that he seems to be well-versed in porn. congratulations.
Season 3 is filled with visuals of pornographic “fetish” content, such as Kathy and Nate dressed as dogs pulling on a leash, and there’s nothing more to say than “Watch this!”
“Euphoria” has always been a provocative show, but its first two seasons also had deep meaning. In Season 3, this provocation is nothing more than empty anger fodder.
