I'm not going to do a full discussion of the Euphoria show because it is disappointing of what has become of it and you don't really need to regurgitate what everyone's been feeling.
But I do want to talk about addiction because it really struck me after finishing the show. Spoilers in case you didn't watch it.
For me personally, I have not dealt with addiction in such a life-threatening way. I don't abuse substances, I'm not an alcoholic (though people joke with how much I can drink), hell I'm not even prescribed to anything besides birth control. You can argue that listening to music is an addiction. But it's not the same as something that can ruin your life.
I've had a lady come to me today (at the time of writing this). She was wanting to get help with her housing and rent but there was no one available to speak with her. She was talking about how she was clean from drugs for 10 years and she came all the way from Coquitlam to the office. She said she felt such a bad presence from being in this area again. I am happy for her that she could overcome addiction and have her family back. Despite having difficulty with renting, she did seem happy because she had her kids and her partner and is healthy. I am happy that there are people like her out there.
She mentioned about this "presence" that spooked her. She is talking about addiction. It made me think about this video I've seen awhile ago about this man who overcame addiction. But said the same thing that there is always something lurking and waiting for you. Addiction.
I fear addiction from drugs a lot. I would never touch drugs and I don't even smoke. I've been always scared of what drugs could do to you. I remember having a dream when I was kid. I was walking home and some junkie was going after me trying to puncture my skin with needles. And it is really tough growing up in Vancouver because seeing drug paraphernalia is so common. I used to find needles in my schoolyard all the time. Junkies would come hide out in our yard at our house. Junkies would steal things out of our yard. Friends and people you know would become junkies and steal from you. If you had to go to downtown, you would unevitably go through Main and Hastings. No kid should have to feel fear like that. I found out that a girl I volunteered with had died from an overdose weeks later. A friend of mine died of drugs. I've had family members die of drugs too. And being around this your whole life is really hard.
Even though I'm in that mindset where I could never do drugs, addiction could happen when you least expect it, especially being administered drugs when you're in a hospital for example. But it really is crazy seeing people you would least expect to be addicted.
Last year, the bus I was on broke down at Main and Hastings and I had to get off. Not a big deal, I walk through this intersection frequently. I decided to walk to school since it wasn't that far. As I was walking, there were a group of junkies sitting down by a building. And they look how you would imagine, in rags and looked unhygienic. But what was horrifying to me was this. Sitting with this group of junkies was this totally normal looking man smoking whatever drug they had. He was wearing business casual, clean-shaven, and looked like was on his way to his 9-5. While I think vulnerable people deserve to have empathy and their basic needs met, it was just so appalling seeing someone that probably had a life look like they were going to through it all away.
I get that Euphoria is supposed to have this realistic narrative when it comes to addiction. Rue arguing with her childhood best friend as their last interaction was hard to watch. Her last interaction with the person she supposedly loved, Jules, was also an argument. Rue died sleeping on Ali's couch was unexpected because no one goes to sleep thinking they won't wake up, especially at her sponsor's home. She didn't get to see the people she loved, like her mother, her sister Gia, and Fezco. These things happen and you never know when your last day is.
My gripe with the show though is that it shouldn't have ended that way for Rue. But I think this ending was more in the name of storytelling than the reality that addiction is always lurking. I did find the storyline with Alamo to be interesting. But looking back, it was not in the best interest of the show because he took away attention from the girls of Euphoria and made them essentially side characters. While having Alamo was entertaining, it was too theatrical and took away from the core narrative from Rue's story with addiction.
It made sense for Alamo to give Rue the fentanyl-laced pills because he is evil and knew that Rue would take the pills. She did take the pill for actual pain as she'd seen Alamo take one himself. But she was pretty much in recovery by that point as she refused pain meds when she was with the nurse. It's just so disappointing that Rue died this way because it wasn't her fault at all - it was actual murder. I guess this was fuel for us to be angry to have this big Taratino-esque finale.
I just think that this outcome for Rue was a disservice to people that face addiction because this ending skewed Rue's story and wasn't realistic at all. While it is an option to have Rue die truly because of addiction, it would have overshadowed Rue's growth as a character because you could see that she was hesitant to take the drugs she used to take. But I think we all wanted to see her be clean, free and happy.
Yeah, I really hate how Euphoria ended. It shouldn't have been that way but I think that Sam Levinson was incapable of writing of a complex story to finish the show. Sure, he could write whatever the fuck for Cassie, Nate, and everyone else. But I think Rue deserved a better narrative because there are so many people that face this reality and this show was her story.