Via Daily Mail
“Ready for round 2”, tweeted one of the many enthusiasts of HBO’s trending drama, Euphoria, commenting about the lead actress, Zendaya’s, out of this world, highly awe-inspiring performance that managed to leave an impression on every one of the show’s 13.1 million viewers. In the fifth episode of the show, ‘Stand Still Like the Hummingbird, Zendaya delivered one of her finest performances that will always remain a cinematic masterpiece. Round 2 (from the tweet), signifies the tweeter’s expectancy of Zendaya being handed yet another well-deserved Emmy for her rendition as the protagonist of the show, Rue. There’s a high probability that you’ve come across a tweet or Instagram post about this specific performance. However, personally, the portrayal and delineation of the central idea of the series, particularly in this episode, left me in incredulity, or rather, took my breath away.
The pre-eminent theme of the ‘Rue-run episode’ was centered around drug addiction. Unlike other cinematic forms that have a very feigned representation of this tremendously sensitive subject, Euphoria surpasses all of these portrayals. Yes, as critics remark, it is boundary-pushing. Regardless of this, it depends upon your perspective and vantage point to either apprehend this at the surface level or, to all intents and purposes, appreciate the honest and highly realistic portrayal of the matter in question. What’s more, this episode serves as the peak of the protagonist’s substance abuse and the culmination of her self-destruction. It’s an episode packed with catastrophic outbursts, bringing the audience into contact with Rue’s vicious side, brought out in response to the narcotics. The episode covers how Rue lashes out at her own flesh and blood, not to mention her demolishing the majority of her house in the process. Following this, she’s chased by the police throughout town although this leads to her seeking yet another dosage of drugs from her drug dealer. If you were asked the theme of the episode even based on this succinct description, you’d say masochism, addiction, or destruction. That’s where the beauty of the character and Zendaya’s stagecraft perfection comes into play. Unnaturally and quite unanticipatedly, you’d feel a glimmer of hope for Zendaya’s persona. Rather than unequivocal despise and instantaneous repulsion from the character, you’d feel a scintilla of empathy and predilection for the character. The reason for this? It’s the exceptional enactment of Rue, by Zendaya, where a crucial yet esoteric essence of the whole series is expressed, which is that it is the flaws of a human that ultimately shapes them into a ‘human being’ and ironically makes them capable of being loved. Rue projects the realities of human beings and their blemishes and flaws that contribute to a human’s splendor and soul. Thus, in a compelling manner, exhibiting the wisdom and enlightenment of the truth that if the audience succeeds in having a sensation of faith and hopefulness in a mere character; a stranger, whom they’ve laid their eyes on for just a few hours, it should be inculcated in them; if not quite discernibly, then associated with the intensity of their hearts and the insight of their minds, to feel in their bones, this identical sense of hope and unbounded forgiveness for people in their environment. As a consequence, this particular characterization explicates a lesson of utmost importance for each and every one of the show’s viewers, who range from jaded teenagers to percipient and spirited adults.
Another one of the chief impetuses of Zendaya’s ‘second Emmy’ is the depth and level of emotion you could perceive by a single glance at her character through every second of the episode. The slow-motion ‘euphoric’ effect panned onto Rue’s face and what could be seen as the intensity of sentiments harmonized with the beauty of each emotion, whether positive or negative, hopeful or pessimistic. There were small moments in the episode and in actuality, there are such instances in life, where amid all the chaos, one can become cognizant of the faith and optimism in the worst scenarios. While managing to elucidate that whether the final outcome is good or bad, it’s really the small moments of ‘euphoria’; a feeling or state of a rhapsody of emotion and fleeting elation, that contribute to the sanity of an individual, Zendaya leaves us with an unforgettable 54 minutes. If you ask me, the Emmy is imminent. As the writers describe it, “Fate has a way of catching up with those who try to outrun it.”