This February, when everyone else was eagerly watching the Bengals and Rams battle it out in the biggest football game of the year, I was instead watching a Superbowl of my own: Euphoria’s showdown between Cassie and Maddy was what I had been looking forward to all year, and no game was going to keep me from that.
Season one of Euphoria detailed the depth of Cassie and Maddy’s bond, but season two revolved around its demise. Cassie’s clandestine affair with Maddy’s abusive ex-boyfriend was a betrayal of the utmost degree. Social media surged with flashy edits and think pieces about who was in the right. One of them had to be the bad guy. How could Cassie fall in love with the man who ruined Maddy’s life? Was Maddy even a good friend to begin with? Friendship breakups often cut deeper than romantic ones, because these are the people you CHOOSE to bare your soul to, not because of blood ties or with an expectation of sexual intimacy. So my heart broke when I saw Maddy and Cassie on opposite sides of that door. They had been torn apart to two extremes of the same coin: the male gaze.
Maddy’s backstory showed that even from a young age, she knew that her only goal in life was to look pretty and be taken care of. And with parents in a verbally abusive marriage, can we really blame her for her relationship with Nate, a man who imitated the only form of love she had ever known? Her anger should not perpetuate the “angry Latina” stereotype or drive us to see her as an antagonist. Instead, through the lens of her childhood, we can see she is a deeply wounded girl underneath her tough exterior. She wants control, and her experiences with men have pushed her to always seek that elusive upper hand, even through admittedly immoral ways.
On the other hand, Cassie isn’t searching for her soulmate – her whole adolescence has been searching for validation from men who clearly only want her for her body. But time and time again, she finds herself back in their arms, because she is stuck in an endless cycle: if men only want her for one thing, maybe that’s all she has to offer. By the end of season two, she understands she can no longer play the victim. She has become the “villain,” by abandoning her friends and family in search of an unconditional love; a love her absent father left her without.
One of my favorite authors, Margaret Atwood, said it best in The Robber Bride:
“Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it’s all a male fantasy: that you’re strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren’t catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy… You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”
There is no victim or villain in the Maddy and Cassie saga. They are a reflection of the viewers: women who either pretend to be the cool girl, or women who give up and let themselves become the crazy girl. But the reality is that the fronts we wear to disguise ourselves from the constant surveillance of the patriarchy can quickly crumble. Female friendships are one of the only places where women can bring down the mask – and that is more valuable than anything a man could ever give.
The Maddy v Cassie showdown was also MY superbowl and truly a better viewing experience than any football game ever played. One of the things I think Euphoria gets right (because, let’s be honest, Sam Levinson does a lot wrong) is the dynamic between Maddy and Cassie. It is so intensely real to the feminine experience, specifically in high school/youth. Maddy is far more heartbroken over the loss of Cassie and her betrayal than she ever was with Nate. Their bond is actually valued in this show and portrayed as so ultimately important, which is rare for media (specifically that created by men). Maybe it is time for a rewatch, lol.
I’ve never seen Euphoria, but the amount of buzz that has surrounded the show is inescapable. It sounds like a very interesting situation, and I completely agree with your take on it. I also love the quote you mentioned form Margaret Atwood. A lot of relationships in media focus on the woman’s desire for the man, further emphasizing the falsehood that women should cater to the men.
I remember all the hype surrounding Euphoria and how much fun it was when a new episode would come out, so this was really fun to read! I agree that neither of them necessarily had to be definitively ‘good’ or ‘bad’/’villain’ and ‘victim’ and that they were both grey characters. I really love the topic that you chose for your blog, it’s so interesting and creative!
Girl, on this fine morning I decided to throw back to one of my favorite of your blog posts that I never originally commented on. First of all, I just love Euphoria. It is such an interesting take on the high school lifestyle, and while many of us did not live in Rue’s world, the themes are strong and relatable to all young people. Euphoria puts a huge emphasis on the male gaze, but it is specifically present with regard to Maddy and Cassie’s showdown. I find the way the two girls are pit against each other for the attention of an abusive male with more issues than I can count to be disgusting. I hate when any male figure comes between my friendships with other girls, and I think Euphoria displays the phenomenon nicely, but also gives a viewer a look into the problem with the whole conflict. Women can be strong, independent, and successful on their own; I use media like Euphoria to remind myself of that.