it's crazy to me how people are so supportive of lexis play when she basically aired all of her sisters trauma to everyone for laughs - like making fun of nate with the dance sequence was one thing but cassie is her sister. i love lexi but if my sibling did that to me i'd never forgive them

Likable characters are not always “good” characters. Cassie is fascinating, and it’s because the writers are not trying to make you like her. She’s supposed to spiral. This is a test of empathy and understanding, not an effort to appease fans through fan service.

What's important about her throwing Rue under the bus for being a drug addict is that a big reason why her father ended up abandoning her is due to drugs. She was abandoned by her father because of drugs, and she doesn't have any sympathy towards anyone addicted to them.

Cassie has a borderline absent mother who’s always drunk who disregards her. Cassie has gotten NO help. She literally threatened self harm/suicide for help and her mom brushed it off and her sister called her pathetic. Yeah, it was pretty pathetic, but it doesn’t negate the obvious cry for help. Meanwhile Rue has a mom actively fighting for her to get better. I really hope Cassie finds a reliable support system bc that’s really the first thing she really, really needs

I think the lack of help that Cassie has received, compared to Rue going to rehab etc, is the justification of her not apologising or fighting against her impulses - she hasn't been shown how. Cassi getting some therapy would be a wonderful and empathetic way to show that her problems are real and can have a huge impact.

as a girl with *HEAVY* _daddy issues_ and a *NEED* to _male validation_ (although i quite don’t like men): *i totally understand* how cassie views herself and the world. especially in the scene where she's crying and hitting nate, but also being hugged by him, i felt like this scene was made to show us how she resents the male figures of her life (dad, boyfriends, etc) but also feels the need to be taken care of by them, because her inner child didn't got this from anyone. i lived practically the *SAME* things she lived, so i'm empathetic, but i don't support her relationship with nate. maddy deserves a better friend.

I think that the way she's been received and valued by the world is also a very important piece of the puzzle. The formation of her identity is undoubtedly linked with the way she's viewed by men, and has internalized that view of herself. From the lack of a father figure and her clear lack of male friends, I'm guessing that the only male interest that she ever received since the beginning of puberty is sexual, therefore, internalizing her value to men as sexual. You see it with her bf in season one, when he's not feeling well, and she wants to help, she offers sex. Now, that's not what he wanted nor needed but that's what she was taught men wanted and almlst deserved from her. Her fear of abandonment cannot simply explain her behavior, sexism, and maybe more precisely, the male gaze is also at play her.

Sydney sweeney needs an emmy, best supporting actress in the show by a mile Everyone else is great but she was next level this season

I think this is a really good and humanizing take on Cassie. In “reality” she’s just a broken kid figuring this shit out too tbh. Her and Rue. They clearly have A LOT of pain that they just don’t know what to do with.

The strange thing about Euphoria’s fandom is how people seem to side or look for villains and heroes, when in reality the show is scripted in a way that everybody is both these things at different times. If the creators used as much « morality » as the fans the show wouldn’t exist. The reason why it is so big is because it has depth and truth, not like all these « typers » who can’t wait to open their mouth to show that they know what is the right thing to do.

As someone whose best friend did actually date my abusive ex in high school, I still feel nothing but agony for Cassie. She's a walking tragedy. Watching her lose sleep and scrub herself raw and degrade herself trying to get a moment of attention from a guy she already knows doesn't deserve it is so incredibly sad. And given how that turned out for my own best friend, I'm terrified of where Cassie's story is headed.

one thing i think deserves acknowledgement is how traumatizing it is for girls to be continuously sexualized at such a young age. cassie was basically groomed by everyone around her to submit to demands of the patriarchy and establish her self identity through pleasing men at the expense of her own well being. the only form of positive reinforcement she received was through compliments about her appearance and how desirable she was. pair that with the fact that she didn't receive guidance from her parents to nurture and establish her self-worth, it makes sense to me that she behaves the way she does. its a sociocultural issue as much as it is a freudian issue. and i think that external factor explains why lexi's trauma manifested in a much different way than cassie's despite going through the exact same thing. lexi's growth was internal and her dreams/accomplishments reflected that. if cassie was encouraged to explore her self worth outside of her sexuality, she might've dedicated more of her time to ice skating, or even strengthening her female relationships. this doesn't excuse her behavior, as you mentioned, but i think it's one really important detail that i haven't heard anyone talk about yet.

There’s been speculation that Cassie was written to hook up with Nate this season over him messing around with Jules because the actors don’t get along. But I really feel that the rewrites and changes to the arch came through because of Sydney Sweeney’s range and how over the pandemic, we saw more and more of her in other roles. It honestly would be criminal to have her in the cast and keep her as a side character and under utilize her. I really feel that she’s this generations next huge star.

This is a great video that gives grace to Cassie without excusing her actions, which is pretty much where I'm at with her as well after how this season has been. High schoolers make mistakes, some of them pretty bad, especially when they don't have a good confidant or parent to turn to. She's dealing silently with the pain of her experiences in season 1, her dad is gone, her mother drinks constantly, her sister watches her silently and now exposes her life, which is currently brimming with suffering, in her play. She lives in Maddy's shadow for so long. She's practically alone and probably has issues trusting the few friends that she does have. Of course she gravitated to the man willing to give her attention, of course she moved into his house even after not hearing from him for days, she's so desperate. She's wrapped into the alternating love bombing and abuse that Maddy was receiving from Nate. And I think whenever she manages to exit that situation, she is going to eventually reflect on her actions and have a change of heart that she carries with her in adulthood. I don't think that means anyone that she has hurt (especially Maddy) needs to forgive her or let her back into their life, but moving on and learning from your fuckups is a key part of growing up that never stops, and a lot of people don't stay close to most of their high school friends. Cassie will either fall victim to her misery in some fashion, or escape this and live a healthy life after the loss of most of her loved ones due to her actions. I hope we see her rise from the ashes of her mistakes, express regret to those she hurt and build something of herself. Love your videos, dude. My fav essayist on the platform. Always thought provoking, well structured and beautifully phrased.

How is Nate tamer this season? He literally held Maddy at gunpoint, also people seem to ignore that he's currently undermining and treating Cassie like utter shit, comparing her to his first victim. It seems like it's a lust thing for him, he literally called her Maddy and has constant daydreams about Jules.

I was disappointed with Cassie's reaction once the affair was actually revealed. On Maddy's birthday in the jacuzzi scene, after she vomits she repeatedly says "I'm sorry Maddy, I ruined everything, I didn't mean it, you're my best friend" - which made it seem like she was at her core, a misguided child, immature but genuinely remorseful. But afterwards, she tries to turn the blame on Rue, doesn't say so much as a sorry to Maddy, and takes no accountability. So I guess there won't be much of a redemption. Edit: for clarification I meant that it doesn't seem like the writers intend to redeem her anytime soon, not that she's completely gone

I was really sympathetic towards Cassie up until I saw her say nothing as Maddy cried not about Nate--but the loss of the friendship. And I think what you stated about watching Rue try to ACTIVELY be a good person even as she struggles to give up her drugs is really what makes the difference.

I may be in the minority but I felt that Lexi’s play was very cruel to her sister. I don’t see how anyone in Cassie’s place wouldn’t have felt deeply humiliated and hurt by their sibling showing the entire school every mistake they ever made and portraying them as a vapid, airheaded cartoon to be laughed at. Especially the carousel scene, that went way too far. I think deep down Lexi wanted to be a little cruel to her sister out of anger that has been pent up over the years. (And I’m a Lexi fan!) Cassie’s reaction was very immature but I don’t think any teen would’ve reacted in a rational way if their sibling did that to them.

A lot of people interpret her not saying anything to Maddie when she's yelling at cassie outside the bathroom door as her lack of care for Maddie's feelings, but I think it just is an expression of Cassie understanding the gravity of her actions- what could she possibly say to make it ok? If she just apologized it would have felt pathetic at best and wouldn't change the situation. I think we see her guilt and hatred for her actions frequently like in the hot tub scene when she's vomiting and apologizing to Maddie over and over. I mean, she wouldn't have gotten drunk and freaked out and cried so much if maddie werent in the picture. I think she really does love maddie and is just struggling between that love and her insane desperation for male validation - she just picked what was easier. Ofc I'm not happy with her actions tho.

I think Cassie having an abortion also traumatized her. People dont talk about how difficult having an abortion is for some people. Especially when you are young and pressured to get one. Cassie loved Mckay, and seemed to want the baby before Mckay pressured her to get an abortion. She wanted a guy to love her and wanted a family with him. But she got one because she wanted to make Mckay happy. It didnt show it in the show really, but an abortion is a super invasive procedure and bloody. Even super early in the pregnancy. I can totally see how she spiraled and got with Nate.

props to you for never using the misogynistic definition of daddy issues thats only ever weaponized again women when, at it’s core, it’s an experience of emotions that anyone with the struggle of abandon, neglect or abuse by one’s fatherhood figure can deal with

“Cassie is a frustrating character” “Cassie is engaging character” “Cassie is subjected to Nate’s abuse” “Cassie was great. But is frustrating and pathetic now.” “Cassie has been hurt because of her past.” All valid takes that aren’t mutually exclusive. They’re all correct and don’t contrast.

As much as I hate cassie's transgression, I do think it's realistic for her character. People often let their traumatic experiences dictate their ability to make choices, and sometimes they hit rock bottom before they decide to stay there or pick themselves up. So I don't think what happened to her atm is an example of levinson's bad writing at all

okay but real thing .... if people hate your charecter at certain level you did a great job legit playing it

I think its interesting how euphoria explores over sexualization and objectifcation can really destroys a person selfs worth.

Also nobody seems to talk about how when this season starts were seeing her just after she had an abortion that she wasnt really sure about having? pretty traumatic, of course shes gonna be spiralling now. plus all those sex tapes leaked that she didnt even want to do

Another dimension of the Rue vs. Cassie paternal trauma is one of closure. It's why I don't completely disagree with Cassie when she addresses how difficult things have been for her and Lexi in the fight with her mom, though she comes off as venomous and unsympathetic. At the end of the day, Rue and Gia know they had a good father, who loved them and made sure they knew they were loved. Cassie (and Lexi) have to move forward with the weight of knowing their father "chose" drugs over the wellbeing of their family, and the ambiguity of what role (if any) he may play in their lives going forward. This is why I think Cassie's journey is particularly complicated.

What I find weird is why do we excuse Jules? She did the same thing as Cassie, she cheated on Rue with Elliot when Rue was high on drugs. I know it wasn't on an extreme level as Cassie , but deserves at least 30% of the fire Cassie gets.

The scene where She move to nate's and She punch him while crying meant so much. It was like she was with her father. Huging him and being held like a child , while pushing him like a little girl who's trauing a tandrum. Cry and resenting him for always leaving her behind and not loving her as much as She love him. She hate him,but can't live without the idea of love because She had nothing els left and it all She ever wanted, her daddy to love her and stay by her side, loving her enough to stay and fight what in their way to be together. Yet she resent him for what he made her do.but It's herself She hate the most because at the end it was her choice and her insecurity , her need of being loved that Made her ruin her life. while at the same time she is brainwashing herslef that " it is worth it, It is love", to escape the guilt. And to leave the guilt , she put it on other she find excuse and Put herslef again in the little girl role by saying ITS nate fault, and saying She did it for him. And in a way it's true that its her father fault....

I personally think it’s not “only” daddy issues, I’m pretty sure that Cassie has undiagnosed BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder), which would explain her tendency to get so attached to men so easily and so obsessively and her emotional instability. People with undiagnosed bpd put their fear of being abandoned above anything else and are willing to do anything in their power to stop that from happening. And it just makes so much sense for Cassie, especially combined with her severe daddy issues: seeing her in s1 forcing herself to consent to the s*x tapes so her current partner wouldn’t abandon her, pretending she doesn’t know anything about the rumors about her with McKay so he wouldn’t leave her, considering to have a baby so she and McKay could be together forever, and the list goes on with Nate as well. Cassie has presented other BPD traits in many ways: struggles with identity (dressing up as Jules in 2x03 and as Maddy in 2x03 and 2x07/2x08 to make Nate happy and making sure he doesn’t abandon her, also the “I don’t know if I’m a good person”), has extreme low self-esteem, craves constant validation and attention, has emotional outbursts, impulsive actions and decisions, self-h*rm and/or substance abuse to cope with pain (alcohol in her case), suic*de threats, sees people around her as either good or evil and nothing else in between (for example, she was supportive towards Rue until she told everyone about her and Nate. So Rue = good; after 2x05 Rue = evil) and her opinions change constantly, dissociation, promiscuity, feels love and emotions deeply, obsessive behaviors (in 2x03, when she wakes up at 4 am and dresses up for Nate, her thoughts aren’t “I wanna look cute for Nate”, but more like “Only when Nate acknowledges me I will be worth of existing”). She’s one of the most complex and fascinating characters of Euphoria and I can’t wait to see her in Season 3! (Also loved your video, I completely agree with you)

when maddie said ‘this is just the start’ when cassie said nate broke up with her and it was dead silent, then that one tear went down her face. that was so sinister and telling of what’s to come of caddie’s arc and the dark turns this relationship with nate and cassie will take. it’s going to reveal so much about cassie and her psyche

I think because a lot of the audience consists of teenagers, or even those in their early 20's- Cassie (among other characters) are judged incredibly harshly. I'm not defending her actions by any means, but as a 27 year old looking back, those years are almost inevitably messy. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to hurt people, and hopefully you grow from it. It's easier to feel more compassion for a character like Cassie when you know she's traumatized, young and dumb. If she carries on for decades, that's another story; but Euphoria is a coming of age, and we all have to forgive ourselves and others for the damage along the way.

Such a great video! I'd argue though that Cassie is a serial monogamist rather than promiscuous since a lot of her "promiscuity" in season 1 is assumed based on her looks and the revenge porn that was shared of her.

I see a lot of myself in Cassie when I was younger. Being ‘comfortable’ with misery looks pathetic but the truth is she probably doesn’t know how to get help. People need role models and Cassie does not have a lot of good ones at all.

I would love to see a video on Jules. A lot of people hate her this season and said she never loved Rue but I think her character is A lot more complex than that. Well, I wanna see a whole video in the Rue, Jules, and Elliot dynamic.

I hope cassie gets a special episode like Jules and rue. I think that would bring a lot more empathy from viewers and really dive into her traumatic past

I think the idea that the people who have “lost sympathy” for Cassie simply means they never really understood or wanted to understand her to begin with. I find myself deeply empathizing with the things she does because I can see exactly the ways her mind forces her to do things, even when she likely doesn’t understand why she does the things she does herself. I understand she isn’t a good person. Simultaneously I can understand that she is a deeply damaged person.

Something I love about Euphoria (and why its title is perfect), is that it compares the disease of drug addiction to an addiction to validation and infatuation. Both are shortcuts to emotional highs that make it feel like our deeper wounds are healed, even if only for a moment. But while drug addiction is being increasingly recognized as a sickness that needs treatment and not an inherent personality trait, people who keep seeking out destructive and abusive relationships are still seen as inherently broken people, rather than people with serious but treatable mental health issues. Everything about explaining but not excusing still applies here, but I think it's a valuable comparison and really enlightening for my own life as well.

I have sympathy and empathy for all the characters. We're all humans making mistakes, learning and making mistakes again. All the characters have daddy and mommy issues not just Cassie. All characters have abandonment issues too.

I think the conversation Maddie had with her boss was foreshadowing Cassie's fate, that she will manage to change but her and Maddie's relationship will always be strained because of what happened

Honestly, Cassie is my favorite character. I always had a lot of sympathy for her, mainly because she always struggled alone. Rue has her mother, sister, Lexi and Fez who look out for her and support her through rehab. Maddy has her girls and the mother of the kid she babysits for. Yes, there are other characters with problems, who don't really have people, but Cassie's issues get belittled by her "people". Her mother isn't there for her, her father left them, Lexi puts on a play depicting her as the perfect person in whose shadow she's standing, Nate isn't really sympathetic. She doesn't have anyone, and yes, this might be her fault, but how is she supposed to get better this way. I don't see her as a completely good person, but I do see her struggles. I have nothing against the other characters, just wanted to show that from Cassies standpoint, they aren't helping.

I felt so bad for her when she told Nate “I want to belong to you, everything I do is for you, you can tell me what to do and what to wear and control everything I do etc”. It reminds me of when girls think that putting themselves lower will be seen as a plus and will make the guy want you more. She’s completely reliant on these men to give her any sense of self worth to the point where she lets herself be almost owned by these men. She wants so badly to be taken care of that she makes herself reliant on them. I feel that a lot of people associate being taken care of with being loved and treasured because if I guy did really love you he would want to take care of you like a father would his daughter. Problem is that he didn’t offer to. Making her feel like he has given her this validation when in reality he didn’t. Now she’s entirely reliant on him but the connection isn’t actually strong in real life. He even dumped her very soon after.

One of my favorite part about Cassie’s arc this season is that it’s facilitated such an interesting & dynamic discourse about childhood trauma and hyper sexualization. I hope a lot of people can take away that it’s not about being in the right or wrong, it’s about complexity, and hopefully, sometimes, an ability to improve on ourselves.

Everyone in life is redeemable. That’s what Ali stated in the Rue special.

Sydney Sweeney is an incredible actress. She was fantastic in The Handmaid’s Tale, and she’s even better in Euphoria.

I wish we got a glimpse of how different Mckay reacted to his best friend getting with his ex and how Maddie reacted to it

Something I always say when talking about the show is that our trauma can contextualize our actions but it doesn't excuse them. And we can learn to synthesize with any person but doesn't mean we don't hold them accountable.

This video explains it so well. I think people forget that mental illness and healing from trauma isn’t beautiful. They tend to ignore and be disgusted when mental illness isn’t just being sad. When people are cruel and even gross. People dismiss the root cause and blame the person. Something that really changed my view was the idea that how someone feels is important and valid but what you do with that feeling isn’t. How Cassie feels is important, but she has a victim state of mind. As in she always sees herself as a victim. She hurts and that’s okay, but her taking it out on other isn’t. People will pity you until you do something bad or mean or gross. Then they think you’re pathetic, but they’ll never see you as a person.

This was a really well done video. I haven’t seen euphoria yet, but I know a lot about Cassie thanks to tiktok thinking I’ve seen this show lol. You did a really good job explaining a lot of the videos I’ve been seeing on it

Casie is the topic that I comment every week after a new episode. I cared for her in season 1 because her situation is similar to some girls that I had know and is not a easy one at all. Season 2 is a conflicting watch coming from that place of empathy but as you said, it's such an fascinating turn for her character. I also think that she can be redeemable and I'm very excited to see what would be her last moment in the last episode and next season. Also the most insufferable thing about this arc is watching Nate more often.

People can have a trouble past and do terrible things because of it. However, accountability is still there. Having a hard childhood can be an explanation but one still has to reap their consequences in the end. She has what’s coming for her.

Cassie is also the definition of Hurt people hurt people. She uses the trauma she suffered to hurt others.

I don’t watch Euphoria but I’ve seen enough of it, but Cassie definitely gets a lot of flack [online] basically maddy=good and cassie=bad. This sentiment coming from 14-19yr olds probably. Truth is a lot of teens are actually pretty similar to Cassie and it’s easier to just place the villain label on her. I wonder how people who viewed euphoria would think about Cassie as an older version of themselves

It's interesting to see how the characters, and we the audience, treat two different kinds of addiction. Drugs are vilified, and rightfully so, but love addiction has been lauded as "true love" for generations and is just now being recognized as harmful.

It’s crazy to think about the fact that cassie and Lexi have the same childhood experiences but are so different

I think Cassie put it to words herself when she brought up the point to her mom somewhere in season 2 while they were fighting that Rue's father died, but her father left, and Rue gets all this sympathy and shit for this while she doesn't.

Do you feel that this is a somewhat American problem? Wanting likeable characters or moral integrity over compexity and good storytelling? I don't see this as much in films and shows from Europe (whether that's UK, Germany, France, Italy, etc). European film also does not seem to value purity as much in female characters. The US also seems very forgiving towards male characters and "burn her at the stake" to anyone not male.

I genuinely see her as someone with severe undiagnosed BPD. as someone with bpd myself I act exactly like this when I spiral, especially when it's with my favorite person. when you're in that mindset all that matters is what you can do to prevent yourself from feeling/being abandoned and getting the attention you need to survive and the attention you lacked as a child. It doesn't matter how it just matters when. I've lost friends, I've been in abusive relationship after abusive relationship and cassies story in season 2 reminds me of a situation I've been in twice down to a T and I cannot describe how disheartening it is to see a character clearly hurting the same way you did, being told that they're being dramatic and even as far as wishing that their scu*cide attempt in episode 6 was successful. Because you've attempted the same thing under the same conditions. it genuinely makes me sick to see sometimes. I 100% agree with you saying that an excuse is an explanation but an explanation isnt always an excuse because in my opinion, cassie needs to be sent to the nearest mental hospital and far away from nate, I'm not sure why they didn't take her in as soon as her mom and sister realized that her fear of abandonment was so great that they had to hide knives in fear that she would harm herself. and I hate the way it was played off for a quick laugh. but that's besides the point, cassie needs serious help.

" An excuse always has an explanation but an explanation isn't always an excuse." I wrote that down, thank you.

She grew up only being valued by her looks, she was given compliments for being pretty and adorable, no one complimented her being smart and having an intelligent thought, so she grew up valuing looks over brains, which led to mistake after mistake, guy after guy, who told her she was pretty, who valued her looks, so she went so far to look for someone to love her for who she is, this gave her a narcissistic complex aswell as insane insecurity, she values herself and was valued by her looks, so she thinks she is very pretty, but all of her relationships keep failing, so maybe she's not pretty enough. Add all of this aswell with her abandonment issues from her dad leaving, it is easy to feel unloved, her insecurities and abandonment issues is what makes her manic but her narcissism and growing up being told she was beautiful and that she did everything right by being beautiful, led to her making excuses for her behaviour, so she is simultaneously blaming herself for everything she's done while not blaming herself at all. This leads to a stressful back and forth with her subconscious creating a hostile environment, something she doesn't want to deal with because she wasn't raised to think she was raised to look pretty, so she clings on to the nearest guy and falls in love

Thank you! Im so tired of reading posts arguing whether she's a bad person or a victim when that's not the point!

Finally someone sharing my opinion! Let's not forget she's manipulated by Nate who's directly feeding into her needs and cravings of male validation and attention :(

How much do u think the trauma of Cassie having to get an abortion plays into her actions and emotions this season? I feel like it's part of her story that hasn't rly been addressed enough I believe it to be an important justification for her actions this season.

I think Cassie's family dynamics with her sister and mother are also very complex and interesting - the scene where she stabs her wrist with a corkscrew and says she wants to die and their reactions to it is very emotional and intense, and all three of them just immediately move on in such a realistic but heartbreaking way. I like all three characters and appreciate the nuanced depiction of a dysfunctional family.

She reminds me a lot of Effy from Skins, Effy hurt so many people and used her pain as an excuse and everyone LOVES Effy, I don’t really love either of theses characters honestly but it’s so weird how so many people idolize Effy and hate Cassie when they’re actually very similar characters

I think Sydney would benefit from doing some weird psychological dramas or dark comedies. She really shines in highly emotional roles.

First of all, phenomenal video. Second of all, the difference between "explanation" and "excuse" is something I talk about all the time in our trauma-informed, cancel-culture based, gen z world and I'm so happy to hear someone else talk about it to and the clear way it manifests in the context of this show. Such interesting insight, and like I said, freaking phenomenal video.

3:03 i found it intriguing that nate found his dads collection at 11, but his mom says that he began to get violent around 8-9. if she is correct, this would mean that nate’s anger didn’t stem from his dad, but that it was a part of him the entire time. this contradicts euphoria’s usual way of storytelling and explanation, causing disruption in the viewers’ perception of the characters. we no longer look at what the children were subjected to, but how they subjected themselves to the same things long after they had autonomy over their lives. great video!!!

All the characters including Cassie are fascinating and interesting; people really don’t seem to understand that you don’t have to condone or agree with their actions/thought processes.

as someone who relates to this character to damn near a T, this analysis is really validating, i love me a nuanced villain. ppl so often hear an explanation and get upset that someone in the wrong would even dare to have an explanation for their actions and double on the blame bc it doesnt hold up as an excuse. it should never have been an excuse in the first place and it sucks to see this narrative that cassie is “showing her true colors” when rlly no one showed up for each other in the sea of red flags (s1) and this is where it brought them. there’s truth to it obviously but the phrase “true colors” is so unsympathetic in light of what we know abt her, like she’s been plotting for ages to ruin everyone’s life or something idk. You can usually see when a character’s negative actions are a cry for help, but then instead of getting help they are either demonized with no sympathy or what they do is excused bc of trauma and we pretend that being forgiven will solve their problems. it wont, in cassie’s case therapy will solve her problems, working until she genuinely feels like she’s worthy of forgiveness will solve her problems, and i hope she gets that redemption in the end.

we often forget that we can sympathise with someone without agreeing that theyre not exactly a good character even if their pasts could justify their behaviours. many of us are swayed by the glamorisation of some depictions in movies. we see people rooting for joker, harley and wanda for the same reason some try to justify cassie and defending her. there are real people out there who would use their childhood trauma to justify their lack of accountability in their actions. a lot of characters are perceived as tolerated or excusable when they’re too broken to fix and have these amazing trauma stories. i think every victim in movies(and irl)has a potential to become the antagonist and inflict pain on others. it’s understandable but its just inexcusable.

I do think that Cassie deserves sympathy, it's just that the characters she has hurt deserve more (and also an apology. Or lots of apologies)

I'm so glad you made this video. Your earlier Euphoria video "Teen Melodrama: How Euphoria Gets It Right" is what initially got me into this show and it quickly became one of my favourites of the past few years. It was such a welcome surprise to see Cassie's growth this season, Sydney Sweeney really stepped up her game as an actress. Whenever she's on screen now I'm definitely paying attention. Especially her outburst against Nate in ep. 4 was such a great performance. Honestly there's few characters this season that *didn't* improve in some way, much to the credit of both the creators and actors of the show. I'm so excited (and a bit scared too, honestly) for the season finale this sunday...

This video perfectly captures my conflicting emotions concerning Cassie so succinctly. An amazing watch!👏🏾

I root for her. She's beautifully constructed

cassie had an abortion in s2, was confrimed to be sexually assaulted my male relatives in her childhood, nate was confirmed to bully/make fun of cassie in s1 (lexi confirms this in s2), cassie's mother had to hide knives from cassie in s2 bc she kept saying she wanted to die, cassie's father left her family due to his drinking addiction, yet most of the fandom has no sympathy for her

If you’re into anime, you’ll know that excusing a character and thinking they did “nothing wrong” is a thing that many fans to do many characters (that are terrible people) specifically that are attractive

here's an important point: every human being deserves our compassion. still, that does not mean we should absolve anyone of responsibility for his or her own actions

Loveeee the way this analysis is formatted. Also, Prince of Egypt is my favorite animated movie of all time and definitely see the Freudian parallels there as well.

Honestly the main thing for me is just that Sydney Sweeney is such a phenomenal actress that I am glad she was given such a complex and emotionally disturbed storyline so we got to see her full talents

If Cassie does finally come to her senses and finally gets help she’d actually be one of my favorite characters. I would like to see her apologize to the people she’s hurt and I wanna see her finally comfortable without a man in her life.

Explanation vs excuse - pretty relevant when it comes to apologies too - when you try to explain yourself during an apology, everyone always sees it as an excuse, when rly, you're just trying to explain your side

"Excuses are explanations, but explanations aren't always excuses" Love this

Is funny how everybody hate her so much. I feel like everything that comes out her mouth it must be on the other end of the spectrum of what she is saying. I love him, I hate him. Most of all, she is acting like her mom. Her mom is self harming herself but with alcohol. She never accepted to herself her wrong doing in her failed marriage. I feel like Cassie hates herself more than everybody else. She says “I don’t know if I am a good person.” At some point. So unconsciously Cassie knows she do bad things that should not be done. The thing is that she pretty much haven’t figure out how to deal with her issues. I don’t know if in some level I felt that when I was a teenager. She has been emotionally neglected, with pleasing personality at some degree, not knowing how to say no. Is really complex to just hate her, people forget she is actually a teenager that knows shit about anything. Most of all that, at some point we all had that attitude of no accepting mistakes and that nobody is perfect.

Interesting distinction to draw between explanations and excuses. Tbh I've always held the cynical view that people who say "that's not an excuse" will never care for an explanation.

I literally love cassie character, I could talk about her for hours without getting bored

Yes!! This is literally how i felt about Cassie the entire second season but didn’t know how to explain!! U worded it so well!!

while cassie’s exes treated her badly, none of them were as inherently or intentionally abusive as nate. they weren’t nearly as calculated or manipulative. nate’s abusive behaviour is like a magnet for cassie’s issues in the worst way. it makes sense that he would bring out the absolute worst in her. and as you repeatedly said, that’s not an excuse, but it is an explanation for why he specifically was the start of her downwards spiral.

Tbh, from what i’ve seen on tiktok and twitter, most people have completely missed the mark on who cassie is and why she acts the way she does (i saw someone with a million likes say she only befriended maddy to study and copy her because she is “perfect” and “loved” like cassie wants to be, it made no sense and was a huge reach) she doesn’t get with nate to spite maddy out of jealousy and start some petty high school drama, it’s not that surface level (i mean, nothing in euphoria is) this video explains her character perfectly, “explanation may not be an excuse but it matters” are the keywords to understand her

Some of Cassie’s scenes make me almost cry because she’s so relatable. I’m sure a lot of girls feel this way who have had an abandoned father and have followed down a similar destructive path. I felt like someone is finally recognizing the girl whose pretty and seems to have it all because she smiles and has friends. But he father abandoned her and her mom is an alcoholic. There’s a pressure to be perfect because you don’t want to be abandoned by anyone else and you become a people pleaser. Really it results it borderline personality disorder at least for me. Which comes from a fear of abandonment. The only difference is my family didn’t have money were were poor so it was even worse. I wish I could’ve dealt with my child hood trauma at some unicorn birthday party but really I never got a birthday party at all.

this was such an incredible conversation that definitely encouraging a critical thought, and adds nuance!! Thank you

Thank you for making this, you said everything that needed to be said

It's kinda funny tho how everyone talk like Cassie was the big villain of the show, like she had killed someone, abused someone, when actually she just broke a girl code 😭😭 people act like she was the worst when, if we only look at the fact, she's the most innocent character of the show

So happy you're back! This was such a great video and you really put into words my exact feelings about Cassie this season. I think a video on Nate would be so interesting, since he's probably one of, if not the most complex character on the show

The way so many people on Twitter need to watch this

Thanks a lot for doing this type of videos. The psychologic aspect of this show is really interesting especially to be able to understand your own traumas. The way you found balance between different observativ angle makes it really good. I love the part where you said "it explains, not excuse". Really simple, but really true in some situations.

The thing that this video really doesn't address which has always bothered me to my core is that Cassie wasn't receiving validation from the women in her life, either. Maddy chastises her multiple times for being a serial monogamist but never offers support. She shows no concern when Lexi approaches her, worried that Cassie is missing and vulnerable (from being drunk). She fully recognizes that Cassie is not alright in the bathroom scene, but offers no support or safe space to discuss what's been going on and instead teases Cassie for being unstable. Even earlier on in their relationship, Maddy only one singular time asks Cassie about her feelings (at the carnival). Instead of asking Cassie to elaborate, Maddy says, "well I'm not having a good time either." When Maddy is full aware of Cassie's breakup with McKay, she nevers asks why, but feels free to discuss her breakup with Nate plenty. Maddy is not a good friend. She may not be an evil, sinister, friend who does things to purposefully hurt Cassie (save for the occasional remark), but this doesn't make her a good or even decent friend. Maddy is entirely self-concerned. I cannot name a single friend who did provide the type of attention and support Cassie so desperately desired, and I fully believe that this is what led her to Nate. Maddy never reflects on this. Another thing that I think people forget is that Cassie didn't sleep with Nate to purposefully hurt Maddy. Cassie feels awful about it all season. She knows she owes Maddy better. I don't get how anyone gets enjoyment from watching Maddy physically hurt Cassie after Cassie has been hurting all season. I personally find it really sick. Also, I find it wildly selfish of Maddy. She really does think that the world revolves around her. She really thinks she was a perfect friend to Cassie, and that Cassie did this specifically to hurt her. I think a lot of the women around me have shown their true colors by villainizing Cassie so quickly. Cassie was wronged in so many ways. People keep honing in on the daddy issues when I think the abandonment by her BEST FRIEND is so much more at play here. It was painful to watch her assert her innocence when she realizes how she's been wronged by all of these people, but nobody wants to listen because of the mistake she's made. They're playing it like Maddy is the bigger person who moves away. I think Cassie deserves this arc after everyone has royally fucked her. Even Lexi who she did nothing to except exist.

The idea of excuse vs. explanation is HUGE to me. In the few scenarios where I have been witness to someone trying to explain or apologize for something, or I’ve been the one trying to myself, I’ve always been upset by people who stop someone with “I don’t care what your excuse is.” I see the “excuse” as the starting point- what you do after that is much more important and helps us see if it’s an excuse or an explanation. Someone who is explaining will continue to do things to make it right. Someone leaning on an excuse stops right then and there.

I don't even watch euphoria but you drew me in and I am so grateful to find your channel

My gosh, I love the analysis and differentiation you were able to draw out. What a HUGE lesson and a jewel in story telling 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻