After heavy anticipation for “Euphoria”’s second season, the show returned with an impactful soundtrack curated by Jen Malone alongside Labrinth. You may have already heard Malone’s work in the popular shows “Atlanta” and “Yellowjackets”. This time around, we heard snippets of Labrinth’s former fan-beloved soundtrack return to follow along the characters’ lives. Songs like “Nate Growing Up” and “All For Us” remind the audience of how they’ve felt while watching the series. In this undoubtedly painful show—where there is already a wound, these flashbacks dig it deeper.
The first words spoken by Rue in season two drop us directly back into that troubled world—one of curiously flawed characters, the pain and pleasure of young relationships and unruly decision-making. The show opens with a scene that instantly reminds viewers why Euphoria had the impact it did.
“Fezco’s grandma was a motherfuckin’ G.”
His grandma steps out of her car in a royal blue suit and black heeled boots as suspenseful snare drums roll in and Billy Swan sings, “You know I can be found, I’m sittin’ home all alone,” while we follow her in slow motion into a dark strip club. Past a dressing room full of dancers, Billy continues, “Don’t be cruel,”—his voice in a low country longing— “to a heart that’s true.” The camera pans to Fezco’s grandma, gun in hand, suit swimming in blue light. When she reaches an office and interrupts a man in an intimate moment, his swivel chair turns toward her as she shoots him in both of his legs without a second thought, the lyrics continuing with a cynical irony, “the future is bright ahead.”
She returns to the car parked outside after where a young Fezco sits in the back seat, looking at her quietly with a black eye, and the song repeats again, “Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.”
The song “Don’t Be Cruel” was written by Otis Blackwell and originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956—a version in which the tempo is much dancier and accompanied by guitar riffs and backup vocals that give the song Presley’s classic swing. Swan’s 1974 version, bruting with echoey vocals that carry over very minimal instrumentals, tells us—without a need for Rue’s narration—exactly what we are seeing. With this song accompanying her unflinching boldness, we know exactly who Fezco’s grandma is—beyond protective, smart and alone: she is a boss.
It’s thanks to Malone, too, that many songs have seen a resurgence on platforms like TikTok and music streaming services. This holds true especially for Gerry Rafferty’s “Right Down the Line,” whose soundbite on TikTok is used in videos with millions of views and likes. The song received 9.3 million streams in January 2022 alone.
We are first introduced to the song in episode one as it plays in the background of Laurie’s kitchen, a character we know little about even by the end of the season, beyond her role as a drug supplier. Laurie’s partner, “Brucie,” taps the stereo on and demands at gunpoint that everyone undress as the intro to the song plays. The 1978 single plays in its romantic, wholesome tone while the characters stand silently in fear, slowly undressing in a stranger’s kitchen. Again there is irony pushing tension on the viewer—a feel-good throwback song serves as a backdrop to a high stakes, life-threatening scene. Just after everyone puts their clothes back on, Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work”—although originally written about a relationship—suits the scene well, as Laurie sits down to ask, “So are you all ready to do some business?”
One music score from episode one sparked debates across the internet. After Orville Peck’s “Dead of Night” plays while Nate and Cassie drive under the influence to a party together, arguments erupted over whether the song fit the scene realistically. Ultimately, whether or not we are supposed to believe that Nate Jacobs would ever listen to Orville Peck, we all felt the artist’s looming suspense as Cassie leaned out the window of the truck being driven by the frequent villain of the show.
“Live or Die” by Noah Cyrus and Lil Xan has a strong opening impact in episode two. Beyond its harmony and resemblance with Labrinth’s style of music in the soundtracks, it feeds into the emotion of a moment when we see into Nate and Cassie’s relationship for the first time: their most intimate moments, how they speak to each other, how they feel around each other. Because their relationship is wrong, but seemingly so gentle in this scene, the lyrics “live or die” sink and weigh heavy on the viewer.
All the while reconciling with her past, it’s always a pleasure to see into the life of Maddy, especially when Judy Garland helps provide that lens. While Maddy is at work at her babysitting job in episode two, she soaks in the glory of the wealthy mother’s wardrobe—one that she herself aspires to have. “Come Rain or Come Shine” replicates her internal emotions while approaching the clothes, feeling them and trying them on—seeing herself as that same wealthy, beautiful woman. The scene ends with Maddy standing in the mirror as Judy sings “I’m gonna love you,” something we know to be true of Maddy’s intentions, especially in the second season.
In one unforgettable moment, we flashback to Cal’s highschool life, everyday of which he spends with his best friend Derek, who he comes to love romantically. At the end of their last summer together, they’re drinking at a bar alone and put on “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS. They make a scene of jumping and spinning around, headbanging to the drums before ending up close in eachothers arms. “Two worlds colliding,” the song goes on as the camera pans around them, dizzying, and they kiss. We feel the urgency of their relationship in the nostalgic 80s rock.
During episode four, Mahalia Jackson sings over a sequence during Maddy’s birthday that follows her and her friendship with Cassie, along with Cassie’s secret relationship. As Cassie struggles with her guilt, Maddy reflects on her leftover feelings and trauma from her relationship with Nate. While everyone in the scene is broken and confused, the slow, sorrowful words of “Summertime/Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” swallow the viewer into fear and sorrow for the sake of everyone’s heart. The song is mature beyond what we often project onto highschoolers. There’s a wisdom and pain to Jackson’s tone that seems unfitting for characters who are ultimately kids. Then again, everything about the show seems mature beyond highschoolers, too. It is a beautiful, heartbreaking scene—one where we perceive Maddy as a tortured and gentle character. Whether or not it feels good or reflects real life, we are right where show creator Sam Levinson and Malone want us to be.
Meanwhile, Labrinth’s most powerful moments come in episodes four and five. Towards the end of episode four, he cameos in a scene with Rue during which we watch her attend a funeral, possibly a vision of her own, and he sings to her while she stumbles and cries, “Hey Lord, you know I’m tired.” The song “I’m Tired” was written for the show by himself, Zendaya (who plays Rue) and Levinson and performed by Zendaya and Labrinth. This pivotal scene, during which the audience is unsure if Rue’s dying, dreaming or just feeling the effects of the drugs she’s taken, is amplified by Labrinth’s church-echoing use of organs to cue us into feelings of grief, mourning, uncertainty and sorrow.
This is followed up in episode five when his score follows Rue as she runs through the street while experiencing symptoms of withdrawal, with sound effects mimicking what sounded like record scratches and metal dental tools at work. Her uncomfortability, detachment from reality, anxiety and physical state is echoed in his music.
Nearing the end of the season, we finally get to watch Fez and Lexi’s relationship close up. While watching the 1986 drama Stand by Me, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” plays as they bond over the depth of young friendship, and the pains of growing up and growing apart. They hold hands, side-by-side on the couch, and the familiar song floods the sweetness of the peace they find in each other.
The final two episodes show the performance of Lexi’s play, during which we fade in and out of flashbacks, cut to Fez getting ready to attend and watch the audience react and remember their own lives. The musical choices in these two episodes are no longer omnipotent. They are a part of Lexi’s character—Lexi’s choices for her play. It is only fitting for her sarcastic-toned critique of life to feature “Holding Out for a Hero” by Bonnie Tyler, during which the football team displays hyper-sexualized, exaggerated desire towards each other. While this moment in Lexi’s play might reflect distasteful implications, the song choice is well-played to match how a highschooler might make humor of that scenario from afar.
The final episode of season two has very minimal song features compared to most of the others. As the characters and the play do most of the speaking for themselves, we are met with a series of delicate, reminiscent piano ballads and instrumental solos. It is through these ballads that we gain finality—of relationships, of unresolved conflict, of characters. They carry us through Lexi’s emotional memory of the life the characters all lived together, including her reunion with Rue after the play.
In a moment of truce between Elliot and Rue, he plays her “Elliot’s Song,” one that was humorously argued by many viewers to take up too much screen time. Just his voice and guitar, he goes on for over three minutes as we witness their exchange of forgiveness, expression of love and deep acknowledgement of one another.
“I think you may be my only friend,” Elliot sings. “I hope it was worth it in the end.”
Like most aspects of “Euphoria”, these final scenes stir up a storm of confusion, empathy and pain for the viewer. The subtlety of the final musical choices leaves a vastness of room for the viewer to sit back in that world and reflect on the complicated characters, the intensity of relationships and the parts of their own lives that peek through in recognition.
To relive the most memorable moments, you can listen to the full soundtrack here.