Played with devastating nuance by Zendaya, Rue is the show’s narrator and emotional core. A drug addict fresh out of rehab with no intention of staying clean, Rue is both a product of her environment (a traumatic birth, her father’s death from cancer) and an agent of her own destruction. Her genius lies in her self-awareness; she knows her addiction is killing her, yet she uses it as a shield against grief and anxiety.
Sydney Sweeney has said that Cassie’s superpower is her empathy, but Euphoria shows that empathy without boundaries is self-destruction. Cassie has been defined by men her entire life—from her absent, alcoholic father to the string of boys who use her body and discard her feelings. Her need to be loved is so desperate that she will shape-shift into whatever a man wants. euphoria personajes