Euphoria is currently in hiatus while writer Sam Levinson works on season 3 of the series. The long waits are characteristic of the show, and in the mean time, Zendaya, Sydney Sweeney, Hunter Schafer, and Maude Apatow have discussed what they want for their characters in season 3.
Euphoria is one of HBO's flagships. Zendaya's role in Euphoria is Rue Bennett, a teenage girl who finds herself addicted to drugs following the death of her father. She also suffers from various mental illnesses and struggles to keep them all under control - her struggle with mental health and sobriety forms the emotional crux of the series. Meanwhile, Sweeney plays Cassie Howard, one of Rue's friends who doesn't have a concept of self-love, instead trying to find validation through men. Schafer portrays Jules Vaughn, a young girl also trying to find validation through romantic entanglements. Apatow is Rue's best friend Lexi Howard, a girl who struggles to make herself heard.
In an awards show Q&A, reported on by The Hollywood Reporter, the actresses discussed their characters after a screening of the season 2 episode, "Stand Still Like a Hummingbird", which saw Rue running away from her mother (Nika King) and sister (Storm Reid) as they tried to get her to go to rehab. Sweeney said that what Cassie needs is family, while Apatow, who plays Cassie's sister Lexi, says her character should stop trying to tear herself down and stop engaging in negative self-talk.
Meanwhile, Schafer stated that Jules is looking for closeness with another person, while also trying to find someone who doesn't judge her. As an LGBTQ+ character, Jules has faced a lot of adversity while trying to accept herself. Zendaya, meanwhile, stated that Rue, to put it simply, "is literally just to be able to be alive and maybe enjoy it.” She stated that she hopes that Rue can find “a little bit of happiness and a little bit of joy.”
The series has frequently focused on Rue's mental health and her struggle to find happiness in life. She turns to drugs because they provide her with the titular "euphoria" - her other mental health issues cause her to become numb and unable to enjoy life. The character is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, OCD, and possibly a few other disorders. Rue's struggle to live with these disorders is one which many can relate to.
Zendaya actually makes a note that Levinson, the creator of the series, based Rue's struggles off of his own addiction struggles. She states that it's for this reason she believes Rue can make it out of the series okay - Levinson did it, and serves as a beacon of hope that it can be done.
Source: Euphoria Q&A via The Hollywood Reporter