“Euphoria” Actor Alexa Demie Just Revealed The Major Storyline That Wasn’t In The Original Season 2 Script And My Jaw Is On The Floor

The cast literally did a table read of the original script before it was completely rewritten over lockdown.

By this point, pretty much everybody knows that the second season of Euphoria that hit our screens earlier this year is completely different from showrunner Sam Levinson’s original script.

And Minka Kelly, who plays newcomer Samantha, spoke out about her similar experience, revealing that she and Alexa Demie were presented with a brand-new script for Samantha and Maddy’s swimming pool scene in Episode 6 on the morning of the shoot.

Zendaya previously told the Cut that the “majority of the originally planned season was scrapped,” before adding: “There are very few things that remain in the version that you are now seeing.”

The actor, who plays Rue in the HBO Max show, went on to cryptically insist that the changes had been for the best, telling the publication: “The things that didn’t make it definitely needed to die.”

Through the cast’s various interviews, viewers have been able to piece together a vague idea of what Sam originally had in the script.

Overall, it appeared to include a lot more nudity, with stars including Minka, Chloe Cherry, and Austin Abrams revealing that they had gratuitous nudity cut from their scenes.

Martha Kelly also said that there was a “gross pedophilia vibe” in her character Laurie’s disturbing scene with Rue in the fifth episode of the season, which saw Laurie suggest that she will traffic Rue to “sick people” if she couldn’t repay her debts from her drug addiction.

Meanwhile, Javon Walton told how his character Ashtray’s grisly fate at the hands of a police shoot-out in the final episode was decided at the eleventh hour, with Fez, played by Angus Cloud, originally said to be the one in the firing line.

Elsewhere, it was revealed that arguably one of the most dramatic scenes in the series, which saw Nate hold a gun to both his and Maddy’s heads in a game of Russian roulette, was an unplanned addition to the show.

In the terrifying scene, Nate is trying to scare Maddy into returning a video of his dad, Cal, having sex with Jules. It ends with Maddy sobbing helplessly as she tells Nate where he can find the disc.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Alexa Demie — who plays Maddy — explained: “There was a moment where I was gonna give the tape to Jules with a letter saying, ‘I think you’d want this,’ and not say who was giving it to her, but give it back to her, which felt really nice for me.”

“And there was a part of me that really wanted to see that happen,” she went on. “But I think the way it goes down keeps the story going, and it’s drama.”

Now, Alexa has revealed another key plot point that wasn’t in the original script, and told how the cast literally did a table read of Sam’s initial vision, only for everything to have been changed when they resumed production after lockdown.

Speaking to Variety at a red carpet event at the weekend, Alexa shared: “We went to a table read, and it was an entirely different thing. Then the pandemic happened, we had a break, came back and it was a whole new Season 2.”

@varietymagazine
#alexademie on maddy’s season 2 #euphoria arc
♬ original sound – Variety

The reporter then asked if Cassie was with Nate in the original, to which Alexa replied: “I don’t think so! I have a very selective memory so I don’t know [for sure] but I don’t think so.” She then repeated: “I don’t think so, no.”

This is particularly interesting as Cassie’s secret relationship with her best friend’s abusive ex was a key component of the season, and acted as a trigger to the show’s dramatic finale of Cassie’s sister Lexi’s school play.

Sydney Sweeney, who plays Cassie, has been vocal about how she worked with Sam to ensure that the affair is depicted in the most dramatic way possible onscreen, and even revealed that she fleshed out her character’s more emotional moments herself after finding Sam’s script too lackluster.

“Jacob and I did the scene as it was written, and we were like, ‘There is so much more here that we could do that’s pent up. Let us build it,’” she told the Cut of Cassie and Nate’s epic argument in Episode 4.

She went on to explain that Sam ended up writing another five pages for the scene there and then, with Sydney adding: “I let any judgment of myself go. I’m very proud of the meltdown Cassie had this season.”

Another major change in Euphoria’s second season stems from speculation that Kat’s screentime was massively reduced after actor Barbie Ferreira allegedly had a huge fight with Sam.

Unconfirmed reports state that Kat was supposed to have an eating disorder in the season, but Barbie was not comfortable doing this as a body-positive activist.

Anonymous sources claimed that Sam dramatically cut her lines in retaliation to her walking off set mid-shoot after a heated altercation.

Barbie has not publicly acknowledged the rumors, but did admit that Kat had taken a step back this season. “Kat’s journey this season is a little more internal and a little mysterious to the audience. She is secretly going through a lot of existential crises,” she told the Cut.

But one of the biggest changes to the season appears to have been its finale, and while details of the original script haven’t yet been revealed, Zendaya did say that it was a lot less hopeful.

“The ending of the season was going to be very different and then halfway through, Sam and I were like, ‘We just can’t leave Rue here. We gotta put some fucking hope in this show,’” she said.

Unsurprisingly, Sam has been chopping and changing his vision for Euphoria for years, and the show’s pilot was even reported to undergo last-minute alterations as Sam’s original script was said to be about Rue murdering Nate and his body being found in a cornfield.

And Fez has managed to cheat death twice, with Angus revealing that his character was also close to getting killed off at the end of Season 1.

Last week, Sam admitted that his “writing process is pretty bizarre” as he explained how he handles creating the script for the show.

Speaking at a panel discussion at LA’s Academy Museum, he said: “I write hundreds of drafts and I don’t go back and rewrite. I start from my memory of the last draft.”

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Euphoria had been renewed for a third season, but considering how much Sam’s plans for the show can change during production, it’s safe to say that absolutely anything can happen when the show finally returns to our screens.