Hunter Schafer on Her Hopes for Jules in “Euphoria” Season 2

Nearly two years after its debut on HBO, Euphoria’s second season still remains somewhat of a mystery. The popular series hit pause on production last year amid the coronavirus pandemic, and despite two special bridge episodes plus hints of what’s to come, the Euphoria team has kept all upcoming storylines and surprises pretty under wraps. That said, Hunter Schafer has some hopes for her character Jules — and we have to say we fully agree.

In a recent interview with IndieWire, Hunter reflected upon Jules’s journey in the second bridge episode, explaining that she hopes Jules goes further down this path in future episodes, digging deeper into explorations of gender and identity. “[I hope] this growth and interrogation of Jules…and what she wants and ultimately finding newer and healthier intimacies in her relationships, which I hope will be more queer and more healthy…[I hope] that will continue,” Hunter added.

She also noted that the bridge episode was “about Jules questioning herself and raising valid questions about why she’s moving through her transition the way she is. Which is a healthy process, checking in with yourself and asking yourself, ‘Why I’m doing this, and how is this making me feel, and who am I trying to be?’”

Hunter, who co-wrote Jules’s bridge episode alongside Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, previously told Entertainment Weekly that taking part in writing Jules’s story was incredibly important to her. “It felt like a safe opportunity to delve into it and have control over that narrative and approach it with a sense of freedom,” she explained.

And while Hunter’s character — and her involvement behind the scenes — is a certainly win for representation, the actor and model wants to see even more progress going forward. As she explained to IndieWire, she hopes to see more trans representation in casting and directing, emphasizing, “I want to see trans people directing, not only because I think they can do a better job representing us…but I think there is a certain level of creativity that is inherent to transness and very special to transness that is unique, and has not received the funding nor the opportunity to be made that I think it deserves.” As for trans representation in front of the camera, Hunter pointed out that all different types of trans stories deserve to be told — not just ones that fit within a certain conventional standard. “Representation-wise, we’re still working on getting trans women who lie on many different ends of the spectrum of conventional beauty and conventional attraction and conventional ways of navigating gender and sexuality,” she said. “There’s a myriad of ways to do that. And many trans people move through all that in that myriad of ways, including myself.”

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