Euphoria Characters Ranked From Least To Most Toxic

"Euphoria" has pulled audiences in with the fascinating and disturbing world it creates. It's a dark, raw drama that takes an unflinching look into the personal lives and struggles of high schoolers in today's modern age, from drug abuse and family problems to mental illness and identity crises.

Only climbing in viewership as it entered Season 2, the characters and storylines of "Euphoria" are addicting because they're imperfect and reflect reality. Unfortunately, having imperfect and layered characters means they're not always going to be the best people all the time. They're going to make mistakes, and they're going to hurt people.

That's what makes the show beautiful, though — you get to watch your characters grow and better themselves. Audiences and cast members alike eagerly await each new addition to the show, every episode a chance for their characters to take a step in the right direction. With multiple seasons of "Euphoria" streaming on HBO Max and more on the way, there's still plenty of time for character development, but at this current moment, some of the show's characters are in desperate need of self-help books. Grab your gas mask and radiation suit because these are the most toxic characters of "Euphoria," ranked.

When it comes to the unproblematic men of "Euphoria," Ali is our main man. As Rue's sponsor, and maybe even her stepdad someday (depending on how thing's go with Leslie), he's been nothing but a caring and reliable support system. Even if he doesn't even up being her stepdad, he's already stepped up to the charge of being there for Rue when she needs it. This is no small feat because, let's be honest — Rue needs it a lot.

Now, Ali is by no means perfect and carries a far from a squeaky-clean record when it comes to toxicity. He's an addict and was a terrible husband and father to his family. He abused them verbally, emotionally, and physically. However, he has owned up to that, and he's trying to better himself by making amends and being there for others, Rue especially.

As her sponsor, Ali has been exactly what Rue needs. He's there when she calls to lend a listening and semi-sympathetic ear, but he's also not afraid to call Rue out on her issues. He's not the nicest guy, but this list isn't about niceness — it's about being toxic. In fact, if he were any nicer, he would probably end up enabling Rue, and that would actually be toxic. The fact that Ali maybe isn't the most sensitive is the very reason he's the perfect sponsor for Rue. He knows tough love is what she needs because he did too.

Fezco is a real one. He's fierce, loyal, and fair. He's not going to mess with you unless you mess with him first, and that's on God. That sentiment also extends to those he considers family, and even though that's not always true blood relatives, he's going to care for them and protect them just the same.

That said, it's important to note that while Fezco is not a toxic person, he does occasionally do toxic things. Let's be honest, he sells drugs to teenagers. While those teenagers are probably going to find some way to get their hands on those drugs from someone else if not him, it's not great that he's an option. Also, while he tries not to sell to Rue, given her struggles with addiction, he is still the one who introduced her to drugs in the first place.

In Fezco's defense, he has good reason for what he does. Unfortunately, it's just the life he was raised into. It's all he knows. Also, he has no one else to look out for him and his loved ones, so he's just doing what he's got to do to put bread on the table. At the end of the day, no, he's not the least toxic person walking the planet — but he also isn't going out of his way to hurt people just for the sake of it. Not everyone on "Euphoria" can say the same.

Maddy is a headache to figure out because there are a few perspectives to consider her from. First of all, Maddy is obviously toxic in the popular mean-girl tradition. It's the kind of toxic where she judges other girls and calls their clothes "so cute" when what she's really saying is they should go home, get under the blankets, and never show her face to the world ever again. She knows she has power and she loves imposing it on others. We're just going to put that aside, though, because there are way bigger fish to fry here.

In more pressing matters, Maddy is an enabler. She fell in love with Nate and continued to support him despite his anger issues, manipulation, gaslighting, and over-the-top misogyny. However, let's not forget that she's a victim, and victim blaming is just not the move. You can't judge people for staying in abusive relationships. It's a difficult situation, and even if they do want to leave, it's not always that easy.

On the other hand, Maddy has a good support system full of people who care about her and she's incredibly strong even without them. She's also not stupid, as she knows that Nate is abusive and she's smarter than that. Thankfully, she proves this by leaving him, but even if she didn't, it's not necessarily something she should be called toxic for. Let's just call these results inconclusive and circle back after next season.

Jules is a divisive one when it comes to the question of toxicity. Everyone seems to have a strong opinion. Some fans feel that she can do no wrong, while others think she's evil incarnate. In an effort to consider all sides, we'll put her right in the middle. She's not the worst, and she's not the best. She just is.

From one perspective, Jules is deeply involved in a relationship with Rue that can be absolutely heartbreaking at times. She can be a little inconsiderate of Rue's feelings. If Jules is confronted with this, she'll just say she has no idea what Rue is talking about and she thought they were just having fun. Deep down, though, she probably knows what she is doing.

In her defense, Jules is a teenager! She doesn't have it all figured out yet! It's a lot of pressure to commit yourself to just one person at such a young age, especially if that person is a drug addict who relies on you for their mental stability and sobriety. Now, she did cheat on Rue when they do start actually dating, but Rue was lying about being sober, so let's call that even. The verdict is in — medium toxic.

Does it even need to be said? Rue is an addict! She does terrible things that hurt not only herself but everyone around her. She steals, lies, gaslights, and lashes out, verbally and physically. She forces her loved ones to sit and watch as a beautiful life is slowly snuffed out. No one should ever have to be put through that. There is simply no excuse.

Okay, maybe there are some excuses because Rue wasn't born bad. She had a few wires crossed that thrust her into an exhausting uphill battle with mental illness and anxiety from the second she came out of the womb. She had to watch her Dad, the only person who brought her comfort in this cruel world, die of cancer, knowing there was nothing she could do. On top of all this, being exposed to her Dad's treatment is how she was introduced to self-medicating in the first place.

Let's backtrack again, though, because these are reasons, not excuses. They're explanations and factors to consider as to how and why she is the way she is. Unfortunately, lots of people have tough lives, and a lot have it even tougher than Rue. We don't get to choose our trauma, but we do get to choose how we handle it, and while drug abuse is understandable, it's not condonable. She has to do better because there's so much potential there. Underneath it all, Rue is an angel, but right now, she's acting like a demon.

There's no one on this entire planet that has watched "Euphoria" who would object to ranking Nate on the extreme end of the toxicity spectrum. He practically invented the concept. Anger, violence, manipulation, gaslighting, abuse — you name it. There are no bounds to Nate's toxicity. While his internalized homophobia is so 2000s (it's tired, give it a rest), his anger issues are truly unparalleled. If rage and manipulation had a baby, then let the Devil raise it, Nate would be the result.

While he wasn't actually raised by the devil — and this is the only single defense one could provide for Nate — he was raised by Cal, which, to be fair, is kind of close. He is raised in a misogynist, homophobic environment that encourages men to be violent and discourages them from processing emotions in a healthy manner thing, and most of Nate's worst impulses seem to stem from daddy issues.

Unfortunately for Nate, this still buys him little to no sympathy. Everyone has daddy issues, and there are worse fathers out there than Cal, so Nate needs to learn ways to process that rather than going out of his way to make it literally everyone else's problem. This boy needs therapy. Maybe then we can renegotiate his ranking if he shows growth in future seasons, but for now, he's certified rotten.

The Devil, Satan, Lucifer, and this woman go by many times — though she prefers to go by Laurie. Like Fezco, Laurie is also a drug dealer, but the reason she's so much higher up in the rankings is that, unlike Fezco, she doesn't have to be one. She left a teaching job to make this side hustle her full-time gig, and while teachers aren't necessarily rolling in dough, they also don't usually leave their jobs to become drug lords.

In addition to a lack of necessity, she also doesn't appear to feel any guilt or remorse at all about what she's doing. In fact, she doesn't appear to feel anything. It's pretty clear that she's a full-blown sociopath, which is not in itself toxic, but the things she might be doing as a result certainly are. We're not just talking about dealing drugs but also murder and, very likely, human trafficking.

She's a cold-blooded predator. She looks to take advantage of people when they're at their most vulnerable, as we saw with Rue. If you ever see her walking down the street, you better make a u-turn and never look back, because Laurie will ruin your life just for the fun of it. She, above anyone else in the show, deserves to be at the top of this list.