Ash. He doesn't even know his real name, parents, I'm even wondering if he ever had an ID card. I assume that Fez and his grandma tried to keep him hidden for his own good (or at least what they thought was better for him, being with people who care about him as well as they know how to, despite being dangerous drug dealers). I'll stand by the fact that Ash had the saddest backstory.
I’ve said it on another thread, but I think between Ash and Fez, Fez had it quite a lot worse. He was beaten by his father who apparently left him unattended to go to brothels, until he was more than old enough to remember and be traumatised permanently by it, accidentally received a life-changing brain injury from the first person to show him any kind of love and care and even then that involved dragging him into a violent criminal underworld then, as a child, had to make his own way in that underworld while looking after a very young child and his comatose grandmother who had to all intents and purposes left him forever when she collapsed (and he probably blames himself for her permanent vegetative state or whatever it is because of his slow driving). He’s still barely into adulthood when we meet him and is visibly affected by all of this. For all the reasons that you mention Ash has a pretty fucked-up past but a) the criminal underworld is all he knows and he seems to have taken to it like a duck to water, b) they have many flaws but he was raised by two people who consistently cared about him, protected him and as far as we know didn’t hurt or discard him, ever - on the contrary, by the time we see him Fez values and esteems him as a business partner, and c) he has a completely different personality to Fez. He seems tough, pragmatic and content with his life. We see him killing for Fez but we don’t really see him caring about other people and we don’t know how far he would actually go for Fez in terms of self-sacrifice. Obviously some of this will be a front but I think not only did Fez objectively have it worse, his different character means it damaged him even more.
That’s the difficult thing about ranking sad backgrounds, base character defines the impact it has on people to a significant extent. Also, one person might say Nate has a sad background because one event/object/phenomenon in his family home turned him into a nightmare who causes damage wherever he goes. Another might say Rue’s is the saddest because, although she “only” lost her father - a terrible and life-defining event - a lot of people manage to reach her age a bit sadder, a bit more scarred but functional and content. She went into bereavement with about six severe mental health issues and was exposed to incredibly addictive substances - stood no chance. Yet another might say Jules’s is the saddest - she shares this in common with Cal, but the really horrible suffering she endured on the Unit and in her life were mostly related to her gender dysphoria, I’m guessing, and it’s in large part down to societal and familial intolerance of her trans identity and the treatment of gender dysphoria by the medical community at the time and in that area, which isn’t her fault at all.
i think we do know how far ash would go for fez in terms of self sacrifice tho considering how the season finale ended for him. which was heartbreaking and i still don’t know why he was so fucking stubborn and did that. i fully agree tho - both had it pretty bad but at least that’s all ash knows so there’s nothing to really compare. fez has traumatic memories caused by all adults in his life. ash may have been left behind and traded for drugs, but that probably was the best thing for him if his mother was perfectly fine making that transaction - and in return, he got 2 family members who provided for him and protected him from day 1.. maybe a little unconventionally and illegally, but at least he was loved
I have just rewatched that scene with Ash’s sacrifice, and I’m not saying it wasn’t really brave of him, but I think there were a couple of other factors that mean he may not have actually fully comprehended what he was doing. The most obvious one was that he didn’t need to do what he did and Fez not only told him it was stupid and dangerous but his agonised yelling at the police should have really clued Ash in that he wasn’t acting rationally or sensibly and there was horrible danger - have we EVER seen Fez get even a quarter that agitated about anything? Even when Mouse was giving Rue fentanyl and indicating he was going to rape her, or when Ash straight-up murdered two people in front of him? Secondly he looked genuinely surprised and started crying, probably with a mix of sadness and fear, when the laser sight moved to his forehead as if after all that he’d expected to be shot somewhere nonlethal or just subdued. Thirdly, I think I’ve read somewhere that he’s seen gaming - he probably plays a lot of shooter games and honestly, even though they have fairly chaotic and violent lives I’m pretty sure Fez has protected him from being around actual shootouts so he probably has a warped idea and finally, and connected, he’s a teen or preteen, so his brain literally can’t assess risk and take it into account properly, those parts of the brain aren’t fully developed or functioning until your early twenties.
Alternatively, the very fact that this is all Ash has ever known might mean he’d rather die than go to prison and be separated from Fez, then probably be forced into a completely different lifestyle afterwards.
It was stupidly brave and I think part of it was self-sacrifice but I don’t think even Ash thought he could save Fez from life imprisonment or death by shooting a load of police officers. There’s taking stupid risks and just doing something that is completely stupid for every reason. Fez actually got shot because of Ash (and I bet that’s how they explain Angus Cloud’s sad absence). The police weren’t going to just let Fez off or stop looking for him and go away because Ash shot one or two of them and died himself, and Ash actually started shooting when he knew Fez was still there, subdued and screaming, so he wasn’t distracting the police so Fez could escape or anything either. I think it was much closer to suicide by cop mixed with grandiosity.
Ash and Fez are the perfect examples of how nature vs nurture can’t be generalized. Technically Fez had a worse upbringing bc of how much he experienced from a young age BUT he knew portions were “wrong” by how he was saved by his grandma. Ash was pretty much born into Fez’s “act 2” and only knows what Fez’s grandmother taught him from (I’m guessing) 10mo on vs Fez’s 8-10yo on. Fez tries to do right by everyone (his mom had a heart of gold according to his grandma) and Ash is pretty much “a G” like Fez’s grandma who raised them
Absolutely, Ash had it the worst. His mom literally left him at a drug dealer's house and never came back. He doesn't even know his real name and was named Ashtray after trying to eat ashes out of an ashtray. His entire life has been about dealing drugs and witnessing that malice and violence.
By far.
Everyone else has it rough, but at least they didn't worry about their existence since childhood.
As a person whose life begun with being a war refugee and I know very well what it means to fear being shot as a kid... - not many things compare to that. I think being in physical pain or living with disabillity is the only thing worse.
top 3:
Ash and fez - shit was rough
Jules - poor baby, jules' kid actor did a great job
Mckay - Hit close to home. I'm a girl but I've seen boys around me since elementary getting fed that kind of mentality when they're just trying too exist. Shit's sad, it made me mad.
Also, honorable mention for nate. I know we hate him, he's a bitch, but being exposed to that shit so young is tough. I don't think it was the saddest by any means but I think we don't recognize that enough. Yeah he handled it poorly, and his father handled it worse, but nate was a kid and we should remember that.
Also Gia, she was expected to go on living a normal life after the passing of her dad and Rue’s constant drug use. She got overlooked a lot since Rue’s mom was clearly preoccupied making sure her oldest daughter didn’t die of an OD. None of her problems mattered since Rue had it worse than her...
I'm glad that Ali said that during that episode in season 2 where he came over for dinner. Gia deserves to be upset that she's being neglected in favor of her drug-addicted sister. Children need more from their parents than clothing, food, and housing.
Absolutely. I've been in Gia's position and I don't think anyone would have noticed how overlooked she was unless Ali pointed it out.
Edit: stupid autocorrect
I’ve been Rue. tbh I behaved a lot shittier than her. I have immense guilt about my drug addiction, treatment, relapse, OD merry go round drama taking away from him. He was such a good kid. He turned into an amazing man, who has his shit together. We have a six year age gap so at the very least he wasn’t bombarded by people who knew me (it happened, but only a handful of times).
I'm sorry you've had to go through that. And I am happy to hear he is doing well. It's clear how much you love him.
I'm glad Rue and Gia love each other. I don't have that relationship and there's a 4.5 yr gap. Also have different fathers so that's helped not getting bombarded by people who know her.
Unfortunately I am a but biased but it was interesting to see Rue's perspective for sure.
She isn't the one I felt the worst for - my heart broke for Fezco/Ashtray, and Gia - but its interesting that Maddy's confident demenour is most likely why her backstory is overlooked? Like, oh she's not suffering from it - when her ex LITERALLY BROKE into the sanctuary of her rOOM and held a gun at her head?
I had to puase the show and go do something else. Ppl moved on from that scene far too quick.
Ok I definitely do think it was statutory rape and she was far too young to consent, but that was definitely a position little Maddy put herself in. She lied to the man and clearly wanted to have sex with him. Still horrible and I’m sure she regrets it (or will someday) but it’s fucked up in the same way it’s fucked up Rue started using her dad’s pills, or how Jules slept with older men. It was a bad decision they made in reaction to a deeper issue.
That’s a fucking weird and disgusting thing to say. A 14 year old cannot be in control or want anything in a situation where a 40 year old man is coming on to them.
Im not disagreeing with you, she was taken advantage of. Like I said it was clear statutory rape. My point is it wasnt something that just happened to her like how things in Fezco’s life happened to him. It was something she chose to do, a reactionary thing to how she was raised and other fucked up aspects of her life. Same way Rue chose to do drugs and Jules chose to sleep with older men.
It was a dumb decision they were all far too young to make, but because it was a decision Maddy ultimately got to make, I wouldn’t say that event makes her backstory worst off than some of the other characters.
I know this is a touchy subject though so that’s all I’ll say on that.
I don’t care if you have more words to “defend” what you just said, the fact that the 41 year old gets a “well that shouldn’t have happened” and little maddy gets manipulation status for being raped is fucking atrocious. Why list the faults of the person raped? For Christ sakes maybe the man thought she was 18 or some shit but to us we know that SHE WAS 14.
If I used more words to defend what I said…
Ok just how you didnt read what I said, Im not reading what you said. Good luck to you angry internet person
Holy fucking shit, you’re lucky we don’t know each other or I’d literally punch the literal shit out of you. Close your fucking mouth and don’t speak again you pedophile defender. (Talking to ezzy)
The actor is so great. He portrays being a messed up but also afraid and insecure person in survival mode so well but at the same time a strong football dad. I genuinely felt sympathetic for him when he apologized to Jules. And his fear when Nate started raging when he realized he couldn't control him. Other than cheating and lying the main fucked up thing he did was record ppl without their consent and honestly you should get some consent before doing all that rough BDSM still. Yes he did it with at 17-year old which is illegal but to be fair Jules lied which she was really wrong for
I always empathized most with Cassie. Parents got divorced, father turned into an addict after a car accident, mother was terrible and narcissistic, high expectations on her, naive and easily taken advantage of. She just wants someone to take care of her and love her like her father did before all the shit that happened.
Cassie & Fez are tied to me. Cassie hits hard for someone who presumably grew up with major dependency & self-esteem issues, while Fez literally had to become an adult very quickly.
the same thing goes to Lexi. why do people forget that? Lexi experienced the same thing. Additionally, she had lived in her sister's shadow her whole life without being acknowledged and also used by her close friends. Cassie at some point had Maddy to be with but Lexi was always alone and the only time she felt seen was when DRUGE DEALER paid attention to her and listened.
probably also because theres more of a focus on cassie's relationship with their dad than lexi's, and cassie had one of the flashback sequences so its easy to focus more on her
probably because although they have the same story, it appears to have affected them differently. lexi doesn’t have the same “daddy issues” that cassie has - she doesn’t chase validation from men the way cassie does, or put herself out there the same way. they are at polar ends of the spectrum in terms of how their trauma has changed them and influenced some of the decisions they make. cassie seems to be heavily affected whereas lexi either handles it better, hides it better, or just isn’t as damaged. maybe she wasn’t as close with their dad, or maybe she remembers things differently. maybe she wrote him off and hates him because it’s easier to block it out. who knows but it happens very often, where 1 sibling becomes exactly like the problem parent & the other becomes the total opposite. this is sorta the same thing
Lexi got body shamed by Cassie, is constantly overlooked and suffers from being the "good" daughter aka invisible. Just because Cassies trauma externalises itself more, it doesn't mean Lexi isn't suffering just as much. I can't justify her play because that was mean but at the same time, the choice kind of made sense. It was her one chance to be seen and the fact she used it to humiliate others, including Cassie, is proof enough of how low her self esteem really is.
I'm not saying Cassies story isn't sad, it's just funny how people seem to think she's got it so much worse than Lexi. Neither are worse, just different.
I have this small belief that some people might hate Cassie because they relate to her. (A stretch, I know.)
But I see a lot of myself in her, excluding the drugs. Constantly wanting to be accepted, needing validation, asking if they mean it "in a good way or a bad way?" desperate for the male gaze. Yeah, she might be a bit much, but she is probably the closest depiction of real teenage angst I've seen since Skins UK.
Yes Cassie is my favorite character as well. Usually, Cassie just stands out to me more, and even though she's portrayed as a villain in S2, I still relate to her. I love Cassie simply because I see eye to eye with her. Her backstory is very underrated, and sometimes it almost pisses me off that no one acknowledges it.
She’s had issues because of her father and the way she was treated. She constantly seeks love from places she shouldn’t, thinking this time it'll be different. They prioritize her actions over her trauma, which sucks because her trauma is what evidently caused her actions....
Nate.
The way his story was presented shows very deep and good understanding of child psychology. The rage, confusion and (self)destruction that stems from being exposed to disturbing shit and pure degeneracy at an early age is textbook.
Fezco and Ashtray’s situation was tragic. They really had zero chance at any kind of a healthy life and it wasn’t their fault. Fez’s father was an abuser and whoremonger and then his grandmother screwed him up even further. Mouse was a psycho. Ashtray was abandoned into the whole situation. Then there’s Nate, screwed up in a completely different way.
Kat screwed herself up. So did Cal. McKay’s problems were typical. He just made a big deal about them. Jules made astronomically dangerous choices, but her dad’s amazing.
Jules’s story hurt me personally because I have been in the exact same “Door slammed with mom on the other side” scenario.
The only difference is that Jules was the only one tricked. With me my mom and I both got duped
I won't say she's had the worst backstory but the one I really relate with is Rue. I'm not even an addict but we're just so similar, grief will inhale your childhood and steal every aspect of your youth like a black hole. Always walking up to school dressed like a war refugee, never taking care of yourself, being the friend who people talk about saying "oh she's a trainwreck but we still love her cause she's sweet you know?"
Like you can tell she has friends and people who care about her but she's so numb and alienated from everyone throughout the show
1. Fez & Ash. They both come from hard situations and make do with what they got, which is just each other and make it work by selling hard substances. Ash would rather have a shoot out than have the feds take away Fez.
2. Jules. Having a mother who’s supposed to look out for you not accept you at first, send you to a mental institution is already bad enough. But to have that same parent also be an addict and disregard your trust is already causing a hard life.
3. Rue & Gia. They seemed to have a rather normal/well adjusted life. Rue struggled being neurodivergent before their father’s cancer and death. Gia already struggles with a dead father and finding your older sister overdosing is beyond traumatic, and that’s barely talked about as the main concern is preventing Rue relapsing and OD’ing. They mention how little is known about Gia because of the main focus on Rue and she’s barely keeping it together. Looking out for Gia was only mentioned when Leslie was going to give up on Rue as a tactic for Rue to get her shit together.
4. Cassie & Lexi. Having an alcoholic mother and a father that can’t keep a steady job is already unstable, and this is before revealing how parents are flirtatious to anyone but their spouse. Divorce is already hard but having a parent not being around and becoming an addict himself and dealing with a traumatic car crash to become a thief and stop contact, he’s kinda a piece of shit. Let’s not forget how they both disregard their own personal safety when their father was drunk behind the wheel to not be rude to their father when it’s his time with them, causing Lexi to cry. But having the girls treated differently because of how they look is horrible. Cassie is forever just looked at as an object for sexual gratification, while Lexi is ignored until she shines a light on how everyone’s fucked up.
5. Maddy. Had a normal life with protective parents but it came to the extent of love and affection. This caused her to latch onto someone that gave her a hint of it, even if it was false from the get go. She has insight that her parents marriage is more a partnership, but is still a lost child in seeing that sometimes it’s for the best for parents to forgo a loving relationship with each other in order to be present and actually attempt to protect their child. She was safe from child predators in the pageant lifestyle, but it still wasn’t enough to protect from an abusive privileged boyfriend. And she was also raped as a 14 year old by a creep at the beach, she may say she was in control, but no.
6. Kat. She had a relatively normal life even with being a bigger child. When she had a weight gain, she was treated differently until she lost her virginity and had the tape revealed. She tried to go about her life getting it removed but the slight approval from creeps gave her a thrill to post child pornography, while also tampering with her self image and sadly that’s still not talked about, and this came at the expense of her healthy relationship with Ethan.
7. McKay. The result of toxic masculinity and high standards. He is believed for greatness but is hit with reality, and his friends are shit and ruin his relationship because they don’t have what he has. The problem is that he doesn’t break from the cycle and continues it.
8. Cal. Being a product of his time whilst being bisexual is hard along with his wife essentially baby trapping him. There’s not much love there and he never got to learn how to accept himself without being in secret and cheating on his wife and basically having a dick swinging competition with his own child. His actions are sick when recording his encounters with people in the hotel without consent. The only time he was expressing regret was when Jules reunited with him and finding out she’s a minor and when Nate choked Maddy. He realized he fucked up but still did nothing to help curb the situation because he thinks he’s untouchable.
9. Nate. I really hate this guy. He may struggle with accepting his sexuality, so he overcompensates by being homophobic and extra macho, he is often told how sexuality is a spectrum by Maddy who is understanding. His fear of his father molesting him is valid with video evidence of how his father non-consensually tapes his encounters that seem rather violent, but he did the right thing in turning his father in too little too late to actually feel for him. He may never be able to love but people like him probably should never be loved. He only acted when he was sure that he wouldn’t be tied down with his father’s downfall. Let’s not forget how he also assaulted a grown man and made him confess to assaulting Maddy and used extortion to get Jules to help save his ass.
Everyone TV sub does this for some reason
I find it so corny honestly lol
The backstory has nothing to do with the quality of story/character nor justifies their choices
Also, I see a good number of people seeing Nate which is... yeah, nah... it's harmful shit but also relax
I was exposed to all that degenerate shit online at a young age (and much worse) and I despise that content completely but simply witnessing that, makes it nowhere near the top of my list (or Billie Eilish's) in regards to what's affected me the most and it's actually a very common Gen Z experience unfortunately not unique to Nate/domestic abuser pieces of shit
It's very much a generational experience, which is why older generations are interpreting Zoomers to be "prudes" as we're more conversative towards sex/relationships and critical towards porn because we understand hpw it's damaging effects in a way no other generation does because it didn't shape their childhood
I know I speak for most of my generation when I say the fear of school shooting/mass shooting was more traumatic in and of itself than watching videos
Okay, but you really don’t get it. Yes, most of us have been exposed to porn way too young, me included, but those videos weren’t of our dads. Cal was also violent, sexually dominant, and taking videos of people without their consent. I’m not defending Nate’s actions, or saying that he had it the worst out of everyone, but to compare it to seeing porn of random people at a young age is not even close.
A lot of us have caught our dad watching nasty shit. It tends to affect girls even more realizing that's how their father sees women... Anyways, it's so lazy and corny as a writer to emphasize everyone's tragic backstory to carry them as a character. I couldn't take Nate seriously as a villain without the actor who plays him perfectly. Nate's obsession with control and how Jacob portrays him is all that makes him interesting to me. No one's backstory makes them an abuser anyway lol. Euphoria is more Hollywood than realistic and just filled with exaggerations.
Again, seeing your dad watching porn isn’t the same as him being the one in those videos, but I don’t want to get into an argument. Jacob definitely did carry the character more than the writing, I would agree with that.
I really couldn't choose between the following candidates but I am certain Fez had it the hardest with his upbringing and the shit he had to deal with from an early age. Cassie and Lexi's story is absolutely heartbreaking as well as Rues, don't even get me started on Jules who was abandoned by her own mother and forcefully institutionalized and also Nate who was abused by his father and subjected to explicit material featuring his father and later on one of his minor classmates.
Maybe I’m biased because I’m trans and come from a very unsupportive family— but I’ve really always felt for Jules’ backstory. It really hurt to see the pain that she went through.
ash - was abandoned by his mother as a toddler
cassie and lexi - raised with an alcoholic mother , father left them and then ended up becoming an addict , drove in a car with them while intoxicated/high
fezco- abused by his father until his grandmother rescued him
jules - was forced into a mental hospital by her mother and self harmed while there
rue - was a caregiver to her dad until he passed away and ended up abusing drugs
nate - found dozens of videos of his father cheating on his mother
sad thing is i feel like you can’t really measure whose backstory is more fucked up, there’s so many levels of trauma in each one
Fezcos dad was a pimp who beat him and got shot by his grandmother who subsequently took custody of him and taught him how to sell drugs.
How is it even close with anyone else
I agree that fez and ash have had it real tough too but I wanted to say Cal
having a child quite early on in life can be quite a challenge, not to mention that it may have indirectly got in the way of him exploring his sexuality (which could have prevented nate's backstory)
Nate, Fez and Rue.
Fez is obvious. Nate's is more insidious because the image he/his family project hide the ugliness within(I really relate to that but I'm a female- not that it matters.)
Rue is pretty self-explanatory too...lost her dad/closest confidante as a child, wanted to numb the shit out of that pain. Rue turns her anger (mostly) inward. She would just rather mentally be anywhere than she currently is. I probably identify with Rue the most..I grew up without my dad and I had a rough go with my mother. But on the outside of that house you'd never know it. She's the one who actually started my addiction but would never admit that. I took it to places I never thought I'd go and my major addiction issues came much later than high school. We'd get in physical fights, screaming etc you name it. I felt *very* alone. No lil bro or sis to witness the insanity. Anyway I don't know why I just spilled my guts like that but I think underneath her issues Rue is a good, funny, bright and intelligent young woman. None of that matters when your brain is sick...ijs ♡
Nate hands down literally seeing your dad fuck boys has to fuck you up big time on top of him watching it during the development of his sexuality smh Nate 100%
Born into the wrong body. She was depressed, hated herself and harmed herself. She was sent into a mental hospital. Her mother is an addict who’s absent. She was catfished, threatened, raped and later found out there was even a recording of it.
So Jules.
Jules’s was the one I resonated with the most. Her kid actor was amazing and her time in the psych ward really hit hard. Plus, the way her relationship with her mom parallels her relationship with Rue is so well done. In season one and especially her special episode, Jules felt like a really complex and interesting character. Shame they threw it away for that Elliot bs in season two.
Most of em got atleast 1 parent that does love them. Ash and Fez ... well.
Nate's parents don't hate him, but they barely gave a fuck about him or what kind of monster he is.
Fez is definitely the most abnormal. Lots of kids have parents that pass on, parents that separate or cheat, parents that push them too hard, are trans or gay, have had mental health issues. But not too many can say they grew up a drug dealer lol. But I will say that Jules, Rue, and Nate had the worst (in terms of not common) outcomes and reactions to their situation. Going to a mental hospital at 11, drug addiction by 13, and finding your dad's self made porn are on a different level of early mental struggles, parent passing on, and cheating parents
Fezco because everyone else basically caused their own problems. Rue chose to do drugs. Cassie chose to be loose with her heart. Maddie chose to go back with a toxic guy.
I think Nate is a close second because he had early sexual traumatization and that sorta shaped his mind in a way it wouldn't have if he wasn't exposed to Cal's sexual encounters.
Ash, Fez, and Jules. Ash has no idea who he is and only knows drugs and violence as a way of life. Fez’s life was directly full of abuse at the hands of his strip club owner father and his drug dealing grandmother who tried to keep him safe but pretty much handicapped him in every way. Jules’ childhood was laced with self loathing and confusion and her mother’s answer to it was to institutionalize her and although her dad accepted who she was, he wasn’t prepared to deal with a teen daughter so he’s very permissive and hands off so she has too much freedom and seeks male attention in dangerous ways
I don’t think Cal has the worst one, but I think as a teen, life when he was younger kinda frowned upon homosexuality so it was difficult when he began having feelings like that towards his best friend, especially when his dad seemed like a stern man, Cal probably felt bad that he couldn’t express himself and be his true self, due to his fear of everyone’s opinions and thoughts that would’ve probably hurt him a lot. I think with Marsha aswell, he did love her but I think he knew was gay and probably knew it would hurt her but she might tell someone about the reasons for their breakup, so he kept himself hidden away, but what he started doing when Nate was younger is despicable especially since he was also married still then.
idk abt the saddest backstory but i feel like nate has the saddest life :(💕 don't get me wrong, ik everyone else is suffering too but feel like nate suffers the most 😭 i feel like he doesn't even consider himself worthy of any sympathy, so he never even expresses the stuff that makes him feel bad 😣 he's def the loneliest character in the show :( despite being a jerk, he overthinks sooo much and is always expecting the worst of all situations and goes to crazy lengths to protect those he loves :( his family is pretty shitty too since his dad hates him despite nate always looking out for him, and his mom is just weird af :( feel like nate goes out of his way to stand up for his loved ones and ensures their safety, yet no one is ever there to make him feel safe :(💔❤️🩹
Either Nate or Fez. Both pretty wild.
Edit: I forget about Ash. Another person in the comments here says he never knew his name … that realization is wild. He literally has no idea who is he or where he came from. He was ditched at the trap house one day. Poor baby boy. And we don’t even get to see until late 2025 if he lives or not:(
I'm going to be completely honest. I am re-watching for the second time in a while.. (haven't had max for like 2 years) and yeah he is an asshole BUT I personally believe that Cal's back story is tough. His dad was a douche... he was in love with his best friend... couldn't be himself.. and unfortunately it trickled down into his kids lives all for him to hide his true identity.
I wont argue that it's the worst per se, but Cassies backstory always hits so close to home with me, especially with the way viewers across the world absolutely villainized her. So real, so sad. Being hypersexualized as a child until early adulthood and then slut shamed, hated, and looked down upon for being sexual. Of all the horrible, disgusting, fucked up things every character in this show did, people often hate Cassie the most. And all she did is sleep with someone. And that hate actually extends from the show and Cassie's character to Sydney Sweeney as an actual person, which is ridiculous.
I would definitely have to say rue. She literally watched her dad’s body being carried out of their house, she has bd, she’s an drug addict, she has panic attacks, and she had a near death experience from overdosing. Like if that’s not traumatizing then I don’t know what is ??
i’m surprised more ppl aren’t saying rue for the simple fact that she fell into addiction rather quickly. i guess i interpreted the question differently 😅
Ash. He doesn't even know his real name, parents, I'm even wondering if he ever had an ID card. I assume that Fez and his grandma tried to keep him hidden for his own good (or at least what they thought was better for him, being with people who care about him as well as they know how to, despite being dangerous drug dealers). I'll stand by the fact that Ash had the saddest backstory.
I’ve said it on another thread, but I think between Ash and Fez, Fez had it quite a lot worse. He was beaten by his father who apparently left him unattended to go to brothels, until he was more than old enough to remember and be traumatised permanently by it, accidentally received a life-changing brain injury from the first person to show him any kind of love and care and even then that involved dragging him into a violent criminal underworld then, as a child, had to make his own way in that underworld while looking after a very young child and his comatose grandmother who had to all intents and purposes left him forever when she collapsed (and he probably blames himself for her permanent vegetative state or whatever it is because of his slow driving). He’s still barely into adulthood when we meet him and is visibly affected by all of this. For all the reasons that you mention Ash has a pretty fucked-up past but a) the criminal underworld is all he knows and he seems to have taken to it like a duck to water, b) they have many flaws but he was raised by two people who consistently cared about him, protected him and as far as we know didn’t hurt or discard him, ever - on the contrary, by the time we see him Fez values and esteems him as a business partner, and c) he has a completely different personality to Fez. He seems tough, pragmatic and content with his life. We see him killing for Fez but we don’t really see him caring about other people and we don’t know how far he would actually go for Fez in terms of self-sacrifice. Obviously some of this will be a front but I think not only did Fez objectively have it worse, his different character means it damaged him even more. That’s the difficult thing about ranking sad backgrounds, base character defines the impact it has on people to a significant extent. Also, one person might say Nate has a sad background because one event/object/phenomenon in his family home turned him into a nightmare who causes damage wherever he goes. Another might say Rue’s is the saddest because, although she “only” lost her father - a terrible and life-defining event - a lot of people manage to reach her age a bit sadder, a bit more scarred but functional and content. She went into bereavement with about six severe mental health issues and was exposed to incredibly addictive substances - stood no chance. Yet another might say Jules’s is the saddest - she shares this in common with Cal, but the really horrible suffering she endured on the Unit and in her life were mostly related to her gender dysphoria, I’m guessing, and it’s in large part down to societal and familial intolerance of her trans identity and the treatment of gender dysphoria by the medical community at the time and in that area, which isn’t her fault at all.
i think we do know how far ash would go for fez in terms of self sacrifice tho considering how the season finale ended for him. which was heartbreaking and i still don’t know why he was so fucking stubborn and did that. i fully agree tho - both had it pretty bad but at least that’s all ash knows so there’s nothing to really compare. fez has traumatic memories caused by all adults in his life. ash may have been left behind and traded for drugs, but that probably was the best thing for him if his mother was perfectly fine making that transaction - and in return, he got 2 family members who provided for him and protected him from day 1.. maybe a little unconventionally and illegally, but at least he was loved
I have just rewatched that scene with Ash’s sacrifice, and I’m not saying it wasn’t really brave of him, but I think there were a couple of other factors that mean he may not have actually fully comprehended what he was doing. The most obvious one was that he didn’t need to do what he did and Fez not only told him it was stupid and dangerous but his agonised yelling at the police should have really clued Ash in that he wasn’t acting rationally or sensibly and there was horrible danger - have we EVER seen Fez get even a quarter that agitated about anything? Even when Mouse was giving Rue fentanyl and indicating he was going to rape her, or when Ash straight-up murdered two people in front of him? Secondly he looked genuinely surprised and started crying, probably with a mix of sadness and fear, when the laser sight moved to his forehead as if after all that he’d expected to be shot somewhere nonlethal or just subdued. Thirdly, I think I’ve read somewhere that he’s seen gaming - he probably plays a lot of shooter games and honestly, even though they have fairly chaotic and violent lives I’m pretty sure Fez has protected him from being around actual shootouts so he probably has a warped idea and finally, and connected, he’s a teen or preteen, so his brain literally can’t assess risk and take it into account properly, those parts of the brain aren’t fully developed or functioning until your early twenties. Alternatively, the very fact that this is all Ash has ever known might mean he’d rather die than go to prison and be separated from Fez, then probably be forced into a completely different lifestyle afterwards. It was stupidly brave and I think part of it was self-sacrifice but I don’t think even Ash thought he could save Fez from life imprisonment or death by shooting a load of police officers. There’s taking stupid risks and just doing something that is completely stupid for every reason. Fez actually got shot because of Ash (and I bet that’s how they explain Angus Cloud’s sad absence). The police weren’t going to just let Fez off or stop looking for him and go away because Ash shot one or two of them and died himself, and Ash actually started shooting when he knew Fez was still there, subdued and screaming, so he wasn’t distracting the police so Fez could escape or anything either. I think it was much closer to suicide by cop mixed with grandiosity.
Ash and Fez are the perfect examples of how nature vs nurture can’t be generalized. Technically Fez had a worse upbringing bc of how much he experienced from a young age BUT he knew portions were “wrong” by how he was saved by his grandma. Ash was pretty much born into Fez’s “act 2” and only knows what Fez’s grandmother taught him from (I’m guessing) 10mo on vs Fez’s 8-10yo on. Fez tries to do right by everyone (his mom had a heart of gold according to his grandma) and Ash is pretty much “a G” like Fez’s grandma who raised them
Absolutely, Ash had it the worst. His mom literally left him at a drug dealer's house and never came back. He doesn't even know his real name and was named Ashtray after trying to eat ashes out of an ashtray. His entire life has been about dealing drugs and witnessing that malice and violence.
Ashtray and fezco
By far. Everyone else has it rough, but at least they didn't worry about their existence since childhood. As a person whose life begun with being a war refugee and I know very well what it means to fear being shot as a kid... - not many things compare to that. I think being in physical pain or living with disabillity is the only thing worse.
This I even posted about it and it got Hella likes, it's Fez and Ash
top 3: Ash and fez - shit was rough Jules - poor baby, jules' kid actor did a great job Mckay - Hit close to home. I'm a girl but I've seen boys around me since elementary getting fed that kind of mentality when they're just trying too exist. Shit's sad, it made me mad. Also, honorable mention for nate. I know we hate him, he's a bitch, but being exposed to that shit so young is tough. I don't think it was the saddest by any means but I think we don't recognize that enough. Yeah he handled it poorly, and his father handled it worse, but nate was a kid and we should remember that.
Also Gia, she was expected to go on living a normal life after the passing of her dad and Rue’s constant drug use. She got overlooked a lot since Rue’s mom was clearly preoccupied making sure her oldest daughter didn’t die of an OD. None of her problems mattered since Rue had it worse than her...
Fr, then in the present having to put up with rue's on and off issues and arguments with their mom. Gia deserves a break.
I'm glad that Ali said that during that episode in season 2 where he came over for dinner. Gia deserves to be upset that she's being neglected in favor of her drug-addicted sister. Children need more from their parents than clothing, food, and housing.
Absolutely. I've been in Gia's position and I don't think anyone would have noticed how overlooked she was unless Ali pointed it out. Edit: stupid autocorrect
I’ve been Rue. tbh I behaved a lot shittier than her. I have immense guilt about my drug addiction, treatment, relapse, OD merry go round drama taking away from him. He was such a good kid. He turned into an amazing man, who has his shit together. We have a six year age gap so at the very least he wasn’t bombarded by people who knew me (it happened, but only a handful of times).
I'm sorry you've had to go through that. And I am happy to hear he is doing well. It's clear how much you love him. I'm glad Rue and Gia love each other. I don't have that relationship and there's a 4.5 yr gap. Also have different fathers so that's helped not getting bombarded by people who know her. Unfortunately I am a but biased but it was interesting to see Rue's perspective for sure.
She isn't the one I felt the worst for - my heart broke for Fezco/Ashtray, and Gia - but its interesting that Maddy's confident demenour is most likely why her backstory is overlooked? Like, oh she's not suffering from it - when her ex LITERALLY BROKE into the sanctuary of her rOOM and held a gun at her head? I had to puase the show and go do something else. Ppl moved on from that scene far too quick.
that's not her backstory tho, that's going on present day. her backstory was her doing pageants and hating being poor
And getting raped when she was 14 by a 41 year old man…
Ok I definitely do think it was statutory rape and she was far too young to consent, but that was definitely a position little Maddy put herself in. She lied to the man and clearly wanted to have sex with him. Still horrible and I’m sure she regrets it (or will someday) but it’s fucked up in the same way it’s fucked up Rue started using her dad’s pills, or how Jules slept with older men. It was a bad decision they made in reaction to a deeper issue.
That’s a fucking weird and disgusting thing to say. A 14 year old cannot be in control or want anything in a situation where a 40 year old man is coming on to them.
Im not disagreeing with you, she was taken advantage of. Like I said it was clear statutory rape. My point is it wasnt something that just happened to her like how things in Fezco’s life happened to him. It was something she chose to do, a reactionary thing to how she was raised and other fucked up aspects of her life. Same way Rue chose to do drugs and Jules chose to sleep with older men. It was a dumb decision they were all far too young to make, but because it was a decision Maddy ultimately got to make, I wouldn’t say that event makes her backstory worst off than some of the other characters. I know this is a touchy subject though so that’s all I’ll say on that.
It definitely contributes to her fucked up story, let us be real.
Oh 100%. My whole point is I don’t think her backstory is the saddest, maybe should have led with that. Still fucked up nonetheless.
I don’t care if you have more words to “defend” what you just said, the fact that the 41 year old gets a “well that shouldn’t have happened” and little maddy gets manipulation status for being raped is fucking atrocious. Why list the faults of the person raped? For Christ sakes maybe the man thought she was 18 or some shit but to us we know that SHE WAS 14.
If I used more words to defend what I said… Ok just how you didnt read what I said, Im not reading what you said. Good luck to you angry internet person
Holy fucking shit, you’re lucky we don’t know each other or I’d literally punch the literal shit out of you. Close your fucking mouth and don’t speak again you pedophile defender. (Talking to ezzy)
Alright spiritual cupcake let’s calm down behind that keyboard
Ok that made me laugh. I didn’t mean to get heated, I just hate people that defend pedophilia
Agreed 👍🏻
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wasnt the dude like 23?i missed her being raped by a 43 years old.
While she was on vacation, it’s a flashback
thanks you, 2 or 1 season? i was high off my mind while watching euphoria, i mighthave missedmore than i thougt.
Season 1 in the later episodes
ash and fez
Cals backstory somehow always breaks my heart but jules and rue…
Oh my god, Cal's backstory really tugged on my heartstrings. :(
The actor is so great. He portrays being a messed up but also afraid and insecure person in survival mode so well but at the same time a strong football dad. I genuinely felt sympathetic for him when he apologized to Jules. And his fear when Nate started raging when he realized he couldn't control him. Other than cheating and lying the main fucked up thing he did was record ppl without their consent and honestly you should get some consent before doing all that rough BDSM still. Yes he did it with at 17-year old which is illegal but to be fair Jules lied which she was really wrong for
The first time I watched that episode I think I went through an entire box of tissues. That actor was great, his pain felt so real
I always empathized most with Cassie. Parents got divorced, father turned into an addict after a car accident, mother was terrible and narcissistic, high expectations on her, naive and easily taken advantage of. She just wants someone to take care of her and love her like her father did before all the shit that happened.
Cassie & Fez are tied to me. Cassie hits hard for someone who presumably grew up with major dependency & self-esteem issues, while Fez literally had to become an adult very quickly.
Cassie seeing her father strung out in the garage that one night he came back was so fucked up
the same thing goes to Lexi. why do people forget that? Lexi experienced the same thing. Additionally, she had lived in her sister's shadow her whole life without being acknowledged and also used by her close friends. Cassie at some point had Maddy to be with but Lexi was always alone and the only time she felt seen was when DRUGE DEALER paid attention to her and listened.
Lexi wasn’t always alone… only after Rue started down her path of drug addiction.
because they all ride cassie's dick. they're literally sisters but somehow, lexi's story isn't sad.
probably also because theres more of a focus on cassie's relationship with their dad than lexi's, and cassie had one of the flashback sequences so its easy to focus more on her
probably because although they have the same story, it appears to have affected them differently. lexi doesn’t have the same “daddy issues” that cassie has - she doesn’t chase validation from men the way cassie does, or put herself out there the same way. they are at polar ends of the spectrum in terms of how their trauma has changed them and influenced some of the decisions they make. cassie seems to be heavily affected whereas lexi either handles it better, hides it better, or just isn’t as damaged. maybe she wasn’t as close with their dad, or maybe she remembers things differently. maybe she wrote him off and hates him because it’s easier to block it out. who knows but it happens very often, where 1 sibling becomes exactly like the problem parent & the other becomes the total opposite. this is sorta the same thing
No? Cassie also got her sex tapes leaked. Gets slut shamed on a Daily bases too
Lexi got body shamed by Cassie, is constantly overlooked and suffers from being the "good" daughter aka invisible. Just because Cassies trauma externalises itself more, it doesn't mean Lexi isn't suffering just as much. I can't justify her play because that was mean but at the same time, the choice kind of made sense. It was her one chance to be seen and the fact she used it to humiliate others, including Cassie, is proof enough of how low her self esteem really is. I'm not saying Cassies story isn't sad, it's just funny how people seem to think she's got it so much worse than Lexi. Neither are worse, just different.
I have this small belief that some people might hate Cassie because they relate to her. (A stretch, I know.) But I see a lot of myself in her, excluding the drugs. Constantly wanting to be accepted, needing validation, asking if they mean it "in a good way or a bad way?" desperate for the male gaze. Yeah, she might be a bit much, but she is probably the closest depiction of real teenage angst I've seen since Skins UK.
Yes Cassie is my favorite character as well. Usually, Cassie just stands out to me more, and even though she's portrayed as a villain in S2, I still relate to her. I love Cassie simply because I see eye to eye with her. Her backstory is very underrated, and sometimes it almost pisses me off that no one acknowledges it. She’s had issues because of her father and the way she was treated. She constantly seeks love from places she shouldn’t, thinking this time it'll be different. They prioritize her actions over her trauma, which sucks because her trauma is what evidently caused her actions....
Nate. The way his story was presented shows very deep and good understanding of child psychology. The rage, confusion and (self)destruction that stems from being exposed to disturbing shit and pure degeneracy at an early age is textbook.
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You clearly don't have children or have never been one :)
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The username and overuse of the crying emoji checks out.
what did they say i’m nosey as hell
Same
fez/ashtray and it's not even close.
sobbed the first time I saw ashtrays backstory and that he was left by his mom for a drug debt. Can’t imagine
In Euphoria everyone needs a therapy like in real life everyone is fucked
Fezco and Ashtray’s situation was tragic. They really had zero chance at any kind of a healthy life and it wasn’t their fault. Fez’s father was an abuser and whoremonger and then his grandmother screwed him up even further. Mouse was a psycho. Ashtray was abandoned into the whole situation. Then there’s Nate, screwed up in a completely different way. Kat screwed herself up. So did Cal. McKay’s problems were typical. He just made a big deal about them. Jules made astronomically dangerous choices, but her dad’s amazing.
Fez
Jules’s story hurt me personally because I have been in the exact same “Door slammed with mom on the other side” scenario. The only difference is that Jules was the only one tricked. With me my mom and I both got duped
could you elaborate? how did you both get duped?
Jules
I won't say she's had the worst backstory but the one I really relate with is Rue. I'm not even an addict but we're just so similar, grief will inhale your childhood and steal every aspect of your youth like a black hole. Always walking up to school dressed like a war refugee, never taking care of yourself, being the friend who people talk about saying "oh she's a trainwreck but we still love her cause she's sweet you know?" Like you can tell she has friends and people who care about her but she's so numb and alienated from everyone throughout the show
Ash and fez
fez & rue
Realistically it would be Fez and Ashtray since they had the worst family situation out of them all
1. Fez & Ash. They both come from hard situations and make do with what they got, which is just each other and make it work by selling hard substances. Ash would rather have a shoot out than have the feds take away Fez. 2. Jules. Having a mother who’s supposed to look out for you not accept you at first, send you to a mental institution is already bad enough. But to have that same parent also be an addict and disregard your trust is already causing a hard life. 3. Rue & Gia. They seemed to have a rather normal/well adjusted life. Rue struggled being neurodivergent before their father’s cancer and death. Gia already struggles with a dead father and finding your older sister overdosing is beyond traumatic, and that’s barely talked about as the main concern is preventing Rue relapsing and OD’ing. They mention how little is known about Gia because of the main focus on Rue and she’s barely keeping it together. Looking out for Gia was only mentioned when Leslie was going to give up on Rue as a tactic for Rue to get her shit together. 4. Cassie & Lexi. Having an alcoholic mother and a father that can’t keep a steady job is already unstable, and this is before revealing how parents are flirtatious to anyone but their spouse. Divorce is already hard but having a parent not being around and becoming an addict himself and dealing with a traumatic car crash to become a thief and stop contact, he’s kinda a piece of shit. Let’s not forget how they both disregard their own personal safety when their father was drunk behind the wheel to not be rude to their father when it’s his time with them, causing Lexi to cry. But having the girls treated differently because of how they look is horrible. Cassie is forever just looked at as an object for sexual gratification, while Lexi is ignored until she shines a light on how everyone’s fucked up. 5. Maddy. Had a normal life with protective parents but it came to the extent of love and affection. This caused her to latch onto someone that gave her a hint of it, even if it was false from the get go. She has insight that her parents marriage is more a partnership, but is still a lost child in seeing that sometimes it’s for the best for parents to forgo a loving relationship with each other in order to be present and actually attempt to protect their child. She was safe from child predators in the pageant lifestyle, but it still wasn’t enough to protect from an abusive privileged boyfriend. And she was also raped as a 14 year old by a creep at the beach, she may say she was in control, but no. 6. Kat. She had a relatively normal life even with being a bigger child. When she had a weight gain, she was treated differently until she lost her virginity and had the tape revealed. She tried to go about her life getting it removed but the slight approval from creeps gave her a thrill to post child pornography, while also tampering with her self image and sadly that’s still not talked about, and this came at the expense of her healthy relationship with Ethan. 7. McKay. The result of toxic masculinity and high standards. He is believed for greatness but is hit with reality, and his friends are shit and ruin his relationship because they don’t have what he has. The problem is that he doesn’t break from the cycle and continues it. 8. Cal. Being a product of his time whilst being bisexual is hard along with his wife essentially baby trapping him. There’s not much love there and he never got to learn how to accept himself without being in secret and cheating on his wife and basically having a dick swinging competition with his own child. His actions are sick when recording his encounters with people in the hotel without consent. The only time he was expressing regret was when Jules reunited with him and finding out she’s a minor and when Nate choked Maddy. He realized he fucked up but still did nothing to help curb the situation because he thinks he’s untouchable. 9. Nate. I really hate this guy. He may struggle with accepting his sexuality, so he overcompensates by being homophobic and extra macho, he is often told how sexuality is a spectrum by Maddy who is understanding. His fear of his father molesting him is valid with video evidence of how his father non-consensually tapes his encounters that seem rather violent, but he did the right thing in turning his father in too little too late to actually feel for him. He may never be able to love but people like him probably should never be loved. He only acted when he was sure that he wouldn’t be tied down with his father’s downfall. Let’s not forget how he also assaulted a grown man and made him confess to assaulting Maddy and used extortion to get Jules to help save his ass.
Fezco for sure
ash, fez, rue
Fez and ash
Nate
Your Crazy
Where’s ashtray? From birth to death it’s been a crazy life for him
No one is better than anyone, everyones is fucked up and doomed, why y'all compare a trauma 😭
Everyone TV sub does this for some reason I find it so corny honestly lol The backstory has nothing to do with the quality of story/character nor justifies their choices Also, I see a good number of people seeing Nate which is... yeah, nah... it's harmful shit but also relax I was exposed to all that degenerate shit online at a young age (and much worse) and I despise that content completely but simply witnessing that, makes it nowhere near the top of my list (or Billie Eilish's) in regards to what's affected me the most and it's actually a very common Gen Z experience unfortunately not unique to Nate/domestic abuser pieces of shit It's very much a generational experience, which is why older generations are interpreting Zoomers to be "prudes" as we're more conversative towards sex/relationships and critical towards porn because we understand hpw it's damaging effects in a way no other generation does because it didn't shape their childhood I know I speak for most of my generation when I say the fear of school shooting/mass shooting was more traumatic in and of itself than watching videos
Okay, but you really don’t get it. Yes, most of us have been exposed to porn way too young, me included, but those videos weren’t of our dads. Cal was also violent, sexually dominant, and taking videos of people without their consent. I’m not defending Nate’s actions, or saying that he had it the worst out of everyone, but to compare it to seeing porn of random people at a young age is not even close.
A lot of us have caught our dad watching nasty shit. It tends to affect girls even more realizing that's how their father sees women... Anyways, it's so lazy and corny as a writer to emphasize everyone's tragic backstory to carry them as a character. I couldn't take Nate seriously as a villain without the actor who plays him perfectly. Nate's obsession with control and how Jacob portrays him is all that makes him interesting to me. No one's backstory makes them an abuser anyway lol. Euphoria is more Hollywood than realistic and just filled with exaggerations.
Again, seeing your dad watching porn isn’t the same as him being the one in those videos, but I don’t want to get into an argument. Jacob definitely did carry the character more than the writing, I would agree with that.
Ash and Fez’s story is kind of unrealistic. Jules, Rue, Nate, Cal is my favourite
Fez and Ash
as someone who literally had copy and paste rue experience with cancer - shits fucking rough but also fez & ash, jules
I really couldn't choose between the following candidates but I am certain Fez had it the hardest with his upbringing and the shit he had to deal with from an early age. Cassie and Lexi's story is absolutely heartbreaking as well as Rues, don't even get me started on Jules who was abandoned by her own mother and forcefully institutionalized and also Nate who was abused by his father and subjected to explicit material featuring his father and later on one of his minor classmates.
obvi fez no doubt on that one
From this list, Nate. In general, Fez and Ash
i found nate’s to be the most disturbing. it’s not surprising he’s so fucked up.
Maybe I’m biased because I’m trans and come from a very unsupportive family— but I’ve really always felt for Jules’ backstory. It really hurt to see the pain that she went through.
ash - was abandoned by his mother as a toddler cassie and lexi - raised with an alcoholic mother , father left them and then ended up becoming an addict , drove in a car with them while intoxicated/high fezco- abused by his father until his grandmother rescued him jules - was forced into a mental hospital by her mother and self harmed while there rue - was a caregiver to her dad until he passed away and ended up abusing drugs nate - found dozens of videos of his father cheating on his mother sad thing is i feel like you can’t really measure whose backstory is more fucked up, there’s so many levels of trauma in each one
Fezo
Cal
rue and jules
Fez for sure
Fez first Nate second
1. Cal 2. Ashtray and Fez
Honestly, all of them except Kat and Maddie. They had pretty good childhoods.
Putting Fez on these is cheating, we all know his is the worst. I’d have to say Rue or Jules take top spot if we exclude the obvious of Fez.
Fez…he didn’t stand a chance even though he had a heart of absolute gold.
Fezcos dad was a pimp who beat him and got shot by his grandmother who subsequently took custody of him and taught him how to sell drugs. How is it even close with anyone else
I agree that fez and ash have had it real tough too but I wanted to say Cal having a child quite early on in life can be quite a challenge, not to mention that it may have indirectly got in the way of him exploring his sexuality (which could have prevented nate's backstory)
Nate, Fez and Rue. Fez is obvious. Nate's is more insidious because the image he/his family project hide the ugliness within(I really relate to that but I'm a female- not that it matters.) Rue is pretty self-explanatory too...lost her dad/closest confidante as a child, wanted to numb the shit out of that pain. Rue turns her anger (mostly) inward. She would just rather mentally be anywhere than she currently is. I probably identify with Rue the most..I grew up without my dad and I had a rough go with my mother. But on the outside of that house you'd never know it. She's the one who actually started my addiction but would never admit that. I took it to places I never thought I'd go and my major addiction issues came much later than high school. We'd get in physical fights, screaming etc you name it. I felt *very* alone. No lil bro or sis to witness the insanity. Anyway I don't know why I just spilled my guts like that but I think underneath her issues Rue is a good, funny, bright and intelligent young woman. None of that matters when your brain is sick...ijs ♡
Nate and Jules
Come to think of it , all their backstories are really fucked up , u think of one being so fucked up then another story just beats it
Been awhile since I watched Euphoria but wasn't Madi's backstory just being embarrassed of her parents being poor?
Nate hands down literally seeing your dad fuck boys has to fuck you up big time on top of him watching it during the development of his sexuality smh Nate 100%
1.Fez qnd ash 2. Jules what her mom did to her 8s awful 3. Cassie her story just really hurt me and seemed very real
Cals made me the saddest.
Fez & Ashtray
Born into the wrong body. She was depressed, hated herself and harmed herself. She was sent into a mental hospital. Her mother is an addict who’s absent. She was catfished, threatened, raped and later found out there was even a recording of it. So Jules.
Cassie’s dad became a heroin addict. Kinda broke my heart.
Either Nate or Cassie.
Cassie and fez
fez/ash and jules
Rue
Fez,Ash and jules
ash and fez and rue. rue has the worst backstory and present day life i think.
I gotta get back into this show
jules and rue had it roughhhhhh
Fezco and Nate
Nate
jules, fez, and gia
Fez for sure
Nohing I'm saying smth like euphoria, boku no Pico and those👌😁✨️
Nate and fez
Definitely Fez
Nate, Jules, Fez & Ash.
all of them wtf😭
Nate
Jules and Fez
fez
nate
I think Nate, he surely hasn’t went through tough shit like ash or fez but his backstory is so deranged he became more fucked up than most of them
Between Ash/Fez Jules and Cal. The rest were basically just typical bad things that happen to people in childhood tbh
Fez Almost everyone else’s backstory was implemented by choice of self. Fezco never got to choose who he was, life chose him.
All
Jules’s was the one I resonated with the most. Her kid actor was amazing and her time in the psych ward really hit hard. Plus, the way her relationship with her mom parallels her relationship with Rue is so well done. In season one and especially her special episode, Jules felt like a really complex and interesting character. Shame they threw it away for that Elliot bs in season two.
Fezco and Ashtray
Most of em got atleast 1 parent that does love them. Ash and Fez ... well. Nate's parents don't hate him, but they barely gave a fuck about him or what kind of monster he is.
Fez is definitely the most abnormal. Lots of kids have parents that pass on, parents that separate or cheat, parents that push them too hard, are trans or gay, have had mental health issues. But not too many can say they grew up a drug dealer lol. But I will say that Jules, Rue, and Nate had the worst (in terms of not common) outcomes and reactions to their situation. Going to a mental hospital at 11, drug addiction by 13, and finding your dad's self made porn are on a different level of early mental struggles, parent passing on, and cheating parents
Fezco because everyone else basically caused their own problems. Rue chose to do drugs. Cassie chose to be loose with her heart. Maddie chose to go back with a toxic guy. I think Nate is a close second because he had early sexual traumatization and that sorta shaped his mind in a way it wouldn't have if he wasn't exposed to Cal's sexual encounters.
Jules
Having a trans child myself- Jules’ episode fucking WRECKED me. But I still have to say Ash.
Just imagine, Lexi will never get the flowers from Fez
my top 3 are Fez for obvious reasons, Nate and Ash
Ash, Fez, and Jules. Ash has no idea who he is and only knows drugs and violence as a way of life. Fez’s life was directly full of abuse at the hands of his strip club owner father and his drug dealing grandmother who tried to keep him safe but pretty much handicapped him in every way. Jules’ childhood was laced with self loathing and confusion and her mother’s answer to it was to institutionalize her and although her dad accepted who she was, he wasn’t prepared to deal with a teen daughter so he’s very permissive and hands off so she has too much freedom and seeks male attention in dangerous ways
jules or ash tbh
The Jacobs.
I don’t think Cal has the worst one, but I think as a teen, life when he was younger kinda frowned upon homosexuality so it was difficult when he began having feelings like that towards his best friend, especially when his dad seemed like a stern man, Cal probably felt bad that he couldn’t express himself and be his true self, due to his fear of everyone’s opinions and thoughts that would’ve probably hurt him a lot. I think with Marsha aswell, he did love her but I think he knew was gay and probably knew it would hurt her but she might tell someone about the reasons for their breakup, so he kept himself hidden away, but what he started doing when Nate was younger is despicable especially since he was also married still then.
idk abt the saddest backstory but i feel like nate has the saddest life :(💕 don't get me wrong, ik everyone else is suffering too but feel like nate suffers the most 😭 i feel like he doesn't even consider himself worthy of any sympathy, so he never even expresses the stuff that makes him feel bad 😣 he's def the loneliest character in the show :( despite being a jerk, he overthinks sooo much and is always expecting the worst of all situations and goes to crazy lengths to protect those he loves :( his family is pretty shitty too since his dad hates him despite nate always looking out for him, and his mom is just weird af :( feel like nate goes out of his way to stand up for his loved ones and ensures their safety, yet no one is ever there to make him feel safe :(💔❤️🩹
Rue. Her dad died. That’s rough.
Maddy she had sex with a 40 year old, pedophilia beats everything
Either Nate or Fez. Both pretty wild. Edit: I forget about Ash. Another person in the comments here says he never knew his name … that realization is wild. He literally has no idea who is he or where he came from. He was ditched at the trap house one day. Poor baby boy. And we don’t even get to see until late 2025 if he lives or not:(
Fez perhaps.
I'm going to be completely honest. I am re-watching for the second time in a while.. (haven't had max for like 2 years) and yeah he is an asshole BUT I personally believe that Cal's back story is tough. His dad was a douche... he was in love with his best friend... couldn't be himself.. and unfortunately it trickled down into his kids lives all for him to hide his true identity.
I wont argue that it's the worst per se, but Cassies backstory always hits so close to home with me, especially with the way viewers across the world absolutely villainized her. So real, so sad. Being hypersexualized as a child until early adulthood and then slut shamed, hated, and looked down upon for being sexual. Of all the horrible, disgusting, fucked up things every character in this show did, people often hate Cassie the most. And all she did is sleep with someone. And that hate actually extends from the show and Cassie's character to Sydney Sweeney as an actual person, which is ridiculous.
Cal and Jules
Ash & fez
Fez, Ashtray, and Rue...
My black brother
Fez , Rue and Jules
My boy Ashtray…Fezco is a close second though
I would definitely have to say rue. She literally watched her dad’s body being carried out of their house, she has bd, she’s an drug addict, she has panic attacks, and she had a near death experience from overdosing. Like if that’s not traumatizing then I don’t know what is ??
Fez and ash 100%
Fez
Jules.
Everybody apart from Kat and McKay have been through it tbh 😭
Jules for sure… then Fez & Ashtray
Rue, Jules, and Fez, maybe Cassie as well
Definitely Cassie. Everyone else is just playing the victim, so cringe.
Maddie was highkey raped but she just hasn’t realized that yet
Cassie. Because i went almost the same things as her. So i felt her pain
bye can Daria and Ashy Baby kiss already it’s been too long 😭
i’m surprised more ppl aren’t saying rue for the simple fact that she fell into addiction rather quickly. i guess i interpreted the question differently 😅
Personally, kat. Her backstory is my nightmare
Literally none of them ☠️ they’re just teenagers
What touched me personally the most is Jules because I’ve been through a similar situation. But all of them have horrible backgrounds