HBO
Fans have been asking for more Kat this season -- and the most recent episode threw viewers for a loop.
Barbie Ferreira's Kat Hernandez was a fan-favorite the first season of HBO's "Euphoria," stealing the show with the character's body positivity arc, cam girl storyline and flirtation with BDSM gear -- all while striking up a romance with sweet geek Ethan.
But when the show returned this year for its second season, Ferreira's character has faded quite a bit into the background. After appearing sporadically throughout the first five episodes, she and Ethan got a little more screen time on Sunday's new episode -- where Kat tried to put distance between them by claiming she had a terminal brain tumor. He, in turn, called her a liar and broke up with her.
It's been a bit of a strange journey for Kat so far, but the season as a whole has been shining the spotlight more on characters who spent more time on the sideline in Season 1 -- like Fezco, Cassie and Lexi.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
"Kat's journey this season is a little more internal and a little mysterious to the audience," Ferreira said in a new interview with The Cut, which pointed out unconfirmed rumors of a rift between the actress and series creator Sam Levinson.
"She is secretly going through a lot of existential crises," she added. "She loses her marbles a little bit — just like everyone else in this season. The theme is everyone's gone a little crazy."
It's unclear whether she was asked about the gossip directly or whether the rumors were even out there when the interview was conducted. Though sources close to the show denied any bad blood to E! and neither Ferreira or Levinson have addressed the gossip, Ferreira was the only main cast member who didn't show up to the series' premiere.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Heading into the second season following a longer-than-expected break due to the coronavirus pandemic, star Zendaya confirmed a number of storylines were altered significantly from how they were originally written.
"It's like we were chasing Euphoria,'" she told The Cut. "We were like, 'We need to be what we were in season one,' and we were trying to find that spark. We weren't saying it, but we were a little stressed."
"There are very few things that remain in the version you're now seeing," she added. "The things that didn't make it definitely needed to die."
Among the changes: a slightly less grim storyline for Rue.
"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,'" added Zendaya. "Episode eight is where we'll get that sense of redemption. That you aren't the worst thing you've ever done in your life. I think Rue deserves it, and I think anyone who suffers with the same thing she does deserves it."
"Euphoria" airs Sundays on HBO.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
