Non-spoilery review of Skins

[flowrs4ophelia]

Better late to the party than never. I'd heard of Skins for a really long time but knew absolutely nothing about it (I didn't even have any idea it was British), and a while ago a friend of mine with very reliable taste (he's responsible for getting me into Doctor Who and Mad Men among other things) recommended it to me and burned me a bunch of the episodes which I finally got around to watching recently. He was insistent about starting me on Series 3 (they bring in new characters for a mostly new cast after every two seasons so you can easily jump in at that point). Now that I’ve also seen the first two seasons I have to agree with him that they're also really good but the series really finds its feet by the time of the version 2.0 cast. The show’s whole “each episode following and exploring a different character” formula seems to accomodate the overall story better in Series 3 than before, without leaving anything that feels too much like excess. Though the first two seasons are really rewarding to get through, they're a little slower and harder to get into, and I might never have been interested enough to get through the whole show if I'd started with it from the beginning.

Before I finished the first couple episodes of 3 I honestly found it a little shallow and almost obnoxious at first, even if it made me laugh a lot and had good music and a nice look to it and all. I couldn’t see much of a meaningful plot yet beyond “They’re crazy teenagers who dress hip” to balance out the somewhat over-the-top absurdity and really exaggerating portrayal of teenagers and their shocking activities that are way too filthy to see on something like Dawson’s Creek. But it soon becomes more than just funny and moves toward more poignant material with both style and substance. As another big difference from the closest thing to an American equivalent we have, the actors are all the actual ages that their characters are supposed to be, and yet they’re unbelievably good compared to probably most older actors I’ve seen playing high school kids in our teen dramas.

There are some hilarious situations involving the Johnny White character played by Mackenzie Crook from Pirates of the Caribbean, a crime boss who wants the money he's owed in time to catch Desperate Housewives in two days or else. Another highlight is the story of the growing relationship between closeted lesbians Naomi and Emily, not so much because of the romance itself (though they have some absolutely lovely scenes together) but for the interesting ways it affects Emily's relationship with her twin sister Katie, who acts extremely homophobic but more importantly feels threatened by her sister establishing any kind of individuality. I am not so proud to admit that in my relationship with my own twin sister I have been both Emily and Katie at different points and it wasn't pretty, LOL. Besides a certain tragedy in Series 2 that had me just about bawling, some moments of the "Katie and Emily" episode were the ones out of the entire show that somewhat surprisingly had the deepest effect on me.

But by far my favorite episode is "Effy" for the very dark and disturbing turns it takes before the end. The younger sister of one of the first cast's central characters, Effy has just a few appearances in series 1 and 2 as a mysterious and aloof character who usually never speaks. It seems fitting that she's the only character to have ever broken the fourth wall by sometimes looking at the camera with a sneaky smile and there's initially a sort of surreality surrounding her, as it becomes clear once she's a more prominent and developed character in S3 that she's just more comfortable living outside of real life and would rather be seen as some cryptic persona than a vulnerable and feeling human being. Throughout the season she is shown to be a lot less resilient and unemotional than she has often seemed, until finally in her episode we find her at a very low point of despicable but horrifyingly relatable weakness. I know some make criticisms that her character and the tumultuous love triangle between her, Freddie, and Cook are overly prominent, and I might almost agree if it weren't for the unexpected mindfuck of a penultimate payoff that storyline gets in this episode.

If I really think about it, I'm not sure if even that shocking and intense episode quite lives up to some of the most powerful moments from the former seasons, like the anorexic character Cassie sobbing while biting into an apple and choosing to keep eating and living despite being in inconsolable pain. But there aren't any episodes involving the new cast that I would object to watching again and again, which is something I really can't say about all the earlier episodes. But wherever you start if you haven't already given it a try and I'm not actually the last person to get into this, you'll still be watching something infinitely preferable to The O.C., and possibly more enjoyable and appropriate for people above the age level of the characters if you're too old for those shows. And I say that as someone who kind of liked The O.C. LOL.



SHIT THAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN SERIES 4 (OK, I guess this part kind of has spoilers so be warned...)
— Moar Thomas!
— Are we ever going to find out what the situation is/was with Cook's mom? He lives on his own, doesn't he? So where is she?
— Because of where they started going with her at the end of S3, I think Effy is going to have to be a really different person, as much as she was different in this season from Series 1/2 Effy. I sure hope they don't gloss over what she did to Katie having serious repercussions, because not only is it hard to see her and Katie ever being friends again but I have my own ideas about how it could ultimately be a strangely positive and humbling thing for Effy that she really effed up (lol) and everybody knows. (Oh great, I think I feel a fic plot bunny coming. That's just what I need...)
— I think it would be cool if the twins had different hair now that Katie's accepted they're not supposed to be the same person and all. I know there's a few clips of S4 already out there which would probably tell me whether this is a possibility and I'll probably cave in and watch them eventually assuming they don't give too much away but I just can't yet. LOL.
— More cute/awesome platonic interaction between Cook/Naomi, JJ/Effy, and JJ/Emily ("Let's go find you a fucking tie" hahaha). And maybe Naomi/Freddie too. A big flaw of series 3 is that most of the characters don't already know each other in episode 1 and a lot of the relationship development ends up happening kind of off-screen instead of being handled with much detail, but I think there's supposed to be this subtle idea established that Freds is the closest thing Naomi has to a good friend in the group besides Emily. She was totally shipping him with Effy, hehe. Also, Thomas/anyone. His scene with Emily at the bus stop made me cry, it was the sweetest thing ever.
— And JJ should get laid by someone who's not gay. Yes.