Skins - Farewell Generation II

Tonight marks the end of another era for E4’s teen drama Skins, as the second generation of cast say goodbye to Bristol, moving onto pastures new.  They have given us plenty of memories and moments to remember, so they shall not be forgotten.  Their acting skills have shone through, particularly in this darker series, where the storylines have sadly, not matched up to the required standard.

It has been a brave move by the writers and creators of Skins to opt down the consequential and deeper route, but they may want to take the fans views into consideration, abandon the idea and head back to the traditional stereotype that Skins has set itself up, since it burst onto our UK TV screens in 2007.  For example, the lack of group scenes between the gang this series has been startling.  It is these types of scenes that make Skins what it is, and therefore, that’s why I think Series four has been the weakest so far.  True, in a character’s episode, they need to take the main focus and understandably so, but without the rest of the gang, it’s not the same.  By choosing the dark and deeper route, it means the storylines have had to be darker than ever before, and this has simply not worked.  Some episodes have left many, including myself feeling far-fetched and confused.  They have tried hard to make things work, but when an experiment fails; the best solution is to go back to basics. 

Also, I struggle to believe that with just eight episodes this series, some actors haven’t had enough screen time.  Naomi (Lily Loveless) and Pandora (Lisa Blackwell) did not get an individual episode, whilst Pandora and Katie (Megan Prescott) have been so under-used this series, and have not had the time they have required to show their real talent.  I just hope this particular cast are not remembered for blunders and mistakes from the writers, because this cast I believe have more talent than Generation I.  When you think of Dev Patel’s rousing success in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and Nicholas Hoult’s Hollywood breakthrough, then surely that bodes well for Generation II.

The curtain-closer tonight brings all of Series four’s storylines to a rapid conclusion.  The main focus will be on the mysterious disappearance of Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) from the gang.  As we all know, Freddie was battered to death last week; rather gruesomely it must be said by Effy’s mad psychiatrist Dr. John Foster, with a baseball bat!  Freddie’s sister, Karen is hunting around for answers, and she believes that Cook (Jack O’Connell) has something to do with it.  Elsewhere, Pandora announces that she is leaving Bristol, but what does that mean for Thomas?  Thomas (Merveille Lukaba) cheated on Pandora in the very first episode this series, proving that there is some use for hospital laundry rooms after all!  Since then, this storyline has faded into oblivion, and the Congo lad’s growing feelings for Katie are intensifying, so he has a big choice to make; Katie or Pandora. 

Also, Naomi will put her feelings on the line tonight, in the final act to win over Emily’s heart.  Like Thomas, Naomi played away, when Emily (Kathryn Prescott) found out about her fling with Sophia, who killed herself ninety seconds into the series.  Since then, Emily can’t even stand to look at Naomi, and is determined to get revenge on her idealistic girlfriend.  However, when Naomi makes one final emotional and moving speech, will Emily finally be able to forgive and forget?  Also, Effy (Kaya Scodelario) is back in the mad world, she has gone fully loop-de-loop, but is she going to find out what happened to Freddie, or is the evil John Foster going to finish the job…

So many questions still to be answered, fingers crossed that these and more will be answered in a dramatic finale that promises a lot of emotion, conflict, confession and trauma.  Skins series four has been a letdown, but hopefully tonight, we are treated to a brilliant final spectacle.  Watch it on E4 at 10pm to find out. 

Finally, the best of luck to Lisa Blackwell, Ollie Barberi, Kaya Scodelario, Jack O’Connell, Lily Loveless, Luke Pasqualino, Kathryn Prescott, Merveille Lukaba and Megan Prescott.  All nine of you have incredible talent as actors, we will miss you massively, thank you for making Skins watchable over the past two years, and I wish you all the best for the future.  FAREWELL GENERATION II. 

Skins: The Series So Far

It seems remarkable to think for the obsessed fans that we are halfway through the fourth series of E4’s award-winning teen drama Skins.  With only four episodes left for the current cast, before they all get replaced, I felt it was a good opportunity to sum up my feelings on the current series.

All fans were promised at the start of this series that Skins was going to be darker, deeper and grittier than ever before and there is no doubt that this has turned out to be the case.  The death of a random girl, Sophia at a club night just two minutes into episode 1 highlighted the consequential actions that many have felt already throughout the series.

Episode one focused on Sophia’s death and held some severe ramifications for Thomas.  Thomas (Merveille Lukaba) was under-used in the last series, so it was only right for him to have the first episode this time around.  It showed his weaknesses and struggles, which left him questioning his beliefs, friends and family.  He then strayed away from Pandora (Lisa Blackwell) with the beautiful vicar’s daughter Andrea.  Well there are some uses for a hospital laundry room I guess…It spelt the end for Thomas and Pandora’s relationship and probably best, it had been going downhill ever since Pandora ended up being charmed by the Cookie Monster, Cook (Jack O’Connell). 

If the first episode was a little bit vague for a few, the second episode reminded the viewers of the drama and emotion that can be felt through watching a TV programme religiously.  For Emily (Kathryn Prescott), the second episode saw her character go through a vast amount of feelings and expressions, which led to the unravelling for a dark secret.  Emily and her new sweetheart, Naomi (Lily Loveless) return from the summer break as loved-up as ever.  However, Naomi is being haunted by Sophia’s death, as she dealt the MDMLA which sent Sophia to the balcony pole in the nightclub that resulted in her death.  Immediately, ‘Naomily’ is put under scrutiny, as Emily tries to get to the bottom of Sophia’s demise, as she is convinced Naomi is hiding something from her.  Along with leaving home, the stress piles up on Emily and in a dramatic rooftop scene, sees a sketchbook which confirms the worst suspicions for her and to the shock of the audience, reveals that Naomi had an affair with Sophia.  For now, ‘Naomily’ is another relationship that has taken a battering from shocking revelations, but unlike Thomas & Pandora, has more chance of surviving.

Episode three saw attention turn to the volatile Cook, and his downward spiral, which began with him beating up an unlucky individual infront of 83 witnesses at a house party.  We meet Cook’s mum, whose lack of parenting skills have meant that Cook has had to grow up the hard way, probably leading to his violent swings in behaviour.  After smashing up a Bentley, he confides in Naomi, who is still hurting from previous revelations.  Cook realises he must start taking responsibility for his actions, and not only admits the assault at the party; he reveals to the police that he dealt Sophia the powder, not Naomi.  A two-week sentence in custody follows, but will it see a different Cookie when he leaves.

Last night, Katie (Megan Prescott) got her turn to star in her own episode.  Once again, it was a one-hour madness peak, which saw the Fitch family go through an emotional rollercoaster, leading to the repossession of their house.  Katie is also told that she can’t have any kids in the future, devastating her, but rather than going on a complete downward spiral, she works especially hard to get all the Fitch family, including the out-of-control Emily back together as one, strong unit.  It was the best episode by far in the series, possibly in Skins history, as it was full of emotion, drama, funny lines and quirks and for once, a satisfactory ending.

In the coming weeks, Freddie, JJ & Effy will all have their turns to star in their own episodes, before the finale, but there seems to be more questions than answers developing so far in this series.  Is JJ going to get his girl?  Can Naomi & Emily sort out their differences?  Will Cook be a better person for his stint in jail?  Has Effy gone too far and blown her love dream with Freddie?  The next month is bound to answer all these questions and more.  There is no doubt however, that ‘Generation 2’ of Skins have left their mark on the show and hopefully, very prosperous acting careers in the future.  

Skins 4
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