Entertainment

Saying Goodbye to Skins

As a Bristol teenager I was instantly a fan of Skins. When it began I was a lot younger than the characters and as I reached their age I realised life really isn’t like that as a teenager living in Bristol – wanted to clear that up!

After watching it throughout my whole adolescence I saw it as the end of an era when the controversial show came to an end this year. Although it wasn’t much of a surprise hearing that it had been cancelled after it seemed the last generation of characters cast a dry spell on the previous Skins hype. I have to admit, after calling myself a fan, I turned off during series 5 and continued to watch the series 1 and 2 boxset. ‘Skins’ makes you think Tony and Effy, Cook and Freddie, Emily and Naomi. There are only so many drug fuelled, depressed, party loving, rebel characters that could be generated – safe to say Skins had run it’s course.

But it was the best news for Skins fans when the decision to bring back three of the most memorable characters – Cassie, Effy and Cook – was made for the last ever series. ‘Rise’, ‘Pure’ and ‘Fire’ weren’t the typical Skins episodes revolving around house parties, teenage sex and college because these characters had now reached adulthood.

Surprisingly Effy has made her way into the finance world attempting to make a career for herself. But as always with Effy Stonem nothing is done by the book and the last we see of her is leaving in a police car after committing fraud. The episode also saw another popular character, Naomi, be killed off – joining the much loved Chris and Freddie – due to cancer.

Previous anorexic Cassie is now trying to make a life for herself in London. There isn’t a lot to say about ‘Pure’ it seemed to drag out with the story not really going anywhere. The one thing is that there was a rare happy ending after an emotional reunion with her Dad and younger brother.

Cook’s episode – ‘Rise’ – is one that does have a lot to say about! This might be because I’ve always been a massive fan of actor Jack O’Connell and the bad boy character he portrays, but the darker, mature Skins episode was the best way to end it. Still the rebellious ladies man we remember, he is now a drug dealer in Manchester with two girls in his life. It’s also made definite that he did kill John Foster in the previous series and is now on the run. Finally, it’s obvious that Skins writers Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain know what their fans want as the famous words “I’m Cook!” are again shouted – mirroring the 2010 scene which made the character so memorable.

Whilst revisiting prominent characters was the best way to say goodbye to the show that once ruled our generation, Skins will always be remembered for its infamous house parties, eccentric characters, love triangles and brave drug and sex scenes which made Skins so controversial!

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