as always, total spoiler alert.
the above photoset is exactly how i feel about this week’s episode.
so we get a new character this week, with Matty and Rich MIA for the episode, it made sense for someone fresh to kind of balance out the group. this Alex kid isn’t too bad. he has multiple layers of his personality (family, sexuality, and being the “new kid”) which were all put on display for the viewer to easily follow, and adds a sense of unpredictability. all in all, he’s well-written and adds a new dynamic to the group that works. he’s not a trainwreck of an addition like that Sketch girl from the first generation.
however, this was kind of a subplot for Liv, and for a character that i thought was going to be totally irrelevant and pointless this series, she did a great job in the episode. as the only one who really wanted to deal with Grace’s death, she showed how even though these kids seem all about sex and drugs, that there’s a sense of realism to them.
the Skins writers seem to be packing on the whole “death of a loved one” theme a little hard with Alex’s grandmother dying in the episode. the fact that it took a brand new character and one of his loved ones dying to deal with their grief was a little over the top for me. but since he’s a good character, i hope he gets more screen time.
however, Franky made contact with Matty telling him to never show up, which you know is begging for that fucker to just run out of nowhere. Franky also seems to start destroying her life next episode, and from that sneak preview shot at the end of the episode with her on the playground slide, i got WAY more excited for what happens next with her.
meanwhile, Mini’s on the verge of a psychotic build up very similar to Effy’s whole “Bon Iver Woods Moment”. i know it might be reaching. but the whole drinking/isolation/sex thing practically copies Effy. however, the whole “pregnancy” rumor is easily headed to Mini. maybe it’s Alo’s? one can only hope.
speaking of Alo, his bromance with Nick is pitch perfect. seriously, those dudes make me laugh every time they’re on screen together, and while i miss Rich, i’m happy that it doesn’t feel like they’re trying to replace Rich with Nick, but rather just be three bros.
Franky, Mini and Nick are the next three episodes, and i feel like this triple team will decide where i place these kids in terms of ranking generations. this episode for me was a one and done. i’m glad we’ve got a new character, but i don’t really think he’s going to have much an impact on the kids and/or storylines, which is sad, because he was fleshed out really well into the group dynamic. i’m just ready for next week to start, hopefully we’ll get some kid of endgame plotline to this by the end of Mini’s episode; which is also the halfway mark on the series.
at least Skins didn’t crush my soul again before trying to go to sleep. that was nice of them.
∞