Aaron Champion

I watched the premiere of Skins season 5 and the premiere of the US version in the same week and the clear lines between them were astounding. But I’ll stop myself here from getting into my issues with the American series (which actually can be summarized in a wonderful Guardian article). Season 5 of Skins started off with a bang, introducing the fascinatingly androgynous Frankie as she starts a new life at a new school. The episode focused heavily on her and did little to introduce the other characters of the season but that felt necessary as we were starting with an entirely new cast for the first time (generation 2 carried Effy over from the first generation) and we needed Frankie as an anchor into this new world.

Unfortunately, this individual exploration continues through the entire season and its not until the final episode that we really begin to understand these people in terms of a group. Every episode focuses far too much on an individual, leaving the group dynamic falling short. Its almost as if the audience is meant to fill in the gaps as to understanding why these people have banded together.

Sure, there are great moments in the series, but many of the episodes rely on cultural cliches to establish each character’s drive (i.e. Rich’s “I am metal” speeches, and Grace’s “all the world’s a stage moments”). But when it comes down to it, these are all interesting characters and I love that despite how different they all are, they have found a bond with each other. I’m just hoping that in the next season we’ll be given the opportunity to understand this bond a bit more.