That's completely the opposite of how I feel, s3 was like if Disney tried to do an R rated show, and s4 was much more grounded and realistic. Except for Cook escaping jail. S3 had some really amazing moments, but none compare to "everything is so fragile, didn't you realize that?", Effy's slow mental breakdown, Katie's struggle with infertility and how it makes her realize no one is perfect so it's wrong to hold Emily to the same standard, IT'S JUST SO MUCH BETTER THAN S3. I loved s3's finale, and absolutely hated the premier. While in s4, the premier and finales are both amazing, save for the shoehorned in death scene. Completely unnecessary on their part to kill off Freddie. I feel like they just wanted to establish a "one minor character death and one major character death" per generation. Anyway, with a comment this long, I might as well make my own video. Loved yours.
I like your perspective. Lol I agree that season 3 was like an R rated Disney show, but that's why I think I liked it. At the end of the day, the show is still about kids. Kids are inexperienced, immature, and naive. They still have so much of their lives ahead of them, so I look at season 4 as forgetting that hope and optimism and leaning too far into the drama and bleak realities of life. There needs to be a balance. Other than JJ's storyline, they tried to sneak in some positivity during the last episode with how Panda and Thomas got into Harvard, but didn't show us anything that led up to that, so there was no reward in it. It was just like, "Oh yeah, btw, they got into Harvard."
I'll never understand how Freddie allowed a man with just a baseball bat to climb up a bunch of stairs and beat him to d34th he literally just had to ran to him and push him down the stairs wtff 😂 I was traumatized the first time but afterwards I felt the scene was so badly done.
There's nothing realistic about season 4 at all. As a teen living through this era at the same time as skins generation 2, season 3 was like a mirror image of my and my friends' lives. We were carefree and stupid and had no idea how to handle the adult situations we got ourselves into.
I absolutely hate Pandora in S4 she cheated on Thomas like 10+ times and she gets mad he does it once and confesses? Thomas had to find out her cheating on his own too her character was completely ruined for me that season.
Like fuckin three months ago I rewatched Season 3 and 4 (I do that a lot) and I got frustrated at the lack of like actual analysis on Skins on RUclips. Thank you so much for filling that void! Great videos!
Freddies murder really fucked me up. I was having bad mental health issues and needed to see a therapist, but what happened made me too scared to seek help. It was so unnecessary. (Also, just for context, one of the issues I was dealing with was paranoia. I already thought people were trying to kill me, do a depiction of a therapist murdering someone my age made things 100x worse)
I thought about that scenario when first watching, for a show trying to portray serious mental health issues that really wasnt a good message at the end, demonizing psychologists
3:54 - While Skins UK holds up as a gritty teen drama, Skins US was a complete disaster. The issue at hand is the major difference in laws regarding consent. In the UK consent for sex is 16 vs 18 in the US. Alcohol consumption is not legal in the US until 21 vs 17 in the UK. So when Skins US debuts, people lost their minds over seeing high school age kids engaging in casual alcoholism. Much of what is depicted would be legal or at least more socially accepted in the UK. Another example is Chris' affair with his teacher. In the UK this was inappropriate, in the US that was considered statutory rape...
as someone from the US who watched skins UK as a young teen, i was super shocked hahaha 😭 i know kids do that stuff (not necessarily including the teacher affair) often in the US despite them being illegal (drinking, drugs, sex), but i think i was more shocked at the casualness and passive reactions that all the adults had towards these actions while watching the show. i think generally your ass would be dead if your mom caught you with substances or doing the deed over here in the states, so it was interesting to me to read this comment because it explained a fact that i completely brushed over in my mind (legality differences of sex and alcohol in the UK).
It could've been a good season if the ending was different, man just fucking kills Freddie and Effy's probably going to be depressed forever and Pandora's slow ass goes to harvard????? I may be biased because I don't fw Pandora after not forgiving Thomas lol
From season 3, we saw that Pandora has a type A mom, so it definitely would have been cool to see a Pandora episode where she is like a secret math genius or something, but downplays it to fit in with her friends more. Then the Harvard aspect would make more sense, but without it, it's an empty gesture.
Gen 1 will always be the greatest, I was the same age as the cast when Gen 2 was airing so for me will always be the most relatable and gen 3 was catastrophic. I did enjoy the 7th series even if I didn’t quite make that much sense all the time. I think, also, this was the late 00’s, and the way the showcased the storylines wouldn’t even be entertained now. We were the inbetween generation. We are old enough to know what life without social media was like and actually had to go out to socialise and remember not posting about everything we did (I admit I am semi guilty of doing this now), the environments at the time were portrayed in a realistic way. I remember getting pissed up in an abandoned portakabin in the woods for example. But I can also see how that age group now wouldn’t necessarily understand the impact the show had.
😮Season 4 was two episodes too short, the show being shorter is rushed and terrible. Cook and Katie’s episodes are outstanding but the dragged out unalive girl storyline and the rushed ending leaves a bitter end to an incredible group of characters. I honestly think if they swapped panda with taking the pills and falling off the balcony they could have saved it. Panda gone would have had a huge impact on effy leading to her mental problems, cook dealing with the guilt and gave Thomas more of a reason to have his identity questioned. They could have went a different way with Naomi and Emily. Panda done next to nothing in series 4 so it wouldn’t of been a loss
I like this idea! It makes sense cause I remember Panda faked her death by hanging herself in front of Effy from like the first generation I think? Could definitely allude the idea that Panda could do that for real
YES I stopped at Freddie death thinking "that's an interesting mid-season break" then it's just one more hour and it's done. Never went back to it after that.
To me it felt forced, like S4 didn't have enough sudden impact. It doesn't feel like it was built up to at all, almost as if it wasn't planned and they wrote it then and there
I love how real they make the 2nd half of gen 2. It’s very realistic. First partying is all sunshine and rainbows but then the consequences catch up to you.
When you said this is a video about the downfall of skins you are not wrong. I’m literally watching this video because I am blind and I swear to God. I can’t tell a single thing that is happening in the series as it is pretty much 90% sad music and things I don’t know what is happening And a tiny bit of dialogue. That doesn’t really forward the story for me. So I’m literally on here finding out what even happened in season two and four as they are very very visual. So here I go sitting down to watch this. I am so grateful that people make RUclips videos about TV series is so that I can find out things I’ve missed.
Generation 2 would've been better without all the cheating. I realise gen 1 and 3 also had its fair share of cheating storylines, but gen 2 everyone but JJ was unfaithful. I feel like Pandora repeatedly cheating on Thomas like that was purely for the shock value and they didn't know what to do with the character. The Effy/Freddie/Cook love triangle sure, whatever, that works, but I hated Emily/Naomi and Pandora/Thomas cheating. Feels like the writers had no other idea of how to write conflict within relationships apart from infidelity Freddie's murder was unnecessary, the John Foster storyline was ridiculous
I get they wanted to kill off Freddie but his character, as it was shown up until that point, would not let a man slowly walk up stairs in a cramped hall to kill him. That psychiatrist would have had a solid kick to the face at least.
What did anyone think of second generation Skins novel. Set between 3 and 4. Season 4 makes abit more sense. The reason for Katie and Effy being much better with one another in season 4 is answered in it for example.
Skins is such a great show. I was too young to understand it at the time. Re- watching it as an adult now I resonated a lot when I was a teen with that show. But they really should protect these kids. Considering the cast were minors they really should have protected them and their mental health
I preferred S4 to 3 tbh. Though there was some odd choices narratively. Effy's mental health struggle and recovery needed way more build up to feel natural. It wouldve made more sense for Naomi, or Cook to spiral due to the girl who died and the feeling of responsibility overwhelming them over Effy suddenly getting caught up by her brothers trauma which hes well over by now. That and Cook's jail sentence only to easily escape off screen just kind of took me out of the story.
The show in its entirety, sorta similar to Gilmore Girls surprisingly, suffers in rewatch. You realize that the characters are flawed to a point of not enjoying them. And I think that is a fine line to straddle. For a show like this, which is portraying young people as impulsive, the fun is in the frenzy. When it seems like a friend group that is all a part of the chaotic nature. But that is kind of a superficial entertainment. The emotional parts in the show are not that good. And I have to say it might be the writing. There are certain scenes that stick out as effective but kind of out of nowhere. That’s what happens when each character typically gets only one episode focusing on them, so I think the episode structure also isn’t very good.
I haven't seen Gilmore Girls, but you bring up some good points. I think the emotional parts of the show are meaningful for teenagers with limited life experience, but from an adult perspective, it comes across as melodramatic. But when you are at that age, everything feels like the end of the world, so it is true to the teenage experience. I also agree with the episode structure not being very good. The idea of each character getting a single episode is a staple of Skins and can work well if more of the other main characters are involved, cos then we can see more of the in-group dynamics and one-on-one relationships, but for season 4, the characters felt more siloed. They spent too much time preparing the characters for the end of high school by separating them, instead of having them bond as a group and grow closer in those last months of high school like most kids do.
Cool video. I really enjoyed it. Quick question - what’s your opinion on this: do you think John Foster purposely allowed himself to be seen by Cook in order to lure him back to his house and ultimately kill him too, or do you think he was just attempting to stalk Effy and didn’t ever intend on being seen?
@@limopizza8710 Yeah, I would have to say that I agree with you on that one. You’re probably right, however I don’t think that John actively trying to lure Cook back is a theory that is too farfetched and I’m not going to rule it out. It would make sense for him to see Cook as a threat and as something stood between him and Effy, therefore it’s not out of the question for John to have already considered killing him beforehand. I can see why he would feel the need to remove him like he did with Freddie. Freddie was definitely pre-meditated and not just an impulsive act of violence for John. He planned it so I don’t see why he wouldn’t have planned to eliminate other people close to Effy. I don’t think he intended to stop at one murder. If Cook didn’t kill him then he would have killed again, and in my opinion, Cook would definitely have been on the list of people he intended to kill if he had a list. Anyway, thanks for the response :) Great video!
I will never forgive them for killing Naomi so Effy could just have a bit more drama in her story. Really thought Skins was safe from the bury your gays trope.
That's completely the opposite of how I feel, s3 was like if Disney tried to do an R rated show, and s4 was much more grounded and realistic. Except for Cook escaping jail. S3 had some really amazing moments, but none compare to "everything is so fragile, didn't you realize that?", Effy's slow mental breakdown, Katie's struggle with infertility and how it makes her realize no one is perfect so it's wrong to hold Emily to the same standard, IT'S JUST SO MUCH BETTER THAN S3. I loved s3's finale, and absolutely hated the premier. While in s4, the premier and finales are both amazing, save for the shoehorned in death scene. Completely unnecessary on their part to kill off Freddie. I feel like they just wanted to establish a "one minor character death and one major character death" per generation. Anyway, with a comment this long, I might as well make my own video. Loved yours.
I like your perspective. Lol I agree that season 3 was like an R rated Disney show, but that's why I think I liked it. At the end of the day, the show is still about kids. Kids are inexperienced, immature, and naive. They still have so much of their lives ahead of them, so I look at season 4 as forgetting that hope and optimism and leaning too far into the drama and bleak realities of life. There needs to be a balance. Other than JJ's storyline, they tried to sneak in some positivity during the last episode with how Panda and Thomas got into Harvard, but didn't show us anything that led up to that, so there was no reward in it. It was just like, "Oh yeah, btw, they got into Harvard."
@@limopizza8710 Yeah! There were scenes that focused on the Harvard thing (Skins Unseen) that were cut for time.
I'll never understand how Freddie allowed a man with just a baseball bat to climb up a bunch of stairs and beat him to d34th he literally just had to ran to him and push him down the stairs wtff 😂 I was traumatized the first time but afterwards I felt the scene was so badly done.
There's nothing realistic about season 4 at all. As a teen living through this era at the same time as skins generation 2, season 3 was like a mirror image of my and my friends' lives. We were carefree and stupid and had no idea how to handle the adult situations we got ourselves into.
I had a friend who was v much like cook who escaped jail so imma go ahead and call that part real too
Generation 1’s friendship felt more real
Thank you for finally doing the part 2 🙏 Would love to see breakdowns of gen 1, 3, and season 7
I absolutely hate Pandora in S4 she cheated on Thomas like 10+ times and she gets mad he does it once and confesses? Thomas had to find out her cheating on his own too her character was completely ruined for me that season.
Agreed. It's a shame cause I really wanted to like her character, but that double standard is just too hard to ignore.
It makes sense for her. She's 🦥. She's shown as, partially therefore, trusting others , what others tell her rather than her own judgement.
Like fuckin three months ago I rewatched Season 3 and 4 (I do that a lot) and I got frustrated at the lack of like actual analysis on Skins on RUclips. Thank you so much for filling that void! Great videos!
Analysis? This video was more of a recap.
Skins (UK) really is a diamond in the rough. I wish most shows these days were at least half as good.
0 analysis tbf
Extremely talented casts in every season. Its always fun when I watch Hollywood films and recognize the characters from Skins...
With what Joe Dempsie looks like now, it's funny to see him as Chris with all his tacky outfits!
Freddies murder really fucked me up. I was having bad mental health issues and needed to see a therapist, but what happened made me too scared to seek help. It was so unnecessary.
(Also, just for context, one of the issues I was dealing with was paranoia. I already thought people were trying to kill me, do a depiction of a therapist murdering someone my age made things 100x worse)
I thought about that scenario when first watching, for a show trying to portray serious mental health issues that really wasnt a good message at the end, demonizing psychologists
3:54 - While Skins UK holds up as a gritty teen drama, Skins US was a complete disaster.
The issue at hand is the major difference in laws regarding consent. In the UK consent for sex is 16 vs 18 in the US. Alcohol consumption is not legal in the US until 21 vs 17 in the UK.
So when Skins US debuts, people lost their minds over seeing high school age kids engaging in casual alcoholism. Much of what is depicted would be legal or at least more socially accepted in the UK. Another example is Chris' affair with his teacher. In the UK this was inappropriate, in the US that was considered statutory rape...
as someone from the US who watched skins UK as a young teen, i was super shocked hahaha 😭 i know kids do that stuff (not necessarily including the teacher affair) often in the US despite them being illegal (drinking, drugs, sex), but i think i was more shocked at the casualness and passive reactions that all the adults had towards these actions while watching the show. i think generally your ass would be dead if your mom caught you with substances or doing the deed over here in the states, so it was interesting to me to read this comment because it explained a fact that i completely brushed over in my mind (legality differences of sex and alcohol in the UK).
@@isa7556 ❤️
America be like:
Kids get shot: 🦗🦗🦗
TV show with kids drinking: 😱😱😱
@alexvaughan1013 Kids get shot no. Adults get shot, yes.
Chris's relationship would still be considered statutory rape as its his teacher and she holds a position of power and influence over him.
How have I forgotten most of this? I need to watch series 4 again. Thank you for this video
S4 is a bit exagerated in terms of pain and narrative choices
It has good moments but definetly preferred generation 1 due to this season
Can you do vids about gen 1?? (Also I love your vids)
YESS
It could've been a good season if the ending was different, man just fucking kills Freddie and Effy's probably going to be depressed forever and Pandora's slow ass goes to harvard?????
I may be biased because I don't fw Pandora after not forgiving Thomas lol
From season 3, we saw that Pandora has a type A mom, so it definitely would have been cool to see a Pandora episode where she is like a secret math genius or something, but downplays it to fit in with her friends more. Then the Harvard aspect would make more sense, but without it, it's an empty gesture.
really liked your videos on skins, hope you do more especially the first gen
Gen 1 will always be the greatest, I was the same age as the cast when Gen 2 was airing so for me will always be the most relatable and gen 3 was catastrophic. I did enjoy the 7th series even if I didn’t quite make that much sense all the time.
I think, also, this was the late 00’s, and the way the showcased the storylines wouldn’t even be entertained now. We were the inbetween generation. We are old enough to know what life without social media was like and actually had to go out to socialise and remember not posting about everything we did (I admit I am semi guilty of doing this now), the environments at the time were portrayed in a realistic way. I remember getting pissed up in an abandoned portakabin in the woods for example. But I can also see how that age group now wouldn’t necessarily understand the impact the show had.
😮Season 4 was two episodes too short, the show being shorter is rushed and terrible. Cook and Katie’s episodes are outstanding but the dragged out unalive girl storyline and the rushed ending leaves a bitter end to an incredible group of characters.
I honestly think if they swapped panda with taking the pills and falling off the balcony they could have saved it. Panda gone would have had a huge impact on effy leading to her mental problems, cook dealing with the guilt and gave Thomas more of a reason to have his identity questioned. They could have went a different way with Naomi and Emily. Panda done next to nothing in series 4 so it wouldn’t of been a loss
I like the way you think. Solid idea!
I like this idea! It makes sense cause I remember Panda faked her death by hanging herself in front of Effy from like the first generation I think? Could definitely allude the idea that Panda could do that for real
Naomi and Panda had episodes written but budget was slashed halfway through during production and never got made
YES I stopped at Freddie death thinking "that's an interesting mid-season break" then it's just one more hour and it's done. Never went back to it after that.
Freddie’s death seemed unnecessary. It threw the whole show off in a bad way.
very bizzare and weird. thought i was watching a different show
@@senormurcielago I still remember watching it on tv and being like what? Wait what
To me it felt forced, like S4 didn't have enough sudden impact. It doesn't feel like it was built up to at all, almost as if it wasn't planned and they wrote it then and there
I love how real they make the 2nd half of gen 2. It’s very realistic. First partying is all sunshine and rainbows but then the consequences catch up to you.
When you said this is a video about the downfall of skins you are not wrong. I’m literally watching this video because I am blind and I swear to God. I can’t tell a single thing that is happening in the series as it is pretty much 90% sad music and things I don’t know what is happening And a tiny bit of dialogue. That doesn’t really forward the story for me. So I’m literally on here finding out what even happened in season two and four as they are very very visual. So here I go sitting down to watch this. I am so grateful that people make RUclips videos about TV series is so that I can find out things I’ve missed.
This video is so well done. You’ve convinced me to do another rewatch
Generation 2 would've been better without all the cheating. I realise gen 1 and 3 also had its fair share of cheating storylines, but gen 2 everyone but JJ was unfaithful. I feel like Pandora repeatedly cheating on Thomas like that was purely for the shock value and they didn't know what to do with the character. The Effy/Freddie/Cook love triangle sure, whatever, that works, but I hated Emily/Naomi and Pandora/Thomas cheating. Feels like the writers had no other idea of how to write conflict within relationships apart from infidelity
Freddie's murder was unnecessary, the John Foster storyline was ridiculous
I get they wanted to kill off Freddie but his character, as it was shown up until that point, would not let a man slowly walk up stairs in a cramped hall to kill him. That psychiatrist would have had a solid kick to the face at least.
This is like winx club after season 3 where it felt like diff writing
What did anyone think of second generation Skins novel. Set between 3 and 4. Season 4 makes abit more sense. The reason for Katie and Effy being much better with one another in season 4 is answered in it for example.
didn’t even know there was a novel ! thanks for the info
Skins worked because it had a great cast and great writing.
Really enjoyed this. Brilliant analysis. Gen 2 is one of the best, definitely.
Skins is such a great show. I was too young to understand it at the time. Re- watching it as an adult now I resonated a lot when I was a teen with that show. But they really should protect these kids. Considering the cast were minors they really should have protected them and their mental health
Awesome video, so stoked for more Skins UK content
I preferred S4 to 3 tbh. Though there was some odd choices narratively. Effy's mental health struggle and recovery needed way more build up to feel natural. It wouldve made more sense for Naomi, or Cook to spiral due to the girl who died and the feeling of responsibility overwhelming them over Effy suddenly getting caught up by her brothers trauma which hes well over by now.
That and Cook's jail sentence only to easily escape off screen just kind of took me out of the story.
The show in its entirety, sorta similar to Gilmore Girls surprisingly, suffers in rewatch. You realize that the characters are flawed to a point of not enjoying them. And I think that is a fine line to straddle. For a show like this, which is portraying young people as impulsive, the fun is in the frenzy. When it seems like a friend group that is all a part of the chaotic nature. But that is kind of a superficial entertainment. The emotional parts in the show are not that good. And I have to say it might be the writing. There are certain scenes that stick out as effective but kind of out of nowhere. That’s what happens when each character typically gets only one episode focusing on them, so I think the episode structure also isn’t very good.
I haven't seen Gilmore Girls, but you bring up some good points. I think the emotional parts of the show are meaningful for teenagers with limited life experience, but from an adult perspective, it comes across as melodramatic. But when you are at that age, everything feels like the end of the world, so it is true to the teenage experience. I also agree with the episode structure not being very good. The idea of each character getting a single episode is a staple of Skins and can work well if more of the other main characters are involved, cos then we can see more of the in-group dynamics and one-on-one relationships, but for season 4, the characters felt more siloed. They spent too much time preparing the characters for the end of high school by separating them, instead of having them bond as a group and grow closer in those last months of high school like most kids do.
Great video! Wish you did more Skins videos :(
Cool video. I really enjoyed it. Quick question - what’s your opinion on this: do you think John Foster purposely allowed himself to be seen by Cook in order to lure him back to his house and ultimately kill him too, or do you think he was just attempting to stalk Effy and didn’t ever intend on being seen?
Nah, he was just obsessed with Effy and was stalking her. Cook just happened to catch him
@@limopizza8710 Yeah, I would have to say that I agree with you on that one. You’re probably right, however I don’t think that John actively trying to lure Cook back is a theory that is too farfetched and I’m not going to rule it out. It would make sense for him to see Cook as a threat and as something stood between him and Effy, therefore it’s not out of the question for John to have already considered killing him beforehand. I can see why he would feel the need to remove him like he did with Freddie. Freddie was definitely pre-meditated and not just an impulsive act of violence for John. He planned it so I don’t see why he wouldn’t have planned to eliminate other people close to Effy. I don’t think he intended to stop at one murder. If Cook didn’t kill him then he would have killed again, and in my opinion, Cook would definitely have been on the list of people he intended to kill if he had a list. Anyway, thanks for the response :) Great video!
Okay I'll rewatch skins
Good video, I disagree about the mexican party scene though, it didn't age poorly imo, it reflects teenagers being teenagers pretty well.
More Skins video essays pls
this was my favorite generation, im still upset about freddy
PANDORA GOT ACCEPTED INTO HARVARD ON AN ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP?
I will never forgive them for killing Naomi so Effy could just have a bit more drama in her story. Really thought Skins was safe from the bury your gays trope.
I'm pretty sure they did use teens but didn't they use people over 18? Also I thought the unanimously agreed worst generation was the one after this.
Best thing about gen 2 was the series 3 trailer with the pub brawl
You deserve more subs 🙏🏽
God I've seen this like 4 times and never remember the Naomi storyline.
skins overall was bad for its writing, but nobody watched it for that. gen 2 was the best and in s7 they used 2 characters from gen 2 which is proof.
I could not disagree more with this argument. I think Gen 2 is as good if not slightly better than Gen 1 again my opinion
I watched season 4 sporadically, until Freddys death and I stopped watching all together. Generation 2 was a pale imitation of Generation #1.
9:45 As a mexican I'm laughing my ass off remembering that scene, fun non-harming stereotypes are great comedy.
Pandora was adorable
i love and relate to her sm😭
I’M COOOOK !!!!
Heyy how come you haven’t done a video on generation 3 of skins
I didn't find them as interesting as gen 2. If you want, look for yara zayd's video on gen 3, she pretty much covers it all.
I feel gen 3 was really overlooked
honestly i barely remember gen 2, all i remember is hating Pandora lmao
6:42 - I love Panda - Thomas was not right for her...
can we get more skins stuff
Could you enable subtitles for the video? I'm Brazilian and I don't understand English very well, so subtitles are very important to me
I just turned on the Portuguese automatic captions. Let me know if you have any issues. Thanks for watching!
@@limopizza8710 thank you. I love your videos❤
Freddie's death traumatised me 😨 forgot all about it.
Nah. Cook is the best. Of all of them
I prefer the Gen 2 I think that is better
Season 1-4 was great everything else was terrible.
Season 4 is easily the worst for me honestly
What do you mean skins "U.K" It's just called Skins.
Thats what people have called it ever since the failed US version. At least in america, on streaming services its even titled "Skins UK"
Wow I forgot how stupid the plots became.
I didn’t like season 4
Gen 2 was garbagio but i think my lil brother loved it because it was “his generation”
Effy was the letdown of generation 2