Skins UK

I am one of those people who likes to rewatch a TV series over and over and over (and over) again. I’m not sure why, but I enjoy rewatching things just as much as I like to watch new things. And I’m not talking “throw Friends or Law & Order up on the TV while I do work or play on my phone,” I mean I will literally sit there and rewatch a whole show with the same intensity as I did the first time around.

Does anyone else feel this way?

I have done this with Glee, How I Met Your Mother, The Walking Dead, Gossip Girl and others. This time around, I’m rewatching Skin UK for the umpteenth time. Why am I like this?

I first became fascinated with this show in high school. It was that odd time between gen 3 and the mini movies. These characters grabbed my hand and led me on this journey that I can’t forget.

Generation 1

This is the OG cast and I will always love them, except Sketch. No one likes Sketch. These characters lived such a carefree lifestyle that I admittedly was jealous. I loved how protective they were of each other and how much they cared for each other despite tragedy and heartache. Through that, they were all toxic toward each other too. What happened to Cassie to put her in the rehab facility in the first place and why does no one seem to care? Why is Tony such an ass to the girl he loves?

Anyway, Chris and Jal were unexpectedly perfect for each other and that funeral scene 😭I cry every time. It’s hard to not love the OG generation.

Generation 2

I can’t stand Cook. To this very day I can’t. I love Jack O’Connell in real life but James Cook was just annoying. The Effy/ Cook/ Freddie love triangle was not my favorite storyline because she clearly preferred Freddie from the start. She just couldn’t get out from under Cook’s spell. He couldn’t get out from under hers either. I truly believe Cook loved Effy. But they spent much of the two series hating each other. Also, where are the parents for most of this generation?

They don’t explain Effy either. She never spoke in Gen 1 and now she talks and suffers from depression. I am still not clear what drives her into the depression, I’m assuming it’s that her parents are splitting up and that she doesn’t have Tony there to help her through it. I’m just wondering why she “snapped” I hate using that term because she didn’t snap or break, she is suffering. But I am not sure what pushed her to that.

Generation 3

When I first watched this generation, I hated it. It felt so different from the others that I couldn’t stand it. Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate it, though. Frankie still bothers me. From series 5 to 6, she changed completely and I don’t quite know why. Mattie, maybe, but we never really see her “goth” side again. One thing I absolutely love from this gen that I didn’t get in the others was Rich and Grace. Beautifully pure love.

I feel like this generation has the most growth as far as character. Mini isn’t as vapid as she was when we first saw her, Rich opens his mind to new nonmetalhead things and Nick learns what it’s like to lose. Because of this, this generation might be my favorite.

I could talk forever about this show but instead of writing one big novel, I’ll break it up by generation and really dive deep into them.