Skins UK season 2 broke me ;_;

I recently finished watching seasons 1 & 2 of Skins (UK) and I'm completely blown away by how good the show is. Everything from its endearing and relatable characters, to its absurdist comedy and often dreamlike filmmaking. And a terrific soundtrack on top of that.

If you haven't seen the show, I highly recommend watching it before reading this blog. It's a coming-of-age drama/comedy about a group of friends during their last two years of college (junior/senior highschool in US education terms).

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

Why Season 2 Broke Me:

After watching season 1, it was clear that Skins wasn't afraid to tackle some serious subject matter. But season 2 kicks it up to another level, opening with the aftermath of Tony's accident in the prior season's finale. Tony suffered severe head trauma resulting in both physical and mental challenges: memory loss, difficulty speaking and moving.

Nicholas Hoult's portrayal of this is gutwrenching, a sharp contrast to his "king of the highschool" persona from season 1. The writers did a good job of making me hate Tony's sociopathic character, only to a completely 180 and feel bad for his traumatic handicapped state.

This was tough to watch. Sid and his dad (Mark) are living in squalor since the mom left, who has since hooked up with some German freak. Sid nukes his relationship with Cassie (which frustratingly took all of season 1 to happen), after misinterpreting a video call with her gay roommate.

Sid's grandpa visits (with uncle and twin nephews), only to berate Mark and disrupt their lives even further. The grandpa is a nasty piece of work, and spends most of the episode being shitty towards Mark, giving his business to the uncle, making snide comments about Mark's wife, etc.

However, Mark's bad luck turns after hooking up with his wife. The crazy German crashes into their home and a brief scuffle ensues. Mark gains confidence back with his wife, and she leaves to take the German to the hospital. Mark then confronts his dad and tells him to pack up and leave.

Mark then enjoys a whiskey and cigarette in his chair. Sid admires his dad for sticking up for himself, and the two have a conversation before going to bed.

Of course, in true Skins fashion, the good times end abruptly once Sid wakes the following morning, only to find his dad suddenly passed away in his chair. He disassociates, tells no one and goes about his day as if nothing happened. He goes to a rave with Tony, and in the middle of a Crystal Castles performance, tells him his father passed. The two embrace.

It's been just over a year since my father-in-law passed, in a very similar way to Mark: alone in his chair. I watched this episode with my wife, by the way. As you can imagine, this was extremely painful for her to watch. I considered shutting the tv off, but it was cathartic for her. The complete tonal shift of the episode and realistic portrayal of a reaction to sudden death. It was devestating.

Chris

The last bout of emotional devestation comes in S2E9: Cassie. The gang surrounds Chris as he recovers from a subarachnoid haemorrhage he suffered in the previous episode- the same thing that killed his brother.

Sid and Cassie are back together, but as Sid does, he hurts Cassie by lacking the awareness to tell her he loves her. Cassie retaliates by convincing Sid that he needs to change Chris' ballsack bandages, resulting in Chris giving Sid a black eye.

The gang has dinner together, grossly made by Sid, in which Cassie is pissed that Michelle is attending. (The wiki for this episode says that Jal finally admits to Chris that she's pregnant, which for some reason I forgot had happened.)

The following day Chris' mom shows up outside the apartment, who Cassie tries to convince to come inside to see Chris. The mom - who is visibly scared (and implied to be mentally instable) - refuses and leaves.

Cassie and Chris spend the night watching tv, and spark up a spliff. Cassie gifts Chris a monkey t-shirt, which he immediately puts on and dances in joy. He's excited to show his girlfriend (Jal), but suddenly can't remember her name. Cassie enters another room briefly, but comes back to find Chris seizuring on her bed. Cassie frantically attends to Chris, who remembers Jal's name just before passing away.

So that's it. The reasons why Skins broke me. I felt sad and cried because of my emotional attachment to the characters, which is a testament to the creators of the show. 🇬🇧