Skins s05e05 review

What an awful two weeks to stop updating! TVs been good in the last fortnight. Most noticeable being The Office (US) showing us Michaels 'Threat Level Midnight'. But, that was a full week ago, so I guess I'll tell all y'all about Skins.

Skins is a funny show. So many people hate it, I can totally see why, and the people who are really, really into it are annoying fucktards. However, I still watch it every week and I still think its worth following. Just don't take it too seriously. Before we start the review of this episode I just wanna say how much I like the little touch of the sky in Skins. Every time we see the sky its blue with clouds like this:

too nice

Which anyone in England will know is not our year-long sky. I heard once that over half of our days are overcast. In Skins where hangovers don't exist, drugs are cheap and available and life is never boring the sky is always a beautiful blue with while fluffy clouds - its a nice touch and is a subtle reminder that what we're watching is not our world. Things work ever so slightly differently, and this knowledge lets you accept some things that don't quite make sense.

This episode was the best of the season so far. We followed Nick, a sporty type who (like Mini) does not quite fit in with the group. Saying that though, one of the strengths of this new generation and the thing that differentiates this group from previous generations is that none of them seem to fit in. The friendship group is full of one off's, people who you wouldn't put together. Every character feels alienated. Its an interesting and its stopped this season feeling repetitive. 

Nick is the brother of Matty, the best character in the show by far. Matty is the mysterious stranger Frankie saw in the very first episode, and he was fully introduced last week. Matty is the black sheep of the family, he's lived on the street, at some point in the past trashed the house, he loves drink and drugs and struggles to obey day-to-day rules. He has some crazy eyes:

not a sane man

Nick, on the surface, seems the opposite of Matt. He's hard working, captain of the rugby team (do rugby teams have captains?) and set to be successful. He obeys the iron fist of his dad, who is some nut-case life-coach who tells his customers too 'MAN UP' all the time. He actually has a brilliant website I advise you to all check out.

As the episode goes on we see more and more that Nick is just putting on a mask. He hates his rugby friends, he hates his dad, he's not that into his girlfriend Mini, he just wants to be more like his older brother - who by all accounts as a colossal fuck-up. Matt, however, has the girl Nick really wants, makes friends quickly, has a dry, self deprecating humour and even plays rugby better than Nick.

You feel bad for the guy, he's playing by all the rules but losing the game - a feeling I think most can relate too. Nick seriously loses it by the end of the episode, trashing his dads house, telling Liv that she's the only girl who understands him, quitting the team and punching a friend in the face. There's a glimmer of hope here though where Nick finally stands up to his Dad and maybe learns to let go a little. I'd like to see more of this story, but we know next week we'll just be onto the next one.

SEVEN THUMBS UP

catch up with Skins with Skins, Vol. 1, Skins, Vol. 2, Skins, Vol. 3 and Skins, Vol. 4