S1E6: Skins has found itself. That said, it’s found itself as an average television show. Its latest installment, “Abbud,” shows that the series knows exactly what it’s doing, regardless if what it’s doing is good or bad, and it’s going to continue to do those things week in and week out. I don’t think we can expect anything more or anything less as viewers.
“Welcome to Canada.” -Customs
The gang is going on a camping trip in Canada. Their teacher, Dave, is leading them to the camp he went to as a child, so in order to get to the camp, they’re obviously forced to cross the border. And because this is Skins, and because they’re crossing a border, of course the characters will attempt to cross with drugs. After all, they’re teenagers, and ALL TEENAGERS DO IS TAKE DRUGS, RIGHT? Well, according to Skins, that’s true. Anyway, the group does get the drugs across the border — in Stanley’s butt. But, poor Stanley. He can’t really figure out how to get the drugs out of his butt and everyone is pissed at him. Oh, yeah, and before they got to the camp, they hit a moose — because THEY’RE IN CANADA AND THAT’S WHERE MOOSE ARE, RIGHT? If you can’t tell, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this whole “go camping in Canada” plot. Like everything else on Skins, there was not an ounce of believability in it. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for the fact that Skins attempts to present itself as a realistic portrayal of teenage life.
“I love you.” -Chris
Meanwhile, Chris and teacher Tina are maintaining a secret affair, but it’s quickly turning into something much more than that. Chris drops the L word, and, surprisingly, Tina doesn’t get that freaked out by it. Sure, she’s taken aback slightly, but that’s what happens when someone first drops the L word in a relationship. Later in the episode, teacher Tina finds Chris in the forest rolling a joint and the two consummate their new life with the L word. This whole ordeal is, well, I don’t know, alright I guess. It’s better than most of the other relationships in the show. It’s interesting to see a television series deal with this type of topic, because, frankly, I think this type of thing happens in real life more frequently than we’d like to think.
Now, what makes this moment enjoyable and believable unlike the way all the kids always want to do drugs all the time, is that the show isn’t trying super hard to be hip and cool. I write this every week, but it’s worth repeating. Skins fails when it tries too hard to be cool, because it doesn’t come off genuine; it’s just fake.
“Why did you do that?” -Tea
Since this episode is about Abbud, we should probably address what he did. Turns out, Abbud has a little more depth than just always being the dude who wants to do drugs. He has a big crush on Tea, which is a problem considering she’s a lesbian. He gets some advice from Chris, who tells him that because he’s a virgin, he needs to go after someone that’s not his friend. But that doesn’t stop Abbud. He and Tea are out on the beach, and Abbud kisses her. She doesn’t respond the way he hopes, and it’s sad to see Abbud get rejected like that. He understands, but most of the time, understanding doesn’t make being hurt any easier.
“What don’t you get about being a lesbian?” -Abbud
Remember that whole Tony and Tea subplot from a couple of episodes ago? Well, it’s finally paying off. Tea is confused. Yes, she’s a lesbian, but she’s also refusing to dive into a relationship and really, I’ve quickly found Tea to be the most interesting aspect of Skins. Sofia Black D’Elia is easily the best actor in the young cast, and her portrayal of Tea is genuine and heartfelt. It makes sense, too, that everyone seems to be attracted to her in some way. She’s established herself as the most powerful member of the group — even more so than Tony — and everyone either wants to be her, date her or do her. So, even though Abbud’s crush on her seemingly comes out of thin air, it makes sense within the context of Skins.
Anyway, Abbud walks in on Tony and Tea in the middle of them having sex and, understandably, Abbud is pissed. Just a few hours before, she shot him down because she’s a lesbian. Abbud asks her a justifiable question — “What don’t you get about being a lesbian?” — and she, frankly, can’t really give him an answer. It’s apparent that even though Tea appears to have everything in her life under control (that’s what makes her so attractive), she actually doesn’t have a clue.
What did you think?
