Analyzing one of the best dramedy series of our time and delving into the actions of the characters of the second generation of Skins.

This year marks 15 years since the release of the third season of Skins — the beginning of the second generation, which makes you feel like you're eating glass almost the entire time you're watching. Reckless characters, personal conflicts, and… Effy, who became a ticking time bomb. 

Love is the headache of the characters in the third and fourth seasons. In this article, we'll look at how they dealt with it, examine the popular generation, and explain why it's so hard to empathize with them. For those who haven't watched the series yet, beware of spoilers.

The Main Trio

The main characters of the second generation are Cook, Freddie, and JJ. The heroes have known each other for years, and their relationship is comparable to Sid and Tony (first generation), but only from the abusive side — there's no talk of support or selflessness, only rivalry and humiliation. There's the crazy Cook, Freddie with the airs of a good guy, and JJ, a boy with autism spectrum disorder. Not the most stable company, whose friendship begins to crumble with the appearance of Effy (Kaya Scodelario). 

The noble images of the three musketeers disappear, replaced by animal instincts. There is an unattainable goal for which it's worth doing anything, forgetting about others and moral principles. Effy only needs to appear once to make each of the guys fall in love with her. 

No matter who gets the prize, the other will suffer. The heroes consider Effy Stonem the only one who can make them happy.

For Freddie, Effy is a chance to be loved. To gain what he didn't get in childhood and replace his mother's love. For Cook, it's to forget the feeling of loneliness and escape the fear of being unwanted. On this basis, he is the first to get together with Effy. The heroes don't care about life; they are ready to burn through it completely. But even for Effy, Cook turned out to be too reckless, which led to a breakup and the final choice of Freddie. 

There is no sincerity in the heroes' friendship; there is only Effy. Therefore, communication only causes pain, and because the guys drive themselves into the abyss and don't look for a way out, it's impossible to feel sorry for anyone. The only one of the trio who sees the value of communication is JJ. Because of his disorder, he sees the world differently, sensing a threat from the heroine. 

For JJ, the trio was a shield from the outside world, which Effy ruthlessly destroyed. In despair, the boy personally asks the girl to stop and leave, understanding that she is ruining their lives. But this doesn't happen, and JJ has to watch his friends torment themselves. 

The story of the second generation of Skins is the hardest to watch. There is no episode where the viewer can breathe a sigh of relief and think that everything is getting better. Even a carefree camping trip in the woods ends in tragedy, and again, because of Effy. 

The last episode of the fourth season makes it clear that Cook cared about Freddie and was ready to kill for him. But this happens too late; much has already been done. Freddie's death becomes a telling event. The consequences of the characters' actions lead to a point of no return, where the trio is finally destroyed, and Effy is to blame.

Effy

Since the first season, Effy's image has been presented as "abnormal" and mysterious. In the first generation, the heroine didn't utter a word. The girl completely lacks an emotional connection with her parents. Even in a series of difficult situations, it's impossible to get emotions from the heroine. Constant quarrels, her father leaving the family, and her mother's alcoholism seem to Stonem as something ordinary and boring, something not worthy of attention. 

She is aloof and silent, lost in her thoughts, and the only one she cares about is Tony. Quiet Effy is an excellent technique showing the atmosphere in the family; the character can be silent for days, and the household won't think anything is wrong with the child. After her parents go to bed, she slips out of the house and goes to parties. Urban legends have long been circulating about Effy and her adventures.

With such actions, she shows her loneliness. Casual one-night stands, alcohol, and illegal substances become her best friends, filling the void inside. But they won't teach her how to be friends or help her become a good person, or at least someone who doesn't drag others down. 

On her first day at college, the girl falls in love with Freddie, but she can't admit it. The habit of running away from feelings and numbing everything with dopamine emotions hasn't gone away, so it's more convenient for her to sleep with Cook and start a game of cat and mouse, where she herself is the main caller. 

Effy is terrified of being vulnerable, so after kissing Freddie, she goes to Cook again. She knows that he belongs to her, that Cook is incapable of leaving. Too convenient; you don't hurt yourself, but you hurt everyone around. 

Eventually, the girl enters a relationship with Freddie, but she can't open up to him, because everyone Effy has loved has left. Her parents divorced, Tony moved away, and her mother sank into loneliness and alcohol. As it turns out later, even Freddie can't stay with Effy forever. 

The heroine has an avoidant attachment style, which manifests every time she feels threatened. For example, Freddie just needs to leave the house to create an illusion of loneliness. And after Freddie returns, he will hear statements about wanting to end her life.

Or another example. When the guy suggests quitting drugs and starting a normal social life, Effy says it won't work out, and when asked, "Does she want to ruin everything?" the girl replies, "It's inevitable." 

Effy doesn't have a specific diagnosis, but it can be assumed that she has schizoaffective personality disorder. A similar diagnosis is made in cases of both schizophrenia and mood disorders (affective disorders), i.e., depression and bipolar disorder. The girl managed to collect this entire package of ailments. Sharp mood swings, constant immersion in her thoughts, detachment from people, and much more. 

The basis of Effy is destruction, conscious or not. It costs her nothing to break a long-standing friendship by becoming an unattainable goal, make any guy fall in love with her, and make every girl imitate her. A high-class manipulator who watches from the sidelines, as if looking for a new victim. 

The heroine is created to romanticize personality disorders. Mysterious, unlike everyone else, she quickly gathered crowds of fans. Both seasons of Skins show the terrible and disgusting consequences of Effy's actions. She has no stop valve; the girl acts on emotions and as she pleases. For Effy, there is no real friendship. There is either convenient, or destructive, or "under something."   

The girl enjoys playing with Freddie and Cook. The first becomes an object of sincere love, whom she breaks because of her fear of opening up to people and becoming vulnerable. Effy can't confess her feelings to Freddie for a long time, leads him by the nose, and doesn't let him build a life without her. 

The tandem with Cook is an example of codependency and abuse. The guy falls hopelessly in love, but the heroine wants to use him and run to him in moments of complete emptiness and fear. Cook belongs to her; he won't run away and will always be there. After revealing her feelings for Freddie, Effy finally breaks Cook.

Stonem's actions cannot be justified by psychological disorders, because their consequences are too tangible. Again, because of her, Cook went to commit murder, and Freddie died.

The creators assembled a mysterious image of a beautiful girl, and this was followed by the love of millions of fans. Despite the fact that the entire series shows Effy's frightening antics and the suffering they cause, for many this is not a reason to dislike the heroine. Apparently, Freddie and Cook thought the same way. 

Effy, like the trio of friends, behaves as if heading into an abyss from which she doesn't want to escape. And because she causes pain to everyone she knows, almost no one meets her halfway. Stonem is capable of destroying anyone if she wants to. So why should we empathize with a heroine who has spat on everyone and herself?

Pandora and Toxic Friendship

We've devoted most of the material to Effy, Freddie, Cook, and JJ, because their relationships are the main storyline of the series. But many events in the characters' personal lives also affected other characters.

Panda and Thomas deserve the title of the kindest couple of the generation. Sincere heroes with childish antics and behavior: naive in thoughts and actions. They complement each other perfectly and are able to unite against the whole world.

But we're talking about Skins, so even this tandem isn't all rosy. Cook's eyes fall on Panda, and out of a desire to forget and hurt Effy, he decides to sleep with her best friend. But the catch is that it's almost impossible to hurt Effy. So with his action, Cook simply ruined Thomas's life and walked away. 

Pandora considered Stonem the ideal girl. The heroine looked up to her, trying to imitate: night parties, illegal substances, and a crazy desire to be just as popular. Promiscuous behavior and cheating with Cook became a reflection of the consequences of the "Effy effect." Panda was rebuilding her personality, romanticizing her friend, but it led to nothing good. The heroine got lost and slowly walked down the crooked path trodden by Stonem.

The third and fourth seasons are hard to call the best. They are filled with pain, suffering, a great romanticization of psychological disorders and abusive relationships. It's interesting to watch, but it's hard to immerse yourself in the characters' experiences; each of them walks a crooked path from which they don't want to deviate. The characters don't like to take responsibility and clean up the mess they've made. Each of them finds it more convenient to remain silent and ignore an event rather than sort it out. 

And the excessive romanticization of Effy's image only spoils the aftertaste. You don't want to empathize with someone who only does disgusting things. She is not a villain with a great goal and worthy motivation. Empathizing with Effy is the same as empathizing with Dolores Umbridge, only unlike the heroine of "Harry Potter," a smile on Effy's face is a rarity.