Skins Finale: All ships have sailed.

A Skins review.

Sadly, series 3 of Skins is over. And while it had a pretty good run (with a few inconsistencies and pacing problems not withstanding) the finale was pretty uneventful when compared to the finales of seasons past. Nobody got hit by a bus, there weren’t any funerals to attend, and there wasn’t even a big cast musical number to sing along too. Ironically enough, series 1 and 2 dealt with death, suicide attempts, debilitating accidents, eating disorders, and crazy stalkers, and yet this series was missing some of the light-hearted fun we got from the first two. But alas, let’s get to what this finale episode was really about: the ships.

Effy and Cook
The last time we saw Cook and Effy things weren’t looking too bright: they were on the run, excommunicated from their group of wizzar chums, and Effy seemed pretty bummed. Cut to episode 10 and Effy and Cook are living the blissfully unshowered party life. Cook/Effy shippers should have been thrilled to see the mini montage that followed their rave scene, replete with bloody kissing, gallant carrying, and walking off into the sunset together.

If you’ll notice, Effy says nary a word in this group of clips– just laughs, kisses, and parties. And it reminded me a lot of the Effy that was introduced to us in episode 1x08. Even her teasing of Cook Senior at the sidelines of the race was reminiscent of the scene where she sat on a bus next to (the very much missed) chatterbox Julie and teased the old man across the aisle.

I know that a lot of die-hard Effy lovers, who have adored her character from the beginning, think that her involvement in the Love Triangle of Doom has diminished her character somewhat, and their argument holds some merit, but alongside Cook, Effy comes closest to the original version we know. She can stay her mysterious, badass self because she’s found her badass partner-in-crime. If you had to imagine Effy with any partner Cook’s a pretty good candidate. (Personally? I always imagined Effy bringing a good old fashion Cowboy home for dinner, but that’s just me.) The type of guy she can throw her arm around, walk through a town with, kick ass and take names. Sid and Nancy with much less destructive violence.

I wonder if there are fans of Effy’s, all the way from circa series 1, that don’t ship Cook/Effy (if they ship her with anyone at all.)

In a recent post I mentioned that Cook and Effy are right for each other right now, but maybe they aren’t. If the clubbing-with-dad scene showed us anything it’s that Cook’s a tad possessive, and Effy, going out to talk to the Straight Edge dude, is still curious about what’s out there, always looking for the next thrill. When Cook finds her outside and tells her there’s nowhere else to go that’s not what she wants to hear. And her kiss with him is more of a sigh of defeat: that she’s settling– for him, for this town, for this life. So no, they’re not right for each other right now. Cook still has work some stuff out, and Effy is in love with someone else. But this episode showed that Cook and Effy can make for a very dynamic couple. Not right now, obviously, thanks to Fun Sponge, but maybe in the future.
It’s too bad because Cook was determined to keep Effy, even assuring his dad that, “No cunt’s taking her from me.”

Unless, of course, that cunt’s got a penchant for skateboarding and furtive masturbation. Which brings us to....

Effy and Freddie
In the only exposition we’re likely to ever get into Effy’s psyche, Anthea reveals that her daughter is scared to death of all the love that’s in her heart. Which is, we know, the reason Effy has run away from Freddie since the beginning. But do I believe that Freddie and Effy love each other? Um, not really. Mostly because they’ve only had a handful of scenes together and 70 percent of those scenes were taken up by lovelorn glances.

Effy finally declared her love for Freddie in a call for help, and when Freddie arrived in the Small Shit Town he was determined to win her heart, literally, by winning a granny race.

But their big scene came after Effy made her choice, once and for all. The staging of the scene perfectly captured what we’ve come to know as the Freddie and Effy dynamic. She, sitting guiltily, and he, standing, effectively looking down at her, and blaming her for making this into a game. And maybe she did screw up the trio but am I really supposed to root for a couple when, out of the handful of scenes they’ve had together, three of them involved Freddie telling Effy that something was her fault?

But no matter! They soon forgot their one-way argument and resigned to having sex. (I think the sex scene, with Effy finally admitting her feelings and Freddie finally getting his girl, would’ve meant more if they hadn’t have already had sex in the woods.)

My question is, are the Effy/Freddie shippers Freddie fans first, who want to see him with the beautiful girl? Or are they Effy fans who want to see her change, and evolve, and drop the “mysterious and fit” persona that JJ’s sick of too. Because if Effy’s expected to be in a relationship with Freddie than she can’t remain the Effy that we’ve known for years (and the kind of Effy that fits so well with Cook.)

Freddie and Cook
Not technically a ship (unless you swing that way), but Freddie and Cook finally sat down, had a heart-to-heart, and sorted out their problems. It went a little something like this:

Cook: I fucking love her.
Freddie: Right, akay mate, but we’ve got these looks that we give each other, see. So.... yeah. True love and all that.

So by the end of the episode the loose ends of the season got tied up, if a little too neatly. The three musketeers were back together again and Effy finally made her choice. It all ended with Freddie’s, “What happens now?”

That’s what I wanna know. If Freddie and Effy have any connection at all it happens when they’re pining for each other. Now that they’re together, what happens next? Does the future look bright for them? Hooking up this early in the game usually doesn’t bode well for most TV couples. But you never know. As Cook says, it’s about the journey.

Either way, it’s funny how both Cook/Effy shippers and Freddie/Effy shippers think series 4 is going to be their year. Can’t wait to see what happens.