Skins Fire - A dark and unhappy ending

By Simon Wright

A few weeks ago, I shared some of my memories and also vindication of the impact Skins has made on British television drama.  However, after the first part of the final series, all it has seen to do is alienated fans even further than it has managed before.

The two-part Skins Fire was the first episode, held over the last two Mondays of the seventh and final series.  Set in the heart of London, it promised much, especially after the trailers and the interviews in the lead-up to the series.  Unfortunately, all it provided was heartbreak, devastation and an ending that provided more questions than closure.

The plot

Effy's job was the main plot for Skins Fire - it ended badly

Skins Fire was mainly based around the character of Effy Stonem (pictured), played by Kaya Scodelario.  Effy was a mysterious character who was part of the first two generations (series 1-4).  Her character by the end of the last time we saw her was one who had gone nuts and ended up in a psychiatric ward.

When it was picked up last week, Effy has landed a job in The City, working initially as an assistant in a financial company.  The job doesn’t hold many prospects, mainly focusing on photocopying documents and making tea and coffee for the big bosses.  However, when Effy stumbles on a financial deal that is dodgy, she uses this to her advantage.

She starts making huge investments for the company, earns a promotion and eventually, starts an affair with her wealthy boss Jake, played by Kayvan Novak.

Eventually, Effy’s actions see her reaching the top, then crashing back down to earth in typical fashion, when the FSA investigate her actions, worth £11m of dodgy asset dealings.

Hoping to be protected by her lover, Effy gets a shock when her boss ships her in.  Realising she has been used; Effy eventually makes a statement to the FSA implicating Jake’s knowledge in the dealings.  However, she is told by ice queen Victoria, played by Lara Pulver that she faces time in jail for what she has done.

A secondary story runs through and that is the declining fortunes of Naomi Campbell.  Played by Lily Loveless, Naomi has not managed to find work since leaving University, and is doing very little in London, annoying Effy who is flat-sharing with her.  Even a crazy idea as a stand-up comedian doesn’t go to plan for Naomi, who left college with perfect scores of three A grades.

However, it is a shock health diagnosis that rocks her world.  Naomi is diagnosed with cancer, and the second episode sees her having to deal with protecting the information from her girlfriend Emily, played by Kathryn Prescott, but also attempt to get treatment.

When radiotherapy and then chemotherapy don’t go according to plan, Naomi’s health starts to decline rapidly and by the end of part two, the audience is left shocked by knowing that she is going to die.  Emily, who has been on a photography internship in New York, doesn’t find out until it is too late and a heartbreaking end for one of TV’s most popular couples sees Emily breaking down in Naomi’s dying arms in the hospital.  If anyone watching last night didn’t feel a tear when this scene played out, then emotional control is not one of your strengths.

Skins Fire also saw Craig Roberts appear as Dominic.  He is another financial worker who has a serious crush on Effy, and is left used by Effy’s devious ways to gain the information she wants.

Too many questions

As Effy’s character was the longest serving in the three full generations of Skins previously it was understandable for Skins Fire to focus intensely on her activities three years on from college.

However, the main storyline was weak and at times, underwhelming.  It was difficult to follow, especially if you have no interest in the financial sector.  It did show a lot of financial greed though, which is a common theme of the British banking industry since the recession began to hit us in 2008.

This was meant to be series about closure rather than questions, but that hasn’t happened.  Effy’s final scene is disappearing in the back of a car with a smirk on her face.  That shouldn’t be the case for someone who faces time behind bars?  The ending to Fire was far-fetched and didn’t provide closure.  At times too, everything seemed rushed.  Perhaps the story should have been told in two 90-minute parts rather than two 60-minute episodes.

While the cameo characters played their part, and Novak, who played Effy’s boss, was an interesting character, the lack of information about what happened to the other members of generation two was startling.  While the audience didn’t need too much background information, the majority of us would want to know whether Pandora had been a success on her History scholarship, or where JJ and Katie were nowadays.  

Most importantly, there were no mentions of Freddie McClair, Effy’s former boyfriend who was beaten to death with a baseball bat by mad psychiatrist John Foster (Hugo Speer) in the penultimate episode of series four.

It means we have no clue whatsoever of how Effy found out Freddie was dead, and it was noticeable how much of a lookalike her new boyfriend was to the one she was in love with throughout generation two.  That was a massive disappointment. 

Naomily’s happy ending turns sour

The biggest let down of all though was the unhappy ending the writer gave to Naomi and Emily’s story.

All smiles here, but it wasn't the ending Naomily fans hoped for

Three years ago, fans of ‘Naomily’ (couple pictured) got the happy conclusion they wanted, when after months of punishment and hiding away true feelings, Emily finally forgave Naomi for her fling with a girl at the start of series four.  After new events, Naomi’s emotional speech, which included the words: ‘I’d die for you,’ sound even more touching and poignant now.

It was brave for Skins to go with a cancer storyline and credit has to be given for that.  However, everything again seem rushed and hassled, and when it became clear that there was no chance of recovery for Naomi, social media on Twitter and internet forums probably went into periods of rage and disgust. 

Naomi was a popular character with many, and to give her a storyline like this was brave, but turned out to be massively unpopular.  Why did they mess with the ‘Naomily’ pairing three years on?  It would have been best for them not to have returned for the final series.

As most of us know, happy endings in television don’t happen too much, especially in soaps, but also in dramas.  They probably look too soppy for the writers, and on occasion, too boring to watch for the audience.

However, if one television couple deserved to break that tradition, it was ‘Naomily.’  The relationship between Naomi and Emily was one of the most beautiful portrayals of a same sex relationship.  At the end of the day, it wasn’t just this fact; it was a love story between two characters that fell for one another, without any concern for their sexuality.  

The storyline broke down new boundaries for relationships between two women on television, especially in the UK.  Skins had been the ground-breaking for this, and as the actresses have said in numerous interviews in the past, they’ve had letters of support from people who’ve come out to their families and friends on the true identity of their sexuality, inspired by the story of Naomi and Emily.

We have to remember that this is just a television drama and it didn’t happen in real-life, but it was such a massive shame that the audience and particular fans of the pairing got such a sorry and heartbreaking ending to a passionate storyline.  The only consolation is to remember the happy moments and that Emily was with Naomi in her final moments.  If she hadn’t been, the ending would have been even more insulting.

So, with Effy in jail, Naomi dying and Emily now alone and miserable, a sarcastic round of applause should be given to the team behind Skins Fire for creating such a dark and devastating two-part series.

Time changes people

However, I don’t want to sound bitter, and there were some positives from the story.  Jess Brittain was the writer of Skins Fire, and it would have been massively difficult for her to come up with an idea, write a detailed and emotional script and see it all play out from there.

I didn’t agree with the way how things ended, but she tried her best, and that is all you can ask for at the end of the day. 

Some criticised the Skins team for the way the show has changed, but the aspect is that this is Skins in an adult life.

The days of raving parties, boozing on regular drugs and sexual encounters are a thing of the past.  This Skins series was always going to be different.  There were elements of these in Skins Fire, and so there should be as the show’s identity and appeal would be totally lost otherwise.

However, people grow up and that is a natural aspect of life.  Effy, Naomi and Emily will have all developed by at least three or four years since we last saw them, so they were now playing characters in their early 20s, a time where the excessive partying and not having much of a care in the world should really have stopped. 

Kaya, Lily and Kat stand out

Skins has been the foreground for some young actors and actresses to really go and make their mark.  Joe Dempsie, Nicolas Hoult, Hannah Murray and Dev Patel from generation one have had great success post-Skins.  Jack O’Connell and Luke Pasqualino from generation two stood out, and Freya Mavor and Dakota Blue Richards from the final generation.   

There are bright futures for Kat, Kaya and Lily

However, Skins Fire once again portrayed the stunning work of three actresses (all pictured) who are among the best talent around.  I’d even go as far to say they are three of the best the UK has at the moment.

I never appreciated how strong Kaya Scodelario was in the main series before, but she really stood out in Skins Fire.  Kaya has already made her name in movies, and she will only go onto bigger and better things. 

She has a confidence element to the characters she plays and no-one could have played Effy’s role better.

I’ve said it before, but Lily Loveless is an outstanding actress.  Her comic timing, the emotion she shows in her scenes and the way she portrays her expressions are up there with the best in British television.

Lily has had roles in Bedlam on Sky One and in BBC Three’s powerful drama The Crash earlier this year, but she has the world at her feet.  The cancer storyline for Naomi was a sad ending to a popular character, but Lily played the scenes exceptionally, especially the close heart-to-heart moments with Scodelario.

In Kathryn Prescott, Skins has uncovered another gem.  Gone are the days of the timid, shy Emily Fitch from the first few episodes of series three.  The scenes Emily has in Skins Fire see a confidence, a conviction and a belief in her character, helped by the internship work in New York.  It was a real shame that we didn’t see enough of Emily in Skins Fire; her scenes were kept to an absolute minimum.

Like Loveless, Prescott has had a guest role in Bedlam, and also appeared in one-off episodes in BBC medical drama Casualty and in another supernatural drama called Being Human.

Kat is also making her name in photography.  Her first official photographic exhibition is taking place in September, in collaboration with her continued work with The Big Issue.  I’m sure the four-week exhibition, titled ‘What Makes Us Care,’ will be a total success.  It is something I even hope to go and visit when I get a spare day from my new job.

So, high praise for three actresses who made their characters in Skins stand out with incredible acting.  I hope they go on and achieve the success they deserve.  The performances of Scodelario and Loveless in Skins Fire were so good, they should be recognised at award ceremonies, but will probably sadly be ignored like on so many occasions before.

Skins Fire was tough to watch, and far too dark for the show’s usual unique identity.  At least the performance in terms of acting couldn’t be faulted.

Categories: Britain, Cancer, Craig Roberts, E4, FSA, Kathryn Prescott, Kaya Scodelario, Kayvan Novak, Lily Loveless, London, Naomily, Skins, The City, TV, University