Get off the Bandwagon Blog

SKINS - E4, 22:00

After the producers announced a few weeks ago that none of the current main cast of E4’s top teen drama would be returning, even more emphasis was put on this series finale of the second season of the show.

The main appeal of Skins has always been the depth of its characters, introduced through individual episodes throughout the first series, as well as all the video diaries and other extras that are provided in the show’s additional online output.

And while it has been criticised by some for being full of your usual stereotypes - the posh one, the geeky one, the black one, the Asian one, the gay one and so on - it is this closeness to these characters that has given Skins its unique relationship with its viewers.

As a result, ending this relationship a mere 19 episodes into our insight into their lives was always going to be challenging, but as usual the writing reveled in its realism to form a more than adequate finale.

As such nothing was wholly resolved for the Bristol gang, much in keeping with life as we know it. Most simply agreed to see what the future would hold with Maxxie and Anwar leaving to chance their arms in London, Sid searching for Cassie in New York and Tony and Michelle waiting to see what life has in store for them.

There’s no doubt the second series has on the whole been much darker, with some seriously heavy storylines kicking around. But, as in life, the party can’t last forever and this was reflected in the characters growing up and moving on. Some breathtaking performances, notably from Hannah Murray as Cassie and Larissa Wilson as Jal, have truly up the stakes and made Skins one of the best dramas currently on our screens.

But it all had to end somewhere. The final shot was left to a sly raise of the eyebrows by Tony’s younger sister Effy from under his unmistakable bed covers, as the mantle was firmy passed on to the next generation. Let’s just hope they know how to party like the first lot.