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It’s hard to pinpoint the problems, but there’s definitely something missing from series 5 of Skins. Last night’s episode ‘Mini’ only heightened my initial worries that there’s simply something not quite right about this generation’s cast. Whilst it wasn’t entirely awful, I couldn’t help but feel that it’s just not really “Skins”. The episode was definitely an improvement over last week’s offering ‘Rich’, but there’s still something lacking, and the trailer for the next installment, ‘Liv’, doesn’t make me think that it’s going to be getting drastically better any time soon.
If you hadn’t already realised from the premiere episode that the character of Mini is essentially defined by her insecurity, then this episode would’ve been a bit of a revelation. The hour basically acts as a rundown of all Mini’s issues and self-doubts, as we learn that she has trouble holding onto her friends (and her boyfriend), she is incredibly lonely, obsessed with exercise, and eats so minimally that she’s probably got an eating disorder.
I understand that there’s a certain suspension-of-disbelief involved in being a Skins viewer, however the actions of most of the characters this week just really didn’t make sense to me at all. I think the problem is mostly down to poor writing (the moment where Grace decides that her and Rich are going to get together because she’s now not friends with Mini anymore is just terribly conceived) but the acting was also, once again, at a fairly low standard. Now that I’ve seen more of them, I can say for sure that I’m just not convinced by Freya Mavor (Mini), Laya Lewis (Liv) or Sean Teale (Mini’s boyfriend, Nick).
There were still some things that worked. Franky turned up towards the episode’s end for an intriguing scene with Mini that possibly hints towards a friendship in the future. There was also a single brief shot of the mysterious Matty. At certain moments, I thought the vulnerability and isolation of Mini was rather wonderfully captured, although at others, it just wasn’t. On the most basic level, this was a nice episode to look at - I liked the way that it was shot, particularly in scenes like where Mini picked the petals off a flower while sitting on the swings. The music for this episode was also interesting, and I’d even consider looking up some of the choices - they definitely worked a whole lot better than the metal of last week’s Skins.
I don’t want to sound overly repetitive but, honestly, I found this to be another disappointing episode. Sure, I don’t think that it was quite as weak as ‘Rich’, but 'Mini' only really worked in occasional moments, and as an overall piece it was kind of lacking. I’d really like to know what’s going on with Matty as, at the moment, the intrigue surrounding his character is one of the few things that the fifth series of Skins has done effectively. I hope that we see an improvement next week, but at this point, I’m not expecting it, especially with an episode centered around Liv, who I find decidedly boring.
Skins airs on Thursdays at 10pm on E4
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