skins 4x08 --- "everyone" ... supposedly, but not really.
When Kathryn Prescott sniffing her fingers to see if she used them night prior is the most realistic thing about an entire Skins series, you know something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (SEE WHAT I DID THERE? I quoted Hamlet. Again.) HEAVEN WILL DIRECT IT... Back to heaven; RIP Skins.
I'm going to rely on some real judges to help me out here. ( Read more... )
But ignoring it works too, I like my fairytale romance as much as the next girl. I just wanted to point out there were some fun times had.
It's not perfect, but it's what we've got to work with. I think the fandom is going to sink their teeth into all this and really only make me love it more as they pull all of this it apart and stitch it back together, but I can't say I'm totally devastated by the ingredients. Now you know, lol.
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Be prepared for many notifications in your inbox cos I may have to reply in bits over time. :)
I will say. OMG I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN. *has an Effy-freakout and plasters "jeskaa!!" all over my wall of death!* I kid, I kid. Your name is actually in my fandom Stalker Locker.
Anyway, yeah, no doubt there were funtimes. But that is for part 2 of my post-4x08 wrap-up. Heh. I ran out of steam so this one is solely my "I HATE SKINS" post. The next shall be my "BUT NOT ALWAYS" part. ;)
I guess part of my dissatisfaction comes from knowing that Skins has done so much better in the past. This series just *wasn't* the same Skins they developed over the previous 3 series. And there's really no amount of Katie Fucking Fitch or Naomily love declarations that can change that. This was just lazy in terms of storytelling and motivations. It lacked serious cohesion throughout, and that was never really solved, even in the final episode, imo.
So, back to your points. I agree, I didn't mind that it wasn't all resolved. I didn't expect it to be wrapped up in a nice little bow and handed to us. But I found what they did chose to tie up to be far too bluntly handled. It was like "POW! Finished." (I'm thinking primarily of Thomas/Panda & Naomi/Emily -- and well, Freddie was merked with a blunt object literally, heh). And then on the flipside, Effy got zilch, which I was thoroughly pissed off about just because out of all of them, she deserved at least a semblance of SOMETHING. Like, even a one-sided convo saying "Yeah, Tony, I'll be home soon." *dies*
I thought Cook's ended fine, for him. (I'm really not fussed that we have no idea what happened.) And JJ's & Katie's were decent enough too. I liked them leaving Pandora's slightly open. Like does she tell Thomas she's going there too? Likely, but perhaps not. (Though overall I vote more Katie, but that's beside the point.)
I also agree that Emily really needed to be shown real-life. No doubt. But I do not think it needed to be done the way it was. It didn't feel like an organically-born storyline. It felt melodramatic. Naomi cheating never really was a huge roadblock for me though. It happens. That's life, and the sooner Emily got a dose of reality, the better. But everything surrounding it was so over-the-top. My issues surrounding the series generally are more the WAY certain events unfolded, and the methods to get to certain points (usually using highly-exaggerated contrivances) rather than complex storytelling and development (which I think is a symptom of the far too condensed time-frame they had to tell all the stories). Emily and Naomi are no exception to this for me.
(Especially since we've seen Skins do the cheating thing MULTIPLE times. I won't say who or when, but it was handled so much better in past seasons.)
But I dunno... I still think the entire development of Emily/Naomi's relationship (and breakdown of) was so poorly done/exposed. And, I guess I'm not a hopeless romantic any more, cos I just cannot see for the life of me how you can hurt someone you love for SO long... which, well, maybe that's why Naomi started to go heavy on the booze/drugs later in the series cos she couldn't handle it anymore (just like Emily couldn't seem to handle it near the beginning/mid-way point). Still, Emily had to have seen the effect she was having. And when Naomi just turned off and played happy family with Ems, it was coming down to her last defense... I guess, I just can't ever imagine hurting someone I love that much just to punish them for one, singular incident. My head doesn't wrap around the idea very well.
tbc... ;)
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Yes, yes, I'm sure that my opinion is colored by the fact that I have not yet made it through the first half of Series 1 and really have only Series 3 to compare our current season to. If the first Gen was as epic as everyone said it was, I'm sure that my disappointment in this current season would be far, far more severe. As it stands, I'm not saying that I loved the whole thing, or even most things about the current season - IA with everything you said about shoddy pacing, contrived plotlines, huge story holes and other general shittiness, but I didn't hate it. I just can't feel at this point like there would be anything that they could have really done at the end of this series to make me any less invested in the characters I fell in love with in Series 3. The incredible actors, the deep and conflicted characters, the beautiful shots and the thousand wonderful and hilarious details redeem it for me overall, or maybe I'm just a sucker for feeling pissed off week after week and shouting NEEDS MOAR NAOMILY at my computer.
Effy did get screwed, that's for certain. I'm a big fan, more now than I was at the end of season 3, because despite the strange places the writers made her go, Kaya rocked it each and every time. I think that's the case with this whole cast (well, perhaps save for Merv and occasionally Luke), that the acting did far more justice to the stories than they deserved. The end result was often mediocre when it should have been shit - but sometimes it was just magic.
Emily, Emily.. no, I do think we agree for the most part, although I am maybe not as harsh on her as I should be, perhaps because of all the characters on the show she reminds me a little of myself, and I can empathize with the way she reacts to things. TEAM NAOMI forever, though, and I think she became my favorite character by the end of the season. Her admission, her confession at the end that she really loved Emily all along really made her character for me, explained her extreme and sometimes contradictory behaviors in both seasons and made her character so much deeper. I didn't think I could fall in love with Naomi any more, but I totally did.
More on Emily in a sec.. lolol
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I guess maybe it was Kat's direction for the scene but ... I dunno. It bothered me. And it seemed like "Just give Emily what she wants (tix to Goa, Naomi to pour out her feelings, etc) and everything is hunky dory" which kind of just puts Emily's character right back at the beginning again with her unrealistic desires and stubborn persistence. It felt very one-sided in Emily's favour the whole time. There was nothing about what Naomi deserved in return. Which imo, was an apology at least for some (even minute) aspect of Emily's behaviour ALL YEAR.
(It's the timeline that really, really gets me. If the series had taken place over a few months, I likely would have none of these issues about the relationship progression/regression. While cheating's not a quick, easy thing to overcome, it also does not take that long with that much abuse (using the term loosely for lack of a better one).)
I didn't really see it as redemption so much as realisation on Emily's behalf. She finally realised that she didn't honestly want Mandy, or anyone else other than Naomi. But I don't see that as redemption. She didn't actually act on that epiphany at all -- that we saw. (Tho maybe that's why Naomi was nekkid in bed with Ems, hehe). She's equally as cowardly/lost as Naomi. Again, I think this boils down to more of an issue with editing and rushing storylines.
And she didn't really seem all that concerned with Naomi breaking up with her either which didn't help convince Emily was actually affected. So again, it comes down to creative decisions by the director/actors/editors/writers about what they were trying to get across.
All that said, I don't think Naomi is the epitome of maturity or grace in handling the conflict either. She's equally stupid. I didn't expect them to have a functional relationship either. (I mean, come on, they're 18. I don't think those two concepts are compatible.)
I just don't think the impetus to fix the relationship rested solely on Naomi like it was portrayed and that really annoyed me about the writing. And I don't think all the blame did either but I guess I never really felt like that was ever addressed properly. It was always "Bad Naomi, poor Emily." You never actually see any indication that Emily & Naomi were working on their trust issues, or forgiveness or any of that. All they did all series was mope and get wasted. But maybe that's cos that's all they wanted to show us (I'm lookin' at you, fucking deleted scene.) instead of actually giving us something concrete to show that they are not 100% miserable 100% of the time. That's why everything in 'Everyone' seemed to come out of the blue to me. There was no lead up.
I think Naomi's drunken ramble about being bad touched briefly on this issue of blame, but didn't really solve anything, or even move anything along. And was really saddening to me cos it just showed how beaten down she's been with it all, that she sees it as completely her fault STILL. (which doesn't make it any easier to get up the courage to face if the guilt just keeps getting piled on.)
I think it's all rather subjective however. It depends who you lean towards I think. I'm so heavily in Naomi-territory that I can't let Emily just get a free pass to a happy ending while Naomi makes all the sacrifices..
AH I JUST NEED TO STOP.
I'm so over-protective of Naomi its getting stupid.
LOL.
Don't even get me started on how little Naomily ACTION we got. I just... *grumbles*
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I guess, I just can't ever imagine hurting someone I love that much just to punish them for one, singular incident. My head doesn't wrap around the idea very well.
See, I don't think it was just about the cheating, it was more that Naomi tore down her entire worldview and all the expectations Emily had for herself and the two of them and left her, I'm sure Emily felt, all alone and with absolutely nothing. As much as Naomi's struggle with accepting her sexuality was played pretty clearly, she really had a lot less to lose than Emily did in that department because we all know Gina would probably be more excited than anything at the thought of a gay daughter and Emily, we saw pretty clearly, was not accepted by her family, at least initially. Emily's bitchy behavior, even before she knew about the cheating, I think can be explained pretty clearly as a defense mechanism, to the point where she was clinging only onto Naomi as she kind of stepped off the cliff and said "this is who I am, I don't give a fuck if you like it" to her family, to her sister, to her friends and to the world at large which for her was a pretty damn big deal. Remember the shy little twin the first day of Roundview? The only way she overcame that, I think, was to maybe emulate Naomi a little bit and act the sarcastic bitch, but I'm thinking part of why Naomi's cheating was so devastating and yes, maybe something you don't get over even in a year, although I hate the timeline too, is that when she looked around and found Naomi had disappeared, at least for a little while, she dropped right off the cliff and barely survived the fall. Longest sentence ever, y/y? But hopefully you're still following.
I just felt like Emily acted like a martyr crybaby all series, like she had absolutely nothing to be sorry for, and I got the feeling even at the end that she still didn't feel like she had really done anything wrong with that look to Naomi in the shed.
She did cry too much, but KP is just so good at it. I admit, though, even I was getting a little sick of it. Remember my rant after JJ's ep? It was like, enough already. However, going back to my theory that Naomi got the blame for everything coming apart in Emily's world, not just the physical act of cheating, I think Emily had a lot to be sorry for. Was it unfair that Naomi got the blame for all that, of course, but that's what happens when you're young and in love and slightly obsessive and then you are slapped with an ice-cold bucket of someone disappointing you horribly. I think Emily's reaction was extreme, for sure, but has she ever been one to do things halfway? Her single minded pursuit of Naomi from the very first time we ever saw her (and before) was so much a part of her identity that when that was taken away, especially after Emily and Naomi had gotten together and she had invested even more of herself in the other girl, well, she didn't know who she was anymore. The sarcastic bitch thing never really settled into her bones and she spent the rest of the series trying to make the "I don't give a shit" stick and failing miserably.
I just watched that scene again and I didn't read Emily's reaction as "I'm in the right" I took it as, she and Naomi have had nothing but conflict for the past year and she was steeling herself for another 12 rounds of fight. I mean, she had no idea what Naomi was going to say to her, they were finally breaking up and Emily was moving out, and basically things were coming to a head and disintegrating completely. I would be wary too.
Oh, and I'm not done yet, lolol
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And she didn't really seem all that concerned with Naomi breaking up with her either which didn't help convince Emily was actually affected.
I think she was terribly affected, just.. you couldn't tell because she wasn't crying, lolol. I think they had both kinda given up at that point. Frankly, between the drinking and the fighting and the headfucking each other for months, telling Ems to move out was the first actual step either of them had taken towards any kind of resolution since the "I'll do anything" which in reality, was "I'm just going to act even more afraid of you" Emily was angry, then frustrated, and at that point I'm sure, just hopeless. And probably hung over.
But here is some Emily crying for you to show you how much she cares xD
I promise I won't start visually illustrating this now, because it's getting ridiculous as it is..
I just don't think the impetus to fix the relationship rested solely on Naomi like it was portrayed and that really annoyed me about the writing.
But see, I think it kinda was. Not because it was all her fault, but because she was the only one who could. I just don't think Emily had it in her, or even knew how, to pick back up and make things right. In that case, Naomi had to act - and did so beautifully, finally showing Emily that the trust Emily had placed in her wasn't a stupid decision in the first place. I think Naomi had to act, had to be the brave one, because Emily had been the brave one before, had been exceedingly forgiving in the face of a thousand slights and heartbreaks until they finally got together. This wounded and confused Emily just didn't have that kind of resilience anymore, it wasn't only Naomi who crushed it out of her, it was life, and if Naomi didn't step up and grab her away from the edge it was going to be all over. That's why the "since I was twelve" line just made that story for me, because by Naomi putting her heart out there, in front of everyone, Emily could finally find her way back not only to Naomi but to herself again. The fact that both of them were horribly incomplete without the other their whole lives is just the stuff of epic love stories. And Naomi is definitely the hero in this one.
Ok one more and then I'll promise I'll stop, lol
"Just give Emily what she wants (tix to Goa, Naomi to pour out her feelings, etc) and everything is hunky dory" which kind of just puts Emily's character right back at the beginning again with her unrealistic desires and stubborn persistence.
I think they're on an even footing now, with Naomi not holding back and therefore Emily not clinging to her so desperately, and I think what I got from the ending was that it was going to be much more mutual now. Both of them have lived the consequences of not really seeing the other person in front of them, just the person they wanted to see, and I don't see either of them making that mistake again. I have no doubt that when their mouths are not otherwise occupied with each other's other parts, they're never going to shut up about their feelings and wants and really work hard at their relationship. They both know how quickly it all goes to shit otherwise. Also, sex.
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Emily was angry, then frustrated, and at that point I'm sure, just hopeless. And probably hung over.
Truth. I certainly wouldn't have the energy to emote excessively when hungover. (I just think Naomi should have kicked Emily out ages ago, lol. This may have been solved way sooner. Distance, fond hearts, Big Yellow Taxi, and all that.)
Not because it was all her fault, but because she was the only one who could.
I like that. I mean, I've been there when you just... ~can't anymore. And you think "Fuck it, it's your turn to show me for once." But I dunno, I give in too easily I guess, and purposely provoke a response in order to get that. (Unless I just give up completely and end it). Usually by being incredibly rude and nasty, but still, I can see it clearer now that you put it like that. And plus, you called Naomi the hero which makes me all squishy inside. :)
I think they're on an even footing now,
I can see that more emotionally, but I still think it's uneven in the sense that what Emily wants, Emily gets... regardless. She still seems like she hasn't entirely learnt that you don't always get what you want, cos in the end, she's always got it, even if it took a lot of hurt/effort to get there. Which I suppose in some sense is admirable... I don't agree with her ~methods tho. ;)
I personally would love if Emily let Naomi go to university (at least for a year/semester to try it) instead of regaling her into yet another flight of fancy around the world. Tho, I can see how it's not entirely fair on Emily cos she (as far as we know) isn't going to uni so what's she supposed to do? Follow Naomi around? *sigh* Rock, meet hard place. Or you know, if she just let Naomi decide without fear/guilt/etc what she really wants to do. If it turns out Goa, then so be it. Everyone's happy.
(Just one thing, when did it turn from Mexico to Goa? LOL. I never quite understood that. Obviously it was a conversation we never saw...Pretty irrelevant detail but still. I was like "Where?")
BUT WHATEVER. It's not like it matters cos we'll never get to see it anyway.
I do however very much appreciate you ending the comment with "sex". THIS IS TRUE. They should never stop the sexing.
I'm pretty firmly entrenched in the "UGH EMILY STFU!" club at the moment and it's really hard to crawl out of it. I'm trying though, cos I enjoyed Emily up to a point this series then I just lost it. (Partly I think due to being bored with the conflict cos it was exactly the same ALL series long. I think I got frustrated that they were both such lazy douches.) But I'll try, and your complimentary perspective helps me not hate Emily quite as much. Still bitter about things, but that's for another time.
I really must sleep & gather my thoughts, and then tomorrow I'll head on into the other comments which are nice and juicy! ;D
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I don't think it was just about the cheating, it was more that Naomi tore down her entire worldview and all the expectations Emily had for herself and the two of them and left her, I'm sure Emily felt, all alone and with absolutely nothing.
Oh, I see that. For sure. (I actually wrote a fic that described it similarly, heh). But I don't think the show itself explored that correctly. At JJ's episode it was still about (not) trusting Naomi. And I can see why Emily is so resentful & broken about her entire existence being torn down, but on the same hand, I don't really see that as 100% Naomi's fault (the way it was presented on-screen), and it's not something Naomi can fix either, though the entire series we're made to believe that Naomi has to bear the responsibility for everything. That's up to Emily. It was her own naivety that caused it to be such a big deal. (Which is why I think perhaps the Gen1 dealt with this issue better, since none of them had the same blind faith in fairytales & the good in people.) I have no doubt Emily put Naomi/love/life on a pedestal and it was only a matter of time before it all crashed down around her (& she learnt a hard lesson). But like, I said, I don't think the overwhelming impact of that is totally Naomi's blame. It's Emily's for being naive, and I think perhaps that's why Naomi didn't/couldn't do anything for so long... cos really, she can't fix that for Emily. She can apologise for the initial trigger (the cheating) but she can't do the rest as easily cos it's about Emily's worldview and her own acceptance of reality.
I dunno, this is my issue. The fact we're even talking about this in so much detail, and pretty much making assumptions/speculating on characters so much is where the show failed. I mean, I don't like to be whacked over the head with ~meaning and ~exposition. But I think they slipped up by implying the reason for Naomi/Emily's conflict carrying on for so long was due to trust issues/cheating when it was (and I agree with you) was far more about Emily's world becoming empty and meaningless in the absence of her perfect vision.
I really resent them dragging it out for so long. Cos, no, I don't think someone cheating on you ~once at 17/18 is that big a deal or would take that long to overcome/forgive. But when taking into account the other reason for Emily's behaviour, it makes a little more sense. But that's also why I don't completely buy their happy ending. I didn't see Emily's worldview being repaired, or ~renovated (perhaps would be more apt). It was just like... I don't even know anymore. I didn't completely buy the reconciliation. It was far too easy, especially after a year of shit. (I think they could have handled the whole thing far better had they not been obsessed with creating conflict drama for the entire series based on just that. I feel it would have been more organic to explore Emily coming into her own, and recognising life isn't roses and sunshine, and accepting that instead of stomping around, frowning and crying the entire time, like a toddler who got their toys taken away. The conflict would still be there, but there would be character movement.
Again, tho, for the millionth time, this disconnect from what I think we agree was the real motivation behind Emily's breakdown and what was actually shown on TV is my issue. It was just dragged out far too long and focussed too heavily on Naomi being in the "wrong", since it wasn't really about the one-night stand deep down. That was merely a catalyst. Some effort on Emily's behalf would have been nice (after 4x04 cos up to that point I totally understood Emily's reactions, and empathized to some degree. It was JJ's ep that made me bitter.)
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So while I see where Emily would blame entirely Naomi for the entire world crashing down, I just felt like the viewers were supposed to take that stance as well. Didn't appreciate that.
Remember my rant after JJ's ep?
Heehee. Yes. If I never have to see KP cry again it'll be too soon, tbh. *yawn*
ANYWAY. I think getting down to bare bones, it's not really that I have an issue with Emily's behaviour, or Naomily, but more the way it was presented onscreen. Yanno? I just feel there was a chasm between what was really going and what we saw. I'm bitter about that. I'm bitter about the lack of exploration about the real things happening in the relationship, the way it dragged on FAR too long and the way we were supposed to believe it was for other, more simplistic reasons (cos while you and I and some others see the deeper issues, I don't think it was properly presented to the general audience that doesn't pick apart things, hehe). I'm bitter that I didn't actually see Emily really pony up and face things, and apologise. But that actually is a personal gripe that I'm hung up on, haha. (Without going into personal issues, I'm sure there's some aspect of my own life experiences that I'm channelling in my reaction to Emily, and it's colouring it slightly...)
I wanted more journey, less ... random crying. ;)
IN SHORT (finally), my main issue is the way the Skins team handled Naomi & Emily in terms of storytelling, not so much the actual characters or endgames. Though I would have liked evidence that Emily really, truly learnt her lesson (which, for all intents and purposes I will believe happened, but I just didn't see it onscreen the way I wanted to.) The path they took all series to get to 4x08 was flawed. That's really the crux the matter for me. It was too drawn out all series with zero development, then everything was squished together and rushed far too quickly in 4x08. It left me ... ultimately unsatisfied. Though (timorously) happy. Oddly enough.
So, mine is more of a technical, developmental & logistical issue rather than an overall thematic one. I liked where they went, I liked what the underlying aim was. I didn't like ~how it was shown or the path they took to get there.
But hey, that's what the film is for! :D
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