The transition to a new cast from Skins’s original gang from Seasons 1 and 2 was easier than it could have been because of Effy (Kaya Scodelario): Tony Stonem’s party-city little sister, whose quiet force added a mystique even in a minor role. With Effy as the star character and centrifugal force for the next two seasons, the show was fully devoted to chaos, showing an even darker side of teen life than before. Effy was self-destructive and impulsive, which manifested in a kind of mania by the end; she was the eye of a hurricane love triangle between devoted, grounded boyfriend Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) and her spiritual match, the troublemaker Cook (Jack O’Connell), who drank too much and had a pair of decrepit hands tattooed on his ass which, for some reason, made Effy want to fuck him.
Seasons 3 and 4 were marked by a truly bizarre twist that no one could have predicted: the unexpected murder of Freddie at the hands of the jealous therapist who is stalking Effy, a death later avenged at the hands of Cook. It was confusing and absurd, but it also didn’t fully matter since Season 4 was ending, and it had been characterized by subtler, tenderer moments, including a storyline in which Emily, the younger of a twin duo, comes to terms with being gay and falls in love with Naomi. Their romance was far better fleshed-out than Maxxie’s gay storyline in the first two seasons, and would set the stage for the gender fluidity and sexual experimentation explored in the final generation.