Skins Episode Guide, Season 3 - Pazsaz Entertainment Network

Back To Pazsaz Entertainment Network's Skins Page

Everyone
It's the first day of term at Roundview College and a new gang is forming. Best friends Freddie, JJ, and Cook are en-route to college. Their world collides with Effy's, and Cook is intrigued - this trouble maker has met his match. However, both Freddie and JJ are equally smitten. Identical twin sisters, Katie and Emily, prepare for their first day; as per usual, Katie walks all over her sister Emily. Once at college, Effy and Katie clock one another immediately, whilst Effy's best mate Pandora tells Effy she wants to lose her virginity "asap". At college, Cook tries to charm the girl sitting next to him but instead winds her up. Naomi doesn't suffer fools gladly and grasses Cook up. Effy issues smitten Freddie, JJ and Cook with a challenge to be completed by the end of the day. The winner will get to know her better. And so the first day at college begins...

Cook
It's Cook's 17th birthday, and half the college have been invited to his uncle's pub to witness a night Cook believes will go down in history. The girls get are about to leave when Freddie gets a phone call from his sister Karen. She's at her best friend Kayleigh's engagement party and they want to get the party started. The gang head off uninvited. Cook attracts the attention of Kayleigh's dad, notorious local gangster Johnny White. The party is a timid affair, so - ignoring Freddie's warnings about Johnny White - Cook decides to do as the Cookie monster does and up the tempo, and the evening takes a turn for the worst.

Thomas
Thomas arrives alone in the UK from the Congo. His family are due to join him in a few days, and he has to find somewhere for them to live. He finds an abandoned flat on an estate, but little does he know that local gangster Johnny White is his new landlord, and there's no way Johnny's going to let him live there for free. Thomas has to fend for himself, but a chance encounter at a bus stop, and a mutual love of donuts brings him together with Pandora and Effy. It's fate for Pandora and Thomas, who hit it off immediately - she takes him to see her Aunt Elizabeth, who just might have the answer to Thomas's insolvency, with a rather unconventional money-making scheme.

Pandora
With the first and only boy Pandora's ever fancied having been deported, Pandora is desperate to have some fun and decides to throw a party. Unbeknown to Pandora, Katie has used some rather special ingredients in the chocolate brownies, which take the party to another level. Effy knows, but hasn't warned Pandora or her Mum Angela who is munching happily on the choccie treats. Effy can only look on while her best friend's Mum's behaviour gets increasingly bizarre. An angry Pandora grabs the fun where she can, and towards the end of the evening let's her heart rule her head... but will she regret it the morning?

Freddie
Freddie's the black sheep of his family. His big sister Karen has ambitions - she's reached the final of a TV talent show to find a new member of girl group Da Sexxbombz. Freddie despises her lust for celebrity but is emotionally blackmailed into upholding the story Karen and their Dad, Leo, are spinning. On top of this, living in the shadow of the increasingly reckless Cook is becoming too much to bear. When Effy turns up at his shed, Freddie doesn't know what to do with himself; there's a always been a connection between them. Freddie feels torn between his family, his friends, and his heart, and the isolation is overwhelming. Will Freddie start to put himself first, or will he retreat to his shed, and beloved skateboard, as he always has before?

Naomi
Naomi thinks she has the world worked out, and puts people in their appropriate boxes. There's her hippy mum; the adoration from Emily; Cook's insulting misogyny; and her politics teacher, Kieran's, flattery. She thinks she has them all sussed, and that it's only her who can see the truth. However, the upcoming student elections leave her at a loss, and her insecurities get the better of her. The trust and confidence inspired by a friend encourages her to stand up to her arch rival, the antithesis of everything she stands for, as her and Cook go head to head; but Naomi learns that nothing is black and white anymore.

J.J.
JJ's feeling lost and confused. The upset within the gang has taken its toll on him, and his fine balancing act has come unstuck. When he visits his psychiatric clinic, he just gets given more drugs. At home, his mother is worn out with it all, and away from the home, JJ can see his friends coming apart at the seams. With Effy at such a low ebb, and the chance discovery of Cook, Freddie and Pandora's secrets, he feels the burden to be overwhelming. But an unlikely member of the gang - Emily - proves to be the true friend at his time of need.

Effy
Effy is at the lowest point, but this time there's no older brother at home to notice; and home life has deteriorated so much that it's even harder than ever for her to communicate. Katie, having usurped Effy as Queen Bee, takes every opportunity to rub in her superiority and highlight the fact that Freddie is her man, and Effy is to keep her hands off. She invites Effy to a party in the woods, but there are stipulations - Effy has to drive, and Cook is not welcome. As they all head off, the car strains with tension - as secrets and rivalries build. Their paranoid state increases when they have a frightening run in with some poachers. Freddie manages to lighten the mood, and as they arrive at the campsite, they recover themselves and start to have fun. Effy finds some magic mushrooms, and they experiment. Katie's jealousy of Effy returns, as Effy becomes the centre of the action. The fun and excitement intensify, that is until it becomes clear someone has been tampering with their stuff. Hearing gun shots, they realise someone is charging towards them. The atmosphere darkens and any fun they were having disappears in an instant. Later, Effy gets the opportunity to follow her heart, but a decision she makes may be difficult to ever recover from.

Katie And Emily
Katie won't leave the house. Fortunately, Emily is able to disguise herself as her sister, and sits an exam for her, facilitating the self-imposed house-arrest. Emily and Naomi get closer, but when Emily asks Naomi to accompany her to the college ball, she says no - breaking Emily's fragile heart. Against her better judgement, and under duress, Emily agrees to partner Katie to the ball, and they plan their outfits together. Out shopping, though, Katie sees a way of regaining her hard-sought status at college. When Freddie inadvertently drops the bombshell about Emily and JJ, Katie hatches a plan - making her sister the ultimate victim. Katie's scheming results in the mother of all show-downs. But she's the one who has to face her fears and accept some hard truths - she's not in control any more.

Finale
Cook and Effy are in self-imposed exile from the gang, having gone to stay with Cook's father. Effy is running away from everything she's ever known and Cook enables her escape. Problem is, Cook is slowly falling out of lust, and in love. Back in Bristol, JJ) tries to snap Freddie (Luke Pasqualino) out of his depressed stupour, down about the loss of both his best mate, and the girl he loves. Freddie and JJ force Effy to confront who she is and what she really wants. She has to make amends for the damage she's caused. She also has to decide whether to follow her heart. Can the four friends find a way forward together?