Finale (''Skins'' series 6)

"Finale" is the series finale of the sixth series of the British teen drama Skins. It premiered on E4 in the UK on 26 March 2012. The episode is told from the point of view of all nine characters of the third generation.^[1]

A description of the episode on the Channel 4 website reads; "It's the end of an era. The exams results are in and Alex is throwing the mother of all leaving parties. Everyone's future hangs in the balance as Franky struggles to confront her past."

Plot

Mini, having had issues with her pregnancy, lies asleep in hospital. Liv sits with her and attempts unsuccessfully to talk to her, before leaving to let her be with Alo.

Meanwhile, Franky digs through her fathers' possessions and finds the address of her social worker, before hitching a ride to Birmingham with a friendly truck driver. There, the social worker discreetly helps her find her mother's address, but when Franky arrives, she finds it boarded up and empty. She is confronted by her older sister, Clara, who is shocked to see her , and informs her that their mother is dead. Back in Bristol, Matty and Nick have noticed Franky's absence and, despite their feud, both head to Birmingham to find her, after tracking her using an app on Nick's iPhone. Upon seeing Nick and Matty outside Clara's apartment complex, Franky narrowly manages to escape them, and hitches a ride from the same trucker. Upon discovering that he is heading back to Bristol, she demands he pull over, and he refuses, simply telling her that she can't run forever. Franky throws herself out of the truck, and is promptly rushed to hospital by the aghast trucker.

Liv, who has been starting to feel isolated, asks Alex to forgo his gap year in Thailand and stay with her. However, he tells her that he can't do that, and instead reminds her that there is still his final send-off party before the friends must say goodbye. Rich is given an offer from his top university choice, Cambridge, to his delight — though his joy is short-lived when Nick arrives and asks him if he can let Matty stay. He hesitantly agrees. While sharing a spliff, Matty apologises to Rich for Grace's death, which he accepts, saying that 'Grace says it's cool' as 'she is here all the time.'

Back in the hospital, Franky visits a sleeping Mini. Liv, who is also present, is shocked when she sees the state Franky is in and starts to berate her for her melodramatic behaviour and tendency to be manipulative. Mini to suddenly wakes up and orders Liv out. As she comforts the crying Frankly, she tells her very gently that she will have to face Nick and Matty eventually and can't run forever. Eventually, Alex's party rolls around, and Alo convinces Mini's gynaecologist to let her attend "for an hour." At the party, Nick and Matty both set their sights on Franky and pursue her through the club, as she continues to run from them. Eventually, she is confronted by an image of Grace, who encourages her to face up to the two and tell them the truth. Feeling her confidence return, Franky tearfully admits to Nick and Matty that she loves both of them, but that she knows a relationship could not work between any of them for that reason, before going outside and being met by Clara, who takes Franky home to Jeff. Matty and Nick decide to make peace.

Meanwhile, back at the party, Grace appears to Rich as well, and the two share a kiss in the pool, before she disappears. The next day, Liv and Mini have finally reconciled, when Mini suddenly suffers contractions, and has to be rushed to hospital. Clara tells Franky that she had lied about what she had done to her mother's body, and offers to take her to where it really is, which she and Jeff accept.

In a final closing scene, Franky is driven by Jeff and Clara to where her mother is. But, rather than arriving at a graveyard, they arrive at a mental hospital where Franky is finally re-united with her mother. Alex, meanwhile, boards a bus for Heathrow Airport, and sends Liv a goodbye text, which makes her smile. Nick and Matty go to a police station, and share a final hug before Matty goes inside and turns himself in. At the hospital, Mini gives birth to her baby girl with the support of Liv and Alo. Outside the maternity ward, Rich hears the cries of Mini's baby. Smiling, he casts his eyes heavenward and finally says goodbye to Grace (and the viewer).^[2]

Production details

Music

• Hold On by SBTRKT
• Cowboys Are Square by Billy Childish
• Default by Django Django
• Loner by Burial
• House by Kindness
• Everything You Do Is A Balloon Boards of Canada
• As You Fade Away by Wes Willenburg
• Five Brothers by Marty Robbins
• The Earth Got Round by Sara Sayed
• Give Out by Sharon Van Etten
• Paranoid by Black Sabbath
• A Fool by Fred Kash
• RU116 by Cramp
• Shimmer by Segal
• These Days by Black Keys
• Don't Go by Rae Morris
• Fear And Loathing In Mahwah NJ by Titus Andronicus^[3]

Main cast

• Dakota Blue Richards as Franky Fitzgerald
• Alex Arnold as Rich Hardbeck
• Freya Mavor as Mini McGuinness
• Laya Lewis as Liv Malone
• Will Merrick as Alo Creevey
• Sean Teale as Nick Levan
• Jessica Sula as Grace Blood
• Sebastian de Souza as Matty Levan
• Sam Jackson as Alex Henley

Trivia

Final appearances of Franky Fitzgerald, Mini McGuinness, Matty Levan, Nick Levan, Liv Malone, Rich Hardbeck, Alo Creevey, Alex Henley and Rider.

References