All The Times ‘Skins’ Broke Our Hearts & Punched Our Souls In The Dick

Christ, Skins was bloody depressing wasn’t it? The iconic and controversial teen TV series was a staple for most of us in our formative angsty emo years, when we’d ~relate~ deeply to the tears and drama the Brit kids experienced seemingly on the daily.

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But there were sad Skins moments and fucking TRAGIC PUMMEL THE HEART INTO PIECES Skins moments, and it’s the latter I’m going to take us on a trip down memory lane with today. A really bleak one that’ll probably leave you feeling really shit, to be honest.

Before we begin, let’s just revisit the best intro song in the world, shall we?

Ok, got that out of my system. Get your tissues ready bc here we go.

15. Cassie “Shoots” Sid

Let’s start out by taking it easy – this wasn’t soul-ruining with it’s devastation, but Cassie’s unrequited love for Sid was heartbreaking. The poor girl was going through ENOUGH, OK? And she was so sweet and quirky, a perfect match for Sid.

But OFC, Sid fucks it by hanging with Michelle and leaving Cassie waiting in his room when they were supposed to meet up. She loses it, then squirts him in the face with a mini water gun. It’s a weird moment to be so raw but it really is a raw and emotional scene.

Then she says “it’s your choice, Sid. It’s always your choice” which just… ma heart.

14. Chris Sits In His Mum’s Cupboard

It’s easy to forget the hard-partying kids of Skins were, well, kids – but the moment Chris realised his mum wasn’t gone for a few days, but gone for good, was definitely one of the times you remembered these were just teens trying to figure life out.

His realisation came when he saw his Mum’s wardrobe emptied, and in his shock simply sits down in the empty space. It’s simple and it’s damn well tragic.

13. Just Like… Effie In General

Look I wouldn’t necessarily say Effie has the most tragic arc, considering she survives the full series. But she certainly spends most of the episodes in a depressive, lost spiral.

Effie’s self-destruction dominates this series, and to me she’s got too many sad moments to count (doing heroin! Fucking shit up with Freddie! Etc etc etc) not to mention all the most tragic lines (see above).

12. But Also When Effie Overdoses

Tony carrying his sister out of the rave, a situation he got her into, was a lot of feels at once.

11. Tony Gets Hit By A Bus

I would say this was more of a shocking WTF moment than a sad moment, but look – it’s iconic, so here we are. Who can forget the moment Tony FINALLY realised he loved Michelle, before getting suddenly mowed down by a bus?

Things were sad the following season, though – watching Tony struggle with brain damage as a result of the bus accident was harrowing.

10. THAT Series 4 Opening

There’s a reason we put a content warning on this article – Skins was notorious for dealing with the big teen issues in brutal ways. Like opening their fourth season with Sophia wandering through a packed club, before climbing up onto a railing and falling to her death.

9. Mini Has Sex Before She’s Ready

There’s plenty of sex in Skins that’s not comfortable to watch, from people engaging in sexual acts just for revenge or just plain boredom (who can forget Tony/Maxxie) to self-destructive cheating.

But Mini having sex with her boyfriend for the first time in an attempt to keep him from leaving her for Liv, pretending to not be a virgin and then seeing her scared and apprehensive facial expressions the whole time? Devastating. Not to mention straight after she sees Nick and Liv after they’ve fucked. She might not have been the most sympathetic Skins character but this was a hard watch.

8. Katie Finds Out She Can’t Have Kids

We’re all waiting to find out if Katie is pregnant, so seeing her relief when the doctor tells her she isn’t makes this seem like it’ll be a happy moment.

But then… the doctor tells her the reason her period has been absent is that she’s going through premature menopause, and therefore will never have children. Things get a bit comical even though it’s a really fucked up moment, with Katie dumping her dude and then heading home and straight into a family fight. But it’s when she’s reassuring her little brother that things will be fine, when they clearly are not fine for her, that’s really emotional.

7. Emily Finds Out Naomi Cheated

Oh god, is there anything more heartbreaking than realising your girlfriend cheated on you with someone via sketch book?

6. Grace Dies

Grace and Rich were a love story for the ages – the sweet ballet dancer and metal head fell in love after first becoming friends, and it was all super adorable. Until, of course, the show had to bloody ruin it by putting Grace into a horrific car accident during the gang’s trip to Morocco, after which she ends up in a coma she never emerges from.

The worst bit? Rich has hallucinations that Grace comes out of the coma, so we all thought maybe things were going to be OK for a bit.

5. Freddie Finds Effie In The Bathroom

I’m not using an image of this moment because it’s too graphic, but when Freddie finds Effie in the bathroom after a suicide attempt, it’s a culmination of all the effort he’s put in to trying to help her. Her deep depression and his frustration and grief over it are all over this scene, it’s a brutal and harrowing moment.

4. Freddie’s Death

One of the most controversial scenes in Skins history, I’d argue Freddie’s death wasn’t so much sad as it was shocking. Still – the moment Freddie realises Effie’s psycho psych has locked him in, followed by us not seeing but HEARING him be bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat is a truly tragic Skins moment.

3. Sid’s Dad Dies

For me it was a tough one with this and Chris’ death, because I was actually more upset over Sid’s dad dying in some ways. I KNOW. It’s weird. But Sid had JUST kinda reconciled with his dad, so as viewers we were shocked when he comes into the lounge room to find his dad dead in his armchair. It’s shocking in it’s simplicity – his dad has simply died quietly, before Sid got to really repair their relationship.

Sid is so shocked he just goes to school as normal, but it’s when he breaks down to Tony at a gig later in the episode that our tears really welled up.

2. Chris’ Funeral

Now we’re at the pointy end, and there wasn’t much in this show that was more heartbreaking than Chris’ funeral – especially Jal’s speech and the fireworks. Oh god. It was too much. Almost as sad as…

1. Chris’ Sudden Death

Oh. My. God. There is – I can unequivocally say this – no sadder moment in the history of Skins than the moment Chris says to Cassie “what’s my girlfriend’s name” and she thinks he is joking… only for him to dramatically deteriorate due to a brain haemorrhage in front of her eyes, before remembering “Jal” right before death.

If you didn’t cry when you watched this the first time, you’re a demon. RIP Chris.

If you are contemplating suicide or having suicidal thoughts, or need help, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14, or the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

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