Skins Pure
A feature-length episode revisiting Cassie Ainsworth in adulthood.
"Skins Pure" is a feature-length episode from the E4 series Skins, broadcast in two parts during 2013. It serves as the second of three extended episodes commissioned for the seventh series, which was created to conclude the show. Unlike the first six series, which were a teen drama centered on the lives of teenagers in Bristol, "Skins Pure" adopts a distinct filmic and tonal style, revisiting a former character as they navigate adulthood, similar to the earlier episode "Fire."
The episode follows Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray), a main character from the first two series. Once a daydreaming partygoer with various mental health struggles, Cassie has largely moved past these issues. She now works as a waitress at a café in London, having spent years traveling across America with Sid Jenkins, her on-again, off-again boyfriend from the early series who found her there at the end of the second series. In the story, Cassie develops an unusual friendship with her stalker (Olly Alexander) and attempts to support her younger brother, Reuben, while their father, Marcus (Neil Morrissey), struggles to cope after their mother’s death.
**Part 1** Cassie, now 23, lives in a shared London house and works as a café waitress. She prefers solitude and leads an isolated life, occasionally receiving calls from her father, Marcus, and brother, Reuben, who live in Wales following their mother’s death. Shortly before a one-night stand with her Israeli coworker, Yaniv (Daniel Ben Zenou), an artist at her workplace shows Cassie a website called "Oblivion" featuring dramatic, intense photographs of her. Shocked, she discovers a collage of images, some taken through her bedroom window while she was in her underwear. Disturbed, she confides in Maddie (Charlene McKenna), an acquaintance living below her, and deduces the photos were likely taken from an abandoned office building opposite. After tricking her way inside, she finds evidence of regular access and waits for the stalker. To her shock, it is Jakob (Olly Alexander), the young chef from her café. She attacks him and takes his camera. Cassie installs makeshift blinds and resumes her routine, ignoring Jakob’s pleas to return the camera. She notices café patrons recognizing her, and Maddie calls the photos beautiful. Cassie later confronts Jakob in the office building. He admits he has no sexual interest in her, claiming the ph
- type
- Television episode
- series
- Skins
- part_of
- Seventh series (feature-length episodes)
- air_date
- 2013
- network
- E4
- focus_character
- Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray)
Lore & Background
"Skins Pure" focuses on Cassie Ainsworth (Hannah Murray), a main character from the show's first two series. Formerly a daydreaming party girl with mental problems, Cassie now works as a waitress in London after traveling around America with Sid Jenkins. In the story, she forms an odd friendship with her stalker, Jakob (Olly Alexander), and tries to support her younger brother, Reuben, as their father, Marcus (Neil Morrissey), fails to cope with the death of their mother.
In part one, Cassie discovers that Jakob has been photographing her from an abandoned office building. After confronting him, she agrees to let him continue taking pictures. Part two follows Cassie and Jakob to Wales, where she learns her father is an alcoholic. After a series of conflicts involving Jakob and her co-worker Yaniv, Cassie's father reveals he has stopped drinking and plans a trip to Italy. Cassie adapts to her new focus, and the episode ends with her telling Reuben that "everything's good."
Co-creator Bryan Elsley confirmed via Twitter that an unnamed ex-boyfriend Cassie refers to is intended to be Sid Jenkins, confirming that Sid found Cassie in New York and they shared a happy relationship until it ended for unknown reasons.
Reader's Guide
"Skins Pure" is significant as part of the series' conclusion, offering a tonally distinct exploration of a former teen character's adulthood. The episode received a generally positive response, with reviewers noting its aesthetic beauty and its departure from the darker tone of the preceding episode "Skins Fire." Den of Geek writer Caroline Preece said the episode fit with the style of Cassie's original episodes, which were "the most aesthetically beautiful" of the series, and that "a world-weary Cassie is hard to take at first, but it’s strikingly different from what the show has done before." Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy commented that part one provided little "light relief" from "the pitch-black 'Skins Fire'." The episode's legacy lies in its mature, filmic treatment of a beloved character's transition to adulthood, and its confirmation of Sid Jenkins' off-screen reunion with Cassie.
Did You Know?
- "Skins Pure" is the second of three feature-length episodes of a specially commissioned seventh series.
- The episode confirms via co-creator Bryan Elsley's Twitter that Cassie's unnamed ex-boyfriend is Sid Jenkins.
- Cassie's father, Marcus, is played by Neil Morrissey.
- The episode ends with Cassie telling her brother Reuben that "everything's good."
More in Skins episodes 1-24
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