Skins Rise
Final episode of Skins, following James Cook in Manchester's criminal underworld.
Skins Rise is a two-part feature-length episode of the E4 series Skins, broadcast in 2013. It serves as the third and final installment of the specially commissioned seventh season, which was designed to conclude the series, and it is the last episode of the show overall. Whereas the original six-year run of Skins was a teen drama centered on the lives of teenagers in Bristol, Skins Rise—like the preceding episodes Skins Fire and Skins Pure—adopts a more cinematic and tonally different approach, focusing on a former character navigating adulthood.
The episode centers on James Cook, played by Jack O'Connell. Cook was previously a hedonistic womanizer and troublemaker during the third and fourth series of Skins, last seen in a cliffhanger involving a fight with the murderer of his friend Freddie. In the present, Cook lives in Manchester, staying hidden from both authorities and society. He is notably more subdued and serious, clearly haunted by his past, and earns a living by selling drugs in Manchester’s criminal underworld.
In Part 1, Cook, now 21, works as a drug peddler for Louie, a wealthy nightclub owner and drug baron, alongside Louie’s other employee Jason and his bodyguard Rob. After years on the run for killing John Foster, Freddie’s murderer, Cook sleeps in his car and has a casual sexual relationship with Emma, a friend-with-benefits. Louie asks Cook to drive his girlfriend, Charlie, house hunting. Charlie jumps into a swimming pool at one property, but Cook refuses to join; she grows frustrated and later flirts with him, pressing him about his past, which he keeps hidden. She asks him to drop her at a housing development without telling Louie. Cook discusses this with Jason, who is also confused. At a party Louie throws, Cook attends with Emma. After taking a pill Jason gives Emma, Cook sees Charlie dancing, becomes unsettled, and leaves the venue, vomiting. He then discovers Jason having sex with Charlie. Jason beats Cook violently and threatens him into silence. Emma finds Cook injured, takes him to her flat to clean up, and they discuss leaving Manchester. Cook receives a call from Charlie and meets her; she demands he tell her what happened, and he admits to killing someone. They have sex but are interrupted by Louie, who orders Cook to bring Charlie to their new house for a housewarming party. There, Louie reveals he knows Charlie has been
- type
- Television episode
- series
- Skins
- season
- 7
- episode_number
- 3 (final)
- air_date
- 2013
- network
- E4
- focus_character
- James Cook (Jack O'Connell)
Lore & Background
Skins Rise focuses on the character of James Cook, once a hedonistic womaniser and troublemaker in the third and fourth series of Skins. Cook was last seen fighting his friend Freddie's murderer, the outcome of which was left as a cliff-hanger. In the present day, Cook is living in Manchester, remaining under the radar from the authorities and society at large. He is noticeably more subdued and serious, clearly harrowed by the events of his past, and makes his living peddling drugs in Manchester’s criminal underworld.
The episode is divided into two parts. In Part 1, Cook, now aged 21, works as a drug peddler for Louie, a wealthy nightclub owner and drug baron. After spending years on the run for killing John Foster, Cook sleeps in his car and has a friends-with-benefits relationship with Emma. Louie asks Cook to drive his girlfriend Charlie house hunting, leading to flirtation and tension. At a party, Cook discovers Jason having sex with Charlie, and Jason violently beats Cook. Later, Louie reveals he knows about Charlie's cheating and has Rob drown Jason in a swimming pool. Cook and Emma attempt to flee Manchester, but Cook turns back after a call from a traumatised Charlie.
In Part 2, Cook, Emma and Charlie flee to a country manor owned by Emma's parents in the Midlands. Louie tracks them via Cook's car and confronts Charlie, who refuses to return. The trio flee on foot into the woods. Emma is later found dead, hanging by a noose from a tree. Cook confronts Louie, knocks him unconscious, and fires a gun into the air. Cook tells Charlie to disappear and walks off into the distance after mourning over Emma's body.
Reader's Guide
Skins Rise serves as the concluding episode of the Skins series, marking a tonal shift from the teen drama of earlier seasons to a darker, filmic exploration of adulthood. The episode revisits James Cook, a character from the show's third and fourth series, and places him in a heightened criminal world in Manchester. Reception for Part 1 was favourable, with critics noting that the episode was grim but compelling, and that it thrills in ways its predecessors did not. The episode is significant for closing the series' narrative arc, particularly for Cook, whose past actions and unresolved cliff-hanger are addressed. The episode's distinct tone and focus on a single character set it apart from the ensemble format of earlier seasons, contributing to its legacy as a mature, standalone conclusion to the Skins franchise.
Did You Know?
- Skins Rise is the third and final episode of the specially-commissioned seventh season intended to bring the series to a close.
- The episode focuses on James Cook, a character last seen fighting his friend Freddie's murderer in a cliff-hanger.
- Part 1 received favourable reviews, with critics noting it was 'grim, but in an entirely different way' to other episodes.
- The episode features Liam Boyle as Louie, described by one critic as 'a decent villain' who 'helps to flesh out the character'.
More in Skins episodes 1-24
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