Tony (Skins series 2)

Tony, the sixth episode of Skins’ second series, aired on 17 March 2008 via E4 in Ireland and the UK. Jamie Brittain wrote it, and Harry Enfield directed. The story follows Tony (Nicholas Hoult) after his accident, stuck in a fog of half-grasped dreams and isolation. When he runs into Sid (Mike Bailey) and Michelle (April Pearson) at a club, it sends him into a tailspin. Filming took place in November 2007.

The episode opens with Tony waking from a nightmare and calling for his sister Effy (Kaya Scodelario), who reads him the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. At the club, Cassie (Hannah Murray) offers him ecstasy and suggests a date to get back at Sid and Michelle. Tony admits he’s struggling with intimacy since the crash. He confronts Sid and Michelle wildly, then runs off to vomit. In the bathroom, a girl (credited as Beth) sees his panic attack and asks if he’s a “fighter or flighter.” Later, Tony watches Cassie kiss a stranger and heads home.

The next day, Sid and Michelle visit to make peace, but Tony hides under his bed, insists he’s fine with their relationship, and kicks them out, claiming he has a university interview. On the train, a scarred man in uniform tells Tony how he set himself on fire. At the college, eccentric guides Polly and Derek lead a tour. Tony is late to a group session where the lecturer—who looks like the scarred man—criticizes him. The girl from the club is there; she accuses the lecturer of hitting on students, then leaves, and Tony follows. She pushes him into a pool despite his protests, telling him to float, which calms him. Polly and Derek later find him alone in the pool and warn him off the girl. She then leads him into a lab full of fragile gear and tells him to cross it in the dark; he breaks things, sets off an alarm, and she helps him escape to a dorm.

In the dorm, Matt and Toby encourage Tony to smoke. The four strip to their underwear, revealing a large tattoo on Matt’s back. The girl asks Matt to tattoo her, then invites Tony to touch her and berates him for not trying hard enough to have sex. Angry, Tony leaves for his interview, where the lecturer lists his antics, taunts him for being unoriginal, and Tony insults him back, saying he doesn’t want to end up like him. Returning to the dorm, Matt and Toby congratulate him and leave. Tony has sex with the girl, who tells him not to look back.

Back home, Tony goes to