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More thoughts on Freddie's episode, and series four as a whole
I didn't hate this episode, and I wasn't bored by it. I think there were definitely problems with it, but honestly? None of that mattered to me in the moment where they found Effy in the bathroom, because I love her so much and seeing her like that hurt. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still a shock.
This episode was actually the most I've ever liked Freddie. I still don't buy Effy being in love with Freddie, but this episode made me really believe in his love for her. He was hopelessly out of his depth, but he was trying his best to help her and I can't hate him after that. I mean, maybe Effy suddenly hallucinating people out to get her is ridiculous, but Freddie chasing them away was the sweetest thing ever. I'm not saying I ship it now, because I still don't see it as a two-way thing, but I do like how much he loves her.
And, okay. Obviously my OTP is Katie/Effy, and I loved their moments together, but I kind of find it harder than ever to see anything actually happening between them. (I don't mean in canon, but it would be hard for me to write fic after this ep.) Because Effy is in a place where she really can't be in a relationship with anyone, and much as I love Katie I don't think she'd be any better than Freddie at dealing with Effy's problems. I think I'd just like Katie to be a really supportive friend from here.
I miss Tony. He's the person that Effy needs most right now. And I hate that he's not absent for storytelling reasons, he's absent because they got rid of the last cast and don't seem to care about bringing any of them back.
So, yeah, even though the ending of this episode really affected me, I still had problems with it, and they're the same problems I've been having all series. I think this episode would have been more effective from Effy's point of view, just like the Sophia storyline would have been more effective from Naomi's perspective, although I think that we got enough of Effy here that it wasn't quite as bad as what they did (or rather, didn't do) with Naomi.
The main problem, though, goes back to these episodes being way too insular. If they treated the show more as a genuine ensemble and made an effort to build character arcs over several episodes, Effy's deterioration wouldn't have seemed so sudden. It makes sense given her whole history on the show, but this series literally the only indication they've given is her taking pills at Emily's barbecue, and that's just not enough. So I bought it in the context of the episode, because it made sense for her character, but a few episodes of build-up would have made it more effective.
The other problem with the insularity of the episodes is that it means that storylines are just dropped, and I find it incredibly frustrating. I know a lot of people are looking forward to JJ's episode because they want a break from the depression, but frankly, I'm not. Partly because the trailer didn't make the episode seem all that good (and I say that as a JJ fan) but partly because I want to know what's going on with Effy. It just seems like really shitty storytelling to have a character try to kill herself and then ignore it completely. Was it like this in the first two series? I've watched them both, but I can't remember. Maybe they did have similar pacing problems, but I don't remember being this frustrated about the failure to create actual character arcs. I mean, series three was quite insular but still did a lot better than this. IDK, I think I'm going to blame Jamie Brittain.
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I agree about Freddie, not a fan of his but after this I do like him a little bit.
I dont want to say S4 has been disappointing, but there are only THREE episodes left and after nine months of waiting I have only liked Katie and Cook's episodes, Emilys I loved to a point, I think what they did they did well but i didnt like what they actually did, cheating.
But i do think Lily and Kat have been awesome.
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With Emily's episode I'm the other way around - I actually didn't mind the cheating (it's overdone, but believable) but I didn't like the execution.
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So that was what I was trying to say, i just can't say it properly.
Aww, I loved Naomi shouting 'Emily' and the whole let's go home. I love Lily so y'know...
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I'm only looking forward to the Emily and Naomi bits of JJ's episode and that's it. I wish we could fastforward to Effy's episode, because IMHO, it actually seems pretty interesting. I don't think it'll be a Freffy-fest like this last episode was, seeing as Effy generally tends to interact with all the characters. It'll be more engaging that way.
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I wouldn't mind a JJ ep next in principle - I actually like him a lot! - but it would have to be really interesting to make me not wish we could skip to Effy's ep, and it doesn't look that way at all.
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How about i don't like effy, frook FTW
That's a stoning offense, right there.
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I'm with you on Frook, though. Even though that's a terrible ship name.
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And ... I do, sometimes. Like her stuff with Naomi was one of the high-water marks of S3, and the potential for more of that always interested me. But apart from that I only paid attention when she was on the edge being all mysterious. Her ep last series didn't feel like it was about her at all to me cos it was all so atmospheric it just seemed to blend together.
I don't even know, I'm spraffing rubbish now. Basically I like Freddie like a whole lot more than, say, 90% of fandom? So to see his whole ep have to be about her, and not even particularly in-character, was a bit grating.
That said I loved Panda this time round JJ looks most promising.
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I see what you mean. If someone's writing something, like, right after the breakdown or just after--I'd have a hard time buying that Effy's going to be made whole by love, because it just doesn't work that way, and Katie's a kid, too. I was laughing at people over at skinsfans saying that that wouldn't have happened if Effy had been with Cook. ORLY, is that how mental illness works? *snerk* But, I still buy future!fic. Or AUs, naturally. ;)
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LOL, that's why I don't read the
And, I totally buy Katie/Effy future!fic and AUs, but at the same time I feel like they'd be... dismissing the problems? IDK, this is all hypothetical and it's perfectly possible someone could write fic that made me totally change my mind. :D
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I gather you mean the AUs and not futurefic? Yeah, to a certain extent; I mean, this is canon now, and we have to ~deal with it.
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But, I mean, it's not like all future!fics would have to be like that.
Not any worth reading.
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Then there's NE, who get VERY little development (like, not even nearly enough to make them a believably couple again by the finale). Emily, who's my favourite by far, still seems so broken and bitter and depressed that it's hard to believe there'll be an upwards trend sometime soon. Naomi would need an episode, there's nothing else to say here. Panda, who I so ridiculously love, has been shunned so far, which is a shame, because all her scenes are usually very good and she interacts well with the others and, you know, the group as a whole. Which isn't even a group anymore, because we never see them hanging out now, and on the rare occassions when a few of the characters happen to be in the same place at the same time, it almost feels weird/forced. Katie's emotional journey has been the only (good) suprise so far. Not to mention that JB seems to think that more drama/more cheating/more suicides=most amazing thing ever, which isn't the case at all.
Ugh, I feel like every week I go to your journal and leave a comment worthy of the Debbie Downer award, sorry bb.
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You're totally right that they can't fix Naomi/Emily believably, and yet I'm pretty sure that's exactly what they're going to try to do. I mean, they're probably the couple with the most development this series, but they still haven't done nearly enough to earn a happy ending for them.
I miss the group feeling as well. I remember how last series they didn't feel much like a group of friends, and somehow they seem to have made it even worse this year.
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Like an idea I had would be Naomi visiting Effy and just being there for her. They can do their silent thing together. Then after a while they would start talking and maybe it could develop into a Effy having SOME sort of reliable support system. idk...hehehe I'm not a fandom writer.
Reading these comments have actually made me a bit scared because it seems like everyone's giving up writing Effy into some sort of relationship because they would have to deal with her problem. I hope I just misinterpreted cause I love me some Effy/Katie or Effy/Naomi or something that I've always wanted Effy/Naomi/Cook.
oh man now Cook/Effy can't work in my mind anymore :(
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I don't know. It left a nasty aftertaste. Largely because, if you actually filmed someone having a nervous breakdown, it'd be desperately uninteresting, particularly with depression: depression is boring. And someone slicing their wrists open always feels like a really cheap way to create drama for me. Also, I don't like the way they've handled Effy, and I think it has everything to do with Effy being the gap-bridger for series three. Effy was never supposed to be a lead character; she's a trickster, part of what makes her interesting is her mystique, and when you have her falling all over the place talking about... old lady ramblers living in her head and drawing mushroom clouds on... somebody's walls (unless they reveal that Freddie can disapparate finale, the editting in this episode was bloody awful)... it... becomes... lame. Like this rambling paragraph. Goodbye!
Cheerio, Michael. xxx