Kaya Scodelario/Effy Stonem

    Skins is one of my favorite TV shows right now, it was introduced to me by my anglophile friend Hannah Kaplan. She is obsessed with all things british, and therefore knows everything about what they watch on TV... I don't know where she gets this information, but I assume its from hours of watching Charlieissocoollike on YouTube and from endless internet surfing. Either way, she showed me this amazing TV show about a group of friends in London and basically all the trouble they get into. Sounds like a pretty basic formula for a TV show, but I think that the acting is really good, the writing is very captivating, and the only problem I can see with it is that you can get addicted to watching it. All the time. 

    I love so many of the characters, but Effy Stonem is really one of the most interesting. I'm currently in the 2nd season, and Effy is the 14 year old younger sister to Tony, the ring leader of the group of friends. In seasons 3 and 4, the show will switch to being about Effy and her friends, so for now, she isn't one of the main characters, but I still find her extremely interesting. Effy, during the day lives in a semi-dysfunctional household, with her Mom (mum,) dad, and brother Tony. She doesn't talk much, and is always dressed in a really boring navy blue uniform for school. During the night though, she has a ritual in which she piles black eyeshadow and eyeliner on, replaces the uniform with combat boots, layers of heavy jewelry, and grunge nightclub clothing. Then Tony climbs into her bed and when her parents come to check on her, it appears that their quiet schoolgirl daughter is asleep and out of trouble. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In reality, Effy is smoking, drinking, dancing, breaking into warehouses, and getting arrested. 

    What makes Effy interesting is that she isn't a normal party girl who is out just because its the place to be. Effy needs to be there, she has to smoke anything placed in her hands, it's her escape. As part of the audience, I'm not sure we know exactly what is so hard for her at the beginning, but theres something wrong at home, and Effy's escape from it seems to be danger and excitement. There is something so interesting about her transformation, so whenever Effy is on the screen, I always pay more attention, and I try to learn more about her. 

    Another thing that I love about Effy is her style. I mentioned before that when she leaves for the night she puts on tons of makeup, lets down her hair and teases it, and she wears so much jewelry that her petite body seems to be weighed down by metal. Her black dresses and strappy backless tank tops, all adorned with zippers are really interesting to see, and they give of this edgy, grungy look that makes her look a little bit filthy from the streets of london, but at the same time so individual that you couldn't miss her. Her style radiates mystery, and a story that we don't understand completely, and even though everyone knows what Effy does, no one really knows who she is.

Very Effy.