In the episode “Skins” of Freddie, the fifth of the fourth season, we see him fight hard to save the love of his life. Effy, the most complex and mysterious character in “Skins”, is revealed to have some sort of mental illness. The show hints at psychotic depression, Freddie looks into it, but it’s not confirmed.
The episode begins with Effy and Freddie in love, but we see that Effy is still worried. When Freddie asks her if it’s because she’s getting down from her height, she replies by saying “this is me happy”.
According to healthyplace.com, about a quarter of people who are treated for depression in the hospital have psychotic depression. Those with the disease have depressive symptoms, hallucinations, and “irrational thoughts and fears,” also known as delusions.
It also states that “the risk of bipolar depression, recurrent episodes of psychotic depression, and suicide increase after their onset.”
Some symptoms listed on the site are anxiety, agitation, and insomnia.
There are obvious signs of these symptoms, as well as unusual behavior throughout the episode and even further back at the beginning of the series.
In the first season, little Effy Stonem remains mute until her brother is hit by a bus. In the following season, we see her struggle to represent her emotion in her art project for school. This continues into the third season when Effy begs to sleep with Freddie so she can “feel something”.
Now, in season four, we continue to see Effy drunk on drugs and alcohol in an attempt to cope with her depression. She confides in Freddie in the park and tells him about her hallucinations and her fear that “they” are after her.
“Now they know and they are hungry because ever since I know they have been chasing me and now they are ready. Now they are strong enough to break through and I can’t fight them. It used to be when I was strong but you You’ve made us weak, and now I can’t.
Things take a turn for the worse when Effy and Freddie get lost at a parade, adding to Effy’s anxiety.
When Effy is found on the bathroom floor with her wrists slashed, it’s clear the diagnosis is correct.
Of course, this is all too familiar to Freddie, who lost his mother to depression when she committed suicide.
I thought Luke Pasqualino did a good job of showing the hysteria when Freddie discovers Effy’s doll in a pool of blood, but the real star of the episode was Kaya Scodelario, who did an amazing job of portraying Effy’s restlessness and paranoia.
I’m not sure how Effy’s condition will be written into her episode, but I know Scodelario will have no problem showing her character’s emotions to a Freffy-hungry audience (Freddie and Effy).
