Flow of Madness

I was inspired by h-a-r-d-l-e-t who wrote a lovely piece talking about the full transformation of Rich and Grace from the beginning to the first episode of this Series. The truth is I wrote most of this blog over a span of a month. I started to write about this idea of Rich and Grace transforming as soon as the facebooks were created for the characters. So I want to thank h-a-r-d-l-e-t for inspiring me to re-visit and re-vamp my thoughts.

Rich and Grace have been the most developed Skins couple ever written. We watched these two seemingly opposite personalities kiss tentative, love sweetly, fall in love, almost get married, and become adults through the love they shared.

Here is a picture of Rich and Grace from Series 5:

There are several things that strike me about this photo besides Rich’s face. Fashion wise Grace has her hair pulled up. Though her outfit is elegant it covers most of her body. Rich of course has his metal long hair and his metal t-shirt. They are both nervous and still not at a stage where they are comfortable touching one another. Grace in this particular episode says “I love you quite a bit” and Rich responds “ewww”. They are still tentative around one another. Rich is still stubborn and everything is new to them. They are a picture of young first love.

 

Grace begins dressing more like a woman in that she puts her hair down and tries different styles. She starts wearing clothes that are a bit more revealing. Rich starts dressing differently as well not all metal all the time and of course his hair is shorter as well. Not only that they are comfortable with one another. They have built a relationship with one another where they are intimate and are comfortable with that intimacy. Both of them have changed dramatically since they first met. Rich is more open and does not sulk as much as he use to. Grace for the first time has freedom to be who she is without her father or Mini’s control fighting her to play the peace maker. Both of them have matured mentally, emotionally, and physically through the love that they shared. 

No Skins couple has ever compared to that. We have either never seen them develop or one of the characters does something foolish in the name of being afraid to love that the development gets halted. With Rich and Grace we were able to see the transformation occur before our very eyes. The couple that started off with awkward flirting and a cutely innocent one second peck on the lips. To a couple that is so in tune with one another that Grace experiences multiple orgasms and comfortable post-sex flirting. Rich went from a guy who would never ever wear beach wear to a guy who will carry his girlfriend’s luggage and wear pink hearted tank top just so his lady can have a lovely summer. Grace went from a girl who would try to make everyone happy to a girl who was able to go to Morocco with her friends without her father stopping her. That is insane to me. Insane. 

This is why I am curious to see how Rich is this series. Because in episode 2 he was a man in love not a boy in love. Fighting to hold his girlfriend’s hand and wanting nothing more than to be with her. Trying to find solutions to problems. Then putting his own anger and his bitter feelings away to comfort his girlfriend’s father. Rich was a man. Now we need to see what kind of man Rich is going to be post-Grace. It is my belief that Rich’s love for Grace will be the thing that saves Rich in the end that continues to make him a better person and continues to turn him into a wonderful man. 

Rich and Grace are not a destroyed or sunken ship. Rich and Grace are eternal. It lives inside Rich and I think it also lives inside the group as well. They’re love was pure, fun, transforming, mature, and true. The best ship ever written.