Flow of Madness

Here is the break down of Generation 2 and their parents! 

Thomas 
Thomas is portrayed as a family guy. His mother and sibling are new to England. The siblings react with enthusiasm about their new home. Even though one of his siblings is ill due to lack of safe housing. Thomas’s mother though reacts to this new place with suspicion and worry. Thomas in the beginning of Series 3 is the picture of excitement over this new place to live and Series 4 he starts to have his own worries at least in his own episode. A combination of tragedy and the things that his mother and pastor have been saying.

Effy
Effy has a different parental dynamic than Tony did. Effy knows her Mom is having an affair and later on her parents end up divorcing. This forces her father out of the house. With Tony out of the house there is no real stability for Effy at home. This contributes to Effy’s fear of love and losing control. Though she has always had that fear. If you want more analysis on this…then check out Tony’s section in Generation 1 parents.

Katie and Emily
The Fitch Family is a family that I absolutely adore. We have James Fitch an absolute pervert in the making. Then you have Jenna and Rob Fitch the parents. Rob is a family man who is not too smart when it comes to his money. However he loves his kids and he loves his wife. Jenna is a fiercely stubborn woman who does worry about appearances and may put importance on things that really do not matter. She is one of the antagonists when it comes to Emily being gay and dating Naomi. Eventually though the Fitch family work their way through hardship and stand together. You can tell where Katie got her protective feistiness from and also where Emily got her sweet loving side as well. This family is fantastic.

Naomi
Dad is out of the picture. She does have a Mom though who gives one of the greatest lines in Skins explaining that those who make us happy are not always who we think. Her Mom is a hippie and runs a commune from their house. Naomi is lonely in this crowded house that her Mom has developed and in many ways is frustrated with this type of life. Despite the great advice Naomi’s Mom goes on vacation for quite some time in the fourth series leaving Naomi home alone in the house. Her Mom loves her…but she seems absent and clueless about her daughter.

JJ
He has a wonderful relationship with his Mom. They sing inappropriate songs in the car together. However there is a sense of manic hovering that JJ’s mom does. She is constantly worried about JJ and treats his condition as if he won’t manage in this world without her. His dad who is mainly absent for the most of the series comes into play in Series 4 explaining that he dropped out, because he knew that JJ’s Mom was too intense. He also expresses that he loves JJ and that he always thought that JJ would be alright. This dynamic of having a father who is silent and a Mom who hovers takes a toll on JJ who is very much sheltered from the world yet is naïve in some ways about the potential heart break the world can offer.

Freddie
Freddie’s mother committed suicide and this take a toll on Freddie. He misses his Mom and gets angry with Karen for using their mother as a way to become famous. His Dad is I think desperate and sad by losing Freddie’s mother. He hates how passive and inactive Freddie is and is constantly worried that Freddie is wasting his life away. It’s been a theme of discussion from Series 3 onwards. He worries about Freddie’s aimlessness. Freddie also has a grandfather who is quite wise and tries to give him perspective especially with Effy and also about how unfair it is to hate his dad for what happened to his Mom.

Cook
His Dad is an absolute useless wanker who abandoned Cook. When Cook goes to find his Dad he takes him in only to use Cook before throwing him out when he was done with him. He is an absolute mess of a father figure. Yet you can see some similarities in the recklessness that both Cook men share. Cook’s Mom is oblivious and ignores Cook and his younger brother Paddy. She has tons of relationships and lacks the ability to give stability to her boys. She also gave Freddie (Cook’s mate) a blow job. Cook really does not have a parental figure to show him what is right and what is wrong or give stability to his life.

Pandora
Is like an overprotected and overly sheltered girl from an insanely fearful Mom. Her Mom hates boys, hates not knowing friends, and is fretful of everything. She just tries to be PC all the time in a really strange way. Only the audience finds out that Pandora’s Mom is hiding a secret a sexual secret that Pandora does not know about. Hypocrisy is the best way to explain it. Because of this parental style though Pandora is the least worldly of all the characters. She’s imaginative, curious, and naïve most of the time. Overprotective parents do no favors.