Flow of Madness

Jal Fazer (Gen 1)  & Effy Stonem (Gen 2)

I know…I know. Everyone is freaking out going: HOW IN THE WORLD ARE EFFY AND JAL IN THE SAME ZODIAC SIGN!!?!!? Trust me I was shocked as well. I have my reasons. I do. 

The one thing about Capricorn is that it is the most general of the zodiac in terms of explanation and personality traits. 

I will begin with Jal who I think is the more obvious of the two. 

Jal is a Capricorn to me because she is the most hardworking of all the characters and Capricorn is known for its work ethic. She makes time for practice. She pursues her ambitions. She wants to make a name of herself. She does have goals that exist outside of her group of friends. She has self goals. Capricorn is also quite goal oriented. They tend to also be serious minded and Jal is quite serious. Also they have lovely sense of humors and Jal is one of the wittiest characters in terms of sarcastic come backs. They are also known to be reserved and prudent which is how Jal is viewed especially in Series 1. Jal represents the adult qualities that Capricorn offers. That responsible adult who enjoys a laugh but won’t lose sight of her goals. She also the advice giver. Se uses her skills, talents, hardwork, and mind in order to get where she needs to be. She can also be seen as aloof at times but really she cares deeply and is one of the most loyal personalities these are also traits that Capricorn is known for. 

Now as for Effy. Again she does have psychological issues that are not her organic personality in my personal opinion. Effy compared to her brother is more calm, deliberate, and steady. She is not fire. To me she is Earth. She is also an initiator and a starter. All of this leads to Capricorn. She has a cold passion and Capricorns at their worse are seen as extremely elusive and mysterious. There is a secretiveness about Capricorns at their worse that hides so much to their personality and often times Capricorns work with a hidden agenda. Effy to me is that person who has so much to them that, that want so much, that feel so much, and want to accomplish so much that she lives by way of mystery to keep herself on track for those goals. She instead uses people and secret knowledge in order to accomplish her goals. Despite this though she still cares about people but she hates it and even people who she loves don’t truly know her. The closest one is his her brother .

To me Jal is Capricorn at their best and Effy is Capricorn at it’s worse. 

This one is probably the most shocking 

This is my review and inevitable analysis about the third episode of the first series of Skins. This episode in short focuses on Jal as she works against being defined and being ignored. We also learn that she is a force to be reckoned with and that her brothers are quite entertaining. Lots more under the cut. 

Jal is a strong young woman, intelligent and sassy. She’s not afraid to tell it like it is, however,  Jal’s sass and honesty can come off as a bit aggressive. This is especially true about her actions towards her father. He seems like, excuse the oversimplification, a bit of a dick in the beginning of the episode, but you come to see why as the episode progresses. In the end, he pulls through for her by buying the clarinet and taking care of the man who mugged her and Sid. 

One of the reasons I dislike Michelle so much is her actions in Jal’s episode. I feel like her actions speak louder than her words. Jal is always there for her, but Michelle can be so wrapped up in Tony that she doesn’t return the favor. Despite this, Michelle does care for Jal which becomes more apparent in series two. I like this contrast between Michelle and Jal as a viewer though. Jal is seen as not as “sexy” as Michelle or not as stylish or popular with guys. As Sid puts it in this episode, Jal has clarinet and he has chocolate chip cookies instead of sex. A lot of her development in the later series is coming into her personal sexuality, which is something I’ve recently been doing myself. 

I think I’ll watch the episode later on and send you some more thoughts then. Sorry if this isn’t helpful. I love reading your posts. They make me think more positively and critically of characters I don’t like or am indifferent to. I’ve slowly come to care more for Rich and Hardlet through reading your analyses. One thing Skins succeeds in doing is creating characters as complex ad real people.” 

First of all I loved reading your thoughts and I think you are dead on about Jal and your observations. Jal is an extremely honest character who is quite straight forward about many things. Jal is also a wonderful friend and she does so much for Michelle and Sid as well. She also loves her brother and loves her Dad. She grew up with boys therefore she has learned to talk the talk and can give it with the best of them. 

Her journey is definitely what you say it is. Discovering her sexuality learning to become less stringent about things and testing our own pre-conceived notions of who ends up pregnant. Every character in Skins is complex or has potential to be complex and Jal is not any different. 

She’s a wonderful character. I’m not going to say much more. I’ll say more with my review. However I just wanted to post this to A) Give Jal some love. B) Show how brilliant you are. C) Thank you publically for being so kind. 

Cheers. 

I am live streaming 1x3 “Jal” at 2pm. If you can join me please do and we can chat about the episode as it goes. 

http://www.ustream.tv/user/kerouacophy87

That’s the channel as the time comes I will update you. 

This is my first time doing this. My friend insured me how I am doing it is fine. “It’s fine. Don’t worry. Don’t worry. I will punch you. Don’t worry.” So hopefully all will go well! The chat will be open as well. 

Feel free to send your thoughts about this episode anytime!

Character Podcast Spotlight: Jal Fazer

Teasers: 

• Jal one of the most honest characters? 

• Jal’s Progression 

• Why Jal needs more love?  

I plan to post a podcast about Chris Miles soon! 

Top 5 Jal Quotes

1. “If I’d just met you, Anwar. I’d rather slit my wrists than give you one.” 
2. “Is that it? Are you the only person in the world that’s been let down? The only one that’s been hurt, abandoned. Are you? So what gives you the right to act like you are?”  
3. “I’ve been thinking about what Chris would have wanted me to say today. The advice he’d give me, which’d be something like, ‘Know what, babe? Fuck it. These guys know all about me. Tell them about someone else.’ So I thought I’d tell you about a hero of Chris’s, a man called Captain Joe Kittinger. In 1960, climbing into a foil balloon, Captain Joe ascended 32 kilometers into the stratosphere. And then, armed with only a parachute, he jumped out. He fell for four minutes and thirty-six seconds, reaching seven hundred and forty miles per hour before opening his parachute five kilometers above the Earth. It had never been done before, and it’s never been done since. He did it just because he could. And that’s why Chris loved him - because the thing about Chris was, he said yes. He said yes to everything. He loved everyone. And he was the bravest boy - man - I knew. And that was - he flung himself out of a foil balloon every day. Because he could. Because he was. And that’s why - and that’s why we, we loved him.”
4. “If you can’t talk to your best mate about it, then maybe it’s not awkward but completely fucking shit.”
5.  “I think I’ve finally realized what it means to be a grown up. I always wondered, you know. But it’s easy. It’s when you have to decide, one way or another. And nobody can help you. If I do nothing, six months from now I’ll have a baby. People need to know that…But they’ll be hurt and angry and I’m petrified. That’s probably why I’m having a little difficulty taking this exam seriously.” (in Spanish) 

Top 5 Jal Moments 

1.  (2x8) Jal during her Spanish Exam: The reason I adore Jal is that she has a good head on her shoulder and she sees things for what they are. Why? She is a strong person. In her Spanish exam she not only rocked fluent Spanish but she summed up what I feel being a grown up truly is. Making decisions. hard ones. Then having to deal with what comes from those decisions head on. This moment Jal truly becomes the woman she was inevitably going to become. A wise and feisty one at that. 
2. (2x10) Jal’s Funeral Speech: It is hard to speak at funerals especially when you lose someone who means the world to you. Jal speaks from the heart and is strong enough to endure her words. To remember Chris. It is easier to breakdown and give in. However to remember makes you a fighter and it means your love is the fighting kind. This moment made me sob. 
3. (2x5) Jal Stealing the Hat: I loved this scene because it showed a side of Jal we never saw before. A fun and rebellious side. There’s more to this talented and intelligent girl. She can be full of surprises. 
4. (2x5) Jal in Response to Chris’s Presentation: Again strength. Sometimes people excuse bad behavior due to tough challenges in life. The truth is we all have challenges in life it is what we do with them that makes us who we are. Our stories are there to explain why certain things are hard for us but they certainly should not be used as an excuse. Jal pushes back at Chris giving him perspective. She’s a wise one. 
5. (2x4) Jal Holding Court to Miserable and Pathetic Boys: All the boys have an issue and they are telling Jal about their issues. She gives them advice and also judgment. I like this scene because she really is the quiet mama bear of the group. 

Top 5 Adjectives for Jal

1. Strong
2. Independent
3. Intelligent
4. Sarcastic
5. Responsible

This an opinion piece about why Jal deserves more affection. She seriously does.