Flow of Madness

Character Podcast Spotlight: Matty Levan 

Summary: 

• baristbro: do you think his character was largely wasted in series 6? 
• charlottefever Matty was originally written to be explicitly bisexual. Why do you think they abandoned that/made it more vague?
• I hit on followers 
• maess: Do you know that, statistically, people with big eyebrow are strong people? I wish this eyebrow/butt thing could stop, so tired.
• ottoisanybody: Why do you think Matty’s screentime was so limited in Series 6? We didn’t even get a Matty centric episode, which would have been interesting
• frankybluerichards : long hair v. short hair? butt hair v. no butt hair? Matty x Alex?
• ghostgracie: reminds me that I once forgot Matty….:( 

Running is a theme we see in every single generations of ‘Skins’ and it often done by multiple characters throughout the two series each generation gets. In fact there quite a few running moments that I might not even address all of them. So if there is one that you want me to look at that I did not address feel free to ask. Let’s get running.

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Matty Levan (Gen 3) and Pandora Moon (Gen 2) 

Okay so I think Matty is an Aquarius. This sign is assertive, independent, progressive, original, inventive, and tends to have strong opinions. They tend to be humanitarians. Witty. Wacky. Offbeat. Can also be seen as detached and not of this world. Also are paradoxes they like being alone however they are social. They can fit in but really they don’t. They are people watchers who are fascinated by the inner workings of people. At their extreme they can be seen as fascinated by complicated people and have this need to figure them out. All of these things I see in Matty. He is a people watcher and according to Nick…Matty is someone who can fit in if he wants and can do it easily as well. Another thing that those with this sign has is this need to argue because they love to argue. They also hate boredom and like excitement. They are also stubborn as hell and will continue thinking the way they do even when proven wrong. People often comment on how Matty was so dogmatically demanding of Nick and of Franky. This need to argue and need to be right is very Aquarius. They have a hard time letting go and accepting new developments. Especially when they can’t understand it intellectually. This is why at the end of Series 6. Nick understood as Pisces how Franky felt and wanted to give her that space. While Matty wanted to chase her. Because he didn’t understand yet and he needed to understand. 

Oh Pandora she is not your typical Aquarius. To me she’s like an Aquarius who has been kept from herself for a long period time. However Aquarius is the sign of the quirky and those who do not walk a common path. Pandora is definitely a unique soul. Aquarius is also one of the most friendliest signs and Pandora is a kind soul. She’s not quite emotional as a water sign, not is she practical to be an earth, and she definitely does not have that drive to be a fire. It seems strange that Pandora who is seen by many as being someone who is not the smartest. However she does become fascinated by philosophy and somehow lands her way into Harvard. Maybe it’s not that Pandora wasn’t smart or even intellectual. It’s just that she never had an opportunity to flex her brain and go after her interests due to being always told who she was. In the most negative of ways. We also see that she can be stubborn when she feels confident to do so. To me when we say goodbye to Pandora we are saying goodbye to the Pandora we knew and finally seeing her go off to the be the person she was always meant to be without her insane mother and the shadow of Effy to hold her back. 

In this post I examine the mysterious and somewhat confusing nature and motivations of Matty Levan. 

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Top 5 Matty Quotes: 

1. “You’re going to try play second mummy while you sort out your abandonment complex.” 
2. “You’re a person, Alo. Not a cow.” 
3. “So why do I see a …. glorious head-fucking head fuck thing?”
4. “After the first few blow jobs, you get used to the taste, and then it’s pretty lucrative.” 
5. “No, Liv you’ll always be okay.” 

Top 5 Matty Moments: 

1. (5x1) Matty’s Mysterious Scene with Franky: This scene made me really intrigued to know Matty. I didn’t know whether I should trust him or not. But I knew I wanted to learn more. 
2. (5x5) Matty in the Kitchen with the Levans: This scene just proved that Matty is a smartass. His comments that every needs a role model, his look when Nick said he was being serious, and his comments about the contract being long. All made me laugh. 
3. (5x5) Matty Telling Nick to Run: Matty was going to allow himself to get kicked out of the house to protect Nick. I think people forget this moment. When thinking about Matty. He’s not a horrible person. He’s an intense person. 
4. (6x10) Apologizing to Rich: He needed to. I’m glad he did and he really meant it to. I don’t think it was Matty’s fault for Grace’s death. However sometimes when you apologize it’s more for you than anyone else. This was one of those times. 
5. (6x10) Turning Himself In: He needed to take responsibility for his actions. He did the man thing to do. He did. He faced the consequences.  

Top 5 Words to Describe Matty: 

1. Intense
2. Lost
3. Mysterious
4. Selfish
5. Sarcastic

The next couple of days I will be focusing on Matty Levan. Send in your questions, opinions, topics, or anything else about Matty to my ask box. 

(I will be working on other things as well. Expect a Skins track, Rich trait, and hopefully I will clean up my Sid/Michelle dynamic post, also started to flesh out my “Theme: Running” piece as well. Feel free to ask questions about anything!)  

Matty is the only main character to ever not have his own episode. We have never followed Matty through a personal journey and we have never had a chance to get in his head. Therefore many people do not feel as attached to Matty as they do the other characters. 

In Series 5, Matty is this mysterious character with crazy eyes. He enters a relationship with Liv (the girl his brother was sleeping with secretively). He seems to fall into the group quite easily compared to Nick. The two Levan brothers are quite competitive with one another and Nick harbors resentment towards Matty, because things seem to come so easily to him. Despite being in a relationship with Liv he has a deep infatuation with Franky who returns that same curiosity. Mini calls Matty out on his mind games. This whole thing plays out with Matty chasing after Franky and the series ends with a hug between the two of them. 

In Series 6, Matty plays a huge part in Grace’s death. With only a few moments with Matty to hold onto he runs away from scene of the crash. There were drugs hidden in the car that he would be held responsible for. His friend is lying unconscious on the car he accidentally crashed. He is scared and he runs. The longer he is absent the easier it is for the gang and the audience to blame him. When something that can’t be explained happens it is only natural for humans to look for a cause and many of the characters choose to blame Matty. He was the drive and he ran. The longer he is gone and the longer he doesn’t tell his story the easier it is to blame him. Even if it isn’t his fault. 

His phone calls and skype conversations sound like a desperate man trying so hard to be heard and listened to. He is dogmatically holding onto Franky and wants to desperately explain himself to her. Franky dealing with her own guilt blames Matty and doesn’t want to speak to him. He is trapped and lost in a foreign country with the authorities looking for him. With absolutely no support. He tries to reach out to his brother who has complicated feelings and is not doing everything Matty tells him to do. Franky then answers the Skype call wearing Nick’s clothes and that’s when Matty realizes his brother slept with Franky. 

Somehow he enters the country and tracks down Liv. He wants to explain himself especially to Franky. No one seems to want him to explain and it is quite obvious the gang does blame him. Except Rich who he apologized to and Rich tells him to forget about it Grace doesn’t mind. Eventually Franky admits she still loves Matty, but she needs to be on her own. This allows Matty to work things out with Nick. 

The last scene in my opinion speaks to me as real growth. Matty is mysterious, risk-taker, smart, and I think ultimately good-hearted. He has been running from fixing his life for quite some time. Especially since Morocco. At the end of the episode we see Matty facing what needs to be faced. He has stopped fighting and he has stopped running. It’s time to get his life back and deal with what needs to be dealt with. 

Go here and put in your last minute vote in the first round of “Smartest Skins Character” 

Division “We Are Failures”: Rich vs. Matty 
Division “Live Hard Die Young”: Naomi vs Jal (Close race)  

ONE MORE HOUR!