Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr is a weekly Canadian podcast about young adult literature, their film and television adaptations, and everything in between. Now in its sixth season, the podcast—hosted by film critic Joe Lipsett and English professor Brenna Clarke-Gray—aims to highlight the cultural worth of young adult and middle-grade texts, with a focus on Canadian, Indigenous and minority creatives and stories.

Join us weekly for deep dives, as well as a round of YA BINGO.

Book 6, Chapter 45: Skins Series 1, Episodes 7-8

Brenna and Joe close in on the end of S01 of Skins with episodes on Michelle and Effy (kinda) as the show becomes a wild fever dream!

Up for discussion: cheering on Michelle and Sid, hating Tony, critiques about the depiction of mental illness, more laments about Chris, and what we want from the finale.

Read on for more about this week’s episode from co-host Joe Lipsett:

Brenna and I are nearing the end of our Skins journey.

We’ve had difficulty relating to Michelle for the better part of the season, and had hoped episode 7 would help. It doesn’t, though it’s a nice showpiece for Sid and Cassie.

Surprising no one, Tony continues to be the worst (see: our discussion on episodes 5 & 6). Episode 7 continues to demonstrate how deplorable he when he sends sex photos to Michelle to manipulate her.

The penultimate episode is interesting because it’s a) another episode named after a character who isn’t the focus (see: episode 3 “Jal”) and b) does try to make us empathize with Tony.

It doesn’t work folks! It doesn’t matter how good Hoult’s performance is -JL

Subscribe to HKHS Pod: Apple Podcasts  | Spotify (or anywhere else you get your podcasts!)

Follow the pod on Twitter, Instagram and BlueSky.