#if i had let myself i probably would have put even more druck clips on here

[canonicallyanxious]

hi, If you are still doing taking asks for the top 5 of whatever, I have one. Top 5 (or 10) scenes in the skamverse?

anon this is a really good ask and i’m unfortunately absolute trash for the skamverse so it’s gonna have to be my top 10 skjdnfskjdnfs in the interest of fairness though I’m going to try my best to limit myself to one scene/clip per season [also cut on this one bc it got long oops]

1. Minutt for minutt [og skam s3]

Words cannot express how much this scene still means to me four years after i first saw it. Like this is the scene that made Even and Isak’s relationship so special to me, this is probably the scene or at least one of them that tipped this show from “oh this is really good” to “i will fucking die on this hill for skam” for me. like, just the tenderness of Isak quietly watching Even as he sleeps. the soft physical affection a mentally ill character is allowed to have on screen. this beautiful yet grounded dialogue about coping with mental illness which cheesy as it might sound is also something i’ve very often taken to heart in my own struggle with coping with mental illness since. like god. truly groundbreaking, honestly.

2. David’s coming out scene in druck s3 ep 8 - “i am a boy. i just have to try a little harder” [druck s3]

this scene came very, very close to beating minutt for minutt and honestly on a different day it might have done so, just today i decided to put minutt for minutt at the top simply because it’s been with me for longer. but i think this was probably the most emotionally moving clip for me in the entire season, and i had the privilege to watch it in real time which makes it even more special to me. it was everything i could have ever wanted from david’s coming out - soft, aching, quiet, devastating writing that broke my entire heart. and “i am a boy; i just have to try a little harder” is probably a line that’s going to stick with me for a very long time. i can’t think of another trans person’s coming out scene in mainstream media that has touched me as deeply as this one.

3. Fatou and Kieu My’s museum date in druck s6 ep 6 [druck s6]

this scene has everything. EVERYTHING. space imagery! soft and tender kisses! hands brushing in the dark! yearning looks! playful banter! serious conversations about feelings that move forward both their development! like it just reminds me so viscerally of falling in love for the first time as a teenager. druck in general i think does a very good job of portraying teen romance but the fact that this teen romance is about two wlwoc [one of whom is vietnamese like bitch!!!!] means EVERYTHING to me. like this more than anything else in the entire skamverse is something I wish my teen self had gotten to see. i’ve probably seen this clip about twenty times because part of me still can’t believe it exists.

4. The Carnival scene at the end of the last episode of skam austin s1 [skam austin s1]

honestly i think the entire last clip of skam austin s1 is just pure excellence [even if they made me watch Meg and Marlon have sex in a car wash smfh]. like one of my favorite things about og skam was how it really gave their characters room to breathe and take their time with their conversations and i think this clip is probably one of the ones that come the closest to capturing that energy for me [no wonder i guess since julie andem was so involved with this season]. but i love the carnival scene in particular because i love the energy it captures in meg’s dynamics with the other characters and it’s just such a nice opportunity for them all to finally breathe after a difficult season. also i will never ever forget the pure euphoria of watching Shay become a confirmed lesbian on screen in real time [even if i still think the way it was done was kinda meh]. i think i was giddy for the rest of the fucking night after i saw that.

5. Nora breaking up with Miquel for good in skamesp s3 ep 8 [skamesp s3]

i actually think skamesp s3 is one of the best remake seasons of the skamverse. An incredible feat for skamesp to make me rank a NOORHELL season near the top, but honestly skamesp s3 is much more than a noorhell season, like i think the story it tells is hard to watch but very important to tell. i especially love this clip because it’s just such a well thought out culmination of Nora’s arc throughout the season. and it’s so devastating in how understated it is. the acting is phenomenal, the lighting is gorgeous, my breath was taken away by the way Nora said “don’t touch me” with her hair blowing gently around her face. just very good.

6. Josh and Nora’s second break-up scene at the end of druck s5 ep 9 [druck s4]

what does it say about me that this is the THIRD BREAK UP CLIP on this list skdjdnfksdnfsdkn. i genuinely did have a really hard time picking one clip for s5 [other top contenders include the last clip of ep 8 and the cuddle clip at the beginning of ep 6] but i went with this one because a. i love to suffer and b. the way josh plays with nora’s jacket and then she gently pulls away and his hands still linger bc he can’t quite bring himself to let her go just yet fucking HAUNTS ME. watching this scene genuinely made me feel like i was going through a break up myself, maybe because it reminded me so much of my own first break up in a lot of ways. kudos to the strong writing and stellar performances from the actors here.

7. Best of Islam [og skam s4]

Yousana the true og m/f relationship i was overly invested in... i miss they... anyway this clip is really good just on its own and i think it’s a good encapsulation of everything i wanted this season to be. i love that Sana got to talk about her experiences and her relationship with her religion; i love that yousef listens to her carefully and talks about his own experiences and feelings; i love their playful energy; I LOVE YOUSEF GIVING SANA THE FLOWER. truly it doesn’t get better than this.

8. Amira and Mohammed get back together at the end of druck s4 ep 7 [druck s4]

i love this scene because i think it showcases the very best of Amira and Mohammed’s dynamic. the way they listen to each other, their playful manner with each other, how utterly taken they are with each other. i love also that Mohammed finally got to talk about his experiences as a refugee and how that connects to his religion. and the whole exchange about baklava still has me so ;-; ;-; the chemistry these two have is absolutely unreal. i will never get over Amira being cheated of the last few episodes of her season. the greatest injustice to experience after a clip like this, truly.

9. Life in Italics [skam austin s2]

aside from the first ep this might be the only clip i’ve actually seen from this season but i stand by this choice sorry not sorry shay dixon performing an absolute bop in a pink wig is just too iconic

10. Crisana cuddle scene in skamesp s2 episode 6 [skamesp s2]

I think I’ve loved basically every remake version of the iconic s3 ep 5 cuddle clip i’ve seen but this one has stuck with me in particular just because it was really special to me to be able to see two girls be so soft and gentle and loving with each other. no excessive make-up, no hypersexualization, nothing glossy or glamorized about it. i honestly often have a really hard time connecting to teen wlw romance but this was one of those times it actually felt real to me. also the song choice for this clip is simply chef’s kiss

Ask me my top 5/10 anything!

[jon-astronaut]

hi! i don’t know if you already answered this (and im so sorry if you did!) but i was just wondering what your favorite and least favorite portrayals of all the skamverse characters were and why?

oh hi anon! i haven’t actually answered this ahahha all day i only answered when people told me their faves and never counted mine. this might take a long time to answer because i have to think and reply so long so sorry for replying late in advance...

eva:

favourite is lisa. she just started the whole thing and she was so real and authentic in her portrayal like everything she did felt so fitting with eva nothing less and nothing more. i would give a special shoutout to ludovica just cause she is my fave eva and i think she added a good comedic acting and edge to her character.

least fave might be alba not because she did so bad but because i didn’t connect with her character much. idk either the acting or the writing didn’t resonate with me she felt a little too plain. but maybe i need to do a rewatch. and anyway she grew on me.

noora:

favourite is nicole. she showed us how much nora faded away and a hollow ghost of her came forward throughout her seasons. the change in nore is apparent even in her posture, her tone.

least fave benedetta. kinda ironic because skamit is one of my top 2 remakes but yeah she didn’t work on me at all in s3. i didn’t buy most of her scenes which is a shame because she was good in s1 and she had good chemistry with the edoardo actor.

isak:

favourite is tarjei, definitely. there was something about his portrayal that made me feel like watching a documentary and no remake reached that level. he was so nuanced and a lot of his emotions were in the little mimics, looks and gestures. axel and michi are a close seconds.

i can’t choose a least fave here. i mean i like all the isaks in their own way. i don’t think any of them were like bad. i wish we got to see florian too. or or if we are counting lucas rubio is a isak remake then alejandro isn’t good as the extra clips show...sorry.

sana:

favourite is tua. she had the heart eyes for mohammed, she had such easy chemistry with him. but then she played amira’s anger and her pain and her pain through her anger in the henna party and the break up with mohammed so well.

least fave ugh maybe assa? this probably has more to do with the writing then her acting but idk there was something there that didn’t communicate her relationship with sofiane or her anger to me.

jonas:

favourite anselm. i literally spent the day praising him...the thing is while michi and lilly are easing into their roles in s1 anselm already seems to portray jonas so well. like he is so relaxed and natural in his role. and then he added a ton to jonas with his softness and his funny side. kudos to the breakup with hanna + coming out scene. with ludovico as a close second because he made giovanni his own too.

least favourite nathan bouts. i swear this has less to do with writing and more with acting. i find him similar to reiky’s jonas and while reiky communicated the loveable asshole vibes to me nathan didn’t. maybe he had better material to play with in s3 it would be different.

william:

favourite is nathan. i might like alejandro's william more as a character but nathan did the best with the not much changed storyline. he literally took the william we saw in og and added so much dimension like the softness with zoe, his voice when he is defending his views, his anger towards his brother chef’s kiss. chris veres is the close second here i mean even his comedic delivery is everything.

least favourite thomas. while trying to have him be this cold, popular guy i think he didn’t actually played well mostly just stood there with no expression. and that’s just no.

even:

favourite is henrik. really shows his power how no one was able to top him yet. i think in praising tarjei we forgot him but like i talked about all day THE LOCKER ROOM SCENE and how much he communicated with his eyes yup.

least favourite maxence. like i said he started bothering me on the rewatches and i realized they relied too much to his looks and natural charm of the actor. i might be biased here about rocco’s acting because i like nicco and marti and nicco so he is not my least fav.

yousef:

favourite is hassan who plays mohammed. maybe it’s because he had more heated arguments with amira about religion and their ‘breakup’ was more painful so i liked his portrayal much more. he just put something into the character like he defended his beliefs with as much fierce as amira.

least fave is lucas nabor who plays dani because spoiler! dani is yousef in skamesp. i will give him the benefit of the doubt maybe by the end of the season i could like his acting more and he does have good heart eyes but right now i don’t vibe with his acting much.

vilde:

favourite is lula. suffered through s6 for her acting’s sake (and for flavie’s) and she is just so good. the pain is in her eyes throughout s6, her breakup with basile was so heartbreaking. but also in earlier seasons she got daphne’s energetic and naive self so well.

least fave is nona who plays amber. idk i don’t vibe with amber and since wtfock cast put a lot into the characters even when writing is bad i think it’s more of her acting issue. it feels like there isn’t anything to her character and amber feels so one dimensional.

chris berg:

(not counting irene here) ah i would say fave is coline. i think she is the chris character that got the most material to play with (maybe why she is my fave) and she did the best out of it. but her scenes in s5 especially the one where she opens up is so nice i could read her emotions on her face.

least fave is nonexistent? i mean most of the time the chris character doesn’t get stuff to act with so like i cannot really judge the actors much when i haven’t seen much from them. and i just vibe with all chris versions.

mahdi:

fave is robin. s5 of skam fr might have gone downhill but robin had a really good performance that only got better throughout the season. especially the ending of the first ep where he looks over the street with his hearing faded away just the look in his eyes wow. honorable mention arda because his little improv lines with louis is amazing. he steals the backgroudn.

least fave again nonexistent because aside from robin and maybe francesco they didn’t get stuff to play with. i mean how can i judge dilan’s actor’s ability?

magnus:

fave is paul. his comedic timing is everything!! and most of that is improv so additional kudos. the way he stole a lot of background moments in s3!!! and s5 and s6 showed how well he could do drama too. when arthur tells him about his hearing the way his face crumbles - wow.

again no least fave because they don’t get material. like i may not like aaron as a character but i cannot say the actor does a bad job when he has to play one side of a character.

i think that about covers everyone!!! naturally i didn’t do anyone from druck or skam france new gen because this was just the versions.

i am so sorry that this is too long......but i cannot just name actors and not explain myself come on. and thanks anon for asking this i enjoyed typing out this a lot!

i also discovered something my fave version of the character doesn’t equal to my fav portrayal always. like nora isn’t my fav noora but she is my favourite portrayal. but jonas augustin and giovanni are my fav jonas characters interchangeably and anselm is my fav portrayal with ludovico following behind.

anyway let me know what you think about my answers!

[evakuality]

Even and David comparison, season three, episode five.  You can find the other comparisons in this series starting over here, and the Isak and Matteo versions starting here.

I’ve been procrastinating on this one a bit simply because these next few episodes are so difficult emotionally.  They were hard when it was Isak and Matteo and they’re even harder with Even and David.  These boys really take a dive at this point, from some giddy heights to some very hard lows.  There is a lot to be said about their own internal thought processes here, and I’ll try to do a bit with them, but I will try to limit myself to things that are likely based on other things we know about both characters.

The most interesting thing about the start of these episodes, of course, is the difference in how Even and David deal with discussing their issues.  Even is so jaded about it, which makes sense given his experiences.  To him, becoming fatalistic is just part of growing up (“I forgot how young you are”) rather than actually understanding that it’s a reaction to the trauma that he’s experienced.  To Even, Isak doesn’t have the dark swirling thoughts, the fear of being alone with his brain etc the way Even does not because that’s actually a perfectly reasonable and healthy mindset, but because he’s too young to have got there yet.  There’s an assumption that it will come eventually.  Even’s protective method for himself is to live life to the fullest while you can, grabbing every opportunity when it arises and deal with the consequences later.  Life is short, the only way out is death and therefore he goes after beauty and love when he can.  He’s going to get what he can out of his life.  He only runs away when something hits too close.  

David, on the other hand, has a firm plan worked out.  He’s not going to put down any sort of tie if he can help it and if anything happens that threatens him again he’s going to run.  He’s very explicit about this.  “I run.  Hide.  Then I wait.”  And he’s explicit about doing it alone.  His definition of ‘alone’ is interesting, though.  To him, being alone is being away from your family.  Therefore his ‘hiding’ was always likely to happen with another person, just one that he sees as his family (and we will get there, but his suggestion that Matteo come with him when he runs in episode 9 reflects this: by that time, Matteo is his family).  He believes that Matteo, living in a shared apartment, is actually living alone.  It’s quite different to how Even reacts to Eskild, who he does see as sort of Isak’s family (after he clarifies that it’s not sexual).  We don’t know much about David’s family except Laura, but we can already see that those bonds are very important to him.  Even’s family remains a mystery, so it’s safe to assume he doesn’t have the same sense of need around them.  Which makes sense; the things both boys are struggling with are different.

These two boys are both desperate for control of their own lives, but it comes out in such different ways.  Even wants to grasp everything, do everything, and chooses to retreat only when his secret is threatened.  In some ways, David feels this too, but his secret is threatened much more often and is more easily exposed.  That’s probably why his need to be in control of his own life and story is so much more rigid.  Or rigid in a different way.  Even masterminds an image and projects it, but even here where he’s letting his guard down a little he still has the need to be in control.  It’s just that his control is to minimise his experiences and what they mean, and suggest that everyone will feel this way when they grow up a bit.  David’s rigidity is around the way he lives day to day, and his ability to remain aloof from everyone to enable a swift departure when he needs to again, the need for ‘free will’.  He stays small, hopes to be unnoticed.  This conversation with Matteo is probably more threatening to him than Even’s is with Isak.  Because David is opening up, being seen and known.  He’s laying down a connection, one he desperately wants and needs, but one that drags his secret much closer to the light.

What’s really interesting is that in this first cuddle clip we never see Even ‘alone with his thoughts’ because Isak is awake for the entire thing, whereas David is shown in his own head for quite a while at the beginning with Matteo cuddled up into him.  This puts both of them into different headspaces and makes a lot of sense of the reasons why Even, who is so obsessed with how difficult being alone in your own head is, doesn’t actually get sucked in too deeply in this bit.  David, who doesn’t have those hangups, is however put in a place where he has to think about everything this might mean for him.  Even so, the tone of the Skam clip is very different to the Druck one.  While both deep conversations are serious and both Even and David are very open about their issues there, the surrounding stuff is different and shows up the differences in their personalities.  Even and Isak, when they aren’t talking about serious stuff are either kissing or just as seriously talking about random entertainment stuff (Nicholas Cage or making movies about boys with drops of water in their throats).  David and Matteo, on the other hand, are wrestling, biting, shoving, being total idiots as well as some kissing etc.  There’s a lightness there that isn’t the same as with Even and Isak.  This all makes sense for our boys.  Even has wanted this for such a long time that he’s revelling in being able to touch and hold Isak and keeps him close to enjoy that, whereas David has fallen into this thing the same way Matteo has.  They’re both young and silly and overwhelmed and so this stuff is natural to them (and also, this characterised their time the day before even though we didn’t see that yet; they mess around and do stupid stuff together and that’s part of who they are).  The connections they built over the previous weeks helps here, too.  They’ve had a lot more one on one time than Even and Isak have and so David is more used to being like this with Matteo.

The ending of the clips shows the differences too.  Isak and Even are interrupted by Eskild which shows Isak’s ‘fears’ of being caught, but it’s over quickly without the secret being exposed, but then the intrusion from Sonja is bigger because the threat to their togetherness that she represents is more real.  David and Matteo are interrupted by both Sara and Leonie (presumably they have been together and decide to contact the boys together), and so there’s much more of a sense of ‘we’re in this together’ as the moment is more secure for both.  Isak has reason to believe still that Even is messing around with him because of Sonja, but Matteo isn’t in the same boat, despite his own connection to Sara.  Even’s ‘I’m so fucked’ becomes David’s ‘we’re so fucked’ and his ‘can I stay in here with you?’ becomes ‘we’re staying here’ and so there’s a much surer sense of togetherness.  Obviously, David needs this at this point.  He’s been the one who’s more reticent about it all and so he needs that reassurance that Matteo is part of it the same way he is.  Even wasn’t likely to back off at this point, having finally managed to get what he wants.  David still has some big decisions to make about how, when or if to tell Matteo he’s trans.  If this is to work for him, he needs that closer sense of togetherness and companionship.

Both Even and David leave a picture behind for their boy when they leave the next day, but Even’s is much less specific than David’s.  Even’s suggests connection and refers to the parallel universe.  It’s a little melancholy, but displays a desire to be together if the universes align.  David’s again makes it clear that he would leave Matteo behind, but he would take with him something that reminds him of Matteo.  It’s a start, but it reinforces (in a way that Even’s talk and picture don’t) that David still plans to be alone.  If ‘disaster’ strikes, he still isn’t sure enough of what’s happening to really let Matteo in, and this becomes very important at the end of the episode.  While Even tries to draw Isak closer with this picture, David is still keeping Matteo at arm’s length.

Having said that, Even then goes mia for a while and Isak has to try to hunt him down.  David sends coordinates and is the one to make a connection with Matteo.  I get the feeling that he was considering what to say to Matteo here, and whether to tell him, but things got a bit too real for him when Matteo told him he finished things with Sara for him.  When they were in Matteo’s bedroom it was still a fantasy and sara was still there as a buffer.  Even pulls back here at a moment when Isak makes a comment that cuts him to his core when he had been all-in, whereas David is suddenly confronted with a Matteo who is clearly all-in himself and who wants a real relationship.  For Even, the knowledge that Isak doesn’t want people like him in his life is devastating but he holds it together and gets out of the situation as gracefully as he can.  David doesn’t hear anything like that, in fact what he gets is the opposite but it’s just as terrifying for him.  He has to decide whether to open up or whether to try to hide again.  We see effectively the moment that he decides he has to hide and pushes Matteo away but like Isak, Matteo doesn’t realise this is what’s happening because like Even, David hides the way he’s feeling.  It’s easy to tell that something is up, but Matteo doesn’t really pick up on how serious it is.  

That’s partly because Matteo is so head over heels, and so deeply into the way he feels, that he can’t really see the different places the two of them are at.  But it’s also at least partly because The last two times he’s spent with David have been characterised by a lot of fun and silliness and a lot of bonding behaviour.  They’ve spent literal hours together over this week and David has definitely made it seem like he’s as into this as Matteo is.  Of course, that’s actually true.  David is into this, but the problem is that those moments that seemed like a growing budding connection to Matteo are filled with one major road block for David.  The closer they get to each other, the less secure that secret becomes and the more likely he is to feel like he needs to run.  By now they’re very close, Matteo is making it very obvious how open he wants to be and David feels backed into a decision.  His picture was a major clue that he’s not ready to be that open, but everything he’s done is opaque enough that there’s no reason for Matteo to pick up on it.  

Even, too, makes something of a snap decision and in a closer look we can also see with him when that decision happens.  His reasons are very different, but the effect is just as devastating (for him and for Isak).  They both feel a need to protect themselves and they both indulge their own tendency to pull back.  For Even, this must be worse tbh.  After the weekend, he would have been giddy.  The boy he’s been into for so long kissed him and spent a lot of time with him.  It felt like they were at the start of something big and exciting.  He then speaks to Sonja, tells her about Isak and then goes to him.  It seems like things are really about to start, there’s so much promise.  And then Isak says he’s better without the mentally ill in his life and Even’s world crashes around him.  To David, the promise of a new start is the terrifying thing, but to Even, the terrifying thing is the knowledge that he is or could be unwelcome in Isak’s life.  The boy he’s been so connected with, the boy he broke up with his girlfriend for, will reject him once he knows the truth.  While David runs because everything becomes too real and too likely and too much, Even runs because everything he finally thought he was getting was smashed to pieces and what had seemed to be real and promising turned to dust.

That affects how they each deal with Isak and Matteo as the episode comes to an end.  Even sends a text that things are going ‘too fast’ and then goes back to Sonja.  As much as he doesn’t want to be with her anymore, she knows about his mental illness and she hasn’t pushed him away.  He obviously leaves things open with Isak by saying he needs time, which suggests he hasn’t entirely closed the door.  Even so, he goes back to Sonja and the soft comfort of her understanding.  It’s not what he wants but it’s safe.  David sends effectively the same text with the addition of ‘don’t be angry’ but instead of being the nice final thing it was for Isak, Matteo comes to his home.  There’s no girlfriend for David to shield his feelings behind, and Matteo is once again making it very plain that he’s going to do what it takes to be with David.  He’s made his decision, sent his text, but Matteo isn’t sticking to the script so he sends another message in a panic.  This one is as harsh as David can make it because he needs to push Matteo away.  Again, he’s left in no doubt as to Matteo’s intentions, and again it’s too close for comfort.  So he does what he needs to in order to be safe, even though it’s not what he wants.  They both leave the door open, but Isak doesn’t step through yet.  Matteo does and it’s so scary for David how fast that happens that he immediately lashes out.

So there we have it.  By the time the episode comes to an end both Even and David have retreated into a safe space.  Their reasons may be different, the things that drove them there are different, but they are in the same space.  David’s is entirely self imposed.  Matteo has made it clear what he wants and it’s too scary.  Instead of allowing himself to trust in Matteo, which is completely understandable given his experiences before, David has chosen to hide.  Even feels like he’s going to be rejected if he takes things further with Isak, so to him this feels like it’s coming from the outside.  It’s not really; it’s his own hangups but they are exacerbated by Isak’s words.  So again, he retreats and hides from having to be vulnerable.  Both boys are too scared of the reactions they might get so they pull back into a space they perceive as safe (Even with Sonja, and David with his family) instead of having to deal with what they each fear.  In both cases, it’s totally understandable but in both cases it’s not necessarily the most satisfying or healthy option for them.  They do it not because they think it’s good, but because they’re scared.  What’s interesting is that from here on out, the way they deal with that fear is even more different than the ways they’ve dealt with other things, so that’s going to be good to look at over the next few episodes.

episodes six and seven can be found in this post

[smores100]

once again we’re in full agreement lol. What’s your take on s3 remakes you’ve watched? Wondering how you feel about Skam FR as it’s kind of a similar situation to me where the chemistry & beauty is there but the writing and style is iffy (overwrought &overdramatic). My favorite s3 is druck. As a wlw I had high hopes for españa but it was p slow/v desexualized—a whole discussion, but my other gay friend & I were disappointed given how remakes with guys don’t hold back in that respect.. Thoughts?

Honestly re: wtfock tho I really do wonder if they had like one good writer in the room surrounded by fools. Bc it really does feel like some group projects I’ve been in where I feel like I’m the only one who’s not a fucking fool and carry the whole thing while having to fend off bad ideas (but when the majority rules, those bad ideas/execution get put in). I wonder if that’s what happened w wtfock.

re: wtfock, lol group projects are the worst….idk what wtfock’s writing process was like, but i’d love to know it. according to their wiki there were 3 writers this season? all seem to be male, naturally. did the two other writers have good ideas but there was a main writer who overruled them and did his own thing? or maybe they’re the rl one brain cell squad, that would explain a lot :p in any case, i’m unimpressed (friday’s clips did not help with that).

as for the other part of your ask….oh damn i have so many Thoughts on that, lol. this is probably gonna get long and messy, but you asked for it!

* druck - my absolute favorite. it’s the only one i’ve watched since s1, so that definitely played a part in my emotional investment and attachment. still, there was more to it than that. it was the closest to og imo in vibe and style (it felt small, real, lowkey, quiet, natural like og, as opposed to - as you said - overwrought and overdramatic + overproduced like the others); they cast an actual trans guy to play a trans character, if you wanna talk about a skam remake doing something REVOLUTIONARY? druck is the one; i loved matteo’s and david’s characterizations, how they both had a bit of isak and even in them, and the role reversal in some scenes, made things feel fresh *and* fit their characters/story; i LOVE that teens matteo and david were played by actual teens michi and lukas!! they’ve completely ruined me for all other remakes, bc thissssss is how it’s supposed to be! thisssss is how it should look like! THEY ARE KIDDOS. and they (druck and michi/lukas) truly captured what it’s like to be young and fall in love for the first time, the awkwardness and the nervousness and stuttering and fumbling around, the softness and pureness and innocence of it all!!! also they have THE BEST dynamic - other people might prefer all the hot kissing and steamy making out and the smouldering looks, but me? i just couldn’t get enough of their dumb chaotic energy, best friends who love each other deeply and are also constantly little shits to one another. gimme them pranking each other and playfighting every day! and then being soft and THE HANDS and matteo being a clingy koala basking in david’s affection :3 i also loved how for the most part they didn’t just copy/paste og’s storyline, they made some changes and knew how to make *other* changes accordingly for it to make sense and fit the story *they* were telling - for example, replacing the ‘call your gf’ scene with matteo’s panic attack/breakdown (one of my fave scenes), or their reunion at the end of ep 7 (replacing the desperate kissing + sex with a comforting and relieved yet also bittersweet and melancholic hug), or even matteo getting advice from his drug dealer instead of the school’s doctor, lol. also THE BEST BOY SQUAD, hands down. and matteo is my favorite isak bc to me he felt like his own character instead of just another isak, he was different and reletable and a constant Mood. that being said - it wasn’t perfect and it had its issues. there were a few times when i did feel they stuck too close to og scenes and it didn’t *entirely* work for me, just felt a bit off; i will forever be disappointed that they didn’t directly address and acknowledge matteo’s mental state/depression, bc there were enough signs imo to indicate that he did suffer from something. they mentioned ‘therapy’ in mia’s, alex’s and kiki’s cases, i truly thought they would with matteo as well, but alas, they dropped the ball on that one; i was extremely upset with david’s outing, but i’ve since calmed down and have managed to see it in a more positive light, tho i still have mixed feelings about it and am not fully on board with that decision, still wish it had been done differently (but at least! it wasn’t brushed off and was addressed immediately and eventually led to david having agency and yelling out his pain!!! which was good and important and cathartic); also eps 8 and 9 were pretty messy writing-wise, things either didn’t make sense or would’ve made more sense had the clips were organized differently (that random ping pong clip….?). overall tho, the good outweighed the bad, and it remains my fave

* skam france - now that’s a tricky one. the way i felt about it in the first half of the season, is different from the way i felt about it in the second half of the season, is different from the way i feel about ever since watching druck’s s3. it’s funny you should say how similar it is to wtfock for you, bc i’ve been thinking the same thing for quite some time. those neighboring countries sure have a shared flair for the dramatic! fr’s s3 was pretty much the first s3 i watched (i gif-watched half of skamit, couldn’t get into it). i wasn’t planning to (i was extremely unimpressed by the couple of s1 eps i tried watching, and same by axel’s acting in those first two seasons), but even is the loml and they got me gooood with their eliott pov trailer, which might have affected my excitement over it during the first half. back then i really enjoyed it for the most part, despite some clips being rushed or missing the point thus not fully having the required effect (their locker room scene, for example, or the ‘generalizations are bad’ convo), or how much i hated basile (a character so obviously written by a man it’s amazing), or the cheesy piano music. there were enough good things for me to focus on instead (more in a bit) that i could ignore the things i didn’t like or weren’t as good imo. however, all the positivity got sucked out of me when yann noped tf out after lucas came out to him bc WAY TO MISS THE POINT OF SKAM!!! and things went downhill after the director’s IT’S NOT DISNEYLAND IT’S FRANCE 2019 comment. i’m getting all upset just thinking about it, but to say *that*, to explain that horrendous decision bc lowkey homophobic reactions are realistic!!! only to THEN be all ‘haha jk yann isn’t homophobic! we just wanted you to *think* he was! he’s actually an awesome friend who took several days to reflect on all his past wrongdoings while his bff was at home having a nervous breakdown bc he believed his bff hated him!’ ughhhhhhhhh, miss me with that shit. great that they had yann apologizing for his past comments, but the way in which it was done was for pure shock value and angst, completely ooc for his character (all season he was all ‘tell me tell me tell me let me help let me help let me help’ only to do *that*?? nahh), and interesting how out of everyone the only black character was the only one with a negative reaction (remind you of anyone), highlighted even more during ep 7 aka the ott lucas coming out tour. then ep 8, that should have been 100% all lucas and eliott and building up to eliott’s manic episode suddenly had that weird random pov changing clip in the middle of it which truly wtf, basile was still basile, lucas thanked chloe for outing him, more scenes felt rushed, they had sex in school where people could come and go in front of huge windows in broad daylight and luckily didn’t get poisoned from licking all that paint! and i did not like the flatshare, i absolutely hated mika and lisa kicking lucas out of his room - which he pays rent for! - and manon not even trying to put up a fight, and them being like ‘roommate isn’t just a place, it’s a way of living. that’s a family, and you’re more like a cousin.’ ‘a second cousin.’ ughhhhhh and then when eliott was recovering from his depressive episode, they *still* didn’t give lucas his room back or at least let eliott stay there, he was sleeping on the couch, i’m aldjlajdafj. can’t believe i’m gonna say it, but TAKE NOTES FROM WTFOCK. tl;dr there were some good moments in the second half, but i was feeling bitter more often than not about certain things, so my enjoyment wasn’t as high as when it first started. and after watching druck, druck’s brand is definitely much more my style. plus, i was already struggling with making myself believe axel and maxence were in their teens, but after druck it’s completely impossible, so i just pretend they’re in college or something lol. all my issues with it aside, i’d still rate it higher than wtfock, bc overall the writing was better, more coherent, and made much more sense. i also liked lucas’ friendship with the girls; i loved that instead of copying the underwater kiss + 21:21 like some others have, they came up with their own thing i.e. polaris, which i thought was lovely; the lucas/manon crying in the middle of the night together in front of the tv was one of my fave scenes of the season; also love how we were introduced to eliott on the first week! and they spent time together! and specifically the piano playing scene, ohhhh; and in general elu are sweet and i reeeeally like axel and maxence and their friendship. so yeah, it had some major issues, but i’d rather have a coherent story with something done for shock value and drama ONCE than an incoherent story with several shock value moments.

* skam espana - sorry to hear you girls were disappointed! i only watched half of it, so i can only comment on what i saw. i decided to binge watch s1 and give s2 a shot when i heard they were giving cris isak’s story - it felt a bit weird to me, but it was also something different and new, and i did have an appreciation for their decision to have a wlw season (also much more revolutionary to me than showing a gay bashing), so i was intrigued and willing to try it. sadly i didn’t really vibe with s1? it’s totally a personal preference i think, maybe even a cultural thing idk, but it felt very fast and loud and hectic to me, idrk how to explain it. i was just more into the chill more lowkey vibe of druck and skamnl. but i still gave s2 a shot, and idk, it still wasn’t my cup of tea. i thought it was ok for the most part, but there were some things that bothered me - joana/cris felt underdeveloped to me? and things b/w them felt like they were moving so fast from the second they met, like jona was so intense and forward ALL THE TIME, they had like 6 almost kisses in a really short time, like shhh slow down. i remember disliking their ‘call your gf’ scene, it felt really petty and kinda mean to me? bc i felt like joana came on to cris *really* strongly and *very* frequently, so cris was more than entitled to feel hurt and betrayed when she found out joana had a bf, but then cris was kissing a dude and joana positioned herself and her bf in front of cris so she’d see them kissing too, and i just didn’t like bc seriously?? cris is valid, just apologize to her and explain?? idr much else tbh, they had some really cute and sweet scenes afterwards, i’m still against doing the underwater kiss + 21:21 so i was kinda meh about that (tho aesthetically speaking it was BEAUTIFUL, and i’m like, fiiiiine girls deserve an underwater kiss too, i’ll allow it just this once!), and that cuddling clip in ep 6 i think was sweet and the last one i watched. like i said, i was less vibing with this remake, and iirc it was going on during druck’s s3 and skamnl’s s2 - which were my faves, plus skamfr was on too i think and i was lowkey following it too, so….there was just too much all at once and something had to go, and it was skamesp. it was also around the time when panaphobia-gate happened, so *shrugs* i’m not wlw myself so your opinion on it being desexualized is probably more valid than mine? i just know when i did watch, there was a lot of kissing and making out and being cute and touchy with each other, so i thought it was ok? as i’ve mentioned before, i don’t need to see a naked butt or anything like that to *get* it lol, i thought they were lovely! but that’s just me. i will say that my faaaave part was most definitely the cris/amira friendship. they were so wonderful! one of the best skam friendships imo. i might one day go back and finish the season just for the heck of it, but they didn’t do anything major or highly offensive that made me have negative feelings towards it, it was just a personal preference + circumstances (too many remakes!) that made me be less into it and drop it before the end.

[dusuessekartoffel]

Some Thoughts on Druck Season 3, or: a Love Letter to Matteo’s Season

Okay, here we are. The season ended two weeks ago. I don’t think I’ll ever be over it. I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from watching it all live. It was stressful as hell and and it was more emotional than I ever could have anticipated and it was so, so satisfying. It took over my life for ten weeks, which I’m somehow grateful for, even if it probably took away ten years from my lifespan. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to express quite how this season makes me feel. I can try, but I really don’t think I can put all my feelings into words. (Which is frustrating, because words are what I’m good at, usually. But I’ll just have to accept that and try.) These are just some of my thoughts on Matteo’s season, because otherwise this would turn into a novel.

From the moment we saw Matteo Florenzi in season 1, I knew his season was going to be good. I knew it was going to be my favourite season 3 remake. I knew Michelangelo Fortuzzi would do Matteo and Isak justice. And yet, I could have never imagined this. I never thought I would love this season as much as I did. That I would feel this much for fictional characters and that their story would touch me so much. I don’t think I’ve ever felt like this about any two fictional characters. Ever. (Not even Harry Potter and that is the one story that has stuck with me for 13 years now.)

Those people who, like me, have been in the fandom since the very beginning, will surely remember how we all knew how much we needed Matteo’s season when this disaster teenage boy first interrupted Hanna and Jonas in the very first clip. And then, sometime towards the end of season 1, people started advocating for trans Even. And I honestly think none of us would have ever expected that Druck would actually make their Even character trans. There was a casting call for a trans actor sometime last fall, but it was explained that it was for another show (which I’m guessing was a lie) and again, no one got their hopes up. When we saw David in season 2, the theories started, but still no one wanted to set themselves up for disappointment. And then Matteo saw David on that first Monday and it was confirmed that beanie boy was German Even and I will never forget how it felt to watch that scene for the first time and to see the fandom’s reactions to it, especially trans fans’ reactions. That Monday was when I realised that a. this season was truly going to be spectacular and that b. I could say goodbye to my life for the next ten weeks. That Monday was when “Druck is a show I like and think is really good” turned into “Druck is more or less the best thing I’ve ever seen and my life will now revolve around waiting for updates and then obsessing over them.” (You think I’m exaggerating, but seriously, on that Monday, I could barely concentrate on my classes and when I got home, I rewatched and rewatched the clip and I already felt way more for this show than I ever thought I would.)

This season was everything. It has its flaws, sure, and we shouldn’t ignore them. Criticising the things you like is good and healthy and we should never stop doing it. But the season also has its good parts, so, so many good parts. This is about the good parts because they are what made me fall in love with Druck again and again and again. (Also because a lot of people have talked about the bad parts and done it better than I ever could.)

David and Matteo have easily become my favourite version of Evak because they just feel so real. The show lets them be just two dumb teenage boys in love. It’s in everything, from both of the actors being the actual age of the characters, to them bonding over Matteo installing that switch thing (I’m honestly too dumb to understand what exactly he did), to Matteo calling David “Alter,” to their first date where they played table tennis with their hands and without a ball, to their dumb playful fights, to that first “I love you,” to them having sex for the first time. That’s what makes it so good, that they’re teenagers. They’re real teenagers. That’s such a rare thing to see on tv nowadays and it shouldn’t be. I’m not even a teenager anymore and I feel more represented by Druck than I have in a long time by anything else.

There’s a million details about this season and about Druck in general that make me love it so much. The music, which is always so good and so fitting. The flawless acting. The fact that they do workshops with the actors, writers and directors before every season and they adjust the characters and the scripts accordingly. The fact that Lukas was allowed to help on the last few scripts. The amazing and always entertaining Instagram content. (Oh, how I already miss #matteomonday and #florenzifriday.) How very much in character everything is all the time. Samstag 20:55. The kissing noises. (Don’t get me started on the kissing noises, because they may be my favourite thing about this season.) The sheer accuracy of everything. How stuff is properly built up and followed through and the writing is just so good.

One of my absolute favourite things about Druck is how good they are at characterisation. It was already spectacular in season 2, when we all suddenly fell for Alex right along with Mia, but they really took that to a new level in season 3. Matteo is one of the most well-written, well-developed characters I have ever come across. His character development was so good and so earned and it feels truly special to have witnessed it in real time. And David. Don’t even get me started on David. I do think a good part of this is Lukas Alexander’s sheer brilliance, but David is by far the most fleshed out and well-written Even character in all the remakes. He got to tell his own story and talk about his own experiences without ever being talked over and that is exactly how it should be. He was portrayed as kind and caring and desirable and funny and complex and more or less the best thing that has ever happened to Matteo. We all fell in love with him as hard as Matteo did. (How could we not have, when he’s the most loveable character played by the most loveable actor?)

But the thing with Druck is, every single character is multidimensional. They all have their little stories without taking away from the main character. I know a lot of people don’t like Sara, but again, she is by far the most well-written Sara/Emma character in the Skam universe. She has her own story and character development and I actually really enjoyed the scenes with her (when she wasn’t trying to get Matteo to kiss her). Eskild is one of my favourite Skam characters, but he doesn’t really get his own story, ever. Hans has an entire background we know about and, just like everyone else, he is also constantly learning and growing. Carlos and Abdi, who could have easily just been there for comic relief, are both fleshed out characters who have their own unique relationship with Matteo. Even Linn, who is in very few clips, has her own, distinct personality and got a cute little storyline about searching for a hobby.

Druck can be a bit messy sometimes and there’s a shit ton of continuity errors, but I think the fact that we are so ready to forgive them for that says a lot. The thing about Druck is that the people behind it care so much. They want to tell a beautiful story and they want to do it right. That doesn’t mean that they never fuck up, but throughout the entire show you can just feel the love they have for their characters and their stories. The fact that they listened to their viewers and gave us David says so much. So does the fact that they had Lukas Alexander work on the last three scripts with them. Or the fact that they broke their “no interviews” rule for those two videos with Annika to educate their viewers. Ever since we learned that they do workshops with the actors, directors and writers before each season starts to adjust the characters and the stories to the actors, I can’t stop thinking about that. It’s such a good example of just how much they care.

I’ve said this a lot this season, but Druck just gets it. They get how to be a remake (there’s a million examples of this, but my favourite one will always be how they took the iconic swimming pool kiss and turned it into their very own thing that felt absolutely fitting to their own characters while also referencing Skam). They get what Skam is all about: it’s about telling stories that matter, creating characters that people can relate to and being brave enough to try new things. This is why Druck is my favourite. Because it doesn’t try to be Skam, but in that, they do exactly what Skam was always meant to do. They open their viewers’ minds and they give people these beautiful stories that they can relate to in ways they may have never been able to relate to anything before. And it’s not even just things like the fact that so many trans viewers have been able to see themselves represented properly for the first time (though of course that is so important), it’s also just how well they portray how being a teenager in Germany feels. I’m not even German and I have never seen myself and my own school experience reflected more in a show. That Abi-Streich transported me right back to the end of my school days and made me feel all the things I felt back then. I have never had that with anything before.

So, yeah. Season 3 sure had it’s rocky parts. People are and always will be allowed to be upset about that. But it was nevertheless such a beautiful season. It made so many people feel seen and represented, whether in David or Matteo or any of the other characters. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show like this. Going through the Druck tag can leave you with the worst feeling sometimes, but so often, it made me feel joy. And it made me feel grateful. Watching this season live was one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done. But I wouldn’t miss it for anything. Because it was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever witnessed.

I don’t think I can quite put into words how much I love this season and this show in general. But I guess it comes down to this: I am so unbelievably grateful that I exist at the same time as this beautiful show. And I am so unbelievably grateful that I got to witness Matteo’s story and that it made me feel so much. Guess that’s how you explain “wunderschön” to the people who don’t speak German.

[skamofcolor]

Hi! Im trying to decide which remake to watch next. I have seen the og, france (i have to say besides season 3 it was super bad) and druck. Which remake is the best in terms of representation, like how would u rank them? (I trust u wont recommend italia lol)

This is an interesting question because I’m not sure that the remakes with the “best representation” are the ones that I personally find the most enjoyable to watch? (I’m also going to assume that when you say “best in terms of representation,” you mean the most ethnoracially diverse just in terms of casting?)

So instead of doing a ranking, here’s an outline of the ethnoracial representation of each one and my brief opinion on how each show works in terms of representation:

Skam España

Season 1: Eva (Eva) / Season 2: Cris (Chris & Isak)

España is one of the least diverse remakes in terms of ethnoracial identity, there’s no denying that. Although they have a few Latin American actors on the show, there are only two characters that aren’t white (or white-passing).

However, España is my favorite remake. Season one is pretty solid and I found myself interested in all of the characters and their personalities. Season two is absolutely spectacular, and while I have a few complaints, I cannot praise it enough. They gave Isak’s storyline to their Chris Berg (Cris) character, so it’s a wlw storyline.

One of the best parts of it is how  they treat their Sana (Amira). Imo España puts in way more care and effort into Amira than any of the other Skams do, including the OG. The Girl Squad actually seems to care about Amira’s religion and they make the effort to educate themselves, and Cris especially works to make Amira feel like she belongs. That’s not in spite of her differences, either, the show acknowledges how difference affects people and why it’s also a source of pride and important to a sense of self-hood. It’s the first Skam show, tbqh, where I’m not scared for the Sana season.

Most of the racism/Islamophobia Amira experiences is from outsiders commenting on Amira and through Cris’s mom. Their Vilde (Viri) is definitely sheltered and shows prejudice on a number of occasions in S1 but seems to be the one who lets go of those biases the most out of all the Vildes. Otherwise a lot of the prejudice is misogyny, homophobia/biphobia and ableism (which relates to the themes in Eva’s and Cris’s season).

Overall, I would describe España as tender.

Skam Austin

Season 1: Megan (Eva) / Season 2: Grace (Noora)

I think Austin the most ethnoracially diverse of the Skam shows. 3/5 members of the Girl Squad are WoC, and their Isak is a Black lesbian. (Yay!!!!!!)

Season one was fun but felt a bit rushed in some places. Season two started out pretty badly in terms of dialogue and characterization, but I did think it picked up well towards the middle of the season. I think it really hit its stride in the last few episodes!

All of the characters of color are fun, lovable, and get more complex characterization by the end of S2. What I do dislike about Austin is that they seem to love putting their characters of color in painful situations with very little resolution or support from other characters. I’m not sure how to get into this without spoiling things, but I was not happy with their Sana’s (Zoya), Eva’s, (Megan), Chris’s (Josefina) or Isak’s (Shay) storylines or how they wrapped up. However, when given complex dialogue and scenes, these actresses really pull out all the stops.

There’s not too much racism/Islamophobia in season 1 besides the patent Vilde-to-Sana (Kelsey to Zoya) prejudice. Megan is actually Latina but I don’t remember that really being brought up at all. I love Josefina but at points I feel like she was also just supposed to be the comic relief as well. Season 2, imo, had a LOT of racism/islamophobia, mostly directed at Zoya but a few microaggressions against the other girls as well. Kelsey seems to grow and isn’t blatantly racist/islamophobic but is still cringe-y/funny in that white-woman-who’s-trying-too-hard kind of way. Other forms of prejudice are misogyny and lesophobia (season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault).

Overall, I would describe Austin as campy.

Skam Netherlands

Season 1: Isa (Eva) / Season 2: Liv (Noora)

Netherlands is extremely ethnoracially diverse as well. They’re also the first remake to give us a WoC!Noora and a MoC!William.

Season one is probably my favorite season one (besides the OG). They built on so much of the wonderful aspects of the OG and went a step further, imo. Season two started out so well, but then it began to teeter off towards the end. It felt very rushed by then and some of the changes they made to the characters didn’t affect the plot at all, which was disappointing and almost nonsensical to watch. The show is very aesthetically pleasing though and I love most of the characters because they’re so... emotionally messy. lol.

Overall, their characters of color are quirky and nuanced. They’re also treated pretty well by the narrative. However... I think the show tends to not acknowledge their ethnoracial identities at all. Overall, it gives me the impression that the show did “colorblind” casting and then just either didn’t want to or forgot to engage with ethnoracial identity on any kind of level (sort of like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella or Still Star Crossed). This… is not necessarily a bad thing? But it annoys me because I personally think that stories inherently change when you cast marginalized actors. The exceptions to this are their Sana character (Imaan, who is only in season one) and their new Sana/Linn hybrid character (Esra who is in season two).

Again, because the show doesn’t really engage with ethnoracial identity, there’s not much racism/Islamophobia besides the Vilde-to-Sana stuff (Engel to Imaan). Engel is also painted as a cutesy, just doesn’t know any better kind of ignorant and not purposefully racist like many of the other Vildes. In season two, her interactions with Esra have a different tone like she’s genuinely curious, which can still be couched in prejudice. To me though, the dynamic is different because Esra is so much older than she is, so the power is more balanced. The show mostly deals with misogyny but not in a racialized way with Liv, which I found disappointing as well. Again, season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault.

Overall, I would describe Netherlands as surrealist (Also, from what I’ve seen, a lot of people who like Druck really like Skamnl too).

WTFock

Season 1: Janna (Eva) / Season 2: Zoe (Noora)

WTFock is in the middle when it comes to ethnoracial diversity.

Season one starts out slowly, but the small changes they make to the plot make a lot of sense and I really quite liked. It’s underrated but I think some of the characters are extremely strong, and for some reason it gives me the most OG vibe. Their Noora (Zoe) and Sana (Yasmina) are some of my favorites. I haven’t watched season two fully yet, maybe five-six clips. I did like the ones I selectively watched because it seems like they did change things up in a way that actually impacts the storyline (unlike in other remakes, who do small changes but ultimately stick to the exact plot of the OG).

I adore Yasmina and have no strong feelings about the rest of their characters of color so far. Their Chris (Luca) isn’t as strong as some of her counterparts, imo, but I think there’s potential to really build her up. I will say though that their one MoC, Moyo (a Mahdi/Magnus?) is arguably also the worse. He’s obsessed with saying fa**ot and is pretty homophobic. I have a suspicion that WTfock is gonna pull out some antiblackness the same way Skamfr did but again, I haven’t watched most of season 2 so I feel like I can’t really say that for sure yet. The show is good so far at hinting at Yasmina’s backstory, which I also really like. I feel like Wtfock and España have been the best at giving their Sanas a life outside of their friends, where we get more about then in early seasons then we did with Sana.

Yasmina deals with a lot of racism/Islamophobia from her Vilde (Amber). Imo, Amber is the fucking worst, and I don’t know how anyone can tolerate her. She’s even worse than Kiki which is saying a lot because I really really loathe Kiki. But anyway. Season one also has a “Mexican” themed party which was atrocious to watch, and not one of the characters seems to think that’s racist at all. The show tackles with misogyny as well, and season 2 is also the Noora season, so content note for sexual assault. I’m not 100% certain because again, I haven’t watched it, but apparently a bunch of characters, not only Moyo, have also been really gross, fetishizing and homophobic towards Robbe.

Overall, I thought season one was solid. I can’t really comment on the show as a whole yet.

In Conclusion

Anyway!

I hope this was helpful, but what you’re going to like really depends on you. This is all my opinion and ofc folks are free to disagree with me. I might be missing a lot because I wrote this all off of memory, but these are the impressions that stuck with me the most.

- mod Jennifer

[spadesinglasses]

Druck (Series)

Oof the first episode dropped and we all died.

Side note: this post may or may not contain several unpopular opinions about certain stuff the fandom is on about)

Another note: okay so this was a lot, so click keep reading carefully.

Okayy so I’ll cut at this point I only care about 3 clips (I watched all of them).

Can we just talk about the 2nd clip? The longing and ache Matteo has for Jonas, the guy who’s literally just inches beside him. How he just carefully caressed his hair? He was so fucking careful that his touches were light as to not disturb the peace, the gap in time where he can be himself.

We all had those moments of ache for someone. We love someone so much that we just want to be physically close to them. To be intimate to them. Having that feeling to someone whose sexuality is not compatible with you hurts.

Jonas, a straight guy (despite that comment thing he did with Hanna) is the person of affection of Matteo. And Matteo already damn well know not to fall in love with a hetero but he couldn’t stop himself to love this fool specially whenever Jonas does something unbearably lovable.

 Been there done that, I had a feeling for a guy before and I did so many stupid things just to spend time with him. Looking back at it now, I was definitely obvious and it was humiliating. It’s not humiliating to love someome, but I probably looked desperate or funny. 

Next clip would be the 3rd. Matteo shrugging after saying “cool” to Sara’s photo is just damn hilarious. And the fact that it’s like a mindless action makes it better. That action was for himself and nobody else and I just want more of Matteo doing these little actions mindlessly throughout the season.... and then have David notice it.

HOLY SHIT first scene with David holy fuck beanie boy where’s your beanie? Anyways, that shit there was something alluring omfg. Okay let me drag the other remakes for a sec. First was Martino and Niccolo. 

If I remember correctly their first major scene together was when Niccolo entered the radio meeting place. During that scene, Martino was preoccupied with himself and Emma and then he heard Niccolo’s voice, and the audio just had this whitenoise thing going on, like a static and just Martino’s senses are recalibrating and sharpening towards that voice and saw Niccolo and fell inlove. What i love with this scene was that it showed the whole sharping to focus situation when we fall in love. I love it so much.

Lucas and Eliot’s first scene was when Eliot entered the common room, Lucas saw Daphne smiling at someone and when he looked over there he saw Eliot. I imagine what Lucas feeling as an ember slowly getting bigger and getting hotter. It’s like this small piece of wood with small flickers of fire, just starting and then getting brighter and brighter until it becomes a fire of passion and sensuality.

They also noticed one another in that scene, with Eliot looking over the noise and seeing Lucas looking at him.

and now David and Matteo holy fuck dudes. Matteo was just there, minding his wee business thinking how to get Abdi’s weed from Amira and then bam there he saw this guy walking (I HAVE THE HUGE NEED TO KNOW WHO LOOK AT WHO FIRST, I MUST KNOW) and Matteo just felt something, something reminiscent of what he feels for Jonas and it was different, it was sudden and now he couldn’t take away his mind about this guy. 

I see Matteo’s situation close to Martino and I love it so much. About how they maintained eye contact longer than the others, how David looked back (ooof Andi Mack fandom say wazzup) after he passed him and how he saw Matteo still looking at him. 

Matteo dear wanted to look away, that looking at a guy for this long may be weird or whatever but fuck he couldn’t and it was eating him so much because how dare you take my attention like this.

He wanted to look away, he was about to look away but then he saw David looked back at him, and Matteo just grabbed at that time to look longer at David, to see his face, his eyebrows and his hair, and his cheeks and his eyes. Matteo wanted to make that moment longer but his mind just lost control over his body because jesus what is this feeling.

AND NOW THE HOLY 6TH CLIP.

Holy jesus fuck. Okay Matteo goes to this meeting group, with his usual level of enthusiasm, just saw there and let it do its thing. Amira was proud that Matteo was actually going through with what he said. Amira smiling and the girl squad is just happiness okay.

Okay back to Matteo, he’s done with photoshop Markus, he’s done with whatever they were doing because in the end it doesn’t matter for him, he’s just there for the weed and with his friends easily bailing out, he’s just over it. He left and walked away, eyes on the ground. And then he saw pants.

He was just about to warn the guy about the weird meeting but then he sees the guy he locked eyes with and fuck Matteo wanted again.

His body was automatic again, renewed confidence coming out of nowhere was just pushing him. He wanted. He looked at the hallway, thinking about shutting himself in his room, going to play music till everything just glosses over once more and it’ll be tomorrow. But oh he so wanted. He patted himself to find something, maybe they can share a common ground, something to keep him longer beside this person. Then he found his joint and offered it, his confidence wavering at every succinct answer of this guy. He’s like myself. They’re alike.

And then they were just there. Matteo couldn’t help but lean on the wall because he’s just so out of it. He felt like all vigor in his body left and now it’s just peace. I wanna love and be loved. This lyrics reminds me of Matteo completely and just I’m devastated for him. I see parts of myself with how Matteo deals with people around him. And it hurts me to see him go through all these things because it pulls back memories I wanted to forget.

David and Matteo talked, and we can actually see David opening up slowly and slowly, inch by inch as Matteo get closer and closer emotionally. He’s laughing, smiling, trying to pull anything out of David.

And David offered little bits of his life, stuff that he can now joke about, stuff that can be easily misunderstood and he loved doing it because its fun seeing people’s confused reactions and awkwardness because they all pry too much. But Matteo, Matteo was different to the other people around his life.

And then bam Sara enters and ruins this little bubble they made and tried so hard to keep.

And maybe its just me, but when Sara kissed Matteo, I can see David mouthing “okay” and it breaks me.

Because we see these two people again, can’t express their attraction to one another right from the start because society have made it impossible to do so. Made everything toxic.

And now David was there, just feeling lost and all happiness inside him that wanted to burst just simmered and then died. And Matteo who leaned over for the kiss did not even know why he did. It was just an automatic reaction right now. 

And then David was leaving, and then he left. David left with Matteo’s heart behind him. And Matteo was left there, like a husk once again numb but deeply, deeply excited for David.

Now for the unpopular opinion warning. Again, if I said something offensive (I always try my best not to be) I apologize and thank you for reading up til here. I try my best not to step on anyone’s happiness or feelings.

I want to express my opinion to the whole “GerEven is Matteo” thing.

First of all I’m tired. Tired of having to see these characters lose everything and just become “The Isak of Druck” or “Even of Druck” and I KNOW that fans didn’t mean it like that. That fans just love the original skam. WE all love the original skam with all its flaws and perfections.

But eventually it gets tiring. David and Matteo share similarities with both Even and Isak because they were in the same position as they were, they are just two guys lost to one another and couldn’t publicly express it. Like this is the case to all remakes. They may all got their start from Isak and Even but please let them soar as their own characters. Let Martino claim who he is. Let Lucas claim who he is. Let Matteo be who he is. 

I lost with whatever my point here is, but just let these characters, let these remakes BREATHE. Let them have a space to grow into as themselves and not have the pressure or threat of “they have to be like Isak and Even” destroy the meaning of these remakes and the original. 

This week had been troublesome specially up to the reveal of David. It was exhausting, and I wish that this would be the last, but I really doubt it. (I’m honestly scared for Skam españa season 2) So please just enjoy the series as it is. Compare if you like, just to show the difference, but comparing them and then dissing the remakes for not being the same as the original is just ... whatever I’m done with this issue.

ANYWAYS That’s it, I will make another post for some episodes, specially if I have a lot to say. I’ve watched the clips on the same day the subs were released so I just really want to put my opinion out there. 

[lightsandlostbells]

Druck season 2, episode 4 reaction

I want to thank turtleneck boy because I truly miss the fandom running wild with every detail and coming up with theories, I mean that sincerely. God bless you, sweater man.

Episode 4

Clip 1 - Motto selection 

We have the graduating class looking at mottos. Amira and Leonie are leading the meeting. Leonie sure likes to lead school activities. We also have Mia, Hanna, Jonas, and Matteo in attendance. I really like seeing more school activities, especially since the hero party thing wrapped up last season, and this seems like a particularly German tradition from what I can tell, so it’s a cool thing to include.

Jonas is wearing a fedora today and like, he’s rocking it and twirling it around and stuff, but baby, you gotta be aware of the implications.

They’re picking out a motto, but as Leonie emphasizes with finger quotes, these are “the best” and Amira says none of them are great. “Photoshop-Philipp” put together some examples of the logos. His name is Markus. He’s the theater kid from the first season, with his hair tied back and I never would have recognized him if fandom hadn’t pointed him out.

That dude in the black turtleneck sent us all into conspiracy mode. Initially he was giving me German Even vibes, too. Was this their version of kosegruppa? He smiles when Matteo starts laughing at Photoshop Philipp, and his body language is angled toward Matteo, kinda, could that be a clue??? Why would they give us a random close-up of that guy when Jonas starts talking about CannABIs, when he doesn’t have a line at that moment or anything? Why was he tying his shoe for so long? Surely Druck is trying to tell us something!

Yet apparently it has been confirmed that he is not German Even, but is some random extra who’s been popping up in school scenes. That was a fun few days of speculation, though.

When the cannabis-themed logo pops up, Jonas says that there are some students in this school who are critical of the dangers of smoking weed, and he’s definitely directing that toward Hanna (he looks at her at the end, and Hanna looks over her shoulders and rolls her eyes). Nice bit of passive-aggressiveness there.

Another one is a parody of the alt-right Germany party (AFD) logo. Jonas likes that direction. Some random girl doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to give more attention to the party, but Amira and Mia think it’s funny. You know, kinda cool that these random students are getting a voice this season - like in the classroom debate, or the discussion here. It’s not just the main characters having all the dialogue in these scenes, it makes it feel a little more like an actual school, if that makes sense. (ETA: @randomfinny and @hyperfictional pointed out that she’s actually German Sara. Lol, I never would have recognized her, so thank you!)

I laughed at Jonas and Matteo being lazy in the back of the class. and them both putting their heads down. They’re in sync!

Suddenly there’s Axel walking in! Good thing Kiki isn’t part of this meeting. Did he join just to hang out with Mia? 

I will say this, I am not complimentary toward Alex, but we’ve seen more of a personality from him thus far than with William, imo. He’s been shown to have some political opinions, and this shows a little bit of creativity/initiative on his part. He seems pretty pleased with his design/logo. He thinks it’s pretty gangster.

His logo is Abi Chaker Clan 2019, which is a reference to a family in Berlin with ties to organized crime? It doesn’t mean much to me as a non-German, but I’m going to take that it’s clever. Most of the group seems to like it. Jonas and Matteo approve. Markus doesn’t understand it. He’s like the only one other than Mia who’s not on board, lol. They take a vote, everyone puts their hands up except Mia. Hanna tells her that it’s better than others, so Mia reluctantly raises her hand. Even when she does so, she’s pointedly looking away from Alex.

As they leave, Jonas sticks his fedora on Matteo’s head. Be still my heart.

They’re going to have another meeting on Friday, Alex offers his place. Mia isn’t gonna be happy about that!

I will say this, this is what I wanted for Noorhelm remakes - give them something to work on that isn’t them dating, like a school project or whatever. Although now I’m like … they could have started with this stuff, the graduation committee, and not gotten into the whole renewed Kiki/Alex angle which makes this all messier and more complicated and harder to be on team Alex or team Winterberg. And I get that’s probably what they were going for, throwing more obstacles into the story so Mia still has doubts about being with Alex, but it also means I need that I need certain aspects addressed before I can fully get on board with this ship, and I’m afraid they won’t do that. Or I’m afraid that Mia’s flaws will be addressed but Alex’s will be excused.

That being said, I’m on team Amira with the decision to let Alex into the group. Sometimes you have to put personal feelings aside, and Alex’s involvement will benefit everyone else in the class by making the yearbooks cheaper. And tbh I don’t think it’s right to exclude someone from participating in a school group like this unless they’re actively disrupting the group itself, regardless of how much that person may have wronged me or my friends romantically.

When Mia starts to argue, Amira says that she knows the cost isn’t a big deal to Mia and some others, but other students came to her and said they couldn’t afford it. I wonder if Kiki was one of them… she probably wouldn’t tell that to Amira, though. Not in those words.

This isn’t Amira’s big secret, though, is it? Like Pawel isn’t some dude at the printing company, and she was just trying to keep it under wraps so Mia didn’t find out? I feel like her secret has to be bigger and more personal than that.

The question is, did Alex do this to get on Mia’s good side or to hang out with her? Or is he trying to engage and do something nice without expectations? Because I respect that second one more, obviously.

Amira is so lovely, I truly hope we get her season.

Clip 2 - Alex is hyped for Game of Thrones to return

Mia runs into Alex. She says they need to talk. He smirks and says, “Winter is coming,” and GOD FUCKING DAMMIT that made me laugh out loud. It’s so obvious but I laughed. 

You know, Mia looks a tiny bit like Daenerys Targaryen. 

There’s a shot of them walking down the path thing with the divider in the middle, oooo, ~symbolic. They meet at the end.

Mia tells him to stop grinning, and he says yes, sergeant Winter, and salutes. FUCK OFF that’s the second time I’ve laughed in this clip at this dude. I hate myself. 

She chews him out for becoming a “committing patron” and he’s all “??? I wanted to help??” And I will give this to him, he did actually help out the group regardless of intentions, so maybe let that one slide, Mia, in the spirit of utilitarianism. Then she mentions NYE and the midnight voice message, which he does deserve to be chewed out for.

SOMEONE IS WATCHING THEM. It’s Sam??? Oh shit, she saw them talking! Hopefully she assumes Mia is just yelling at Alex. But she’s going to know Mia and Alex are in cahoots. Will she end up using this against Mia, or will she go to Mia and offer her support when Mia feels like she can’t tell anyone what’s happening?

Clip 3 - Ironing soothes the soul

Mia checks her phone and sees a bunch of messages from people praising Alex’s motto and hyping him up as the man. She gets off the bed, puts on a Chopin record and we are treated to a slow-montage scene of Mia ironing her clothes, including stuff like pajamas and socks, things that do not really need to be ironed if you asked me.

But I like the purpose of this scene! Mia feels out of control and frustrated and helpless with Alex’s inclusion in the group and everybody praising him and talking him up, and on top of it she doesn’t feel in control of her own feelings, so she has this ritual where she puts on music and makes her clothes neat and orderly. She uses order as a coping mechanism. Even the way this is shot makes it feel very precise and serene, the way she goes about this ritual so calmly, the way she smooths down her ironed items, the way the camera moves upward at the end, like all Mia’s anxieties are just floating away. You can just sink into this moment and realize how Mia clears her head.

Also that it’s classical music - something that also feels very orderly. And as we learn later in the episode, Mia can play piano including classical pieces so perhaps she has a strong history with it.

This was something indicated with Noora - for example, she was throwing out and getting rid of stuff once William had left her, and tidying up her room before she was supposed to meet with William prior to him going to London. She was thrown out of balance when Eskild ate her fish cakes. So I like that they’re going into it with Mia, and as others have mentioned it might be another sign of Mia’s ED. (Perfectionism is a common trait in people with eating disorders, and excessive tidiness/need for order is a sign of perfectionism).

Ironing complete, Mia searches for Alexander Hardenberg online. She considers following Alex on IG - too far, girl, he’s gonna take that as a marriage proposal.

Mia’s phone background includes Hans, awww.

She finds various links including one talking about his sister Sophie, who was two years older than he was. There are theories that Sophie will take over the Niko role, but I don’t buy that. For one, Alexander got very defensive over people talking about his “sister” in the classroom debate, and I don’t think he’d care if his sister was a creep. Second, it would be in EXTREMELY poor taste to have the biggest wlw rep on this show be a woman preying on and assaulting another woman, especially as a counter to Mia and Alex’s heterosexual relationship that’s probably going to be True Love. Just. The worst. I wrote this speculation post, but I think Sophie’s probably dead or something bad happened to her. Björn is some dude who was involved in what happened to her.

I don’t know what song this is as Mia is falling into the Alex Hardenberg rabbit hole, but it sounds like classical to me, and it’s like her coping mechanism/mental safe space is getting conflated with this guy.

Hans bursts into the room saying the Mia needs to look at his dick, because he thinks he has an STD, specifically tripper (gonorrhea) and he needs her to compare with some picture online. OK, I have to say, I have never ever heard that term for gonorrhea before. I’ve only heard it called the clap. Did Druck just teach me something? Yes, it did.

I have to praise Milena’s reactions here, they are restrained but suitably horrified.

Hans exposes his junk to Mia and she notes that yeah, it looks similar to the picture. He storms out and yells his fury to the heavens. When Mia asks if she should go to the pharmacy for him, he says he needs a chamomile tea first. LMAO. I feel like it was implied Mia would make the tea, right?

Clip 4 - Dingalings

Matteo’s just hanging with the girls as they talk about Hans’ clap, I guess. This child is not in a good state. He doesn’t seem very engaged in this conversation, but then again … would you want to hear about someone’s gonorrhea? 

The girls are like HERE LOOK AT THESE GONORRHEA PICS and Matteo is just sitting there shooting them looks of WTF.

Sam calls it a “dingaling”. It’s nice to know she uses the same euphemism as my mom. She wants to know what a “gay penis” looks like, compared to a straight penis, I guess. Babe, you can go onto the Internet and find that out with a few clicks.

I laughed again at Matteo giving this side-eye to the girls while he looks at something on his phone. Or him nervously looking at them while they talk about what gay penis looks like.

Matteo picks up a banana as Sam asks about his dingaling. Druck going for that subtle symbolism, I see.

Sam asks Matteo how he measures dingalings, and he’s like, “...what?” There’s a nice moment where Hanna and Mia react and Mia tries to change the subject and divert attention from Matteo, in case this gets into uncomfortable territory for him. I liked that! Different from Eva and Noora having a fun time with Isak’s mysterious sexuality.

However, Sam really wants to know. Matteo mumbles that you do it with a ruler and Sam immediately gets out that ruler like she’s prepared to put this into practice. Not at the table, darling. Matteo isn’t even looking at them as he explains the rest.

Sam writes down “only when it’s hard” and underlines it, like she’s taking notes and this will be on the final exam for Dingalings 101.

Matteo sees Jonas walk in, and Matteo waves him over, probably thinking OH GOD SAVE ME, but Jonas just backtracks out of the room. NOOOOOO. I saw people think he was mad at Matteo, but I thought he was trying to avoid Hanna, which was confirmed in a text. If he and Matteo had a tiff, Matteo probably wouldn’t be waving him over so chill, unless he didn’t know Jonas was mad at him.

Matteo is not even looking at Hanna when she asks if Jonas has someone, just at his phone. What is he so engrossed with on his phone? Is it something specific or just generic sad teenage disengagement? Is it just him being one of The Youths?

Matteo waited until Sam left to tell Hanna that Jonas waits for her to post stuff on IG, IDK if there was a reason he waited. And there wasn’t any real reason Sam had to get up and leave during this scene, so is it at all important? Unless they just wanted the three sadsacks at the table together for the end of this clip, and Sam is not sufficiently angsty about her love life right now.

But Matteo tells Hanna that Jonas doesn’t have a new girl, he waits around for her to post new IG stories. Hanna is confused why, and Matteo is like, why does someone spend an entire evening stalking someone? Ohhh, damn. Mia is gonna feel that comment resonate uncomfortably.

Also, nice of Matteo to help out Hanna and Jonas’ relationship instead of snaking on her. As far as we know. (I think he’s being nice, not a snake this time.)

In case we didn’t get the connection, Axel texts Mia if she prefers wine or beer, for the yearbook meeting tomorrow, I guess. Checking in to see what she likes, her preferences. 

We see Mia, Matteo, and Hanna at the table, all of them a little out of sorts. Mia thinking about Axel, Hanna thinking about Jonas, Matteo thinking about … something ... or someone … dude is very busy on his phone.

Clip 5 - After party at Axel’s

Mia brushes her teeth before going over to Alex’s - I guess that’s supposed to be her showing interest in him? A sign that she wants to be at her best? Or, you know, a sign that she practices good oral hygiene. 

Hanna texts her and hopes she’s coming soon, because Hanna doesn’t want to be there alone because of Jonas. Damn, kids, you’re really tearing my heart out about this. Get back together already!

Axel texts Mia that she doesn’t need to bring a toothbrush because he has a new one ready for her. Well, that’s rather presumptuous. Mia seems a little amused, though.

She locks herself out of the apartment and texts Hans about it. Hans will be back at midnight to let Mia in. Also the tripper situation is still causing him pain and he stole money from his sick aunt to pay for medicine? Hans is so much more of a mess than Eskild was, like he’s going to have to evolve fast if he’s going to adopt Matteo.

This next part is beautiful, as we cut between Mia getting on the bus and traveling to Alex’s house, and shots of the characters looking into the camera as someone reads the comments about them. Isn’t this kinda like those character descriptions from pre-season? That promo stuff? So maybe it wasn’t just for promo, but an overall theme of the season, about the labels we stick on people or the shallow ways we perceive them.

Hanna - Gets bitch, red devil, arrogant. Who called Hanna a bitch?? Red devil?? Get the fuck out. Ex-BFF is from Leonie. Someone calls Hanna the “best decision of my life” and I think that was probably Jonas, please take that dagger out of my heart, oh my God.

Amira - Gets “hijab” like 8 times. So sad that this is all people know about her or think about her. They see the hijab and think that’s the sum total of who she is, rather than part of it. And it’s also othering, because the hijab stands out, it’s different from everyone else. I feel like Amira is used to it, too, like she probably expected that response. She also gets called ISIS. Man, fuck that edgy piece of shit person who wrote that. At least she gets some other comments like how she’s cool, like the people who actually know her and don’t stereotype her or judge her think she’s the best.

Matteo - Basically he’s a chill bro and fades into the background, although one person thinks he’s a good kisser. Hmmm, has he been going around smooching girls like Isak did?

Alex - gets almost all negative comments about how arrogant or jerkish he is, or his car compensating for his lack of dong size, except for some comments about how he’s hot. Look, if you want me to feel sorry about that, how people are just judging him unfairly, you’ve gotta show me more proof that he hasn’t been a major asshole throughout his high school career and this isn’t an accurate assessment of how he’s treated people or behaved this whole time, even if he’s supposed to be a nice guy underneath.

Mia - gets lots of comments on how hot she is, with some about her feminism or being boring. Habibi comes from Amira. Lesbian? Final one is “prettiest woman on earth” which probably was from Alex, honestly, and she seems kinda OK hearing him read that one out loud. (Although my kingdom for those “lesbian?” and “prettiest woman on earth” comments to have both come from like, Kiki.)

Matteo is once again lying on the couch on his phone, checked out. Someone send that kid an Even to bring him to life.

They talk about whether everyone should be able to cross out comments and that they don’t have time to chase everyone down, but I agree with Mia that everyone should be able to censor theirs, not just the committee. Alex agrees with Mia and gives a sensible option, that people have two weeks to contact the staff if they want to censor their comments. He says he doesn’t want to censor his comments because in twenty years he wants to remember what an arrogant ass he was, and everyone laughs, and you can take that as a sign of character growth that he wants to evolve past being an ass, or him thinking it was a fun time rather than something he regrets.

There’s turtleneck boy again. Who isn’t Even, but maybe could be German Julian Dahl. 

Alex ordered pizza and beer, and the meeting gets more like a party. Hanna and Matteo throw pizza at each other and Hanna gives him the finger, cute! Alex arm wrestles Markus the theater photoshop kid. All throughout the evening, Mia seems attuned to Alex’s presence and keeps looking his way. I know that kind of feeling, I’ve been to parties where I was Mia and someone’s presence was like a magnet.

Hanna and Matteo talk in the kitchen about Jonas. Hanna asks where Jonas is, seeing as he’s not at the meeting, and Matteo says he doesn’t know, Jonas wanted to come. Which is a lie seeing as Jonas told Matteo he wasn’t going in a text message that we saw. At least Matteo is trying to spare Hanna’s feelings.

Mia is in Alex’s bathroom, looking at the stuff on the counter. I guess she’s just inspecting his stuff? She opens a jar and it’s overflowing with condoms, lol. I guess Alex got over his “latex allergy” at some point or learned his lesson about not wrapping it up. Maybe he had his own adventure with tripper. (I’m imagining him in his own version of the scene with Hans, wailing and opening his robe to a befuddled Toilet Sam.)

Hans texts her that now he won’t be home until 1. When Mia comes out of the bathroom, everyone else is leaving. Now Mia’s first option is that she could totally leave with her friends and chill with them, and if she’s locked out, she could crash at Hanna’s. But Amira has to study, Leonie has a date, and Hanna is going to the cinema with her dad. (What if Hanna was going to Jonas’ instead ... no, I won’t get entertain that happy delusion.) Anyway, Hanna suggests that Mia just kill time at Alex’s until she can go home.

Mia and Alex look at each other across the room. There is some nice nonverbal tension. The toilet flushes and Markus comes out of the bathroom. Now there are three of them, I like this shot of them in a triangle. Lol, Markus is so drunk he doesn’t know if he puked on himself. He doesn’t know how he broke up the Mia/Alex staring contest.

Alex and Mia look at each other and laugh after Markus leaves, which is a genuinely nice moment. Mia explains her situation and says she’ll go to the cinema or hang out in the park until then. Alex says she could stay and he’ll drive her home later. There’s a funny bit where Mia says he’s not allowed to drive, and Alex says he’ll call his chauffeur, and then does an imitation of Mia’s inner monologue - “Is he that rich? No … or maybe he is?” I do like that they’ve given Alex so much more of a sense of humor.

Lmao, Alex jumping on the random skateboard and gliding across the floor, I have to say if I lived in a big empty place like that, I’d be doing shit like that a lot. Speaking of, that is one big, spacious apartment, like there’s some art on the walls and stuff but it still gives off that cold lonely rich kid vibe.

I like Mia walking around examining the place as he makes her rosehip tea. Alex mentions that his sister used to live here - again, we don’t get more details than that, like whether she moved or died, what happened to her. It seems like he might have cut off that line of inquiry when he asks Mia if she wants honey in her tea - either a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to change the subject.

However, that does throw into context Björn’s appearance in the next clip, because Björn was showing up to the sister’s old apartment. Why was he messing around in there? I think that dude might be the sister’s boyfriend or ex.

There’s a piano. In that same room are a lot of moving boxes; either because Alex was moving in, or because the sister was moving out. Or maybe they were packing up Sophie’s things because she died?

Mia asks him whether he plays or whether it’s there to impress girls. Alex says no, so I’m betting it was the sister’s piano. He also asked whether they should go sit in the other room to drink the tea, I think that he didn’t want to answer questions about the piano or be near it, like it probably reminds him of whatever happened to the sister.

Gold star to Mia for not playing without payment and for not negotiating. I love her.

Was that the theme music from Titanic she was playing and acting like she was really into?? Lmao.

Finally, she plays something legit, “Montagues and Capulets” (or “Dance of the Knights”) from the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. HMMM could there be any connection to star-crossed lovers with this subject matter? Hey, it’s subtler than a banana.

At first I was wondering why her playing seemed out of sync and was like ... did they get a body double to play for her or something? Because I think Milena can really play. But then we see that it’s intentionally out of sync, as we see them eating and talking over the music. Perhaps to symbolize things being out of sorts; earlier this clip we had Mia using classical music as a way to restore order in her life, and here that order is rapidly dissolving, so the music isn’t really soothing, and the images aren’t neatly in line with it. 

When Alex asks what song that was, Mia says it’s Drake. L M A O I adore her.

Hans texts Mia that he’s not coming home tonight as he’s met some other dude with gonorrhea and they’re going to hook up. Er, have fun with that, Mr. Currently Peeing Shards of Glass. Anyway, he asks if she can stay at Hanna’s. Alex says Mia can just stay there, she can take the bed and he’ll take the sleeping mat. Mia asks why doesn’t he just sleep on the couch and he says the fridge is too loud. We are treated to the sounds of the thunderous fridge. Actually, it is pretty loud for a fridge, if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing I can see it being a problem.

He says she can rent his bed for the night, like in a hotel. Which is what seems to convince her, him framing it not like a benevolent gesture but a transaction. So Alexander sets up the bed for Mia. He gives the new toothbrush that he had mentioned, and she pays him back what he gave her.

Mia climbs into bed and smells the fresh linen. She checks her phone and Hans says that Emilio finished fast so he’s coming home, and Hanna says Mia can come over. But Mia pulls an Isak, telling Hanna that Hans is home and Hans that she’s with Hanna. Wow, there is no chance of that backfiring, not with these two people who appear to be on friendly terms.

They don’t share a bed as Noorhelm did; true to his word, Alex sleeps on the floor, and she gets the bed. I think that’s indicative of where they’re at with each other right now; they still have distance between them, but they’ve developed a state of comfort and can let down their guard to a degree.

They wish each other good night, and she calls him Axel. That makes him smile. And then he asks that that wasn’t really Drake, was it? Which makes her smile. Let him go to his grave thinking it was Drake, Mia.

Social Media/General Comments

I’ll say this, Chris Veres is doing well as Alex, performance-wise. Previously he was my least favorite William, and I thought he was very flat in S1, which I guess was intentional, since I heard he tried to play Alex as very cold and unfeeling. Now we’ve seen him showing more personality and especially glimpses of humor and levity. So regardless on my thoughts of the character overall, I think the actor is doing a fine job. 

A lot of people seem to have hopped on board with Alex after this episode, even people who hated William, and I think that largely has to do with the performance. I’m not sure I would say I’m completely on board with Alex as a character - he still has a lot of stuff to account for, and there are things that I really need Druck to redeem about him in order for me to like him. I especially need apologies - or at least some sense of regret and humility over his specific mistakes, rather than him trying to defend himself and Mia falling for it. But I get why fandom is starting to like him, he’s showing more charisma here. There are things I certainly like about him compared to William, for instance that he seems to have more interests and opinions on things that don’t have to do with his love interest. He had some genuinely funny lines in this episode. 

Also, I’ve said it before, but I wasn’t sold on Mia entirely in S1, but Milena Tscharntke is really winning me over this season. Mia feels like her own character, certainly one with traits in common as Noora, but also not a Noora clone. 

Kiki was totally absent this episode, and I wonder if that was to lull us into forgetting the Kiki/Alex drama so we, like Mia, could start to fall for him. In putting Kiki aside for an episode, it’s kind of like we don’t have this reminder of what Alex and Mia have done to her, something that I’m sure will come crashing back and causing conflict in the next episode. It also makes you wonder what Kiki has been doing since we last saw her. How is she coping? Breaking more hearts?

The music needs to be used more sparingly. This episode had some good selections but basically it’s falling into a pattern that’s plagued some of the remakes, where the music always gets used the same way: a song at the start of the clip, a song at the end of it, so that it starts to lessen the impact of the music because we can predict when it will appear. I think it happens in some remakes, like Skam France or Druck, because they run some previews/production credits at the end, and they want music to go over it instead of silence. But last season I think they did have some clips that ended with silence over the credits, or things like Hanna sighing, or random banter, and that didn’t bother me, that helped to retain the atmosphere of the clip. 

There’s a theory that S3 and/or S4 have been running in the background of this season, and while I can see evidence for that, I really hope it’s not the case. Especially after this last clip - I thought it was great, the pacing worked and there were some inspired directing choices, so imagine what we could get with Matteo or Amira’s seasons with that kind of style. It would work so well with one of the long Evak or Yousana clips, something like Mekke øl or The Best of Islam.

Mia is like, “Won’t we get in copyright trouble for this?” as a feeble attempt in the committee chat not to pick Alex’s motto, lol. Give her credit for fighting a losing battle to the end.

Hans had like three text messages about his clap. First he accuses a dude of infecting him with the clap, while the dude is like, nah, just went to the doctor yesterday, I’m good, and Hans is like … oops … embarrassing. Then he goes after the next dude he banged, who reciprocates his electronic shouting match. Finally messages Michi, who’s like, thank God, I thought you were breaking up with me again. Dude. Hans. I know you find Michi a bore, I guess, but some dude whose reaction to hearing he has the clap is “at least you didn’t break up with me” to the dude who gave it to him, is someone you might wanna hang on to. And not in a boomerang way, in a “this is a keeper” way.

Matteo and Jonas text and apparently Jonas planned to skip the yearbook meeting/party because of Hanna. So that’s probably why he ran away in the dingaling clip, because he saw Hanna there. I’m wondering if they’re going to get back together this season or if they’ll string us along for a few more.

According to Matteo’s IG stories, that was the first time Photoshop Philipp/Markus got drunk, and Matteo made sure to document the highs, followed by the inevitable lows.

I’m not German, so feel free to correct me if I missed anything.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!