#this doesn't even scratch the surface of everything but this was the shortest i could make it lol

[maxbernini]

rank the skamfr newgen seasons

WELL! read more bc it’s LONG bc i feel i need to defend myself sdnsdksd

this is hard bc there are plots & mains from some that are far superior than others, but if we're judging whole seasons...like i genuinely think the first 4 episodes of s8 are maybe their strongest in terms of consistent writing (theme, dialogue, set up), directing (the symbolism in lighting, space & color), and acting (khalil emmy when) but you know how s8 went lmao, i can’t put it first. so:

1: season six: yes it’s a mess but it’s #my mess. imo it’s the only one that works as both a standalone story and within the show? s9 requires you to watch s6/7; s7 requires you don’t watch s6 if you want a satisfying redemption arc (and imo fails re: a standalone story on pregnancy), and s8 is such a mess on so many levels. but s6 is like: here’s a character you’ve never met before, s1-5 will enhance your understanding of her family/life but you don’t need that bc s6 makes it clear enough, and whilst s7-9 does continue her story, if you stop at 6 you’ve still got a fairly complete arc about family, growth, healing. don’t get me wrong...if i ever see mister baguette on the street...but in retrospect, most of my issues are re: the pacing and tone i think? there was so much heavy stuff going on but i thought it all made sense in theory (like the links between EDs, poverty, alcoholism, addiction, assault etc), i just don’t know if skam, its genre and format, was the right show for all of it at once. there’s 583230 things i’d cut or switch around (alexia-as-eliott’s-role, forever in my heart) but it’s the season i’m most satisfied with and i do think lola is the most realized, developed, and consistently well-written person in the new gen

2: season nine: this could either go up or down in an hour lol. but as much as i wish they’d gone in many different directions, i still love so much about this season sorryyy. it’s like the only season where plots & characterizations from past seasons actually carry over and are used in ways that make sense lmao? like this is the first time post-s6 i’ve actually enjoyed la mif’s dynamic and think they’re all in character and most of their scenes make sense. the symbolism!! circles/cycles work so well with maya’s past and how that impacts her + the moon/rebirth works so well with her interests. getting to be in her pov is so fun to me. i loved the dramatic irony, i love how pre-ep9 you get why she does what she does, i love how she’s allowed to be really messy without being narratively punished, and has finally allowed herself to feel things beyond being the Kind Mom Friend. not speaking much on the negatives (and there are many!!!) bc i’m saving that for a post in a few days when it’s actually over and rn i just wanna soak up s9 whilst i still can. i think she’s the second most consistently well-written character in la mif.

3: season seven: i mean, she’s my least fave main of the 4, i don’t like this season, i don’t think even the best written season about redemption, bullying, privilege etc should’ve come before max & sekou. but it’s still ahead of 8 bc: a) after the trailer i went into 7 “prepared” vs i went into 8 excited for bilal’s season, and b) in terms of theme...well it was advertised as a season on teen pregnancy and it sure was lmao. i was team #SheWon’tKeepTheBaby and i still mostly stand by that tbh; i think there’s a way they could’ve connected it to a redemption arc but that’s another post. whilst i like how her motherhood is used in 9, i don’t think s7 did it justice just by virtue of it being tiff? i don’t care about how teen pregnancy impacts a wealthy, white, cishet girl. and the answer being not much financially, socially, or academically lol. ofc i don’t want a season where a main suffers 24/7, there should be a good blend of hope and realism, but this just felt like the writers wanted to explore the topic and picked tiff bc there was no one else + it was thus an “easy” (lazy) way to redeem her with that instead of via an actual redemption arc, and yet nobody came out of s7 looking good lol. i think there’s a direct link between the issues with s7′s main to my issues with s8 and lamifex 2.0 in general, but that’s also another post :)) i will say that s7 trailer night will go down in the history books though. the discovery that lola technically punched a pregnant girl is like...oh you HAD to be there.

4: season eight: A MESS. as i said, the first 4 eps are good and def outrank 7 as a whole. but 8 as a whole...it’s up there with eskam4 as maybe my most disappointing viewing experiences. i don’t think either are the worst skamverse seasons tbh but in terms of investment levels versus end product? ugh. there’s so many s8 clips i skipped at the time and still haven’t watched bc i just don’t care and that’s the worst part!! there was SO much there!! SO much set up!! but bilal’s arc was rushed to focus on jo’s story, which wasn’t even done well either! if nobody came out of s7 looking good, then s8 made them look actively worse and maybe regressed them? (and i think this was where it rly hit me like OH they sure do pick a topic to explore rather than let the characters guide them to topics huh). i mourn what s8 could’ve been had they cut the HIV plot + actually explored ALL facets of bilal & the cherif family’s lives and identities and focused on them + made redouane the co-main not jo + had jolal’s plot be about first time relationships & impressions & letting people in, and not...whatever this was. there’s so much wrong with s8 but i think the overall vibe can be epitomized by the following: a) sekou being in the s8 credits bc he appeared in a s7 insta video, and b) them spending 10 weeks hyping up a kitschy, trashy, decadence themed prom, only for it to be yet another dance rave that could’ve gotten bilal arrested (the season starting & ending with that except it matters and then...suddenly doesn’t), and everyone turns up in JEANS and T-SHIRTS, except for lola who was in an ASTRONAUT COSTUME for unexplained reasons. genuinely the most insanely disappointing, inconsistent, rushed, weird, terrible, confusing new gen season for me.