Skins: Rise

Episode two
In ‘Eden Lake’, Jack O’Connell played a feral youth hunting his quarries in the woods. The tables are turned tonight: O’Connell’s Cook, two squeezes in tow, flees to the countryside to escape the wrath of his vengeful boss. There’s brief respite, as Cook pays the price for his womanising ways (‘even your dick tells lies,’ reckons Emma), until decides it’s time to stop running and live up to his responsibilities. At which point, a familiar face returns…

It’s a bleak note on which to end this largely successful ‘Fire’/‘Pure’/‘Rise’ ‘Skins’ experiment, perhaps lacking in emotional impact but retaining a truly chilling tension, thanks in no small part to Jack Clough’s excellent snowbound direction. And Jack O’Connell once again confirms himself as a huge talent.