Er det meg?

lightsandlostbells: It's such a rich season of TV in detail that there was no shortage of things to write about.

Ghostcat: Before we get into what you discovered in rewatching and recapping, can you tell us a bit about how and when you started watching the show?

lightsandlostbells: By total random chance, haha.

Ghostcat: Were you googling "scam" and misspelled? (because that happened to one of our interviewees).

lightsandlostbells: I love it! No, I have YouTube to blame. In October 2016 this show Eyewitness premiered on USA Network. The show was about two teenage boys in a secret relationship who witness a murder while they're hooking up in the woods. I was like, hey, sounds like it could be good. (Funny thing, it's actually a remake of a Norwegian show...)

Ghostcat: Oh yeah...I think I saw gifs of that.

lightsandlostbells: USA Network put the first 10-15 minutes of the pilot episode on YouTube, so I watched that and then a few videos about the show. Shortly after that, my YT recommendations were full of supercuts of gay storylines...including one called Skam.

Ghostcat: YouTube recs strikes again. So you clicked on...a supercut?

lightsandlostbells: I ignored them for a few days and then, late at night, putting off going to bed, I clicked on a Skam video randomly, thinking I would watch a minute or two and then get bored and exit. Ha.

Ghostcat: LOL.

lightsandlostbells: It was actually the neon party clip!

Ghostcat: Oh geez. My favorite thing about that clip is how nobody at that party sees those two boys and their laser beam eyes. They're just bopping along completely oblivious to this high end romance.

lightsandlostbells: The IsakxEven account on Twitter was still uploading the full clips to YouTube at the time. So I watched that clip, was immediately hooked, and then went back and watched the rest of S3 to that point. By reading the comments, I was able to figure out how the show worked, its real time structure, social media, etc. And then the first clip I saw in real time was the pool scene.

Ghostcat: WOW. What a great clip to see in real time. When we watched it with our newbies, they were all yelling. So genuinely happy for this fictional boy.

lightsandlostbells: After everyone's finished dancing, Even is just standing there dead-on staring at Isak like he wants to kiss him or slowly murder him and everyone's just puttering around trying to find their phones or w/e.

Ghostcat: True, and then Isak shoots that over the shoulder look in the kitchen and Even is like: 👀

lightsandlostbells: THAT WHOLE DAY. I was refreshing the Skam webpage for updates. Because I knewwwwww they were going to finally kiss, for real.

Ghostcat: THIS WAS IT. IT WAS HAPPENING. It made sense that they'd kiss. It was the thing that needed to happen but going into their hell-double date, I was genuinely wondering...how. Good ole Even and his lack of chill.

lightsandlostbells: It definitely did. I remember sitting there watching as they got to the Head over Heels bike ride and my heart was just FLUTTERING. I was vicariously swooning through this epic teen romance.

Ghostcat: It is such a swoon-inspiring moment. The music cue is PERFECT.

lightsandlostbells: I was also watching in unsubtitled Norwegian.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha! Really??? So you were filling in the blanks HARD.

lightsandlostbells: Yep! That was my whole S3 (and S4) experience. But it was great in a way because I was able to focus entirely on the acting, reading Tarjei and Henrik's microexpressions. I've mentioned before that I was able to tell Even was having a manic episode from the episode 8 kitchen scene by the acting alone, before I had subtitles.

Ghostcat: Really? We're gonna come back to that. Luckily for us, and I really do think this is an enormous part of SKAM's international appeal, both Henrik and Tarjei are wonderful when it comes to non-verbal acting.

lightsandlostbells: They're amazing. I remember when I wrote the recap for that clip, I had to watch several different times because SO MUCH is happening in that scene - with Isak, with Even, with Isak-and-Even, and also with Sonja and Emma.

Ghostcat: What did you think happened on your first watch without subs?

lightsandlostbells: In the pool/bike/double date from hell scene, I thought maybe Sonja just broke up with Even right then and there.

Ghostcat: Well, it does look that way. That entire scene is a gem of silent movie acting too. Isak on the couch and the five billion ways he has of looking around, looking away, looking directly at. All while winsomely sitting there in the costume Emma put together for him.

lightsandlostbells: I just thought Sonja got sick of dealing with Even and called it off right there, lol. The Norwegian kinda sounds like "We're done" in English which is what put the idea in my head.

Ghostcat: Ha! What did you think when you found out it wasn't quite that simple? Were you like I THOUGHT HE DUMPED HER?

lightsandlostbells: Yes, I had a bit of a grumble.

Ghostcat: Sonja and Emma are having this whole socially appropriate interaction while Even growls softly into his beer (I have such a thing for Even's seething in this scene, it's so overt and we've never seen him do that before.)

lightsandlostbells: Sonja's dialogue there is actually pretty revealing for her character, although you don't really understand until later.

Ghostcat: In what way? *chin hands*

lightsandlostbells: Even is not concealing his real feelings at all, and he's trying to get a silent conversation with Isak happening, and Isak's a bit too skittish to reciprocate.

Ghostcat: Isak is almost afraid to look at him directly but he keeps sneaking looks like he's taking sips of Even and then immediately glancing away. In gifsets, you can always spot the moment his gaze lands on Even and away.

etal: (all while in fancy dress too)

lightsandlostbells: So admittedly a lot of this is headcanon/conjecture, but Sonja is talking to Emma about how she's bored and misses having things to do during the day. It makes me think that just as Even relies on Sonja and sees her as a source of stability, in some ways Even is that for Sonja, too.

Ghostcat: Clearly, Sonia misses structure too. Also on the headcanon tip, but it makes me think about how Sonja's university trajectory was also diverted probably by Even's suicide attempt.

lightsandlostbells: Yes! Taking care of Even brings a sense of purpose to her life. We know from a previous clip she's working a crappy retail job that probably isn't very satisfying.

Ghostcat: That idea kind of piles on to Even's complicated feelings about dumping her.

lightsandlostbells: That's a good point! I've wondered about Sonja and university because it sounds like she isn't in school from her conversation with Emma.

Ghostcat: She's not and she definitely comes across as a driven, organized person which is why it surprised me that she wasn't.

etal: (She is, in a way unbalanced, even though she has both her legs.)

Ghostcat: Ha! Yes. It's a complex, thorny situation between the two of them. So much more than just a simple obstacle.

lightsandlostbells: One thing I appreciate about season 3 is that it really shows you why Even and Sonja need to break up without demonizing either of them.

Ghostcat: It's brilliant! It's very hard to do. Andem did a little bit of that with Jonas and Eva, but here, I think it's very high stakes. Was their troubled relationship something that you kind of understood on a surface level on first watch but deepened upon rewatch? It was for me, on first watch, I definitely knew they were wrong for one another, but upon rewatch it felt so much sadder. She's not the obstacle people think she is.

lightsandlostbells: It really is. Season 3 in general develops such high stakes beyond just "will this cute boy get with the other cute boy" and while it'd still be wonderful as a sweet romance, it ends up feeling downright profound by the end. Definitely deepened upon rewatch.

Ghostcat: Andem doesn't skimp on emotional truth with these characters. People don't do things arbitrarily. They all have their reasons for doing what they do. And it's not entirely in the service of a plotline the way it often seems in scripted drama.

lightsandlostbells: She's definitely not a shallow obstacle to be disposed of. Sonja represents Even's larger struggle, as well as being her own person, of course. If I can get into S4 here - I think this is why the conflict works so well with Even and Sonja versus a somewhat similar love triangle-type conflict with the Sana/Yousef/Noora situation. Which doesn't work for me nearly as well.

Ghostcat: Yeah, that didn't work so well. Andem needed Yousef to "give up" on Sana and hook up with someone else BUT it didn't match the character or how his feelings for Sana had been portrayed. The plot demanded it but the characters didn't agree.

lightsandlostbells: Because once Even breaks up with Sonja, there's still the larger issue of mental illness that he and Isak need to face together. The problem really isn't Sonja's presence, after all. But with Sana/Yousef/Noora, the "conflict" really hinges on miscommunication and a simple 5-second conversation would have saved weeks of drama. It's over as soon as Noora tells Sana the truth. It's not a complex conflict.

Ghostcat: No. Not at all.

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, it was a case of the plot demanding the characters act a certain way instead of feeling organic. Also demanding that no one talk to each other for weeks...

Ghostcat: On rewatch, what was the first big thing you noticed about the structure that made you go, WOW, they did that. Mine was Even's flippant little "Did you think I died?"

lightsandlostbells: Yes, that was huge. I think the pool scene and the subsequent cuddle scene are packed with little moments like that.

Ghostcat: It's handled very deftly. His comment is so throwaway, it could be an improv BUT IT ISN'T and that's bolstered by Even's comments during the I'm Not in Love scene.

lightsandlostbells: Also earlier in the scene, when Sonja reveals that she's graduated.

Ghostcat: And Isak was going to ask Even why he transferred as a senior in Lykke til Isak.

lightsandlostbells: Because they leave it to you and Isak to connect the dots…hmmm, they're the same age but Even hasn't graduated yet? Wonder why. And then they just move on before you can think about it too much

Ghostcat: But they're interrupted by Emma.

lightsandlostbells: Yep, that too.

Ghostcat: The thing is Isak has been set up from season one as an observant guy.

lightsandlostbells: Emma literally plants herself between them...

Ghostcat: So he's trying to piece things together because he genuinely wants to know Even but Even is very good at diverting his pesky feelings. It made me wonder how Andem decided to spread out those clues and when and why?

lightsandlostbells: That happens all throughout the season. Another big hint you only notice on rewatch: Sonja's aluminum leg.

Ghostcat: Yes and the realization, when you look at the social media, of how often Even tries to communicate indirectly with songs and quotes and references.

lightsandlostbells: That was probably one of the biggest. Because it works so well in character, as Even being this weird quirky guy, spinning this wild story for a laugh, and only later do you realize he was genuinely trying to communicate with Isak. IT'S SO GOOD.

Ghostcat: So good.

lightsandlostbells: That's such a sharp character detail! (The songs and quotes and references).

Ghostcat: Particularly when you loop it with "I saw you on the first day of school" because it recasts nearly everything he says to Isak, not just because we know he had feelings but because now we know he had time to think about what he would say to him and of course, how he would present himself, at his best (cough that deliberate courtyard walk).

lightsandlostbells: Oh yes, "I saw you the first day of school" is absolutely a killer moment. Totally makes you want to rewatch the whole season.

Ghostcat: AND IT WORKS. it's no retcon!! that's what makes it so good.

lightsandlostbells: Even really does treat his life like a movie! Specifically a romantic comedy where he is the star. The paper towels are his version of a Meet Cute

Ghostcat: His love even gets the beauty close-ups in the stoney hang. The other thing that became apparent to me was how on rewatching, Even's influence felt bigger.

lightsandlostbells: It's alllll over the season.

Ghostcat: Yes! I muddled it all up in my head. I hadn't realized that Isak hadn't seen R+J yet.

lightsandlostbells: I mean, from the moment he mentions Baz Luhrmann, and we bring R+J into the picture, that shapes so much of the season.

Ghostcat: But there's Even, doing his best DiCaps Romeo look to camera/Isak. His idea, his framing, his choice of song.

lightsandlostbells: And I was lucky enough to watch from episode 5 onward in real time, and despite all the cuteness and romance, there was this level of dread hanging over everything all the time, because I was expecting the R+J focus to pay off later.

Ghostcat: It's meant to be there. You're meant to feel it

lightsandlostbells: And it does! Just not in the way everyone was fearing

Ghostcat: Using Luhrmann's R+J as the central motif works spectacularly and it's not the first time it comes up!

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, I mentioned in a recap that Isak hadn't watched R+J by the time Even does his alluring courtyard walk to Talk Show Host, so it almost comes across as Even's POV when you make the connection to the film.

Ghostcat: Andem tried to use it in season two with Noora and William in front of a fish tank but it doesn't resonate.

lightsandlostbells: Oh yeah...them.

Ghostcat: Here she brings it back and it makes sense.

lightsandlostbells: Not to get into Noorhelm but parts of S3 feel like course correction with regards to the development of the love interest and relationship.

Ghostcat: I agree. The biggest correction being a couple that actually likes each other.

lightsandlostbells: Yep!

Ghostcat: That's one way to kick things off in the right direction.

lightsandlostbells: And Even has so many interests and hobbies compared to William.

Ghostcat: Even is so different from Isak and yet he DELIGHTS in those differences. Neither of them is trying to change the other. Their differences complement one another.

lightsandlostbells: It honestly is amazing how Evak just works so well as a ship, in all directions.

Like I've tried to break that pairing down into words and I just fail, every time, because it's got so much going for it.

Ghostcat: Back to R+J as a framing device: Even is a film student > Luhrmann is his favorite > he mentions his love of tragic romance > he sets up that pool kiss > he talks about death and loss > he's fearful of change and yet seemingly absolutely certain of his feelings for Isak

For whatever reason, we know he thinks there's an element of the forbidden with his relationship with Isak and we're led to believe (mistakenly) that it's because Even has a girlfriend but really the forbidden is Even, who doesn't think he should have this.

@etal-late: I mean 👆

Ghostcat: By likening them to R+J, he believes their love is fated but impossible but he lets himself have it for a little while. All the clues stack up.

etal: 'The forbidden is Even' ouch yes.

Ghostcat: He's feeding them to us and Isak so that when Isak goes to the church and Nils Bech is up there singing and the neon cross is shining and the montage starts and ISAK FIGURES IT OUT. That run, paired with those strings, and that backward montage―

lightsandlostbells: Oh I'm so glad you brought up O Helga Natt, because that's where I was about to go with this, lol.

Ghostcat: ―hits like a ton of bricks. Suddenly all these little moments, them talking in bed, the kiss in the elevator are reframed in a new context. Their love becomes EPIC.

lightsandlostbells: YessssSSSSSSS (the part of this chat where I get incoherent has COMMENCED)

Ghostcat: And, as we find out at the end of the ep, it's NOT because someone dies. It's because of how real it is.

lightsandlostbells: So going back to what we were saying about Even communicating through notes/art/music: I think that's why Even's text in O Helga Natt is so effective. Because throughout the season, he's been dropping hints to his emotional state through his sketches and song lyrics, and we're like Isak, we're trying to piece it all together. With that text, Even finally lays out his true feelings in this vulnerable, direct manner. Then as soon as Isak connects the dots, all those clues in the season pay off. It was absolutely glorious to watch this in real time because I was dreading this would be a story about death. Instead, it became a story about rebirth

Ghostcat: YES. Which ties into the story of Isak/Isaac in the Bible.

etal: Woah

Ghostcat: Lest we forget that Mamma has been doubling up on the indirect hints as well. Her texts are also clues.

lightsandlostbells: O Helga Natt is utter brilliance. I know everybody recognizes it's a masterpiece, but there are just so many things happening in it. It was difficult to write about for recaps because I didn't want to miss anything. I still feel like I did.

Ghostcat: Because things continually reveal themselves about it

lightsandlostbells: Yeah, Mamma even mentions baptism like immediately before the clip, lmao

Ghostcat: Yeah! It’s oh so spectacularly specific but never labored.

@modestytreehouse: My god she does

Ghostcat: It feels like a gift

lightsandlostbells: The pool scene and O Helga Natt are mirrors of each other and I think that's such a testament to Julie Andem's mastery of structure. (Also the cuddle scene and Minutt for minutt are mirrors. Lots of scenes in S3 are mirrors to each other.)

Ghostcat: The symmetry of this season is spectacular. Even with the most throwaway nonsense.

lightsandlostbells: I'm a huge sucker for symmetry and it's all over the place in S3.

Ghostcat: Like Magnus and that cat tongue girl.

lightsandlostbells: Yep!

Ghostcat: Ending the season by making out with a meowing Vilde.

lightsandlostbells: The dance chicks: starts with Isak being alienated from his friends as they drool over hot chicks. They come back so Isak can confidently reject them, in a scene where he also talks about which of his male friends he'd bang.

Ghostcat: I remember watching it and saying out loud OH MY GOD, EVEN CAT HOOKER PAID OFF.

treehouse: (21.21)

Ghostcat: Sana and the 10%. Isak being unable to say a guy is hot

lightsandlostbells: That's such a nice little Christmas bow, lol

Ghostcat: To telling his boyfriend exactly that. Avoiding his parents/reuniting with his parents and about to meet Even’s. A party where he’s off in another room pretending. A party where he’s in another room being as real as can be. Lying to truth.

lightsandlostbells: Isak putting on a fake persona to flirt with Emma at her locker about "the asshole" to Isak being himself with her and bringing back "the asshole" comment in episode 10.

Ghostcat: Yes! Everything is suitably rounded upon. It is airtight.

lightsandlostbells: Except the girls who were hungover on a Wednesday.

Ghostcat: They're still hungover, it's four years later. Still fucked up (we are those girls). [Mod note: it’s five years later, we are still those Hungover Wednesday girls]

lightsandlostbells: They might want to pop a vitamin IDK. Lol yes, Julie Andem had a plan for them all along! They were symbolic representations of the audience.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.

lightsandlostbells: When I think about S3 I physically manifest into that Ben Affleck smoking gif.

Ghostcat: All this talk of perfection leads me to the final question in this section of our conversation…you know what's coming.

lightsandlostbells: Oh, and the representations of time in S3 also have payoff!

Ghostcat: We didn't get there!

lightsandlostbells: From big talk of "forever" and "infinite time" to "minutt by minutt" and "now" (Sorry)

Ghostcat: Oops. Ha ha ha. But yes! Also important, along with the numbers nudging us along, all that very deliberate time, BUT this is big talk so let me dumb things down with the following question―what is your interpretation of the following emoji hieroglyphics: ❤️ 🐬 🌞 🍆 💯

lightsandlostbells: "Isak, I love you so much and also you make me horny as Flipper. The sun shines out of your dick. Full marks."

Ghostcat: Excellent.

lightsandlostbells: Aren't dolphins notoriously horny in real life? I'm not a marine biologist.

Ghostcat: I am and it’s true, they are famously horny and pansexual as well!

lightsandlostbells: JULIE ANDEM DOING IT AGAIN.

Ghostcat: I'm not actually a marine biologist, but I couldn't resist…the symmetry. :sunglasses emoji:

___

Thank you so much for reading these interviews! I will post a master post of links to all of these if you feel like nerding out at your leisure.

Thank you again to all of our interview participants! You were very kind to say yes.

.Ghostcat: With extremely rare exceptions, I am not interested in teen shows. Mostly because of that CW aesthetic. The acting styles.

BryroseA: YUS. Chiseled-jawed 34 year olds playing high schoolers.

Ghostcat: That. Writing style too. Everything is just not for me. So I didn’t really look too closely. Just saw a lot of baseball caps and blond hair and SO MUCH OF IT ALL THE TIME.

BryroseA: Hahaha. THE SNAPBACK.

Ghostcat: Ergo blacklist. Again, I knew nothing about the show. I know that at some point he kissed an identical blond guy A LOT. But I have white people face blindness. Fast forward to some time later...I’m hazy about the year.

BryroseA: S3 was 2016, right? Around the time of the US election in the fall? :/

Ghostcat: As you know, doctors found a mass in my brain and there was a period of time where my entire family was “on pause.”

BryroseA: Yes.

Ghostcat: And when we got word that it was non-cancerous, I kind of deflated and let the depression hit me real hard. I did absolutely nothing for a few months. Which on paper, makes no sense, but having to keep it together for that length of time took a lot out of me.

BryroseA: It makes complete sense.

Ghostcat: It was 2019. And that was the moment where I thought: I know! I’ll watch that dumb teen show with all the blonds!

BryroseA: Blond twink show!

Ghostcat: Yeah, why not?

BryroseA: Perfect.

Ghostcat: Let’s watch some 20 something year olds pretend to be teens. I put it on and was like…these aren’t 20 somethings. Ha ha ha.

BryroseA: ACTUAL TEENS. Should not be novel, and yet...

Ghostcat: It was so confusing! And Eva is so ordinary…I mean, she’s beautiful.

BryroseA: Eva :heart:

Ghostcat: But she’s also not this glossy glamour puss. She’s a beautiful but ordinary girl who doesn’t know how to put on make-up, has a condescending boyfriend, and gets her skirt caught in her tights.

BryroseA: I love that shot of her in bed in the first ep (I think...) hair wrapped in a towel, slurping cereal, and watching Dr. Phil. Just...a girl.

Ghostcat: Yessss! I was actually also in a towel turby and eating when that scene came on.

BryroseA: Haha.

Ghostcat: And looked around nervously. Fork halfway to my mouth.

BryroseA: THEY KNOW. 👀 Giant eyes.

Ghostcat: So giant. I watched that first season in two days.

BryroseA: When did you feel "hooked"?

Ghostcat: I felt hooked during the “I’m yours” cabin scene.

BryroseA: Awww. "I be gived it bebestest."

Ghostcat: I uh, am a bit of a music snob.

BryroseA: This I know. :wink:

Ghostcat: But I love that dumb song so much ha ha ha.

BryroseA: I'm yoooouuurs...🎵

Ghostcat: I also really loved that kid’s face. When Eva is trying to fish information out of him and suddenly he looks like he’s thinking a million miles a minute? I was like, this one. This one is my favorite.

BryroseA: Aw.

Ghostcat: The funny part is that I had not pieced together that it was baseball hat teen!

BryroseA: He looks SO different by S3. Even style of dress. Did you binge the whole show back to back?

Ghostcat: Two days for season one, then a little longer for season two because it takes so long to get through it.

BryroseA: In retrospect, S2 is SO long compared to the other two I've watched thus far.

Ghostcat: Not gonna lie, I was zoning out toward the end there.

BryroseA: Yeah, I think I missed half an ep that I never re-watched

Ghostcat: Then season three and there was Isak! Now, Isak and Sana were my faves because they were the most interesting actors to me.

BryroseA: Yes, definitely.

Ghostcat: But I was not prepared for the season three situation. I watched it with my partner in two days. And we were both so INTO IT.

BryroseA: Wow, that must have been an experience back to back like that. Intense.

Ghostcat: Then I made my BFF watch. And my mom. Aaaaaaaaaand anyone that had ears and eyes was subjected to my power point.

BryroseA: "In this presentation, I will..."

Ghostcat: Pretty much. My season 3 pitch was: It is the most perfect, compact season of television I’ve ever watched. Acting, writing, directing, music, structure ALL ON POINT.

BryroseA: It does hang together remarkably well. I have to say, it was a bit jarring at first to be snapped out of the girl squad focus. (And then it felt jarring again to be back in it during the final ep). Like, for the first episode or two I was missing the girls.

Ghostcat: Yeah, the last episode had that little reminder. Remember us?

BryroseA: Like ohhh yeah. Chris B. Haven't seen her in a minute.

Ghostcat: I do like that season three doesn’t force relationships that don’t exist. I think sometimes shows want to justify screen time so they bring randos together.

BryroseA: Yeah. Although―and I think I said this in an ep chat―if you'd asked during S1 which girls would be most involved in Isak's season, wouldn't you think it'd be Eva and Chris (of the yogurt spoon flirting)...the two girls who are maybe LEAST present in S3.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha true. And I kind of LOVE that.

BryroseA: Isak and Sana make a ton of sense as an on-screen pairing with their insiders-outsider perspectives.

Ghostcat: Yes and also as a clever way of bringing her closer for next season.

BryroseA: And, of course, ViLdE!?

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha ha, Vilde. After the fact, I learned that TSM and Ulrikke were tight during filming and I thought to myself...that is so clever of Andem. Because she brings in two actors who are friends and writes a relationship between those characters that makes sense for them. Vilde and Isak aren't suddenly bff but there are believable organic reasons for their interactions.

BryroseA: The kosegruppa thing does come out of nowhere a bit. But Vilde is a VERY believable captain, lol. You WILL feel kose.

Ghostcat: One of the many themes of this year is love: first love, being loved, giving love, and yeah, there's this cuddle group basically ha ha ha.

BryroseA: With buns! I was rewatching Ep1 and I forgot she was bribing people with buns, lol forever.

Ghostcat: I would love to know how Andem came up with kosegruppa as something for this season that Isak would get sucked into. There are so many crucial, detailed steps to bringing in Isak to that room that Vilde would be running with Sana as her capo.

BryroseA: I LOVED the 10% coming back in the finale.

Ghostcat: It came back! It had to come back. Because everything came back. The season has such a pleasing symmetry.

BryroseA: All of this stuff I'd almost forgotten about in the emotional tsunami that is the second half of this season popping back up.

Ghostcat: It is an emotional tsunami.

BryroseA: See, because it's been WEEKS for me. Not a binge watch. So the memory has faded, lol.

Ghostcat: As it would have been for those poor souls who watched in real time! (crosses self, points to sky)

BryroseA: Although I have rewatched some scenes a bunch (coughlockerroomcough).

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. You'll rewatch a lot of those scenes.

BryroseA: CHECK.

Ghostcat: What was the experience of waiting like?

BryroseA: TORTUROUS. Actually. Kinda fun too.

Ghostcat: Did you really think C and I were just sadistic cheerleaders?

BryroseA: (Yes)

Ghostcat: We're Vilde and Sana. The first watch is our kosegruppa.

BryroseA: I'm a pretty voracious consumer of stuff usually.

Ghostcat: Everyone is nowadays.

BryroseA: Although I don't watch a ton of TV, I read like...IDK...someone will take reading away from me if I don't shovel it all in. So it was a new-ish experience forcing myself to wait and marinate. And stew. And rewatch.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. Stew.

BryroseA: SO MUCH STEWING.

Ghostcat: At what moment were you grabbed this season?

BryroseA: Ooh.

Ghostcat: Because there is a period of adjustment with each main. We've been hanging out with Noora…and here's this boy and his socks.

BryroseA: Like I said, the POV switch was tough, but I knew I was into it with Jonas's bike wobbling out of the scene on their Great Escape.

Ghostcat: Did you see the video in the social media channel of them wobble-riding around the neighborhood?

BryroseA: I DID see the bike video. It is amazing.

Ghostcat: Love it.

BryroseA: Then I went on a rapidly vacillating journey of "Is Even supposed to be hot?" from...Why does this kid look like he's auditioning for Grease 3?

Ghostcat: Even is the Cool, Cool Rider.

BryroseA: To: he looks kinda like an alien. To: His face is vaguely pear shaped? Like...an upside down pear. To: Daaaaamn, he's some hot with a hoodie on. To: I WOULD DIE FOR YOU BABY. So, you know.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha.

BryroseA: That happened.

Ghostcat: It does. I was so confused by my suddenly overwhelmingly protective instincts about Even.

BryroseA: Yesss.

Ghostcat: To the point where I lovingly was wishing THE CHARACTER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY. "I hope you have a beautiful day today."

BryroseA: :ambulance: Something is wrong with this child 🚨 PROTECTIVE INSTINCTS ACTIVATE. I think the part where I was really into the season, though, was Call Your Girlfriend.

Ghostcat: Oh. Bånder! You mean when it was just… :eyes: and a hot beat?

BryroseA: YUP. I think that was the first scene where our watch crew was immediately like PLAY IT AGAIN. AGAIN. NOW. (Although...the window hang and cheese toasties were pretty hook-y too)

Ghostcat: EYES.

BryroseA: Peeeeers out.

Ghostcat: Pupils like two black dessert plates. TSM is very good with his face.

BryroseA: He really is - very subtle.

Ghostcat: He's emotionally transparent AND he has that gift where you can see the thought process play out.

BryroseA: Tough question: If you had to pick a weak point of this season, where/what would it be?

Ghostcat: You know, I've given that a lot of thought because I do think this season can be studied for its economy and narrative perfection but… I don't have any complaints. Like, I can see why people want extra things. I've heard a lot of people saying that they want Emma to get her comeuppance.

BryroseA: Ohh yes. Count me in that list.

Ghostcat: And I don't? I just don't think she's important enough to merit it. This is Isak's story.

BryroseA: The outing, though, that was important. And I wouldn't have minded some small closure there. Not like I want some 20 minute rant or whatever, just...an acknowledgment.

Ghostcat: I don't know why I don't miss it? Maybe because she's the hot, pretty, popular girl who dates models?

BryroseA: And tried to get high on Advil or whatev.

Ghostcat: I don't see her as a villain. But I don't need to know more about her. I don't want Isak to give her any more time.

BryroseA: I think some of the things I wish were on screen are actually in the social media, which I haven't thoroughly studied, yet.

Ghostcat: Emma got burnt because she liked a boy a lot and was flabbergasted when he didn't like her back just as much and when she found out why, she was furious.

BryroseA: Yeah, the part where they left the girls in Isak's bathroom (while HILARIOUS) is definitely pretty shitty. I mean, I'd be pissed.

Ghostcat: So shitty ha ha ha. I get it. But especially since she doesn't seem used to it at all. In her world, boys like her.

BryroseA: She looks like Natalie Portman! Gay people are funny!

Ghostcat: That was one of my I-am-falling-for-you-Even moments. That look on his face.

BryroseA: Yesss.

Ghostcat: When he listens to her and then corrects her, not like a mansplaining teenage boy, but like a diplomat at an embassy soiree.

BryroseA: Lol.

Ghostcat: It's very collected even though you can tell he's just like, nope, can't let that slide.

BryroseA: Even does seem very adult at times.

Ghostcat: And he shoots Isak this little look of “really?”

BryroseA: It's partly why he gets away with seeming "mysterious" to the viewing audience, I think.

Ghostcat: …and Isak, in a blink and you miss it bit of microexpression, smiles.

BryroseA: Aw.

Ghostcat: Not in a sweet way, though. In a “LATERS!” way. An “I am still mad at you for whatever happened on Friday you have a girlfriend fuck you bye” way.

BryroseA: “DEFINITELY gonna go make out on the dancefloor now while staring at you like I wanna be dicked down” way.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. They are not subtle.

BryroseA: Not AT ALL. Only teen boy obliviousness keeps the squad from figuring shit out.

Ghostcat: A lesser show would have everyone comment on it. Like that thing in fic where everyone smiles knowingly.

BryroseA: Hahaha. Or slyly.

Ghostcat: Like the entire world is paying attention to your weird shit.

BryroseA: Through their cerulean orbs.

Ghostcat: But going back to your question about weak or missing things.

BryroseA: Yes?

Ghostcat: I guess I'm content because this show gives me what I want but also doesn't give me too much. I love how there are so many things that are left open for us to figure out. I feel trusted as a viewer, and weirdly, more involved than if there was all this exposition getting thrown at me.

BryroseA: It's good to have that space left for...like your imagination, but it can be a delicate balance between "you decide" and "this feels incomplete."

Ghostcat: Yes. SKAM doesn't feel incomplete to me.

BryroseA: I feel like this show hit that mark. MANY others do not.

Ghostcat: Julie Andem does the work though there were a few things I wondered about…

BryroseA: I wonder a LOT about Even's backstory. His relationship with his parents, Sonja, friends, etc. And also about Isak's family sitch.

Ghostcat: Yeah, during O Helga Natt, I remember laughing out loud that we don't see Isak's parents.

BryroseA: Yeah, that struck me immediately too.

Ghostcat: They went and cast some people and then didn't show their faces. Isak then books a minute or two later―bye, parents! We hardly knew ye!

BryroseA: My repeated viewing of that scene made me see that the parent actors are also credited as producers. So was Andem just like "stand here, we're not filming your face so we can save the actor fee"?

Ghostcat: Maybe Andem didn't think we needed to meet them? “We only need his face, he'll convey the entire thing.” And... is she wrong?

BryroseA: They're not important to that scene, but they ARE important to Isak's story.

Ghostcat: You can clearly see the different ways he looks at his mom and his dad.

BryroseA: (I still get stuck on the whole moved-out-at-16 thing, which is very American of me, I know.)

Ghostcat: It interests me too that they came together. The dad is trying with Isak but why did Isak get left behind? I'm not entirely sure Isak was in danger from his mother. I know this goes against fanon, I’ve read some harrowing missing scene fics.

BryroseA: He seems more...done than fearful.

Ghostcat: Just that being sixteen years old, closeted, and living with a mentally ill, super Christian mom who doesn't seem to sleep is enough justification to want to get the fuck out. But you see it in his face when he gets her text―there's so much relief there. Love.

BryroseA: Hard to know if she is really super Christian, or if the bible verse obsession is more a symptom of whatever MI she has going. Obsessive communicating through verse. The way Even does through song lyrics.

Ghostcat: EXACTLY the same way. Which is another reason Isak must have been kicking himself afterwards for not connecting the dots.

BryroseA: God…what's it called when teens communicate through rote learned phrases? Rather than engage in "normal" conversation they'll respond with lines of dialogue from a TV show or whatever and you can tell what they mean if you know them and know how to interpret them? Scripting! I think that's the term.

Ghostcat: Meanwhile Even is saying “where is he/the man who was just like me?”

BryroseA: Yeah.

Ghostcat: That's not upsetting.

BryroseA: I don't know much Nas. But I do know Cherry Wine because it's an Amy Winehouse collab and she and I have the same birthday so I followed her career. I know this song a bit - had heard it before this show. But… It's really a "soulmates" kind of song. Super poignant thing for Even to text. Aaaaand for Isak to reject. And not understand.

Ghostcat: Isak has understood him all this time. Or rather, Even has felt understood and then it's gone.

BryroseA: Yes, like in the kitchen.

Ghostcat: Isak doesn't presume to know his thoughts.

BryroseA: Anyway, just crying a tad over here. It's cool. Coool.

Ghostcat: (Hands you a tissue, wipes discreetly at own eye.)

BryroseA: You said this season is about love―and it is―but there's a strong strain of being truly understood at work, too.

Ghostcat: Isak is a scientifically-minded guy. He wants proof of things.

BryroseA: Yes.

Ghostcat: And understanding is love too.

BryroseA: Yes.

Ghostcat: Truly wanting to know something is love. I don't think it's any kind of accident that Isak's "subject" at school is biology.

BryroseA: Isak is understood by no one at the start of the season, because he doesn't want to be.

Ghostcat: He's hiding.

BryroseA: Yes

Ghostcat: Not by being shy certainly and I don't think he's entirely projecting confidence to distract. Isak is confident. He is cocky.

BryroseA: Juuuust not about some things, lol.

Ghostcat: Well, not about Even, not at first. Because if you're scared to admit liking boys, being face to face with THE boy is some kind of delicious nightmare.

BryroseA: Even seems like such untrod territory for him, in so many ways.

Ghostcat: So many ways. One of the things I love is that without Isak saying it, I could feeeeeeeeeeel how he knew that what he was feeling with Even was nothing like what he'd felt for Jonas.

BryroseA: AND (andandandand) The revelation that Even saw him the 1st day of school YO.

Ghostcat: YUP. Did you read the “Even sees Isak on the first day of school” script that Julie Andem did?

BryroseA: I DID.

Ghostcat: ISN'T THAT THE BEST.

BryroseA: I must meet that tiny angry man. YES

Ghostcat: Even is about to go home. He doesn't think he can go into the building and he sees this boy yelling into his phone and :heart_eyes_cat:

BryroseA: Aw :cry: Hahaha. Gotta get me some of that! The season starts in October-ish, right? Does the school year start in September? [Mod note: it starts in August]

Ghostcat: The script says that the scene goes into slo-mo and Isak keeps yelling and Angel from the Romeo + Juliet soundtrack starts playing.

BryroseA: Sooo about a month or more of interested tracking of the scowly-boy for Even? Hahahahaha omg.

Ghostcat: He's YELLING IN SLO-MO. I cannot fucking handle it.

BryroseA: That line in the finale is one of those small, almost throw away, "instantly re-frames the season" moments. It's...a lot, honestly.

Ghostcat: And you know what?

BryroseA: ?

Ghostcat: Even is consistent with this, when you rewatch this season―L O L you are rewatching this season, let's not pretend…

BryroseA: I think I remember after the 1st ep asking you "What is with the paper towel thing, quirky, OCD, orr??" And you telling me to wait and see SO.

Ghostcat: …you'll note all the times Even twinkles. Like a fucking Christmas tree―

BryroseA: Ploy for attention? Genuine cleanliness quirk?

Ghostcat: ―whenever Isak acts like a grump.

BryroseA: Haha.

Ghostcat: Instead of being offended or put off by Isak's bite, he THRILLS in it. It's like he's wiggling internally.

BryroseA: I've said a few times this season is basically fanfic come to life, so it figures it’s "the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one."

Ghostcat: Even is pure sunshine when he smiles that smile of his. No eyes at all, just teeth. This is fanfic come to life but good fanfic.

BryroseA: Super high quality shit. The kind where you’re like...this is free????

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. AND IT WAS. Public television. SO what was your thing that you'd fix?

BryroseA: Ooh, I haven’t processed everything to the level the vets have, of course. And, like I said, I haven’t delved into social media as much especially for the early eps. I don’t love the “girlfriend as obstacle” storyline in general - although Sonja is ultimately a sympathetic character, I think.

Ghostcat: Yes, though I do think Sonja is a false obstacle.

BryroseA: So the whole flirting while in a relationship thing is understandable. But I’d love something more...complex as the surface obstacle. The real obstacle, of course, being Even’s perception of his MI.

Ghostcat: YES. And whether Isak deserves that in his life

BryroseA: But what ISAK sees as the obstacle is Sonja. And that feels kinda off to me in some of those middle eps.

Ghostcat: Which ones? That Isak isn't thinking about her at all? Or trying not to?

BryroseA: From Call Your Girlfriend on, honestly. But ESPECIALLY after they ditch her to make out in the pool.

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. Yeah, though Isak does try to not look at Even too much in that scene.

BryroseA: I feel like knowing what I know now might color those eps differently for me on rewatch.

Ghostcat: MAYBE IF I DON'T MAKE EYE CONTACT I WON'T WANT TO KISS HIM.

BryroseA: But yeah, on first watch…Sonja’s place in the plot feels thin.

Ghostcat: I think we're meant to be as unsure as Isak is about what Even's angle is. Unsure though he may be, Isak is very sure, seemingly, of how he feels about Even.

BryroseA: Yes.

Ghostcat: But you're right.

BryroseA: From the “Am I Gay” test on.

Ghostcat: Things change when you know Even's been sitting across from him in the cafeteria and drawing him for over a month at least. Or just a page full of dicks. Who knows with that Even.

BryroseA: Hahaha. Page full of dicks, def.

Ghostcat: I think Isak is so used to doing things in hiding that he might have allowed himself to think about his thing with Even as something that exists only between themselves.

BryroseA: Yes.

Ghostcat: And doesn't need to be known by anyone else so Sonja is irrelevant.

BryroseA: I am SO much less bothered by Isak’s role in this whole thing than I am by Even’s (and Andem’s by extension). It’s not Isak’s job to think about Sonja. But it bothers me that Even doesn’t, if that makes sense? Again, knowing what I know now it makes sense that he feels...tangled in this long term supportive relationship.

Ghostcat: I think that Even's been trying to break things off with Sonja for quite some time.

BryroseA: Like he owes Sonja.

Ghostcat: But can't because yes...he feels indebted. Maybe afraid also.

BryroseA: She stayed with him, put up with a lot, probably―from his POV. Buuut, knowing that now doesn’t change the way it colors his character on first watch, ykwim? That is a weak spot in characterization/plot, in my totally unstudied opinion.

Ghostcat: That's fair.

BryroseA: I think the more I rewatch the less it will bug me, lol.

Ghostcat: I think that I trusted in two things: that what Even feels for Isak is something he has never felt before and that he's been mooning over him since the first day of school. His feelings aren't delusional either.

BryroseA: :heart_eyes: Ugh, I just like Even so much - maybe that’s why it bugs me in the niggling way it does. He’s so heart eyes in every other way.

Ghostcat: Blame Henrik Holm too. I think he gives Even an innate goodness. Always gazing at Isak with those big marble eyes of his.

BryroseA: Yesss. He has a theater nerd vibe, I think. And those are very my people.

Ghostcat: He is very tender. I found it hard to believe O HE IS A FUCKBOI TOYING WITH ISAK'S HEART when he looked at him that way. And kept fixing his hair and hovering.

BryroseA: Was that a common fandom opinion? Fuck boy?

Ghostcat: I think some viewers thought he was playing Isak.

BryroseA: Because certain S2 stars who will remain nameless, sure, but Even??

Ghostcat: Anything was possible? Just like I worried, legit worried, he would hurt himself in OHN.

BryroseA: YES.

Ghostcat: Because R+J and all the foreshadowing.

BryroseA: Jesus.

Ghostcat: I've seen a lot of TV shows. I know when I'm being primed. So while, intellectually I knew that SKAM is a teen show with a hopeful message, I was also FREAKING THE FUCK OUT.

BryroseA: HARD SAME. It felt very, very possible I was like "GC, I WILL END YOU IF THIS IS SAD." "HOW DARE."

Ghostcat: Ha ha ha. I'm sorry but real talk isn't that some beautiful shit?

BryroseA: I mean, it winds up being a good, catharsis emotion. It's only possible because of the REAL palpable fear that precedes it.

Ghostcat: Weren't you genuinely emotionally taken away by it?

BryroseA: Oh heck yes. I've rewatched that....uh a lot, a lot a lot. It's still super powerful.

Ghostcat: You're so with these guys at that point when the montage happens―

BryroseA: It's that damn backwards montage GET ME EVERY TIME.

Ghostcat: ―every single one of those moments hits.

BryroseA: The string orchestration.

Ghostcat: Because each one felt huge.

BryroseA: Almost more huge in retrospect, knowing where it's going?

Ghostcat: Yes, yesssssssss.

BryroseA: And Isak is so...idk...so small running through the city. RUN BOY, RUN.

Ghostcat: In his flight jacket and no hat.

BryroseA: (My favorite music cue...It's allll circular)

Ghostcat: Another movie, another montage. Run, Lola, Run.

BryroseA: Oh yes, I know that title but haven't seen the film.

Ghostcat: It's great. Romantic but also heart-stopping. It's about fate and love. One of the things I haven't talked about much in the chat is one of my favorite things about this season: how it integrates R+J and Even's sensibility into Isak's POV.

BryroseA: I am DEF glad I watched R+J early in the season, lots of resonance there. When I saw that neon cross I was like OH SHITTTTTT.

Ghostcat: And yet, R+J is in the mix before Isak even watches it!

BryroseA: Oh yeah! You said you had a theory there. *chin hands*

Ghostcat: Talk Show Host plays and Even crosses that courtyard, makes sure to look at Isak because of course, he knows where Isak is in that courtyard and most importantly, that he'll be watching. It's Isak's POV but it’s directed by Even.

BryroseA: Awww. Because he says you can direct your life.

Ghostcat: And there are a lot of directed-by-Even moments.

BryroseA: Like a movie.

Ghostcat: His aesthetic is all over Isak's season. He's always there even when he isn't physically there.

BryroseA: Mindmelllld.

Ghostcat: When you look at Isak's banner for the season, Isak's standing in front of all these doodles of the screaming man cover of that King Crimson album, of dicks, of the words, of specific coordinates, but it's not Isak we ever see doodling. It's Even. From our first shot of him when Isak sees him for the first time and then later, when Isak is in his room and looking at all his drawings and doodles, the pictures he leaves for Isak…Even's so present in this season.

BryroseA: I always wonder who the “director avatar” character is - because there’s always at least one. Andem obviously loves Isak, but I feel like there’s a real identification with Even, too?

Ghostcat: Sure. I feel like Andem loves Even. Which is why it kills me that we come from a season with so much push about why a central couple are supposed to be together, where they're talking about their togetherness constantly, and here, in this season, they don't. We have Isak living his life and Even in every frame somehow.

BryroseA: Ugggggh.

Ghostcat: Slowly walking towards one another in the cold rain.

BryroseA: I think, BTW, I figured out why S2 doesn't hang together as well as S1 and 3 for me overall (beyond just the William).

Ghostcat: Oh?

BryroseA: The OH SHIT moments you get in S1 and S3 about three episodes from the end - the revelations about Eva’s boyfriend stealing ways/cheating and Even’s bipolar disorder - actually color the whole season in retrospect.

Ghostcat: "the William" lol

BryroseA: You’ve wondered idly...why doesn’t she have friends? Or what is going on with Even there? So when it hits it is SO satisfying. You feel brilliant for noticing and amazed with how it comes together. S2’s OH SHIT moment is the Nico rape sequence, but that’s not really...organic to the early parts of the season. It’s powerful, of course. And the Noora actress, Josefine Pettersen, is SUPER good. But it’s not...idk...connected to Noora’s overall struggle over the season in the same way. So it feels more like drama for drama's sake. It lacks the satisfying feeling of "wholeness" as a season as a result, I think.

Ghostcat: Yes, structurally season two is a mess. It's bloated. My struggle with that season comes down to the love story because I feel like I'm getting yelled at to love them. They love each other! the show screams. Me: do they tho? I don't have that question about season one and three. Eva and Jonas break up but I don't ever doubt their feelings for one another.

BryroseA: Yes, definitely 2 feels more...didactic. Less organic.

Ghostcat: And Isak and Even... well.

BryroseA: I mean, that was pretty much heart eyes from jump. From “Chili? Always chili” :hot_pepper:

Ghostcat: There's no going back now.

BryroseA: And fucking “Ebox” :skull: :knife: So yeah, thank you so much for dragging us all together to share these two, because it’s been really powerful and meaningful for me. And I know this rewatch must have been a ton of work for you and C behind the scenes. But I feel so...initiated, lol. Fandom revived. It’s just a beautiful little rainbow of a show/season. HUGS.

Ghostcat: ONE OF US.

Itsallnoncents: ONE OF US

@etal-late: Straight up.

BryroseA: Smiley?

@peacestew: Can’t stop now.

Ghostcat: Thanks for coming and chatting with me about season three, @BryroseA:! We can all use the lovely holiday story that is SKAM season three in our lives.

BryroseA: God, seriously. It really is a Christmas story

Ghostcat: It is. Yet another thing they snuck on us

BryroseA: And it’s been lovely to watch during the season. YES. It’s practically an Easter story, too, lol, with all the rebirth imagery. I literally JUsT noticed in a gif-crawling today that the ubiquitous Jesus shirt features a rainbow.

BryroseA: My last question D―do you think I’ll like S4?

Ghostcat: *taps chin* I think...

@whatwillthegirlbecome: ha ha ha

Ghostcat: You will like Sana.

etal: Excited for S4 because I didn't watch it properly

Ghostcat: I think others will be less likable.

BryroseA: I do love Sana.

Ghostcat: She is superb. As an immigrant who went to a predominantly white and ABSURDLY affluent school and struggled…Sana's high school experience is relatable to me, but it was also traumatic flashback time.

BryroseA: You can really feel, especially in the cabin ep, how hard it must frequently be for her to be friends with a bunch of well-meaning white girls. Liiike, they connect on many levels, but definitely not on all, and I think those girls have basically NO idea that that is the case.

Ghostcat: Lol yes, and that comes into focus of course and this is me getting on my soapbox―Sana, of all the characters in SKAM, is the one who truly connects with all mains.

BryroseA: Yes. She’s been the “voice of reason” in S1 and 2 especially.

Ghostcat: Her relationship with Isak is one that I became intensely invested in. Because they're my faves, natch. But also because I like who they are to one another BUT I'M JUMPING AHEAD. DON'T LET ME. C! WHERE ARE YOU?

BryroseA: SPOILERS.

Ghostcat: HOLD ME BACK.

whatwillthegirlbecome: REDACTED D ... REDACTED!

BryroseA: But this week we’ll watch the promo?

Ghostcat: And this week we'll rewatch Minutt for minutt and watch the batshit crazy trailer for Sana's season, which is my favorite of the promos.

BryroseA: I’m intrigued now that I’ve figured out they’re basically fever dreams of the seasons themes.

Ghostcat: I will say this: Bry, your questions about Even are not forgotten and will be addressed. Which is WHY I can't give you fic recs yet.

BryroseA: Yesssss Noooo! Lol!

Ghostcat: Because the fics will spoil you. HOWEVER…

BryroseA: I’m definitely going on a meta/fic BINGE when we are done. I expect curated lists, lol.

Ghostcat: The lovely @heihallohadet can probably think of some that don't have season four spoilers. There is a list that I am working on! I promise! :sidesmile:

Heihallohadet: There are fics that were written before season four, that would be safe of course :blush:

Ghostcat: Smart thinking, HHH

Heihallohadet: :nerd:

Ghostcat: :kissing_cat:

***