Whatever shitshow this is

Samstag 12:13 - The Morning After

I think the first clip of the season is amazing at introducing us to Matteo’s POV, but this clip does even more to fully cement us within his perspective, and in such a surprisingly quiet way. In the first clip, we meet Matteo as he exists in group settings, and there is A LOT to learn from that, but here, we meet him in a delicate moment all to himself. It’s incredibly revealing about the person with which we’re about to embark on this 10 week journey, and it reveals all of that in a way that wonderfully reflects Matteo’s own personality and general vibe. We learn a lot from the first party clip, yes, but this feels so much more Matteo. Rather than this being the second clip of the season, I would actually rather think of this as the second half of the first clip. The second half of our introduction to who Matteo really is.

This clip always elicits such a visceral reaction from me. It feels so raw and vulnerable in a way that is very characteristic for Matteo’s season (at least in the way I see it), and it’s also just so quintessentially Skam to me: being with a character when they first wake up, when they’re at their most uninhibited, peering into the moments that they would edit out if they saw the raw footage. If I had to choose a few scenes to sum up the overall vibe and themes of this season, I would definitely include this clip because of its quiet yet incredibly intense show of emotion.

So what exactly do we learn about Matteo in this clip?

First, we learn that Matteo is EMOTIONAL, but in this quiet and tender way. Quiet, not to be mistaken with dispassionate. The longing that Matteo feels when he wakes up next to Jonas is just so palpable. I will never get over the moment when he lets his eyes flutter shut as he’s barely touching Jonas, letting himself revel in this fantasy for just a second. Then he’s met with a heartbreak that you can assume is not new for Matteo when he looks down at the number scribbled on Jonas’ arm. But even though he knows it’s coming, it still feels like a punch in the gut, a betrayal, even. Another reminder of his crushing loneliness. And then the way that he needs to very quickly reign in all of that emotion when Hans walks in just perfectly captures so much of Matteo’s struggle and the way that I tend to read his character. He feels A LOT but doesn’t often outwardly express those feelings to other people. 

Second, we learn that Matteo is ISOLATED, both emotionally and physically. The emotional part of it is not really by choice: he didn’t choose to be going through an identity crisis that makes him feel separated not only from his friends, but also from himself. He’s still dealing with these unrequited feelings for Jonas, he literally just escaped from his childhood home at 17 (?), he most likely has some undiagnosed mental health issues, it’s A LOT. And it just is what it is. That definitely seems to be Matteo’s attitude about it, anyway. So in lieu of this emotional isolation that he’s feeling, he often makes a point of literally distancing himself from situations with others, possibly as a subconscious way of making his external environment match his internal one. Throughout the season, Matteo tends to stand/sit apart from others or even just blatantly walk away from people, as he does in this clip while Hans, Jonas, and Linn pose for a group photo. 

This is also one of many moments in the season that is both comedic and tinged with sadness, which is a theme that I tend to read as yet another reflection of Matteo’s personality. He’s a goofy little shit, but he definitely also has some neurotic tendencies. There’s a sad irony in the fact that Jonas seems more involved with the flatshare than Matteo is. Even Linn, who definitely isn’t the most social person, sticks around and humors Hans. Meanwhile, Matteo doesn’t even have the energy to joke around and pose for a stupid picture.

So through this one little clip, we learn that Matteo is quiet, sensitive, lonely, tired, and isolated, and we’re also introduced to this melancholic, subdued tone that reflects all of that and will persist throughout the season. We know that this season is going to be a balance of humor and some pretty deep emotion. We know that Matteo is a very different type of Isak, one that warrants such a different introduction to his POV. And that brings me to my last point about this clip: it’s original!! Druck really shines when its making original content, no matter how small or seemingly inconsequential it is. Since this clip so brilliantly and subtly introduces us to so many aspects of Matteo’s character, it makes sense that it is singularly Matteo’s. 

- giving us rep by making Mia bisexual and addressing it yet not making a big deal out of it

- giving us real interactions between Alex and Mia besides making-out/fighting and having them both express why they like each other

- not making sex the pinnacle of her and Alex’s relationship by having them being intimate mid-season

- developing Alex’s character, giving him depth and a coherent backstory

- making Jonas the one handling the break-up badly instead of Hanna, which was refreshing and actually made a lot more sense

- Hanna and Matteo’s friendship not being thrown out of the window and them worrying about Jonas

- getting the other girls’ opinion other than Amira’s on the whole love triangle

- having Alex being angry FOR Mia and not AT Mia after finding out about Bjorn although confused at first by the pictures

- really addressing mental illnesses with Alex (anxiety), Alex’s sister (depression/bipolarity), Mia and Kiki (EDs) and completely normalizing therapy