#panda pops

Pandora who grew up in a house with a controlling mother. Her mother essentially filled her head with many ideas about boys and life that were not helpful in any way. I also think that Pandora’s mom also used certain statements to keep Pandora scared and feeling inferior to the rest of the world in order to “protect” her. She wanted to keep the influences in Pandora’s life to a minimum. The main reason why Pandora comes across as someone who is naive and somewhat scattered is because her mom never allowed her to experience anything that was not approved by her first. She also told her daughter to be scared of things and that she couldn’t do certain things. All in the name of “protection.” I think to understand Pandora you have to understand her relationship with her mom. 

Pandora then meets a mysterious girl name Effy and they become friends. Effy enjoys that Pandora seem harmless, simple, and easily controlled. In many ways Pandora is Effy’s own Sid. Someone who would never do something to hurt her and someone who limits themselves. Sid has the title “loser” and Pandora has the title of “useless.” They have been called it and felt it so many times that they start to believe in those titles about themselves. Furthermore people start believing it as well. I imagine it must be difficult to be friends with Effy. No one seems to notice you and you just become the clueless friend of that mysterious beautiful girl. 

I think that these two influences both Effy and her Mom come to blows in Series 3 at Pandora’s birthday party. Effy after finding out her family life is falling apart starts to act out by introducing drugs to Pandora’s innocent birthday party. We also see the control and the lack of reality that Pandora’s mom has about her daughter. Essentially Pandora’s birthday party acts as a war between Pandora’s two worlds the world she has with Effy and the world that was created by her mom. Both of these worlds never ask Pandora what she wants. Pandora essentially has always been someone who has been given a role and she has played it. She has been defined by others. 

Pandora falls for a guy and that guy is Thomas. A kind African immigrant who is in many ways an outsider just like Pandora. Pandora is under the impression that Thomas has gone back to Africa and will most likely not return. Pandora at her birthday feelings ignored, feels powerless, and is fed up with the way she has been treated. She is tired of being the lonely useless girl. At the end of the party Cook offers her some attention and Pandora liked this attention. She began her sexual relationship with Cook out of loneliness and frustration. She continued her sexual relationship for the same reasons and I also think that as the sexual relationship progressed the less control Pandora had. I think that you have to understand the psychology of a teenage girl with an inferiority complex to understand her actions with Cook. Sometimes the defenses our brain creates for ourselves to survive usually are the things that lead us toward our biggest regrets. Pandora feels bad and feels guilty she owns up to her actions. I think the anger that people feel towards Pandora over this action is partly slut slamming and also partly our own anger based on our snap judgment of Pandora. We as an audience wrote Pandora off as useless and nothing. Just like Effy did and her Mom did. We never expected she could do something like that. She got my attention. 

Skins Season 4

In Series 4 Thomas cheats on Pandora. Following Effy’s advice she decides to not to forgive Thomas right away in order to punish him. I feel like Effy’s advice came from a toxic place of resentment especially in terms of her mother’s affair. Even if the advice did come from a bad place it probably ended up being the best advice for Pandora. It allowed her the time to figure out what she wanted and Pandora began to come into their own. Though it was mostly off screen. It also gave some distance for both Thomas and Pandora to think about their relationship and make sure it was something they both wanted. To work out any left over resentment that may still exist from both accounts of cheating. 

Pandora underneath it all. Underneath the “useless” label and the mistakes she has made. Is a person who will do anything to cheer up a friend. She has a big heart and an innocence that looks at the world in a wide eyed wonder. She asks questions even though many people do not think she needs to know the answers. Her mom keeps the answers from her and Effy never shows all her cards. However she keeps asking questions and keeps trying. Pandora is a victim of being labeled by others, by her self, and I have to say by the viewers.