hey Sarah, so i've never watched any Druck (and only the original series of Skam), and i hope it's okay that i'm asking this, but i'm SO curious about what's happening in the season you're posting about -- is it a new story? and what's going on? (also, it's super fair if you don't have time to tell me!!) hope you're having a nice day!! :)
hello!!! it is more than okay for you to ask, in fact i almost feel like i have to apologize bc like will i ever shut up about druck???? probably not skdjfnsdkjnfsd but i will do my best to keep this concise! [retrospective edit: lol]
Okay, so druck as you probably know is the german remake of OG skam. the first four seasons of druck were more or less a direct adaptation of og skam’s four seasons with german equivalents to all of the characters anyway [so a german version of Eva, Noora, etc.]. But they all graduated right before their sana’s season so now that we’re in season 5 druck has introduced a new cast of completely original characters [who all go to the same high school that the original characters did], and currently that is what season 5 is focusing on!
Nora Machwitz is the lead of season 5. She is the youngest sister of Kiki Machwitz, Druck’s equivalent of Vilde. So a lot of what was hinted at with Vilde’s backstory in the og, particularly concerning her alcoholic and potentially mentally ill mother, are now being explored in fuller depth but through the lens of an original character. Her story is also kind of serving as a bridge between the old and new casts of characters, thanks to her connection to her sister.
So what is going on in Nora’s story? I guess how i would boil it down is that the season is focusing on two central arcs: Nora’s complicated relationship with her alcoholic mother [and by extension her two sisters Kiki and Zoe], and coming to terms with being mentally ill herself. She has not been diagnosed yet [although mild spoilers, she is supposed to see a therapist tomorrow so we’ll see how that goes] so the story is currently focusing on the process of her realizing she’s mentally ill and how that affects her relationships and her emotional state [as well as how her relationship with her mother affects how she deals with what she’s going through]. Personally [and this is just my opinion] i think they are doing a really excellent job with portraying her story, especially in regards to portraying a teenager who’s struggling with undiagnosed mental illness. time will tell if they will stick the landing but there’s probably about a week and a half of the season left so i’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes!
I can’t talk about season 5 without also mentioning all the amazing new characters, so just real quick:
Nora’s squad! From left to right: Ava, Nora [our esteemed main], Mailin, and Fatou [i would die for all of them]
And Nora’s love interest:
Josh Zimmermann!!! [ftr i would also die for him]
So basically, druck is presenting a new and original story, but using a format that’s similar to skam and exploring themes that feel in line with the original messaging of the show and i’m really, really enjoying it! Fans have been hard at work translating the clips over @drucktranslations so def recommend checking them out if you’re interested. and if you have any other questions or want to learn more i am clearly always down to talk about druck lol but yeah!!
It’s worth noting that if you do want to watch season 5 of druck you do not have to watch the first four seasons as the old characters don’t really show up except for a few brief [but significant!] appearances from Kiki and a cameo from her boyfriend. I do really enjoy the first four seasons especially season 3 and the first seven episodes of season 4 but yeah, shouldn’t be necessary!
