Chris/Jal
While I loved the writing for gen 1, in the first season I wasn't into the couples at all. Tony brought michelle down and turned her into a needy and whiny shell of herself and sid did the same with cassie. Michelle forgave tony for screwing every girl in the wolrd after he justified himself with "I'm a bastard" (
) and cassie forgave sid for cheating on her for months without properly breaking up with her just because he said "my dad ****ing died". He didn't even say he was sorry, he said she had to say sorry for being in scotland when his dad passed away!
So I used to watch only for the storylines and the dynamic of the group. But then
Chris/Jal came by and everything changed. They happened in one episode. He cheated on her too (apparently skins writers think cheating is fundamental in a relationship), with a woman he had a crush on before falling for jal and he had never had closure with, when he thought jal was gone, and he regretted it the moment he did it. But jal didn't justify him when he said "my family abandoned me therefore I **** everything up". She said "are you the only person in the world that's been let down? hurt? abandoned?". And then I realized she was really the most awesome female character. Then he told her how she was the only person he felt like it was worth trying for. Chris was lighthearted and funny, but he needed to man up and mature, so when he got kicked out of school, with no house or money, jal pushed him to do something. Stop saying "**** it" all the time. Otherwise he would have become like that old guy on the bench covered by papers.
And he took out her wild side, forcing her to start saying "yes".
They were exactly what the other needed. They balanced eachother perfectly. And they had been best friends for a long time, in fact she was the only one who knew his secret about his brother. Their build up was subtle, but it was there. I hadn't expected them to get together, but it felt so natural when they did.
And when he died (a death that I did take as canon because well-written) she proved to be very strong. She aborted and decided to go to the music school and to move on. She gave the most beautiful speech I've ever heard at a funeral (that's actually my favourite scene of the show).
I miss them like crazy but I know that in those few episodes they had something nobody will be able to erase.