Katie Fitch has one of the best progressions of any of the characters in Generation 2 in my personal opinion. It is a constant moving forward to learning how to channel the awesome that lives inside her and reorganizing her priorities. At the same time she is also one of the characters from Generation 2 that was under utilized and was written below her potential. That being said this post is about analyzing who Katie Fitch really is and diving into her inner motivations.
When we first meet Katie we see a girl that seems as if she is confident, entitled, and somewhat controlling especially when it comes to her twin sister Emily. She seems as if she is a force to be reckoned with. Just like everything in Skins appearances can be deceiving. Katie is someone who has high expectations in life and in people. She wants that perfect life in which she has a beautiful boyfriend, tons of people jealous of her, perfect friends, perfect family, and everything else in that grand dream of perfection. She is someone who has always has a boyfriend and always has something to say about everything.
Katie is worried about appearances and worried about her status in this world so much that sometimes she forgets to think about other people's feelings. This is a lesson that she learns as she learns to accept Emily for who she is and who she loves. Her views on love also change and so does her self-image. See the Katie Fitch we meet who protectively fierce, strikingly attention seeking, and aggressively in your face also has another side to her. A side that is insecure and is a constant state of longing for the ideal life she craves. Often times beings disappointed and trying to hold onto the control she has with a stubborn grasp that seems suffocating and isolating all at the same time. Katie shares this trait with her Mom who later shows Katie by example how destructive that attitude can be.
Some of these qualities are good though. Having a character that will say the hard thing and confront people when they are being unreasonable is a good thing. Especially in Katie's Series 4 episode when she slaps Emily after she tried to get back at both Naomi and her mom. This ability to speak truth to others and see truth in others sometimes never translates to self-truth. That takes a different kind of wisdom and a different kind of knowledge that not many have. It is something that is learned over time and Katie does learn this lesson.
One of the ways she learns her lesson is through her failed relationship with Freddie. Katie is someone who has always had a boyfriend and she is use to being chased. Freddie has feelings for the elusive Effy and Katie pursues a relationship with Freddie knowing this. She thinks that she can win Freddie over and Freddie fits the package she is looking for. He is good looking and nice. Only Katie loses control over the situation and ends up being burned by the situation. Both by Freddie cheating on her and by Effy hitting her over the head due to drug induced paranoia. This is the first time that Katie has ever lost a boy without her consent. This is a huge blow to the expectations and her self-image so much so that she ends up going into hiding.
Off the screen and in the novel Katie falls into a depression. After losing two battles one with her sister and one with Freddie. Not knowing exactly who she is she starts to sleep around quite a bit between first and second year. She eventually finds herself another boyfriend who we meet in Series 4. Katie is in a funk and it is quite obvious. Even in the first few episodes she has moments of fight, but underneath it all is a sadness. Emily moves out of the house and Katie despite her attitude loves Emily. They have a twin bond that no one can quite understand except one another. Her Mom's actions and Katie's inability to stand up to her mom pushes Emily away.
Lastly being told that she is not able to have children is the third thing that happened that helped progress Katie as a person to finding who she is and what she wants. Being told something so life altering at a young age is hard to swallow no matter what it is. An opportunity has been taken from Katie and the two people she wants to talk to most about it are not available. Emily due to her issues with both Jenna Fitch and Naomi is not available to support Katie. Then Jenna Fitch is upset by the family's financial situation and the lack of respect Emily is showing her. Katie sees her Mom yell and push the people she loves away, because their material world is being taken from them. Katie sees this and sees what it is doing to her father and her little brother and also what it is doing to her. She finally confronts her Mom about this and in some ways confronts herself as well.
Katie in her episode got two things back. She got her fire back and she embraced herself. She has self-respect and instead of asking permission for respect she went out and grabbed. Fuck, she went out and punched it in the face. She also got new insight that sometimes takes a lifetime to learn. That sometimes the love in our hearts can be channeled negatively. Through criticism, control, and focusing on things that in the end only matter for a fleeting moment. Instead of protecting, supporting, and accepting our love ones for who they are we pushed them in the hopes of turning them into someone we want them to be. Katie learns that you cannot do this and in fact it will lead to what you fear most. Being alone with no one to support you in your time of need. All of these events with an emphasis on her relationship with Emily and her mom leads her to do some major prioritizing.
In the end though she is a better person than where she started. She does know who she is and she will call your bullshit if she needs to. However she has learned that love and family is more important than anything money can buy.
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Character Analysis: Skins
RandomThe following book will help you understand some of the characters in the TV series Skins. If you've never watched the show, read this. You might like it and start watching it . :)
