Character Analysis: Skins

Character Analysis: Cassie Ainsworth "I like boats, they go places."

Cassie is such a complex character. When we first meet Cassie we learn that she has just returned from a mental rehabilitation center due to her eating disorder. She talks in an airy way and says "oh wow" quite a bit. There is something unnerving about her honesty and the way in which she speaks about topics that most people shy away from. I remember when I first met Cassie that I had desire to find out more...I needed to find out more.

In Cassie's episode we meet her parents and get a glimpse of her family life. Her parents are happily married and seem to be more distracted by one another than to really take notice of their daughter and new born son. There are many reasons girls have an eating disorder some of it has to do with body image issues, but many times it has to do with control. Cassie has an eating disorder in my opinion as a way to control her surroundings and it is also a way in which she can get attention. Her parents ignore her in many ways and as a kid you need a certain level of attention.

There is also something so magical about Cassie. She has a way of meeting the right people who can help her through things, give her a place to stay, and show where the right path is. The British Taxi drive, the American Taxi drive, the boy from Iowa, and those who wore in that New York City diner are all examples of this. People respond to her and she makes friends quickly. She is pure magic.

It may be easy at first sight to think that Cassie is out of touch with reality, but in fact she is probably the most philosophical of all the Skins characters in Generation 1. She watches people; therefore, she picks up on things that the others do not. She picks up on Sid's crush on Michelle really early on. She also knows that Jal is keeping a secret from Chris. She sees people and this is part of her magic. She understands people. Even when she started to fall in love with Sid she knew that one of the biggest issues that they will have is Sid's clueless inaction. She tells him that it is all up to him before attempting suicide. Which was another act of attention seeking after being ignored yet again by another person she desperately wants to notice her.

In Series 2, Sid accuses Cassie of cheating and when she returns home she finds Sid and Michelle making out about to have sex. This triggers the angry and vindictive side to Cassie's personality. When we have our hearts broken you learn quite a bit about how you cope with things. The way Cassie copes is through spiteful words and sleep around. Again, that desire of getting attention and in my opinion getting Sid to fight for her. She wants to fight, but she doesn't want to be the one to initiate things.

I may do another analysis of Cassie talking about a few other elements to her personality that I find interesting. The main thing about Cassie is that she is a magical character with a good heart. She loves things completely. Her friendship and her devotion to Chris in Series 2 speaks to that. She loved Chris and ultimately would do anything to help him. She loves Sid and it scares her, because Sid didn't trust her and didn't fight for her the way that she needed. So when Chris died she escaped and she ran from all the things she did not want to deal with. Chris was her rock and she lost that rock. Things with Sid was complicated and in many ways Sid had no clue how to handle the complication. So she left. Too many bad things had happen and she was turning into a spiteful and manipulative person...so she ran from it. Just like the boats do...she went places.

Cassie loves deeply yet never seems to find someone who can love her in the way she needs. Her parents ignore her. Sid is clueless. Chris dies. Michelle betrayed her in a way. Jal was there for her, but she's connected with Chris. The fact that she loves deeply and wants so much is why she is not the healthiest character.

No matter what you think of Cassie though...one thing is for sure...you don't want to mess with her...you want to dance with her...and she is pure magic.