Surely one of the best depictions of teenager's lifes and dynamics throughout high school, tackling various controversial topics along the way, such as: religion, homosexuality, betrayal, social discrimination, online bullying, mental health, etc.
It feels especially grounded in its portrayal of the high school experience due to the non-hierarchical view of it the show approaches. By this I mean, teens aren't divided into stereotypical groups of friends who share the exact same interests (for example: the nerdy guys; the athletes; the popular girls and so on). "Skam" offers a rather refreshing and a far more realistic perspective: Friend groups are very diverse.
As per usual with a show composed of multiple seasons, its quality varies accordingly the season being watched. In this particular case, having a notorious dip in quality in S2. My analysis is as follows: Season 1 - 7/10. Nothing outstanding, but it does introduce all of the main characters nicely, outlining the athmosphere for the remainer of the show. Eva & Jonas relationship's is compelling enough, though I wish this season tried to navigate a bit more the friendship between the girls and how it came to be so strong.
Season 2 - 3/10. Taking two of my least favourite characters from the show and making them a couple really was detrimental here. Apart from both actors being good-looking, there really wasn't any chemistry here. William is an idiot who, despite his backstory and attempted redemption, is still an idiot whose personality should've clashed harshly with Noora's strong sense of morality (which, by the way, seems to be her only character trait, she's unbelievably basic). Yet, it all works out??? This really came out of nowhere. There's some cute scenes with Eskild here and, if anything, Vilde went through the best character arch of the season, so it isn't all bad however, I just can't deny I've skipped an episode or two from this season. The focal point of it is, frankly, quite boring.
Season 3 - 10/10. It's obviously the main selling-point of this TV show and the reason most people heard of it (myself included). There really isn't much more I can praise here other comments haven't already lol. It's amazing and deals with Isak's internalized homophobia towards himself perfectly. Even is a great addition to the main cast and his chemistry with Isak is noticeable from the get-go (unlike some other couple I could mention). Loved the introduction of the remaining Isak's friends, Mahdi and Magnus, and how supportive they were. Vilde & Magnus relationship is absolutely lovely too. I did find Even's bipolar episode a bit random, but it just goes to show how anyone could be struggling. Nothing actually went bad in this season. Sensational!
Season 4 - 9/10. Wasn't expecting to like Sana this much. She had been previously shown to be quite cold and one dimensional, lacking the depth of some other characters. This season basically explains her behaviour and her desperate attempt to always appear strong and unbothered. Struggling to reconcile Islam with her own beliefs & romantic desires and feeling constantly attacked due to her ethnic background, Sana often neglects herself which lead to her big outburst later on. The highlight of this season however has to be her friendship with Isak. Their deep conversation might've been the best scene and contained the best dialogue of the whole TV show. The paralels from their shared experiences when it comes wrong assumptions and prejudice, despite them coming from vastly different worlds is really touching and incredibly thought-inducing. That scene alone incapsulate how good "Skam" is. Having said this, I can't say I found the romance here as enticing as last season's. Also, may I add here, giving us, in the last episode, an exposition of Vilde's home life and then, not giving us Season 5 about her is cruel. I'm sure it would've awesome.
So, to sum it all up, Norway really was ahead of everyone here. I was shocked to learn this came out back in 2015! It's a shame season 2 was so dull though, the rating I ultimately awarded it doesn't quite reflect the overall quality of Seasons 1,3 and 4. Highly recommend!
It feels especially grounded in its portrayal of the high school experience due to the non-hierarchical view of it the show approaches. By this I mean, teens aren't divided into stereotypical groups of friends who share the exact same interests (for example: the nerdy guys; the athletes; the popular girls and so on). "Skam" offers a rather refreshing and a far more realistic perspective: Friend groups are very diverse.
As per usual with a show composed of multiple seasons, its quality varies accordingly the season being watched. In this particular case, having a notorious dip in quality in S2. My analysis is as follows: Season 1 - 7/10. Nothing outstanding, but it does introduce all of the main characters nicely, outlining the athmosphere for the remainer of the show. Eva & Jonas relationship's is compelling enough, though I wish this season tried to navigate a bit more the friendship between the girls and how it came to be so strong.
Season 2 - 3/10. Taking two of my least favourite characters from the show and making them a couple really was detrimental here. Apart from both actors being good-looking, there really wasn't any chemistry here. William is an idiot who, despite his backstory and attempted redemption, is still an idiot whose personality should've clashed harshly with Noora's strong sense of morality (which, by the way, seems to be her only character trait, she's unbelievably basic). Yet, it all works out??? This really came out of nowhere. There's some cute scenes with Eskild here and, if anything, Vilde went through the best character arch of the season, so it isn't all bad however, I just can't deny I've skipped an episode or two from this season. The focal point of it is, frankly, quite boring.
Season 3 - 10/10. It's obviously the main selling-point of this TV show and the reason most people heard of it (myself included). There really isn't much more I can praise here other comments haven't already lol. It's amazing and deals with Isak's internalized homophobia towards himself perfectly. Even is a great addition to the main cast and his chemistry with Isak is noticeable from the get-go (unlike some other couple I could mention). Loved the introduction of the remaining Isak's friends, Mahdi and Magnus, and how supportive they were. Vilde & Magnus relationship is absolutely lovely too. I did find Even's bipolar episode a bit random, but it just goes to show how anyone could be struggling. Nothing actually went bad in this season. Sensational!
Season 4 - 9/10. Wasn't expecting to like Sana this much. She had been previously shown to be quite cold and one dimensional, lacking the depth of some other characters. This season basically explains her behaviour and her desperate attempt to always appear strong and unbothered. Struggling to reconcile Islam with her own beliefs & romantic desires and feeling constantly attacked due to her ethnic background, Sana often neglects herself which lead to her big outburst later on. The highlight of this season however has to be her friendship with Isak. Their deep conversation might've been the best scene and contained the best dialogue of the whole TV show. The paralels from their shared experiences when it comes wrong assumptions and prejudice, despite them coming from vastly different worlds is really touching and incredibly thought-inducing. That scene alone incapsulate how good "Skam" is. Having said this, I can't say I found the romance here as enticing as last season's. Also, may I add here, giving us, in the last episode, an exposition of Vilde's home life and then, not giving us Season 5 about her is cruel. I'm sure it would've awesome.
So, to sum it all up, Norway really was ahead of everyone here. I was shocked to learn this came out back in 2015! It's a shame season 2 was so dull though, the rating I ultimately awarded it doesn't quite reflect the overall quality of Seasons 1,3 and 4. Highly recommend!