Euphoria vs. Skins UK: A Tale of Two Cassies

The Season 2 finale of HBO’s Euphoria has fans reeling. In addition to the flood of memes and reaction photos, fans have long drawn comparisons between the 2019 drama and the 2007 comedy-drama Skins UK. While we could spend forever comparing and contrasting the cultural impact of each show respectively, Twitter has a specific hangup.

Both characters are crucial to their respective narrative of romantically melodramatic subplots. Let’s take a look at the major storylines of each character and settle the debate once and for all.

Spoiler Alert/CW: Recaps of each character’s arc include spoilers and mentions of drug use, ED, and suicide

Cassie Ainsworth - Skins UK

Series 1

Let’s lay some groundwork.

Skins Cassie starts on a high note: a failed suicide attempt. Don’t let her bubby, whimsical personality fool you; this chick is mental. She never stops smiling, says “wow” and "lovely” fifteen times per sentence, and while Effy Stonem might be better known for her emo phase, Cassie doesn’t get enough credit for the amount of crazy she carries around in her seven-stone body.



Skins begins at Roundview College in Bristol, where the first-gen cast is entering sixth form. Resident stoner and dweeb Sid Jenkins has yet to lose his virginity, and his best friend Tony Stonem enlists his own girlfriend Michelle to help out a friend in need, True Romance style. Michelle later decides she isn’t feeling it, so she plots to get Cass spliffed enough to take one for the team.

The gag is that Cassie doesn’t smoke spliff, as the munchies pose a trigger for her anorexia. She tells Sid immediately how funny looking he is, but has no qualms about hooking up with him in exchange for drugs. When the time comes, Cassie is unconscious and has to be taken by Sid back to the hospital from which she came.

Sid, who doesn’t have two brain cells to rub together, remains oblivious in spite of Cassie sharing details about her eating disorder and openly telling him she likes him. Still hooked on Michelle and not getting the message, Sid unintentionally stands her up twice. The perceived rejection is too much for Cassie, and she attempts suicide again.

Series 2

Sid doesn’t apply to college with the rest of his mates, despite Cassie pleading with him to reconsider.

He and Cassie attempt a long-distance relationship, and it goes about as well as you think. For the first time, Sid is self-aware enough to recognize that his girlfriend is way out of his league and suspects Cassie of cheating. Cassie is angered by his mistrust.

They simultaneously arrange to meet, but miss each other entirely. When Cassie returns to Bristol, she catches Sid kissing Michelle. Cassie overcompensates with promiscuity by exploring polyamory and bisexuality. Sid tries to set the record straight by apologizing and the pair gets back together, yet the bridge between Michelle and Cassie is effectively burned.

Things continue to get bleaker with each episode. When Cassie witnesses her friend Chris die of a brain hemhorrage, she takes off to New York on a whim to escape the trauma behind her. She gets a job as a waitress and stay with a friend she meets named Adam.

In the final scene of series 2, Sid wanders New York City in search of his lost love, turning toward the diner.

Conclusion

From her initial appearance in the first episode, Cass loved Sid. She took it to the extreme, skipping meals in order to be “lovely” for him. The irony is that rejection-sensitive dysphoria Cassie experiences is just that: an illusion perpetuated by mental illness. When in reality, Sid actually loves Cassie and is really bad at showing it. A classic case of “right person, wrong time.”

In Skins: Pure, it’s confirmed that Sid and Cassie found one another, and they traveled America together for a number of years. Now 23, Cassie moves to London after the death of her mum to discover she has a stalker posting photos of her on the internet.

Cassie Howard - Euphoria

Blonde haired blue eyed heartthrob Sydney Sweeney stole the hearts of America in her acting debut. With her name growing in popularity each day, it’s no wonder that Cassie Howard stans seem to constantly rise out of the woodwork.

Season 1

Rue’s third-person narration gives us a semi-omnicient look at this Cassie’s personal life and background, making her easier to psychoanalyze. Her insecure attachment style stems from the strained relationship of her parents, Gus and Suze, who separated during her ninth-grade year.

The family's financial struggles temporarily marked the end of Cassie’s skating career in middle school. While Gus was unfaithful, Suze was anything but discrete in her alcoholism, leading the couple to conclude that they were better apart.

Gus visited the girls on weekends, but eventually stopped altogether. When he became addicted to painkillers after totaling his truck in a DUI, Cassie was by his side. When he wanted to steal the fine china, Cassie was there to let him in the house. She was ever-loyal, yet that loyalty was always unrequited.

Cassie Howard is also marked by her promiscuity, leaked nudes, and sex tapes. While Howard wasn’t enlisted as a callgirl like Ainsworth, she dresses up as Alabama Worley for Halloween.

Things are going well with McKay, and Cassie realizes that she’s pregnant. She seems hopeful at the idea, but McKay is distraught about the potential response from his parents and coaches. After hearing McKay’s reaction, she elects to have an abortion. By the end of season 1, she’s moved on.

Season 2

Euphoria Cassie is a sweet and mostly placid 21st-century schoolgirl who plays by the rules. That is, until Season 2. Her ex-boyfriend McKay has been written off entirely, and Cassie hooks up with her best friend Maddy’s ex, Nate.



Cassie quickly gets wrapped in the fantasy of having his children. She wakes three hours before school, scrutinizing her appearance to impress him. But Nate’s feelings for Cassie are like the weather.

Despite being carelessly sloppy in the coverup, Cassie and Nate make it nearly the entire season without being caught until opiate-withdrawn Rue outs them to everyone, just for kicks.

Even her sister Lexi doesn’t take her seriously and writes a character based on her into a play called “Our Life.” “Our Life” was a semi-autobigraphical drama featuring spoofs of the main characters, including a derogatory dance number to poke fun at Nate and Cal’s sexuality.

Cassie finally snaps. Tired of being the butt of her sister’s jokes, she publicly defends both Nate and herself by storming the stage and accusing Lexi of homophobia. As she wraps her impromptu monologue a massive catfight ensues, Maddy and Kat eventually joining in.

Conclusion:

Cassie Howard tries to be a good person, but she can’t fight the feeling that even her numerous good deeds don’t outweigh the intensity of the evil ones. Contrary to popular belief, she’s smart enough to anticipate the consequences of her actions; she’s just a glutton for punishment.

But Who Would Win in a Fight?

It didn’t need a whole article to be said: Cassie Ainsworth would dogwalk Cassie Howard.

What separates Skins Cassie from Euphoria Cassie is wit and unpredictability. Cassie Ainsworth is more overall cunning than Cassie Howard and more willing to turn to extreme acts of emotional manipulation. Cassie Howard is aware of her own naivety and craves something real, yet she doesn’t strategize.

Cassie Ainsworth’s mental illness and lack of foresight make her fearless in upping the ante, and Cassie Howard is a product of daddy issues. Additionally, we’ve already seen Cassie Howard lose a fight with Maddy Perez, so it’s kind of a no-brainer.

Society has a way of pitting strong women against each other. Both teens are searching for acceptance in others and themselves and, boy drama aside, maybe they could even be friends?