Every group of friends has someone they turn to make all their problems go away. For the Skins gang that person is Daisy Valero. All season she has been the voice of reason, whether or not her friends actually chose to listen to her. But now she just wants someone – her dad, her sister, her friends, – to actually hear her.
Daisy is the hardest working Skins character. She has a job, passions, and goals. That is more than any of her hard partying friends have to show for themselves (I’m looking at you, Tony). Daisy dreams of going to music college except her dad stands in her way. Her mom, a singer, left the family and her heartbroken father hasn’t touched the piano since. This is one of the more compelling family backstories we have seen yet.
This opening scene plays up what I have long noticed about young Daisy: her boobs. How many times does Daisy wear a shirt that is basically just her bra and a strategically placed tank top? All. The. Time. Daisy is waitressing at Busty Bocadillo, a Hooters inspired diner, when Stanley and Abbud stop by, stare at the girls who aren’t Daisy, and ask their friend to repair their very-broken friend circle. Daisy has bigger problems. She is saving money to audition for music school, keeping her own in order and tending this monster.
With her mom gone and her dad working late at the US Postal (this is seriously what every character called his job instead of “mail carrier” or “postal worker”) little monster Deedee is Daisy’s responsibility. First piece of advice Daisy? Tell Deedee to stop rapping. She’s no MIA. Papa Valero is not pleased when he discovers his daughters playing and enjoying music. Music was the one thing he and his wife shared and loved; then she walked out on the family. He’s taking his bitterness out on his kids. But Daisy has a lot of resolve. Nothing is going to stop her from playing her trumpet.
Daisy has talent. Her dad’s old bandmates see this. Her dad however won’t allow his daughter to follow in his footsteps. Daisy will have to fight to get her way if she wants to go to music college.
At school Daisy only has more problems: marriage counseling with Abbud and Tea. It is a wonderfully comedic scene. Tea doesn’t see why she has to apologize to Abbud for sleeping with Tony. Abbud is frustrated that Tea is still a lesbian. The cycle never ends.
Tony shows up. Everyone makes some crass jokes about Daisy being a prude (“Just ask Dais here. She’s such an expert and you’ll blow anything as long as it’s made of brass, right?”). Daisy gives up on them and tells Tony off. At her trumpet lesson, things only get worse. Her dad shows up and makes Daisy leave the lesson. Daisy doesn’t go silently: “If you bend my horn, I swear I’ll leave you and never come back.” (Does every other line on this show have to be a sexual pun? Wait for it… scene change!
Daisy opens up to Abbud about her family problems. She’s starting to really believe that her trumpet causes unhappiness and that she should just give in even though without music she would be miserable and guided by rules. Abbud, very sweetly, gives her a pep talk comparing her rule-guided life to his religion-controlled life. Like how Daisy wishes her dad would soften, Abbud wishes his religion wasn’t so strict. The only rules he really gets is the do no harm part and that’s what Daisy does, no harm (“That’s why you’re so cool”). With that Daisy decides to start a friends-with-benefits relationship with Abbud. No drama. No emotions. What can possibly go wrong?
This is when Daisy and Abbud (the kid just can’t get a break) catch Deedee throwing a house party. Creepy silent Eura is there; she’s trashed. And the house is trashed. Daisy calls her friends for help. The house needs to get cleaned up stat. She doesn’t care for any of their drama. She needs their help and she needs it now. To make matters worse, the piano is destroyed.
The next day, Daisy leads her gang of sexually misguided friends (Stanley, Abbud, and Chris) to a basketball court to meet Cadie. Why is Cadie at a basketball court?
For the record Cadie doesn’t play sports. She just pretends the ball isn’t a ball but like a globe with super heated energy and then that’s god’s waiting room.” Skins, you have your Luna Lovegood. Cadie admits to Daisy that she thinks she wants something uncomplicated (Warren) when deep down she wants something more complicated (Stanley). The Stanley-Cadie relationship arc has had a nice more natural development than any other arc this. It is coming together smoothly.
Just as Daisy and Abbud are about to get busy, they encounter her dad in the living room. (Awkward.) He’s realized that the piano is destroyed and Daisy takes the blame for her sister. Abbud knows this is wrong, tells her dad to grow up, and daddy dearest storms out. This is when Daisy and Abbud finally get together when he tells her has to ignore her dad and got to her audition. And, uh oh, it looks like they might actually like each other.
At her audition, Daisy take a page out of Pretty Little Liars’ guide for poor fashion statements because her super cute dress is turned bad by a decision to wear to tourquoise socks with sandals.
She doesn’t go through with the audition. There is something more important for her to fix. Her relationship with her dad. (To his credit, her dad shows up at the auditon though Daisy misses him.) The episode ends with Daisy buying her father a new piano. Even though they really need the money for the rent, Daisy and her dad play together as Deedee watch on. There’s a new Hamm Valero Trip in town.
So what did you think of Miss Valero? Should she always try to fix things with her friends endless drama? How about the Abbud-Daisy pairing? And what could possibly happen in next week’s episode dedicated to Chris’ love interest, teacher Tina?
Sound off below.
@Cinefille 
Haha those tragic turquoise socks almost ruined a perfectly good episode!
Haha! I was just amazed that this was the one episode where Daisy’s cleavage decided to be its own star.