James Cook (Skins character)
Encyclopedia
James Cook is a fictional character
from the British
television series Skins
. He is portrayed by Jack O'Connell
. In the third series he is considered very anti-hero
ic. His actions often cause trouble and create havoc, affecting those around him. However, in the fourth series he begins to change his ways after a conversation with his solicitor and when he begins to realize the consequences of his actions, most notably witnessing his younger brother beginning to follow in his footsteps.
, an arrogant and self-destructive young man struggling to find a place in the world and to gain integrity. He is an impulsive 17 year old at the start of the series. He loves to have a good time and is constantly the life and soul of any party. Cook shows a great interest in the ladies, and all his partying can sometimes get out of hand, leading him into trouble. He loves to drink and use drugs, but whether or not he is an addict is left ambiguous to the viewers. Throughout the series, he is best friends with both Freddie and JJ, although at times, his sexual relationship with Effy Stonem
drives a rift between them.
In "Cook", Cook invites the gang to his uncle’s pub to celebrate his seventeenth birthday which he believes will be a drink-fuelled event. The reality is that the gang are still trying to strengthen friendships. The girls decide to leave after Pandora throws up. Cook persuades them otherwise, promising drugs. Freddie gets a call from his sister Karen who is at her friend Kayleigh’s engagement party. Cook rounds the gang up and they head over there uninvited. Cook flirts with Kayleigh. Cook gets hold of drugs some of the gang take them. Cook ups the tempo with his antics, angering Johnny White, Kayleigh’s father and a Bristol drug lord. Cook gets beaten up, the gang leave with him. Cook then drags JJ to a brothel after an argument with Freddie. There they find Johnny White. Cook taunts and injures him. Johnny vows to kill Cook next time he sees him.
In "Pandora", Cook crashes Pandora's party and has sex with Effy in a closet. While they were having sex they fell back into Pandora's next-door neighbor's room. (Where they watched a video of Pandora's mum having sex with their next-door neighbor.) Then Pandora comes out of the bathroom after her disaster of a birthday party, Cook is the only person left at the house. When Pandora expresses unhappiness that she never got to do the activities she wanted that night - play Twister and learn about human sexuality from her friends - Cook offers to play the game with her out of pity. He then offers to have sex with her, and they spend the night together. Effy visits Pandora the next morning, and sees Cook share a kiss with her as he leaves. After an argument, Pandora defiantly tells Effy that Cook, due to his promiscuity and impulsive, carnal behavior, belongs to no one.
In "Freddie", Freddie gets tired of living in the shadow of the increasingly reckless Cook. Although Freddie reveals his true feelings for Effy, which she reciprocates, she goes back to Cook because she's afraid to love.
In "Naomi", Naomi, who after arguing with Emily, later comes across Cook, who tries to persuade her to have sex with him. She jokingly tells him that he has a better chance of winning the student elections, which he sees as a challenge and decides to register. She launches her own campaign to rival Cook, but finds that most of her classmates' support is for Cook's anarchist ideas. She is doubly humiliated in front of the form when Cook ridicules her and Emily subsequently stands up for her.
She witnesses her teachers' rigging the votes to prevent Cook from winning, and reveals this to the form after she is announced the winner of the elections. As his first presidential act, Cook starts a riot. In the ensuing chaos, Naomi forgives Cook and begins to have sex with him before she realises that it "isn't right". She leaves, with her and Cook now sharing a better understanding of each other.
In "JJ", JJ sees his mother, Celia, overwhelmed by all of his issues and blames himself. He calls Cook to tell him how he feels, but Cook is preoccupied with having sex with a girl who JJ assumes is Effy. However, when JJ, encouraged by Emily, goes to confront Effy, she reveals that she has not seen Cook in days. JJ then visits Cook and discovers that the girl he was having sex with was with Pandora. Pretending not to have seen this, he then confronts Cook about ruining their friendship with Freddie, and explodes in a violent rage when he realises Cook is indifferent to his feelings. Cook tells JJ that he loves him and brings JJ with him to buy drugs. They are almost arrested and, after running from the police, JJ pressures Cook into taking his prescription drugs, knowing they are designed both to make people relax and become more honest, instead before they meet their friends at a club. JJ and Cook arrive and Thomas Tomone (Merveille Lukeba) lets them into the club, announcing that Emily is already inside. Cook gets into a fight on the dance floor and Freddie moves in to help when he discovers that JJ gave Cook his prescription drugs. Cook, under the influence of JJ's drugs, is compelled to tell the truth and confesses that Effy loves Freddie. Cook says that he loves Effy, but knows his feelings are not reciprocated and that is why he is having an affair with Pandora.
In "Effy", Cook crashes the gang's camping trip, and in anger reveals many of the group's secrets, including that Pandora and he have continued their affair. After Effy is ousted from the group, he decides to take her on a road trip, to get away from it all.
In "Finale", Cook and Effy are in self-imposed exile from the gang; they've gone to stay with Cook's father. They are found by JJ and Freddie, who try to bring them back, but soon realize that Cook is beginning to fall in love with Effy. Cook, Freddie and JJ take part in the towns annual steeple chase, the reward for them at the end being Effy, although Cooks fathers boat is also part of a wager with another man entering the chase. Neither Cook or Freddie win, the winner in fact being JJ, resulting in the loss of the boat and Effy. However, JJ chooses to pressure Effy to make a choice between the three men, her gaze lingers on Freddie, causing Cook to leave in a fit of rage. Towards the end of the episode Cook goes to his fathers boat hoping to leave with him, his father tells him he never wanted him the first place, but Cook, sobbing, still angrily refuses to hand over the keys. His father, exasperated, pulls out a flare and threatens to burn Cook's face off, not caring whether Cook lives or dies, to which Cook replies, "I don't, either." Freddie arrives and knocks Cook's father unconscious before he can do any harm to Cook. Freddie asks Cook to say it's okay for him to be with Effy, Cook says he can't do it because he loves her and he's sorry. JJ and Effy arrive, followed by the towns people hoping to claim Cook's dad's boat, they quickly set sail. Cooks dad awakes to them setting sail, and upon realises that his boat is safe shouts "I'm Cook" and in antagonistic manner at the people who technically now own the boat. Cook then shouts at his father "No, I'm Cook" and pushes him off the boat. The episode ends with the problem seemingly unresolved and Freddie asking "So, what do we do now?"
In "Emily", Emily learns that Naomi was dealing powder with Cook the night of the suicide and sold some to Sophia to pay for the motorbike goggles she bought her. Cook sees Effy and Freddie kissing at the party and takes his anger out on a fellow party-goer, severely beating him and ends up accidentally headbutting JJ also.
In "Cook", Cook is in prison, charged with Grievous Bodily Harm for beating up Shanky Jenkins at the house party. Duncan, Cook’s legal aid, advises him to plead guilty, but Cook pleads not guilty instead. He is released from prison with an electronic tag and sent to live with his mother, Ruth, a famous artist. At home, Cook bonds with his younger brother Paddy who adores him, but clashes with his vain and perpetually drunken mother. Cook is expelled from college. He visits Naomi who informs him they must deal with their guilt over Sophia. Afterwards Duncan tells Cook there is no case and that he should grow up. Cook visits his mother’s art exhibit and is shocked to learn that she had a brief sexual relationship with Freddie. Freddie admits Ruth gave him a blow job at Cook’s 15th birthday party and pleads for Cook to stop acting out. Cook argues with his mother, leaves the house with Paddy and steals Ruth’s car, trashing it. Cook has a moment of insight when he sees his brother acting like him. He finds Naomi and has a heart-to-heart, bonding over how they both love someone. He then goes back to his legal aid Duncan and has a breakdown. Afterwards he tells the police he sold Sophia the MDMA, taking the flak for Naomi. Effy visits Cook in prison and tells him she loves Freddie. Cook pleads guilty at trial and is imprisoned.
In "Freddie", After Freddie clears the party out, Cook remains, having apparently escaped from jail prior to the beginning of the episode, saying he couldn't stick being stuck with "a million me's anymore". However, when seeing him, Effy begins to freak out, yelling at him to leave. Later, Freddie tries to follow a freaked out Effy who ran away from him, but loses sight of her in the large crowd, however he runs into Cook and asks him for help.
In "Effy", She runs into Cook and after an argument, Cook tells her that he would redo the last two years all over again, and that he still loves her. Effy tells him to piss off and leaves. The next morning, she is at a park, and Cook sits on the bench next to her. As they are talking, Cook mentions that Freddie calls him about her (and calls her "Ef"). Effy looks confused, asking who "Ef" is. Cook thinks she's joking, and says that he's mistaken and that she isn't Ef. Effy smiles and tells him that he's right. Looking confused, Cook asks her what her name is, to which she replies "Elizabeth". Cook then reintroduces himself as James. He takes her to a party, and they talk. Effy mentions that she normally doesn't go on a date with someone she just met. Cook goes along with it, not telling her that they have already met. She then tells him that she wants to do something bad, and Cook replies that she's come to the right person. As they walk down the street, they end up at the street where Tony got hit by a bus. Effy's memory begins to get jogged, and begins remembering. Cook, not understanding that Effy really didn't remember him, tells her that she wins (thinking it was a game). Effy is confused, but Cook tells her that they have met, dated, and had sex. Effy tries to deny it, but Cook brings up things only someone close to her would know. Effy finally remembers her brother being hit, but she begins to freak out. She doesn't know what's wrong with her, not knowing if things did or didn't happen. Cook slaps her to "wake" her up, and Effy wants him to do it again. After pushing Cook, she runs off, with him chasing her. She runs into the freeway and gets almost hit by a car. Cook saves her and she kisses him. Effy remembers everything and tells Cook to get her to Freddie. Cook brings Effy to Freddie and they talk about the relationship between all three of them, they argue when Cook realises Freddie was planning on leaving. He leaves telling Freddie not to screw it up.
In "Everyone", Karen and Cook start to become concerned about Freddie's whereabouts. Karen gives Cook Freddie's notebook saying "John Foster wants to hurt her" implying Effy. The police then raid Naomi's house after Cook's ex-girlfriend Arsia tells the police were he is hiding. Cook escapes and goes to Freddie's shed where he meets Effy who has been released from the psychiatric hospital. The rest of the gang meet there and decide to throw a party for Freddie's birthday even though he isn't there. Cook heads outside briefly where he spots a figure observing Freddie's house. He decides to follow. Meanwhile, Thomas and Pandora make up along with Emily and Naomi. Cook breaks in to John's basement where he finds Freddie's blood stained clothes and shoes. Cook then seemingly hears Freddie's ghostly voice warning him to leave before Foster comes, this spooks Cook and he turns on a light just before Foster arrives with his baseball bat. John hits him in the stomach almost knocking him to the ground with his bat and verbally taunts him. Cook gets up laughing and admits he is a criminal and he has no sense, but then he tells John that he knows he killed Freddie. He then screams out "I'm Cook!" and launches himself at John as the season ends.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television series Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
. He is portrayed by Jack O'Connell
Jack O'Connell (actor)
Jack O'Connell , is a British actor, from Alvaston, Derby, England. He went to St Benedict Catholic School and Performing Arts College...
. In the third series he is considered very anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
ic. His actions often cause trouble and create havoc, affecting those around him. However, in the fourth series he begins to change his ways after a conversation with his solicitor and when he begins to realize the consequences of his actions, most notably witnessing his younger brother beginning to follow in his footsteps.
Characterization
Cook is an outgoing, sexually promiscuous and in many ways self destructive young man, who appears to have come from a troubled family background. He is, more or less, a current representation of the Byronic heroByronic hero
The Byronic hero is an idealised but flawed character exemplified in the life and writings of English Romantic poet Lord Byron. It was characterised by Lady Caroline Lamb, later a lover of Byron's, as being "mad, bad, and dangerous to know"...
, an arrogant and self-destructive young man struggling to find a place in the world and to gain integrity. He is an impulsive 17 year old at the start of the series. He loves to have a good time and is constantly the life and soul of any party. Cook shows a great interest in the ladies, and all his partying can sometimes get out of hand, leading him into trouble. He loves to drink and use drugs, but whether or not he is an addict is left ambiguous to the viewers. Throughout the series, he is best friends with both Freddie and JJ, although at times, his sexual relationship with Effy Stonem
Effy Stonem
Elizabeth "Effy" Stonem is a fictional character in the television series Skins, played by Kaya Scodelario. She is the only main character to appear in more than two series. She appears in all of the first four series...
drives a rift between them.
Series 3
In "Everyone", Cook, Freddie and JJ vie for Effy's attention, meeting her before college began. Cook flirts with Naomi who ignores his attempts. Effy sets Cook and Freddie a challenge, whoever breaks the college rules gets to “know her better”. Cook breaks the rules, in the process starting a fire. His reward is sex with Effy in the nurse’s office.In "Cook", Cook invites the gang to his uncle’s pub to celebrate his seventeenth birthday which he believes will be a drink-fuelled event. The reality is that the gang are still trying to strengthen friendships. The girls decide to leave after Pandora throws up. Cook persuades them otherwise, promising drugs. Freddie gets a call from his sister Karen who is at her friend Kayleigh’s engagement party. Cook rounds the gang up and they head over there uninvited. Cook flirts with Kayleigh. Cook gets hold of drugs some of the gang take them. Cook ups the tempo with his antics, angering Johnny White, Kayleigh’s father and a Bristol drug lord. Cook gets beaten up, the gang leave with him. Cook then drags JJ to a brothel after an argument with Freddie. There they find Johnny White. Cook taunts and injures him. Johnny vows to kill Cook next time he sees him.
In "Pandora", Cook crashes Pandora's party and has sex with Effy in a closet. While they were having sex they fell back into Pandora's next-door neighbor's room. (Where they watched a video of Pandora's mum having sex with their next-door neighbor.) Then Pandora comes out of the bathroom after her disaster of a birthday party, Cook is the only person left at the house. When Pandora expresses unhappiness that she never got to do the activities she wanted that night - play Twister and learn about human sexuality from her friends - Cook offers to play the game with her out of pity. He then offers to have sex with her, and they spend the night together. Effy visits Pandora the next morning, and sees Cook share a kiss with her as he leaves. After an argument, Pandora defiantly tells Effy that Cook, due to his promiscuity and impulsive, carnal behavior, belongs to no one.
In "Freddie", Freddie gets tired of living in the shadow of the increasingly reckless Cook. Although Freddie reveals his true feelings for Effy, which she reciprocates, she goes back to Cook because she's afraid to love.
In "Naomi", Naomi, who after arguing with Emily, later comes across Cook, who tries to persuade her to have sex with him. She jokingly tells him that he has a better chance of winning the student elections, which he sees as a challenge and decides to register. She launches her own campaign to rival Cook, but finds that most of her classmates' support is for Cook's anarchist ideas. She is doubly humiliated in front of the form when Cook ridicules her and Emily subsequently stands up for her.
She witnesses her teachers' rigging the votes to prevent Cook from winning, and reveals this to the form after she is announced the winner of the elections. As his first presidential act, Cook starts a riot. In the ensuing chaos, Naomi forgives Cook and begins to have sex with him before she realises that it "isn't right". She leaves, with her and Cook now sharing a better understanding of each other.
In "JJ", JJ sees his mother, Celia, overwhelmed by all of his issues and blames himself. He calls Cook to tell him how he feels, but Cook is preoccupied with having sex with a girl who JJ assumes is Effy. However, when JJ, encouraged by Emily, goes to confront Effy, she reveals that she has not seen Cook in days. JJ then visits Cook and discovers that the girl he was having sex with was with Pandora. Pretending not to have seen this, he then confronts Cook about ruining their friendship with Freddie, and explodes in a violent rage when he realises Cook is indifferent to his feelings. Cook tells JJ that he loves him and brings JJ with him to buy drugs. They are almost arrested and, after running from the police, JJ pressures Cook into taking his prescription drugs, knowing they are designed both to make people relax and become more honest, instead before they meet their friends at a club. JJ and Cook arrive and Thomas Tomone (Merveille Lukeba) lets them into the club, announcing that Emily is already inside. Cook gets into a fight on the dance floor and Freddie moves in to help when he discovers that JJ gave Cook his prescription drugs. Cook, under the influence of JJ's drugs, is compelled to tell the truth and confesses that Effy loves Freddie. Cook says that he loves Effy, but knows his feelings are not reciprocated and that is why he is having an affair with Pandora.
In "Effy", Cook crashes the gang's camping trip, and in anger reveals many of the group's secrets, including that Pandora and he have continued their affair. After Effy is ousted from the group, he decides to take her on a road trip, to get away from it all.
In "Finale", Cook and Effy are in self-imposed exile from the gang; they've gone to stay with Cook's father. They are found by JJ and Freddie, who try to bring them back, but soon realize that Cook is beginning to fall in love with Effy. Cook, Freddie and JJ take part in the towns annual steeple chase, the reward for them at the end being Effy, although Cooks fathers boat is also part of a wager with another man entering the chase. Neither Cook or Freddie win, the winner in fact being JJ, resulting in the loss of the boat and Effy. However, JJ chooses to pressure Effy to make a choice between the three men, her gaze lingers on Freddie, causing Cook to leave in a fit of rage. Towards the end of the episode Cook goes to his fathers boat hoping to leave with him, his father tells him he never wanted him the first place, but Cook, sobbing, still angrily refuses to hand over the keys. His father, exasperated, pulls out a flare and threatens to burn Cook's face off, not caring whether Cook lives or dies, to which Cook replies, "I don't, either." Freddie arrives and knocks Cook's father unconscious before he can do any harm to Cook. Freddie asks Cook to say it's okay for him to be with Effy, Cook says he can't do it because he loves her and he's sorry. JJ and Effy arrive, followed by the towns people hoping to claim Cook's dad's boat, they quickly set sail. Cooks dad awakes to them setting sail, and upon realises that his boat is safe shouts "I'm Cook" and in antagonistic manner at the people who technically now own the boat. Cook then shouts at his father "No, I'm Cook" and pushes him off the boat. The episode ends with the problem seemingly unresolved and Freddie asking "So, what do we do now?"
Series 4
In "Thomas", The gang, excluding Effy, witness the suicide of a teenage girl, Sophia, after she had taken drugs. The police launch an investigation into the death. Thomas feels guilty about Sophia’s death and suspects Cook sold her the drugs before her death. Thomas turns to religion and becomes attracted to the daughter of his church’s pastor, Andrea, and eventually sleeps with her. At school Thomas is expelled and admits to cheating on Pandora, who storms off. Depressed, Thomas gets drunk and attacks Cook, this leads to Naomi admitting that Cook gave Naomi the drugs, which Naomi later gave to Sophia.In "Emily", Emily learns that Naomi was dealing powder with Cook the night of the suicide and sold some to Sophia to pay for the motorbike goggles she bought her. Cook sees Effy and Freddie kissing at the party and takes his anger out on a fellow party-goer, severely beating him and ends up accidentally headbutting JJ also.
In "Cook", Cook is in prison, charged with Grievous Bodily Harm for beating up Shanky Jenkins at the house party. Duncan, Cook’s legal aid, advises him to plead guilty, but Cook pleads not guilty instead. He is released from prison with an electronic tag and sent to live with his mother, Ruth, a famous artist. At home, Cook bonds with his younger brother Paddy who adores him, but clashes with his vain and perpetually drunken mother. Cook is expelled from college. He visits Naomi who informs him they must deal with their guilt over Sophia. Afterwards Duncan tells Cook there is no case and that he should grow up. Cook visits his mother’s art exhibit and is shocked to learn that she had a brief sexual relationship with Freddie. Freddie admits Ruth gave him a blow job at Cook’s 15th birthday party and pleads for Cook to stop acting out. Cook argues with his mother, leaves the house with Paddy and steals Ruth’s car, trashing it. Cook has a moment of insight when he sees his brother acting like him. He finds Naomi and has a heart-to-heart, bonding over how they both love someone. He then goes back to his legal aid Duncan and has a breakdown. Afterwards he tells the police he sold Sophia the MDMA, taking the flak for Naomi. Effy visits Cook in prison and tells him she loves Freddie. Cook pleads guilty at trial and is imprisoned.
In "Freddie", After Freddie clears the party out, Cook remains, having apparently escaped from jail prior to the beginning of the episode, saying he couldn't stick being stuck with "a million me's anymore". However, when seeing him, Effy begins to freak out, yelling at him to leave. Later, Freddie tries to follow a freaked out Effy who ran away from him, but loses sight of her in the large crowd, however he runs into Cook and asks him for help.
In "Effy", She runs into Cook and after an argument, Cook tells her that he would redo the last two years all over again, and that he still loves her. Effy tells him to piss off and leaves. The next morning, she is at a park, and Cook sits on the bench next to her. As they are talking, Cook mentions that Freddie calls him about her (and calls her "Ef"). Effy looks confused, asking who "Ef" is. Cook thinks she's joking, and says that he's mistaken and that she isn't Ef. Effy smiles and tells him that he's right. Looking confused, Cook asks her what her name is, to which she replies "Elizabeth". Cook then reintroduces himself as James. He takes her to a party, and they talk. Effy mentions that she normally doesn't go on a date with someone she just met. Cook goes along with it, not telling her that they have already met. She then tells him that she wants to do something bad, and Cook replies that she's come to the right person. As they walk down the street, they end up at the street where Tony got hit by a bus. Effy's memory begins to get jogged, and begins remembering. Cook, not understanding that Effy really didn't remember him, tells her that she wins (thinking it was a game). Effy is confused, but Cook tells her that they have met, dated, and had sex. Effy tries to deny it, but Cook brings up things only someone close to her would know. Effy finally remembers her brother being hit, but she begins to freak out. She doesn't know what's wrong with her, not knowing if things did or didn't happen. Cook slaps her to "wake" her up, and Effy wants him to do it again. After pushing Cook, she runs off, with him chasing her. She runs into the freeway and gets almost hit by a car. Cook saves her and she kisses him. Effy remembers everything and tells Cook to get her to Freddie. Cook brings Effy to Freddie and they talk about the relationship between all three of them, they argue when Cook realises Freddie was planning on leaving. He leaves telling Freddie not to screw it up.
In "Everyone", Karen and Cook start to become concerned about Freddie's whereabouts. Karen gives Cook Freddie's notebook saying "John Foster wants to hurt her" implying Effy. The police then raid Naomi's house after Cook's ex-girlfriend Arsia tells the police were he is hiding. Cook escapes and goes to Freddie's shed where he meets Effy who has been released from the psychiatric hospital. The rest of the gang meet there and decide to throw a party for Freddie's birthday even though he isn't there. Cook heads outside briefly where he spots a figure observing Freddie's house. He decides to follow. Meanwhile, Thomas and Pandora make up along with Emily and Naomi. Cook breaks in to John's basement where he finds Freddie's blood stained clothes and shoes. Cook then seemingly hears Freddie's ghostly voice warning him to leave before Foster comes, this spooks Cook and he turns on a light just before Foster arrives with his baseball bat. John hits him in the stomach almost knocking him to the ground with his bat and verbally taunts him. Cook gets up laughing and admits he is a criminal and he has no sense, but then he tells John that he knows he killed Freddie. He then screams out "I'm Cook!" and launches himself at John as the season ends.
External links
- James Cook on the official E4 Skins site
- James Cook Character Blog on E4 Skins site
- James Cook on MyspaceMyspaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....