Pandora Moon
Encyclopedia
Pandora "Panda" Moon is a fictional character
in the E4 television series Skins
, portrayed by Lisa Backwell
. Along with Effy Stonem
, Pandora is one of the only "Second generation" characters to appear in series two, and is prominent throughout the third and fourth series. She is known for being the sexually naive and immature friend of Effy Stonem
from very early on in the series, and later for her troubled relationship with her boyfriend, Thomas Tomone.
.
Pandora soon sheds her more childish side and matures after losing her virginity in her only centric episode
. However, she then becomes involved in a troubled relationship with Thomas Tomone, a Congolese
migrant new to the country, all the while living in the shadow of Effy, whom she eventually stands up to.
at the same school as Abigail Stock. Her childish naivety quickly repulses Effy, but she eventually becomes her friend after Pandora shows off a circus trick that she learned. She later accompanies Effy to various nightclubs and raves, mostly on her quest to solve the relationship issues between Tony, Michelle, Sid and Cassie. When buying some spliff
from Cassie, Pandora sees Cassie kissing another girl and is noticeably shocked, presumably having never encountered homosexuality before. After smoking the weed for the first time, she gets high very easily. Throughout the entire episode, her mother, Angela continually rings her, and their conversation suggests that Angela is somewhat overprotective of her.
Effy, finally taking pity on Pandora, gives the art coursework Sid intended for her to Pandora and pretends that she did it herself, risking expulsion from the school.
In "Thomas" Pandora and Effy meet Thomas Tomone, a newly arrived migrant from the Congo as he is busy gorging himself on some free doughnuts he obtained from the local newsagent. Thomas offers her some, but she eats too much and is violently sick. As Thomas carrys her home with Effy, they discover Effy's mother, Anthea is having an affair with her husband's boss. The next day, Panda comes across Thomas after a dance class and invites him to her aunt's home for some tea and scones. There, they discover that the tea is made from Cannabis
plant, and share a kiss in the greenhouse. After Thomas manages to defeat Johnny White, the local gangster, Thomas enters his bedroom to discover Panda is sitting on his bed in her underwear, and she persuades him to take her virginity. However, before they can consummate, Thomas' mother arrives and drags him back to the Congo, breaking Pandora's heart.
In "Pandora, Pandora is still reeling from the loss of Thomas and attempts to console herself by organising a "girls only" birthday pyjama party with Effy, the twins and Naomi, with the sole intention of playing Twister
and learning about sexuality from her friends. Her mother, Angela, is revealed to be somewhat neurotic and old-fashioned, forcing the girls to throw away all of their cigarettes and alcohol, treating them like little children and trying to keep the party free of any boys. The girls are soon bored and drug Angela with MDMA in some brownies. The girls quietly express disgust over Pandora's behaviour behind her back.
When the party gets out of hand, after Katie's footballer boyfriend brings his friends over and JJ and Cook attempt to sneak in, Pandora retreats to the bathroom in tears, angry with Effy, whom she believes spiked the brownies, pining for her boyfriend. When she finally comes out, Cook is the only one left at the party and, seeing her distraught, he suggests they play Twister, cheering her up. After they finish, Cook offers to take her virginity, and they proceed to have sex. The next day, Effy sees Pandora with Cook and is hurt. When Effy confronts her, Pandora demonstrates a more empowered and mature side to herself and angrily informs Effy that Cook belongs to nobody. At that moment, Thomas returns and the two have a tearful reunion.
In "JJ
," it is revealed that, despite Pandora's relationship with Thomas, she is still continuing an affair with Cook, after JJ sees her leaving his apartment and hides. Cook later confesses to his affair with Pandora after JJ gives him some drugs that make him more honest. This prompts an angry breakup between Pandora and Thomas.
In "Effy," Pandora is still upset with her breakup with Thomas and is the only one who cannot enjoy the camp-out that the gang are having. Effy takes pity on her and offers some Magic mushrooms she picked to the gang. However, after discovering what Effy did to Katie that night, Pandora joins the gang in shunning her.
In "Katie and Emily," Thomas and Pandora eventually reconcile at the school prom night and their relationship is rekindled.
Pandora makes fewer appearances in the series, usually seen alongside Effy at parties or continually rebuffing Thomas' persistent advances. Near the end, after Effy attempts suicide, she regularly visits her at the mental hospital in which she is being interred.
In "Everyone," Pandora and Katie organise a musical recital to attempt to cheer Effy up. After she manages to achieve exceptionally high grades, she is accepted into Harvard University in the United States, and Thomas, who had achieved a running scholarship, joins her, implying another reunion.
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...
in the E4 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...
, portrayed by Lisa Backwell
Lisa Backwell
Lisa Backwell is a British actress, best known for her role as Pandora Moon in the hit British TV drama Skins.-Career:...
. Along 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...
, Pandora is one of the only "Second generation" characters to appear in series two, and is prominent throughout the third and fourth series. She is known for being the sexually naive and immature friend of 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...
from very early on in the series, and later for her troubled relationship with her boyfriend, Thomas Tomone.
Characterisation
Pandora starts off the series as Effy's polar opposite - while Effy is crafty and mature, Pandora is very childish and sexually naive. Despite this, they make unlikely friends, after Pandora shows Effy a circus trick she learned. Pandora's childish playfulness and sexual naivety is most likely linked to the old-fashioned views of her mother, Angela, who goes to great lengths to protect her from the world in which she eventually becomes embroiled. Her name may be a reference to the inner satellite of SaturnPandora (moon)
Pandora is an inner satellite of Saturn. It was discovered in 1980 from photos taken by the Voyager 1 probe, and was provisionally designated '. In late 1985 it was officially named after Pandora from Greek mythology. It is also designated as '.Pandora is the outer shepherd satellite of the F Ring...
.
Pandora soon sheds her more childish side and matures after losing her virginity in her only centric episode
Pandora (Skins episode)
"Pandora" is the fourth episode of the third series of the English teen drama Skins, which first aired on 12 February 2009 on E4 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The episode was written by Bryan Elsley and Georgia Lester, and was directed by Simon Massey...
. However, she then becomes involved in a troubled relationship with Thomas Tomone, a Congolese
Congolese
Congoese may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to the Republic of the Congo in Africa, located west of the Congo River* Something of, from, or related to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, through which the Congo River flows...
migrant new to the country, all the while living in the shadow of Effy, whom she eventually stands up to.
Series 2
Pandora, unlike most of the other "Second Generation" cast, makes her first appearance in Series 2, in which she joins Effy StonemEffy 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...
at the same school as Abigail Stock. Her childish naivety quickly repulses Effy, but she eventually becomes her friend after Pandora shows off a circus trick that she learned. She later accompanies Effy to various nightclubs and raves, mostly on her quest to solve the relationship issues between Tony, Michelle, Sid and Cassie. When buying some spliff
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
from Cassie, Pandora sees Cassie kissing another girl and is noticeably shocked, presumably having never encountered homosexuality before. After smoking the weed for the first time, she gets high very easily. Throughout the entire episode, her mother, Angela continually rings her, and their conversation suggests that Angela is somewhat overprotective of her.
Effy, finally taking pity on Pandora, gives the art coursework Sid intended for her to Pandora and pretends that she did it herself, risking expulsion from the school.
Series 3
After joining Effy as a main character in the show, Pandora attends Roundview College, where Effy's brother's gang had gone before her. She continues to demonstrate a sexual naivety that she had in Series 2, although she is somewhat more mature than she was in her previous appearance. She is, however, desperate to finally have sex (or "surf and turf") and lose her virginity. In "Cook" Pandora throws up at Cook's birthday party, demonstrating low alcohol tolerance levels, but Cook insists on dragging them to a party not far away rather than allowing the girls to take her home.In "Thomas" Pandora and Effy meet Thomas Tomone, a newly arrived migrant from the Congo as he is busy gorging himself on some free doughnuts he obtained from the local newsagent. Thomas offers her some, but she eats too much and is violently sick. As Thomas carrys her home with Effy, they discover Effy's mother, Anthea is having an affair with her husband's boss. The next day, Panda comes across Thomas after a dance class and invites him to her aunt's home for some tea and scones. There, they discover that the tea is made from Cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
plant, and share a kiss in the greenhouse. After Thomas manages to defeat Johnny White, the local gangster, Thomas enters his bedroom to discover Panda is sitting on his bed in her underwear, and she persuades him to take her virginity. However, before they can consummate, Thomas' mother arrives and drags him back to the Congo, breaking Pandora's heart.
In "Pandora, Pandora is still reeling from the loss of Thomas and attempts to console herself by organising a "girls only" birthday pyjama party with Effy, the twins and Naomi, with the sole intention of playing Twister
Twister
-Entertainment:* Twister , a comedy film starring Suzy Amis and Crispin Glover* Twister , a disaster film starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton** Twister...Ride it Out, a ride in Universal Studios Florida based on the film...
and learning about sexuality from her friends. Her mother, Angela, is revealed to be somewhat neurotic and old-fashioned, forcing the girls to throw away all of their cigarettes and alcohol, treating them like little children and trying to keep the party free of any boys. The girls are soon bored and drug Angela with MDMA in some brownies. The girls quietly express disgust over Pandora's behaviour behind her back.
When the party gets out of hand, after Katie's footballer boyfriend brings his friends over and JJ and Cook attempt to sneak in, Pandora retreats to the bathroom in tears, angry with Effy, whom she believes spiked the brownies, pining for her boyfriend. When she finally comes out, Cook is the only one left at the party and, seeing her distraught, he suggests they play Twister, cheering her up. After they finish, Cook offers to take her virginity, and they proceed to have sex. The next day, Effy sees Pandora with Cook and is hurt. When Effy confronts her, Pandora demonstrates a more empowered and mature side to herself and angrily informs Effy that Cook belongs to nobody. At that moment, Thomas returns and the two have a tearful reunion.
In "JJ
JJ (Skins episode)
"JJ" is the seventh episode of the third series of the English teen drama Skins, which first aired on 5 March 2009 on E4 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The episode was written by the series' co-creator, Bryan Elsley, and was directed by Charles Martin...
," it is revealed that, despite Pandora's relationship with Thomas, she is still continuing an affair with Cook, after JJ sees her leaving his apartment and hides. Cook later confesses to his affair with Pandora after JJ gives him some drugs that make him more honest. This prompts an angry breakup between Pandora and Thomas.
In "Effy," Pandora is still upset with her breakup with Thomas and is the only one who cannot enjoy the camp-out that the gang are having. Effy takes pity on her and offers some Magic mushrooms she picked to the gang. However, after discovering what Effy did to Katie that night, Pandora joins the gang in shunning her.
In "Katie and Emily," Thomas and Pandora eventually reconcile at the school prom night and their relationship is rekindled.
Series 4
In "Thomas," Pandora is shaken after a girl commits suicide at Thomas' nightclub. Having nowhere to go, she stays at Thomas' apartment with his mother and siblings. They quietly have sex in Thomas' room when everyone is asleep. Not long after, Thomas has sex with a girl in the local church and confesses his infidelity to Pandora afterwards. She is horrified and breaks up with him. Under advice from Effy, she does not take him back after he sorts out his and his family's lives, and throughout the series, continues to cruelly reject him.Pandora makes fewer appearances in the series, usually seen alongside Effy at parties or continually rebuffing Thomas' persistent advances. Near the end, after Effy attempts suicide, she regularly visits her at the mental hospital in which she is being interred.
In "Everyone," Pandora and Katie organise a musical recital to attempt to cheer Effy up. After she manages to achieve exceptionally high grades, she is accepted into Harvard University in the United States, and Thomas, who had achieved a running scholarship, joins her, implying another reunion.