"Franky" (Episode 6.04)

"Franky" is the fourth episode of Series 6 and the 49th episode overall.

This episode primarily focuses on Franky Fitzgerald and how her guilt at the catalyst for the crash which caused Grace Violet's death causes her to isolate herself from the gang and hook up with bad-boy Luke, the one who caused all the gang's problems in the first place.

Plot
Franky isn't coping well with Grace's death, as she was the catalyst for the crash which caused it. Her dads mean well, but to Franky they're just annoying. With Mini too busy having sex with Alo to talk to her, and her continued fury with Matty for running after the accident, she has no-one to turn to.

Haunted by Grace, Franky can't cope with her mock exams. And when her fathers try to talk about her grief, she can't take that, either. So she decides to look up Luke, even though she knows he's trouble. When he takes her to a pub to wait in the car they ends up in a massive fight with the people that were inside the pub. One of the guys opens the door to the car and to Franky's shock face gets out and she defends herself by punching someone in the face. The adrenaline visibly shocks and excites her and makes her feel alive.

This aggression gives Franky a new lease of life, even if it's misguided, so she hangs up on Matty, has a public row with Mini, stalks out on her next mock exam (being a wee bit rude in the process) and spends a lot of time in bed with Luke, who advises her to move on from Grace's death.

A turning point almost comes when Franky has an argument with her dad and ends up accidentally pushing him against the kitchen counter, injuring him pretty badly. Horrified at herself, she runs to the park and spends the night, still haunted by Grace. When she wakes up in the morning - and after a visit from Nick, who's dealing with the fact that he's fallen in love with her - she returns home and agrees to go to counselling, and begins ignoring Luke's calls.

Unfortunately, if anything the counselling makes things worse. In a devastating scene, she can barely say the name "Grace" and then repeats: "I'm sorry" over and over again. Eventually, she throws a chair across the room and heads straight back into Luke's arms, for more disturbingly aggressive sex and a big fight in the pool hall.

Franky's actually holding her own (headbutt and all), but Nick arrives and drags her out, kicking and screaming. She laughs right in his face when she realizes that he's in love with her, and he's clearly heartbroken - especially when Luke shows up, beats him up, and leaves with Franky. Franky seems exhilarated when Luke's kicking Nick, who's curled up on the ground.

When Matty desperately calls Franky again, Luke rips the phone from her hand and throws it out of the car. And after snorting cocaine, he holds her head down while having sex with her. The next morning, Franky is seen curled up on the sofa looking vulnerable.

When Franky sees him taking a shower she escapes and runs to the park, where she asks Grace for help. Grace obviously can't answer, but her dad turns up to comfort her. Luke then shows up and tries to force her to leave with him. After Franky denies his advances and Luke starts getting aggressive, her dad' intervenes and send him on his way.

At the end of the episode, Franky goes to apologize to Nick, and there's an awkward-cute-bumbling moment as it's unclear if they're leaning in for a kiss or hug. But Franky extends her hand and offers friendship, to which Nick says heartfeltly: "What are you doing to me, Franky?"

Music Featured in "Franky"
Owl Vision - Antichrist

Zola Jesus - Night

Rustie - Hyperthrust

Moon Duo - Killing Time

MMM - Dex

Segal - Alex Handcock's MMA Disaster

Teen Daze - Malacandra

Phoenix Unique - Just Don't Give a Fuck

Widowspeak - Limbs

How To Dress Well - Suicide Dream 2

Thurston Moore - Blood Never Lies

Florence and the Machine - Shake It Out (The Weeknd Remix)

Kuedo - Salt Lake Cuts

Marianne Faithfull - Broken English

Segal - Linconshire

Twin Sister - The Other Side of Your Face

Teen Daze - Watch Over Me

Anna Calvi - Desire

James Blake - The Wilhelm Scream