"Naomi" (Episode 3.06)

"Naomi" is the sixth episode of Series 3 and the 25th episode overall.

This episode primarily focuses on Naomi Campbell and her struggling to classify her feelings for both Emily Fitch and James Cook, as she is unsure if her feelings for both people are romantic or platonic.

Plot
Naomi lives with her hippy mother Gina and fifteen other people in a communal living arrangement, whom none are paying rent. This is a source of annoyance to Naomi, whose privacy is invaded when wakes up one morning, naked, to discover that a man who thinks he is Jesus is sleeping in her bed, and has even gone as far as to stick his dirty socked feet into her mouth. At college, she avoids Emily to meet with her politics teacher Kieran instead. In the students' common room, they are informed of the upcoming elections for Student President. Emily encourages Naomi to run for president, but Naomi refuses. She 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. Kieran walks her home at the end of the day and urges her to run in the elections, giving her a registration form. When she arrives at her house, she finds Emily waiting in her bedroom with another registration form. Emily starts to leave when Naomi is rude and standoffish to her—despite taking Emily's advice to enter the elections—but returns and confronts her. She coldly tells her that she is not obsessed with pursuing a sexual relationship with her, and Naomi suggests she stay the night with her.

When Naomi wakes up the following morning, she leaves Emily in her bed as she goes to college. At college, she sees the massive presidential campaign staged by Cook and JJ. 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 flees to Kieran for comfort but leaves him, shocked and disgusted, when he kisses her. She goes home and, after finding a note from Emily in her bed, cries herself to sleep.

Naomi and Emily escape to the countryside the next day and cycle to one of Emily's favourite places by a lake. After swimming in the lake, they light a campfire. The two then kiss and proceed to make love. Emily wakes up the following morning to find Naomi preparing to leave. She pleas for Naomi not to leave her a second time, and telling her that she should accept that she needs to be loved. Naomi returns home to find Kieran in bed with her mother, and leaves for college, devastated. 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 Kieran and begins to have sex with Cook before she realises that it "isn't right". She leaves, with her and Cook now sharing a better understanding of each other. That night, she visits Emily's house, but Emily refuses to open the door, not wanting Naomi to see her after she had been crying. They sit on opposite sides of the door, and Naomi admits that she does need somebody to love her. Emily offers her hand through the door's catflap to Naomi, who finally reciprocates Emily's feelings.

Music Featured in "Naomi"
Note: The music tracks listed below only refer to the music featured in the episode's initial airing. Many of the music tracks featured in this episode have been substituted for alternative tracks either for the BBC America airing or for both the US and UK home media release of Series 3.

Vashti Bunyan – Diamond Day

Audio Networks - Hard Rock

The Human League – Love Action

Art Brut – Good Weekend

Experimental Dental School – Oakland Lake Legz

Asobi Seksu – I'm Happy But You Don't Like Me

Diskettes – Art

Tujiko Noriko – White Film

High Places – Jump In

Susanna and the Magical Orchestra – Believer

Electrelane – After The Call

John Lennon - Instant Karma

Dodos – Walking

Liars – Mr You're on Fire Mr

Robert Wyatt – Just As You Are

Grouper – Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Gloria Jones – Tainted Love