"Series Finale" (Episode 1.09)

"Series Finale" is the ninth and final episode of Series 1.

This episode primarily focuses on all the lead castmembers and both their romantic and platonic relationships with each other. The episode ends in a cliffhanger that has a major impact on the subsequent Series.

Plot
Maxxie calls Anwar to wish him a happy birthday however refuses to attend his party until Anwar tells his parents that Maxxie is gay. The beginning of the episode does much to establish Anwar's relationship with his family; although his parents are responsible and very respecful people they are very strongly tied to their faith, and while his mother is doting, his father is stern and seems disdainful of things 'that do not glorify God'. Much to Anwar's chagrin, his maternal uncle Munir- known for his bad sense of humor- has arrived to DJ the party that evening. (although Mr. Kharral admits to his son that it was only so Munir wouldn't grope the women)

Cassie is due to leave so she temporarily runs away from the clinic with another friend who suffers a eating disorder. Before leaving, she writes Sid a letter explaining that she likes him, but that the strain is too much, so she is moving with her parents to Elgin, Scotland, and that they will no longer have to play cat-and mouse with each other's feelings. Unknown to her, at the same time Sid has finally rearranged his priorities and is writing her a letter making it clear how much he loves her.

Meanwhile, Angie's Australian fiancé Merve arrives and completely destroys her and Chris' relationship, renewing his connection with her despite her protests. Chris realizes he may lose Angie for good. He concludes that Merve is "obviously gay", after watching a video tape of Angie's showing Merve as a campy weatherman on Australian television.

Michelle briefly visits Effy, who was just recently involved in an incident orchestrated by Josh to get back at Tony for the events in the episode "Michelle". Although Effy doesn't speak again, Michelle asks her why Tony hurt her, but Effy genuinely doesn't know. Michelle says she's glad that Effy's ok and leaves.

Sid hurriedly dresses in mismatching clothes and rushes to Cassie's rehab clinic, just after she leaves in a taxi. In the clinic, the nurse locks Sid in a padded room, deducing that Sid needs their help.

Anwar's party is nowhere near the level of excitement that he would have preferred (Mr Kherral claims "Your mother knows what's respectful- so the English won't burn the place down, get me arrested!") but Michelle, Kenneth and Jal nonetheless arrive and are warmly recieved. Jal dances with Kenneth. Maxxie has been standing across the street, watching, since the party was being set up, but he still refuses to go in. Mr Kharral, who admires Maxxie's manners and dancing skills, is bemused as to why his son would be so foolish as to fight with his best friend and wonders why he has not showed up. However, when he questions the girls about this Anwar convinces them to keep quiet.

Meanwhile, Tony- who has been waiting in vain for Michelle to contact him again- goes with Effy to get Sid released from the clinic, and they set out to look for Cassie in Mr. Jenkins' car (which Tony stole- again).

Anwar (after suffering several more of his uncle's crude jokes) eventually meets a very attractive girl to whom he is not related and who seems interested in him. This delights him, as he is thus free to pursue a relationship with her. Desperate to share his excitement with his closest confidant, he calls Maxxie, who is now standing just outside the door.

Anwar, desperate to see Maxxie, again attempts to draw him into the party; Maxxie again makes his conditions clear. Mr. Kharral eventually arrives outside spotting Maxxie and greeting him warmly. He also attempts to coax Maxxie in until Anwar tells his father that Maxxie is gay. Mr. Kharral seemingly ignores Anwar until Maxxie restates it himself. Mr. Kharral then calmly explains that there are a lot of things in the world he doesn't understand - particularly homosexuality, but that his deep trust in Allah means he believes God one day will reveal to him all he does not understand, and until then will treat Maxxie no differently than he has in the past. With that, Maxxie and Anwar's friendship is renewed, and Mr. Kharral encourages him to join them for the food. Chris arrives, and the three of them go in to usurp Munir from the Deejay and crank the party up.

Tony, Sid and Effy arrive at the party, having decided it was their best bet at finding Cassie. Tony hands Sid the letter that Cassie slipped into his room, and Sid goes inside. Tony and Effy argue outside the party, and Effy calls Tony a "wanker" for hurting Michelle. Tony notices Cassie and her friend arriving across the street in his mirror; he goes to her, and she explains that she is leaving. He tells her she should tell Sid goodbye in person, but she refuses; nonetheless, he gives her Sid's love letter before she goes.

As one of the songs (with Kenneth now Deejaying) ends, Merv and two musclebound friends arrive at the party, demanding that Chris return his engagement ring for Angie. Chris denies he has it, and only when Angie eventually bursts in, and asks Chris to return it, does he comply. However, when he gives the ring back, Chris drops it, probably accidentally, and kneels down to pick it up, causing Anwar's uncle Munir to think that Chris is proposing and announce it to the partygoers. Angie takes the ring, says 'No' to Merv and runs off. After she runs away, Chris confidently remarks that she still loves him; this earns him a knockdown punch from Merv, starting a minor brawl. Maxxie, Anwar, Kenneth, the two Australians and (surprisingly) Jal soon join in, as Mrs. Kharral frantically tries to restore order. Sid briefly blunders into it and, true to his bad luck, gets head-butted. Chris simply rolls around on the ground and laughs his head off.

Sid eventually reads Cassie's letter. Displaying signs of despiar, and finally resolution, he leaves the party.

Meanwhile, Tony finally calls Michelle on his phone to confess his love to her. Michelle listens while crying, but Tony cannot initially get a good signal, so he moves to the center of the street. He tells her he can change, but just as he has confessed that he loves her, he is hit by a bus- Effy witnesses this and screams in horror. Michelle can be seen calling presumably an ambulance as elsewhere, Effy holds his bleeding body in shock.

Back at the party, the other friends are unaware of the accident; Jal is sitting with Kenneth, Anwar is talking to the girl he met, and Maxxie is in the embrace of one of the black- eyed Australians, who seems to have fallen for him. Chris (heavily bruised) stands across the street from Angie's appartment, the two of them sadly watching each other.

At the end of the episode, it's revealed after Sid left Anwar's party he went looking for Cassie, who is sitting on a bench overlooking Bristol- the same location where she attempted suicide. As she finishes reading his love letter, he arrives and sits besides her; they hold hands as the first rays of daylight appear.

Music Feature in "Series Finale"
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 1. The track "Wild World" and the accompanying scene was removed all together from the US home media release of Series 1.

Frederik Knight - I've Been Lonely For So Long

The Concretes - You Can't Hurry Love

Architecture In Helsinki - Owls Go

The Bees - Sky Holds The Sun

Hinson - Or Just Re Arrange

Altered Images - Happy Birthday

Opus - Life Is Life

Meatloaf - Bat Out Of Hell

The Broken Family Band - It's All Over

Take That - Everything Changes But You

Aerosmith - I Don't Want To Miss A Thing

Supertramp - Give A Little Bit

Starship - We Built This City

Europe - The Final Countdown

Fat Segal - Cassie sting

Lethal Bizzle - Pow (Forward)

Buddy Holly - True Love Ways

Cast (original Cat Stevens) - Wild World

Unseen Skins: "Bye"
Cassie and her friend from the therapy center discuss all the things she will miss once she leaves Bristol, including Sid.