"Sketch" (Episode 2.02)

"Sketch" is the second episode of Series 2 and the 11th episode of the show overall.

The episode introduces a new character nicknamed "Sketch" (although her real name is Lucy) and discusses her unhealthy obsession with Maxxie Oliver and how she will do whatever it takes to be with him, even though she knows he is gay.

Plot
The episode begins with Lucy "Sketch", in her room, staring at Maxxie who lives in the flat block opposite to hers, getting ready in the morning. Sketch has a large collection of various photographs of him on her bedroom wall, all taken by herself. She jots down Maxxie's activities in a diary detailing his every action, where and what time. Sketch applies a sash over her breasts to flatten her chest and wears masculine clothing in order to accommodate Maxxie's sexuality. Sketch's mother, Sheila, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and is cared for by her daughter, calls for Sketch via a digital baby monitor in her room. Fully dressed, Sketch takes her camera and photographs Maxxie as he rides out. Maxxie notices the flash and briefly pauses, but does not discover the source. Sketch lifts her mother onto the toilet. Sheila notices a new perfume which Sketch claims Maxxie bought for her, having told her mother that Maxxie was already her boyfriend, and now promises to introduce him to her. She then helps wipe her mother.

At Roundview College, the drama teacher Bruce Gelcart is directing a rehearsal of his own school play, Osama; The Musical, which is based on the events of 9/11 where a love story between two American bankers is inserted into the story, played by none other than Maxxie and his friend Michelle who are the leads. Sketch is responsible for the lighting design and watches the play from above, wishing to have Michelle's part so that she could kiss Maxxie which concludes the play. Mr. Gelcart stops the play, burning his own script because they "made it shit!" and criticises Maxxie and Michelle for not having enough passion before abruptly kissing Michelle on the lips. As everyone proceeds from Michelle's verse, Sketch accidentally drops a stage light as Maxxie and Michelle start kissing, narrowly missing them. Everybody looks at her, and she claims it slipped before apologizing.

In the boys locker room, Maxxie finds a plastic, chocolate-filled Oscar inside his locker, one of many left for him this week. Anwar speculates that Maxxie has gained a stalker though Sid just dismisses it as just part of Anwar's sex-crazed mind. Anwar claims his sisters have become suspicious of his hand's friction burns and their lack of hand cream, due to his constant masturbating. Maxxie agrees to help him find a girlfriend tonight. As the three boys leave the room, Sketch steps out of the locker she was hiding in to spy on Maxxie, and looks at a bin with the multiple plastic Oscars she planted in his locker, disappointed that he doesn't like them. She then finds a flyer on the floor about a dress-up party at Mr. Gelcart's house.

The gang attend the party. On the way there, Anwar still believes Maxxie has a stalker while Chris arrives dressed as Daisy Werthan from the film Driving Miss Daisy, his favorite film (though it's the only one he's seen, save for pornographic films) with Posh Kenneth who is dressed as Hoke. As they enter the house, Sketch follows, disguised as a muzzled Hannibal Lector. Michelle, who's dressed as Princess Leia from Star Wars, sees Tony, who's dressed as Luke. Michelle is then displeased to see Abigail, also dressed as Leia and with Tony as her date. Disgusted to see that Tony has dressed as Luke for Abigail, Michelle walks off. Unmasked, Sketch approaches Mr. Gelcart who's writing his script. She pleads with him to give her Michelle's part but he brushes her off since he doesn't think she's attractive enough for the part. Maxxie and Anwar raid Mr. Gelcart's room and finds a whole stash of condoms which Anwar steals from. When asked about his plan to win over girls, Anwar talks about an "ancient dating strategy for getting laid', which involves marking oneself a number out of 10 and finding a girl two points below that. Agreeing that Anwar is a 7, they go look for a 5 among the party-goers. Michelle becomes jealous at Abigail who's dancing with Tony, so Michelle decides to dance with Mr. Gelcart (who's been making passes at her) in order to get Tony jealous, but is quickly irritated by Mr. Gelcart's touching. In their search, Maxxie sees Sketch and selects her as Anwar's 5. Sketch is both shocked and excited when Maxxie approaches her and asks her if she's single, but is put off when he suggests that she dance with the enthusiastic Anwar. Maxxie and Anwar then look for some 4s. An upset Sketch enters Mr. Gelcart's garage, sits beneath a bench and helps herself to one of his beers. Michelle then enters with Tony and expresses her anger at Tony for bringing Abigail to the party but he says Abigail claims he's her boyfriend. Hoping that Tony's still himself, Michelle ask Tony what he said to her on the phone before his accident, though he cannot remember. Michelle then tries to remind him by initiating sex but he fails to get an erection and leaves. Sketch then reveals herself and bonds with Michelle about how men have broken their hearts before handing her a beer.

Following the party, Sketch breaks into Maxxie's flat by picking the lock with her hair clip. She accidentally alerts his dog by stepping on a squeaky toy, who only licks her hand before returning to the television. Maxxie's father then calls out and Sketch quickly hides herself in Maxxie's room. She gleefully touches his belongings and sniffs his clothing before lying on his bed and masturbating. She then stops and hides underneath it when Maxxie arrives, stripping himself naked and going to bed without any notice to Sketch. The next morning, Sketch watches Maxxie get ready and predicts his every action, having learnt his routine. She then notices one of her hair clips on Maxxie's carpet, having dropped it, which Maxxie then finds.

Returning home, Sketch finds her mother having fallen on the floor and covered in her own urine. Sketch helps Sheila and gives her medication, but only one pill since they're emetics. Sketch then tells her mother that Mr. Gelcart touched her inappropriately at the party so Sheila encourages her daughter to inform the school, making her describe in detail what she claimed to have happened to Doug. Mr. Gelcart is then effectively fired and taken away by the police while Sketch's lie reaches the whole campus. Michelle approaches Sketch and sympathizes with her about Mr. Gelcart's inappropriate behavior with students, welcoming Sketch to sit with her and Tony, Chris and Anwar. Tony then leaves and Michelle believes he's trying to avoid her. Anwar is still eager to hit it off with Sketch and crudely bites Chris' hotdog. Michelle and Sketch then sit somewhere else. As Jal notices that Michelle's made a new friend, Maxxie notices Sketch wearing the same hair clip he found in his room along with the camera used to take pictures of him. Maxxie then arrives at Sketch's flat where he speaks to her mother through the speaker. Maxxie learns about Sketch's obsession with him while Sheila learns about her daughter's deception. Later on, Sketch is angry at her mother for answering the door while Sheila scolds her daughter for lying. Sheila then deduces that Sketch also lied about Mr. Gelcart and attempts to call the school. Sketch stops her and Sheila claims she didn't bring her up to be a liar but Sketch responds by claiming she didn't bring her up at all. In a moment of grace, Sheila tells Sketch that she'll support her in any trouble that she's in but won't allow her to ruin an innocent man's life. A desperate Sketch then takes the phone away and ties her mother to her bed with a bandage. Before leaving, Sketch takes some of her pills.

The school musical then goes ahead with Doug in charge of it. Maxxie notices Sketch looking at him in his flat from hers, so he draws his curtains.

It's opening day for Osama: The Musical, with Sid and Chris in the audience who are joined by Tony and Abigail. Backstage, Michelle lets Sketch help her with her costume. Michelle is nervous, so Sketch gives her some of her mother's pills, advising a dosage beyond what the doctor recommended while claiming they'll chill her out. Michelle then becomes sick and starts vomiting. As Doug resolves to cancel the play, Sketch elects herself to take Michelle's place, having learnt the lines. The play begins, helped by Chris clapping up the audience. Everyone is shocked to see Sketch in Michelle place, including Mr. Gelcart who's been allowed to sit with the audience. Tony knows something is wrong and finds Michelle in the toilets. He confirms to her that he did indeed tell her he loves her the day of the accident. She asks if he actually remembered it, but he says it doesn't matter. The two then agree to sit together in silence. Backstage, Maxxie confronts Sketch, worried about Michelle. Sketch assures him that she only made Michelle vomit. An enraged Maxxie asks who she is and Sketch asks him if he believes in magic, which she believes will allow the possibility of Maxxie loving her. Maxxie calls her crazy but Sketch holds his hand to her heart, making him feel how fast her heart is beating because they will eventually kiss in a few minutes, which she believes will change everything, and admits to Maxxie that she loves him.

The final scene starts. Maxxie and Sketch do their parts as planned and she gets her kiss with the man of her dreams. However, Maxxie then whispers to Sketch, informing her that the kiss meant nothing to him and she disgusts him. She proceeds to slap him on stage, and Maxxie yells at her and walks off, telling her to keep out of his life. The plays abruptly ends with Sketch sobbing on stage. The audience remains confused except for Chris who stands up in applause, remarking "Now that's an ending!".

Sketch goes home, gets rid of all her male clothing and tears off the photographs of Maxxie from her wall. She then removes her stash and puts on one of her mother's dresses. She unties Sheila who tells her that she looks beautiful, and that she's always been beautiful to her. Sketch then goes to Anwar's house and gets his attention by throwing stones at his window (accidentally hitting him with one). Anwar is enticed by the sight of Sketch's cleavage and Sketch asks if she could come inside. Despite his obvious attraction, Anwar was told about what happened from Maxxie, though Sketch claims she doesn't fancy Maxxie but actually fancied Anwar all along, and wants to have sex with him which he is more than happy do. As Anwar recites Hugh Grant's filmography on top of Sketch, she looks over and concentrates on a photograph of Maxxie and Anwar together, revealing that her obsession is not yet resolved.

The episode ends with Sketch facing the screen as Anwar reaches orgasm.

Music Featured in "Sketch"
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 2.

Aqualung – Good Times Gonna Come

Turnerjoy - E.M.C. (Original)

LCD Soundsystem – North American Scum

Robert Palmer – Addicted To Love

Laura Cantrell – Bees

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Spread Your Love

The Kills – Fuck The People

Oneida – All Arounder

Julian Ronnie – Osama The Musical

Today

Boogie Woogie Bagel Boy

Then Came The Day

Cat Power – Hate

Unseen Skins: "Michelle's Looking for a Date"
This video features Michelle making a video for a dating website on behalf of her mother. Some of the traits she list this man must not have are hairy bums, commenting on breasts, weird gnome fetishes or skin tight green jeans. Michelle also states numerous times there must be no ogling of schoolgirls.