2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Marilyn definitely made the wrong call, in my opinion, by bringing Jodi to town without telling anyone.It more or less worked out in the end but it was a big shock that Ty didn't need.I can't fault John here: Both he and Raffy did a good job of supporting Ty.And he's right that Marilyn made a big decision that affected everyone without any sort of consultation.

Maggie's not-so-happy homecoming continues.Ziggy detailing the precautions to Brody and Coco was done rather lightly, but Maggie was soon back not wanting to be around anyone or even eat.If she carries on taking it to that extreme, she really is going to make herself ill.

I found Alf's attitude towards Ryder and Coco rather frustrating:Not necessarily because of this particular storyline but because it's a symptom of a big problem with the show, which seems to have regressed considerably in recent years.It's in character for him but it seems to be feeding into a wider view that every parental character on the show is against the idea of teenagers having sex, even the ones that have left school and are attending uni.Even Alf has been a bit lax on that in the past, but now you've got him, Irene, Leah (when she had children and a house), John/Marilyn and Ben all acting like puritans who want to slap chastity belts on people, except when they don't and happily let Brody stay over with Ziggy or Hunter move into Olivia's room only to turn around and start micromanaging the sex life of the next teenager that comes along.It's both repetitive and inconsistent and it'd be nice to have a more mature and realistic attitude at some point.As it stands, Ryder and Coco will probably end up hooking up in a tent or something.

Meanwhile, we have Dean's storyline, which really doesn't lend itself to deep analysis.The show seems to have given up on giving anyone who's not in line to be a regular a surname over the last year or so, leaving us with Brett Plot-Device asking Dean to do naughty stuff and Dean looking angsty about it.

[D.B]

Well, for starters, I'm enjoying the scenes with Tori and Leah, it's good that Leah's the one to be advising her on this because Leah would know exactly what Tori is going through being a single mum, with failing relationships. So it's nice to see despite several doubts,  Tori's going to got through with having a baby.  I'm actually surprise that VJ's got a new girlfriend, but it's nice.  

I'm glad that Maggie's back home, though it appears she is still having trouble adapting back to her normal life. I'm happy that the show is going in this direction, becuase they're still showing that even though the cancer is gone, it can't be forgotten. It's not being swept under the rug and I like that. 

I'm conflicted with what's happening with Ty. I do sympathise with Jodi, and I'm all for giving people second chances if they're willing to change, but in the end, it's not her choice or Marilyn's. It's Ty's. If he doesn't want to see her, and it's perfectly understandable as to why, then Marilyn should ahve respected his choice rather than going behind everyone's back, regardless whether she had good intentions.  I'm really much on John's side here, though I cringed deeply during his rapping scene. Raffy continues to be the most supportive. 

Well it looks like Dean has gotten himself into really big trouble here, but still, he only has himself to blame. I'm glad that WIllow apologised to him though, and I like the talk she had with Brody, both former addicts, that makes a good scene.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, Colby came to Dean's rescue in the end.I rolled my eyes a bit about the reference to Robbo trying to get his charges dropped, and now with Colby's tribunal, despite him pointing out that he has actually done everything he's been accused of, it's started to feel a bit "With one bound they were free." But anyway, Dean's seemingly out from under Brett's thumb and does get points for his handling of the situation.It was hard to take his bleating about the River Boy Code seriously though: The Braxtons were perfectly happy to do stuff like this whenever it suited them.And is that the second time in as many weeks that Murray's made a successful collar?What have they been feeding him?

Maggie seems to take a step forward as she realises she's been cutting herself out of her own family life.Ben handled the situation well once again: There was no pressure and, after initially being evasive, he answered her question in a respectful manner.Meanwhile, Alf continues to do his best to c*ck block Ryder and Coco, but in the end they came to the decision that they're not ready all on their own.Their awkward attempts to "seal the deal" were excruciatinly embarassing.

[H&Alover]

Wow Marilyn just about got away with that.   I'm sure her plan was to have been for her to talk to Ty and tell him she had met his mum and got her side of events, there are always two sides, and she believed she deserved to be heard. Next on her agenda would have been to introduce them properly. Only  due to another soap coincidence Ty happens to bump into her on the beach scuppering the whole thing.  Lucky for Marilyn Raffy was able to give her and John the heads up. Quite understandably Ty thought John was in on it, given his behaviour the day before,  but I guess in the scenes we didn't see Marilyn gave him the full explanation.  She may have been reckless by going behind Ty's back but she does have a good instinct for people and if she had any doubt she wouldn't have brought Jodi to the bay. Ty doesn't owe Jodi anything but I feel it would have been wrong for him not to hear her out and then always be wondering.  Another snippet of info we heard was his grandparents were well off so obviously could have afforded fancy lawyers to keep Jodi away. What  exactly did they tell him about her, we've seen this kind of situation enough times to know it never pays to bad mouth a parent.  We don't know how old she was 16 years ago and they - her in-laws - weren't interested in helping her so it appears she didn't have a choice.  She didn't abandoned him on the street, she left him with people who knew would love and look after him for what she thought would be a short time.   For someone who had just had a extreme shock he handled it very maturely and now wants to have time alone to think it all over which Marilyn  and John should allow him to do. Great how Raffy was so supportive.  If he meets up with his mum again I reckon there will be the inevitable question  'is Raffy your girlfriend?'  I watched in hysteria and horror in equal measures at John's 'dancing'.

I think there faults on both sides with Maggie's home coming, them being too careful about her getting germs, change your outdoor clothes, wash your hands etc  and her feeling odd about being touched.  She had spent weeks in near sterile surroundings. May be wrong but I think it was her over hearing about Ziggy and Brody's escapade that made her come back to the Maggie we know, a fighter.  Btw, been no mention of Diana since the op, no phone calls, no emails nothing!   Good to see her out and about, but yes far too soon to be visiting Salt. Completely off piste but I couldn't help noticing her wrap was the same design as Ben's beach towel! 

I think Coco was right the universe was trying to tell her and Ryder time wasn't right for them to be together.  Great and wise decision by them both, you could see that neither of them were really up for it but both too shy to say so. All that planning which kept coming to nought, Alf may be one of the oldies, but he's not stupid, though Roo needed to be told.  Ben & Maggie were blissfully unaware anything was (or as it turned out not) going on.  Btw Coco get your top back on quick!

Both Dean & Willow are both very complex characters, one minute you're hating them for what they are doing, then the next you're liking  them again for doing, or trying to, the right thing. Yes the robbing of Salt would have out an end to Dean's problem with Brett but he was so reluctant offering to work for him longer. Most of the bay may not have been welcoming but he felt settled there and looked on Brody and Ziggy as friends of a kind. Besides never a good idea to do bad things on your own doorstep.  Combination of Colby being a (ex)cop and knowing Dean all these years that he was able to get the truth out of him and cobbled together as it was was a good plan. Willow, partly through guilt, did her bit by lifting the spare keys from the Morgan house. Then of course it has to go pear shaped as Ziggy had decided her and Brody needed some - cough - alone time.  Thinking on his feet time for Dean by hustling Ziggy and Brody into the storeroom and telling them to stay put.  Guessing they'll be telling the police they happened to hear Brett & his pals coming up the stairs and ducked  in there just in time.  What was that I heard the next day someone else in the gang had got the blame so Dean was off the hook?  I thought I heard Colby say Ebony/Lisa had confessed to everything so Robbo was totally off the hook.  Colby wasn't impressed to hear about Willow hooking up with Dean to get herself over Justin especially when he saw how much Dean loved Willow even knowing she was in love with Justin.  Hopefully they will be able to move on.  Only an addict - no such thing D.B as a former addict  - can truly understand what another is going through,  Willow is early days, but well done Brody 12 months clean.  He went through the whole not being trusted thing at first, comes with the territory.

[CaptainHulk]

Salt seems to be a popular target to get robbed!

2016 (Under the Angelo's banner), when Isla did that with some of the worst acted extras known to man, and this year!

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Ah, now I understand some of the comments about Leah.I must admit I'm in several different minds about this one, maybe because I'm not sure what the exact situation is.If Christina had a relationship with Hunter and it came out, would she lose her job? If so, it seems a bit selfish for Hunter to carry on pushing when she's done the sensible thing and backed off. Leah did seem to make some snap judgements, and I had to scoff at her calling Hunter "all or nothing" and claiming he'd be hurt by a "casual fling" when it's not that long ago he was hurting Jennifer by using her for a casual fling.And reading the riot act was never going to go down well with Hunter, so from that point of view I kind of agree with Alf that Leah should have stayed out of it, but without knowing how serious the situation is it's hard to know if he should be allowed to make his own mistakes or not.At the very least, as Leah said, he's risking his placement by threatening Christina's impartiality.I'm also unsure about Christina's motivation: Did she set this whole thing up as an excuse to spend time with Hunter, or did she not start looking at him like that until they started working closely together?

So, the charges against Robbo, even the ones he actually did, have been dropped, and Colby gets lets off the hook for something that he also actually did because he made an impassioned speech about being a cop. Storyline over, I guess.The deputy commissioner grilling Colby popped up a couple of years ago as the detective questioned Heath about Gunno's disappearance:A potentially heady promotion, but the characters have different names, so I guess she must have a sister.Jasmine learns it's hard to get Robbo to open up, while poor Mason has been reduced to her wingman.

The scene between Irene and Olivia on the wharf should have been emotional but somehow it didn't work.We're not quite in Raffy territory but the show's never really convinced me there's a good enough reason for Olivia to be living with Irene in the Bay instead of with her family.(When did we last get a mention of poor Uncle James, the man who actually raised her?)And I'm not comfortable with Irene calling Olivia a daughter when twenty years ago Olivia's mother was like a daughter to her and it should be more of a grandparent relationship.Frankly, the main thing this attempt at a second generation foster child has shown is that they need to do for Irene what they've done for Alf and make her two generations removed from the teens instead of acting like she's still young enough to be a mother figure to them.Especially one that's meant to be an old character who shouldn't even be a teenager anymore.

[CaptainHulk]

That Christina workout scenewith her making those noises, seemed questionable....

You know that couple seconds of darkness when you switch the telly on but can hear the audio? Folk wouldn't have know WHAT to think hearing those...

(Yes, I have a dirty mind at times and have been drinking, Just the one, Officer! )

 

[H&Alover]

13 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

That Christina workout scenewith her making those noises, seemed questionable....

You know that couple seconds of darkness when you switch the telly on but can hear the audio? Folk wouldn't have know WHAT to think hearing those...

(Yes, I have a dirty mind at times and have been drinking, Just the one, Officer! )

 

Ooh err missus!!!  Large one was it sir, drink that is, you're not the only one.

Christina most definitely would lose her job and wouldn't  be able to teach any more, she is Hunter's lecturer so as Leah has said in a position of power, never mind that Hunter is 18. Leah may have come on strong, but Hunter didn't appear to be taking that seriously of how his and Christina's  actions could affect them both.  Btw the beach always seems remarkably empty when they are having their - um - 'training' sessions, except of course for this last time when Mason came across them and teased Hunter about it.  They did come across to me at least a bit flirty from the start.  Hunter, already said, is 18 so not really Leah's responsibility and as he rather cruelly pointed out not her son, even step son.  It doesn't though stop Leah caring about him and watching out for him. Actually Christiana got off lightly with that tongue lashing from Leah, if  Charlotte  had still been around she likely could end up dead!

Re Hunter is he going to be the last to know Olivia is leaving?  It seems rather shabby treatment after all they went through together, each helping turn their lives around, abortion etc. I know they have both moved on but they are still close.

Olivia decided she wanted to live with Irene, initially to get away from that guy abusing her, so no kidnapping involved.  It's going to be  a wrench from a small town to a big city on her own so of course she's scared, but as Irene said if she doesn't give it a go she'll never know if she could have made it.

Did I miss when Jasmine took psychology courses for her to decide she is qualified to help Robbo?   He doesn't open up easily, guess that is part and parcel of being an undercover cop, you have to keep a lid on  your emotions. Though he does need an outlet, he was certainly taking it out on that poor punch bag! Tori told her enough about him without revealing anything personal.  I thought it was just the murder charge against Robbo that had been dropped which  he was on bail for? The ones he committed as Beckett Reid were dismissed as he was acting in the line of duty.  I guess Ebony/Lisa did confess everything including planting the phial in Colby/Robbo/Dean's flat.

Colby has made some dodgy decisions, not the first YC cop to have done that, but he was a good cop and I thought he made a very strong speech why he should stay a  cop. The 'interrogation' didn't answer the question of how he managed to become a cop with those tats, because as I have said before he would have had to have a medical when he joined up, how did he explain them away.  I liked how he defended his & Dean's friendship saying it went back way before he and Dean were River Boys.  We saw when Colby nicked Dean he didn't show him any favours, the rest of the River Boys he didn't know (or they him) so wouldn't have any reason to go lightly with them. Anyways he's over the moon to be back as a cop, though he did sheepishly have to admit he'd need a new badge as his other one got - um - burnt. Did we know his dad had been a cop? So we've got one happy cop and one not so happy ex cop, is Dean still going to be dossing down in the flat?

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Five! Justin didn't appear, although we were told where he was.

Farewell to Olivia then.I'm still not entirely sure why, other than contract reasons, the show brought her back at the start of the season so she could hang around for six months not really doing anything and then leave for the same reason, but at least she got a going away party out of it.Objectively, I get that there needed to be a farewell with Hunter and it wasn't too bad, even if we did get a few mawkish "I couldn't have done it without you"s.Having spent the last three years worried they were being set up for a sunset ending, I'm glad that she gets to do something more worthwhile with her life than marry him (although I'll probably be slightly nervous until he leaves that someone's got an off screen reunion planned...).Nice that Mason got a last moment with her, but Ziggy was a very notable absentee.Episode counts, I guess.

I liked the byplay between Alf and John as usual ("And you'd be the complete flaming idiot, I suppose?").Robbo seems to have taken Jasmine's advice to heart with his attempt to chat with Alf, who he has always found it surprisingly easy to open up to.Good that Robbo and Jasmine finally got to chat about their rather unfortunate first meeting: Robbo did see Jasmine that night so it'd be unlikely for him not to know it was her, as has been speculated elsewhere.And Roo's off again?! It feels like she's only been back about a month! Does Georgie Parker get about 36 weeks holiday a year or something?

Roo didn't seem to think Hunter and Christina having a relationship was that big a deal, and she worked at the uni so I guess she'd know, so it probably isn't.There is, of course, always the danger of it affecting things at uni though, given that her opinion carries weight with his future.I did have to scratch my head at Roo claiming Hunter would make the right decision: When has Hunter ever done that? (He's at least 19, by the way, and probably not far off 20 given that he turned 18 in late 2016.)Still, they've definitely crossed that line now!

[CaptainHulk]

The Alf/Palmer exchange made me laugh.