Last night's episode has left me stunned. It really was shocking, powerful & tragic stuff. Even though I knew beforehand that Danielle will probably die, I still can't quite belive it has happened. I still haven't fully got my head around it.
I agree completely. Watching Ronnie over the whole of the episode, and when the final relaisation happened, was so saddening. I shed a few tears too. People have always labelled Ronnie as this 'ice queen' and say they find it hard to empathise with her, especially early on. But to me she's always had this permanent sadness, conveyed through her eyes, whatever she was doing. Then when we found out her whole 'giving up her baby' story and the way Archie treated her, it all just fell in to place for me. I don't blame her for having that kind of cold exterior, and tbh I could always see this vulnerable side to her. I find her story so sad, and find it easy to empathise with her, compared to a lot of other characters on the square. The way it's all ended is even more sad & tragic. In a way, Ronnie's own daughter Danielle's life has mirrored her own in terms of sorrow & tragedy. I can still hear Ronnie's scream now, it was indeed very chilling. Brilliant performances by both Lauren & Samantha. I can't wait to see how all this will affect Ronnie and how she will react to the tragedy.
Archie really is something else. I find the way he was written to be so much more intriguing than your average charicature villian. He was always so calm & collected about everything. The way he went about manipulating people & situations was indeed so very cleverly done. So controlling. I'm not sure how anyone could be so cruel to their own child & grandchild, but Larry Lamb sure derserves a mention for his performance and bringing Archie to life so brilliantly.
I'm glad Peggy stood up for herself before she actually got married. Also her reactions when everything fell in to place for her, when all was revealed was spot on. The way she screamed at everyone to 'get out of 'er pub' was great. I really am looking forward to seeing more reaction from her & how it will all affect her from now on. Plus the Roxy/Archie confrontation should be interesting. That small moment where Ronnie places the locket in Roxy's hand before she leaves, and then Roxy opens her palm to see the locket with the pic, and a small tear rolls down her cheek was perfect. That small scene alone was so very powerful, and you could see how all this had affected Roxy too, and how the sisters still shared a strong bond. Roxy finally realised that Ronnie was always right about their father.
Ditto. Janine, for once, did look utterly shocked by what had happened, as a result of her own actions. Yes it was an accident, but you could see that it had affected her hugely, she actually looked sorry. It will be interesting to see which direction her character goes in, if the aftermath of all this, and the guilt, affects her positively or negatively. Will we see her character go more darker or not? Either way, intriguing stuff should follow.
I really, really wish they hadn't killed Danielle off. There was so much more they could have done with her character, and I don't think it would have been any less interesting, then the repurcussions of her death will be. I keep thinking she will be alive tomorrow, even though I know that will not be the case.
Brilliant episode, thoroughly enjoyed watching it. Perfectly written, directed & performed.