Red Ranger 1

It felt like a case of one step forward two steps back with Eliza, as, having been vaguely social last episode, she reverts to not really engaging with anything.She's obviously got a certain amount of morbid fascination, but I do wonder if there's some deeper psychological reasons why she doesn't seem to be able to find any joy in anything.Roo continued plugging away, although Eliza wearing pyjamas to breakfast was an odd thing to latch onto! I'm glad Alf spoke up for her anyway, and I'm not really sure what Marilyn was hoping to achieve with their chat. One step forward and two steps back between Cash and Remi as well.So, it seems the real issue isn't that Remi was drunk when he extended that olive branch, it's that Remi only did it for Eden's sake and still doesn't trust Cash.Which is...fair enough frankly? I feel like Cash should extend the same courtesy and put up with Remi for Eden's sake, rather than acting as though focusing on their relationship in a bubble is enough.So Levi and Sonny hadn't met before, even though they were apparently both around when Remi and Eden first knew each other? Hmm, yeah, that's fair enough, you wouldn't necessarily meet the brother of a friend of a friend.Sonny comments on Eden and Levi talking again, so presumably when they last knew each other it was mid-rift.

Alf's episode count this week:Two. Having been critical of Alf yesterday, I was pleased with him today.He made an effort with Eliza, even going so far as stepping in when Roo wanted to give up and drag her off home and pointing out they need to get her out of the house.I wasn't keen on Roo apologising to Levi for Eliza yesterday, but she handled things better with Harper today, even if Eliza wasn't exactly co-operative.Eliza stealing the knife isn't a good thing but it's most likely it's down to a curious fascination rather than a sign she actually intends to use it. Marilyn gets stuck in a scene just to be sneering and dismissive towards John. I notice she didn't feel the need to butt in when Tane and Levi said much the same thing. Justin was ultimately proved right but has to learn to back off and let Theo make his own mistakes.Theo might be less inclined to carry on looking for cheap parts if he didn't feel he had something to prove, although he should perhaps see it as a sign to be more cautious.

My feeling is that they wouldn't have made a point of giving Xander last scenes with Mackenzie, Rose and Dana if they thought he was coming back. Well, Eliza's not one for making friends easy, is she? Roo seemed to jump very quickly from telling Eliza she's going to school, to deciding to home school her. I did wonder about them bringing in a school age character when we don't see the school anymore, then it occurred to me that we don't actually need to see them at school: Plenty of UK soaps have school age characters who we never or hardly ever see in school, they just head off to school in their uniforms and then come back. But perhaps that way of thinking hasn't made it across to their Oz counterparts, given they felt the need to come up with an excuse for not showing Eliza in school. Marilyn's obviously struggling with someone who's not immediately run over by her supposed charm but you'd think Alf would have been around the block enough times not to get immediately jittery.Is he seriously expecting Roo to send Eliza back? Incidentally, how long is she meant to be there for, if it's an emergency placement? Seems to be the week for thinking you're being cheated on, with Abigail jumping to conclusions about Mali and Rose.At least it got smoothed over quickly again. (Incidentally, I'm fairly sure Bree's known Rose longer than Mali has. She's certainly been around longer.) I hope Justin isn't too high-handed with Theo over the car part.

Well, I guess that answers the question of who's running Salt at the moment: Levi did promise Mackenzie he'd keep an eye on it.Eden probably should have let Abigail finish before assuming she'd be useless.But hey, at least it seems to have brought this often fractured set of siblings closer. I have to side with Mali over Kirby here, she shouldn't have been sat scribbling her in her notebook when she had work to do, including the phone call that he took the class purely so she could handle. But anyway, it seems Sonny's comments have inspired her. Even though she was being less obviously obnoxious, I was still annoyed at Dana stealing Xander's robot and hoped Rose would call her out on it. Otherwise, just a lot of set-up for Mali to decide to play white knight.

Well, Tane has gone from not saying he loves Harper to outright saying he doesn't. It's hard to say how naive he's being here. Yes, you can get married and fall in love afterwards, but there's no reason to be doing that here. A friendship isn't the worst basis for a relationship, but I think he's kidding himself if he thinks he'd be marrying Harper or even with her if she wasn't pregnant. Despite him trying to put it on Harper here, I think Tane is the one pushing to get married before the baby's born, and it feels like he's doing it to put a symbolic claim on her and the baby as his family. So, as it turns out, Sonny, with a bit of help from Kirby, did push Remi over the line to realise punishing Eden for making a relationship choice he disagrees with doesn't help anyone. And he seemed to make a few points to Kirby about her life as well. My sympathy for Dana got less and less as the episode went on and she behaved more and more like a spoiled brat.I know she's hurt, and I know Xander put her in a difficult position, and I know letting off steam about your ex is a right of passage, but she should have had more self-awareness than to stand there badmouthing him to Rose and expecting her to nod in agreement or be fine with Dana trying to get rid of his stuff (even taking back a present she gave him was unnecessarily petty). She gets points for at least apologising and trying to support Rose.

Well, Harper's continuing to get herself into a tizzy over marrying a man that probably doesn't love her.Would it be better if Tane was honest about it rather than skirting around the issue? Cash probably handled things the right way by agreeing to be best man while also asking Tane a few pointed questions about how he thinks it's going to work out. Elsewhere, even Sonny's clowning won't make Remi thaw towards Cash and Eden.I both do and don't see where he's coming from.Cash has behaved very badly and treated Eden appallingly, and even though he's apologetic now, he's giving very little assurance that it won't happen again.(His complaining that Remi can't see that Eden meals the world to him missed the point by a mile: She did before, and he hurt her despite that, maybe even, perversely, because of it.) On the other hand, what exactly is Remi hoping happens? That Cash breaks Eden's heart all over again and, because he never supported them, he gets the satisfaction of saying "I told you so"? Even if he doesn't forgive Cash, and I'm not entirely sure he should, you'd think he'd support Eden and hope things work out for her. I'm not sure what to make of Theo's decision to order the car part against Justin's advice.I can understand Justin being ultra-cautious about only buying parts for paying customers from people he can definitely trust, but this is meant to be a side project for fun.Yes, it may end up being a waste of money, but maybe that's all part of it.I do think Theo probably should have asked Sonny's opinion before buying, since he seems clued up on that sort of thing.

Alf's episode count this week:Three. I think Google is pretty much universal! Except maybe in China... It struck me during that opening scene that Tane initially suggested a beach wedding last time round until he realised it wasn't what Felicity wanted and switched to a country one. So maybe this is more the sort of wedding he wanted than appears! But yeah, the bells and whistles don't really interest him (although frankly, if someone asked me if I wanted the rings to be "white gold", I'd probably nod politely in a slightly bemused manner as well), and it's perhaps starting to dawn on Harper that they're not really what she's concerned about either and have just been a handy thing to focus on in order to avoid the real issue of whether this is the sort of marriage she wants. Leah admits the photo is Tane and Felicity's wedding cake, but is at least diplomatic enough not to add "and I got impaled with a metal bar while going back to fix it"! I'll say this for Sonny, at least he's honest. I can understand John being concerned (he almost seemed to go into a panic at the sight of Remi freely handing over his credit card!), but Sonny doesn't really need to steal Remi's money since Remi seems happy to spend as much on him as he wants. Anyway, they had some decent catch-ups and I guess we'll see how much trouble he causes. It's not entirely clear just how many of those posters Kirby and Mali have got (that initial envelope Kirby emptied out only seemed to have one copy of each picture?), but at least they're getting to do the advertising campaign they originally wanted.

As I understand it (and I'm not sure I really do understand it), Australian law only allows "no blame" divorces.Anyway, Levi manages to follow up an excruciating phone message with an equally excruciating phone call: We've all had that moment where you're preparing to leave a message only to suddenly find a living human being on the other end! Mali and Abigail were a bit lucky that Kirby was so easy going about them sloping off for afternoon delight. Mali finally reacts to Kirby's protest! Justin and Leah had a few things to say but Theo's committed to this plan.It was quite a sweet moment when Justin silently joined Theo. So, Remi and Kirby have a new friend, who I notice is credited as a regular so I guess he'll be sticking around.People might have to start locking their doors now he's around!

Well, it's good that Leah was honest with Justin and Theo reasonably quickly, after another pointed look from Marilyn.It did feel like they were a bit quick to decide that selling the car was the only option, although I'm not sure that Theo's alternative is any better and he really didn't seem to get the point of Leah's reaction! I liked the scenes between Rose and Dana, which remain eerily reminiscent of the relationship between Jasmine and Felicity. Rose's calm demeanour and wry sense of humour contrast nicely with Dana's blabbermouth tendencies. I'm glad that Levi and Abigail took Eden and Cash's reunion in their stride.To be fair, Levi has been pushing for this so it makes sense he'd be on board, and we got some nice sibling scenes between them.So I guess we now know why the show SORASed Levi and Mackenzie's relationship at the end of last season: So they can pretend Levi and Imogen have been separated for a year when in fact it's only been ten months again!

Of course he wasn't, he was going to jail. Honestly, I'd like to say that was the point where Colby became irredeemable in my eyes, but frankly he was halfway there pretty much from the start. He'd already either killed someone or left him to die (they were always a bit vague on that one), he was a bent cop who'd only joined the force for selfish reasons to misuse their resources (no-one was looking to "rescue" Bella because no crime had been committed except in Colby's head, and the ones that he didn't even know about, in fact Colby was the one that ended up kidnapping her because he thought the law applied to other people), and in the end he killed Ross because he thought sending him to jail wasn't enough. I must admit, I've thought about this topic but the truth is that most of the characters who crossed the line in my eyes either did it right at the start or I never liked them that much to start with!

Dana was better today, to the point she actually had a bit of a point. The wedding was largely irrelevant, the key point was that Harper shouldn't be marrying Tane if she can't be honest with him about what she wants.Once she was honest, he was rolled over quite easily. He does seem to care about her and want her to be happy with this arrangement, although the question of whether that's enough for them to be getting married remains open. Cash pushed way too hard, way too fast in demanding an answer from Eden.Fortunately, despite his faux pas in pushing himself forward as the celebrant for a non-existent wedding, John proved his worth as the show's resident surrogate father figure by giving Eden some good advice.So Cash has backed off and hopefully that's lesson learned. Eliza remains a bit of an enigma.Her defensiveness over Roo asking how she can afford things is kind of undermined by the fact we know she did steal that money from Marilyn. But for all her defences, it's just possible that hug with Roo is genuine and she's appreciating what Roo's offering her. Well, I guess they wouldn't have made such a big deal about Xander leaving if he'd been coming back.Good news for him but a big blow for Rose and Dana and...well, actually, Mackenzie's away at the moment, so I guess we'll have to wait for her reaction.Not that I necessarily want rid of the character but I wouldn't be against Dana leaving to be with her, it'd be a nice end for them.Of course, Dana might not want to leave with things so up in the air with Harper.

Well, it's a new week, so time for Cash and Eden to emerge from their bubble and have to deal with other people's opinions.Tane is supportive but asks some questions that Cash hasn't thought about before.Remi is concerned but prefers to go out and get drunk with Dana (or at least at the same table as her) rather than have a full conversation.It did at least lead to Cash and Eden talking.I wasn't expecting Cash to be quite as forward as he was and it's probably sensible they don't try and immediately jump back to where they were.I'm glad Cash is acknowledging he hurt her, at least.Has he always been like this?It felt as though, despite apparently coming out the other side, he was still acting as though he's not quite in synch with the rest of the human race. He's a cheap date too: I wondered if his "surprise" dinner would just mean Salt but they didn't even make it that far! Harper wimps out of talking to Tane and is quick to back off when she does broach the subject.Dana's intervention really wasn't helpful. It still feels like she's fixating on giving Harper the wedding she wants rather than worrying about whether Harper's going to have the marriage she wants. I loved the reference to Maddy, who is probably the person Roo's treated most like a daughter over the years.Eliza...well, I'm not sure if we're meant to deduce that she started the fire or if she's just become a bit obsessed as the result of it.Despite her seeming withdrawn, there's hopefully someone in there that a bit of Summer Bay magic can reach.

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Tane didn't appear at all: Did I miss a line saying he was out of town? With Irene, Xander. Bree and now apparently Mackenzie all away, and possibly Justin, Theo and Remi too although they'll probably come straight back next week, the town's looking a bit sparse! It still feels like Dana's focusing on the wrong issue, ignoring how fast this is all happening and instead thinking the important thing is to give Harper a big wedding.I dunno, maybe Dana's convinced herself that Harper and Tane will work out in the long-run? Harper did get very defensive with her (what's wrong with talking to Mackenzie?) but seems to have come round to her way of thinking by the end.I did like Dana being the annoying but well-meaning sister. Well, turns out some calm and measured talking from Kirby was the best way to stop Leah's self-destructive publicity bid in its track and even shame Contract Advertising into making an apology: It's a relief that they're not another Stunning Organics! No word on if they're going to take the billboard down though... Mackenzie's still-unseen mother provides another excuse for her to leave town! Is it really going to be down to Levi and possibly Eden to run Salt if Xander doesn't come back? It's been so long since Roo mentioned applying to be a foster parent, not helped by her being absent for half of last year, that I wondered if it would be quietly dropped but nope, seems "the famous caravan park" (as I believe Shannon once put it) is opening its doors for business again!

I can't help feeling Dana is focusing on the symptoms rather than the cause here. Harper probably would like a big wedding, but she'd also probably prefer a basic wedding that she thought Tane really meant, than having a big event while still suspecting he's getting married for the wrong reasons. They should indeed have listened to John, who could see that an ambush wasn't what she needed.I did like John and Marilyn's utter confusing at Dana's announcement about a mood board from a prior engagement, and Dana was quite sweet in the annoying-but-well-meaning-little-sister role. I liked Justin and Theo acting like a pair of nervous schoolboys, trying to flatter Leah while not mentioning what could be major sticking points. They really do work well as a family unit, knowing full well that she's the boss.Of course, they probably should have questioned Leah telling them to support her doing something crazy a bit more.I'm glad that Alf not letting Roo know that he knows got wrapped up and hopefully without any retaliation this time!

I can well understand Remi having misgivings about Cash but lying to Eden and letting her think he just hadn't come back was a step too far. At least he owned up as soon as she challenged him.I liked Cash and Eden before the show did a number on them last year, but I have certain misgivings about how they got back together and I really hope Cash means it about not breaking her heart again.I'm not confident that his rationale seemed to be that she nearly died and didn't so the curse is broken (really, how many times did Felicity come close to death?!), rather than admitting that he shouldn't have let superstition ruin their lives in the first place. I felt it was right that Eden didn't take Cash straight back, but she didn't last to the end of the episode.When Remi returned home and found Eden wasn't there, I wondered if he'd go over to Cash's looking for her: He might have been in luck (or not!) if he did. Despite pushing Remi to give Cash and Eden a chance, it seems John is not feeling so optimistic about Tane and Harper.It's never a good sign when the bride's shedding tears of disappointment rather than joy, and Marilyn declares "It's all about the baby" as if that's somehow a good thing, unshaken in her belief that because they managed to conceive a child during a roll on the office floor, that means they're made for each other. Whilst I'm not having as much of a crisis about it as Justin and Theo did, I'm disappointed that Lyrik's latest comeback hasn't made it out of the gates.It feels like they've been treading water for a year now and we're just facing more of the same.