tw1057

I like her too, I don't remember liking a new teen character this much. She is not your usual bratty teen, she seems fiercely independent and yet still so vulnerable. Will be interesting to see how she interacts more with the teen group - Raffy, Ryder and Coco.

I don't recall ever hearing she was an addict! I don't actually remember hearing her mentioned at all.

So do we know who his mother was/is?

DocZed64 - some great points. I have no idea why Angelo left with such a whimper, given the amount of information he knew - I'm pretty sure when he followed them to the national park he actually saw the Braxtons there at the marijuana crop - if he was willing to provide a signed statement to the cops there's no reason why they wouldn't have been able to prosecute given the other circumstantial evidence that they had. They just had nothing concrete. He also had the incriminating CCTV video showing Heath admitting to "taking care" of PeeWee which definitely would have obtained a conviction regardless of whether Angelo thought he had to have a warrant to take that tape (he's not a cop anymore - he owned the restaurant so i'm pretty sure that surveillance tape is his property). And of course, the CCTV also showed that Darryl Braxton has a close, if not intimate relationship with the investigating officer - something which would have cast a huge shadow of doubt onto the investigation to date. I wonder if Brax had been pashing another cop on the tape and not Charlie - say, Watson - what would Angelo have done?

I love Brax too and I totally agree with your last sentence! Usually something associated with New Zealanders but I think it's also pretty common in the Northern Territory too........... I love his understatedness - he is always totally in control, even when people think he's not. His family can always rely on him to back them to the hilt, even if they've done the wrong thing - ie, Casey. And it's true what you say - there haven't really been any really "manly men" on the show for a long time! I don't count Jack. Maybe Tony? But he's probably a bit older to appeal to the mid-late 20s demographic!

I really feel that Justin sees Nicole as a short term prospect and a "high school girl" - when him and Aden tonight got back from the cop shop and were arguing, only for Nicole to burst in with pizza................the look on Justin's face said it all. Here they were, arguing about something so profoundly important and Nicole's timing couldn't have been worse. It would be quite easy for someone like Justin, who hasn't had much to do with Nicole, to see her as some sort of ditsy bimbo - he doesn't realise the history her and Aden have been through. I very much got the feeling Justin is making up for lost time and feels horrible for leaving Aden in the care of their father......we can pretty well guess his reaction when he found out that Larry also let Aden be abused...........

Thanks for clarifying Dan............from memory, we only saw the entry hall to Ash's family's house and have seen alot more of Michelle's house.........if they are only a few doors down then it makes sense that the hallways are of a similar style!

Did anyone else think the entry hall to Auntie Michelle's resembled Ash's real house where his real family lived while he was romancing Martha in the Bay?

All I really see in the Sid/Nicole thing is a fatherly concern on Sid's part for Nicole, the girl he picked up from the party when she was desperate to go to the city to see her dad. From that first interaction, he would know she is missing her father desperately and lacks a father figure in her life at the moment. I honestly do not think that he is taking any romantic interest in her at all. I think that would come from Nicole's part. She sees him as reliable, stable, strong - everything that Roman was, and everything she needs in her life at the moment given the events of recent times. Maybe Sid's role in helping Nicole turn her life around makes him realise the important things in his own life - his family - and this becomes the catalyst for the Walkers going back to the city and reuniting with their mother. It could make him recognise the compassionate side to him, which we have already seen glimpses of - when he arranged for Rachel to get Belle out of the hospital, and also with Charlie when he realised the sensitivity of raising the caesar scar in front of Ruby. I really hope they don't turn it into a mutual romantic storyline as we have seen it done many times on the show before.

Did Cameron Welsh indicate that a storyline will ensue regarding Kirsty and her kidney problems??? Can someone refresh my memory on what's wrong with Kirsty's kidneys?

I don't know why they didn't resolve Gardy's whereabouts if they didn't want to keep open the possibility of him returning again at some stage down the track. He seriously could not have gotten far in a river with a gunshot wound to the leg.

Great point about Miles needing more teacher friends. It is definitely an all-consuming kind of job where you do get close to the other teachers/staff. It's convenient that May is replacing the unsighted "Mrs Hartman" on maternity leave, pointing even more to the fact that once Charlie and Angelo sort themselves out, May will be gone from our screens.

I agree with this, but if the writers did ultimately want to re-unite Charlie and Angelo, how else could they have done it? Since Angelo's arrival, Charlie began being cold towards him, then showed genuine concern for him during the whole Tony drama. She was still trying to push her attraction for him away due to what her head was telling her, but what tipped her over the edge was May's appearance in Angelo's life. I really do hope she has another bigger role to play in the show, but if she leaves when and if Angelo and Charlie get back together, it would definitely be a bit of a waste of a character. I missed her first episode - who was she replacing at the school? Is her position there temporary and did it mention how temporary it was?

It was interesting that Nicole's intended humiliation of Trey did not sit well with her in the end, and didn't make her feel better as she thought it would. It shows she is capable of being truly compassionate, and maybe even forgiving. The thing with Trey is that his every thought and action is motivated by his insecurity issues. This all stems from the severe bullying he endured when he was young and overweight. When people reject him, his initial instinct is to lash out, to hurt other people more than they hurt him, in order to make himself feel worthy. Yes, he may regret these actions afterwards but he is motivated by a deeper force, namely the hurt caused by the bullying a long time ago. People underestimate what sort of affect bullying can have on a young person psychologically, and it has proven time and again to motivate their actions long into adulthood. I just hope Trey can get the help he needs, and that someone like Miles can recognize that he could potentially be a risk to himself and those around him..........particularly now that he has begun a "hit list."

I think what Charlie found in Joey was someone who loved her unconditionally with no strings attached. Coming off a failed relationship with Roman where he loved someone else, then Angelo whose betrayal of her professional trust prematurely ended their relationship, Charlie found comfort in someone who actually loved her. Then what did she do - have a one-night stand with Hugo, to try to prove to herself that she was not gay, and hurt Joey in the process. When her relationships to date with men failed, Joey's attraction to Charlie made her question whether the reason for her failed relationships was something deeper......it made her question her sexuality. And she DID care deeply for Joey. Whether she was sexually attracted to her is another question. I had a friend who constantly found herself in destructive relationships with men, causing severe self-esteem and self-loathing issues. Then a girl showed interest in her, was clear in her ability to love her unconditionally, and my friend, who had never been in or contemplated a same sex relationship, found herself falling in love. They have now been together in a happy, stable relationship for around 4 years. I think Charlie, like most of us, just wants to be loved, and this is what Joey offered her. This is also why she is unsure about committing to a relationship with Angelo - he let her down in the past and she can't be sure that he won't do that again. The sexual attraction between them has never been in doubt.

Charlie is SOO confused and insecure in her personal life - such a contrast with her professional life where she very much personifies professionalism with her no-nonsense attitude and confident decision-making. I guess the writers are writing her very much in character but it's frustrating as a viewer to see her making the same mistakes, over and over again, despite her recognition of these faults. I must say it ought to be a bit of deja-vu for Charlie, when she was talking to Angelo about not wanting to be JUDGED by being with him, not wanting to be in the spotlight and having people talking about them behind her back...........this is EXACTLY what happened with Joey! Joey was all for the relationship to be out in the open, but Charlie was desperate to keep it under wraps, for fear of what it would mean for her professional life and for fear of judgement by others. Charlie went through the SAME angst and eventually decided that her "love" for Joey meant more to her than what others think.......but in the end it was too late. Any bets that Charlie, completely in character, will come to the same conclusion with Angelo.........that her "love" for him should take precedence over what others think of her/them. Martha's reaction would be interesting!

I'm surprised there isn't a topic already about May. So.......what do we think? Does she have ulterior motives to being in the Bay and hooking up with Angelo almost immediately? Do we know anything about her background? Or has she just been thrown into the mix to make Charlie jealous? Personally, I find the character annoying.......whether this is because the actor is over-acting, or whether it's because the character is MEANT to be annoying, I'm not sure. There have been moments where May has shown maturity and depth, in particular when Angelo was explaining to her about his pain over Jack's death, and she chose to accept that part of him and move on. If Angelo does break up with her to be with Charlie, what would happen? Would she crack onto the next available male within reach? Would she leave the Bay? Or would her teaching position "conveniently" end, allowing her to leave the Bay anyway???

Nicole is acting like a petulant child, not a responsible adult, so until she steps up and learns to be aware of the needs of others rather than solely her own needs, she will continue to be treated as such. I understand that she wants to move back into her what she considers her home, but the way she said to Aden, "if anyone DESERVES to live there, it's ME, not Belle" - she is acting like it's her god-given right to live in that house when she needs to show people that she is responsible enough to do so on her own.

The difference is that Aden has a job and can pay the rent, and doesn't have responsibility outside of that. Nicole has school to consider, and she DOESN"T have a job. Aden cannot be expected to be slapped with the responsibility of looking after her, even though I'm sure Nicole would protest that she's fine to look after herself. Roman knows where Nicole is at - she is at a stage where she still needs rules to abide by, whether she likes them or not.

I hope they have left Gardy's storyline unresolved for a reason..........that reason being the return of Roman at some stage down the track! I loved his character in the beginning - he was such a breath of fresh air to the Bay with his edgy humour and the way he rubbed people up the wrong way. But in the end, it became clear he had a nasty streak to his character and was acting purely out of self-interest. I guess he served as the catalyst for Roman's exit storyline.

I find Claudia really whiny and it irritates me how she just keeps rocking up to the school to see Geoff, their exchange always goes something like this: Geoff: "What are you doing here?!?!? You shouldn't be here!!!" Claudia: "I had to see you, I really need to talk to you." (said in really whiny voice) Geoff: "Look you better go before Bartlett sees you." Claudia: "See you at the Diner after school then???" Like - WHY DOESN'T SHE JUST WAIT TIL SCHOOL'S FINISHED????? What does she think - that her and Geoff can have a private conversation at the school? Is she completely STUPID?

I don't necessarily think Belle is self-centred, but when you have an addiction it tends to take over all of your thinking and make you do things you would not normally do. She may INADVERTENTLY leave her bag/pills lying around. Then again, I think she is so caught up in making sure she is not caught out that she would most probably have the pills on her at all times. The whole reason she got caught up in this mess was because she was chasing the truth about the development site which has nothing to do with her directly, so you can't really say she is self-centred in that regard. In fact, she sacrificed herself in order to get to the truth - look at her now.

I don't think in this day and age you can be rejected for a job on a trawler due to "bad luck."

I think maybe Irene and Aden are both a bit caught up in other things at the moment to put 2 and 2 together in regards to Belle. Belle needs to realize that her behaviour does not just affect her, it affects the people around her in ways that she might not even realize. When Nicole was saying to her that she doesn't want to see Aden get hurt after what happened with his dad, I thought I saw a flash of guilt in Belle's eyes, like she had a brief inkling of how devastating it would be for Aden to find out. But addiction has a way of overriding those sort of thoughts. That's why I think if Ollie were to find them and eat them, it would be a good way of showing Belle that this is not just something that affects her and her alone. I also want Nicole to tell Aden. Of all the characters, she is the least likely to pussyfoot around tough issues, and she has no problem with saying things that need to be said, whether people want to hear them or not. I think things are definitely going to get a lot worse for Belle before they can start getting better.

I agree that the situation with Tony is completely different to Kim. Tony clearly does still love Rachel, and I apologize for implying otherwise. I guess I am just frustrated to see Rachel like this when I know she is and can be such a strong independent woman who is her own person.....not someone who defines herself by just being a mother and wife. I feel that this aspect of her identity is compromising her sense of logic - being able to excuse as affair because she needs Tony for the baby. An affair in any relationship must have extremely extenuating circumstances to be excused. Anyway, I'm sure there is no affair and that Tony and Rachel will sort things out.