MACYLIGHTFOOT

I think they need to be careful with Matt not to tie him too much to Sasha. Don't get me wrong, I love them as a couple and it's the first time Sasha's had a boyfriend that didn't completely ruin her character. However, at the moment, we only ever see them together. I know the main character get so many episodes a week or however it works but when they're always together they're always in the same episodes so there's very little room to expand Matt as a character by having him interact with others. His moving in with Leah is a good start because we get the odd scene here and there where he's slightly more vulnerable than when he's with Sasha. As enjoyable as they are as a couple they need to give Matt the odd scene where he's doing something else. Not to be a Negative Nelly but I think it's safe to assume that Demi will be leaving the show in the next year or so, or at least her original contact will be up, so more than likely we're going to end up with Matt still being in the Bay without her and we don't need it to be another Tamara or Natalie where they have no life outside of their relationship.

It's just another case of what happened with Natalie. Brought in to be a Braxton plot point, once that's over they have no idea what to do with the character and they're left floating around aimlessly for a few months and then they leave in some low key way. This baton has been handed to Phoebe now.

She was dating some other guy a few weeks ago. There was pictures of them smooching in a pool somewhere.

Leah said Matt is 17. Although they haven't been specific about other characters ages Sasha had her 16th birthday on screen ages ago, so I think she should be 17 by now too.

They built up a relationship between Sasha and Spencer when they were helping Rosie but it wasn't romantic. It was Dex and Indi that randomly decided they liked each other and pushed for it to happen right then and there. It may well have developed naturally into a romantic relationship but the way they did it was rushed and Sasha, in my opinion, has been barely recognisable as Sasha while she was with Spencer. The brief interactions she's had with Matt have brought back the feisty and opinionated but ultimately big hearted Sasha we used to see.

In my opinion what's happened, so far, between Matt and Sasha has seemed very natural and, without spoiling anything, a lot of it has been much more in character for Sasha than anything we've seen from her during her relationship with Spencer. The only problem I have, from a story telling point of view, is how abruptly they've had her relationship with Spencer hit the rocks. That came out of nowhere, but then their whole relationship was a bit of a non entity as far as I was concerned anyway.

Personally I find Matt more believable as a teen than say, Spencer or Oscar.

She first appeared in late August 2011, so we're not quite there yet but yeah, getting there. I thought we were maybe at the start of her 3rd year, didn't realise we're nearly half way through it

Is it nearly 3 years since Sasha first arrived? I didn't think it was that long. I'm dreading the day the rumours about her departure start.

^ I don't so much mind how he behaves and I'm sure there's an explanation on the way. It's more how Sasha hasn't really called him on it. She had a few opportunities to tell him that the kiss was irrelevant because he was a complete jerk to her and Spencer and she wasn't interested in knowing someone who behaves that way. I suppose that's more of an issue with her though and not with Matt

I liked him up until how he was behaving after he kissed Sasha. Up to that point I saw him as just being a bit of a messer, didn't take things seriously, always looking to have a laugh but never really doing any harm. Blurting out to Spencer that he kissed Sasha was just mean and then his goading of them both during his speech was just a bit too much for me. I know he apologised to Sasha but Spencer was the one he should have been apologising to. I said it in the episode discussion for this week that I wished Sasha had called him out on his behaviour instead of just going to goo when he said she was cool. Even if she likes him that kind of behavior is juvenile and not something I would have thought Sasha would put up with.

I was the same with Matilda Hunter. Never could tell if they were calling her Maddie or Mattie.

Oh, I never knew she was from Tasmania... isn't Lisa Gormely from Tasmania too?

Does she really need a thread when she's most likely just a brief plot point rather than an actual character?

So.... what do we think? Early days but I like her so far. One of the few new characters of recent times that has just slotted in effortlessly to the show (maybe even since Sasha?). In my opinion anyway. She seems a good actress too, often when new people join it takes them a while to get into the groove the other actors have. I suppose the fact she's not supposed to know anyone makes it easier to play, she's not trying to sell a pre-existing relationship but all in all I'm fairly impressed. I know the "long lost relative" story has been done a lot but this one is working for me. She's brought out a more likable side of Oscar and a horrible side of Evie, up until now, but at least it's given the McGuire's a non cult story line to get on with.

I haven't taken to her either. So far she just seems like another Braxton plot device rather than an actual character. I like Kyle and I like getting to see more of him but we've had this already with Natalie/Brax and then Casey/Tamara. It's still early days but I see nothing so far to make me thing she can exist in Summer Bay in her own right and I see nothing in the spoilers that suggests they have anything non Braxton planned for her anytime soon. Plus the fact that I'm not convinced by her acting at all and don't believe the prior relationship she and Kyle apparently have. I see not connection or spark between them. We'll see where it goes but so far, no.... I'm not feeling Phoebe.

Matt Minto.... http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjAyNTY0NjM1N15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjY5OTE2OA@@._V1_SX640_SY720_.jpg Johnny Ruffo....... http://www.mtv.com.au/gsp/mtvnews-johnny-ruffo-020813-640x480.jpg Don't see it myself. Minto looks a bit like the guy that plays Elijah on The Vampire Diaries, if you watch that....

Yeah, the only problem is I think they've left it too late to fix it. They're probably just going to use this as a way to write her out. I know she's at school but she's not the same age group as the other teens so I can't see them wedging her into any of those groups and other than Kyle and Casey there aren't really any other characters the same age as her. Chris maybe??

I wonder will he disappear for a while and then be brought back or did they decide almost as soon as he started his original contract that they'd keep him and then changed whatever story they had for him?

Does it matter. I'm sure Johnny isn't the first and won't be the last cast member on a soap to be cast for reasons other than their acting pedigree.

Well she can't be much more unlikeable. The only time I found Tamara unlikable was when she was with Casey, and that was because she was very badly written. She was barely a character in her own right.

^ Based on the 5 minutes we've seen of her?

This is 100% accurate. Especially for Sasha. The entire time she's been on the show she's been at her best when not actually in a relationship. Granted that's only been about 5 % of the time. I thought I liked the idea of her and Spencer, I actually thought right back when he was first introduced that they were going to go with Spencer and Sasha, but I didn't realise Maddy was his girlfriend at the time. When they started hanging out because of Rosie I thought they were going to go there eventually but they just jumped right in. That's the other problem with H&A, the relationships get no build up, no proper and realistic development. It's the same with Casey/Tamara. She's introduced, 5 minutes later she's the love of his life. I ain't buying it! I know the very nature of a soap means that everything is accelerated and overly dramatic but they could still develop characters so much better.

Glad I'm not the only one who spotted that. There was one scene where he was just standing beside Spencer and Sasha and there was more spark between him and Sasha than between her and Spencer I wouldn't mind them just developing a friendship there. It would be a bit weird for anything more given he was with Indi and Sasha with Spencer. I think more than anything Sasha needs a friend who is just a friend. I loved her relationship with Dex and would love to see that recreated with someone else. I think Chris would be ideal for that. I never thought about it like that, but yes, it would be great to see them develop a 'sibling' bond, especially since they are now living together. Plus Chris is a very humorous character just as Dex was so the relationship would have a similar vibe. (I just loved Dex and Sasha's scenes together.) Sasha is quite a strong character and she needs a character who is equally well defined to bounce off. Dex's character was set in stone from the start, we always knew exactly who he was. Spencer is far too wishy washy. It's like they have no real idea of what he's there for or who he actually is. He is bent and shaped to fit whatever story they want to use him for. There's no spark there at all. Chris, and I know he's still being developed, seems a lot better defined as a character. I think he and Sasha would be entertaining to watch together as they'd probably clash on almost everything but in an entertaining way.

I agree it probably wouldn't have happened if she hadn't lost her memory but I kind of wish they'd just allowed Tamara to get to know the real Kyle without any of the complications of her forgetting Casey and everything else too. I kind of hope that's where they go with them now, let them form a proper relationship based on them both being their real selves and see where it goes from there.