Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

So, are we only going to see the MacGuires in the Monday and Tuesday episodes?Once more, it seems like the storyline's building to something and then...nothing.And in yet another example of the fractured cast, Denny only seems to be in episodes with Chris and Casey at the moment, being nowhere to be seen in her family's storyline and not even mentioning it today.I really do want her to soften towards Chris but he really isn't handling it right and it seems to be for the wrong reason:I wanted him to be nervous because he likes her, not because he's obsessing over Casey.And sadly, from the way Denny was distracted by a shirtless Casey, it seems like he's not wide of the mark, although whether Casey feels the same I don't know, he barely seemed to be aware of Denny's presence here.As I said before, it felt like Spencer had been neglected since he broke up with Sasha but suddenly he seems revitalised, gaining a great sense of deadpan humour when he's seemed a bit staid in the past.I loved the exchange between him and John.("Didn't the guy in Point Break die?"/"I've never seen it"/"Not the point!")Hmm, is John plugging his former stepson's movie career?

Bianca annoyed me massively again.Her snide remarks about Irene all through the episode were completely below the belt and I'm surprised Leah was so quick to indulge her when Irene's her friend. Even the apology at the end feels a bit hollow.Astonishingly, Heath seems to be a better person without her.Not a happier person by any means but gentler and calmer.

The promos for this storyline had me shifting my sympathies between Alf and Maddy.Having seen it in context...Hmm.It does feel a bit as though their chat and coming to an understanding a couple of weeks ago has just been forgotten, with Alf back to trying to lock Maddy in a tower with a chastity belt on and Josh's out of nowhere "I promised Mr Stewart not in his house" when he didn't promise anything of the sort when we saw him and Alf supposedly accepted Maddy's right to make her own decisions, but it mostly came across as him wanting her to focus on her schoolwork, which is fair enough and Maddy should really listen to him and do what she's supposed to rather than fobbing it off with a vague "I'll get around to it."But after all this time, Alf still has no idea how to parent her and keeps on making the same mistakes:Coming down hard on her and shouting the odds doesn't work, it just brings out her rebellious streak and makes her less likely to do what he says.The only one I really sympathised with was Josh, who seemed to get caught in the crossfire and had both of them using him as a weapon against the other.But then he agreed to wag school with Maddy at the end so I guess he's only got himself to blame for whatever happens as a result.

[H&Alover]

Thank you for whoever put my first comments on my last post in spoiler mode, it won't let me do it!

I was amazed at Emmerson not even considering Oscar was telling the truth, would he really want to accuse and charge an innocent man? Oscar suggested Emmerson ask Evie, but would she admit the truth? Zac wanting to take the fall is all very commendable and he's thinking of Oscar's future, but does he really expect him to keep his mouth shut for ever more, Oscar has way too much of conscience to do that. Not sure if it was brave/foolish (or both) for Zac to turn up at school, news soon got around didn't it. He finally did the right thing and decided to take time off until what ever is going to happen happens.

Denny does seem to be drifting in and out and not getting involved in any of it. I think she did mention it briefly to Casey but not since then and it is public knowledge now. If Chris wanted to get her back on side he could be tell her he's there for her if she needs support and not in a romantic way. You can't blame Denny checking Casey out, he is pretty fit, his back seems to have cleared up as he was going surfing. Talking of scars what happened to Tam's cuts she had above her left eyebrow, one day they were there, the next they had gone!!! Spencer is trying his best to give Chris advice, but he doesn't really have that much experience apart from Maddy and Sasha.

I know Evie has a lot on her plate but she was very rude to Sasha when she tried to apologise and just walked off.

Andy only seems bearable when he's with Hannah, then only just. It was obvious that when she told Andy there would be no-one home all day, someone would turn up 'unexpectedly'.

What has brought on Maddy's change of mood? She seemed quite happy with the arrangements before, now she can't wait to jump into bed with Josh at every opportunity. He, Josh, at least wants to respect the boundaries, maybe it wasn't an actual 'promise' he made to Alf but he wants to keep it and not have sex, yes let's be brave and say it, in the house. Alf on the other hand is coming down heavy, but following that letter from SBH which he read to Roo, I imagine she may have had a say (from afar) about Maddy getting her schoolwork up to date before other, um, considerations.

Yes Irene advised Heath to think about what he wanted to do about his and Bianca's marriage, but it was his decision, has Bianca forgotten Heath can think for himself, mainly to her support in the first place. As for her rant to Irene getting involved in their marriage, isn't that what she did herself by asking Irene's advice? I realise Heath wants to try and do things for him and Harley by himself but I hope he lets the rest of the family help out, he's going to need to earn money and as Ricky doesn't appear to be earning she could look after Harley and let Heath get back to the gym, giving himself a much needed break and more able to look after Harley. Well they all could, Casey, who we still haven't seen have a talk with Heath about his news, Brax when he is off shift from Angelo's, Kyle even.

[Homeandawayfan.]

John Palmer is a real asset to the show I think. I enjoy his banter and the will they/wont they with Mazza. Good to see less Braxton scenes, meaning the doom and gloom level should go down.

[Slade]

Found parts of today's episode really funny.

First there was the stuff with Maddie and Alf. Normally I would find her annoying but this time because she was just being so blatantly disobedient for some reason I found it really funny. Alf didn't seem to have a clue how to handle her. So this was all for Roo's benefit. I'm glad she recognizes that she is selfish.

The scene with Denny and Chris in the Diner was even funnier. It was just the way Chris was delivering those cheesy lines from the pick-up book and Spencer was just sitting and couldn't bear to watch. Can't believe Chris thought they would actually work. Boy did he luck out. Denny actually admitted that she liked him and they ended up kissing. So it worked out in the end. I thought she'd had enough. I do think Brax made a couple of very pertinent points though. The first was the Harry met Sally thing. And again about Denny confiding in Casey about Chris. So we'll wait to see if anything happens there.

Thought John was a tad harsh with Marilyn. He should have just told her about the ring. I'm sure she would have been OK with it.

[Red Ranger 1]

Don't we add spoilers the same way we've always done?Just write spoiler in square brackets with a / in the last one?(Trying very hard to write this in a way that doesn't just trigger it:You write

at the start of the bit you want spoilered, then write it again at the end with a / after the [.)

Anyway, I'm very glad that Chris and Denny made up, although the fact they placed such emphasis on Brax thinking she likes Casey(and possibly vice versa, especially with the way he was looking at her in the surf club)it looks like there's going to be trouble at some point, I just hope Chris and Denny are endgame.(And Brax didn't have a clue who Denny was either?Sigh.)I am loving the new Spencer, the way he walked away from the counter in despair when Chris tried his chat-up lines was the funniest bit of the episode.(I'd be remiss not to point out that they've obviously forgotten the whole "I've got bipolar and my medication makes me flat" thing, but that was a silly storyline anyway so I don't mind.)Chris jumping in the water to prove his feelings was both sweet and dumb.I was expecting Denny to refuse to join him so when she threw her bag away and jumped in as well I was grinning.

If Alf's behaviour in the previous episode was meant to be "softly softly catchee monkey", I'd hate to see him use "the stick".I really didn't like Maddy's insolent behaviour here and I'm surprised Josh waited so long to walk away from her.Her eventual reason for acting out was a bit weak and, while I'm glad she wasn't slacking off on assignments for no reason, I'd have preferred it if she had actually just objected to Alf policing her sex life.I did like the later Alf/Maddy scene though and the way she just apologised when he was ready to give her a lecture, hopefully we can stay on an even keel for a bit longer this time.

John and Marilyn going to the caravan park house so Alf had somewhere to talk to then going straight back to his place felt a bit weird.I am enjoying the more serious side on show here:Marilyn clearly realises that John isn't certain about taking off his wedding ring and is trying to support him, while he doesn't want her to know how he's feeling so ends up ushering her out in a way that just leaves her upset.Hopefully they'll talk soon.

And yes, I was completely wrong that no-one but Phoebe would find the cash and instead it has done what I hoped and brought the rest of the household in.The promo showed Brax involved, hopefully Casey gets involved too.There has been talk of the family supporting Heath so it seems conversations are going on, I just wish we'd see them.

[H&Alover]

let's see if this works

Oh whoopee do it worked cheers Red!!!!!!! I was trying to use the special BBcode.

I just loved Brax and Casey ganging up on Chris, and pretending to put the frighteners on him by playing on the Braxton/River Boys bad boy image. So good to see them acting as they used to and as they still are - brothers! Their straight faces while ordering two flat coffees and Chris thinking it was a hidden message was brilliant. Chris' face was a picture and Irene was just standing there in the background looking all bemused. Brax was trying to find out from Case what went on with him and Cheryl, but Case wasn't being drawn. Her saying what she did obviously helped him get his head round the whole thing, after all he does know he was conceived with love, if that doesn't sound too old fashioned, and he seems fine with it now, let's hope it stays that way. Oh talking of Brax did I see signs of grey in his hair!!!

Funny how both Spencer and Casey gave Denny the same advice about actually talking to Chris, I think in another life Casey and Denny would get together, but she does still like Chris otherwise she wouldn't keep going on how annoying he is. I'n guessing Brax's and Denny's paths have never crossed before. His 'chat up' lines were toe curling, no girl would be impressed by those! Great scene on the wharf when he jumped in the water and she followed him.

So all this Maddy playing up was because she was missing Roo why didn't she just say so. Josh was the much more mature out of them and his walking away brought her to her senses and she went and told Alf the truth. When she complained to Josh Alf was treating her like a eight year old, I said (out loud) the same thing Josh did 'Well stop acting like one'.

Poor John and Maz, a big decision for him to take his ring off, then found he'd lost it, not that I think he wants to wear it again, just wanting to have it near him for comfort. Wish he had told Maz though, she would have understood.

Case has found the money, what on earth do they think he has done! Brax, of course, does his big brother thing, which may or may not be a good thing. Plus Phoebe finds out and has a go at Kyle over it.

[Brian]

"everyone has his price" said Mark Hutchinson, the lawyer who always wins. Well, he was proved wrong on both counts. Well done Kyle for sticking with his love for Phoebe and facing him down. I bet Brax and Casey were pleased he did. Wonder what next trick Mark has got up his sleeve? This will bring Kyle and Phoebe even closer together - good, they're the best couple on the show at the moment, with Josh and Maddy a close second.

Strange how the two (half)brothers, who were brought up together, are so different. Andy becoming more obnoxious as the series progresses and Josh becoming more mature and reasonable. Even Alf likes him really. Hope Andy can find another job and continue to support Josh, because nobody else will.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four.

Wow, the show did exactly what I complained it never did:The scene of Brax, Casey and Ricky gathered round to quiz Kyle on what was going on and offer him support was good, old school Home and Away.(No Heath but Home and Away's always had people mysteriously absent when they're not in the episode, so I don't mind as long as he gets involved eventually.)Excellently done! It was slightly off that Phoebe got banished to the shower but I don't really blame Kyle for not telling her, although hanging onto the money was asking for trouble.Did Brax really think he'd sorted Mark with his chat?All that happened was they both stated their position and went their separate ways.Mark comes across as pretty unpleasant and someone who's used to getting his own way.But his latest rant has just brought Kyle and Phoebe closer together, which I'm actually quite pleased about.

I loved Casey's impassive expression when Andy was toadying to him, he obviously didn't buy it for a second.Did Andy give the $5000 back to Brax or has he blown it already?Didn't take much for him to revert to type.Whilst I'm glad Casey has come to terms with things, I hope we see more of him with Josh soon:Their chat last week was a good first step but this needs to be ongoing, not quickly forgotten about.

I also loved John dragging Casey into helping search for the ring, with him being equal parts bemused and insightful.John showed insight as well with his recognition that Marilyn was pleased he took the ring off.Their scenes struck just the right balance, being sweet and light-hearted but also having a serious side.I had a feeling the ring would show up near Gina's bench, given it was the last place we saw John before he realised he'd lost it, but it's significant that it turned up just after John had accepted that he could live with not finding it:Ghost Gina at work again?(Reminiscent of how Hayley losing and finding her wedding ring helped her move on from Noah.)And we got a mention of Don Fisher, something people have been complaining never happens!

[H&Alover]

From what we have seen in the trailer Mark isn't finished with the Braxton's yet so Brax's little 'chat' hasn't/didn't help. Phoebe was probably wrong in having a go at Kyle for not telling her about the money but I reckon it was because he was there and her dad wasn't, she soon sorted him out later. Kyle only did it so as not to hurt her and make her think bad of her dad. Absent father guilt on Mark's part but Phoebe isn't a teenager and his putting pressure on Kyle is only going to make her be more estranged from him.

Andy does want to help Josh by earning to keep the van, but he couldn't have really expected Casey to take him back just like that, Casey gave him a good compromise work at another job for a period with no slacking off or trouble and he'd consider taking him back, not that Andy was willing to accept that.

Casey was insightful about they way Marilyn must have felt when John cancelled the dinner on the flimsy story of having a H&S meeting and was looking for paperwork. I'm glad he told her as soon as he could and as expected Marilyn was fine about it, despite getting in a tizz when she was telling Alf about it. Of course it had to turn up at Gina's bench, kind of a sign really. I liked the idea of John keeping it for Jett when he is older.

[Red Ranger 1]

Casey going back to having blind faith in Brax was frustrating.Otherwise, I found the Braxtons' storyline here to be, on an emotional level if not a plot level, virtually identical to the one in the previous episode:Mark tries to drive a rift between Kyle and Phoebe, the family rally round them, Phoebe doubts Kyle, has a heart-to-heart with Ricky, then tells Mark where to go.We kind of need to move on to stop it getting stale, at the moment Mark seems to be showing Phoebe what he's like rather than what the Braxtons are like and the message needs to sink in.Did he receive any sort of censure for wasting police time?Or did the police think it was worth it to get on the Braxtons' nerves a bit?I should probably give up wondering where Heath was while all this was going on.

John and Marilyn's storyline was amusing if a bit slight, enlivened by Alf's commentary(I loved his "No" when John offered to reveal his favourite way to spend the evening).Josh finally seems to be getting tired of Andy but there needs to be some more progress between Josh and Casey, still.I thought Maddy was being a bit hard on herself:Sure, she was a cow for a couple of days last week but otherwise she's been pretty well-behaved for months.Still, it's worth a bit of exaggeration if this really is a line drawn under it and I liked her interaction with Alf.Oh, and first appearance of Stevenson this season.