Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Slade]

When Casey finds out Andy's drug dealing he'll have to fire him from the gym, no way can anyone who works in a gym be associated with drugs of any type.

I wouldn't count on it, given how Casey was fighting Andy's corner and that fact he stole a lot of money from the gym to help pay off his drug debts. If I'm honest I didn't really like the Andy stuff. It felt like Casey was trying too hard. I understand that because of Josh he was trying to help him before this was too much. Even Casey's look of concern when he realised that Andy was still in Hannah's bad books was a bit much for me. I preferred the way Brax was with Andy at the beginning of Monday's episode. Not sure I really like the writers trying to make Andy out to be a hero like this in the hope that certain people will forgive him for selfishly running off with the money. I would prefer it if he built things up slowly.

Hannah's been a little bit better this week so far. I was fully expecting her to have a go at Zac when he told her he knew Oscar had been overdoing the gym stuff but she didn't and simply wanted to him to help her find Oscar but I still haven't forgotten the way she treated Zac before. Just going back to my previous post about her not being likeable, even watching her being polite to Casey and OK with Zac, she just doesn't seem nice.

Maddie sees Josh and Evelyn kissing and what does she do, immediately seeks attention off Spencer. She seemed to be doing the subconscious flirting thing with him again that she did a while back when she first starting dating Josh. I did have a certain level of sympathy for Spencer before but if he falls back into the same trap like he appears to he's only got himself to blame, given that he warned Oscar to back off Maddie when she preselected him for her revenge plan re Evelyn.

Not particularly enjoying these lovey dovey scenes with Casey and Denny although I do quite like Josh and Evelyn. I think I preferred it though when Casey and Josh were bonding over their time at Mangrove River when they were both discriminated against because of their older brothers.

The stuff with Brax and Nate was really funny. I liked the way they both said "No way" to their respective OHs when asked to have dinner with the other and then when Brax took five minutes out of his busy schedule they were all just sitting their in awkward silence. Brax was absolutely right to call Ricky out re her double standards about Kyle. I accept that Nate was trying to help Oscar but it is obvious now he would do anything to avoid spending any time alone with Sophie. Although he did agree to go to the dinner I thought it was only because he knew Ricky was going to be there as well.

[H&Alover]

Ricky spoke to Nate about the baby in his professional capacity, as she explained to Brax, he does know her medical history, but then she goes and tells Sophie adding 'well everyone seems to know; err what? But when Brax turns up with the cot she gets worried that Cheryl knows and John and Marilyn will see it, talk about mixed messages.

I liked those scenes between Brax, Casey and then later Josh and Casey. You could see Josh was watching Casey and Brax mucking about with a rather wistful look on his face. May have seen a bit banal Evie saying there were two sisters dating two brothers (well half brothers/sisters if you want to be picky), but it turned out Casey and Josh did have more in common then they thought, both being expelled from MRH, guess who was behind that, because of their older brothers. If Casey and Denny wanted to be more private why choose the settee in the living room? I'm glad Evie could confide in Denny about her doubts over whether she was ready to take the next step in her relationship. Imo if it was a deal breaker then Josh isn't the guy for you, if he loves you he will wait.

On the subject of Evie where was she when Oscar was brought home in a state of collapse? The rest of the family where there plus Andy, Nate and Leah who did look distinctly jealous when Zac gave Hannah a comforting hug. Though it did prompt her into asking him to move in.

I know he doesn't need to but why didn't Nate just tell Sophie where he was and what he was doing instead of just ignoring her call, I'd be pretty pissed miffed if someone did that to me. But her attitude later (and the next morning) came across as rather spoilt and needy when she wouldn't even let him explain. As he said he is a doctor and his patients will always have to come before her which is well aware of. All is not well in paradise.

Touch of de je vu anyone when Andy just happened to be close by when Hannah rang Oscar's mobile! So relieved when Oscar finally confessed why he was running himself into the ground, now he has taken that first step by admitting he has a problem they can get him the help he needs. I know he said most of his life is being controlled by others at school, community service and at home, but hasn't he actually got more freedom than he had when he was in the Lodge?

Still not convinced Andy was dealing drugs when he was away and who was the person that Cody rang, is there more to this than we have been led to believe? If Andy still has quite a bit of money why is he living in his car, he could rent a room at That Motel where everyone stays at various points in their lives.

True to form Maddie did seek comfort from Spencer (the only bloke available) to make herself feel better, not surprising he got the wrong idea. Let's hope she lets him down gently.

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm kind of frustrated with the way the Maddy/Spencer thing played out.Jumping into a new relationship might not be the best idea but Maddy really should put Josh in the past, I'm not really sure why she'd want him back after everything that's happened.Josh seems to be my new Bianca, the character I only like when he's associated with someone I'm a fan of and who I don't like otherwise. Spencer didn't really come out of it well: He seems to have conveniently forgotten that he moved on from Maddy first only to backtrack when that went belly up (and he'd probably get back with Sasha if he had the chance given the way he glowers at her and Matt), and then he rubs her nose in the fact Evelyn stayed over at Josh's.Evelyn's transformation into the Virgin Mary doesn't really ring true:Last week she was quick to offer to share a bed with Josh but suddenly he's relegated to the sofa.I'm not sure how significant it is that she was only honest with him when she saw him with Maddy: Scared of the competition?To be fair, Josh did wait with Maddy as well, despite the show trying to suggest otherwise.When Evelyn said that she wanted to go home to shower and change and Josh said there was a shower at his, I was shouting "Yeah but she doesn't have any clean clothes there!"

Phoebe was annoying once again.I'm still far from convinced that her and Kyle getting back together was a smart move, she's still expecting him to drop everything and make music with her when he's moved on with his life.(And given that she's no longer living off Mark's money, it's about time she grew up as well.)I've always thought Phoebe has a rather deep voice.Kyle did overreact at the end but I can't really bring myself to mind.

Shandi came across as more likable here.Assuming she doesn't have a hidden agenda (and I am assuming she doesn't have a hidden agenda), her wanting to speak to Jett is a good sign and John should really have encouraged it rather than make excuses.Nice that the joke of Roo being less keen on the boot camp than the others has been continued.

And that coffee must have been nearly cold for Sasha to be able to gulp it down like that.

[H&Alover]

Silly me of course Maddy wasn't go to let Spencer down gently. True she did apologise later then after saying she didn't want a boyfriend asked him who she is supposed to move onto to, um how about no-one for the moment.

I don't know why Evie bottled telling Josh she wasn't ready to sleep with him the first time round and rambled on about going home for a shower. Awkward moment between Maddy and Josh at the Diner and Evie seeing them which did prompt her to ask him over to the farm and then tell him. I would have been very disappointed in Josh if he hadn't said he was happy to wait until Evie was ready. Don't forget Red she did only literally sleep with Josh, nothing else, it was everyone else that jumped to the other conclusion.

I'm not sure who can be the most annoying sometimes, Sophie or Phoebe!! Hadn't she and Kyle just got back from a gig, which OK fired up her musical ambitions again, but Kyle did need to get back to work not throw a 'sickie' to help her write a song. Matt was a good help, fresh ears maybe and Kyle did overreact, once Phoebe gets fired up there's no stopping her and she wants to do it there and then. She did get a taste of Kyle's temper.

I liked how Matt was trying to get Sash to stop stressing out he was right she needed to take a break and come back to it with a refreshed mind. Shame his later suggestion to de-stress got interrupted by Spencer. Good point about the coffee, it can't have cooled down enough from the time he left the Diner to her house for her to drink it in one gulp especially in a polystyrene cup.

Shandi did come across as more reasonable towards John, like you Red, I hope she hasn't got a hidden agenda. At least Marilyn didn't drop John in it and just said she ought to come for dinner. Just let John have it when she got home. He is a different man to who he was when he knew Shandi's mum and a different man from when we first met him. Who would have thought from the way he treated Trey and his scheming and double dealing back then he'd turn out to be so likeable, guess we have Gina to thank for that.

[Slade]

So the green eyed monster throws his toys out the pram again just because he didn't get to play musical instruments or get to be the one to help Phoebe do well with her song song. That scene where he practically bit her head off just seemed like a childish strop.

I said in my previous post that I wouldn't have any sympathy for Spencer because he knows what Maddie's like however the scene he had with Sasha and Matt made me realise that he's actually a very lonely person at the moment. He hasn't had much luck with women and the last three girls he's been with or liked (Maddie, Sasha and Evelyn) just haven't worked out for whatever reason. So I can actually see why he suggested to Maddie that they get back together although part of me thought that he still might have held a flame for Evelyn or perhaps he was almost bordering on desperation. However I thought he came across really badly yesterday. I felt like he was trying to manipulate Maddie into going back out with him for purely selfish reasons not because it was the best thing for her at the moment. I actually liked the stuff with Maddie and Josh. I didn't mind them when they were going out and quite liked the way Josh was there for her. Will Josh change his mind about her? I'm not sure, a large part of him falling for Evelyn was that Maddie wasn't there for him during his exams whereas Evelyn was but if Maddie's acting OK now I guess it could come down to whether Josh likes Evelyn enough to wait for her to be ready.

Shandi seems genuine but for some reason there's an alarm bell going off at the back of my head. I keep thinking that her mother spent years hating John so surely Shandi must have picked up some of that hate.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:None again!Has he gone on a secret mission somewhere?

Incidentally, while I remember, we're lucky to get one promo every other episode at the moment thanks to Kyle Pryor popping up and trying to get us to enter a competition (a bit distracting when Nate's in the last scene) but we actually got a trailer for just Thursday on Wednesday, instead of the rest of the week promo we've been getting recently.Is someone making special promos again?(And then Channel 5 don't show them.Ungrateful so-and-sos.)

Kyle was massively out of line attacking Matt the way he did, although I prefer to blame Phoebe, who was pestering Matt and pushing his buttons until he finally snapped.Kyle does need to do something about his temper but maybe someone should tell Denny about Casey's own anger management issues: Even Phoebe could tell her a few stories.The talk of Casey and Denny getting married is as ridiculous as the talk of Spencer and Sasha getting married around the same time last year and just as unlikely to actually happen.They both seem to be the types to fall hard and fast and have unrealistic expectations; Casey probably thought the same about Ruby and Tamara.

I didn't quite get why Marilyn was gently ambling between two cones while everyone else was sweating buckets doing sit-ups.Her nerves got the better of her at the meet-the-family dinner: She kept trying to head off problems that weren't there and in the process causing them.I'm trying not to be too harsh on Shandi, Marilyn can be irritating when you're not used to her.I'm guessing Sasha's "thinking hats" was something she picked up from Dexter.

[Psychic Wombat]

I feel for Matt, I'm sure he wants to get back into his music but is afraid of antagonizing his boss at the restaurant. Sasha is in intense mode which is just as well otherwise she'd be a green eyed monster about Matt spending time with another girl. Actually Matt and Phebes have quite a bit in common, he's not as dour as Kyle and more easy going. Hmm, you never know.

Somehow I don't think Shandy is a girly girl and a bit more worldly than small town Marilyn bless her crystals. But I'm sure some event will take place to bring them closer together in the true spirit of the bay.

Trust me Alf has been kidnapped along with VJ ;-D

[haaf14]

Trust me Alf has been kidnapped along with VJ ;-D

Put Chris on the list as well because he's also disappeared. Correct me if I am wrong but the last time we saw him was I think a couple a weeks ago when he said he was going away for a couple days and he hasn't been seen again.

[Slade]

Wow, Kyle going for Matt liked that actually shocked me. Should I be surprised? Not really. Kyle's shown that when things don't go his way, when he wants to, he can be an extremely violent individual. Although I suppose he apologised afterwards which is something at least.

I think Marilyn was being a bit condescending but I don't think it was intentional. I actually felt quite sorry for her when Shandi had a go at her. You could tell by her face she looked really hurt. Was Shandi genuinely annoyed at being patronised or was it simply that she just doesn't like Marilyn? I think back to when she first turned up and thought that Roo was John's fiancée and didn't think Marilyn was John's type whether maybe she sees her as just a bit of eye Candy for John.

[H&Alover]

Kyle's attacking Matt when all he was doing was helping Phoebe out in his absence, certainly showed her Kyle's dark side. Though Phoebe does tend to want things she wants done right away instead of being patient and waiting for Kyle to finish his work which as he said is paying their rent. It was good she was able to confide in Denny and then later when they had both apologised to each other tell Kyle that while she was to blame for being so impatient he needs to curb his temper. Matt totally refused to take any credit for the work he did on Phoebe's song as he has before. He is a talented guy, writes poetry, is a whizz as a DJ and can compose. Is it really all down to low self esteem?

You're not wrong haaf Chris did say he was going away for a while. Maybe Alf and VJ have gone away together, no-one has even mentioned him, Alf, not even in passing.

I think it was down to nerves with Marilyn acting the way she did with Shandi, even if the meal was her idea, though the way she spoke to Marilyn was unnecessary and quite cruel.

Weren't Marilyn and Irene the ones keen on bridal camp and Roo not keen, seems to have been a switch, Marilyn and Irene would have been quite happy to wait for Spencer yet Roo was all for it?

Yes of course Casey will go easy on you, as if!!!

Irene might be on to something by suggesting Sasha write about Matt as he is the one who inspires her.

Annoying as it is to have the next nights promo hi jacked I do have to say seeing Kyle Prior isn't too bad an alternative, btw do 'we' the winners have to stay in a hotel, couldn't we stay with him?