Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[c120701]

It seemed so right Marilyn having her hen do at the Beach House.

[Homeandawayfan.]

That is how H&A is supposed to be. Much less Braxton dominance and good old community feel. Nice to see Roo, Leah, Maz and Irene in one scene, 2 of them long running and the other 2 from the early years. Good episode tonight. Palmer is hilarious.

[Red Ranger 1]

I should probably stop mentioning Maddy in every post, especially when she hasn't been seen in two episodes, so I'll just say that it does seem to me that she's getting a harder time, from more people, than others who've done comparable.

At the risk of turning into one of "those" fans, it was a relief to get an episode free of Braxton drama, even if Brax's antics at the hospital cast a bit of a shadow over it.Sophie handled things fairly well I thought, she made one pointed remark to Hannah but otherwise took things in her stride.And Hannah had the sense to keep her distance from Nate as much as she can.Which just leaves Nate.I cringed when he turned up at Hannah's place, he's playing with fire there.And he now seems to have agreed to a house buy he's not entirely behind just to prove a point.

I keep forgetting to mention that Chris has finished his redecorating of Irene's house (the whole bottom floor, it seems), so...Chris has finished his redecorating of Irene's house.It's very spartan.And green.I actually liked both the stag and hen parties, it felt like everyone who was there had a reason to be rather than just dragging in a bunch of characters because they happen to be regulars.I thought at first that Spencer didn't know Shandi was the person Chris was interested in, but obviously he does.Oh well, I suppose all's fair in love and war, Chris and Shandi aren't actually together, he's just accompanying her to a wedding.Still, her roping him in as a life model was rather sweet.John seems to be going a bit far with the "Not seeing the bride" thing: It's only the morning of the wedding, not the day before.And now it's landed him in a bit of bother.Still, Marilyn cancelling the wedding seems a bit of an overreaction.

[Psychic Wombat]

You just did it again Red Ranger 1 lol.

[c120701]

That is how H&A is supposed to be. Much less Braxton dominance and good old community feel. Nice to see Roo, Leah, Maz and Irene in one scene, 2 of them long running and the other 2 from the early years. Good episode tonight. Palmer is hilarious.

It felt so much more like Home and Away, like a classic H&A wedding.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Roo was also in four.

There was a lot to love in this episode.John in his drugged up state was hilarious, with his thinking he was dreaming when Marilyn told him that they were getting married and Alf pointing out to him that he'd mistaken a nurse for his bride.It was great to see everyone pulling together to make sure the wedding happened, the wedding dress turning up just as Marilyn needed a sign and John's pain and delirium vanishing in the face of what he could potentially lose.Characters seemed to appear and disappear a bit though:If Chris was meant to be keeping an eye on Marilyn, where was he when Roo turned up with the dresses?

I'm glad Irene got recompense from Matt for his squatting.He did finally seem to show some genuine guilt at the rift in his adopted family and, even though Leah asked him to come back, it worked because it's about him trying to fix the problems he's caused rather than running away from them.VJ might have reacted badly to the relationship either way but he wouldn't have been humiliated in front of, well, about a tenth of the school.What was all that stuff about VJ being in his room when Matt came home?I was expecting him to come out and have a go at him but no, he just wasn't in the scene.The VJ recast still seems older than he should be and the scene with Jett felt awkward.You could imagine him giving advice like that to the old VJ but it didn't really feel the same.

Maddy came across as desperately unhappy here and having Evelyn constantly put the boot in, belittling her and destroying what little self-esteem she had left, can't have helped.Blowing all her savings on her dress was a daft idea but it's obviously just her way of trying to make herself feel better.At least it's less destructive than sleeping with people.For the first time, I don't think Oscar really helped here, being an enabler with regards Maddy's retail therapy.She was wrong to not bother doing the tasks Roo set her though.Roo's "spoilt brat" comment, like Alf's speeches to Brax and Maddy last week, felt like a bit like someone reading comments on here and trying to make it seem like they're paying attention.Someone really should have thought about what the words mean and the implication of Roo calling Maddy spoilt though.As the Oompa Loompas said, "A girl can't spoil herself, you know."

Astonishingly, the good work was almost ruined by an appalling promo which not only seemed to give away every single twist from next week but plunged us straight back into Braxton nastiness.

CURS:Why did we have to sit through not one but two clips of Evelyn being a bitch? She wasn't even mentioned in the episode.Thankfully.

[Psychic Wombat]

OK, I still can't get over the size of VJ, when he was walking along the beach with Leah and Zac he looked huge, could have been the camera angle I guess. When he ran off in a sulk it was like he was acting half his age, very weird.

I think Oscar is like a eunuch to Maddy, some one she can tow around and acts like a foil to her whims, whether it's going to the Prom or retail therapy. Poor Oscar needs a good male role model, something that's lacking in Summer Bay apart from Alf. Perhaps Nate could take him rowing and build his confidence up a bit.

The wedding stalls once again, I wonder how long Shandy has off work before she has to go home, must be soon. The tension is rising, will they, won't they...

[Angelica]

I liked seeing everyone rally to get John and Marilyn married. I am not sure what Maddy's problem was - given that she actually likes Marilyn, it seemed odd that she would be so cavalier about not getting round to helping out with the errands. It seemed at odds with everyone else who were bending over backwards to help the happy couple.

It was nice to see more airtime dedicated to the longer standing characters like Irene, and Leah. It all felt classical Home and Away, and it just seemed a shame to ruin it all with the Braxtons.

Oscar really needs to learn to stand up for himself. I cringe during all his interactions with Maddy. It's interesting because having him have a crush on Maddy actually makes him appears more asexual - it just doesn't come across as believable, like he is forcing it. But perhaps I think that because I always thought we might have a "coming out" storyline with Oscar.

I loved Jett's advice to VJ - it had the perfect balance of teenage self-interest (i.e. you can guilt trip them into buying stuff) as well as maturity. You can see that he has genuinely accepted Marilyn and is invested in the new family that they have created.

[Slade]

This storyline between Nate and Sophie is getting ridiculous now. This whole situation keeps going round in circles. Sophie keeps seeing Nate with different women is becoming a joke because how many times should she Nate with someone else just at the right. Next we will see Nate sneezing and Sophie will appear with a bag of tissues in tow.

I find it quite amusing actually. The slightly barmey, possessive wife always seems to turn up at the right time. Although the last couple of episodes with Sophie and Nate have only served to prove that she has a point as far as I'm concerned. I do quite like the way Sophie intimidates Hannah and also how she indirectly warned Hannah to stay away from her man. However she can tell Hannah to back off all she wants, if there's a genuine attraction between Nate and Hannah, really nothing Sophie can do about it. And judging by the way Nate kind of rolled his eyes after he told Sophie he wanted to buy the house and the fact that he isn't communicating how he feels with her again, it's only going to be a matter of time before something happens with Hannah. Nate really should do the decent thing and tell Sophie it's over and there's no going back.

Really, didn't like the way Spencer was trying to make a play for Shandi. Regardless of whether they are going out, the way I see it Chris saw her first. But for me it feels like the two Matthew's brothers are destined to be unlucky in love.

Shandi herself actually seems far more likeable now. Seems to get on well with Jett and has really made an effort with Marilyn.

I am not sure what Maddy's problem was - given that she actually likes Marilyn, it seemed odd that she would be so cavalier about not getting round to helping out with the errands. It seemed at odds with everyone else who were bending over backwards to help the happy couple.

I wondered whether that was due more to inconsistent writing. I'm saying this because when Casey died I was just surprised at the lack of reaction from Maddy given how close they were a while back. And she was one of the few girls I thought he was genuinely attracted to but wanted to help rather take advantage when presented with the opportunity. She didn't even go to the funeral and just turned up afterwards. Even then the whole focus was on Josh and Evelyn.

When Roo first objected to Maddy buying a $300 dress, I wondered whether it would be worth suggesting that she rent one instead as I'm not sure Maddy will wear the dress again but I realised it wasn't about that. I thought that Oscar wouldn't have a hope in hell of ever getting with Maddy but after watching their brief interaction on Friday I'm not so sure now. As Oscar seems to be spending so much time with her and this is soapland, I wonder due to her social isolation for being public enemy number one, the fact that Oscar is the only person who is being nice to her atm and assuming she will have to get over Josh whether the conditions will be suitable for her to change her mind about him.

[H&Alover]

I actually thought Roo was right in calling Maddy selfish. She's stood by her through a lot of things, always supported her, put up with her sulks and all she asked was for her to help her out. Anyway didn't Maddy promise Roo when she was in the coma she'd be less of a drama queen, be a better 'daughter' and so on? $300 was a lot for a dress she'll probably never wear again, but it was a lovely colour. Oscar may have said he's happy just to be friends with Maddy, but has he totally convinced himself?

I don't think Spencer knew who Shandi was when they talked in the Diner (she never told him her name) and she was flirting with him. Btw how come she is 'my' Shandi as Chris put it? He's only her + one to the wedding, they haven't been on a date yet. Great hen/stag (or bucks) do, loved Chris being the life model. Glad Roo ignored Marilyn and didn't cancel the wedding again! Didn't Jett look super in his suit, so grown up. I thought Marilyn's dress was lovely, not her usual style but it really looked good on her.

God advice from Jett to VJ, good luck though with getting those treats out of Leah, she's not so much as a pushover as John. Who knows maybe VJ will like Zac, it wasn't his fault his romance with Leah was broadcast to all and sundry. He and Leah have only just started dating and VJ is no longer a child when Leah would need to be wary about introducing a new bloke, Wasn't he the same when Leah told VJ she had started dating Roman, he liked him when they were just friends but then took against him when it got serious.