Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[atrus]

So I have no idea what the outcome of the Brax storyline is, but having watched Friday and Monday's episodes in one sitting, it certainly felt as if the plot-groundwork was being laid for a lengthy jail spell for him. On the other hand, the 'new' evidence coming to light (heaven knows how it didn't beforehand, but I'll go with it) suggests I could yet be wrong-footed.

I normally tune out for a lot of the Braxton hijinks, but since there wasn't really any hope of avoiding those parts of the show in the last two episodes, I settled down and watched them in full. It reminds me why I've been so divided about the Braxtons since they first rocked up - on one hand they've provided some excellent acting and a set of strong and interesting characters. But at the same time they've led to an apparently permanent focus on the wrong type of storylines, in my view.

That's why I sighed loudly at Brax apparently handing over command of the River Boys to Ash. If Brax is going down for 20 years, I suspect the naming similarities (Darryl Braxton to Brax, Martin Ashford to Ash) are no coincidence, and that Ash will be taking up his mantle. Despite the talk of Kyle being new Braxton chief, he doesn't quite have the tough-guy persona to make it work. But however it all works out, so many Braxtons-Plus have been introduced now that I can't see the show's focus on crime and violence changing any time soon.

PHOEBE: Wait, wait, does that make me queen of the Braxtons?

Brilliant line, but I suspect that title will remain with Ricky, somehow, given she's carrying the heir to the throne. It struck me once again today how excellent an actor Bonnie Sveen is, and it's a shame her character has been defined more or less solely by her relationship with Brax ever since she arrived.

I'm not a lawyer, but I wasn't at all convinced of the realism of the trial going ahead the very next day. Surely both prosecution and defence would get time to prepare their cases once a not guilty plea had been entered?

Wasn't at all interested in the Andy/Nate testosterone interlude, Katarina and Nate's burgeoning friendship, or the crowbarring in of a short-lived Josh/Evie crisis via the Spencer fundraising storyline. I'm also not sure where the Matt/Sasha storyline is going. I initially thought they were going to call it quits in Friday's episode, but it seems that it's going to continue meandering for a while longer at least.

[Red Ranger 1]

When Ricky said they should make the most of the time they had, my heart sank.Thankfully what followed involved them keeping their clothes on, although it disappointed me in other respects.The River Boys have barely featured for years so having a bunch of nameless surfers turn up for Brax to name Ash their new leader felt like a massive backward step and a sign that the show won't let go of things that have had their day.(I actually like Ash and think the character deserves far more than being turned into a Brax substitute.)Cheryl felt utterly pointless and incredibly irritating at the same time, except, again, for one scene with Kyle where she acknowledges him as the "last Braxton standing".(Except for Heath, hey?Why is everyone acting like Cheryl won't have any sons left if Brax goes to jail?I still don't see why Kyle would think Cheryl has the right to know but not Heath, having Bianca, Darcy and Harley wouldn't stop him spending a few minutes sitting in a courtroom which is all anyone was expecting at first.The only reason I can think of to continue keeping him in the dark is they're worried he'll go off and try and prove Brax innocent, and unless they spend the next 8-20 years pretending Brax isn't in jail he'd do that anyway.)Craig's epiphany of an argument is something I've been suggesting for ages.I should be Brax's lawyer.

I've liked Evelyn in the past when she's had scenes with Spencer but this had no effect on me whatsoever.I think Evelyn's reached the point where if I'm not outright disliking her I just find her bland. Then Josh sulks for a bit, then he gets over it and the whole storyline only really came to life when Irene dragged it away from a trio of rather generic teenagers.Meanwhile, we're treated to the wallpaper television of Nate and Kat, two characters with no real personality who are just there to fill the doctor and police officer roles, sharing a scene.At least Sophie seems to be putting her life back together.

[Slade]

I loved Nate's reaction when that lady served him the divorce papers. And I rather enjoyed him getting into a strop and sulking because Sophie got in there first. I'd like to think Sophie came to that decision herself and was not following the advice of whoever is treating her.

I wondered why Ash had a problem with Nate last week but given how he tried his luck with Kat when she first arrived and the fact that are getting on and that Kat and Nate seem to be bonding, I do wonder if they are potentially trying to set up a Kat/Ash/Nate love triangle.

[H&Alover]

Craig said exactly what I said about Dean's attack on Sam, if he was hospitalised there'd be medical records of his injuries! Plus wouldn't there have been witnesses? I think you're right atrus the prosecution and defence would need more time to gather evidence, witness statements, it is after all down to the prosecution to prove Brax did it. Phoebe's line about being 'queen of the Braxton's tickled me too and the add on ' or do I have to fight Cheryl for it?'

Typical River Boys gathering for what may be Brax's last night of freedom, are they suggesting it's all going to be over in one day? Red, I picked up on Cheryl's remark about losing all of her sons and seemingly forgetting all about Heath who was supposed to be her favourite! Isn't Kyle more or less the same age Brax was when he became head of the family? At least this time round there isn't the same demands as being involved in criminal activities. She also said she liked Ash, will she feel the same when she learns it was because of him Brax got into this mess in the first place? Are there still any River Boys left for Ash to take charge of, I thought Brax had left those days behind him. Heath could well be inclined to go and sort things so your assumption could be right Red.

You're probably not wrong Slade about Nate being miffed about Sophie issuing the divorce papers first, she did admit at their last meeting she was ready to move on and that is what she is doing.

The side stories involving Spencer/Josh/Spencer and Andy/Nate/Kat did seem unnecessary but then all we would have had was a whole episode of Braxtons. Thankfully Josh got over his jealous tantrum quickly and was happy to join in the ideas for the fund raising for Maddy. Funnily enough the colour run is one of the fund raisers the charity I volunteer for is having this summer.

The clash between Nate and Andy may have seemed pointless, partly down to Nate still being on a mood over his divorce papers, but looked like it got Andy thinking about not letting Hannah give up on their relationship.

Going back to your comment yesterday Slade about Spence getting together with Kat isn't she a little old for him and as for him and Sash, she'd still be away at uni so same problem as Matt and her have at the moment.

[Red Ranger 1]

It was clever how the episode seemed to bring Craig to the verge of breaking Sam and giving Brax a strong case, only for Brax's dumb actions to plunge him straight back into trouble.It possibly wasn't a good idea to give Sam time to think up a new strategy, and Craig doesn't seem very good at thinking on his feet.(The obvious response at this point would be to ask Sam why he waited to mention it.) Despite the blame being aimed at Ash, this is really Brax's own fault for a)taking the money in the first place and b)forcing the money on Ash when he didn't want it.Why is all police action suddenly being down by Kat?Who made her queen of the castle?

Kat asking Josh why he isn't in court was a horribly contrived line to allow Ryan to learn the Braxton house was empty:I was expecting her to notice and recognise him but apparently she was more interested in the boy that lives with the Braxtons than the stalker.He's lucky that police search didn't find the camera as well...

Josh and Evelyn sniggering at Spencer didn't really sit right with me.I thought when I saw the promo that Irene and Chris would be worried about Maddy's reaction, but instead they're worried about Spencer and rightly so.It seems his bipolar has been remembered and he's just shifted from a depressed state to a manic state.Good to know Zac's still in contact, I queried Spencer being able to speak to him at first but the logistics were worked out well.

[630si]

I also was expecting Kat to notice Ryan in the diner - his look is very....distinctive. Even from behind.

Ive watched quite a lot of episodes all in one go today so the trial has been somewhat climatic. And I must say im thoroughly enjoying it. Allbeit bitter sweet. Im aware this isnt looking good for Brax and its no secret Steve is off to Hollywood, but this only adds to the tension you get when watching it. Youre right, whats made this worse is that its Brax's fault the money is still lying around and I'll bet he feels so bad for it now. As Brax is such a huge part of the show nowadays its really tough to see that he is facing this lengthy jail term even though I am of the opinion the Braxton era should be gone. I'll also add that my frustration towards to stupidity and pointlessness of Ash is growing. Why did it take Sam so long to mention the money anyway?!!

The colour run the young-uns are organising sounds like a good idea as is very Maddy. Also, Spencer is being kept busy. Maybe hes taking this so obsessively because he ant be there for Maddy romantically, and i'll reference his semi-jealousness towards Oscar here, and this is his only alternative. Considering Josh's intense relationship with Maddy in the not too distant past he seemed very half arsed about joining in with the fundraising. Glad hes helping though. Question is, will Maddy appreciate everyones efforts??? I hope so.

[atrus]

So I guess we're now just waiting until Maddy actually appears in an episode again, so she can pour cold water all over Spencer's gleeful fundraising routine and send him hurtling back to square one in mental health terms. Like 630si, I felt that Josh seemed oddly uninvested in the fundraiser, although I expected no better from Evie.

I won't pretend to have been paying enough attention to the Brax/Ash storyline to know what the significance is of this stash of money at the restaurant, but its recovery seems not to have helped his case at least - and when everything was looking so promising, too. Disappointed to see that the Stalking-by-Numbers storyline is still limping on; what with everything else going on at Castle Braxton at present, it just seems like overkill to have this additional dropkick of the week still creeping about.

[Slade]

Going back to your comment yesterday Slade about Spence getting together with Kat isn't she a little old for him and as for him and Sash, she'd still be away at uni so same problem as Matt and her have at the moment.

I was initially referring to Spencer then generally about the lack of female options for the single male characters. So I went on to mention Ash/Nate re Kat. Yes it did occur to me about Sasha but I'm sure the writers would find a way round it if they were ever to revisit that route.

I'm glad Ryan hasn't decided to give up just yet as I'm quite enjoying seeing the lengths he will go to to continue the stalking. I can't believe Kat didn't have a word with him in the Diner and she and her colleague didn't spot the camera later on. When he started looking at the photograph of Phoebe and Kyle rather than cover Kyle up and just look at her, I pictured Ryan cutting a picture of his head out of one of his own photographs and sticking that on top of Kyle.

I quite liked the way in Brax's trial it was smooth sailing until the revelation of the cash and now unmitigated disaster.

[Red Ranger 1]

After dominating the last two episodes, I was glad to see Brax's storyline take a back seat.I'm also glad that Brax recognises that it was mostly his fault and Ash didn't force him to take the money.I'm not sure Brax needed to fall on his sword, but if he went down he'd probably have taken Ash down with him otherwise and I understand why he didn't want to let Ash pay for his mistakes.Again, the best moment went to Kyle, with his quiet acceptance of Ash, although most of the Braxtons' cheer squad (Cheryl, Phoebe, Josh) was conspicuously absent.Brax's final moments just had me rolling my eyes though.It felt like someone went "Oh, hang on, we did Brax walking down a stark concrete corridor looking forlorn last time, didn't we?Er, have a bunch of extras pull faces at him, then have two more extras chuck him into his cell where he throws the bed about and then sinks to the floor sobbing.That'll have more of an impact."I get the horror of looking at 20 years of this but seriously, subtlety?!

The MacGuires being helpless without Andy mostly makes me think he's done his job: Hannah's completely dependent on him.Denny going running to him for help was a shame and I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing this continue next episode.

Maddy looked happy and comfortable around Oscar, which was nice to see.Shame he couldn't do the same.And their date was a perfect sweet moment and shows what a great couple they could be, if only he could manage to look at her as the girl he's been in love with for months rather than the girl with cancer.I've appreciated Roo looking after Maddy in the past but this was not the time to wrap her up in cotton wool.Even though he seems to have replaced Spencer as the only one that acts normal around her, I liked Alf letting Maddy live her life.

[Psychic Wombat]

I don't know why Brax did that for Ash, I guess it's up to Ash and Kyle to get the evidence they need to spring him. I was disappointed we did get more of a trial over two episodes.

I suspect Josh and Evelyn want to distance themselves from Maddie after all that's gone down. I think Josh had to put up with a lot from princess Maddie, she was a pain. Oscar seems to like being bossed about and playing the martyr but I wonder how long it will last, cancer doesn't seem a solid basis for a relationship. Maybe Oscar has memories of his dad dying from the disease so see's himself equipped to deal with it. I'm getting a bit wary of the cancer jokes now -not that funny.