Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[630si]

Well I felt incredibly sad when Brax was being thrown in his cell. And actually, it captured the torture and restraint quite well. At the end of the day he knows he hasnt done anything, and what with the cash situation knows he cannot do anything about it. His silly chop and change of pleas was a bit eye rolling, mainly due to the fact hes known this Ash bloke for what, about a year now? He's got to live with not seeing his son grow up for the rest of his life. A son that potentially will want nothing to do with him, perhaps be brought up by a different man? The whole situation is just heartbreaking, if a little rushed. I dont feel this is the exit for Brax though. I have this feeling that at some point in the not too distant future, he and Ricky will get their happy ending. maybe on the run??? we will see.

Oscar's and Maddy's Date was incredibly cute. I'm a big fan of Oscar as I see a lot of myself in him, and I always feel myself routing for him! His head is well and truly on his shoulders and thats something that Maddy needs every now and then. A level head to tell her shes going a bit astray. Thats why it feels they work as a couple i think.

[atrus]

So, is this it for Brax? And if so, is it a good thing? On one hand, I've had more than my fill of the types of storylines his character has sired; on the other, his apparent downfall, and strong and complex performances by both Steve Peacocke and Bonnie Sveen, made the storyline comparatively watchable again, even interspersed as it was with scenes of Denny, Andy, Nate and Hannah sitting around pouting.

Maddy and Oscar's scenes were also compelling. It was great to see Maddy seeming more positive yet realistic about things, rather than being in denial, although predictably the relative harmony didn't last the episode. I'm really starting to like Oscar as a character, but can't shake the feeling that whatever happens with Maddy and her illness, he's going to end up dreadfully heartbroken.

[Slade]

Can't believe this. I'm actually feeling sorry for Hannah. And I am also enjoying the storyline surrounding her struggling to come to terms with her injury. I liked the interaction with Denny and Andy. I think Hannah desperately wants Andy back in her life but she's obviously still reeling from being rejected by him last week. The only thing bugging me about it is Nate at the moment. Just not too keen on the guy although I accept he is genuinely trying to do what's best for Hannah.

I'm extremely disappointed Brax confessed to the murder like that. Forget about Ash, he has a kid on the way and surely the baby is more important than someone he's known for what a year or so.

Finding Maddy and Oscar quite sickening. Although I can't knock him for effort. 10/10, I would give him. Still judging by her nosebleed, he's going to have to wait a while if he wants to sleep with her again.

[Angelica]

It is ironic that after all the things that Brax has done or been involved in, he is now going to jail for something he didn't do. I felt disappointed that Brax confessed to the murder in such a way without thinking of the implications for his child. I realise that he wants to look out for Ash, but he has only known Ash for a short period of time (and it was possible that the arrest charges on Ash weren't going to come to anything). I felt bad for Ash because I don't think any of this is really his fault- while he should have chose a better hiding space for the money, he wasn't the one who stole the money - Brax was just as responsible for not disposing of the money. Having not been that interested in the storyline, I did think they captured the tortured decision that Brax ultimately made.

I thought Maddy and Oscar were quite cute, although I have a feeling they won't be having a happy ending anytime soon.

Though I am not a fan of Andy, I feel that the MacGuires are unfair in their expectation of him. I think it is unfair to expect him to solely be responsible for Hannah, especially when Hannah is not making any kind of commitment from a relationship point of view. Though even if they were in a commited relationship, I think it is unreasonable for Andy to be there 24/7. I like the fact that they had Denny admit couldn't afford to get help on just her salary.

[Psychic Wombat]

Don't worry guys Brax won't be in the big house for long, I'm sure the family is on the case for a retrial as I write!

[H&Alover]

I have to say it did seem rather rushed at the end, voice over of the judge committing Brax to twenty years with no parole as he is walked to the police car, Ricky grabs a quick kiss before collapsing. Scenes of Brax inside, walking to his cell, then freaking out, being thrown in his cell, chucking his bed about before falling in a heap. I do hope that wasn't the last we see of him and we get to see Ricky visiting him. I think that sentence was partly down to Brax changing his plea from guilt to manslaughter to not guilty, then admitting to murder, if there is anything that annoys judges more it's defendants that keep changing their minds, which in their eyes means they were guilty from the start.

Good points raised by you as to why Sam took so long mentioning the money, wouldn't he have used that when first questioned about why Brax had reason to kill Dean? I can understand why some of you think it's mad for Brax to admit to a murder he didn't do to keep Ash out of prison when he had only known him for a year at most. Guys who form a friendship while inside have a special bond which no-one outside can understand, he had saved Brax from more or less committing suicide, by getting himself beaten to death in a fight. I was surprised the money was still in the storeroom at Angelo's to be honest, normally anything hidden anywhere is found straight away. I know Ash said he didn't want anything to do with it, he gave some to Phoebe to pay off Neive and wanted to give her and Kyle the rest but Brax made him take it back, methinks he had forgotten all about it.

Two points as regards the police not finding Ryan's camera (1) they weren't looking for it and (2) it was cunningly disguised as power point, he may be a couple of prawns short of a barbie, but he's not stupid and obviously into all things technical so knew just what he was doing. I know I said earlier he'd take the opportunity of the Braxton's being in court, but didn't know he'd find out from Kat telling others in the Diner. I thought she'd looked straight at him, but must have just been in general direction.

It might be a contrived plotline to get Andy and Hannah back together but Denny was right her and the twins can't cope on their own, lucky for her this time Nate wasn't running the hospital single handed so could dash over and help Hannah back into her chair. Denny could have done herself and Hannah damage trying to help her. Even if Oscar and Evie had been there they would have struggled. If Denny is willing to swallow her still lingering resentment of Andy Hannah should be able to get over herself and accept he wasn't rejecting her just because she's currently unable to walk.

I was concerned that Spencer may not be taking his meds as he seemed so, to quote Evie, intense about the fund raising for Maddy. It's not as if she, Josh, Irene and Chris aren't interested, but his keenness is over whelming. So if Zac is in the city who's running the school?

Talking of Maddy I rather liked her dinner with Oscar, loved how he took the mickey out of himself, calling himself a geek, very Dex there. He was treating her as she wanted to be treated as a normal girl, not someone who had cancer, though she did mention it herself. Shame they didn't get to get a proper kiss. I do think Roo overreacted the next day by saying she shouldn't have been out that late, she wasn't exactly running up and down the beach doing cartwheels was she, it was a quiet dinner, no stress. It got Oscar starting to treat Maddy the same way as the rest of them, apart from Alf. Maddy wanted to go out for a walk, he said no because she 'ought to rest'.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, we start the episode with our first sighting of Leah in ages and I start to feel emotionally connected to the storyline again...and then she's gone and we're back to VJ being a jerk.There was no need for him to take it out on Marilyn or play bedroom police with Matt and Sasha (although I do understand the sentiment behind the latter).Still, his breakdown at the end is possibly the first time in all this I've genuinely felt sorry for him so maybe there's hope.The treatment of Matt and Sasha continues to frustrate, with Irene and Leah's philosophy that they'd rather have them sleeping on the streets than let them spend the night together under their roof being hypocritical at best (especially with the inconsistency they both apply the "no sleepovers" rule: It's not so long ago that Irene was fine with April having Dexter over, what's the difference?).

I mostly just tuned out the Andy and Hannah stuff, with only Denny grinning at how cute they are being genuinely annoying.That said, I did find myself pleased at Hannah getting feeling back: It would have been nice if the show had been brave enough to keep her disabled, but they're letting things proceed at a pace that feels realistic, assuming she's not throwing her crutches away and dancing around the paddock by the end of next week.

I both did and didn't agree with Oscar et al's assessment of Maddy.I don't think she'd given up at all, just been aware that the future isn't guaranteed.But then it isn't guaranteed for anyone and, as Oscar pointed out, that doesn't mean you shouldn't plan for it.There have been times in the past when I've been vehemently opposed to Maddy going back to school, but at the moment it's her best option (she's not really up to working at the gym again) and it felt like a positive move.So long as she doesn't get stuck in Year 11 again so she'll probably leave or die before she graduates.

[atrus]

I'm still divided about the VJ storyline. On one hand, the lad who plays him is doing really well, I think, despite the age leap - and really won my sympathy at the end there. On the other, there does seem to be this interminable cycle of lashing out, apologising, then lashing out again at somebody else, which is getting a bit old now.

That said, this sort of behaviour is the prerogative of every soap character ever when experiencing adversity - and it's easier to sympathise with a youngster like VJ acting up, than it is with, say, Hannah - who's surely been on the end of enough patients' tantrums in her time to know better than to channel them - or Zac, who was quick to chastise VJ for his rudeness, but had a similar 'stuff your moussaka' moment with Irene just the other week.

The moment I saw Leah after so long I assumed she'd be waking up again by the end of the episode, but pleasingly the writers have more restraint than that. On the other hand, it looks like the path is clear for Hannah to miraculously recover now her relationship woes have been resolved, which is precisely no surprise whatsoever.

The treatment of Matt and Sasha continues to frustrate, with Irene and Leah's philosophy that they'd rather have them sleeping on the streets than let them spend the night together under their roof being hypocritical at best (especially with the inconsistency they both apply the "no sleepovers" rule: It's not so long ago that Irene was fine with April having Dexter over, what's the difference?).

This zero-tolerance approach to sleepovers has always been a hallmark of H&A. I think it's partly because there are almost no biological kids in town, and it's felt that there's a higher threshold of responsibility for foster carers/guardians in terms of keeping the kids from corrupting one another, whereas their actual parents might feel freer to allow sleepovers. But yes, it is inconsistently applied, and yes it's hypocritical - Sasha and Matt are university-age, so it's not as if they aren't old enough to decide for themselves. Irene in particular has always had a rather puritan approach to pretty much everything, even with (purportedly) adult lodgers like Chris. Leah's position is more understandable, though, given that she has a younger teenage son in the house.

[H&Alover]

Both Irene and Leah know Sasha and Matt are sleeping together and I agree with atrus about Leah not being so keen due to having VJ in the house, but isn't it better to know they are under your roof and safe rather than not knowing where they have ended up. As we saw Matt and Sasha used the Diner, flash back to Irene catching them 'at it' when she came back from her cruise. Rather sweet VJ maintaining his mum's rules whilst she isn't there and Matt and Sash took it well and left with no argument. I guess Irene feels if she allowed Chris to have sleep overs that would appear to be hypocritical by not allowing the younger members of the 'family' to have them.

Though still not into the new VJ, it's his height mainly, even allowing for the normal growth spurt boys his age have and his muscles, I did feel sorry for him at the end, his outbursts are understandable he's still a young teenager and not fully able to articulate himself. Pleased he has decided to return to school along with Zac, nice that Jett is helping him catch up. It'll keep his mind focused. The same thought occurred to me atrus, Leah was left alone, close up on her face, I thought 'oh we'll see her eyes move under her eyelids'. Nope!

The flip side of Hannah being as she is is because she is a nurse and as I have said before they and doctors make the worst patients. You all already know I am in camp Hannah and Andy and I'm glad Denny of all people, no-one more surprised than her, talked Hannah giving him another chance. It was good it was such an underplayed moment when she got some feeling back in her leg, so underplayed she didn't even realise she was subconsciously scratching it and it took Denny to point it out. Now that has happened she is going to get more impatient for things to move on, but as Red said let's hope they keep it realistic.

Oscar's talk with Denny helped to prompt him into having his chat with Maddy, he is very well ordered and likes to know where he'll be and what he'll be doing, whereas Maddy seems to change her position from day to day. Just because she has decided to go back to school doesn't mean she can't still have fun. Wasn't she ready to redo Year 11 before she had her baby scare which of course turned into the cancer storyline?

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Two.Andy was in four, although he was uncredited on Tuesday so that scene was probably moved from the next episode.Leah got her first episode for ages but is still silent and comatose and didn't even get a credit.

As H&Alover said, Irene's prudish attitude hasn't done a thing to stop Matt and Sasha sleeping together, has done even less to keep Sasha safe and pretty much caused the mess here, so seeing her getting all high and mighty about it was a bit hard to stomach.I don't think she even applies the same rule to Chris:She said at the start no sleepovers without prior agreement but seemed to relax on letting Indi stay pretty quickly and agreed to give him and Denny the place to themselves for the night.

VJ was a bit up and down in this episode, unnecessarily losing his temper with Jett, but at least he seems to realise there's a problem.Whether John and Zac's solution will work remains to be seen. H&Alover, prior to the false pregnancy result and cancer diagnosis Maddy was meant to be doing a bridging course to join Year 12.I think we can assume she didn't, but fortunately it seems she's going to be allowed in Year 12 anyway, mostly thanks to Zac being kind.

Good that Kyle went to tell Heath and Bianca what's been going on face to face, although I'm not sure why (other than actor availability...) he couldn't have done it a week ago.So Phoebe ends up vulnerable to Ryan, who's taking his obsession another stage further.Can he lip read or was he just enjoying the view on that camera?