Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[CaptainHulk]

Well, Guess Spence has made up his mind about his future. At one point I was rooting for him and Maddy to get back together but once he became a lovesick puppy not completely accepting things were over he lost points. 

Today's instalment wasn't too bad if we focus on Alf, Spencer's decision and war discussion.

[Red Ranger 1]

(And thinking about it...when was the last time Alf saw his son?)

​I'm guessing c.2009 where he attend Duncan's wedding to a woman who has not been named to this date.

​Did Alf visit Duncan when he went on that round the world trip c.2011 or was it left vague?

Anyway...while the Andy/Hannah stuff isn't even worth the words I've devoted to it so far, I didn't mind most of the rest.Nate seems to be earning a few brownie points here by refusing to be Kat's drunken bunk-up, the Kat/Phoebe friendship could be interesting if it isn't one of those friendships that proceeds to vanish for months at a time, and Kat going public with their relationship to raised eyebrows from the ladies in the Diner is at least progress.

I'm wondering if the show is now being tailored to those double bills they get in Australia because it's hard to judge the Anzac Day portion of it in isolation without seeing the pay-off. It did seem like there seemed to be very little involvement from most of the supposed participants (they ended up just sitting around watching Josh) but maybe that comes tomorrow. The only thing I will say is that when this war memorial thing first came up John was insistent that it had to be this year to celebrate the centenary, yet now it apparently isn't going to be and he's...okay with that?

So, looks like we're losing Spencer.It seemed so rushed I was expecting him to leave in this episode so hopefully he'll get a proper send-off because he hasn't so far.I was wondering if, right after I praised them for not giving a fairy tale ending to Maddy and her family, they were going to give it to Spencer instead but pleasingly they haven't: In fact, there's no reconciliation at all, Spencer hasn't even spoken to his father and the fact that he's going to support his mother when she's on her own was a realistic turn of events, I think.It might also indicate that he's never really found the surrogate family in Summer Bay that Maddy has: Even when they were at their closest, Roo and Harvey left him out in a caravan and since Irene "stole" him she's treated him more like a lodger than a family member.In fact whenever she tries to take on the role of mother figure, as here, it usually blows up in her face and it's telling that he opened up to Roo more because he's still closer to the caravan park crowd: The only person at the beach house who really feels like family is Chris and that's because he is.(Incidentally, while I've been open to him and Maddy getting back together at times, the weight of history always made me feel it was unlikely.Bye, Curtis.)But that's possibly a discussion for tomorrow.Some nice material for Chris, who's been a bit neglected lately.

[atrus]

Agree that it seems like a fairly hastily contrived exit for Spencer; and since plot-lightning rarely strikes twice in such quick succession, I'm not expecting him to do a U-turn à la Maddy. I hope he gets a proper goodbye with her, incidentally - but moreover I feel it's a shame that the simmering chemistry between Spencer and Matt now looks set never to be consummated, despite all the indications to the contrary. I now put the odds of a heartfelt goodbye tryst for Spatt at around 1,000 to 1. But then I'd have put Bobby's ghost appearing out of Ailsa's fridge at even longer odds than that, so stranger things have happened in H&A.

I'm concerned that the Anzac storyline is starting to smell a little of overkill. Don't get me wrong; i've loved what we've had up until now, but in order to drag it out for the full week they now seem to be resorting to everyone endlessly congratulating Jett for having a modicum of sensitivity towards others, Josh locating his inner sculpture park, and ill-expressed allusions to how awful it might have been to be a soldier 100 years ago. To say nothing of what the promo appears to be promising for next time. Still though, I'm looking forward to the actual memorial, and I'm sure having Alf back for the conclusion - assuming he does make it out of hospital by then - will help round it off really nicely.

Hannah walking and Kat being unable to resist Nate's rugged charms were both foregone conclusions, so I won't dwell.

[Slade]

"Shut the front gate" (acronym sounds similar to STFU) and "Booty call".  Those don't sound like terms a professional police officer would use.  I'm really not sure what to make of Kat, they way she's been acting over the last couple of days has been an absolute joke.  Swaying around from side to side with her converse trainers.  Getting hammered and throwing herself at Nate.  Especially when she claims she has a reputation to protect and used the same excuse to not be with him before but I did like her honesty and the way she kissed him in the Diner later on in that episode.  Don't know why Roo, Irene and Marilyn all look surprised as they already knew.  I did quite enjoy the interaction with Kat and Phoebe and now that she's broken up with Kyle for now there has to be some reason to keep Phoebe around the bay.

Quite liked Roo supporting Spencer like that.  That was Maddy all over.  Interesting that:

1) Roo basically gave the same advice as Maddy i.e. Spencer should patch things up with his dad - She didn't specifically say it directly like Maddy did but that was what she was suggesting IMO

2) When she was in the same position earlier on in the week i.e. Maddy had a chance to patch things up with her family Roo decided to sit on the fence

When Spencer said he was leaving, I was really hoping that he would take Chris up on him offer of leaving the bay with him.  I did agree with what Chris said.  It is wrong him staying and Spencer going.

Good to see some interaction with Oscar and Evelyn/Hannah.  I liked the way she told Hannah to spill regarding her good mood.  I know it was inevitable but I would prefer Hannah to remain in the wheelchair a least for the foreseeable.  Whilst I have liked some scenes with Andy/Hannah I don't particularly like the way the writers are trying to force the true love thing.  I have to admit I rolled my eyes when Andy said Hannah was the strongest person he knew also when Oscar saw her walking and proclaimed "Amazing!".

I agree that they are dragging the Anzac storyline out and it would be better suited to specific episodes and confining it to specific people rather than including a lot of the younger characters where it feels all of them bar Jett are disingenuous.

[Dan F]

Those who watched today's episode may be interested in a new feature we have on the site, covering the Anzac storyline, some behind-the-scenes info, and some background context for those that may not be familiar with the difficulties that Vietnam veterans have faced.

http://www.backtothebay.net/features/anzac-day-2015.shtml

[c120701]

They had to shoehorn Brax in didn't they. The River Boys having their own 'service' I liked and could cope with, but Brax wasn't needed.

[KIMIF1]

 

I thought he was one of the original 'River Boys',  therefore it was perfectly right to mention him

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Four. Roo was in all five, Jett, Oscar and Ash were also in four. Brax was only in one and didn’t have any dialogue.

 

Well, they squeezed quite a bit in there. I’m glad Evelyn finally told Matt that his worries are nothing and he should get over it, shame he didn’t seem to listen. The Leah and Zac stuff was quite sweet. And I liked the chat between Denny and Ash and her relief that she’s not being kept in the dark any more, although there seemed to be some confusion about whether Ash’s brother died in Afghanistan or not, with Ash saying he died “a month after he came back” at one point. It was a nice touch to have his name given as Marty on the back of the photo, since his family are unlikely to call him Ash. (Even though Brax’s family do…)

 

So, ta-ta to Spencer. I feel the character’s been neglected and let down to a point: He got pigeon-holed as “the nice one”, with the writers more interested in angsty bad boys Josh and Matt and quirky quasi-nerd Oscar. I always felt they made a mistake splitting up him and Maddy and a massive mistake moving him out of the caravan park and into the beach house: It took him away from all the characters he had a connection with and he never really bonded with ostensible replacements Sasha and Irene, leaving him somewhat adrift. Anyway, I was pleased he had that last scene with Roo and very pleased he had that moment with Maddy, right up until she turned up I didn’t think we were going to get one. (The “I love you”s are nicely ambiguous: I think Maddy came to love him like a brother but he was possibly still in love with her a bit.) I’m not sure the Matt scene was needed but I’m sure some people appreciated it. Shame Alf wasn’t around and that he didn’t get much of a goodbye with Chris, but I guess they had their moment in the previous episode and Chris did get that reaction shot waving him off.

 

And of course we finally get to Anzac Day. It’s churlish to list all the elements that bugged me but I’ll list them anyway. I just don’t buy this River Boy annual commemoration thing (and since when has Andy had anything to do with the River Boys, anyway?), it feels like a retcon trying to make out they were always responsible citizens instead of the obnoxious louts we first met, let alone the criminal gang they turned out to be. The scene of Brax in his cell ties in with the retcon, that this is something he always does and he’s with them in spirit, but otherwise I’m left thinking how does he know what the others are doing. I’ve no idea what Josh’s sculpture was, presumably it was that spindly thing behind Jett and Evelyn which I never really got a good look at. And the choir only sing the first and last verses of Abide With Me.

 

None of which matters: It hit the right level of respect and solemnity, there was some nice inter-generational stuff and some good imagery and it was a fitting tribute. And over the years I’ve got used to the fact that Australia does things differently and anyone can read the exhortation. (I think over here it has to be a member of the British Legion and thus an ex-serviceman.) Alf choosing that moment to scatter the ashes is a bit neat but I guess 100 years is long enough and if there’s one anniversary he was going to choose it was that one.

 

(Incidentally, I notice Billie was credited despite only appearing in a photo which, coupled with it being in the promo, leads me to wonder if Ash encountering her was meant to be at the end of this episode. If so, I think they made the right decision dropping it and letting it end on that image of Alf scattering the ashes. The fact that the episode was already nearly a minute longer than usual may have had something to do with it as well.)

[atrus]

The dawn service was really well-done and nicely filmed. I loved how it ended, with Alf scattering the ashes in the sea. And actually, while I was initially inclined to agree with Red that the River Boys felt out of place, reflecting on it a bit it's perhaps interesting to note that as a group, they fit many of the classic 'forces' stereotypes: the tribal mentality; the 'bro code'; the unflinching loyalty; the emphasis on physical means of release rather than the 'talking' much beloved of most soap characters; the stiff upper lip; the tough internal discipline; and yes, the capacity for violence. I'm not suggesting any kind of moral equivalence here, by the way - merely pointing out that in a way it makes sense that the River Boys might identify with soldiers as much as anyone in the Bay, if not more. I guess Phoebe and Kyle didn't really give a rat's ass, though - or are they still busy elsewhere doing something crimey?

Spencer's goodbye was nice and understated, the highlight being his farewell with Maddy. Well, one of the two highlights...

Anyone notice how Matt got upset at the exact moment he found out Spencer was leaving? And okay, they didn't exactly get their tryst, but they got a very loaded one-on-one goodbye moment - certainly more than I expected - which I think proved that the writers knew how fond they really were of each other. I mean that in all seriousness: it was never really romantic, perhaps, but they certainly always had a more affectionate connection than either of them would have ever wanted to let on.

[Homeandawayfan.]

Did Alf's grandfather get killed in 1915 or was it another time during WW1?