Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

I was wondering about that as well Red about Roo listening into Alf's session with Maria, it just wasn't right. complete invasion of his privacy. Rather unusual to have sessions like that at a patients home, but if it makes them feel more relaxed I guess the therapist can bend the rules. I can see why he wants to forget considering the way and he and others who fought in Vietnam were treated when they come back. They didn't chose to go but thought they were doing it for their country and were treated like outcasts.  As for those who died out there, apart from their families, I dare say they were completely forgotten about. He's many years of oppressing his feelings about it and Alf has never been  one to talk about his feelings so opening up is a real big deal for him. The writing down of his feelings about it all were  a good idea as he could do it at his own pace.

I guess the hospital must set a time limit for how long a patient is to be left on life support before approaching the family about switching it off.   I'm glad that Leah agreed that VJ should be included, he is well old enough to be aware of what could happen. What was she planning on doing originally, leave it until the moment the decision was to be made?

I know Matt thinks he is doing the right thing by moving out to give Leah, VJ, Zac and Nate some room, but knowing Leah she is only going to worry about him being on his own.  I like their relationship, he's like another son to her.

Reading between the lines it seems Sean and Hannah's relationship didn't end well, reckon he could have asked her to go overseas with him, but as it may have been around the time her sister was ill, she wasn't or didn't feel able to go.  He did seem the kind who couldn't /didn't like to settle anywhere for long. Maybe a bit soon to lumber Sean with everything that went on with Ethan, the twins, the commune, Zac etc.  She finally got around to telling Sean she had someone new and she did mention she had been in the accident that Leah was involved in. It came across to me that he'd like to rekindle whatever they had.  She's hardly keeping him under wraps by having lunch with him in the diner and of course Oscar and Evie know him from back then so it'll be so easy for either of them to mention him to Andy, so get in there first Hannah.

So neither Maddy or Oscar want to make the first move and wreck their friendship, it's normally the adults who faff around things like that.   It is a tad premature for Maddy to be talking about the 'all clear' but Alf was right to tell Roo about letting her have some hope. If Maddy is going to feel more positive it'll surely help her recovery.

[Slade]

Well Billie-no-mates was a little bit better on Wednesday.  But Hannah's joking to Andy about fancying her and the way Billie was with Andy made me think for a split second that she might just turn her attentions to him instead.  Assuming she still isn't able to work her charms on Kyle.

I see the scenes with Oscar and Maddy and think it's inevitable they're going to get back together which would be such a shame.  Because I have actually quite liked him as of late.  Even yesterday some of his one liners were quite amusing such as Evelyn copping of with Josh and Oscar said "just pretend I'm not here".  Or.when Josh wore the T-shirt of himself and Evie Oscar said "That a present of punishment".  And also when Oscar and Maddy were baking Josh's birthday cake and he retorted "Evie loves birthday's I should have known I've had to share the last 17 with her".  But then we get the other side which looks like he's going to be sucked in again.

I did find Evelyn quite amusing when she was being bubbly and planning everything for Josh but can see how it could come across as quite annoying.  Thought Josh was a bit harsh with her though.

Thought the sessions were supposed to be confidential so really didn't like Roo listening in like that.  I actually found it quite annoying.

 

I knew the moment Hannah talked about how solid everything was, that something would happen. But rolled my eyes at her childishness in trying to hide from Mr Gleason. What is she, 10? it is a sad state of affairs when Andy is starting to look like the more mature member of their relationship

I do think Hannah can be quite immature but I could actually kind of understand her in that particular instance.  I just assumed that because of what happened with Andy and the guy from the nightclub.  She wanted to avoid another meeting with someone who could potentially like her and just wasn't ready to deal with him.  Perhaps she was being overly paranoid.  I'm only saying this because I've been in situations myself where I've tried to avoid someone for one reason or another mainly because I just didn't want the hassle of dealing with that particular person at the time.  First impressions of Sean was that I wasn't too keen on him and hope he goes back to the city.

Looking forward to seeing this prison break that is supposed to happen.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Phoebe and Kat were only in one.

Another great counselling session between Alf and Maria, only spoiled by more hugely inappropriate eavesdropping from Roo: In full view of Maria this time, but maybe she didn't want to interrupt Alf's flow by telling her to go away.Alf's obviously been carrying around a lot of survivor's guilt, and despite another breakthrough there's hopefully more of this to come.

I was hoping for a decent pay-off to the storyline about Josh's mother but I was disappointed.All we got was a generic "Mum promised me a big 18th, she lied, wah!" rant, followed by a bunch of platitudes from Saint Andy.I'm left wondering what the point of it all was, except to fill a few people's episode counts.While I accept the argument that Josh should have sucked it up and appreciated his friends' thought even though it wasn't what he wanted, a big part of me was hoping he wouldn't go back to the party.Maddy's little look at Oscar while doting at Casey was a nice throwaway moment: I don't think putting them back together is automatically damaging for Oscar's character, they have had a lot of good interaction in the past.

Is it a coincidence that the episodes I enjoy least have Brax in them?Probably not, and even though he's only on screen for one brief telephone conversation his shadow hangs heavily over proceedings.It's increasingly clear that he's risking everything and everyone he once thought was important just so he can escape:Kyle and Ash's freedom, Ricky and Casey being looked after, Denny's happiness.It just feels massively selfish and for no real reason other than that prison isn't a holiday camp.It was a bit laughable to have Ash remind Kyle he promised Brax he'd look after Casey and the baby when Brax is the one who's causing him to break that promise.Ash and Denny's break-up was deeply frustrating and just one more reason for me to resent Brax.

[atrus]

Fully agree about Brax's prison break plan being entirely selfish and hardly conducive to viewer sympathy. (The one consolation, perhaps, being that if he does break out there'll surely be no prospect of him living in the Bay.) Then again, if his followers insist on obeying his every instruction lemming-like, you feel they deserve more or less everything they get. It riled me no end how Kyle and Ash immediately seemed to accept that they had to bust Brax out of jail, just because he said so. Do they never learn?

My soapie sixth-sense immediately pricked up when we saw a non-Nate doctor in town advising Leah, especially when Nate was in the episode - so no surprise that he turned out to be an old flame of Hannah's. Thank goodness Leah has finally opted to have the surgery, but it seems a bit of a U-turn that just a few weeks ago she was berating Zac and VJ for 'giving up' on her when she was in a coma - and now she wants her life-support turned off if it happens again? Given that, I don't blame VJ for being confused and angry about it.

Kat seemed to have done a bit of a jarring U-turn too, from being Matt's arresting officer to being his number one cheerleader in court - to the extent that she almost appeared to be flirting with him at times. I would have thought her job would have kept her away from proceedings if she wasn't testifying on behalf of the police, but apparently not.

Poor Josh, having to wear that dreadful T-shirt. You get the feeling that his relationship with Evie may not survive her recent personality transplant. Still, no reason to throw the party in her face - but I guess with the refreshingly mild reaction to the previous two unwanted surprise parties, we were overdue a tantrum. 

More really powerful scenes with Alf and the counsellor. I'm glad they're lingering over this and not tying it up too quickly - those sorts of issues aren't ones that evaporate overnight, after all, and they've really given Ray Meagher a chance to shine in an unusually meaty storyline.

[CaptainHulk]

Yeah, after coming home form that second tour, It can't have been easy for him with a young Roo to deal with and the remainder of his marriage to Martha Sr. (Was she even mentioned during this?). At times like this I wish Tom Fletcher was still alive as he also did a tour in 'Nam and could relate. We'd get the standard "It never goes away, does it?" scenes but Roger Oakley could pull it off with truth and conviction. I always felt his friendship with Alf was a bit more believable than Alf's with Michael (no disrespect to Dennis Coard), probably because they were kind of similiar blokes.

[H&Alover]

Although I completely agree Roo should never have been listening in on Alf's conversation with Maria it has given her an insight to Alf's behaviour over the years. It has also enabled him to know why he has always been so closed about his feelings.  It has been a huge break through, but as Maria said he still has some way to go, I think TPTB at H&A have dealt with it very well and as atrus said let's hope they don't just brush it under the carpet and never mention it again.  Survivor guilt doesn't apply to those who fought  in wars and came back virtually unscathed, they also come from big disasters, train wrecks, fires etc.  In Australia do they have  at the end of an episode - 'anyone who has or is experiencing what Alf is going through can ring this number?'

I can kind of understand why Josh was so anti the party after the call from the prison asking him to call his mum. It was supposed to be something she would have organised, maybe, depending of she remembered  it. Glad that Andy persuaded him let it go and attend. Nice scenes between Maddy and Oscar I think this time round they will make a go of it.

Slightly different set up with Sean and Hannah than the bloke in the disco, Sean is an old flame and they are always a danger for a new relationship.

Leah didn't get a say when she was in her last coma about whether to switch off her life support if it came to it, now she will have some control.

A real U-turn on Ash's part about him doing the job rather than Kyle.  It had to be when he saw Kyle with Casey and Kyle did promise Brax he'd look after Ricky and Casey, this way he can without risking his life/freedom.  No wonder poor Denny looked so confused when Ash broke up with her with no more than a 'it's not working for me' remark from Ash. It does go ahead but...................

 

[JosieTash]

  In Australia do they have  at the end of an episode - 'anyone who has or is experiencing what Alf is going through can ring this number?'

 

 

I can't recall them doing so for this [too busy going to their latest annoying reality show], but i know I've seen other public service announcements like that at the end of TV shows [or even news pierces] here in Oz..  

[Angelica]

 

 

I knew the moment Hannah talked about how solid everything was, that something would happen. But rolled my eyes at her childishness in trying to hide from Mr Gleason. What is she, 10? it is a sad state of affairs when Andy is starting to look like the more mature member of their relationship

I do think Hannah can be quite immature but I could actually kind of understand her in that particular instance.  I just assumed that because of what happened with Andy and the guy from the nightclub.  She wanted to avoid another meeting with someone who could potentially like her and just wasn't ready to deal with him.  Perhaps she was being overly paranoid.  I'm only saying this because I've been in situations myself where I've tried to avoid someone for one reason or another mainly because I just didn't want the hassle of dealing with that particular person at the time.  First impressions of Sean was that I wasn't too keen on him and hope he goes back to the city.

Looking forward to seeing this prison break that is supposed to happen.

 

 

I can see where you are coming from. It just seemed like an over-reaction given that she was bumping into him in her work place. It was likely that he was going to be there for reasons other than to track her down. It has been long enough that while I wouldn't expect her to be jumping for joy, I think her running out of her work place seemed a bit OTT.  But then, it may be my dislike of her character biasing my views. Not interesting in her having an ex floating around.

 

Kat seemed to have done a bit of a jarring U-turn too, from being Matt's arresting officer to being his number one cheerleader in court - to the extent that she almost appeared to be flirting with him at times. I would have thought her job would have kept her away from proceedings if she wasn't testifying on behalf of the police, but apparently not.

To be fair to Kat, when she was arresting Matt, she was quite keen to get him to cooperate with the investigation and name other suspects to help him get a lighter sentence. So I didn't find it particularly jarring that she would want to support him. I did wonder though, whether she should be giving character witness statements, as it is perhaps a conflict of interest.

Feel they could have done more with Josh's storyline. Since hooking up with Evie, Josh doesn't seem to be anything other than her appendage so I would welcome the chance for him to have a storyline of his own. Just felt like they brought up his mum to provide 5 minutes of drama only to brush it under the carpet again.

I admit, I am quite keen for Oscar and Maddie not to get together. I have warmed more to both characters now that I have seen them interacting more with other characters. And I am pretty bored with the whole "geeky guy gets the girl he thinks is out of his league" type of storylines.

Finally, I hate hate hate this development with the Brax storylines. I am so tired of everyone acting like they have no autonomy around Brax, but instead continue to blindly make stupid decisions. So Ash is breaking up with Denny again? So that he can help Brax put everyone's lives at risk by trying to break free (Why does no one see the fallacy of trying to clear Brax's life while on the run or Brax trying to have contact with his son and Ricky while on the run). Why could neither Ash or Kyle at least try to talk Brax out of this?

 

 

[Slade]

I admit, I am quite keen for Oscar and Maddie not to get together. I have warmed more to both characters now that I have seen them interacting more with other characters. And I am pretty bored with the whole "geeky guy gets the girl he thinks is out of his league" type of storylines.

I said this months ago but IMO Oscar is far better off away from Maddy.  And as I said last week they've now injected some humour into his character so after the period of time where I didn't like him I've warmed to him quite a bit.  I don't think I could take it if he went back to following her around like a lost puppy.  I'm still not convinced they are good for each other.  And I certainly don't think she is good for him.  He never really seemed happy when all his time was focussed on her.

Was getting a little tired with the overdoing the whole self-sacrifice thing.  I do think if it's between Kyle and Ash breaking Brax out of prison Ash is probably right offering to do it as this mess was indirectly his fault.

Looks like Alf is probably going to be cured in record time.

Billie still hasn't given up on Kyle huh.  Am I surprised? Nope.  Did actually think there was chemistry between her and Andy though during their brief interaction on Friday.

[Red Ranger 1]

At the risk of once again spending more time discussing earlier episodes, I personally haven't seen much difference in Oscar's character, he's always had a sense of humour in my opinion.At the risk of being presumptous, I suspect that if people didn't enjoy his scenes with Maddy, that was because they don't enjoy scenes with Maddy in rather than because Oscar was any different in them. (Which, I guess, means the end result would be the same if they reunited.)Actually, I'm struggling to remember anything he's done while they've been apart: There was the job at the gym, which started okay then just fizzled out, and that's about it.And while "Geeky boy gets attractive girlfriend" might be slightly overdone, and some attempts have badly misfired in my opinion, it's preferable to the alternative of "Nice guy always finishes last because all girl like bad boys".

So...Brax's Prison Break Part Whatever.At least Brax had the decency to seem uncomfortable when he realised that Gregory (who, ironically, is probably the closest thing he's got to a friend in the prison) is one of the people who'd get hurt if things went to plan:Guess it's easier to order attacks on people you don't know.He still doesn't seem too bothered about the possibility of Kyle and/or Ash being killed, or the irony of worrying Ash would hurt Denny by going back to crime then getting him to hurt her and go back to crime, or what effect this will have on Ricky and Casey...And it's very disappointing that Kyle, who, when Heath and especially Casey were around, was the one who questioned Brax instead of blindly going along with what he said, has turned into a sheep bleating blind faith about "Brax knows best".Ash and Kyle saying it's too late to call the prison break off because Brax is on his way seems a bit nonsensical:Surely if they call it off he'd just turn up safely at the other prison?(As it turns out, he didn't make it that far, but they don't know that.)It took me a while to work out that the guy watching Ricky is the same one that gave Ash the money, ie one of Gunno's boys which is the only clear evidence that he's behind things.Why was he hanging around watching Ricky though, so she'd realise something was going on?I'm not even going to comment on her bonkers plan to take a newborn on the run (cos that worked really well for Kane and Kirsty...).Personally, I'm more worried about Gregory and his silent colleague than Brax.

I was really hoping when Andy slipped out of the house when Denny wasn't looking that he was going to go and see Kyle and find out what's really going on.But no, he's still Saint Andy, who's apparently nothing to do with the criminal types these days and just wants to cheer up one of his fan club.Either that or he's being uncharacteristically nice because that's what soap characters always do when their partners look elsewhere.We get some insight into Hannah and Sean's past and a clear look at what could have been if Sarah hadn't got sick.I'm almost interested despite not feeling much connection to any of the three characters in this triangle.