Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Angelica]

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"

That certainly isn't the case for me. I haven't always been the biggest fan of Maddy but my issues with Oscar/Maddy scenes aren't particularly to do with the fact that I don't like scenes with Maddy. I think Maddy has had loads of good scenes, and part of my problem with Maddy/Oscar is that having seen Maddy interact with more people now that she has been developed past just her role as a love interest, I find that she has better natural chemistry with other people including Oscar's sister. My problem with Maddy and Oscar has always been that it has always felt quite forced. I am not sure if this is due to poor direction, but I always find they become exagerrated forms of themselves. Maddy becomes excessively exuberant (much like Evie has been recently) and Oscar becomes excessively awkward in her presence, and his humour feels more forced (rather than some of his naturally funny one-liners when he is interacting casually with his family). It just all feels forced. I agree, I dislike the fact that the females in the show consistently choose the bad boys over the nice guys. But Oscar "getting the girl" would be more rewarding if Maddy wasn't the only teenage girl in the show whom he is not related to.

As for the Brax storyline. I have no words for how ridiculous it has become.

[H&Alover]

To be fair Maddy is a bit of a swot/geek as well, it's just that she has more confidence than Oscar which could partly be due to his time in the cult. She does seem to bring him out of his shell a bit more.   I can't see why they can't give it a go, properly this time.

Guess it was Ricky's time with Adam that made her suspicious about that bloke and her instincts were spot on, though he was pretty obvious by standing there waving at her or perhaps that was the point, at least she was sensible enough not to keep it to herself and confided in Kyle. Gunno was bound to have buddies still on the outside. So another cunning plan of Brax's falls apart.  Ricky was understandably furious, did Brax really think him disappearing for months, years would be better for them all!!!  Not totally surprised she'd think of taking off with Casey and joining Brax. Even if Kyle had managed to call Ash off it wouldn't have stopped Gunno's men running the prison car off the road and neither by extension  would Ash be there to try and save Brax and the officers. No-one should be surprised that Gunno found out Brax was going to be moved, it's a prison and word gets round.  I'm just hoping good screw Gregory wasn't involved.

So it got as close as Hannah and Sean planning to get married and go overseas and it was just her having to stay home and look after Sarah that put the mockers on it, they drifted apart and never properly finished their relationship, neither Hannah or Leah were aware Sean heard most of the conversation, especially the 'never fell out of love' bit.

I kind of liked Denny confiding in Andy and he did give her a honest answer that sometimes, from a blokes point of view, there doesn't have to be a reason for  him to dump his girlfriend. I thought the same thing I thought he was going to tackle Ash, he must have enquired about him because didn't he tell Denny Ash wasn't in town when he came back?  Is Ash going to tell Denny he made a mistake and wants to get back with her when he comes back? Good solution by Andy to help Denny get rid of her frustration.

 

[atrus]

So is this is it for Brax? I somehow suspect not, but perhaps we'll at least get a reprieve. I'm still entirely unclear as to how he planned to be a good husband and father as a permanent fugitive, without risking Ricky's freedom as well as his own and likely getting his son put in care. At least in jail he'd get to see his family once in a while - whereas the whole breakout plan seemed completely nuts and designed purely to prompt another ratings-grabbing slow-mo car stunt. Of course the whole scenario also allowed Brax to disappear in a blaze of nobility, having saved his warder from drowning while still wearing handcuffs. Because, you know - he's just that kind of guy. 

While Kyle and Ash's predictably ovine behaviour continued to frustrate, Ricky's complete aversion to the whole stupid idea won her my full sympathy - at least, that is, until she announced out of the blue that she was going to take her weeks-old baby son to join Brax on the run. Yeah, great start to life for the little one. As it is, I worry - in the loosest sense of the word - that we haven't yet seen the back of the current Creep of the Week, who was last seen hanging around the foliage by the beach. My prediction is another kidnapping before the week's through.

Not much of note going on elsewhere. Hannah's former love-life isn't igniting my interest, and neither are Denny or Andy.

[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"

That certainly isn't the case for me. I haven't always been the biggest fan of Maddy but my issues with Oscar/Maddy scenes aren't particularly to do with the fact that I don't like scenes with Maddy. I think Maddy has had loads of good scenes, and part of my problem with Maddy/Oscar is that having seen Maddy interact with more people now that she has been developed past just her role as a love interest, I find that she has better natural chemistry with other people including Oscar's sister. My problem with Maddy and Oscar has always been that it has always felt quite forced. I am not sure if this is due to poor direction, but I always find they become exagerrated forms of themselves. Maddy becomes excessively exuberant (much like Evie has been recently) and Oscar becomes excessively awkward in her presence, and his humour feels more forced (rather than some of his naturally funny one-liners when he is interacting casually with his family). It just all feels forced. I agree, I dislike the fact that the females in the show consistently choose the bad boys over the nice guys. But Oscar "getting the girl" would be more rewarding if Maddy wasn't the only teenage girl in the show whom he is not related to.

Fair enough.I do accept that, while some of Maddy and Oscar's scenes around the turn of the year have been among the best Home and Away has done recently, some of their scenes are a bit bland and awkward.But I don't think they were given a fair crack as a couple, they just got together, never did much coupley and then randomly broke up, so I'd like to see them get a chance.

My main thought throughout the episode is "Is the driver okay?"I am seriously more worried about him than Brax, partly because if there's no body then Brax will probably turn up again sooner or later, especially if Steve Peacocke's film career doesn't pan out.If yet another innocent bystander has been collateral damage to one of Brax's feuds...well, I'll save that rant for another day, but even Kat seemed to act as if Brax was somehow the priority.Pretty weak excuse for Gregory to uncuff Brax, given that he'd somehow managed to get both of them out with the cuffs on.

To be honest, the whole episode felt very awkward, as if those responsible for making it didn't entirely know what they were doing or what the show was.Since when does Billie call Ash "Ash", as she does multiple times here?I started off thinking it was significant, now I just think it was poor characterisation.I get that they were just looking out for their sister, but why were Evelyn and Oscar so unsympathetic towards Ash and encouraging Denny not to care that he was in trouble?Evelyn wears a pure white dress (which didn't really look like something she'd wear, especially not for playing pool at the surf club, she usually dresses more functional except on special occasions), which remains spotless during what seems to be hours cleaning out a dusty storeroom.The Alf stuff could have been good, showing us how his PTSD continues to affect him, but while I enjoyed his scenes with John and Marilyn it felt that, like Josh's tantrum last week, it was paying lip service without really saying anything.

[pembie]

Brax's exit would of been much better if he had stayed in jail I think.

[CaptainHulk]

Alf's flame was probably the spiciest he's let out for a while. I thought He was going to throttle Palmer (About 5-6 years ago, I'd have said he deserved it but John has since mellowed). I'm glad Maz took him to task about it though.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm guessing the driver's dead then, since it's unlikely he's also hiding out ready to make a Lazarus style return.I'll give Brax the benefit of the doubt and accept he did his best to save him instead of just taking the opportunity to escape but it's still indirectly his fault, since once again someone comes after him and someone else dies instead.(And again, he's spared crossing the moral line of assaulting his guards by the fact Gunno does it for him.)I don't really know what to make of all this.It feels like the producers knew there were two dramatically opposed views among fans as to what should happen to Brax (some wanted him happy, some wanted him punished) and went for a kind of middle ground.But at the end of the day, Brax doesn't change."It was always going to end like this...the way he lived his life,"Ricky says at one point and that would have been a fitting and damning epitaph...but he's not dead, and it's hard to shake the feeling that when it's Ricky's turn to leave Brax will turn up, announce he's cleared his name and Gunno's conveniently died, and claim her and Casey.Brax's selfishness costs him dear:He could have served his sentence and seen his family when he could, and trying to beat the system placed his family in danger and caused him to lose what little contact with them he had.But still he doesn't learn, unable to resist the temptation of one last look at Ricky and Casey:What if Ricky had looked up a moment earlier or John had come out or, most importantly, what if the men he knew Gunno had watching her had seen him?His sacrifice would have been meaningless once again.I don't mind myself but I suspect some people will be unhappy that he only has a proper last moment with Ash rather than with his family.Ironically, he had a perfect last moment with Kyle but that was two months ago and the storyline carried on.

And since the storyline now seems to be over, I guess it's time for me to ask: Whither Sam?Part of me's glad the show didn't go for the double standard of saying it's okay for Andy to murder a bad man but not him, but that's two murders gone unpunished in less than a year, two more than in the previous 25+.Three, in fact: It's treated as a footnote but someone just murdered a police officer and no-one seems that interested in tracking them down either.Most British soaps treat death and murder with a distressingly casual air.Home and Away used to be better than that.Now, sadly, it seems it's not.

In the midst of all this, the bright spark was some good work on Billie, who in the last two episodes has continued to show more maturity that might immediately be apparent.I like the way she put her feelings aside and decided that if Kyle needed Phoebe then that's who she'd get, and I like that Kyle seemed to appreciate it.

[KIMIF1]

Ricky is a fine one to comment on crime isn't she after what she did to the Braxton family and taking photos to help her brother in his blackmailing schemes - certainly no angel.

Brax hasn't murdered anyone,  he punched Johnny Barrett who  had already hit and was threatening to hurt a seven year old boy - Johnny fell and hit his head on a stone and was still alive when Brax left him.   As for Jake,  I could understand if he had  killed him after  what he did and  Deans death was nothing to do with him  either. Just wonder who will become the new whipping boy now Brax has gone.  So pleased that they have left his role open  for a return sometime in the future hopefully,  its pretty dull without him already as far as I'm concerned.

[H&Alover]

Of course the driver was OK, they were dummies (no slight to the actors) when the car went in the water!   I'm glad Brax managed to rescue Gregory, will he have questions to answer about uncuffing Brax? I'm guessing he got the driver out, but it was too late for him? I had the thought suppose Ash hadn't managed to persuade Kyke to let him go and he found Brax at the safe house, would Brax been able to talk him round? Although I see Brax's logic that if Gunno believes he is dead he'll lay off Ricky, Casey and Kyle, his plan is completely crack pot, then he nearly blows it by turning up for one more look at Ricky and Casey, how handy they just happened to be outside.  I thought the same Red, if Ricky had looked up, having the feeling she was being watched,  just a few seconds before she would have seen him! That's one hell of a responsibility to lay on Ash poor guy.  He's now got to watch the rest of the family, Heath (nice he got a mention) and Cheryl go through mourning him.  I'm surprised Ricky was so quick to believe Brax was dead, like Phoebe I thought initially It was down to shock, but next day she was still in the same mind set. A big thing for Billie to do by telling Phoebe to go to Kyle, she could have used the opportunity to move in on Kyle.  Phoebe understood more about the relationship between Kyle and Brax than Billie did. She was also able to persuade him not to go looking for Brax with the other River Boys by reminding him (as Ash did) that he promised Brax he'd look after Ricky and Casey. I guess Brax 'dying' means as the saying goes 'the door has been left open' should Stephen's career in Hollywood go pear shaped.

KIMIF1 was right Adam finished Jonny off, letting Brax think he had killed him to keep him under his power and was just used as a scapegoat for Dean's murder.

I liked how Maz had a go at Alf for his behaviour towards John, who let's face it isn't the most thoughtful at the best of times. Ald did apologise to both of them and has agreed to work together with John.

[Red Ranger 1]

Brax hasn't murdered anyone, 

And...that's the nicest thing anyone can say about him?It's more by luck than judgement and I make it eight violent deaths he's been involved with and at least partly responsible for, and that's just the ones we know of.The difference between him and Ricky is that she was capable of changing and he wasn't.

It's a shame because this episode was, on one level, a good sign of the community pulling together and supporting each other, yet it was somewhat undermined by the fact I kept wanting to shout "He's not really dead!" at the screen.John quietly helping Andy was the standout scene, although it's a shame that Andy and Josh barely seem to have given Brax and his family a thought for the last two months so the idea of them being close to him doesn't quite come off.Phoebe is as serious as she's ever been.Evelyn seems oddly incapable of helping Josh (bringing back memories of him seemingly not wanting to be with her when Casey died), but like Billie last episode her response is to track down the person that can help him.The little scene at the surf club was a nice macrocosm of the situation.(Maddy cringing when Matt makes the "Someone died?" crack:She's fast become one of those characters that I always watch to see what she's doing, even when it's an episode that she's only in for the sake of it.)

Leah seems to have inherited that gypsy curse Sally had around the time of the Summer Bay Stalker, given the number of relapses she had here.It was good to see everyone rallying around her, with Zac obviously troubled by what he might have to do.I actually felt Sean blaming himself for not being there when things went wrong was a very human reaction, not the "god complex" that Hannah labelled it.And where was he anyway?