Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Angelica]

I kinda understand Ricky's feeling some relief at Brax's death. I guess it is similar to people losing someone to a terminal illness where you have already grieved for your life with this person when they first became ill. I guess now Ash doesn't need to feel as guilty about lying to her. Although, I don't know that it was wise for him to confide to Billie about it - bound to come out eventually. Did think Ash and Phoebe were being a bit harsh about Kyle's reaction. Yes, he was a bit of dick, but I guess he is feeling quite alone in his grief. Given how many excuses everyone has made for Ricky's behaviour, I thought they could have cut him some slack while talking about him on the beach. Rolled my eyes again at all the Ash/Phoebe "moments" - maybe Kyle would feel less isolated if they spent more time supporting him rather than flirting with each other. So Denny knows about Ash/Phoebe too. I can see why Denny would feel hurt and confused by it - after all, Ash claimed he only broke up with her because of other things going on in his life, so I can see why she would be slightly hurt that he moved on so quickly. As for Phoebe, Denny will probably wondering why Phoebe was pushing so hard for her and Ash to get back together.

Surprised to see the whole Bille/Nate thing wrapped up so quickly. Makes me wonder what the point of it all was. Was scared that Chris was going to do something stupid so I was glad that at least he went via the correct avenue (even though, I am not sure how convinced I am that the police would have invested enough time in bugging Chris that they would be waiting outside ready to arrest - especially with so little evidence to suggest that she was lying).

[CaptainHulk]

I think the police knew Chris would **** things up so they probably insisted on the wire.

[atrus]

So Ricky says she's relieved Brax is gone, and you can almost hear the chorus of jaded viewers shouting amen to that. Kyle got on my nerves quite a bit as he seemed to lack any kind of empathy with Ricky, although as Angelica says, he is grieving so I'm quite prepared to forgive it, even if he's not prepared to extend the same courtesy to Ricky at the moment. I guess at least part of it is his own guilt about his involvement in what he thinks is Brax's death, and Ricky's a handy person to transfer some of that guilt onto right now.

Good old Chris to the rescue, then. I suppose this almost makes up for the toadstool risotto incident. (Well, maybe not quite, but getting there, slowly but surely.) I was expecting the Billie/Nate stuff to go on a bit longer than that, but it'll be interesting to see how Billie justifies her actions, especially to Ash. My guess is we're far from done with her, particularly given the fact that she's now the only other person who knows Brax is alive. No doubt she'll be using that as a stick to beat Ash with if he proves unforgiving.

Speaking of whom, I continue to be frustrated that the writers feel the need to make Phash happen. It's just not necessary; there's plenty going on at the moment without this chemistry-from-nowhere thing they're trying to pull on us. The whole storyline has rendered Denny a bit of a third wheel, to the extent that I'm wondering how long she has left in her - or alternatively, how long before she ends up with Andy.

[KIMIF1]

I'm glad Kyle acted like he did he is the only one to show real emotion,  there is no excuse for what she said at all absolutely heartless but then that's her - she wants to concentrate on the child she wanted so badly and stop palming it off to other  people. When her brother went to goal if it wasn't for Brax she would have had no money or a place to live he gave her both,  and that was after she had nearly ruined his family.  He isn't perfect but then neither is she by a long way.

[Slade]

Well, I'm glad Billie got caught out.  When I saw Ash go after Ricky I was initially disappointed because I wanted to see his reaction but the preview tomorrow suggests otherwise.  Once again although (as I like Andy I'm glad nothing has been done) I'm still left shaking my head.  Emerson doesn't really bother to follow up Jake's murder but he's prepared to have various cops outside Irene's with Chris strapped with a wire just to prove that someone didn't commit a sexual assault.

Kyle once again spits his dummy out.  I found it so annoying I was glad the way Phoebe was acting towards him.

I have to admit, I really enjoyed seeing Denny's face watching Ash and Phoebe getting closer with Ash moving in for the kiss.  I suspect Denny's going to be out of shape because she doesn't have her **** buddy now.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, turns out Chris is a good person to have in your corner.I'm not sure if it was his idea or the police's but the double bluff was inspired, making Billie think she'd seen through the trap when there's another trap lying behind it.To be honest, I think Emerson's showed the same level of competence throughout.As with Jake's murder, he seems to have done the bare minimum and made no attempt to tie up loose ends or follow up unanswered questions.Sadly, once again, it seems to be a case that the real criminals clam up, lie and cover up and get away with everything, while the honest citizens who don't know how to play the system tell the truth and get charged.If it hadn't been for Chris pressing the issue, Nate would be up in court.Mind you, as with a lot of recent continuity references, it perhaps wasn't the smartest idea to remind us of Nate's treatment of Sophie: I was almost nodding in agreement when Chris said he deserved it for that.(Being framed for sexual assault is an extreme punishment but it certainly didn't show him in a good light.)I really hope that we get a better motivation for Billie than "I wanted to make him and his stupid girlfriend pay for humiliating me." I was similarly frustrated that we didn't see Ash's immediate reaction (I wouldn't mind if it was just so he could help Ricky but when he gets kept away from Billie so he can hit on Phoebe some more...), and similarly relieved that the promo suggests it isn't going to be held over until next week and/or forgotten about (and that we may get a better explanation of Billie).

So after managing not to tell Phoebe last episode, Ash now tells...Billie, which is possibly even worse.Or possibly not, since whilst Phoebe would have let it slip by the end of the week, Billie once again shows she is actually sane and likable most of the time, even if her assessment of Ricky was off.Like Phoebe, I can understand Ricky's point of view.She's not cracking open the champagne and she hates herself for feeling that way, but objectively she is better off being able to get on with her life than spending twenty years in limbo with her partner in jail.I can also understand Kyle's reaction and I thought he handled it well, going off to a quiet corner to vent his frustration rather than yelling at Ricky.So the fact that Ash and Phoebe let Ricky grieve how she wants but don't allow Kyle the same courtesy did seem like them furthering their own agenda.I was prepared to say that Denny doesn't have the right to be jealous when she insisted on things being casual with Ash, but actually it does feel more like her being rightly disapproving of Ash and Phoebe doing the dirty on Kyle.(I agree above that Denny seems to have been shunted to one side to accommodate Phoebe, a character who at times seems more popular with the production team than many of the audience.)

Not so much good stuff for John and Marilyn and bit of a left field declaration from John at the end: They're getting on a bit and doesn't he know Marilyn's infertile?(As established back when she was with Sid and looking to adopt George.)

[CaptainHulk]

The red flags in my mind went up when Palmer talked about Babies, too.

[atrus]

So Charlotte hasn't wasted any time in showing her true colours. I always thought there was something off about her from the get-go; but the way she was allowing Matt to take pictures of them in bed together led me to conclude that she's either very stupid, or a compulsive risk-taker (if I hadn't concluded that already from the fact she's sleeping with a pupil). My instinct is the latter: this isn't love, or any kind of romantic connection as far as I can see - she's just playing games.

Not sure why Matt thought that being snarky with Maddy was a good strategy; and likewise why Charlotte decided that threats were the best way to go to keep her quiet. Said threats are surely totally empty; because if the truth came out, Charlotte wouldn't be able to exert any influence on Maddy's schooling whatsoever - she'd be out of the door. If I were Maddy I'd be feeling far more inclined to drop Charlotte in it after that little chat, not less.

Well Kyle and Phoebe's latest break-up was quick and painless, thanks to Denny having expedited things somewhat. And Phoebe certainly wasted no time in going after Ash in the aftermath. I hope we don't get a change of heart from Kyle so that we have to go through the whole rigmarole again; I really couldn't care less about any of these four characters at the moment.

Fostering feels like a good option for John and Marilyn, and also like a good option in terms of getting the show back to its roots now Brax has done a vanishing act.

[Jamie2811]

Matt and Maddy were stupid discussing his sleeping with the biology teacher in the diner, good job Colleen isn't around anymore or it would've been all over the bay within minutes. Matt taking selfies in bed with the teacher, classic. She was stupid to allow it though, he could easily show them to people. Maybe that's the thrill for her?

Im liking Marilyn's recent references to Byron, it's only right she'd mention him sometimes. It felt like he'd been forgotten about for a while by the writers. Marilyn and John will make excellent foster parents. I can see Marilyn as a new Pippa type, taking in troubled kids.

Im glad Chris exposed Billie the way he did in yesterday's episode, she really is a nasty piece of work.

I noticed in the credits that Dan Bennett is back, and funnily enough there's 2 storylines going on from his previous time on the show: the fabricated sexual assault and student/teacher affair. Wonder if there'll be another summer bay stalker next.

 

 

 

 

 

[Slade]

It was good to see Ash call Billie out on her disgusting behaviour pointing out that she did this to someone who had recently saved her life. I don't have one iota of sympathy for her.  She deserves everything she gets.  It will be interesting to see how the townsfolk react to her now that the truth is out.  Not that most of them didn't know she was lying her backside off anyway.  The thing that annoys me is that she isn't even the least bit sorry.  She's only upset because she got found out.  Good.  Well hopefully it will come back to bit her...hard.

Denny seriously annoyed me in that episode.  She confronted Phoebe then Ash making out that they were committing some heinous act, all under the guise of looking out for Kyle when this was about her jealousy pure and simple.  She then went and told Kyle again under the guise of "Oh i really don't want to tell you, I have to keep quiet" just to get back at them.  And then afterwards when she saw Kyle, made out that she didn't really want to do it when that's exactly what she wanted to do.  She didn't seem to have a problem standing by Hannah when Hannah cheated on Andy and slept with somebody else's husband.  So obviously this wasn't about Kyle and the fact that Phoebe/Ash were going to do the dirty but the fact that as I mentioned previously she's out of shape because she lost her friend with benefits.  I did agree with her though that everyone had a reason to hate Billie.

In spite of that Denny indirectly did Phoebe a favour.  I think Phoebe loves Kyle but isn't in love with him.  Perhaps it was already over when he proposed to her a while back, I don't know.  I wasn't sure about them getting back together but now it feels like Phoebe was standing by Kyle more to support him re Brax/Ricky.  And the fact that she's slept with Ash so quickly shows that she couldn't have been that into Kyle.  I think we all knew it was inevitable anyway.  I suppose it's a blessing that at least they didn't actually cheat on him but to be honest that's only because Kyle finished with her or else I'm sure they would have.

I think I'm starting to appreciate Charlotte as a character now.  I'm not sure how I would describe her.  She isn't crazy in the deranged sense or at least we haven't seen signs of that yet but she seems quite intense at times.  I was kind of liking her and Matt although I was surprised she let him take pictures of them in bed together.  When I saw the preview last week I thought I would have enjoyed that scene with Maddy more than I did although I did quite like Charlotte's no nonsense approach before threatening her.  Maddy didn't seem as frightened as what I would expect.  It was mainly bemusement.