Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[c120701]

I noticed about Zac having slept on the couch too - although when they moved in, Roo did say that Evelyn would only be there until they sorted something out, so maybe they've bought a third bed to go in Maddie's room.

[atrus]

The show could yet wrongfoot me, but it seems as if we're going down the 'figure of fun' route with Snelgrove, which inevitably means he won't be sticking around full-time (in this seasoned soap-watcher's opinion). Why shouldn't he like aquariums? (Aquaria?) I don't see why this automatically makes him an undateable weirdo.

Actually he seems like a reasonably well balanced character. I was glad they averted the cliché of having the townspeople gang up on him to persuade him to reinstate Josh; it was only really John who seemed game for a punt. Oh, and Andy; when he offered to 'talk Snelgrove round' I briefly worried that it was some kind of euphemism for forcing him off the road, or some other violent means of expediting his departure. But then I remembered that Andy has joined the ranks of the saintly and that Hunter is now the resident psychopath.

James Fraser is definitely not a name I expected to hear again on the show. Unsure as to why he's called Irene for parenting guidance, since surely wicked grandma Diana would make short work of any teen tantrums Olivia could cook up. It seems like a curiously specific reference to contrive Irene's exit, especially since she has several kids (and presumably by now, grandkids) of her own - so I'm now wondering if we're going to be seeing Olivia shortly. And even maybe James?

I couldn't care less about Kat and Nate, really, but I was disappointed to see Ricky gazing longingly at Nate while he held the baby, like a chiselled dad from a stock photograph. This can surely only mean that another tiresome love triangle is upon us. The way Kat's acting at the moment, I suspect she'll fast find herself becoming the hypotenuse. But thank heavens she didn't show up on the beach to apologise to Nate just in time to see him hanging out with Ricky and Brax Jr like a happy family unit, which I was convinced was where we were going.

Back to the Braxtons Plus for the remainder of the week, no doubt. But it looks from the promo like The Note is to get a reprise, so it might be worth tuning in for.

[c120701]

Yeah, the James & Olivia mentions came out of the blue - I did laugh at John speaking on behalf of the newer viewers with all his questions, but I liked the way Irene affectionately touched Chloe's photo.

[Brian]

So Atrus. A love triangle has to be right angled, does it? If so, who gets to be on the hypoteneuse? The spare wheel, if you could identify him/her? Would it be Kat or Ricky in this case?

Feel very sorry for Josh. OK, he shouldn't have taken the second lot of drugs and it is right for a school to have a zero tolerance policy, but had the new principal told his pupils that he would act like that? He must know that his action could ruin Josh's future and he could have expelled him from lessons but allowed him to come into school just and only to take the HSC exams and then never again. Hasn't Josh already repeated his last year? Couldn't see him going back again - he is looking much older than school age all the time now. But I would like to see responsible older brother Andy going to appeal for him. He hasn't got anyone else getting his back.  

[atrus]

So Atrus. A love triangle has to be right angled, does it? If so, who gets to be on the hypoteneuse? The spare wheel, if you could identify him/her? Would it be Kat or Ricky in this case?

Yes - in my expert triangle opinion, the hypotenuse is the spare wheel - the factor to be removed before the writers' intended true pairing is (re)united. At least until the next triangle comes along. And IMO, Kat will rapidly become the hypotenuse in this current scenario.

[Slade]

I found parts of the Kat/Nate storyline quite amusing.  Even though I didn't like the way he treated Sophie a while back I do have a certain level of sympathy for Nate because he's had a rough time of it as of late.  He gets framed for a sexual assault he didn't commit and his girlfriend gets shot.  However I'm with Kat on this one.  I said a while back and I have mentioned on numerous occasions that I believe Nate is still in love with Ricky and today it was just apparent.  I actually felt sorry for Kat the way Nate effectively sidelined her when she got back from the hospital and her reaction when she found out that he spent time with Ricky at the Dinner afterwards.  The worst part of it is he genuinely seems oblivious to how he's coming across.  When he said the reason he had to spend time with Ricky was because he felt guilty about Kyle I believe that he believed that and feel him wanting to be closer to Ricky is very much a subconscious thing.  He also openly announced that Ricky was his best friend.  I know it it a small town but come on, anyone should be suspicious if they are dating someone who is still best friends with their ex.  And when quite rightly she brought the issue up he acted as though she was being unreasonable.  Then towards the end of that episode he and Ricky appeared to have a moment.  Didn't think I would be that interested when I saw the preview but I'm now fascinated for some reason.

Although I'm still very disappointed that he expelled Josh, part of me quite likes the fact that Snelgrove is sticking to his guns.  I don't mind the zero tolerance hardline approach as long as he applies it all the time and is consistent with everyone.  Can't say I really enjoyed the dating scenes and once again found Marilyn annoying although I found some of John's remarks quite amusing.

[Red Ranger 1]

I also felt very sorry for Kat here, as Nate ended up in full-on Bad Boyfriend mode.There didn't seem to be any reason for him to just dump Kat to go to an appointment with Ricky: What exactly could he have told her that the specialist couldn't?(There's a reason they call them specialists.)And then when he finally does go back to Kat, he only sticks around for a minute and storms out when she questions his priorities.Nate and Ricky's moment at the end leaves me wondering "Why would they?" Is Nate really content to be Ricky's back-up plan when Brax isn't around?I know they both think Brax is dead, but only being in the running because the first choice is sleeping with the fishes doesn't seem particularly flattering.

Greg made John look bored, although it seemed a bit of an Informed Attribute with him apparently telling a load of really boring stories off screen.Looks like that's the end of the possibility of him and Irene, which is a bit of a shame, but at least if he's an oddball he's unlikely to turn out to be a sadist.This is the first time Josh has taken Year 12 as far as I'm aware, he was in Year 11 last year and has only just turned 18 so he's unlikely to have taken it any other time.I'm glad his sulking didn't last long and he's looking into alternative ways to get his HSC, anyway.

Much as I liked John's bewildered reaction to references to 90s characters, that whole James and Olivia discussion was complete FUBAR.Olivia should be 17 if you go by her original age, if you go by her age when Chloe died she'd be about 20 and have long since left school.And the UK was where James went in 2000: The whole point of Olivia's exit was that James was moving into her and Chloe's old home in the city so Olivia could stay there with her friends.Yes, there's time for them to have moved, but it kind of misses the point of Olivia's happy ending.I'm hoping that was just an over elaborate exploration for Irene missing a few weeks, because the fact they've made Olivia the same age as VJ and Hunter leaves me wondering if they're going to use a familiar name as a lazy short-hand for introducing a new character.(Made extremely silly if you recall that in 2005 VJ was a toddler and Olivia was about to start high school.) Still, it was nice to see the photo of Chloe, and I expected a few people squeed at the glimpse of Aden and Belle's wedding photo behind it.

I'm not sure if it's my increasing senility or the fact these things aren't well-developed that meant I kept thinking "What are you doing there?What are you doing there?" when Nate wandered into Irene's house before it finally clicked that he lives there now.

[H&Alover]

Last thing first Red, I couldn't even work out whose house it was that Nate took Kat back to!  Then when Hannah came in I realised oh yes she's at the farmhouse.

 

Last thing first Red, you are not alone, I couldn't even work out whose house it was Nate took Kat back to. Then when Hannah walked in I realised 'oh yes, she's at the farmhouse'.

May going to seem unpopular here but I like Greg Snelgrove's zero tolerance attitude even though it was tough on Josh and at least he was sensitive enough to take Josh to his office to tell him instead in front of the whole class. It's about time we had a Principal with backbone because we all know Zac, Sophie, Bianca and even Gina would have most likely just suspended him.  I liked the fact he sent both VJ and Hunter home with their respective parent/stepparent to sort them out. It helps that Greg is new to the bay and so is completely impartial regards the pupils, no favourites, no pupil(s) he's taken against.  Talking of which has Irene suddenly developed selective memory loss, she said to Greg at dinner 'it can't be easy as a Principal having to make tough decisions'.  She knows full well it is isn't easy, she worked with Don (master of tough decision making) and Barry Hyde!

So we were all right, Hunter being responsible for tampering with Leah's brakes was a blind! Telling that everyone thought it could be him and although he was innocent of that there is definitely tweaking Leah's antenna to make her wary of him, she's not banning Zac from seeing him, just not at the house. Actually I think Leah is not the only person scared of him, I think Charlotte is too.

I'd forgotten Kat had been cheated on by her last boyfriend which does go some way to explain her attitude towards Nate and his almost cavalier behaviour when she came out of hospital. I think Kat should worry more about Ricky than Nate, though as with Leah if she piles it on too much she will play right into Ricky's hands.  I did notice Ricky didn't suggest to Nate he go home and be with Kat seeing as it was her first night out of hospital. The moment when Ricky was looking at Nate  holding Casey, you could virtually hear the wheels turning - as in he'd make a great dad, then there was 'that' moment. I wouldn't put much store in what Hannah told her that Ricky dumped Nate when Brax came back into her life, he'd had a fling with her and his wife since then!

I must admit I thought what Andy meant when he asked Josh did he want him to 'have a word' with Snelgrove was an euphemism for punching him, but he's grown out of all that.  Was all his talk about wanting to be a mechanic when he was younger but his lack of being able to read and write and the rubbish teaching at Mangrove River held him back a ruse to get Josh thinking of alternative ways of taking his HSA, either way it worked. Didn't Casey take the same route when he kept dropping out of school? 

So we got to find out why Chris has been so down, he's been playing at being the bright bubbly character so long, he's got stuck with it. He doesn't have to ditch it completely, it's what people like him for, just needs to tone it down. Much as it would have been nice to see him and Hannah together I think there still could be a chance for her and  Andy to get back together, shame then that Andy chose the wrong moment to catch Hannah giving  Chris a comforting hug. Though if they did would she tell him about her picking up of random men, is she still doing that btw or has she tired of it?

That was a blast from the past Irene talking about James, Chloe and Olivia!  How handy then Marilyn was there to explain to John (and those H&A viewers who don't remember them) who they were.  Can't honestly see James agreeing to letting Diane look after Olivia not with all the trouble she caused. I was wondering if perhaps we'll get to see Olivia possibly with a new head

So Greg may not be the man for Irene ( I did like her dress really suited her)  but it has given her the courage to dip her toe back into the dating game again. May not be that ethical for Greg to tell Irene, Marilyn and John about sending home two disruptive pupils and expelling another, but he didn't name names and of course only realised he was talking about Josh because he's a neighbour.

[Slade]

Again, I quite enjoyed the stuff with Nate, Kat and Ricky.  I quite liked Denny's role in all of it.  She wasn't actually doing much but I liked the way she was there for Ricky just listening but conversely when Kat was confiding in her on the beach afterwards about the way she confronted Nate in yesterday's episode, I liked the way they played the music and Denny's expression changed from understanding to one of complete awkwardness.

I think it will be a shame if Nate loses his career because of Kyle and I do find myself thinking along the same lines as James.  In spite of everything I think he is a very good doctor.

With regards to the other love triangle in this episode I'm really not enjoying it.  Can't help thinking that Kyle is going to end up being the father and he and Phoebe are going to get back together which would leave Ash out in the cold.  Still Ash should probably have been upfront with Phoebe about what was bothering him but I can understand him not saying anything because it will look like he's making it all about him.

BTW - Why did Kat hide the chocolate?  Because if it was because of Phoebe it doesn't make any sense her telling Phoebe she hid it afterwards.

[atrus]

Odd how it kept occurring to me that I wish Ash and Kyle didn't have to act like club-wielding cavemen towards each other,  in the tradition of all male love rivals everywhere - so that even a hospital visit is imbued with threat and menace. Wouldn't it be interesting if they were actually nice to one another? Especially given Kyle's current medical crisis?

Still, at least nobody got a tape-measure out - and a full-on fist fight has thankfully been averted, so far (although that's likely more due to Kyle being hooked up to a dialysis machine than any kind of conscious restraint on the boys' part). And credit to Isabella Giovinazzo that she managed (in my view) to bring something fresh and original to the whole ultrasound scene.

So Kyle needs a kidney transplant, and transplants are best sourced from family. I guess we can all work out the potential ramifications of that for Ash, even without reference to the promo. Purely from a dramatic standpoint, it would be quite incredible if Heath proved to be a compatible match given the circumstances.

It seems from others' comments that I was in the minority about sympathising with Nate rather than Kat in their recent spat, and on reflection I suppose she had just been shot, and Nate didn't need to hang out with Ricky drinking coffee. It's just I find Kat quite a cold, humourless character - case in point being the chocolate-hiding reference today, which I'm guessing was supposed to be a funny line, but just came across as strange through the prism of Kat. And if this is the case even when she's juxtaposed with Nate, who makes cold and humourless an artform most of the time, then I think I'm always going to have trouble warming to her.

Final observation: people really need to stop telling Denny their secrets, because she invariably spends the next three episodes acting around the affected party like she's just murdered their entire family.