Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

 

How Denny knows what about what Changelo????????? 

Red, there is someone else who could have sent Josh those HSC papers - Greg Snelgrove!  He'd have the right connections and I believe he thinks Josh has got a  real chance to do well at uni.   It didn't occur to me until he managed to swing another visit by the DoCs lady as he probably felt partly guilty for potentially ruining John and Marilyn's chance of fostering. He may not be Irene's ideal man but he seems a decent and fair guy willing to accept his mistakes.  That was a bad judgement call on Marilyn's behalf to make John wear that awful suit I 'd forgotten how bad it was. Hope Greg gives John another chance to submit a tender and John was wise enough to take Greg's comments how Marilyn was a lovely woman having to live with him on the chin.

I agree with others on here Leah is in between a rock and a hard place with Zac and Hunter, to be fair Charlotte has on her part kept out of it. It may force Zac to decide where his priorities really lie.  How is VJ going to take the news though? Leah has been nothing but fair, apart from her doubting Hunter's every move that is, which would get Zac's hackles rising. She hasn't banned them being together except at the Stewart house, there are plenty of other places they can meet up, especially now Charlotte has the flat over the Diner. Hunter wasn't being supervised it was just Zac telling him to come in as he was meeting Leah.  I think it was the fact Hunter didn't want  to go to hospital (another one) after 'getting cramp' and maybe swallowing water that made her suspicious, she did seemed concerned until Zac told her that.  Charlotte is no fool she is probably well aware of what Hunter can get up to.  I'm in two minds about Alf sticking his oar in, maybe OK with Zac but not so much with Charlotte.

Not only does the paternity test seem to have been forgotten about but the loan Charlotte made to Zac seems to have gone the same way. 

I thought like you Red when I saw Charlotte sitting on Gina's bench having  a cry and the quick wiping away the tears when Nate came over, I also thought she was lying about it being the anniversary of her dad's death, but as it turned out that was true. It was a nice thought of Zac to take Hunter (who was actually coming across as a normal 16 year old) fishing even though it turned out it wasn't the fishing he was into it was just being with his granddad. Leah looked so sad seeing them which of course prompted her later decision.

So as Charlotte revealed to Andy she hadn't dated much when Hunter was young, Leah was in a similar position, and she doesn't seem to be planning anything, though of course she doesn't know yet Leah has broken off her and Zac's engagement.  She is far too canny to make a move too soon, that would only prove to Leah she was right all along.

Neither Kyle or Ash have had a blameless past but Kyle has held down a steady job, taken on a lot of responsibility by managing Angelo's, coping with the Braxton clan and all that involves.  Btw I'm guessing Kyle's parole conditions have been relaxed since he's been in hospital? Ash hasn't even had a proper relationship so to take on being a dad after such a brief romance is a big, big ask. Ricky went through the same doubts Phoebe is going through as to whether she'd be a good mum, another one with no role model.  Even Leah and Marilyn would have wobbles at certain times.  

 

 

 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, Matt's plan sucked.Probably more so than Maddy and Oscar's plans, in fact I actually quite liked Maddy's plan, if only because of the irony that it's very similar to one of Matt's old plans that Maddy objected to.Preparing a romantic meal for Josh and Evelyn was a halfway decent idea but Matt decided to over-complicate it with the unnecessary added detail of tricking them into going to the same party separately and then tricking them into going back to Josh's house together, when all they really needed to do was get Josh out of the house and then have someone (Matt?) bring him back there at the same time that someone else (Oscar and/or Maddy?) brings Evelyn there, rather than risking them clashing before they even got there, as they did.(Would have helped if the dinner was somewhere Evelyn was actually likely to go to as well, although to be fair I can't think of a better venue.)We don't even get the satisfaction of Evelyn getting a taste of her own matchmaking medicine, because she never finds out what they were doing.

Wow, the show really does have problems integrating A and B plots at times.Not only do we have the weirdness of Hannah and Denny attending the same party as Evelyn and Oscar, we have the added weirdness of none of them acknowledging the fact.Just a quick chat would have made it seem more natural.I've liked the idea of Hannah and Chris up to now, but it kind of fell flat here because of the thudding lack of subtlety in Denny repeatedly telling Hannah she likes Chris until she agrees with her.Hopefully it picks up tomorrow.

So the theme of this episode seems to be everyone getting over-involved in other people's relationships: Matt, Maddy and Oscar with Josh and Evelyn, Denny with Hannah and Chris, and Alf and VJ with Leah and Zac.I was willing to accept the break-up, but having them get back together in the next episode feels like a case of "What can we do to fill this week?" I don't want Leah and Zac to break up, but no attempt was made to address their problems so it feels like papering over the cracks.So we've got Irene off visiting some old characters and now Alf off visiting another old character?(And again, someone doesn't seem to have looked at an up to date address list: Does Don Fisher even still live in the Whitsundays?Didn't he move away after his business went bust and his marriage broke down?Oh well, I'm being churlish, it's the first we've heard of his whereabouts since 2007 and I think Seb still lived there so he could easily have gone back.But back to my original point...)It doesn't seem to be panto season so was there something else the actors were doing that month?

I'd almost like to avoid talking about Matt and Maddy because it really is a bit load of nothing at the moment.Only the music and Matt having a couple of "Oh cr*p" reaction shots similar to Hannah's suggest anything even happened, certainly Maddy didn't notice or feel anything, just getting up and going "You okay?" in the same way she would have done if she'd fallen onto John Palmer.(Nice to hear a brief update on his and Greg's blossoming friendship, by the way.)But atrus brought it up and the promo suggests we're going to get more tomorrow so...I'll grudgingly admit that during that first scene at the house, I did see for the first time how Maddy and Matt might work as a couple.But...why would anyone want them to be one?They'd have the same fun banter as friends or quasi-siblings, how exactly would them kissing and sleeping together bring anything worthwhile to the table?Maddy's with Oscar, I don't think it's a case of them having any better chemistry, in fact those scenes of the three of them together showed she has the same chemistry and banter with both of them (and indeed, that Matt and Oscar have with each other), so why would Maddy want to switch partners, why would those writing the show want her to switch partners, and why would anyone risk messing up what seems to be a nice friendship by turning it into a love triangle?(The fact that the moment bears uncomfortable similarity to the beginning of Ash and Phoebe, another case of two friendships ruined by unnecessary romantic complications, doesn't bode well.)Oh well, too early to panic, maybe it will stay one-sided and Matt will get over it.

[Angelica]

While we all know Hunter is psychotic, I still feel that Leah has jumped to quick conclusions re Hunter with little evidence to back it up. However, I agree, Atrus, that Zac needed to do was prioritise what was most important to him, and ensure that everyone including Hunter and Charlotte are aware of that. The whole break up seemed pointless, especially as they got back together without solving any of the problems causing the rift. I do love Leah/Zac as a couple, and hope they don't break up later on. I wasn't sure at the beginning if I could buy their transition from friends to lovers, but they really work well together. They are really sweet together, and their extended family unit really works.  It is refreshing to have a relationship that doesn't involve a girl getting together with a bad boy and changing him. 

 I still don't get how Charlotte could pine after Zac for 16 year? Seems very unhealthy to me

Wow, the show really does have problems integrating A and B plots at times.Not only do we have the weirdness of Hannah and Denny attending the same party as Evelyn and Oscar, we have the added weirdness of none of them acknowledging the fact.Just a quick chat would have made it seem more natural.I've liked the idea of Hannah and Chris up to now, but it kind of fell flat here because of the thudding lack of subtlety in Denny repeatedly telling Hannah she likes Chris until she agrees with her.Hopefully it picks up tomorrow.

I found it so weird. It's like they all forgot that they were related (although from the twins POV maybe they would prefer to forget that when it comes to Hannah). Given that they don't see Evie enough to really know the ins and outs of her break up with Josh, it seemed odd that they were so disinterested in Evie walking off in an obvious state of distress (and Hannah came across as quite bitchy with her comment re Josh/Evie being all about the drama). And once again, Denny exists only to express opinions that will help progress someone else's storyline.

As for the Matt/Maddy/Oscar triangle, from the activity on Maddy's character board, it seems that it is at least a storyline that has been generating interest (positive and negative). Which is more than can be said about a lot of the other love triangles that have occurred in the last few months. It does seem for the time being that Matt may have to deal with unrequited love for the time being, but given the way love triangles normally go on this show, I can't imagine that they will remain unrequited indefinitely. At least, Matt and Maddy have been pretty close for a while so it feels like there has been some build up to this. 

While the whole Josh/Evie match making was ridiculous - the teen group interaction this episode was great. Having been generally disinterested with the current teens, I really find myself enjoy watching them in group setting. I think this has a great deal with the fact that Matt has great chemistry with all them, which helps the cohesive feel of the group now. 

[TessyBear]

 

How Denny knows what about what Changelo????????? 

Well that's the question isn't it? I think this storyline/reveal is gonna be a slow burner. I literally know nothing. There's obviously an issue with Denny. I mean TPTBs don't do nothin' for nothin' in these shows right? So we'll have to wait and see. I'm just saying that I don't want them to screw James up just for the sake of it. There are so many better storylines they could do and directions to take the character and couple in than just creating an issue that happened in the past for no reason. He's been really cool and lovely and amazing so far!! Goodness knows Roo is looooooooooooooong overdue some prolonged happiness in the romance/relationships stakes right??  

I am glad/relieved whatever that Zac and Leah were able to work things out and get things back on track! VJ did some good tough talking huh?  But I do know that they can't just gloss over the issues. That's not gonna work. Zac really needs to spend some decent time at home and with VJ and Leah in particular while Charlotte and Hunter are away. Yeah people have said it already: They need to come up with a solution as to how the three of them are gonna deal with the Hunter situation together.

I did respect how Zac wasn't gonna take being dumped by Leah lying down and how he never accepted it the whole time it was in place! That was cool! I mean some relationships have more issues than others, bigger issues, more serious issues but what matters is that these two people always keep the lines of communication open and always respect each other. Zac and Leah are good at that but they need to not forget what's of the utmost importance when Hunter and Charlotte get back from their trip.

Chris and Hannah: Meh. Chris was marginally better today but I still don't like him. Pretty civilised party that was going on lucky for him.

I do enjoy Maddy as a character! She had some issues which I saw little bits of. There was a time when she wasn't unlike Ruby right? I mean promiscuous and stuff. Was that to do with her brain tumour? Anyway unlike Ruby ever managed to achieve Maddy's come good now! She's funny! I like Matt too! He's funny as well! However re: the prospect of them becoming a couple I'd have to say no to that. I think Oscar and Maddy make a good couple and there's no reason for them to break up. Yep. someone said Maddy didn't notice anything on the sofa like Matt did.

so why would Maddy want to switch partners, why would those writing the show want her to switch partners, and why would anyone risk messing up what seems to be a nice friendship by turning it into a love triangle?(The fact that the moments bears uncomfortable similarity to the beginning of Ash and Phoebe, another case of two friendships ruined by unnecessary romantic complications, doesn't bode well.)Oh well, too early to panic, maybe it will stay one-sided and Matt will get over it.

I did particularly agree with this Red Ranger!

Oh it's so good when you watch a show and there are issues and you feel stuff and get mad or worried or are just trying to figure things out etc. and then you come on the forum and there are others in the exact same boat as you! 

[H&Alover]

That was one of the quickest break ups/make ups I've seen, it certainly would have played right into Hunter's hands.  Cliched I know but VJ overhearing the argument was a good thing as it turned out. Alf was the voice of wisdom again, whose trip seemed to have come out of the blue.  Although it's good to have them back together as others have said they can't ignore what caused it in the first place.  Is Leah aware Charlotte and Hunter are away btw? 

Neither Matt's, Maddy's or Oscar's plans had any real thought behind them.  Surprised they decided  to carry on with the plan seeing how tense Evie and Josh were with each other. No harm in Matt have a crush on Maddy but he'd risk spoiling a good friendship with her and Oscar if he acted on it. Matt is usually the cocky one and the Maddy falling on him incident certainly knocked him a bit for six.

Chris seems to have recovered some of his bounce which is nice to see.  Typical of him to arrange a party while Irene is away, but it did look he'd cleared the place of anything breakable and a good mix of people and despite what she said Hannah had dolled up for the occasion, she is into Chris and why shouldn't she be?  She knows both his fun side and his serious side so he has nothing to hide from her.  Of course as soon as she picks up the nerve to approach him he's snogging some other lady!!

I liked that aftermath of John and Greg's night out as well, despite John dismissing it as a one off I think they could be friends.

 

[atrus]

OSCAR: I promise I'll change the sheets.
MATT: Oscar, I am this close to hitting you. So just shut up and let me walk away.
OSCAR: I won't be long.
MATT: It's not something to proud of.

It was impossible not to feel for Matt today. Despite his feelings he's so desperate to do the right thing by Oscar that he even agrees to loaning them his van. Lots of nice scenes there, between Oscar and Matt, between Oscar and Maddy, and also the chat between VJ and Matt about his crush. Heaven knows how long VJ will be able to keep that secret for.

why would Maddy want to switch partners, why would those writing the show want her to switch partners, and why would anyone risk messing up what seems to be a nice friendship by turning it into a love triangle?

I suppose the answer to all those questions is the same as the answer to the question: 'Why risk messing up a nice seaside town with a devastating earthquake, a hospital bomb blast, or a murderous rampage?' Namely, the Soapy Law of No Inertia. Which is not, by the way, the same as me saying it's therefore inherently desirable. You do need stable couples in soap as well as bed-swapping, or there's no point investing in any on-screen relationships.

The attraction does seem to be entirely one-sided for the time being - I felt the show was far clearer on this today than yesterday. If Maddy did ever return the sentiment, I'd be deeply divided about what outcome to hope for. On one hand, Maddy and Oscar are undoubtedly a sweet couple. Moreover, they have an intense and important shared history. It hasn't always been a relationship of equals, which has been problematic at times, but there's no doubting they have been through a lot together - and so there's a lot to be said for coming down on the side of Team Moscar.

On the other hand, there are elements of puppy-love about it, and I wonder if Matt/Maddy is more of an 'adult' pairing. I'm not saying that Matt is more mature than Oscar - that's the wrong word, clearly, considering how often he plays up. But he's certainly more worldly-wise and street-smart than Oscar, and I think Maddy is, too. Matt and Maddy's chemistry is matey, but it's also quite charged - and I'm therefore finding myself seeing reasons to root for Team Matty.

But overall, I'm genuinely willing to see where the show goes with this and make up my mind as the story progresses. What I would hope, though, is that if it did go down the Matty road, that Maddy wouldn't cheat on Oscar, and just be honest about it. Maybe that way she and Oscar could remain close friends, and he and Matt could also remain 'fire brothers' in the long-run.

I'm relieved that Nate and Kat have broken up - they were starting to irritate me as a pairing. I do like the Nate/Chris dynamic though.

CHRIS: All I did was ask her for dating advice, and then she bit my head off. I have no idea why.
NATE: Well that's odd, because you're normally very perceptive (!)
CHRIS: True.

Glad we got to the Chrannah kiss in the end. A nice happy ending for a change.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Three.Fairly sparse week, only other characters to make three were Leah, John, Marilyn and Zac.

Finally! It seems like so long since Maddy and Oscar had that "Let's wait for a bit" chat that I thought the show had forgotten about that aspect of their relationship and that their chance had gone with them no longer having their own bedrooms for privacy.So I'm glad the show finally acknowledged that, however sweet they are, they're also two hormonal teenagers with needs and a strong attraction.The final caravan scene was perfection: "I want to make it special"/"You just did."

So I found it extremely frustrating that what should have been Madscar's episode gave far too much screentime to Matt and his feelings which, as he points out, have "come out of nowhere".Every time there was a great Madscar moment, it cut to Matt staring into the middle distance as if we're meant to feel sorry for him because...what?He deserves to be happy more than Maddy and Oscar do?His less than 24 hour old crush is more important than their long-standing relationship?His scenes with VJ left me wanting to punch them both, although at least we didn't get VJ encouraging Matt to break up Maddy and Oscar as the promos suggested.(Instead, it's an even bigger parallel of the beginning of Madscar with Oscar mooning over her while she's dating and in love with someone else and Jett twigging and telling him to stay clear.)I couldn't even applaud Matt for being a good friend, because it felt more like Oscar put him on the spot and he couldn't refuse without giving himself away.I don't want to hear about Matt wanting Maddy, his G-rated wet dream just felt tacky.And it's ruining Matt's character.A week ago, his scenes with Oscar would have been comedy gems, Oscar nervous, Matt eye-rolling and taking the mick, but the angst-filled subtext drained them of any sense of fun.

Nate and Kat ending felt inevitable.I loved the way Chris got Nate to shut down the party because he was worried about the damage to Irene's house.It shows the more sensitive side to his character.I was surprised that Kat was so keen to encourage Hannah to go for it with Chris, given that she's always looked down on him, but I guess the fact that Nate ticked all the Ideal Boyfriend boxes and didn't live up to the hype has made her realise you need to grab the opportunities that are there.I did cheer the Chrisannah kiss although the whole thing felt a bit vague: Are they together or not?

So, one couple ending, one beginning and one going strong.And one single sad sack dragging the mood down.Which leads me to:

 

why would Maddy want to switch partners, why would those writing the show want her to switch partners, and why would anyone risk messing up what seems to be a nice friendship by turning it into a love triangle?

I suppose the answer to all those questions is the same as the answer to the question: 'Why risk messing up a nice seaside town with a devastating earthquake, a hospital bomb blast, or a murderous rampage?' Namely, the Soapy Law of No Inertia. Which is not, by the way, the same as me saying it's therefore inherently desirable. You do need stable couples in soap as well as bed-swapping, or there's no point investing in any on-screen relationships.

Well, you've basically made my point for me.A high turnover of couples makes it as hard to invest in as a high turnover of characters.And the show is seriously lacking in couples we've had a chance to invest in at the moment.Name one couple who've been together a year or more.(John and Marilyn.Name another.)Maddy and Oscar seem one of the most solid and the risks of this storyline seem to far outweigh the benefits.(Someone is going to fall out with someone whatever happens, and in my opinion it's already souring their interaction.)While calling her "promiscuous", as one poster did, is debatable (Maddy's been on the show nearly three years and only slept with two boys, after all, even if she is no angel), she seemed to switch boyfriend mid-season every one of those years, often with the flimsiest of reasons.So if she gets together with Matt...who cares?She'll probably dump him for VJ next year.

I agree with your assessment of Madscar, not so much Matt and Maddy.I think everything Maddy and Oscar have been through puts them beyond puppy love and makes them more adult than the laddish relationship she has with Matt.Matt and Maddy, or a start, seem too similar to her and Josh...No, that's not true.Their interaction is very different.But it feels like Matt is the sort of boy Maddy would have dated before the cancer and the maturing of her character and it doesn't seem like the sort of relationship that would last.Her and Oscar potentially could, in my opinion.And I don't think Maddy's a particularly worldly character.The most mature and adult things she's gone through Oscar went through with her, before that there was a kind of innocence and naivety about her.The world she comes from and belongs to seems more suited to Oscar than Matt, in my opinion.Going out with him would be a backwards step in her character development, they 're better off as friends.

[Brian]

Good Kyle/Phoebe/Ash interaction today. They were all honest with each other. It was also interesting to see Kyle and Phoebe so comfortable talking together - there is obviously still some chemistry between them and I think both hope the baby will be Kyle's. Then what will Ash do - move on to pastures new? What will keep him in the Bay then - his gift to Kyle?  But Kyle has promised Ash he will not make a love on Phoebe - will he be able to keep that promise?

2 more passionate scenes today (well, nearly) : Ocsar with Maddy (expected) and Nate with Ricky (unexpected). A great episode! 

[Slade]

It's funny with Charlotte, I thought she was going to blame everything on Alf initially and was surprised she didn't.  It was still a dumb move on his part.  I am glad Leah and Zac are back together though.  Didn't want Hunter to succeed in breaking them up and am glad VJ showed some maturity and to a certain extent fought Zac's corner.  I do think it's going to be difficult for them but if they can get through that it will prove they should be married otherwise perhaps they shouldn't.

Did I mention that I find Chris annoying?  Yep in just about every episode.  It just annoyed me how he organised the party and because he couldn't control who invited themselves Nate had to be the one to ask them to leave and then the next day had to help Chris clear up.  Even though I don't like Chris and find him annoying, objectively I do understand that some people find him amusing so didn't disagree with Kat there but seriously what is so funny about Hannah?  And Hannah's comment about wanting a boyfriend, flavour of the month is more like it.  In saying that I actually didn't mind some of their scenes in yesterday's episode.  But it's Chris and Hannah.  Going by form with both of them, I'm not expecting this to last but it will be interesting to see how long.  Maybe they will prove me wrong.

Quite enjoyed Matt and Oscar's attempted matchmaking even though it did fail miserably.  Found Evelyn quite annoying even though I accept her wanting to keep her distance.  When she acts like this perhaps Josh is better off without her.  If she's that adamant they should stay apart then she can't have loved him as much as I thought she did.  I actually really think Josh should think about moving on and finding someone else.

Actually didn't mind the stuff with Matt and Maddy on Thursday.  I quite liked their mutual sarcasm towards each other and that moment after their eyes locked I think was obvious that Matt likes her.  And the dream in yesterday's episode made me laugh.  Maddy in a bikini.  I would have thought Maddy with her whole kit off would have been more appropriate.  I quite liked Matt confiding in VJ.  Kind of reinforces the family thing that they have now.  I thought it was pretty big of Matt to let Oscar and Maddy use his caravan.  Not sure I would have in his position.    I'm not surprised Oscar was nervous about sleeping with Maddy again and to say their last time wasn't special is a serious understatement.  Well I guess it was special for Maddy, revenge is sweet and all that.  But I suppose for Oscar it was like taking a drug, after the initial high things went downhill rapidly.

Not surprised how it's turned out with Kat and Nate.  I'm more surprised that he agreed to go away with her for a few days.  In one sense I think Nate was honest when he told Kat he wasn't feeling it but then he didn't tell her that was because he's still in love with Ricky.  Surprised that Kat, someone who was so against getting involved with Nate to start with declared that she loved him.  Didn't buy that he loved her though.  Thought he said it for the same reason Roo said it back to James last week.

[Red Ranger 1]

Other thing I forgot to mention: I love that Oscar called Maddy "Madeleine"! I thought it was just me did that...