Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

10 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Btw Red you forgot Gina, she was the last competent principal we had.  

No, I didn't.Gina was a nightmare for playing favourites and handing out soft punishments (giving April a detention for stealing dangerous chemicals and nothing at all for taking drugs at school: Contrast with Greg's handling of Josh).

So, as we suspected, James' parents were a no show.No idea what to make of Maddy's arc here.At the start, I felt that, as she did with Evelyn, she was doing a good job of staying onside with Roo and gently probing her about James' behaviour rather than flinging wild accusations about.Then she brazenly looks through James' phone while Alf and Roo are in the room: I'm astonished neither of them noticed/said anything.When she came bounding up to James to say she knows he was proposing to Roo, I genuinely thought it was a double bluff and she was still suspicious...but then she was equally giddy with Alf so it seems she really has decided he isn't up to something and passed the suspicious baton to Alf, even though the proposal doesn't explain the lack of parental contact or the different phones.So...did Maddy stumble across the wrong secret or the right secret but misinterpreted it? Was James planning to propose to Roo or has he just done it because that's what Maddy thinks he was doing?

This seems like a good moment to say that that seems to be it for both Kyle and Maddy for this week and there's been no apology scene.Of course, they haven't had any scenes together so I'm hoping that Kyle's still off work, they haven't seen each other since and it's still to come, because we really need that moment.Maddy referencing the incident yesterday does suggest we're not meant to have forgotten it.

Charlotte seems to have gone into full-on suicidal mode, loving the danger of another affair with Matt...or maybe not, of which more later.The absurdity is underlined by his bringing a skateboard along to a one night stand with his teacher;at least he was dressed as an adult the first time round.Not sure Andy's "barely legal" comment was entirely justified though, Matt is technically an adult.Again, a reminder that you shouldn't go to Barrett for moral guidance with his advice of "If you like someone who's in a relationship, break them up" (the same advice he gave Casey over Denny and look how that ended up).Then he works out it's Maddy because there's only two girls the right age on the show.(Okay, maybe he was just going through Matt's friends' girlfriends.)

But yes, Charlotte.Her cold rejection of Denny's latest haunting sees her fully embracing the Dark Side.It seems like there's a deconstruction of the show's recent morality going on. For the last few years, the show seems to have been saying that the end justifies the means, and anything goes if it comes under the banner of helping your family.Here we see the danger of that type of thinking, as Charlotte has spent so long doing bad things for what she convinced herself were good reasons and sacrificing anything and everyone so she and Hunter remain a family that she decides to just carry on doing bad things.It might have had more impact if Charlotte hadn't been such an obvious sociopath from the start.And it will mean more if she and Hunter go down together, rather than him getting a free pass because cute teenage boys can do anything when they first come in and be forgiven.

So, Marilyn's started to remember everything that happened before her last return to the Bay.It's odd that, after all the mentions of Donald, the possibility of him coming back to help out wasn't even mentioned.Hard to tell if Marilyn slipping back into a matrimonial role with John was instinct like the meditation or just Marilyn being Marilyn, but either way, John's idea of Marilyn getting to know him whether she gets her memory back or not is a healthy approach.

[H&Alover]

True Gina did have her faults, but at least she was there!  Trouble as I said before all the other Principals that have been at SBH have known the pupils, Greg is new so hadn't had a chance to get to know the pupils and have favourites/non favourites.

Methinks James doesn't have any parents at least not living ones so who is it he keeps visiting in the Blue Mountains? Is there not a phone number for them so Roo could ring them?  It would be interesting if Roo carries through with her plan to pop up to the Blue Mountains and surprise them she may be the one getting the surprise!  Was Maddy actually looking through James' phone while Alf and Roo were there or just contemplating looking through it, which she seems to have done when both Roo and Alf had left.  though if he is as canny as we think he is wouldn't he have a lock on it?  Funny how James remembered he had to see a patient the moment he found out Alf was coming round, couldn't be he was trying to avoid see Alf could it? Even if James was planning to propose to Roo it does seem remarkably  quick, and reaffirms my suspicions he is way too intense. If, and it's a big if, the marriage does happen she will have to meet them sometime, she'll be their daughter -in-law. Going by the trailer Alf certainly isn't happy with Roo's news and makes that call to get a background check done on James.

Does seem a pity if we don't see Kyle apologise to Maddy on screen rather than just hear one of them say they had/he did.

I thought Matt was 18 so is an adult, but if Charlotte is still his teacher it's still wrong. Didn't VJ give Matt the same advice to Matt as in 'go for it'  until he found out who it was, then told him to back off.  Actually Evelyn and Maddy are the only girls around Matt's age we have seen on screen and not just as an extra floating around in the background. I thought he had the skateboard with him when he bumped into Charlotte on the beach which is how come he had it with him that night. I'm sure he meant it when he said it wouldn't happen again, but Charlotte is a woman more than twice his age who can easily manipulate a teenage boy into doing what she wants him to do. Her holding onto his keys knowing he'd be back for them at sometime for instance. Perhaps that is why she feels strong enough to tell Denny she's not scared of her anymore.  The thought did cross my mind maybe TPTB decided to make Charlotte the unstable one rather than Hunter as there was more mileage in her story.  Talking of Hunter I see he's back in the city with his nan again so no school then!

Good news Marilyn is starting to remember her past circa 1996, but current affairs still don't mean anything.  Strange Donald wasn't mentioned aside from Marilyn asking Alf how he was and reassuring him she had remembered she wasn't married to him.   I suppose Alf would be the only other person from back then who'd she remember, even if his hair has changed colour/thinned.   I was glad to see John didn't push Marilyn when she went to the house and just let her wander around on her own.  It's a lovely idea of John's to start dating Marilyn again, not at all silly, Irene thought it was a good idea, he's an old romantic at heart.  You often read in the papers of husbands/wives doing that for their other halves when they have suffered memory loss.

[DialMforMorag]

On 25/11/2015, 23:02:54, atrus said:

Meanwhile, Charlotte now seems to be totally indiscriminate in terms of who she's trying to seduce. I can't for the life of me think why she'd want to further risk her position by continuing an affair which she knows could cost her her job. It's almost like she's in self-destruct mode.

Huh, which she hardly does anymore...

[atrus]

What is Charlotte playing at? It's like she's started to remember what someone once wrote about screwing your courage to the sticking place, but only got as far as the 'screwing' part. And yet somehow, it's done the trick; one night of goodness-knows-what with Matt (and judging by the ludicrous grin plastered to his face for the whole of Friday, I simply dread to think) and she suddenly seems positively fearless when Ghost Denny next rocks up. We were talking about sexual harassment not so long ago on this thread, and I thought Charlotte's physical behaviour towards an initially unwilling Matt was starting to go some way along that spectrum, even if their liaison hadn't already been totally inappropriate by virtue of him being her pupil. Withholding his watch and keys simply to try and keep him in her lair was another example of fairly predatory behaviour, and being a teenager he proved pretty easy to sway once she had him in her sights.

Then the note turns up. Who's watching, and why? Could it be the Troy Dignon she was talking to on Denny's Face-space? (Named, presumably, for Home & Away's junior art director - I thought the name looked familiar so Googled it.) Law of Drama would indicate he's more likely to be an impostor stringing Charlotte along (and probably the same guy doing the whole watching-through-the-car-window routine), than simply a friend of Denny's who's never been in the show. Because as we all know, Summer Bay residents don't have friends who've never been in the show, unless they're shortly due to arrive.

No surprise at all to learn that James's parents weren't up to the road trip; they're probably buried under his patio. I don't understand why he didn't just say they lived abroad, if he didn't want Roo to meet them. Still confused as to why everyone's suspicious at the two phones thing; it's pretty common. But I'm glad Alf remains stubbornly unconvinced by him, after Maddy's strange about-face from deep suspicion to unconditional trust the moment she found evidence of his proposal. (If anything, you'd expect her to be more suspicious, just as Alf was.) Well, if anyone can dig up the requisite dirt, and if necessary the whole damn patio with it, Morag can.

Glad they didn't spin out the Maznesia any longer - it was about the right length for a token silly storyline. Now she and John can presumably get on with becoming foster parents (provided The Department hasn't identified another spanner to throw in the works).

[Red Ranger 1]

10 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Didn't VJ give Matt the same advice to Matt as in 'go for it'  until he found out who it was, then told him to back off. 

I think VJ said that when he didn't know the girl was already taken, whereas Andy seemed happy for Matt to break up a relationship so long as it wasn't anyone he liked.

Alf's episode count this week: Two. VJ was only in one.

It does feel like we've jumped back a few months: This Charlotte/Matt affair is basically a carbon copy of the last one, with Josh in the Maddy role.You can even pick out the identical lines (notably Matt's "You must have misunderstood", which suggests he's got amnesia given he's seen for himself how toxic Charlotte can be when she feels threatened).Charlotte is being very manipulative, Matt almost seemed more mature than her for a moment but then he's soon bragging to Josh about bagging a teacher.(We do get a little moment of Matt dropping the act when Josh isn't looking, suggesting he's not as carefree as he appears.)Of course, it all flies in the face of the portrayal of Charlotte as "suddenly" unstable because this is what she's always been like.The note is presumably from the anonymous observer but Charlotte will probably think it was Josh.

Alf demonstrates a knack on a par with Leah and Zac for flying off the handle and alienating people.Mads should give them all tutorials.Then we have James issuing what sounds suspiciously like a threat...Running a check on your daughter's boyfriend might be extreme but James is obviously hiding something.And it's nice to see Morag involved again.

I'll be slightly disappointed if that's Marilyn's amnesia gone with a wave of a magic wand, I think they can get a bit more mileage out of her not remembering everything.But it was a joyous moment anyway, albeit one marred by another inaccuracy.(The candle was a general one for "friends and family who are no longer with us", not specifically for Casey, and publicity material at the time mentioned Byron and Gina.Guess we can chalk that one up to Marilyn's fuzzy memory too.)Shame we didn't get to see a seaplane ride though, John taking Marilyn to the Diner felt a bit cut price.

[atrus]

2 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

The candle was a general one for "friends and family who are no longer with us", not specifically for Casey, and publicity material at the time mentioned Byron and Gina.Guess we can chalk that one up to Marilyn's fuzzy memory too.

Either that, or Denny's ghost has been feeding her ideas.

3 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Shame we didn't get to see a seaplane ride though, John taking Marilyn to the Diner felt a bit cut price.

Yes, although given the previous safety record of seaplane rides in Summer Bay, perhaps we should be grateful they stayed on dry land. 

[H&Alover]

Charlotte seducing Matt to take her mind off Denny seems to be working though her undressing him on the balcony did come across as incredibly stupid, even Matt could see that!  Jos (now in the Maddy role) is right Matt could be expelled and all the work he has put in would have been in vain. She had no trouble threatening to ruin him if he said anything and yes Red she will think that note is from him. Who is that guy in the suit, someone from her previous school maybe where for all we know she did exactly the same thing but left before anyone could actually prove anything?  I had another thought re her face space messages to Evie, she's obviously posting photos from a library, but it's now late September/early October in England so the weather isn't going to match what she is posting.  Also is Evie the only one 'Denny' is messaging, no-one else has mentioned hearing anything from her.

True there is nothing suspicious about having two phones, what is is having one hidden away!  You could have put money on Alf not being happy about Roo and James' sudden engagement, yes I know she's an adult butt she has only known him a few months and knows nothing about his past.  It could be read as a threat what James said to Alf at the Surf Club, that's how I saw it but then I don't trust him either so my judgement is coloured. Agree atrus if anyone can find anything on James Morag can!

Alf told John Maz wasn't into fancy displays and he suggested something simple like the Diner.  May have seemed unlikely Marilyn suddenly got her memory back like she did, but it can happen like that, just as simple as her picturing her wedding car rolling up and the ceremony and Jett joking he had forgotten the rings. The toast was for Casey as he hadn't long died and they'd been unsure whether to go ahead.

Spoiler

Guess it's going to be something else that will occur so Emily can go on her maternity leave.

 

 

[TessyBear]

On 11/26/2015, 1:47:28, H&Alover said:

That was after both Zac and Evie tried to convince Oscar to keep quite and let Zac take the blame so as not to ruin his (Oscar's) future.  Truth though Zac had a lot more to lose, his job, freedom and reputation.

Really? Huh. Zac could've got locked up? Did the person die in the end? Oscar's a very admirable fellow!  

James and Roo are engaged YAY!!!!!! I know something's up with James OK but I'm gonna stay liking him for as long as possible! Personally I think all this stuff with Roo is true!!  Can't remember if I've said that before or not. So we know he has issues outside of the relationship. I think that James has fallen hard and fast for Roo and vice versa! I know that A. Roo really has her head screwed on! She's strong and savvy and sensible. All the Ss hehe!  She's more than a "big girl". She's a fully grown woman!

That conversation James and Roo had in the garden chez Alf et al. was very interesting and to the point! It was very matter of fact and when you think about it I think it made a good deal of sense.  

I didn't really appreciate the reveal about James' proposal. I thought Maddy'd found out all this really juicy, interesting, true stuff about James and then it turns out he just had a bunch of pictures of rings on his phone. What the heck??? I wanted to be happy when that announcement was made but my initial reaction was just "What???". I hate to say it but right initially I kinda had to force happiness. Well it is very very fast too!!

The proposal scene itself was quite sweet!

In the Surf Club what James said could be construed as a threat yes. I thought James was just calmly and matter of factly pointing out the facts to Alf at first. When I thought about it for a little bit I was like 'It could've been the most passive aggressive threat ever". I'm gonna go with that James was just being honest and he was pointing out the facts to Alf and trying to get through to him that way.

I just like James! I just can't help it. He helped get Roo the job at the uni right? That was the first time we ever heard about him. He gave her advice when she first started, their first date was all very innocent, organic, honest, true etc. I think when J told R he loves her it was very spontaneous, natural and completely honest etc. James is a gentleman and I will believe that until I get undeniable proof to the contrary.  

Ooh at Alf getting Morag involved! I do like James but I am also very very curious/impatient to find out whatever the heck the truth is!

Re: This whole "two phones" thing. I think I'd be tempted to go along with Irene. It doesn't matter if James has two mobiles. On the face of it. We have come to know that there's some sort of an ???? issue there and that's the reason but on the face of it it's not that bad. I don't know is this clever or interesting writing that it seems like James is all hunky dory but we know he's actually not 100% or is it just frustrating and annoying? I'd be tempted to go with the latter personally.

We will see what this new week shall bring...

On Friday that's it for 5 WEEKS.  ARGHHH!!!

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎29‎/‎11‎/‎2015‎ ‎15‎:‎31‎:‎40, H&Alover said:

The toast was for Casey as he hadn't long died and they'd been unsure whether to go ahead.

Trust me, I rewatched the scene just to make sure, it's Alf that says the candle was for all those no longer with them.I'm sure Casey was on everyone's minds, and maybe they wouldn't have done it if he hadn't died shortly before, but it wasn't just for him.

16 hours ago, Changelo shipper <3 said:

Did the person die in the end?

Last time we saw her, she was still alive and reasonably well.

http://www.backtothebay.net/characters/kingsley_tamara/

So, Andy goes from not understanding why Charlotte feels guilt to not understanding that she's a raving nutcase: I think it might finally be starting to dawn on him that he's been protecting the wrong people.Josh standing up to Charlotte and displaying such utter lack of respect for her was quite fun.Matt continues to be as delusional as she is.I'm not sure what to make of Charlotte's stalker's latest move.Are we meant to be wondering what's happened to Hunter?(Not sure why we'd ever do that...Oh well, he's in the promo anyway.) And what was that book with the pages torn out?Denny's notebook with the passwords?

I'm not sure what it means that the best material Ash and Phoebe have had since they got together involved them being at each other's throats.I actually really enjoyed a lot of their stuff today, with Hannah's increasingly bewildered and disturbed expressions at being piggy in the middle and Kat trying to tell them her news and just giving up.Even though there was a danger of them slipping back into "I really really wuv you" mode at the end, they get points for actually doing something about the tension and recognising that moving in together hasn't worked instead of just brushing it all aside.Is Phoebe really the sort of girl that would have that many clothes and be that attached to them?Is that me demonstrating my ignorance of how the female mind works?I guess she did like spending her dad's money...

Ricky and Nate's quasi-flirty texting didn't quite work: Ricky leaves her phone on the table so must have waited before texting back, and the conversations didn't seem that long, so I'm not sure why the episode seemed to give the impression that they were texting constantly.Given that both Kat and Pete seemed worried about Nate and Ricky getting closer last week, it seemed odd that they'd both jump at the idea of them doing modelling together.Loved the way Kyle dropped Ricky in it like that.

[atrus]

I'm afraid I was with Ash today, when the Good-Time Girls started pecking at him. It never seems to occur to men during the inevitable cohabitation toilet-seat arguments to pose the opposite and equally fair question - why can't women put it up after they've used it? Or, hey, as a happy medium, at least not complain about men not putting it down? Are women more at risk of catching germs when they have to touch a toilet seat? So much more at risk that men must touch it on 100% of the occasions on which it needs touching, and women must touch it never? In the age of equality I just don't buy this logic. I'm going to stop ranting about it now.

Charlotte really is fresh out of the milk of human kindness, isn't she? She's dropped all pretence of having any fondness or respect for Andy (in line with many of us, we must in all fairness concede) and out-and-out threatens to 'burn' Josh. I was going to ask whether that might involve sending her spawn round to his house with some firelighters, except it seems that Hunter's recent sojourn at his gran's has inexplicably transformed him into a normal, well-adjusted teenager. Too well-adjusted to be leaving creepy notes on Denny's grave? I'd say so. It (briefly) crossed my mind that maybe Denny wasn't quite dead when Charlotte buried her - now that would be a twist! But then we've also seen Mr Mystery hanging around, so I suppose the chances are it's him, whoever he is.

On describing Charlotte's 'tutorial' that went 'overtime', did Matt really utter the words, 'It was kind of like being in Cirque du Soleil or something'? Not an image I needed, in honesty - and by the look on Josh's face, not one he needed, either.

So - Nate has a random swimwear modelling storyline. What a surprise. In fact, I think the only way this storyline could surprise me more would be if it coincidentally involved Ricky too... Oh wait.