Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[CaptainHulk]

13 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Rant alert: Maddy and Matt's relationship has gone the way I suspected, with Maddy going from a grown-up relationship to playing babysitter to an overgrown child, who makes sleazy remarks about "bedroom and beach".And to be honest, this storyline isn't doing Matt any favours either.He's always tended to be an immature jerk and he's never been an intellectual, but he's previously been mostly portrayed as Book Dumb.Here he comes across as an inept lazy teenager who's incapable of surviving without mum to look after him, which given that he and his sister were left to fend for themselves and it's hard to imagine Leah letting him get away with this seems rather unlikely.Aside from the cliché of putting an empty bottle back in the fridge instead of replacing it, he seems to think that putting clothes in a linen basket means they get washed by themselves and that the bins get emptied by fairies if you stuff enough gunk in them.I'm with him on the handwash items though, I'd have just stuck them in the washing machine too.

There's been a fair bit of criticism that his first marriage gets airbrushed out of his history, even though that's Roo's mother, so it was nice to see them given equal weight here.(Not sure we saw any sign of Ailsa thinking she couldn't measure up but maybe that's from before we met them.)

You expected anything less from Page? I'm surprised they're not playing the psuedo-Jaws music from old-school Neighbours while a disgusted Roo pokes at a discarded pair of his jocks with a broom! 

The whole Inadequacy thing  could have happened off-screen. Martha Sr. was Alf's real love after all those GFs (Viv, Julia, etc) and was never entirely forgotten. She was brought up during the whole PTSD  arc (though not by name). It's not unreasonable to think Ailsa would have those feelings.

[Slade]

Hannah is a skank.  She has sex with Andy and because he doesn't do it for her anymore she decides that she suddenly loves Chris now.  She only wants to get back with him because she wants someone to sleep with on a regular basis, till she gets fed up of him and moves onto the next guy.  Although if Chris does decide to get back with her he's only got himself to blame.  I don't think she has it in her to be in love with someone.  She was apparently in love with Andy but how did she repay him for nursing her when she was disabled? She sleeps with a married man.  Not sure what to make of her going back to college/uni.  Feels odd her hanging out with Evie and her friends (I did wonder if she was only there to pick another guy up initially).  When she faced off against Matt it reminded me of the gladiators although admittedly I did quite enjoy that scene.  Not sure what to make of her hitting her head at the end of that episode.  Feels like a plot device to accelerate a reunion with Chris.

Really liked Evie today.  I thought she was fun and lively.  I liked the chat with Maddy once again reiterating how those two work well as friends.  I actually didn't mind the stuff with Josh.  Little bean, I'm assuming judging by today and the preview tomorrow you're quite pleased.  The actual chats with Hannah were OK as well.  And I quite liked the stuff with Oscar (don't like his new look TBH).

So Nate's moving in with Ricky and they are moving into Palmer's whilst he's away.  Initially when Kyle was sticking his oar in with Ricky he was getting on my nerves.  Whilst I would prefer if Brax got back with Ricky eventually I wouldn't mind Nate and Ricky being together temporarily if it winds Kyle up.  Still he seems to have accepted they are together.  Bright-side is it means Olivia can get her room back.

[Little bean]

16 minutes ago, Slade said:

Little bean, I'm assuming judging by today and the preview tomorrow you're quite pleased.  

Ha, I am quietly content, yes!  Although Evie, Evie Evie, it is NEVER a good idea to declare that you think things are "going to go your way this year".....that final shot of Oscar pretty much held up a flag suggesting that no, they are really, REALLY not! I'm bracing myself.

[KIMIF1]

I think Ricky is trying very hard to convince herself she is over Brax and using Nate to do so - quite happy about that, as he has used people in the past for his own ends - but  am sure she will eventually come to her senses and realise where she belongs.  It's a shame the writers have made her into such a needy individual  just to put her with  Nate,  a character  who has no substance whatsoever and is nothing but a brooding wimp who gets upset about such things as a toy car in a drawer.  Brax will always be in the back ground one way or the other partly because of little Casey,  Nate is never going to be sure of Ricky whatever she says there is always going to be doubt there and he Knows it 

 

[atrus]

Jesus, Hannah - this is beyond parody now. Was anyone else shouting at the screen today? She's barely come up for air after having it off with Andy, and now suddenly decides it was Chris she was in love with all along? This isn't a storyline, it's a chewed-up mix tape playing on a loop.

GOOFY CUPID EVIE: How long have you felt like this for?

Well, about five seconds by my reckoning - but let's not let that stop Hannah from flinging herself headlong into another doomed relationship without pausing for even a second's thought. We learned the cancer gene test results are back in a fortnight - so that's plenty of time for her and Chris to move in together/get engaged/be blissfully happy before the next bout of angst strikes. But in the meanwhile, she appears to have knocked herself out by - umm - running into some bins? I can barely contain myself.

Send her to the City already - I'm through with her. And I'm afraid to say I'm reaching my tolerance threshold more generally - I honestly don't think I can endure another week of the bedhopping twentysomethings. If the state of play hasn't improved by Friday it might be time for me to have one of my periodic H&A recesses, until things pick up a bit.

Special mention for today's other key dull pairings - Evie and Josh, Ricky and Nate, Oscar and... that hat?

[Red Ranger 1]

Seems a bit too soon for Matt to be making fun of Oscar again.Not sure what to make of Oscar here, except that he's feeling very like the fifth wheel without Skye to hang out with. I guess he was trying to reinvent himself: Maybe Maddy dismissing him as a geek who'll never keep a girl cut deep. Maddy shouting "Hit him harder!" and Matt's bemused reaction got laugh of the episode. Is Maddy beginning to realise she's made a mistake? Matt seems like someone that's okay to hang out with for a laugh when you need to take your mind off things, but having to deal with him 24/7 is wearing thin very quickly.I hope so, because even surrounded by couples I don't like that much, they still seem like the least compatible.

Because, surprisingly, I actually didn't mind Josh and Evelyn here, since it seems Andelyn isn't going to happen.And I was all set to hate on Hannah but actually, I rather liked it.I was a fan of Chrisannah at the start before Andy and debates about the L word, and they did seem to recapture a bit of that fun side here.It was nice to see Chris' suggestion that Hannah train as a paramedic followed up on, and you know what? I'll actually buy that Hannah loved Chris after all, which on paper seems ridiculous.She did have that moment where she seemed to say she loved him and then backtrack, could that have been her real feelings slipping out?Not sure about the end though, which seemed to consist of a pratfall straight out of a Carry On film that we then had to take seriously.I dunno, maybe that was the idea, to make us laugh and then remind us how that would really play out.

Not sure what to make of Kyle here: He seemed to be trying to cause trouble between Nate and Ricky but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he was just looking out for Ricky.Nate's plan seems daft though.The sensible thing would be for them either to move straight into somewhere permanent or for Nate to move in with Ricky and Casey while they look, not uproot Casey twice by moving into somewhere temporary for a couple of weeks.Seems like a contrived way to use the Palmer house set while John and Marilyn are away. So who gets the annexe now then, Josh and Evie? I'm hoping it's Chris who gets his room back rather than Olivia.Personal preference aside, the two teenage girls sharing seems more sensible than the 20-something and the schoolboy.

One of those moments where it seems all the characters watch Home and Away in their spare time to find out each other's secrets.Last time we checked, Leah was the only person who knew Irene had had a child taken away from her, yet suddenly Roo knows and possibly Chris as well? How did that become common knowledge?

[CaptainHulk]

Oscar looked like well... Some kind of Pretentious Hipster Douche.

[atrus]

Not much new to take from this episode, except to say that the next time I want to reel in an ex, I will be throwing myself head-first at the nearest cluster of wheelie-bins. Apart from being an excuse to fill this week's hospital scene quota, the whole thing just didn't ring true so soon after the break-up. Everyone seems desperate to advise Chris to get back with Hannah when actually, in my view, he should be running for the hills. I did like them the first time round, admittedly, but that was until she ruined it by making eyes at Andy for weeks, and then dumped Chris for him.

The boringness of Evie and Josh's reconciliation was tempered somewhat by Evie telling Matt and Maddy to shut up, which has been a few episodes coming. I was sure the beanie was because Oscar thought he was going to get cancer at some point in the future and lose all his hair, but turns out he had even sillier reasons than that.

So Smarmy Detective lost a child, and that's ostensibly why he turned into a thug. Kat's right - it doesn't excuse it for a second - but you get the feeling that he's going to slowly wear Kat down until she lands up with him again. Was this Kat's child too? Did I miss an earlier reference to this?

It's about time Kyle became a key suspect; I'm surprised he hasn't been dragged in before now.

[Slade]

Now that's the Evie we all know and love.  The one that likes to get on her high horse and tell it to people straight.  I absolutely loved the way she told Matt and Maddy to shut up when they were arguing and told them how they were getting on everybody's nerves with their blasted relationship.

Well I preferred Oscar's look today even though he's still trying to be someone that he's not.  I loved the apparent confidence in which he appeared to be chatting with those girls.  This is what I was hoping.  More of that and he'll be over Maddy in no time.

In terms of what actually happened I don't really think there's much to forgive Hannah for although I do believe that she would have cheated on Chris if he hadn't ended things.  However it's his funeral.  I don't think it's a matter of if she will get fed up and find another guy but when.  Seems as though she can't bare to be without someone for more than 5 minutes.

I wasn't sure about the stuff with Kat and Dylan but it looks like them working together could get very interesting.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, we're back to all the couples being dull.After briefly being interested in Josh and Evelyn last episode, their reunion was deathly dull.In fact, so was Chris and Hannah's, after a promising start with banter about inflatable hammers, and the fact it was down to Nate sticking his oar in again didn't help.Both scenes were lacking anything beyond facile "I still love you" declarations.Meanwhile, Matt and Maddy continue to be chronically unsuited.Yet again, someone (Evelyn here) gives a rant that I was cheering but which is portrayed as being wrong, as though Matt and Maddy somehow haven't moved in far too quickly and aren't rubbing their relationship in Oscar's face.I know Matt was joking about his next girlfriend but I hope she comes along soon; his and Maddy's relationship seems to be based on nothing except having great sex.

Maddy was far too catty towards Oscar, although at least his "Shouldn't you be wearing a tiara with that?" was a great comeback.Matt, however, was just asking for a punch in the face every time he spoke to him.I actually didn't see anything wrong with his outfit today, or indeed find it a radical departure from what he normally wears, yet even Alf was making fun of him.Leah's advice was decent though, and from the way he was dressed down at the party I guess he took it.

So, Dylan has a tragic back story.Oddly, it didn't make me find him in the least bit sympathetic, probably because he doesn't seem to have changed since the days he was controlling Kat.I would like a few more details about this son he lost: How long ago was it? Was Dylan married? (As I've mentioned before, he seems to be decades older than Kat.) The final reveal that Charlotte called Kyle the night she died just had me going "Yeah, so?"