Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Slade]

20 hours ago, Changelo shipper <3 said:

Can't say as I'm upset about Phoebe and Ash calling it quits. Quite the opposite. I don't have a massive problem with Phoebe as a character, quite like her in fact, but never liked the pairing of Ash and Phoebe. That was right what Phoebe said, I was thinking along similar lines - that as individuals they both believed Ash did cheat so that's not good. Oh well.  

Putting my dislike for Phoebe aside, the fact that they've broken up for the third time shows they're not right for each other.  And it's now becoming extremely tiresome.  I'm willing to put a wager on how long before they're back together again.

20 hours ago, Changelo shipper <3 said:

and the way I feel about Chris just... nothing really.

Is this an improvement?  You used to be like me before - absolutely loathing him.  I don't think he's been as bad as of late but I just can't see myself liking him anytime in the foreseeable.

Andy's reaction upon finding about Ash splitting up with Phoebe - "At least I don't have to listen to you two arguing anymore".  Brilliant.  My thoughts exactly.  Really liked him in that episode, putting in a good word to Ash re Matt and I also quite like the setup at the garage.  Shame Carter had to ruin it which has caused Matt to resign.  Wonder why it took so long after making the phone call previously for one of Carter's contacts to follow through.  I suspect that it's not going to take Ash very long to figure out once he thinks back to the conversation he had with Carter earlier on in that episode (again I found Ash's facial expressions during that scene hilarious).  Even if Ash doesn't figure it out I'm sure Carter will turn up and indirectly taunt him about it given how he normally behaves and how he was towards Matt where he almost ran him over and proceeded to taunt him afterwards which was again disgusting.  I wonder if Kat told Carter about Ash and Phoebe breaking up.  That might explain why the garage was trashed in today's episode rather than last week.  Especially given the way he was looking at them at the beach at the beginning.  Given that Kat was in that bikini and Ash didn't even look down at her cleavage once I can only assume that he really is in love with Phoebe.
 
Wasn't expecting that guy to report Matt to the police.  That actually annoyed me given how he was constantly baiting Matt whilst he was trying to work. So although Matt should have walked away that guy was asking for a smack.  Found it slightly amusing when Evelyn rolled her eyes at Maddy kissing Matt.  Is she like how Andy was about Phoebe and Ash.....i.e. so over the arguing?

Andy was right.  Kyle really has got it bad.  He's actually prepared to sell his share in a restaurant he's slogged his guts out for a girl he's been dating for less than a month.  Wouldn't it be cheaper to go the city and find a hooker.  Better still can't he order one of those Russian brides off the internet.  I'm curious as to how Isla managed to get her hands on a gun if she's broke.  I am a little confused though.  I thought Dave was based in the city so Isla should be too but presumably she's got contacts around the bay.

[atrus]

I suppose the pictures on Carter's wall were supposed to make us think he was super-creepy, but actually it just showed the character (and storyline) up to be a bit of a one-trick pony in my view. At least most of them looked like proper mugshots rather than Home & Away publicity photos. His apparent involvement in the trashing of the garage was perhaps the first majorly corrupt thing we've seen him do, but regardless of that he's showing himself up to be a pretty unpleasant person in smaller ways, such as with the pizza order (although his retort to Kat that it's the only pizza place in town is difficult to dispute). Kat doesn't seem like the type to fall for it, but I suppose anyone can be duped if their feelings are strong enough.

The Matt aftermath was a bit lacklustre. The writers can't have it both ways - on one hand, Angelo's is just packed out with hoons enjoying the Matt-baiting, but on the other, they have no customers now because of him? Likewise, the garage-trashing had me thinking that Summer Bay's faceless vigilantes are becoming just that bit too conscientious - until it turned out that Carter was involved. The guy who Matt hit had it coming, I'm afraid - the way he was carrying on, pretty much anyone would have smacked him. I suppose the shallowness of the character made it easier to swallow Matt's behaviour.

No idea why Isla has a gun, nor do I much care. But if this whole arc with her kids turns out to be a ruse so she can wreak revenge on Brax's family for some ancient wrong he committed towards one of her jailbird boyfriends (and that's starting to become my suspicion, because hey, it's a Braxton storyline) I'm not going to be impressed.

Can't say I'm upset at the prospect of a Phash split, although my feeling is that Billie might just bully Ash and Phoebe into a reunion.

[KIMIF1]

Surely it's connected to the Poker game and the debt Kyle owes in Melbourne,  nothing to do with Brax at all.

[H&Alover]

Alarm bells now ringing about Carter so loudly they are deafening!!!  He, being the bully he so obviously is, does his threatening on the quiet, this time round with Matt who to be honest hasn't done himself any favours by thumping Clint, even if it was thoroughly deserved!!!   What's happened about Alf's call to Morag btw? He is not just jealous of Ash and Kat's friendship he's obsessed!  Is it just because it's Ash (an ex con to boot) or would it be any guy she was friendly with as in Nate who she actually dated!  Definitely didn't buy his buddy buddy chat with Ash, asking how he going to fit in working at Angelo's and the garage (Ashdy's - please NO!!!) hoping it all goes well, so pleased with the work they did on his car he'll tell other folks.  Maybe he's hoping they'll struggle running the garage when it's just the two of them and not do well and lose money and be open to suggestions. He (Carter) can turn on the charm when he wants as in conning Kat to take him back who should know better after the last time.  I'd be for giving someone a second chance if they could prove they had had help with their anger issues but all she has is his word that he has, I know it's been said before but for a smart cop she's being real dumb. Interesting to see how they were  looking at the old photos on their laptops - though I thought Kat would have got rid of hers after what he put her through - both with different expressions on their faces, hers kind of nostalgic and his, well to repeat myself, obsessive! I see that motel room (27) is back in use and I don't think it's that unusual for a cop on  a murder case to have photos of suspects on the wall, even if Irene and Zac's are  still there despite having been cleared, didn't spot Ash's but I guess it was there. I still think he was the cause of Ash and Phoebe breaking up due to his maybe sleeping with Selena.  I know he and Phoebe fought like cat and dog sometimes but she was  a stabilising influence on him and kept him grounded, he hasn't got that now so may be more susceptible into getting into things he shouldn't behind Andy's back.  Plus of course they will need to ask Kat for more money which perhaps Carter wants her to spend on the block of land he bought. Bet it's nice and isolated so he can keep her under his protective eye. Carter made another of his mysterious phone calls - Donkey - again, a small matter of smashing up the garage methinks. Ash didn't  tell Carter the apprentice was Matt, but news gets around, but the timing of his starting and the garage getting trashed is to me more than a coincidence. Hope they get the local plod involved at least. Ash was on the ball to pick up on the fact Kat and Carter were back on, well both of them being happy was a bit of a clue, and I liked his concern for her.  OK Carter's son dying may have been traumatic for him, but in no way does it excuse him beating her. Kat didn't have much choice when Carter wanted Zac arrested he's her superior

I didn't find Clint and his pals comments to Matt at all 'amusing', just infantile and Matt did well not to retaliate in Angelo's. May be academic seeing as she is dead, but would they have been making those remarks to Charlotte if she'd been around? A grown up decision on his part that it was probably down to him profits were down, even if Kyle and Ricky were behind him, and he should leave. The same reason he's quit the garage because he feels he was the cause as he hit Clint.  Prior to that I'm glad he didn't blow up at Maddy over her asking Andy to give him a go, I'll gloss over the fact I don't think we've ever heard him mention an interest in cars before. I did find it a little odd Ash looked unsure when asked by Andy to consider him as Matt was under suspicion, erm excuse me mate so were you not that long ago!  I think Matt, Josh, Maddy and Evie were ready to walk away from dickhead until he made that remark about Maddy, hell I would have hit him!  Not really necessary for Leah to bring up (again) what happened to Josh when she heard about it, then soon after she was all over him after finding out about the apprenticeship.  I did like, though initially she was angry over Matt hitting Clint, she was still supportive of him.

Both Chris and Hannah were very patient when Phoebe interrupted their romantic dinner with her completely oblivious of the fact.  She got it right when she told Ash if both of them thought he had cheated said a lot about their relationship. Funny Selena turning up and confirming they didn't and the tat wasn't one, after the damage had been done.

So far isla has been although a mixed up character at least an adult so what was with her morphing into a giggly airhead when Kyle was playing and singing to her? Soon changed when she got the bad news about Harry taking the kids away from her and she wasn't to have anything to do with them. Now she has produced a gun which going by the trailer is soon to be put into use.

 

 

[Slade]

Completely forgot about Nate and Ricky.  Even forgot they were getting married.

Good to see Olivia at the Diner.  Quite enjoy seeing her working there although the last time was a few weeks ago.  Whilst Skye was sitting there talking...mumbo junmbo.  Presumably that was where Olivia got the money to buy the DNA testing kit and the rest of her earnings go towards paying her way.  Even though it was annoying and unpleasant part of me enjoyed seeing Lindsay trying to get a rise out of her ordering Olivia about like a skivvy and generally being unpleasant but I absolutely loved it when Olivia stood up to her (even though it was unprofessional) and went for her.  I also liked the way VJ had her back and to be fair to Skye her too.  Lindsay's coming across as a pathological liar.  Making up that Olivia's hitting on other guys although Hunter didn't seem to buy it this time.  Just to show how delusional Lindsay is, Hunter basically told her that he's not interested and she still hasn't got the message.  I assuming that he definitely didn't sleep with her now as I don't think he would be so blunt and would have felt more guilty about leading her on.  Forgot to mention previously that Olivia was on Dylan's wall chart.  I wonder why he has her down as a suspect.  The only thing that springs to mind was when she emptied the rubbish bins in Charlotte's flat.  But even then there was no actual proof that she was responsible as Irene covered for her.

Even though I'm normally strongly in favour of children being with their mums today to me proved exactly why Isla's ex is justified in not letting her have access.  Kyle offers her a job to get back on her feet, there's no danger of her being fired given how besotted with her he is, she doesn't have to worry about wasting money travelling but rather than accept it and try to do an honest living and sort herself out over time, she decides to do a robbery.  Not sure she's fit to be a mother given that she also still has links to the criminal underworld and hasn't severed them.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count last week: Five! Roo was in four.

Yep, I'm back and I've caught up on 6 episodes over the last 24 hours so...let's start with Matt.Sorry, but my sympathy for him is very low.I can remember him swaggering around bragging to his mates about bagging an older woman: Since what Charlotte did wasn't a crime, he's not a victim, certainly not in the legal sense.Being with him has gone as badly for Maddy as I feared, she wants a mature relationship but instead she's babysitting an overgrown child.And yet I still like her, and I actually liked how supportive she was setting up an apprenticeship for him.(It's very left field though, at least with Ash and Andy they set it up last year.Music has always been Matt's thing, if he actually has a thing, so for him to go "Oh no, that's just a hobby, I really want to be a mechanic" just when a new garage opens up seems desperately contrived.)And then straightaway Matt coward punches someone instead of being grown-up about it, Maddy echoed my thought of "What is wrong with you?!" and five minutes later, she's all over him again because he looks a bit sad.Sorry, but Matt's increasingly coming across as a loser.Not sure who made Maddy queen of the castle to order Cliff and his mates out.(It did seem like those four and Matt's friends were the only customers.)I get it's inconsistent, but given that the show made a big deal out of "Coward punching is a bad thing" last year, I'm glad they're not falling back on "except when it's one of our main characters and the victim is annoying" and everyone was rightly disgusted with Matt's behaviour (reminiscent of the way he wanted to go after Kyle for harassing Maddy, and giving the impression he prioritises playing the big man over being a supportive friend/boyfriend).I cheered that Cliff pressed charges, although as with Hunter being charged with arson, Billie being charged with making a false statement, Kyle being charged with illegal gambling etc etc it'll probably be quietly forgotten.(Is Matt still on a good behaviour bond for the ATM theft?)As I mentioned in my suspects list, Matt disappeared partway through the finale along with Alf and Maddy: He was there when Evie went out but we never saw him after that and it's confirmed he has no alibi.Although it hasn't been mentioned, I'm assuming Kat stayed on duty with other officers after we last saw her.I don't think Irene's been 100% cleared, she just gave an explanation for how she tore her coat?(ETA: I had Olivia down as a suspect because she didn't want Hunter to leave town and he told her he had to go before Charlotte revealed all his secrets, although I'm not sure if Carter would know about that.)

I expected to hate Hannah's tirade when I saw it in the promos but seeing it in context...I sympathised.I don't think Irene was intrinsically wrong in convincing her to go, and to a point I think she appreciated it, but then when it got too much and she did the right thing by trying to quietly leave, Irene drew attention to her and she finally snapped.(I was disappointed at the lack of interaction with Evelyn and Oscar, it didn't go beyond polite nods.)She was a bit contradictory in berating Chris for not talking about it and berating Ricky for talking about it. I have very mixed feelings about Irene's chat to her.It's intriguing that Hannah didn't know about Irene's rape even though she was openly introducing Claire as her daughter: Given that Olivia was reluctant to tell all to Roo, perhaps it is just Leah, Olivia and Claire (and now Hannah) that know.But I'm not wholly convinced Irene would suddenly start spilling it to random people after keeping it secret for forty years, especially when its relevance to Hannah's case was hugely debatable.Maybe it's owning her past?I kind of like Hannah and Chris, but like others I can't help wondering what'll happen when she ceases to need him as a rock.

Carter is definitely a controlling bully and Kat is an idiot for getting involved with him.I wonder if even she is concerned about his obsessive attempts to recreate their old life.So Kat had just met Carter when his son died: Not clear if they were already an item at that point, or if he was still with the mother.We already knew he was corrupt from the way he set up Zac for the sake of his career (especially if Morag's theory is correct), but he's gone beyond corruption into downright criminality in having the garage wrecked.Not sure if he's just lashing out at Ash out of jealousy or making a concerted attempt to keep him and Kat apart by wrecking their business.I don't think he was behind Donkey and Selena, even though I saw a lot of speculation in Australian Discussion: There'd be no point in having Selena come back and say it was a mistake, either it would make no difference or he and Phoebe would make up.So, end of Ash and Phoebe, not a bad result.Phoebe's been very self-absorbed, berating Ash for meeting his friend while neglecting her own fundraising duties, so he's better off out of it.

Kyle did well in getting Isla to bring her daughters back but he really is getting deeper and deeper into something that seems increasingly devoid of a happy ending.It doesn't help that we've been given very little reason to side with Isla: It probably would be hard on her daughters in the short term, since they clearly miss her, but objectively Harry seems a decent father and they're probably better off without Isla turning up once in a while to mess with their heads.There is a vulnerability about her in the middle of all that screwed up mess, but that and good looks aren't really enough for Kyle to try the standard "give-them-a-job-and-a-place-to-stay-and-they'll-be-model-citizens" trick.

Hunter and Olivia are like a car crash: Much like Ash and Phoebe, I wasn't convinced by them when they got together and don't like them as a couple, but a reunion seems inevitable. Olivia once again indicates she's got a job on pure nepotism: Fair enough, Lindsay was asking for it, but Olivia is rude to customers all the time, and I didn't appreciate VJ and Skye covering for her.Objectively, if Hunter does want Olivia back then hanging out with Lindsay is playing with fire.(Incidentally, Olivia didn't tell Hunter about her self-harming, she told him to look away when she got out of the rock pool and he looked anyway and saw the scars.Another reason to suspect she wasn't thinking with her brain when she decided he was trustworthy.)

There was something with Ricky and Nate but this post is long enough already.

[CaptainHulk]

Ricky and Nate are boring me s****less. There, I said it. Won't take it back. 

Hulk No like

Kat's a dummy for getting involved w/ Carter, that said, she looked rather fetching in that bikini while talking to Man-Bun.

Also, Matt.. I dunno what to say. He's always been a complete tool. To which, he would suggest my face was the same in rebuttal

Isla  

Turning Stick-up kid

may save this week.

Anyone else wanna slap a good chunk of the characters right now?

[H&Alover]

Matt hitting Clint wasn't a coward punch he was facing him, he didn't creep up behind him unlike Tank and Josh.  Music may be Matt's first love, but he's not going to make any money from it anytime soon and he needs money to pay his way as in rent and his share of other bills.

I so hated Lindsay's attitude in the Diner she may be used to snapping her fingers at staff in her posh restaurants but I think it just smacks of ignorance.  She was so condescending they way she spoke to Olivia as well, surprised Olivia kept her cool as long as she did. I liked how Skye tried to get Olivia rise above it and she nearly managed it and how VJ came up with she tripped line and Skye backed  him up. showed Lindsay that Olivia had friends. Good try by Hunter for trying to get back with Olivia who I think was cutting her nose off to spoil her face by turning him down.  Lindsay's ploy to seduce Hunter come unstuck despite her lie about Olivia hitting on other blokes. She actually came across as human when she smiled.

Zac is obviously still feeling the affects of his short time in remand, though as he said to Nate he'd done proper time before, but that time he was guilty. 

Talking of Nate he's turning into Groomzilla by getting carried away with the wedding plans, all Ricky wants is a simple ceremony on the beach - Summer Bay - not Bali!

 A lot going down tonight by the looks of it, Kyle trying to stop Isla making the worst mistake of her life, Hunter getting run over.

[Red Ranger 1]

4 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Matt hitting Clint wasn't a coward punch he was facing him, he didn't creep up behind him unlike Tank and Josh. 

Coward punch: A punch made without warning, allowing no time for preparation or defence on behalf of the recipient. It doesn't have to be from behind, and the coward punch storyline on Neighbours did involve a face to face punch.I guess you could say Matt storming towards him looking murderous counted as warning, but then Josh should probably have been expecting something given that he went chasing after Tank looking for a confrontation.

Alf's episode count this week:One. Guess he was making up for being full time last week.Oscar didn't appear at all.

Kyle really really needs to accept Isla is a lost cause.Thinking about it, it's probably a good thing he was there, otherwise Isla could well have killed someone (or got herself killed, which would have been less of a tragedy).The points she gained in letting the hostages go were instantly lost by her willingness to fire a gun at police officers.I know the police in Summer Bay aren't known for their competence, but they're not going to do something stupid like march Kyle out of there and not bother searching the crawl space even though they know there's two of them, are they?

I was all set for Lindsay to do something unforgivable that would see her packed off for good.Well...that kind of happened but not as much as I expected.Frankly, Hunter getting hurt was his own silly fault for jumping on the side of a moving vehicle for no real reason, and Lindsay didn't even seem to know he was there.So yeah, stealing a car and running away when someone's hurt aren't nice things to do, but Olivia did the first one herself not too long ago so she mostly just came across as a hypocrite.And once again, she treats her job as something that's there for her convenience.Skye's wasted just following her around.And as VJ pointed out, Olivia contributed to the mess by telling Hunter they weren't getting back together.There's an attempt to make her seem cute rather than bratty and self-centred, which kind of worked, but I still don't buy her and Hunter as a couple, so their firing off the L word just made me roll my eyes.At least Zac snapped at her.

Ricky and Nate actually did a good job of compromising once they sat down and talked.

[CaptainHulk]

No offence but those Hostages weren't played by the best of actors even if they WERE extras!  FFS, man.

And I sound evil here but I wanted to see a shootout and Isla go on the run after being winged by a bullet from Kat. That' s the modern product for you.

It's lucky ALF wasn't home, he'd have given Lindsay a tongue-lashing not felt since the days of Vicki Baxter! ("You stole my flamin' ute! You got jelly for brains or somethin', girl?!")

That said, Hunter did do something pretty dumb-ass.

Side note:A Coward Punch is also referred to as a "Sucker Punch",  by our American friends.

This has been a rousing edition of The More You Know. I'm your host, CaptainHulk.