Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[CaptainHulk]

Kat has lost all sympathy from me. Also, I'm sick of Carter. Can't Ash and Andy run him over or something and we get rid of 3 for the price of 1?! 

Can't say I have any for Tank, either. If I'm a cold hearted-bastard. That's just fine. The H&A product of the 2010s fosters these feelings. 

I agree, while Annoying, Evie's heart was in the right place this time.

I wonder when we'll see true 2016 H&A with visible changes, still feels like a 2015 hangover.

As for Nasty things on the Internet, the worst I've said about Matt is him being tool which is a Universal Truth! And Maddy did/does have her cow moments!

[H&Alover]

You took the words out of my mouth Red, Tank didn't abduct Evie, but he did hold her against her will later and then attacked Josh.   True soap 'coincidence' Evie deciding to have her tat removed then Zac  deciding to visit him, as he explained to Leah he did save his life and is getting punished for it. Leah was right he won't be able to keep it secret from the kids for long, it's much better coming from him. Tank's soon learnt the prison 'rules' about not telling the guards about what really happened to him. Good scenes with Zac going to the prison as a visitor and getting flashbacks of him going there as a prisoner.

Finally Hannah got through to Kat by saying if she was 100% sure of Carter she wouldn't think anything of looking into his actions which as it turned out revealed something she certainly wasn't expecting to find!  Those photos he had of her were more than just an ex keeping photos of someone they weren't over, were there women blanked out Kat was with or just men? His explanation was just  about plausible, though thankfully she wasn't convinced and she is a rotten liar I would have seen through her feeble excuse about not having her phone with her when she went on her break.  I'm guessing she was going through his phone to see if there were any clues about him having anything to do with the smashing up of the garage, but whatever else he is he isn't stupid and quite possible he has another phone to do his dirty business on.

I think Evelyn worked out that Matt and Maddy didn't want to go out in the bay where they may have been pointed at and have had people whispering behind their backs. At least in the city they will be more anonymous so yes good idea there Evie, plus a brief mention of the voucher being a 18th Birthday present.

[Red Ranger 1]

While Oscar is seeming increasingly isolated from his former peer group, at least it means he gets to interact with the youngsters who don’t veer between dull and detestable. There’s some interesting personal dynamics going on here: Billie’s look back at VJ was rather ambiguous and briefly left me wondering if she is interested in him a bit but think he’s too young. Meanwhile, VJ seemed to enjoy his kiss with Skye a bit too much, given his lingering look when she went upstairs. I think Skye overreacted: Calling VJ a jerk seemed extreme when he’s one of the least jerky boys on the show. (In fact, aside from Oscar he is the least jerky boy on the show.) I get her point that she sees kissing as something important but she didn’t come across as much of a friend for a few scenes there. (Was that VJ’s first kiss? I’m struggling to think of another example. I assume Skye kissed Jett even though we never saw it.) Meanwhile, Oscar and Billie finally seem to be building on the burgeoning friendship of her saving his life last year, and it does seem to be completely platonic.

Meanwhile, the camera panning from Josh and Evelyn making out to Maddy draping herself over Matt reminds me that we really have got the dullest, most annoying pairings possible on display. Josh and Evelyn have always struck me as Apex 2.0: Pair up two characters who aren’t very interesting together but they’ll leave around the same time so they can get married and head off into the sunset. And we seemed to get the first stage of that here. But the second half suggests it’s just them being happy before they mess it up…

We have a doctor who’s not Nate! No point checking the cast list to see who she is because they inexplicably reused the cast list from exactly 100 episodes previous (you can tell from the fact James was on it) but checking earlier episodes, it is actually the one that treated Josh last year. Nice to see Greg and Tank getting on, even if it took Tank getting stabbed to do it. But sadly the interest levels plummet when the teens come back and, aside from Maddy, they all come across as horrendous. Maybe I’m being harsh since they do have good reason but the unremitting hostility (especially coming from people who forgave the at-least-as-bad Hunter straightaway without him even spending any time in jail) was hard to take. Matt acts like a tool and demonstrates why he’s up on an assault charge. Josh taps into his scumbag genes and demonstrates that both Barretts like their victims lying helpless in a hospital bed. And Evelyn…she actually disappointed me, when I really should know not to expect much from her by now. The last time we saw her and Tank together he was crying in her lap, not long before that she was declaring him the love of her life and saying he meant more to her than Josh ever did. Now, I get that seeing Josh lying in a hospital bed for weeks and then sitting through his recovery would have hardened her attitude. But it would have been so much more interesting if she’d been torn between her loyalty to Josh and the fact she’s seen the humanity in Tank. But no, instead she throws a selfish tantrum and demands Zac send Tank to an effective death sentence because it’s all about her (which, disappointingly after her support last episode, Leah seems to agree with). It’s episodes like this that remind me why I’ve never really warmed to her.

(I'm pretty sure it's been mentioned before that the twins have turned 18: We've definitely seen them drinking in Angelo's.)

[H&Alover]

You're right Red about it being mentioned about the twins turning 18, but there was no party to mark the event, not that we saw anyway.

Talking of Evelyn after her initial tantrum she did then go and see Tank and though not forgiving him more for, I think, what he did to Josh than what he put her through showed quite maturity  by telling Zac she didn't have a problem with him speaking up for Tank at his parole hearing. She made him, Tank, to promise to stay out of their lives and now all of them can really move on. Tank also mentioned, briefly, he was getting counselling so hadn't just been dumped in a grown up jail.  I don't know what it takes for a prisoner to be transferred in Aussie prisons but I would have thought  being stabbed would be up there instead they are going to put Tank in protective custody until his hearing. Yes, Josh acted very badly but there must have been a lot of pent up anger, he could have been left brain damaged and/or blind.

I thought that as well Red, Josh attacking Tank seems to have her think twice about getting engaged to him.

Ditto with the possible flicker of a romance between VJ and Skye and could her 'overreaction' be a cover for her true feelings which of course she's not willing to admit to herself just now. I think they would make a good couple. That look back from Billie did suggest she did have some twinge of jealousy but there is too much of an age gap.

Another teen pregnancy in the offing, Hunter and Olivia as they have both mentioned they have been careful so how did that happen?

On a more mundane point Ricky and Nate and their wedding.   Nate said he is a traditionalist wanting Ricky to take his name then when it was pointed out to him Sophie didn't change her name he just dismissed it. When he was talking to Zac about it I was waiting to hear Zac say if Leah had changed her name to his but nothing was said. Ricky seems to be putting up a lot of barriers whatever Nate suggests, then right at the end Ricky gets a text from Brax wishing her well which seems to have really upset her.

[Red Ranger 1]

Yes, fair play to Evelyn, she improved considerably and ended up taking a position that’s actually quite reasonable once she’d calmed down. Oscar was never going to be happy about this (he and Josh were the ones who hated Tank before it became trendy, after all) but I was glad to see him deal with it calmly once he was in position of the full facts. Ironically, Leah comes across as the most unreasonable and somehow manages to say “He has to pay for what he’s done!” with a straight face. Why, what makes him so special? No-one else does, as the psychotic arsonist wandering through the scene with a smug look on his face demonstrates. And is the guard on Tank’s door just for show? It seems like anyone with a grudge against him can just wander in no questions asked.

Far too many Hunter and Olivia scenes yesterday. Princess Oliva, who’s in airhead mode at the moment, leeching off Irene and helping herself to the Diner fridge was bad enough, but then we have Hunter showing what a sleaze he is by trying to have sex with her on the beach. Smooth. And then we get the truly horrifying prospect of them actually procreating. I shudder to think what would come out of their combined gene pool, and I’m struggling to work out where in all the absences, break-ups and arrests they’ve had time to “do it” again. (Irene letting him stay is seeming like a worse and worse idea.) Today’s episode improved on things by keeping Hunter’s role as small as possible and instead pairing Olivia with the immensely likable Skye who pretty much rescued those scenes. Nice to get a reference to Chloe, although frankly the gulf in maturity between them is massive (although to be fair Chloe was a bit older and was flighty when she first appeared). And she got pregnant by someone who was actually decent, albeit with a very short life expectancy.

I actually found Ricky truly annoying yesterday as Nate asked her about things that are actually pretty basic and she still bit his head off. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she gets one of the militant “No woman in Summer Bay has taken her married name this decade and I won’t be the first” speeches that this show is so fond of. It’s moments like this that lead me to increasingly suspect that it isn’t anything to do with being too lazy to change the credits but that someone behind the scenes has an agenda they want to foist on us (especially when it gets applied to characters like Marilyn and Leah who have taken every other husband’s surname and it seems horribly out of character – I think the change in Leah’s credit and her comment before the wedding about still being undecided mean we can include her). And then we find out that Ricky has Brax listed on her phone as Brax. Way to keep your cover, girl, especially with it lying on the bench like that. It just needs Josh or Maddy to steal a glance and the secret’s out.

So, the combined party didn’t go too badly, although was there any reason, other than having used up his three episodes, why best man Zac wasn’t there? (The episode seemed to be written as though Chris is best man.) Kyle has been to a hen party before, he waited tables when Bianca married Heath as I recall, although I suppose he meant as a guest. (Then again, didn’t April and Dexter have a combined day that he was there for some of?) Kat writing herself off seemed very random: I wondered at one point if it was because she still held a torch for Nate. I’m guessing it’s because she’s suddenly decided that Carter isn’t a good guy after all, although it still seems a ridiculous reaction. And after that drunken pass at Ash, Carter’s paranoia suddenly isn’t that paranoid… So, apparently no-one knows Kyle is facing trial and probably going to jail? Except Ricky and Kat, I guess…does Nate even know why the wedding was moved? What did they tell people when he was in custody, that he’d gone swimming?

[H&Alover]

As yet we haven't seen Josh's reaction to Evie's decision to back Zac in Tank's parole hearing which btw seems very early after what he was jailed for. Leah, although not happy about it at least respected  her decision.

Olivia does seem to have reverted back to airhead mode, though she isn't the first to help themselves to Diner food.  At least she fessed up quickly about the pregnancy both to Skye and Irene, she does have a decision to make and yes Hunter, as the dad, does have  a right to know, but it's not set in stone that he has to, he's younger than her and not even earning a wage so how the hell would they manage if she does decide to go ahead with it.

Gina changed her name to Palmer and I'm not going to say it was because she was older so in her day it was the 'done thing'. She was a very modern woman.

Carter put a dampener on the girlie meeting before they set off, making a few tense moments with only Hannah and Phoebe being on in the 'secret' about him.  Coming from anyone else his 'don't have too much fun without me' could  have come across as jokey, but from him it just came across as sinister, especially as he then sent a text message saying the same thing. Kat getting drunk was in my eyes just her way of blotting it out, it's what she does. Had Carter really been there all that time waiting for her to come out when he was supposed to be 'working'? He certainly wouldn't have expected to see Ash pouring her into his car to take her home.  I really hope Ash didn't take her up on her offer, he gently refused Phoebe when she did the same and she was sober.  I'd like to think he's more of a gentleman than that, especially as he has just been through the same thing - well he thought he had. Her lying to Carter about how she got home, as we saw from the trailer, is going to back fire.

It all seemed to be going well, after from Ricky's sulking, but then she was the same with the Baby Shower.  She really is undecided about this marriage, makes me think Kyle going to prison isn't the only reason she keeps bringing it forward.  Maybe in some part of her mind she's thinking 'well once I'm married, everything will be OK'.

 

 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎03‎/‎06‎/‎2016 at 4:07 PM, H&Alover said:

Gina changed her name to Palmer and I'm not going to say it was because she was older so in her day it was the 'done thing'. She was a very modern woman.

If one wanted to be really really pedantic (and I do), that was last decade, five and a half years ago now.And, significantly or otherwise, under the previous producer.

Alf's episode count this week: None, but that credit mistake meant he was listed on Tuesday anyway.

Oh swell, it's Isla.I hope the sex was good, Kyle, because you seem to be doing a heck of a lot to pay for it.Little more than a retreading of previous themes: Kyle's an idiot, Isla's a mess and attempts to make it sound like Kyle's actions are actually going to do either of them any good just fell flat.Isla's basically on the run so she's lost her girls anyway (and the fact her solution was to kidnap them again demonstrates just how hopeless she is).Despite Kyle trying to convince her, us and himself otherwise, there are plenty of witnesses who heard her voice, know she was the one holding the gun and making threats, and heard her daughters mentioned.She'd be bang to rights if they ever caught up with her.

Carter did say he might drop by the party after work so I'm guessing he just showed up at the wrong time...which he does a lot.Nice to see Ash being the gentleman and not telling Kat about the kiss, and again I enjoyed their chats.Phoebe actually did the right thing telling Carter the truth about Ash driving Kat home, since he already knew; shame Kat went for the lie.I really don't buy Carter turning up and whisking Kat off to the station.I'm guessing he was lying and wants to keep her away from the wedding in order to isolate her from Ash and her friends.But as is often the case with him, it wasn't remotely convincing: He's not Kat's direct superior and now she's off the murder case he'd have no reason to acquire her like that.Kat should have rung the station to check, and how long will it take her to work it out?

I couldn't get worked up about Ricky's doubts but there was some lovely stuff between Chris and Nate, with Chris getting some great bumbling behaviour while Nate just lets it all wash over him.And Ricky did look nice in the dress.

[Slade]

Good to see Kyle at least acknowledge some of his previous deplorable actions.  I think the conversation he had with Isla really typified the issue - "You're strong and smart and beautiful".  Isla's not strong.  If she was she would try and get her kids back the right way i.e. get a job, earn an honest living and over time show she's capable of being a good role model to her girls rather than looking for an immediate unlawful solution.  If she was smart she wouldn't have even considered doing the robbery in the first place (not to mention the fact that she was actually expecting the cops to just let Kyle going without charging him when they found him at the scene of the crime).  Although she did manage to evade the cops so I'll give her that but I would like to know how she fled from the golf club without being caught.  I do agree with Kyle that she's beautiful which is his main motivation for going out of his way to help her.  I wonder if he would be so keen if she was physically unattractive.  Although he did get to sleep with her again so he got his reward for putting his whole life on the line for her.  I was really hoping Andy or better still Ricky would have found Isla when she was hiding away.

So the gut feeling and alarm bells ringing that Nate had about Ricky a while back has resurfaced.  She didn't want to take his name and she doesn't even seem to actually want to get married.  It's almost as if she's forcing herself to do this to try and move on from Brax (As an aside I wonder if Cheryl is actually going to the wedding as Ricky picked Casey up from her and gave him to Kyle to look after).  Personally I think if that had been Brax she would have been really excited at the prospect of taking the Braxton name and absolutely wanting to get married.  It's also worrying for Nate that she even replied to Brax's text.  Almost felt as though she wants Brax to object as some sort of way out.  All the talks and all the excuses Ricky gave to Nate are irrelevant.  My thoughts are if she's not a hundred percent she shouldn't even considering going through with it.  It is better to jilt him at the altar than to go through with a marriage she doesn't want.  Don't do it Ricky!

So it seems as though everyone close to Kat including Kat herself fully acknowledge Dylan is bad news.  Can't say I really care that much about her.  I'm more worried about what Dylan will do to Ash given how he antagonised Carter earlier on in the week and now that he knows Ash gave Kat a lift home (If he finds out about the kiss Ash really will be in trouble).  I am interested in what he has in store for Kat.  Part me believes Dylan is lying about Kat having to go to the police station and just wants her all to himself so I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I'm currently undecided about Tank but I have to admit Evelyn's objections to Zac helping him and Leah's self-righteous rants were hilarious.  I especially liked the part where Zac mentioned Josh paid Tank a visit and Leah asked if Josh was OK - Assuming that Tank had done something bad to Josh even though he was the one who got stabbed.

I know the previews always give away something but I felt the one yesterday gave away too much.

[Angelica]

Caught up with the last week of H&A. I struggled to care about any of it.

Ricky continued to snap all week at Nate for unreasonable reasons. Clearly, she would have been more excited had she been marrying Brax - but then she had the option to be with Brax, and she chose Nate. It clearly  was a choice of mind over heart which she seems to be regretting. But what she is doing is neither fair to Brax nor to Nate - especially when Nate has given her plenty of opportunities to express her doubts. Phoebe gave sensible advice to Ricky and generally was a good friend this week. 

Glad that Kat is wising up to Dylan - not that I have much sympathy for her. She got back together with him knowing what he was capable of. Do like Ash's and Kat's friendship. I felt Ash and Phoebe were both a lot more likeable this week, proof that they are better off apart. 

Nothing new to add to the Kyle/Isla storyline - still continues to be ridiculous especially when Isla continues to prove what an unsuitable mother she is. How is going on the run going to help her case?

Evie and Josh's engagement felt like the least convincing engagement ever. I disagree, Red, with the comparisons to Apex who I feel had a lot more substance to their relationship, and had at least overcame several obstacles such as Dexter's brain injury as a couple. This is comparison to Evie/Josh where Evie got together with Tank soon after her breakup with Josh and claimed that she had never felt the way about anyone as she had felt about Tank. Given that Tank's crimes are no worse than the likes of Kyle, Andy or Hunter, I am not unwilling to see a redemption story here. 

The love square of Oscar, Billie, Skye and VJ provided some entertaining scenes and some good scenes between the various characters. Oscar is definitely blossoming post Maddy break up. I did think Skye's overreaction to the VJ kiss suggested that maybe it meant something to her.

As for another teen pregnancy... Yawn. Most interesting aspect is Irene's involvement. 

[H&Alover]

Phoebe was OK all this week and I did like her (and Ricky's dress), her telling Dylan about who gave Kat a lift home was innocently done as she didn't know he knew who actually did.  Of course then Kat has to go and lie, knowing full well I guess, how he would react if she had told the truth. Knew Ash would be too much of a gentleman to use Kat's drunk, but not that drunk, state to take her up on her offer and she doesn't remember the kiss. Made me wonder if Carter saying she was needed down the station would have happened if he hadn't known who really took her home.

Maybe that phone call from Brax even though at first she was undecided, finally made Ricky realise Nate was the man for her. She certainly seemed a lot happier. I wondered that about Cheryl although Ricky is no relation to her, Nate will be Casey's stepdad and she'd want to check him out.  The wedding is not going to be all plain sailing though.

Isla really does have the most scattiest idea without thinking them through, yeh kidnap your kids and go on the run with them, echo's of Brax, who is a lot older and you would think wiser, having the same idea. In his case though he would have been going with Casey's mother. When she with or without Kyle got caught she definitely could kiss goodbye to seeing her girls for a very long time.

Did smile at Nate and Chris being found asleep on the beach and wow Chris is quite domesticated!