Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[CaptainHulk]

Saw last night's and I'm on the "Kyle, you F****ing Knobhead!"and "Kat, you foolish bitch, you!" trains.  

Sympathy Terminated, Not that I had much for either to begin with.

It's another teeth-sucking, head-shaking eye-rolling week in the bay.

Excuse us for the blue talk but the state of the show has me riled! 

[atrus]

So is this it for Kyle, or will we be subjected to months of him facing off with the likes of 'Davo' (etc etc) in jail until the truth finally outs? I do hope not.

Ash once again demonstrates the show's penchant for violence being righted with violence - great. Sorry, but it doesn't make him a valiant defender of womankind; it makes him no better than Carter himself. Speaking of whom, I find it frankly astonishing that both the police and the writers think it appropriate for him to remain at work, under the circumstances.

Hunter and Olivia? Meh. I want to feel engaged with this, but they've done so little to ingratiate themselves since they arrived that I just can't.

[Pierced Musie]

I think that was it for Kyle. Damn, that was a bad exit .

 

Loved how sensitive Ash was with Kat, trying to help cover the bruising & telling her to report him. Then he uses violence to teach the abuser a lesson. Dumbass move... but not saying I didn't enjoy that scene .

[CaptainHulk]

Carter needed some just desserts, However, belting a cop isn't a Very SMART move even if he IS a a woman-beating dickhead.

[Red Ranger 1]

13 hours ago, Slade said:

As an aside have to say I'm a little confused as to how the justice system works in Aus.  Watching Neighbours yesterday, it was the jury who made the decision of the person's guilt but here it was the judge.  Didn't think they used both.  It must be an intra-state thing.

It may be partly an intra-state thing but I believe NSW does use both.We've had jury trials in the not-so-distant past, Casey and Sasha spring to mind.(Can't remember with Brax, he changed his plea to guilty anyway.)From Home and Away and other Sydney based shows, I think it depends on the severity of the charge and whether or not both sides agree to the judge making the decision, in much the same way that some cases in the UK are decided by a magistrate rather than a jury.

I thought you'd be doing cartwheels at Kyle's fate, Slade! I wish I could say that he'd changed and was a different person now but...I can't, or at least I don't think he's changed enough. He's still got a violent streak and he still sees the law as something to work around, which is what has landed him in this, although in his defence he's pretty much the reason that the robbery didn't end with someone being hurt or killed.I probably wouldn't mind if the show was consistent but it's hard not to feel a bit resentful when Isla's allowed to escape, Brax is allowed to escape and the Bay is full of people who've done as bad as or worse than Kyle without any punishment.I don't know if we're meant to take Isla's promise to make the most of her "second chance" (watch out for those police on your way out of town, lady) seriously or not.I'm sure she means it but without Kyle to constantly bail her out she'll probably be dead or in jail within a month.

Talking of people as bad as or worse than Kyle, here's Hunter, who set fire to a house with Oscar and Matt inside, put Billie in hospital for months while framing her for starting the fire in which she was nearly killed, pushed Josh down a flight of stairs and left him for dead and robbed the Diner causing Marilyn to be electrocuted and end up in a coma, and hasn't even received the token punishment Kyle did first time round, swanning around without a care in the world while the increasingly whiny and pathetic Olivia fawns all over him.Even Skye can't rescue this dreary storyline, mainly because her dialogue seems to consist solely of "You have to tell Hunter", while VJ is literally only in it for the sake of it.

I get the feeling Pia Miller's playing against the lines, which may not be the best move: The eyes say one thing but the words say another.But then maybe that's the point, Carter's so deluded that he was only paying attention to what was on the surface and not seeing the deeper meaning.But it's frustrating to see Kat slip back into a victim mentality, covering it up, blaming herself and wanting to forget about it, so good on Ash for talking her out of it.I wasn't sure if I'd like the new sergeant when I saw the promo but he made a strong debut and showed a decent amount of professionalism and compassion, whilst having his hands tied by a corrupt system where Carter's daddy can constantly head off any disciplinary action.I get that Kat rejected the alternatives, but sticking her back in the desk next to Carter's seems like a strange move.Ash attacking Carter...Well, for a start, if they were going to go down that route, we needed to see it, so we could judge what happened for ourselves, not have Kat somehow divine what had happened when I couldn't actually see a mark on him. The show needs to find a way to empower Kat again without going for the double standard of "If a man ever hits a woman then he must pay, but a man hitting another man is just fine and dandy, especially if it's a regular hitting a guest."Sadly, a promo that shows half the males in the town being no better than Carter isn't very encouraging.

[H&Alover]

I was wondering about Kyle's trial being by magistrate rather than jury, too late now I know to speculate but was it his choice or on his lawyers advice.  Anyhow, whatever the arguments about his doing it he felt he was doing it for the right reasons atoning, if you like, for all the things he had got away with in the past, makes a change for a Braxton prepared to go to prison willingly. He certainly seemed a lot more at ease with himself, he seems a  lot stronger than Brax who couldn't in fact hack it. No mention from Ricky about Heath's feeling on the matter.  Is that glimpse we saw of him in his cell the last we'll see of him or will there be the occasional visit by Ricky or Phoebe, if he's allowing to visit that is?  Did the evidence of the one hostage they did bother to question mean nothing, he said they heard Kyle telling the woman in the hood not to do it and let them go, he never hurt or threatened them, I may be being naïve but wouldn't that have gone in his favour?  I did like his and Phoebe's goodbye, no hysterics from her just a quite reminisce about their past, a part of them will always love the other. Ash as we know who should have been there was otherwise occupied.

What was the point of Isla creeping about the court house if she had no intention of handing herself in? Not much point, either, in her hanging around if Kyle is doing that long, maybe, just maybe her conscience will get the better of her and she will hand herself in.

So both Morag and Ash came riding to Kat's rescue, but the spy in Carter's camp alerted him about that part of it.  It didn't appear anyone found out about the visit Kat and Ash made to 'Gummo' (?) aka Warren who you can hardly blame for not wanting to go public about him being Carter's lackey. The thought did cross my mind that Carter got Emerson transferred because he dared challenge him and this new guy McCarthy was one of Carter's cronies but unless he is one Oscar worthy actor I believe he is genuine in trying to help Kat over her assault charge against Carter and his hands are tied by people higher up a.k.a Carter's dad who is head of OPP (the Australian equivalent of our DPP I guess). 

Quick thinking od Kat's apart on why she was at his room, but she is a rubbish liar. I initially thought Kat would have gone straight to the cops after he hit her and saying it was all her fault, but I suppose after all the previous times he had done it to her she fell  back into her old ways of hiding it. Thank goodness Ash was there and took care of her told her it wasn't her fault and gently persuaded her to go to them and report him. Ash is one good guy, but then he went and did what I hoped he wouldn't charged round to the motel and hit Carter, definitely not a good move, I didn't at first see a mark on him either but then I saw he had a cut lip, maybe he had marks on his body we didn't see.

I may be controversial here but Hunter and Tank/Wayne are as bad as each other in many ways.  Yes, Tank has been punished but Hunter was stopped from admitting his crimes by Charlotte and Tank had the 'excuse' of seeing his mum killed in front of him and his bad relationship with his dad for being the way he was.

I found it odd that Greg is going away for a week just as Tank/Wayne had been released into his charge, effectively leaving him alone to his own devices. It is as Josh said going to be very difficult to avoid bumping into him, Evie seemed to be the only one talking sense that if any of them see him just to walk away. I can understand Tank/Wayne not wanting to stay inside after spending time in prison and hospital and be in the open air, but going for a run after being stabbed in the stomach, seriously!  Skye, being Skye, would help anyone in his condition but taking a stranger back to an empty house when she knew nothing about them wasn't a wise move. She would have heard of Tank but as he gave her name as Wayne it wouldn't have meant a thing and all she did was to invite him along to her 'friends' (no names mentioned) party not knowing until they got there who he really was.

After Hunter's initial bolt after Olivia told him she was pregnant (he is only 16 after all and many older blokes would have done the same thing) he was wise enough to tell Zac and took his advice to go back.  I thought his and Olivia's (she said she is16), TPTB messing with people's ages again, conversation about what they should do was quite mature, going through the different options. There is no rush at the moment so they and their families/Irene have time to properly decide, but ultimately it is her decision. Sorry for the long ramble.

[Angelica]

5 hours ago, H&Alover said:

I may be controversial here but Hunter and Tank/Wayne are as bad as each other in many ways.  Yes, Tank has been punished but Hunter was stopped from admitting his crimes by Charlotte and Tank had the 'excuse' of seeing his mum killed in front of him and his bad relationship with his dad for being the way he was.

I agree with. Both of them put others' lives in danger after losing their temper. I find it funny that the same people who are so intolerant of Tank, had no problems forgiving Hunter at a drop of a hat even though their crimes are not dissimilar. Is it because Josh's life is worth more than Oscar's and Matt's? It just makes them all look quite unreasonable instead of understandably wary. Skye is being similarly ridiculous. While I understand her being willing to give Tank the benefit of the doubt especially when she was not around when he was first in the Bay, I still want to shake her every time she claims that Tank has changed (after knowing him 2 seconds).

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf’s episode count: Suspended until he gets back. Chris and Hannah were only in one. Andy and Matt were in two but only seemed to have dialogue in one.

There are times when I’m watching an episode struggling to find anyone I like or am interested in. Yesterday was one of those times. I find Hunter and Olivia to be deeply unpleasant people, so I had no interest in their whining at all. Olivia was massively out of line how she spoke to Skye and I bet she doesn’t apologise. And she’s still 16? Okay, she was 16 when Irene visited her in London, which is less than 12 months ago, but what about her saying when she came back that Chloe died ten years ago (which she did) when she was seven? I’ve just relieved she had an abortion, even if it did all happen ridiculously quickly. Shame too that they had to go down the route of “We were careful…except that one time.” Yep, don’t let teens know that having sex can lead to babies, it might stop them doing it. Tell them that it only happens if they do it wrong. I will admit that I wasn’t entirely without empathy for Olivia in that last episode and I even liked Hunter’s scene with Zac, which leads me to the feeling that they’re marginally better when we’re not getting it in stereo. But I’m damn near certain that sooner or later Olivia will snap back to being obnoxious so I’m through trying to invest in the character.

I was quite looking forward to Tank coming back, but if it’s just going to involve everyone lining up to have a pop at him twice an episode I’m not sure why they bothered. I wasn’t impressed with either Josh or Oscar here, who seemed to be dishing out the same “Look for any excuse to think the worst of Tank” nonsense as they were last time he was around. I guess the fact that they frustratingly turned out to be right and Josh ended up justified in being a judgemental jerk has only encouraged them. Honestly, Hunter left them both for dead on separate occasions and they just shrugged it off, Josh’s brother tried to murder Maddy and Casey and everyone had to forgive him just because he was Josh’s brother, but Tank deserves to be sent to his death? Even Leah’s looking for an excuse to send him back, with ridiculous remarks like “He can just go wherever he wants?” as if she doesn’t understand what being let out of jail means. All three of them were talking nonsense at the beginning of today’s episode, somehow failing to see the illogic in believing Tank deliberately came to Josh and Evelyn’s engagement party when no-one knew they were having an engagement party. At least cooler headers prevailed, although Evelyn having sex with Josh to shut him up instead of helping him see he’s being an a***hole didn’t help.

It seemed a bit of a stretch for Josh and Evelyn to invite Skye to the party when they’ve barely said two words to her, just so she could bring Tank along. But after that weak plot device, I actually found myself liking her role as the only person not queuing up for the lynch mob. (Vaguely reminiscent of Annie being the only person willing to give Jonah a chance when he came back, except with more kissing.) Irene was a massive hypocrite warning Skye off Tank because he messed up a lot of people’s lives, upset Leah and people like that never change immediately before heading off with Olivia and Hunter, who messed up a lot of people’s lives, upset Leah and moved in with Irene straight after it came out. I was willing to give Oscar a free pass when I saw the promo but he was so patronising I’m glad Skye told him to get stuffed. VJ is at least consistent, since he did treat Hunter like that, as is Billie advocating second chances like she got. (VJ did at least look a bit shame-faced after Billie and Skye called him out on it.) I did wonder from the promo if VJ was jealous but he still seems keen on Billie, who still gives out a few hints that it’s not entirely one-sided. Skye kissing Tank…slightly random but they have a believable repartee so okay, run with it.

[atrus]

I was incredibly infuriated at everyone and his dog piling on the Bash Tank Bandwagon - with Josh (who becomes less and less tolerable by the day) leading the way in the sanctimony stakes, followed closely by Oscar, Irene and an increasingly reactionary-when-the-plot-demands-it Leah. But then again, I was almost equally annoyed at the way the otherwise level-headed Skye randomly threw herself at Tank at the end of Friday's episode. Much as I admire the way she's willing to give him a second chance - I'm all for second chances - I didn't like the way that this was automatically equated with fancying him. And lo and behold, we were catapulted into what looks to be yet another ill-fitting romance. I feel Skye needs a nice boy her own age, and that's probably VJ - which would have the added bonus effect of negating the need for him to sniff around Billie (and I daresay vice versa).

I can't help but feel that the writers ought to have worked harder to make us care about Hunter and Olivia before they dragged them through this pregnancy/termination storyline - and to have provided some justification for Hunter's sudden metamorphosis into such a sensitive, caring soul. Instead we're just expected to suck it up, as if adult characters telling us repeatedly that Hunter is 'a good kid' will eventually mean it's true and has been all along. What's happened to his arson trial? Has it been completely forgotten, or are they just trying to space out the courtroom dramas? Because I feel this is crucial if they're serious about redeeming him.

[Slade]

On 6/9/2016 at 0:09 AM, Red Ranger 1 said:

I thought you'd be doing cartwheels at Kyle's fate, Slade!

I have several issues which I won't go into at this time but my main problem is the fact that he didn't do it.  He may have been guilty of other crimes but not this particular crime.  To the people who always downgrade the show for its criminal element it's another serious crime where the perpetrator has gone unpunished.  If you add to the fact that Kyle took the blame then it's also perverting the course of justice.

 

On 6/10/2016 at 2:36 PM, H&Alover said:

I was wondering about Kyle's trial being by magistrate rather than jury, too late now I know to speculate but was it his choice or on his lawyers advice.

Being able to choose is something I hadn't considered.  Having done jury service in the past (and looking the decisions of other people on the jury) any person aware of this would choose a jury over a judge.  Ordinary people don't have the experience people who work within the justice system do and some make decisions based on emotion or how they perceive the person as opposed to the evidence in front of them using logic and reasoning.  And I do not believe in some cases they are able to come to the required conclusions.  So I would have thought there's a much higher chance of getting off.  With a judge I would expect them to almost always come to a guilty decision.  If the evidence is insufficient then surely the case won't even go to court in the first place.

I am looking forward to actually seeing Carter getting some payback, purely in terms of drama and entertainment.

I've quite enjoyed Tank's return to the bay if only for the drama it's caused.  I think it's been highly amusing seeing Josh losing it again and getting annoyed with Evelyn for trying to be objective.  TBH I don't blame him.  If it was me, I would be looking for some form of payback.  I didn't particularly like VJs attitude though.  He actually wasn't directly affected by what Tank did so whilst I understand him wanting to protect people that are close to him I didn't agree with him assaulting Tank like that although contradicting myself I quite liked the fire and intensity which he similarly showed when he was going for Hunter before they made up.  Leah I don't blame, she quite rightly has concerns about the other kids so fair enough.

Wow, so Skye actually worked a shift in the Diner.  I am really struggling to cope with that monotone voice of hers but I have to admit I've been quite impressed with her picking Tank up and copping off with him (didn't realise she had game).  The way she did that was reminiscent of Oscar.  Am I to assume the times where she was hanging around him like a lost puppy and when she ruined him potentially sleeping with that blonde girl a while back that she actually learnt something.  I did find her attitude towards Oscar a bit rich though.  He had a very valid point about her spending time with Tank and she basically told him to stay out of it even though as I mentioned above she did the same thing to him (and to VJ too at Lindsay's beach party).  Objectively the problem I have with this is that everybody that has called Skye out is essentially right about their concerns re Tank.  He kidnapped Evelyn, put Josh in a coma and even after finding out who he was she's immediately deciding to give him another go because....he's hot.  I'm not buying her suggestion that they are both troubled kids which suggests a non-shallow emotional bond.  If Tank was physically unattractive would she be so prepared to give him another go?  She's young and I actually don't blame her after what happened with Oscar (she obviously wants a relationship) but certainly from everybody else's perspective there's no evidence to suggest that Tank has changed.  And there he is with another girl.  OK so he saved Zac's life and told Evie he was sorry but he was classed as being mentally ill (much like Billie) so like her I struggle to understand how he's cured.  He must have had the same therapist as her or have been treated at the same place.  As I mentioned in another thread the people at Summer Bay must be using some form of aversion therapy.  Let's hook em up to a machine, get them to enact their deepest/worst desires and whilst they are experiencing this feed them some high voltage.  Dr Strange at Arkham would be proud.

Seriously what is the point of the Olivia pregnancy storyline?  To make her more emotionally unstable.  Couldn't they have just revisited the abuse?  I thought they were going to do something different and she was going to backout of the abortion at the last minute but nope.  One good thing though, I guess it was worth it to see the counselor who was easy on the eye also the girl that finished the abortion just before Olivia went in wasn't bad either.