Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, Evelyn learns what Maddy found out long ago: Andy could slaughter a hundred schoolchildren and Josh would still forgive him.I can't say I've got any sympathy for him, much as the show keeps trying to wring it out.That said, Josh behaved the way Skye should have done with Tank, and it does seem like it's one rule for some, one rule for another.Skye gets chastised for telling Evelyn, saying it's not the way she should have found out.Fine, except everyone was happy to crowd around demanding answers from her about Tank at the wake, after Hunter had loudly announced that at a very inappropriate time.I'll accept Leah stopping Zac going after Andy, since she did the same with Tank.John finally gets some proper scenes with Skye about three weeks after he came back and, as I suspected, instantly declares she shouldn't hang around with Tank, even though he was happy for her to share a house with Hunter while he was out on bail.So, I'm glad she ignored him.Roo calls McCarthy "Pete" when according to the credits he's Phillip.So, does the new information let Barrett off the hook?Perhaps not, it was after all the damage he did that caused the explosion, rather than what the canisters were.I get Roo has some liability for not doing the proper paperwork, but shouldn't the vendors know whether the canisters they're using are allowed or not?

I continue to really like VJ and Billie and I think things were handled well with Leah.She had her kneejerk reaction and tried to get them to split up, but she's beginning to recognise that laying down the law isn't going to do any good and VJ can make his own choices.I'm glad too of what Billie said about VJ, I do think what she feels for him is genuine.And the Leah/VJ scene about being careful was great, especially the way that they start off with euphemisms and then Leah actually says condoms.That said, there didn't seem to be any reason for VJ to tell Leah they'd slept together.I'm going to guess he was trying to prove to Leah that he's not a little boy anymore but it felt uncomfortably like the bragging that's so far been avoided.Not sure if they're still sleeping together, as Leah seemed to assume, or if it was a one-off.I loved the way VJ and Billie were copying each other, with her repeating his "five and a half" comment and him repeating her reaction to being compared to Madonna.

I keep forgetting about Chris' plaque thing, which shows how much I cared.I look forward to the unveiling of the Oscar MacGuire Memorial Trash Can.

[H&Alover]

Leah's (and to a lesser degree) Alf's  idea of not telling Evie and Zac about Andy backfired as it was bound to.  She may have been right that Andy only wanted to tell them to make himself feel better but but her demanding she was going to be the one to tell them - when exactly - but has already been mentioned it may have been a double whammy for Evie and Zac to find out it was Andy who was (mainly) responsible for the explosion  when Kat first told them but to drop that on them just as they were getting their heads around Hannah and Oscar's death was crueller.  When Evie broke the news she knew who really did it the look on Leah and Alf's faces said it all. Then of course Zac walks in at the end of it.  I felt it was more appropriate that Evie attacked Andy there was no way he would have just taken it if it had been Zac, he would have defended himself somehow.   Josh has to feel torn Andy was responsible for the death of his fiancée's brother and aunt but he is still his brother (well half brother if you want to be real picky). Both Tank and Andy had left before the explosion so had no idea what they had caused to happen.  The change of venue for the Fund raiser was done in a rush so maybe the proper procedures and checks, public liability insurance wasn't sorted. Was Pete/Phillip saying the canisters shouldn't have been were they were? Alf certainly didn't hold back in letting Tanya know what he thought about her actions, didn't someone on here (atrus) mention about it not being all about her?

Methinks it could end up with Maddy going back with Tanya, she's not the same girl who can be manipulated anymore.  I think in his heart Matt knows that.

I don't think there was any press coverage when Tank was initially charged with manslaughter so no real surprise there hasn't been now Andy has.

Was good thinking on Evie's part remembering the joint bank account Maddy and Matt had.

I'm like others on here, went right off Skye, she went to have another go at Tank he told her he was covering for someone who's name she dragged out of him then after promising him she wouldn't say anything does just that, unless she was defending Tank when Evie thanked her again for telling them it was him that started it. Btw the way she kept that news to herself until the next day.  Tank was easily bought by Syke buying him a juice. Then of course once John knows she is seeing Tank he bans her from seeing him which as happens has the reverse effect.  After initially flipping out over the fact not only is VJ seeing Billie he has slept with her, Leah after talking to Roo decides to let things run their course.  She then tells VJ she has no problem about him seeing Billie then goes and ruins it by offering contraceptive advice not what a bloke wants to hear from his mum, would have been much better coming from Zac.  One thing we did find out VJ is 17 and Billie is 22.5.  Of course the advice is a little late seeing as Billie is already pregnant. 

 

[atrus]

I've realised why Ash and Kat is annoying me so much already: I can see it being a complete rerun of Brax and Charlie. Billie's smirk at the notion of Kat giving anyone relationship advice felt really tasteless when you consider Kat's just come out of a violent relationship. I know she was referencing Ash rather than Carter, but it just serves to demonstrate how ridiculously quickly the Summer Bay love carousel spins. As does the fact that Phoebe is already having to defend herself from accusations she's trying to replace a child's mother, despite having only known her father for about three weeks.

Dom looks spookily like Casey Braxton from some angles, if you squint a bit.

I found Zac's bleating to Roo about the explosion being an accident a bit hypocritical given how the whole family has been flying off the handle at Tank and Andy. Putting Andy and Tank's past crimes aside for a moment, I think a freak accident is exactly what it is and making people feel even worse about it than they already do isn't helping matters.

[Red Ranger 1]

I really can't tell where exactly Roo's actions are meant to fit in the chain of cause and effect.She didn't do the proper checks and that's wrong, and it really wasn't the time for Alf to start getting on his soap box about what nonsense health and safety is right after an accident that's left two people dead, one maimed and one unable to have children.But all McCarthy said was that the gas canisters were unlicensed and out of date.Are they saying that if they'd used the correct canisters then they wouldn't have blown up when Andy knocked them over?Because if they are, then they kind of need to say it rather than leaving it ambiguous.I'm guessing that Roo staying at the house so she isn't alone means that Matt's still glued to Maddy's side 24/7.

I continue to find VJ and Billie oddly adorable.Lines like "You're the best thing that's happened to me in forever" would normally make me want to chuck something at the set, but the fact that they're delivered light-heartedly ran than over-earnestly ironically makes them seem more meaningful.Plus it's true, and if it wasn't for the messy stuff I'm trying to ignore, a nice, uncomplicated guy like VJ would be just what Billie needs;I loved her defending him to Ash and the indirect way she told him she likes him.(So it seems Billie's 23, with VJ being 17.5 judging from past ages.Incidentally, realised I'd completely forgotten his brief kiss with Lily when pondering if Skye was the first.)I don't mind Ash and Kat and I hope they'll avoid becoming Brax and Charlie Mark 2. They should do because I think Ash is a very different character to Brax and is being upfront with Kat in a way that Brax wasn't while Charlie in the early days.I hope we don't get treated to Phoebe actually like a hypocrite and treating Ash and Kat like they're not allowed to move on when she's just spent the afternoon in bed with someone else.Bella was never going to be happy with Phoebe straightaway but erasing the memory card was wrong.Dom should talk to her and make that clear, but Phoebe didn't have the right to lecture him on parenting, especially so soon after admitting she knows nothing about it.Kind of odd that right after Phoebe insists those were the last photos of Hannah and Oscar we get Roo looking at a photo of Oscar and Evelyn which looks like it was taken at the fundraiser!

[H&Alover]

I thought it was the other way round, VJ 17 and Billie 22.5. 

As Zac said he could just as easily be to blame for Tank being there and even said (which I did) if Tank hadn't come to the bay in the first place the accident wouldn't have happened.  Glad the reason was explained more, faulty canisters which was Roo's responsibility to check she said herself she is a event planner so should have known.  H&S do have a bad rep for being overcautious at times but in matter like they are spot on. It wasn't just the canisters being knocked over that caused the explosion it was those loose wires wafting about just waiting to be ignited.

Ash and Kat are different to Brax and Charlie, he's not  a full time criminal and not head of a gang.  He made one mistake and paid for it (will still is if he is still on parole). Both Phoebe and Ash have  moved on, but Phoebe and Kat do share a house so, as I have said before, makes it a tad difficult to have Ash round.  Phoebe's having dinner  at Dom's, then she wasn't so came home early did scupper their plan of actually telling her face to face.

Yes Bella was wrong to delete the photos but she didn't know the other photos were on there and what they meant, she just thought she was deleting  ones of Phoebe.  She's only 10 so must hope her mum and dad will get together again, small niggle Dom, she's not your ex wife yet you are only separated. There were a lot of other photos of Oscar, Hannah and Evelyn together, plus the ones with Chris and Hannah.

[Brian]

Hi Red Ranger & H&Alover and others. I'm back (I've never stopped watching) and interesting to read your thoughts. I like Billy & VJ together - so simple & uncomplicated - no getting over previous lovers. But has Billie gone with him just to give a father to her baby? I'm sure she has fallen in love with him as well, but sometime she's got to tell him & then how will he react? Poor teenage lad so much in love, with no such previous experience. Or may be that's a good thing.

Has anyone pointed out the parallel story in Neighbours - 17yo Piper with 20 something Tyler? Coincidence? I prefer Tyler & Piper to VJ & Billie, but they're both good storylines and interesting to watch and see how they develop. In different ways? Their over-anxious mums are so different : Leah and Terese. 

[Slade]

Welcome back Brian!  Wasn't sure if we'd ever hear from you again.

After quite liking her on Thursday last week, I found Tori quite patronising so was pleased when Nate had a go at her and wasn't particularly happy that she ended up getting the job over him.  Despite liking her, I dunno there's something about her that bugs me.  Perhaps it was the way she was being cagey when Alf quizzed her about her family previously.  Whilst not in appearance I don't know why but she reminds me of one of the characters in Wentworth.

Whilst I like Olivia my jaw almost dropped when she basically tried to excuse what Hunter did when he quite correctly pointed out that if he deserves a second chance then Tank does.  Have to say she has been getting on my nerves this week.  The way she bit Hunter's head off made her come across as a schizophrenic.  Although at least she told him she was cutting herself again.

 

Leah really cracked me up on Wednesday.  Her reaction upon seeing VJ and Billie together on the beach and then her talk with VJ afterwards was really funny.  I also liked the way she was sulking when she was with Roo and Alf pondering over how to deal with the situation.  I can see both sides here.  Not blaming VJ.  If I was in his position and slept with a hot older girl at that age and thought she was into me I would want to continue seeing her.  But on the other hand as a mother I can understand Leah's concerns.  Following on from my last post about this Billie obviously likes VJ but I feel part of her may be using him as some way to try and nullify the rape rather than actually dealing with the reality.  Oh and I kind of smirked at Leah's "life experience" remark towards her.

 

I'm on the fence regarding Leah keeping quiet about Andy.  Perhaps she should have told Evie but I can understand her waiting for Zac to show up first.  Can't really blame Evie for hating Andy though.  Perfectly understandable.  I initially raised an eyebrow when Andy was telling Josh about the fight with Tank and Josh made a comment about Andy just leaving given that he did the same thing to Charlotte.  Regardless I do like the way Josh is supporting Andy although I can't help thinking that he wouldn't be so supportive if he also hadn't been responsible for someone's death.  I'm really hoping that the new information about Roo not taking proper cautions with the gas canister will vindicate Andy somehow.

After not minding Skye for a bit she's gone right back to being annoying.  I wanted to throttle her when she told Evie about Andy despite Tank telling her not to.  And it does appear as though she's coming across as desperate again the way she is prioritising Tank over everything else.

The last two episodes this week have reminded me why I truly despise Phoebe.  Her attitude towards Dom over his parenting has made my blood boil.  So what just because she almost had twins so she's an expert now.  Or was she an expert just because she was ticked off.  And again she spouts her feminist bulls***.  I couldn't stop laughing when Bella deliberately deleted the photos from Dom's camera.  Unfortunate I know but worth it as it really wound Phoebe up.  And her coming home to see Kat and Ash making out half naked was the icing on the cake.  My only regret is that she didn't come home 10 minutes later.  That really would have been good.  I absolutely loved Dom telling Phoebe to get over herself.  It's about time someone did.  I also liked the fact that Ricky wasn't particularly interested in her whining and sob story earlier on in that episode and told her to shut up later on.  I know this is synonymous with a lot of the younger females in Summer Bay (or any soap for that matter) but she is so self-absorbed it is unreal.  Unfortunately she seems to have had a happy ending, Ash reassuring her, telling her what she wanted to hear, how wonderful she was.  Kat claiming that she's the best and Dom basically admitting she was right.  Man I was really enjoying seeing her suffer.

Whilst she can be clearly quite astute I do wonder about Kat.  Getting her kit off and sleeping with Ash in the same house as the guy she charged for causing two deaths and covering for the one his brother caused.

One final thing on The Hannah Wilson Memorial Ward and that she always put others first.  It's a shame that doesn't include the time when Hunter burnt down Leah's house and rather than let Oscar and Evie move back in, she preferred them to be crammed into the Summer Bay House so she could move her housemates in, live the bachelorette lifestyle and sleep around.

[Red Ranger 1]

I must admit I'm rather curious about those wires.They seemed to play as big a role in the explosion as the damaged gas canisters but they haven't been mentioned since.I don't know if we're meant to assume they were damaged in the fight as well, it looked like the wire had actually been severed but it's all very confusing and the show doesn't seem to want to join the dots for us.

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Roo was also in four.

Phoebe was incredibly childish today, from her sniping at Dom to her tantrums over Kat and Ash.She went straight from Kyle to Ash, who was Kyle's friend and Denny's ex, so I'm not sure why she's suddenly trying to impose some sort of sisterhood code.And then Ash tells Dom how wonderful she is, Kat spends an entire scene calling her amazing, Dom apologises for doubting her wonderfulness and even Ricky apologises after doing us all a favour and telling her to shut up.There are times like this when I wonder if the writers actually realise how a lot of the audience view a character, because Phoebe is verging on Creator's Pet territory at this point, possibly thanks to a Trolling Author.Ash and Kat really should have closed the door before getting naked right in front of it.What if Ricky or Nate had come home at that point?

After a few weeks of Ricky being the one overreacting to everything...Ricky now seems to be the one trying to make the effort while Nate seems to be the one sabotaging their marriage.His claim that Ricky's avoiding discussing what's happened just felt like an excuse.I was puzzled by some of the set-up: The episode made a big deal about Nate putting his phone down which initially made me assume the text to Ricky came from someone else, then we saw he had it in his hand.To be fair, it's very in character for Nate to be crazy about a woman one minute and then go off them and start avoiding them the next.(Is it a coincidence that it coincides with the arrival of a new female doctor?)So, do we believe Tori about the person she met being an estate agent or is this part of a Big Secret?

I will grudgingly admit that Olivia and Hunter didn't do anything overtly annoying here but I stopped caring about Olivia's self-harming a long time ago, partly because it always seems to turn into an excuse for Saint Hunter to produce loaves and fishes or something.Here it mostly just serves to confuse the abortion aftermath: She's acting strange because of the self-harming not because of the abortion, but she's self-harming because of the abortion, but her not wanting to get intimate with Hunter isn't because of the abortion it's because she doesn't want him to see the scars...Yeah, whatever.Objectively, I think it's good that they're keeping this issue in the background rather than having her immediately stop after one chat with Irene, it's a shame they couldn't have actually made me care about the character along the way.(Unfortunately, I think turning Olivia into Hunter's defender has permanently blackened her in my eyes, much like I never liked Belle after she got turned into Aden's defender.)Loved seeing VJ lording it over Hunter for once.(I don't think anyone would say there was a six year age gap if VJ was 17 and Billie was 22.VJ was born in November and these episodes aired in May, so if you accept that they added 3 years onto his age but kept the same birthday, as him turning 16 between seasons implied, then he'd be 17 and a half.)

[CaptainHulk]

Dom's daughter has to GO. L'il bitch deleted those pics on purpose!

[H&Alover]

On ‎09‎/‎07‎/‎2016 at 0:20 AM, CaptainHulk said:

Dom's daughter has to GO. L'il bitch deleted those pics on purpose!

Bella didn't know anything about the rest of the photos as she didn't see them and how much they would have meant to Phoebe and others, she only saw the ones of Phoebe and they looked liked Phoebe was flirting with her dad.