Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Three. Irene didn't appear at all.

I guess objectively Alf did have a good reason for giving Caroline the cold shoulder (this time) given that she cheated on Duncan.And I should probably try and keep than in mind as well but...I kind of like her.And I would venture to say that she seems like a better match for Duncan than Tori.At least Alf finally twigged that being cold towards her was giving Bryce an unfavourable opinion of him and called a truce.

No surprise that Decker was the man in Brody's dreams since the credit pretty much gave it away.But now he's out cold and unable to give any more information.I take it we're meant to assume he was deliberately forced off the road, rather than being distracted by Justin phoning him and swerving and the other car driving off out of fright.Kat's sledgehammer subtle "That's a long drive" was blatant code for the fact that it's going to take them until next week to get there...at which point what's the bet they make it back to Summer Bay by the next episode?

Well, I guess I was wrong about Irene having tried to get Olivia to take Hunter back by the end of the week, although I might still be right about it happening by the end of the next episode they appear in. Instead, that was VJ's job.I really can't take Saint Hunter convincing people to report Tabitha to the police seriously, is he going to report himself for what he did to Josh and Marilyn as well?Sadly, once again he's found a way to worm his way back in with Olivia when she's vulnerable and the cynic in me wonders if Irene's unexplained absence was a plot device to allow him to act like he's her only support. At least we got the cute moment of VJ going to her side and making it clear that he's her friend when everyone else is sniping at her.With Maddy's cyber-bullying having been a damp squib, the show resorts to a "cyber-bullying" storyline that consists of everyone making nasty comments about you in the corridor...so, basically, exactly the same as non-cyber bullying.

I felt a bit sorry for Evelyn, who seemed to be thrown into a job she's clearly not qualified for with Ellie (what happened to the specialist teacher she was supposed to be getting?) and then forced to work with her in a corridor to make it as awkward as possible.But her behaviour towards Mason reminded me of why I spend a lot of time not really liking her.As Liam Murphy once said, "There's a difference between casual and cold." She seemed to use him for sex and then treat him really badly in every scene subsequent, as if she doesn't even see him as a friend, which was a bit odd since they seemed friendly beforehand.Makes you wonder what he sees in her.Matt should follow him own advice, his attitude towards Mason seemed less like a supportive friend and more like a jealous boyfriend (even Ellie's noticed).

Some decent character work with John, Chris, Leah, Marilyn and Billie in the mix, although Leah and Zac's arrangement is starting to lose its novelty.(Did they actually have their dinner at the Sands?)

[Slade]

It was good of Ash to spruce up the pushchair.  At least he's one person involved who is actually related to the baby.  Billie annoyed me the way she was strutting around like the sun shined out her backside interfering and playing match maker with Ash and Kat.  I suppose things are going quite well for her at the moment - Staying in a nice house, got the fake dad and grandma to help with the baby.  Probably as good as it's likely to be at this present time.  And I see she's started to come up with names for the baby..  My initial thought was Mick junior but that doesn't work with a girl.  Although presumably the subconscious side chose Leah as the baby's middle name instead of Irene.

Whilst I haven't minded Kat since she left the force I don't like the way she's trying to involve herself in Justin's business re Decker.  I don't understand why she's going out of her way to help him either.  How well does she know him and how close are they?  Ash wanting to help is more understandable given that he's doing it for Kat (even if she didn't help out with the pushchair he would still have helped her) and also that he's spent time with Justin tracking down their loved ones after the plane crash.  So whilst I didn't like Chapman having a go at her the other day his point about her still thinking she's a cop is pertinent - "Once a cop always a cop." as she said.  And she really should have just called the police rather than involving Ash to go at it alone..

I like Tabitha's character but I'll admit the Cyber bullying towards Olivia was disgusting.  Olivia should have just blocked her and not engaged when it started.  Have to admit I did like the way Olivia went up to Tabitha on the beach, pleaded with her (the same way Tabitha pleaded previously to save the friendship) and Tabitha vengefully responded with the classic line - "I haven't even started".  A true case of sour grapes.  I think it was big of that girl to apologise to Olivia for being one of the people to belittle her after Zac told the class Olivia was the victim.  I was more than happy for Tabitha to mess things up when Hunter was involved but she went a bit too far.  I think Zac was probably right to call the police and I think a caution by them was fair.  So Tabitha's parents are aware of what has happened.  One of the things that bothers me is that we haven't seen anything of Tabitha outside Olivia and her inner circle.  We know about her back story that she was only conceived to save her sister - The implication being that she wasn't actually wanted.  And I would assume that her parents focus more on her sister than they do on her but I would have liked to have actually seen this or at least have a scene at home showing it and her harboured jealousy.  So I presume she's purely a plot device to facilitate an Olivia/Hunter reunion.

Add John as another person enlisting the idiot Chris to help with their dating life.  Although Chris was obviously writing the love letters on behalf of John as some way to forget about Hannah.  Did quite enjoy the way Roo and Marilyn were mocking them whilst reading them out loud.

Whilst Evelyn was out of line the way she spoke to Mason I was glad because I find him to be such a poor character.  It's obvious this is a rebound thing for Evie which means that given Mason is starting to fall for her he's going to get burnt which I wouldn't mind.

[H&Alover]

Actually I thought Billie is going to give the baby the middle name of Leah in respect of Leah's Greek heritage. Leah did start to come on strong there with all those suggestions if names, it's down to Billie and VJ what her first name is, he'd be more than happy with the middle name.

It did look like they were at The Sands, certainly wasn't Salt, that dithering over whether Zac should spend the night was just like it would be if they were dating.

Yes police confirmed Decker was forced off the road by that flash red motor only we saw, not a local one, that would stick out like a sore thumb in the bay. Well the "That's a long drive" line did allow Kat and Ash to take the rest of the week off having done their days.  Ditto Justin and Phoebe and the storage unit place. Kat doesn't know Decker at all, as she herself said "Once a cop, always a cop" both Justin and Phoebe's behaviour got her antenna twitching  which is why maybe she didn't get the local plods involved. Kat did find out Decker is a Fed making her all the more wary. Billie did say Ash is the go to guy if you need help.  It gets even more complicated this week.  Isn't her boss, sorry ex boss,  McCarthy?

Tabby's campaign of cyber bullying seems to have come to an abrupt end which to me anyway doesn't bode well, the fact her parents have been informed and the police have given her a caution won't have improved relations if the situation at home is already a bad one.  Something occurs this week which got me 'shouting' 'No don't go there'. So far Hunter, and we do get the point he isn't a Saint, has just been a mate to Olivia, hasn't made any moves, quite liking the Dynamic duo of Hunter and VJ.

I'm glad Matt decided to give Evie a chance to put her side  Ellie didn't have a real reason for her behaviour but was completely different towards Evie when they were alone together which is what they needed to be before. I agree, Red, teaching anyone in a busy corridor is a ridiculous idea, especially when it's a sensitive case of someone who has dyslexia and needs somewhere quiet. Her attitude to Mason was harsh, he was just being a friend, though we know how he really feels and as we saw she doesn't take it well.

Trust Alf to stick his oar in over John  and Chris' secret admirer plot, but it did work Marilyn was delighted John had gone along with Chris' idea, so that is two happy couples that just make Chris feel even more alone, especially as we have seen that reminder on his phone it would have been his and Hannah's 1t Anniversary, Evie teasing him about the time he pretended that  Hannah was his girlfriend  in front of his old girlfriend didn't help, though she didn't know that.   That scene of him back at Irene's looking at those photos of him and her and him crying over them was so sad. His bright confident front is just that, a front, underneath he is a sensitive guy and actually lonely now he's lost Hannah, she was the only one he really opened up to.

 

 

[Angelica]

The whole Decker/Morgan storyline is dragging. I literally do not care and if we were to have a natural disaster that wiped out all whom were involved at present, then I would not shed a tear. I feel that the writers are making a mistake devoting so much time to this storyline expecting us to care about a family who have only just been introduced to the show.

While Evie was harsh to Mason, I can't bring myself to care when Mason is my least favourite Morgan (and that says a lot). It doesn't help that these recent scenes with Matt reminds me us that Evie has a lot more chemistry with Matt (not that I want that to happen but at least it makes more sense). I don't think it is fair for Evie, with no teaching experience, to be given the task of helping Ellie. She needs specialist input. They need to tone down Ellie's brattiness as it is extremely irritating.

I will be sad if this is the end of Tabitha. She had the potential to be an interesting addition and she turned into a cartoon villain by the end

[Slade]

5 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Isn't her boss, sorry ex boss,  McCarthy?

I'm really bad with names.  Keep forgetting all the time.  Watch so many other things.

 

5 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Kat doesn't know Decker at all, as she herself said "Once a cop, always a cop" both Justin and Phoebe's behaviour got her antenna twitching  which is why maybe she didn't get the local plods involved. Kat did find out Decker is a Fed making her all the more wary.

If I hadn't seen today's episode my response to this would have been there is no logical reason for Kat not to involve the police.  Presumably she doesn't know about the syndicate and certainly doesn't know that there is a mole inside the force.  From her perspective if she called them then things might not have escalated like the did later on in that episode.  In saying that it's now very telling regarding the conversation she had with Ash.  I'm not referring to his "What's next? Strip search." remark.  I'm talking about when they were parked outside Decker's niece's house and he told her she was loving it and she said just a little.  So clearly she still thinks she's a cop.  It wouldn't surprise me if in a couple of months she decides to rejoin the force.  In spite of what she's done she would probably be good at detective work.

I don't blame Justin for not wanting Kat/Ash around as this made Hope reluctant to talk.  And Spike turns up with a couple of henchmen and kidnaps her.  So it was actually a good thing Ash and Kat were there as the younger sister probably would have been taken as well.  I'm assuming the fact that Spike's not behind bars means as I thought they didn't have enough evidence to pin the deliberate downing of the plane on him.  I am left wondering despite Decker denying it if he actually is tied to the syndicate.  How would he have know about Decker's nieces given that Hope  mentioned to Justin that they weren't listed as the next of kin?  Also why is he kidnapping them?  Is he actually following orders or is this another attempt to get into the syndicate?  And then there's Decker sending Justin round to his niece's in the first place.  For some reason he only trusted him.  Did he know that they would be in danger?  If so once again he's put Justin in the firing line.

 

4 hours ago, Angelica said:

While Evie was harsh to Mason, I can't bring myself to care when Mason is my least favourite Morgan (and that says a lot). It doesn't help that these recent scenes with Matt reminds me us that Evie has a lot more chemistry with Matt (not that I want that to happen but at least it makes more sense).

Yup.  Today was a perfect example of that.  Even their conversations in the Diner you can see that Matt and Evelyn vibe off each other really well.  The banter was good and I especially liked how ironic and cynical he was being about Evelyn reacting to Mason telling her he was falling for her and then when he followed up after Evelyn and Mason squared things.  Conversely I found Mason very bland (I know I've already mentioned this in the character discussion thread).  That monotone voice of his certainly doesn't help (Again, I know I used to criticise Skye for the same thing but at least she turned out to be quite interesting).  Objectively though they clearly want different things.  I think Mason agreed to back off regarding a relationship because he's following the logic half of something is better than all of nothing.  I'm not sure whether this is good for him in the long term as was pointed out to him by Brody.  I'm guessing he's hoping that she will develop feelings for him but given that she's on the rebound from Josh you would say it's unlikely, which will hurt him more in the long run because by that point he will probably be head over heels.

Good to get a reference to Sid even if we don't know how he's doing.  I mentioned this a while back but I'm wondering what the deal is with Phoebe.  She obviously likes Justin but I don't see any reason why she couldn't like Brody as well.  Maybe it's just me but I felt Phoebe was bordering on flirting with him.  She certainly likes spending time with him and vice versa and add to that a while back when I thought he was jealous of Justin and Phoebe.  There's also Mason's remark about being on the biggest girl drought.  I did like the scene where Brody jokingly mocked Mason about not enjoying friends with benefits, Phoebe tapped Brody on the shoulder and Mason stormed off.

[H&Alover]

Kat and as far as we know the Yabby Creek cops don't know anything about The Syndicate it was just between the Morgan's and Decker (Addicus)?  it's the way the Feds work only involving local cops only if they have to. In WP cases it's best as it gives those in the programme safe. Kat hasn't been out of the force that long so of course she misses it, it did help that she knew how to act in keeping watch and was able to talk to Rafferty and comfort her. Do they dare take her back to the bay, they can't really stay where they are.

Even though Decker hadn't put down Hope and Rafferty as next of kin to keep them safe he must have had it in his mind that someone would get to them if anything happened to him hence him giving Justin the address. It was certainly out in the middle of nowhere and Hope was ready to take Justin's head off with that spade so I reckon she knows more than she told him. It does bring me to another point if Decker hadn't told anyone about them how did Spike and his cronies find them?  Of course only we know that red car was the car that run Decker off the road. I thought Spike would be locked up somewhere for his threatening and kidnapping the Morgan's, don't say they let him out of bail maybe courtesy of the rat.  Be interesting to know what it was Decker whispered to Brody before his collapse I couldn't make it out.

I think both Justin and Brody find  it a relief to be able to talk to Phoebe. She can give a different prospective on it.  I like the banter between Brody and Phoebe, I think he main interest is Justin but it would be nice for her and Brody to have just a friendship. I liked that friendly thump she gave him when teasing Mason.

Matt got all wise again advising Mason on how he should treat his friendship with Evie, she'd just come out of a long term relationship that didn't end well, lost two members of her family and been in the plane crash and didn't need anything heavy. I'm glad she didn't walk away when she saw Matt and Mason and gave him the chance to make amends.  Matt's advice to her was also good.  Hopefully they can continue as they were and loved the fact later when they told Leah they had been for ' a swim'!

Just an aside but it's refreshing to see Mason is still wearing the dressing on his arm and the burns haven't suddenly healed, ditto Brody and the fact he still has his boot on his leg.

[Slade]

Have to admit, quite enjoyed the scenes with Spike at the hospital.  Particularly the part where Nate saw him, still calling him Tim and tried to make small talk about the gym they were both going to (completely oblivious to the fact that Spike drugged him weeks ago).  I especially liked the fact that Hope seemed completely uncomfortable and terrified and Nate obviously thought this was because she was worried about her uncle (she was but it was obviously because Spike held her captive).  So Spike did all this purely to get back at Decker for ruining his chances of getting into the Syndicate.  I find myself in agreement with Tori here.  I would have thought a more plausible reason was because he was part of the syndicate and he was working in conjunction with the mole in the police force. Presumably Spike or one of his henchmen have been following Decker for some time given they were able to run him off the road?  How else would they have known about Decker's nieces and where to find them?  I am left wondering how he was able to escape from custody although I didn't even realise he was in custody - Again if he was part of the syndicate the mole could have aided him.  I assume the police still couldn't pin the plane crash on him but were detaining him for assisting Blaine and Lara when they held the Morgan's captive.  Surely if the syndicate are after the Morgan's rather than risk going back to jail just for a bit of payback wouldn't it make more sense for Spike to give the information on their whereabouts to them.  And what do his henchmen get out of helping him?

Still trying to understand Kat here.  If not exactly logical you can attribute her taking Ash and following Justin to Decker's nieces because she still likes the thrill of being a cop.  But why is she going out of her way to house Raffy and Hope?  Especially given that she was desperate to find a job to pay the rent just recently.  Can she and Phoebe afford to house them?  Even Justin and Ash didn't understand it.  And Kat seemed quite affectionate with Raffy .  So we're back to having a full house of females.  I assume from what Raffy said to Hope they are in some kind of trouble at least financially.

Good to see Alf making an effort with Caroline and praising Duncan for the fact that he also appeared to be making an effort for Bryce.  I wasn't sure about him saying that Caroline came to the bay purely to cause trouble (well not initially anyway) because she does appear to still love Duncan.  Listening to Duncan confide in Roo he still sees the things in Caroline that made him fall for her in the first place but I assume he can't forgive her infidelity.  Perhaps her trying to kiss him was too soon but she missed overhearing the part of their conversation where Duncan told Roo the ship had sailed.  Whilst I'm not sure she set out to cause trouble after seeing Duncan and Tori on the beach and seeing the green eyed monster it does look like she will be causing trouble now for both of them.  From an entertainment viewpoint that's OK.  I quite liked the scene at the end.  It was pretty intense.  Even when Caroline walked up to Tori in the hospital you could tell from Tori's body language that she was uncomfortable.  And when Tori wouldn't accept Caroline telling her to stay away from her man so the speak, Caroline appeared to threaten her.  Those eyes of hers were quite intimidating.

[H&Alover]

Of course Nate doesn't have any idea that Spike/Tim was the one who attacked him Tori does, but did she pass that info onto Decker?  Seeing how handy Spike is with a needle, he knows what he is doing with one, made me wonder if that is why his nickname is Spike, certainly can't have been christened that.  Soap police are well known for being lax at times but I would have  thought the soap Feds would have been a lot more on the ball, one of their own has been hospitalised after being run off the road and not one of them in sight, even covertly, keeping guard on Decker.  So on the premise Nate kind of knows Tim he took his word for it that Hope was Decker's niece and let them in to see him, what!   So Spike just happened to 'escape' custody did he, yeah right. According to what Raffy said Hope mixes with some unsavoury types, but Hope whispered to her this had nothing to do with her this time.  Phoebe seemed quite on board with having Hope and Raffy there, but they both work or Kat will/should be if she takes up the job Ash arranged for her so who will look after them?  Also be interesting to find out what sparrow means.

Caroline showed her true colours by threatening Tori so stay away from Duncan, Tori to her credit didn't tell Duncan that, but did reveal it to Roo. I think, for the moment, she is right in calling a halt to their budding romance until it's sorted, awkward if your new, possible, love interest has their ex hanging around.  Pretty tense scene on the beach when Caroline rocked up and Caroline was giving Tori daggers.  he may have been harsh when he told Caroline in no certain terms they weren't getting back together, he just wanted to keep it civil between them for Bryce's sake, Her moving in for a kiss was totally the wrong move.  Methinks, however, she is ill, it looked like she had some tremors in her hand which thinking back would make sense of her "Life's too short" comment after Duncan was found safe and sound.

I can understand why VJ was so embarrassed when he and Billie caught Leah and Zac after their afternoon delight, any teenager would be.  Good little chats between Leah and Billie and Zac and VJ about how much they are missing each other but neither of them wanting to rock the boat because they each thought the other wanted it the way it was.  Nice reversal of the younger generation acting like adults and 'setting' them up so they could talk and be honest with each other. It was fun for them and has revived their relationship. 

Chris really was in a dark place and only Nate caught on, eventually, even Irene didn't think there anything wrong.  Fitting and right that it was John who got Chris to admit what was bothering him he was the most recent guy to go through what Chris is.  Big and shock decision though from Chris that he feels he has to leave the bay because everything reminds him of Hannah too much, Evie will be upset. 

Forget to mention another Alfism the other day "You must have kangaroos loose in the top paddock"

[Slade]

You could see even at the scene at the beach Tori was clearly intimidated by Caroline.  Even if she was too nice to actually say anything.  Caroline did appear to have some sort of turn twice in that episode so it wouldn't surprise me if she had some serious life-threatening condition.  It would explain why she came to the bay with Bryce and wants to give things another go with Duncan.  Let me guess, Tori decides to give Duncan another chance, Caroline has another one in front of Tori, Tori finds out whats wrong with her and steps out of the way out of some sort of moral obligation?  Didn't really get Alf - He was vehemently against Caroline when she first arrived.  He was so blatant about it that even Bryce picked up on it.  He even said earlier this week that he thought Caroline was out to cause trouble.  He comes in mid way during an argument and he immediately takes Caroline's side blaming Duncan without getting the full story.

So not only does Leah see Billie as daughter near enough but it would appear that she is starting to see her as a friend and someone who she trusts.  She clearly feels comfortable discussing Zac with her.  Again as I've said before this whole baby lie thing is going to end pretty badly.

Didn't realise Nate and Chris were Jean-Claude Van Damme fans.  Universal soldier was dreadful but I don't think it was as bad as Street fighter arguably one of the worst films I've seen.  Well he's left the bay twice and returned but surely he's gone for good this time. I'm not going to lie, I'm glad to see that back of Chris.  Whilst he wasn't necessarily a bad person I found him extremely annoying and strongly disliked him because of this.  I think he should have left when Spencer did and IMO he seemed out of place for quite a while.  Had he left with his brother then he might not have gone through the grief of having to deal with losing Hannah.  Objectively for the people who did like him I guess he had a reasonable send off.  And it had all the right characters - Irene, Olivia, Nate, John and Evelyn who he got closer to because of the so called love of his life.  And his final scene, visiting Hannah's grave was fitting.

Well Mason barely kept the friends with benefits thing up for a couple of days before declaring that he was falling in love with Evie.  I guess he's at that age where he's susceptible to that kind of thing so can't really fault him for that.  I think Evelyn's been a bit cold but I like the fact that she's been very blunt and honest with him from the start although she dropped the "I'm not ready" line so basically if Mason doesn't want to keep things casual he has to move on now.  To his credit he wants to break off contact with her whether he'll be able to do it and sustain it in such a small town is another thing.

I actually quite enjoyed the scenes with Olivia and Hunter.  Can't help thinking that if they get back together they will only end up like how they were before.  I honestly thought we weren't going to hear from Tabitha again which would be a shame but I'm pleased Olivia's tracked her down.  I would like to see at least another scene with those two.  Although given how Tabitha was with her on the beach, don't expect Olivia to get any kind of reasoned discussion from confronting her again about how she's behaved towards her.

[CaptainHulk]

That was a nice ep for the most part.

And Chris would be into ass-kicking flicks and things where S*** blows up so that doesn't surprise me.