Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

You deciphered my code Slade, well done!    I did like it when Phoebe said 'We've done it' Justin gives her a look and she puts her hands up and says 'OK, there wasn't a lot of me in that we' so she did own up to her lack of participation. Who was the special guest?  Evie did well to organise it in such a short space of time.  No surprise Olivia smashed her HSC, but the fact Hunter flunked his was quickly skimmed over other than her saying bad luck to him and giving him a hug, more mixed signals, seen by Mason again! It seemed to me, like it did Agree, she was wanting more than friendship with Mason and Hunter, paying one against the other and having one in reserve.  Hunter did seem to take the news about his failing pretty well.  He may decide not to resit and move on.

Glad it wasn't just me thinking de je vu about Justin/Jack going to see Ava tomorrow twice!  Looks like he won't be around for Phoebe's song which and I'm taking  a punt here will be about him/her/them, she'll jump to the wrong conclusion he's not interested and have a strop.  If he's a no show at  Nina's, which looks likely, he'll be in Nina's bad books too. Ranae being out and about was explained, house arrest really!  I bet she does know people in high places and has plenty on them to 'arrange' her being able to slip the net, she's been around a long time and it is her insurance after all.  Justin, did I think, have an inkling something was up when the airline told him Tori hadn't turned up for her flight which together with the photo of her shoe got his antenna twitching.  The only way I can see the Morgan's being totally free of Ranea is for her to be killed.

I was trying to remember who did see Mick  his last time in the bay, Billie, Irene, Nate, Phoebe, Kat for sure.  Did Chris, Olivia  ever actually see him?  His drifting through Salt was a bit surreal. Of course the Morgan's weren't around then so wouldn't know him from Adam.  Shame Ash's advice to Billie came a little too late and we all know from past experience when someone tells someone else they'll be fine that is the last thing they will be. While Billie could pretend to VJ, Ash, Nate(and herself) she didn't know her rapist she could cope, just about.  But now he's free, still a ludicrous decision, she can't hide from it anymore.  It really would have been so much better for her and VJ if she had bitten the bullet and told VJ the truth when he asked her to look him in the eye and say it wasn't Mick. I guess after all this time she really, really believed (or wanted to)  it wasn't his.  May seem perverse but carrying a stranger's child would be easier than knowing it was the son of someone you know and  who was also a known rapist.  I think VJ will come round, things have taken an abrupt turn, seeing as Billie has gone into labour, that'll focus both their minds for a while.  Phoebe at first thought it was Mick's, Billie persuaded her it wasn't, then Phoebe worked it out just as VJ did, unfortunate he walked in when he did as he thinks Phoebe has been in on it all the time regarding Mick that is. Will he be able to keep that news from Leah and Irene? Nate will probably give it away he knew somehow, but then he is protected by the  Hippocratic oath.  That didn't stop him nearly blowing Billie's story before though. 

Lately it has been Ash backing off from Kat but that snog he gave her seemed to turn it on it's head.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Five! As ever things go crazy in finale week, with Kat, Tori and Justin also appearing in all five, while Irene and Billie were in four...yet Zac was only in one.

I'm sorry to say that that one didn't quite work for me.Starting your big season finale with a lengthy musical number from your Celebrity Guest seems a poor decision, I genuinely nearly dozed off during it.And it all felt like a bit of a greatest hits package.Not only does bringing Turner and Mick back lack credibility but there's nothing new to say about them or for them to do.So, Mick's following Irene around...again.Turner's gloating over a captive Jack...again.It's hard to tell what Turner's even trying to do, throwaway remarks about owning the police aside.(Whether it's believable or not, it's too big a concept for the show to deal with properly.)She's already been convicted, Justin retracting his statement's unlikely to help now...and she doesn't even want to do that, she just wants to kill him, which is a bit childish really.Her credibility took another nosedive when she scampers off like a scared rabbit on losing her muscle.I guess we're meant to assume she hasn't been sentenced yet, as to why she isn't doing a hundred year stretch in maximum security.Meanwhile, Irene locks herself in the house...then turns up at the police station.(Olivia definitely met Mick when he tried to kidnap her, I think Chris saw him when he was brought into hospital.Don't think Phoebe ever saw him, just heard about him from Kat or Billie.)

A few nice character moments raise it.Lovely banter between Alf, John and Marilyn.Phoebe continues to be annoying.Olivia seems to have picked Mason as they finally kiss and she gives Hunter the same sort of look I usually give him, screwing up her nose in distaste:What was with them sneaking off though, they're surely not going to Do It already?(Then again, neither of them have a reputation for waiting long...)VJ and Billie were a highlight again.Billie really seems to be committed to her new resolution to be completely honest with him, revealing some stuff that really doesn't put her in a good light.And I loved that VJ became all businesslike and protective once her waters broke, despite a few lingering resentments.But then their storyline just petered out: The car breaks down halfway through the episode and they just stand next to it killing time.

And then that cliffhanger.There was a lot of speculation when these episodes were shown at Oz pace about John being the arsonist.Watching it though, I'm not sure it was that obvious, even if there were clues, notably the fact he argued with Matt just before the fire at the garage.I can't say the idea really grabs me though: The fact it's John lighting the fire makes it more likely than usual that everyone will survive (having him kill someone would be a bit too hard to come back from).And I'm guessing it'll be explained by his head injury.

Still, new season next week!

[Slade]

So after how ever many months and having umpteen opportunities Billie decides to reveal all to VJ and by all she simply added on the fact that she hacked one of the computers at hospital then changed the records and that she got Nate to not say anything about the rape (Although she didn't mention that she threatened to ruin him).  Oh and whilst she's honest with VJ she wants him to lie as well.  Oh the irony...  Notice how she twice said "our baby".  Regardless I do think he was very mature in the manner in which he handled the situation when her waters broke then when he tried to drive her to the hospital.  Well someone had better find them soon given how close she is to giving birth, presumably the heat and the fact from the preview there's going to be a bush fire.

I never would have guessed it would have been John who was behind fires.  The writers obviously tried to throw everybody off by having him fessing up to what happened with Hunter and then they purposely made the two deliberate fires businesses of the Morgans to try and imply the Syndicate was behind it.  Kind of funny seeing him in a hoodie.

I don't really like the way Olivia is acting.  When did she decide that she wanted to be with Mason?  Was it at the actual festival or before that?  Because if it was before then she's been leading Hunter on.  Even if it was at the festival she seemed to be hanging out with Hunter then when he went off for a bit she was copping off with Mason.  There's an argument that given what Hunter's done he doesn't deserve any sympathy but if there's any comeback from this it's on her.

And we have Phoebe being completely selfish and self-centered (no change there).  Despite the fact that as Evelyn pointed out people had paid to come to the event she refused to perform initially when it was her turn so they had to improvise all because Justin wasn't there to listen to the song she wrote exclusively for him because it's all about her! Me, me me.  I didn't like the way Matt announced that both Evelyn and Phoebe organised the event as from what I could see Phoebe did very little.  But she gets to perform right after that so will probably get more credit than Evelyn.

Despite how annoying I often find Justin one good thing about him is his courage.  Given that Renae fired shots at him and Kat before he went to the warehouse by himself with no backup knowing full well there's was a strong possibility he could end up six feet under.  I liked Renae's "I own the police" line.  It reminded me of Biff out of BTTF2.  I also liked the way she said "What I want is for you and your family to suffer".  Justin was lucky to take out two of her henchmen although Renae had no hesitation stabbing him.

[atrus]

Just finished the finale fortnight, and it certainly felt like the Morgans' celebratory "we're free" routine was a little impetuous - so no real surprise that Tori was presently being bundled off by kidnappers, and that Turner rocked up again for a feature-length gloat. I suppose if a 'villain escapes from custody' storyline is ever believable, it's when said villain has fingers in as many law enforcement pies as Turner does - so I could just about buy that she had the contacts to make it happen. Still, her "I want you to suffer" pantomime turn in Disused Warehouse A, culminating in Justin's wounding, was pretty over-egged, and felt more like it was there to create a pre-hiatus cliffhanger than for any longer-term storyline development. I'm certainly expecting The Syndicate shenanigans to be wrapped up fairly quickly come the continuation.

In terms of the impact on the characters, I initially felt like Nina's reaction to Justin/Jack's story was a little harsh, but I guess she was in shock and didn't really believe him - so I was relieved when she came around and agreed to let him see his daughter, and she seems pretty likeable/reasonable all things considered. It's a pity the same can't be said about Nate, who spent most of the two weeks acting like a petulant child. He's just found out Tori has been in witness protection for years and all he can do is bleat on about his shoulder. Yawn. I was rolling my eyes considerably at the return of the generic pitchfork-wielding townsfolk, who as Red Ranger said, only seem to turn out at the very scantest justification, rather than actually raise legitimate grievances about murderous regulars.

Oh, Billie. I still sympathise so much with her plight, but I do wish that when she finally told VJ the truth about him not being the father, that she'd told him everything else as well. The problem with her behaviour is that it starts to leave the impression that lying is in her DNA - so accomplished a fibber is she, indeed, that she even passed the traditionally deal-breaking 'look-me-in-the-eye' test with flying colours. It's a shame because VJ has really proven he can look beyond the horrific story behind the baby's paternity and stick by her, and I felt sad that she couldn't extend the same commitment to him by telling him about Mick. Given everything she's already lied about previously, I can fully understand why he was so hurt when he found out. Then again, I can't really imagine what Billie has been through with Mick and so I still don't find myself holding it against her; it's more disappointment for her that she could be doing better by her relationship. I was rolling my eyes as she found herself stuck in the outback yet again, however - she has definitely overtaken Evie now as Doom Magnet-in-Chief, and the amount of mortal peril she finds herself in is starting to look ridiculous. And speaking of which, I suppose it's too much to hope for that Mick's psychiatric assessment was bang on the money and that he's purely back in town to make amends to those he's wronged. If Billie gives birth in the season premiere I give it three days before he swipes the baby. (And no, I haven't read ahead!)

Nothing much to say about the Mason/Olivia/Hunter triangle, really. I don't particularly care which one she ends up with, but I have to say it feels like her heart isn't in the Mason thing - even if he's a nicer human being objectively speaking.

I enjoyed Heath and Bianca's reconciliation, which I felt really utilised their tumultuous history as a couple nicely - although press releases suggest they'll be central to the specials coming up next week, so I doubt it's going to be turn out to be the second honeymoon of their dreams as billed. With Ash apparently sneaking off to take part as well, I'm guessing that loose ends from the previous jaunt are going to be revisited. I just hope that there isn't the controversy about whether the specials are part of the official continuity that we had last time; I for one was pleased that last year's was finally established as canon with Heath's return if only to prove it was worth my while having watched it, so hopefully this time that will be established from the outset rather than leaving it vague for the best part of a year again. I'll probably give my verdict on the specials when I check in this time next week, anyhow.

While in my view the finale couldn't compete with last year's and felt like it was trying too hard to do so, the music festival framework worked OK, I thought - although having both Phoebe and Matt take to the stage alongside the special guest stars felt a little indulgent. No doubt the celebrities will be safely taxied away before the bushfire gets anywhere near. I'm not sure what to make of John being revealed as the arsonist. I suppose it was a nice twist in the moment, but when you think about it for more than ten seconds it becomes obvious that it's just going to be attributed to him banging his head like the rest of his strange behaviour lately, which already sets it up for being a huge anticlimax before we see the resolution. On top of the fact that it's pandering to the hackneyed soap trope of 'unspecified head injury turns regular character into psychopath overnight', allowing everybody in town to forgive them by approximately next Tuesday, it just feels like they've run out of things to do with John and Marilyn so they're turning one of them evil. Which is a shame, because the foster parents concept was really strong and just seems to have fizzled out since Skye and the young lad whose name evades me left.

[H&Alover]

I'm guessing neither VJ or Billie took their phones with them as they dashed off to the hospital in such a rush otherwise  they would have been using them to call for help when the car broke down. I'm also thinking that once you start lying like Billie did the longer it goes on the harder it is to then tell the truth.  If it had been a stranger who had raped her it would have been  different matter, though of course knowing 'he' was still out there would have made her a lot more edgier, but although she knows he is/was locked away is off balanced by the fact he is Irene's son.  Billie said she made Nate promise to keep quite but as I said in my previous post he wouldn't have been able to say anything without her say so. Relieved that VJ put everything she told him aside when her waters broke and his main concern was to get her to the hospital though it didn't stop them rowing on the way, but again he put it to one side once her contractions began and concentrated on her and the baby.

I really do think they ought to have a fire station near to the bay considering how many fires they have! That is going to freak out Evie again.  So John is the secret arsonist and as others have suggested it is probably down to the whack on the head he got, brain tumour, have we had one of those lately?  Maybe he got the taste for fires after the one he accidentally started which Hunter nearly got blamed for. Any bets on the fact Hunter will initially get the blame seeing as he was seen slinking off after seeing Mason and Olivia snogging the face off each other? I know they weren't a couple but she could have been a bit more discreet about it all.

May be my age but I've never heard of Jessica Mauboy, but she was good and well done Matt for stepping up and filling the gap between her and Phoebe, though John and Alf were wondering what he was doing up on stage. He really seemed to be enjoying himself. Phoebe can be a pain and self absorbed, but she gave it her all once she got on stage.

 Brody and Mason don't seem to bothered about Jason dashing off the way he did but then they don't know about Tori not making her flight so convinced are they the Syndicate trouble is all over. Going back a bit Nina obviously knew all the Morgan's or Lee's as they were then so why didn't she wonder where the rest of them were when Jack disappeared, she must have got in touch or tried to when it happened only to find out the rest of them had gone awol.

I think Turner was under house arrest awaiting sentencing, but she certainly isn't going to go down without a fight and how many other favours can she call in. Lee senior really must have upset her long term plans if she is so intent on getting revenge.  Btw was it a slip of the tongue because I'm sure I heard Justin say it had been eight years they'd been on the run when previously every time it's been mentioned it's been seven years.  Of course it has to end with the bad guys fleeing leaving Justin in a life threatening situation, ND hospital is going to be busy come next week!

Kat has been doing a good job following up with getting the bunting from the caravan park tested and making the discovery the same accelerant was used on it and the fire at the garage despite McCarthy telling her to leave it. OK the garage fire does make it a conflict of interest for her but not the other two.

At least we won't have to wait for however long it was before the next instalment and even better although we are six weeks behind we are now actually in the same year as the Australian episodes!  

[c120701]

4 hours ago, H&Alover said:

I'm guessing neither VJ or Billie took their phones with them as they dashed off to the hospital in such a rush otherwise  they would have been using them to call for help when the car broke down.

They had them & mentioned having no signal.

[H&Alover]

17 hours ago, c120701 said:

They had them & mentioned having no signal.

Thought it would be very unusual if they didn't, must have missed that comment.

[Angelica]

I can't believe John has turned out to be the arsonist. I presume they will attribute this out of character act as being down to his head injury (which last time I checked doesn't make people do random criminal acts). Kinda reminds me of Alf's brain tumour storyline where he was seeing Ailsa's ghost. I can't see anyone dying as a result of the bush fire - only because I can't imagine John being written out, and it is hard to see how he could get away with deliberately starting a fire (given how much trouble Andy got in for indirectly causing the explosion). It is a shame they have decided to go down the route. The only saving grace is that Hunter's disappearance from the festival is going to help make him the lead suspect especially with his previous history - I  guess similar to what happened to Billie (i.e falsely accusing Nate then being falsely accused of burning Leah's house down), it would be oddly fitting. 

Speaking of Hunter, this love triangle between Olivia, Mason and Hunter is both dull and ridiculous. Irene's character is being wasted as Olivia's confidante. Suddenly, Irene has gone from Hunter's biggest fan, to being quite anti-Hunter. And it seems odd that Irene would be pushing for Olivia to get with Mason rather than urging Olivia to focus on her future and figuring out what she wants. Olivia's lack of female friends is really glaring here. I don't see any chemistry with Mason, and if they had to find a "nice" boy for Olivia to be interested in - VJ would have been a more convincing choice. Instead we have to put up with Olivia stringing both boys along in a fashion that is truly cringeworthy. 

Speaking of VJ - he is really showing how much he has grown as a character. The fact that he has proven himself to be the better man, especially in how, no matter how angry he was with Billie, he knew he just had to get on with it once she was contracting. \As someone who used to really like Billie, I have started to find her constant lying quite tiresome. I get that she has weaved this web of lies, and now it is difficult for her to extract herself from that. But I find it hard to sympathise with her plight - and when something will go with this pregnancy (which is highly likely given by that they are stuck in the middle of nowhere with a bushfire starting) I am not sure if I will care. How ridiculous for Ash to disappear just at this moment in time. 

As for the Morgans. I would love to have a Morgan free week. I am struggling to care that Ranae has managed to escape so easily. And yet can't help but be indifferent to whether Justin survives the stabbing or not. 

So ultimately, of all the storylines occuring at the moment, the only thing I really care about is the fact that John is being ruined with this ridiculous arson story. I just hope that rhey are not going to continue to ruin Zac too (with his editor, and then Bianca, I feel we are getting close to an actual infidelity act on his part)

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎12‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 4:10 PM, H&Alover said:

Btw was it a slip of the tongue because I'm sure I heard Justin say it had been eight years they'd been on the run when previously every time it's been mentioned it's been seven years. 

I did notice that.Could have been a slip of the tongue or he could be rounding up (it's been seven years for several months) or he could mean they were suffering for a year before their parents were murdered.

So, we enter the 2017 season at last: Six weeks after Australia, but given Channel 7's habit of showing episodes all over the place (which continues to be the biggest obstacle to ever having same day transmission), we're currently 34 episodes behind.As season premieres go, it's all a bit by-the-numbers.I rolled my eyes slightly at the way all the extras and the second celebrity guest get comfortably evacuated while the characters in the main cast stay behind and get into trouble.Well, not all of them: Alf has suddenly been magically teleported from the festival to wandering around in an orange suit several miles away, plus there's a few character unaccounted for.(Incidentally, what happened to the talk of a police presence at the festival?)Not sure if John's suddenly back to normal leading everyone to safety or if he's trying to get them all killed by taking them on a short cut right into the fire.Still, I sympathise in the case of Phoebe.And Hunter.And Evelyn some of the time...A few things that looked like they were going to be significant turn out to be padding.Zac and Hunter go off into the fire...then come back.VJ goes off to get help...then comes back.

Still, VJ and Billie continue to be a highlight.VJ carrying her 2Ks to safety makes me prouder of him than I've ever been.I wondered when she sent him away if she was trying to get him to safety but I don't think she'd have been willing to let her baby die even if she didn't care what happened to her.The little scene of her talking to her daughter, knowing both their lives are at risk and that's she made the wrong choices, was heart-rending.And the "I'm here for you"/"I don't know why" exchange pretty much sums up their relationship.

Among more than a few odd moments: Kat knows Brody's at the road block, so why doesn't she say anything to Tori or try and contact him there? As an aside, the short time frame of recent episodes mean there doesn't seem to be any obvious gaps for the specials to have taken place: Ash only left the previous day and Nate left the one before that and is back already.But I haven't seen them so maybe that's all that's needed.

[Slade]

My memory really fails me sometimes.  I don't recall that scene where at the recap of the previous season Phoebe said "We did it" on stage presumably the night before the actual festival.

So John managed to do all of that without being seen.

Can you imagine if Evie had lost Zac and Hunter?  That really would have been cruel.  I was almost expecting Hunter to find a house surrounded by flames with Olivia and Mason in bed together.  Kind of like Claudia and Geoff.

Totally ridiculous how VJ was able to carry Billie two kilometers and looked like he carried her round the corner literally without even so much as breaking a sweat.  So she acknowledges that she treated him badly.  Is VJ seriously going to continue keeping up the pretense that the baby is really Leah's granddaughter especially given that he knows about Mick now?  Not particularly smart her wanting to go through the natural birth and objectively if he really cares about her and the baby VJ shouldn't be supporting it.

Similarly ridiculous that Renae was on house arrest given the severity of her crimes.  Her hatred for Justin is so strong that she'd rather come back to the bay and witness him suffering than try and escape.

Was Nate seriously trying make a move on Tori or was he just trying to comfort her?  I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.