Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Slade]

Phoebe is so melodramatic.  The way she was blowing off to Kat about what she thought was the ring she found and Justin was going to propose to her had me shaking my head.  Even Kat thought it was ridiculous.  It was all for nothing anyway.  Although maybe now that everything's good she'll calm down for a bit and stop being so self obsessed.

Have to admit I laughed when Alf stuck up for Hunter and said the boy has turned a corner to Kat when she wanted to investigate where the fuel used to start the fire came from.

So Billie reverts back to being selfish, expecting VJ to put her before his school work.  I'm not surprised Billie thinks that Leah's great.  Having your own personal skivvy would be do that to you.   Come to think of it she probably thinks VJ should be at her beck and call as well.  Ash is getting annoying having a go at VJ for daring to work to pay for the baby and then he backtracks when VJ called him out about it and paid him a disingenuous compliment.  Oh and emotionally blackmailing VJ by telling him Billie couldn't cope without him...good job!  I also didn't like the way he was trying to get Billie to rope Irene into helping although I'm not sure Irene or Billie would want that right now.  I'm glad Leah overheard the conversation with Ash.  She must realise it's always going to be like this and if anything it's only going to get worse.  The way Leah was defending VJ being the father to Zac and crying afterwards shows how hurt and disappointed she is and she doesn't deserve how Billie's lied and deceived her over these past few months.  But' it's all OK because Billie's got her 'family', her servants and a nice sum of cash....

[H&Alover]

Phoebe's meltdown when she thought Justin was going to propose made me laugh, Kat found it amusing but strange how the rest of the customers were taking no notice.  Phoebe did jump to  conclusions, but to be fair it did look like a ring box and I thought wow he is jumping the gun here, they haven't even been out on a proper date. Her trying to dissuade him from opening the box tickled me but when all was revealed she was rightly pleased it was a lovely gesture.  Did like their agreement they wouldn't think about getting married for 60 or 70 years.

Irene and I are right Riley is a piece of work making out Nate bet him as to who Tori would chose, but she did choose to believe him before even mentioning it to Nate in a lot more subtle way than she decided to.  Riley seems to be the type who can't bear to think someone could or should move on from them.  Duncan was  a different proposition as they had no history even if he did have an ex wife with complications.

Billie and VJ are having the same sorts of problems any new parents would have respective of age, new born baby crying through the night depriving them all of sleep, Zac of course hasn't encountered it before, Leah has and she was on her own what with Vinnie being in jail. Both VJ and Billie are tired and cranky, natural for any parent. Even if VJ had been Luc's dad they have both got a good support team. it seems Hunter made the right decision to stay in his van, so at least he's getting sleep. Leah did make the comment he had the Patterson wail, seemingly forgetting Luc isn't VJ's. Her true feelings showed when Zac found the teddy bear and then she cracked and broke down, though I think it was more to do with the fact she wasn't Luc's 'true' yia than VJ not being the father. As regards Zac and Leah co-parenting each other's child, Zac knew all about VJ and although a little late Leah knew about Hunter and still accepted him.  If VJ was your average working bloke he'd have to leave Billie to look after the baby. Correct if I'm wrong but isn't Irene away so Billie can't, at present, turn to her for help so Ash's remark was a bit useless. Did we all miss the episode when VJ discussed with Billie he should go back to school so he could get his HSC to give them all a better future? Hunter btw did say to Evie at least he wouldn't be the eldest at school VJ beat him there.

Alf is normally down on the youngsters so his defending Hunter proves to me that he believes him when he said he didn't start the fire despite his history. Of course we know that John (and anyone else in the spirit of fairness) could have easily taken the petrol canister from where it's stored at the Surf Club, we didn't see the resolution of Kat doing her checks.

I felt John was pushing Marilyn to come home when she didn't feel ready enough.  He was very gentle though when changing her dressings and naturally he was very shocked when he saw the burns for the first time, before they had been hidden under the dressings and it was a very real reaction to them, is part of that guilt because part of him knows it was down to him. It was a heartfelt discussion between them and a brave decision on her part to stay home and let him carry on  treating her. 

Then as we saw Zac's bunny boiler Sam is back just happening to catch Zac and Leah having a row with her blaming him for having a rant over Billie which she overheard. He then makes another error, he really should have learnt by now, to keep quite about it but this time Leah catches out on it. Cue more fireworks!

[c120701]

Has anyone noticed all the different camera angles in Summer Bay House scenes? We've seen a lot more scenes in the kitchen facing towards the kitchen stove/fireplace in particular.

There was also one filmed from the kitchen facing towards the front of the house.

Is it now set up as a four walled set? 

[Red Ranger 1]

Yes, I noticed we saw the "fourth wall" in the caravan park house today. I suspect it's set up so they can slot in whichever walls need to be used for the camera angles.Anyway... Again, I think Leah does want to be okay with the situation, and I do believe her when she says she loves Billie and Luc.She is bottling stuff up though and Zac does seem to be on the receiving end of more than his fair share.So it's not a good time for Sam to reappear and give him an alternative to Leah's shrewish behaviour: I'm not sure if Zac ever told Leah about Sam trying to seduce him.Hard to know what to make of Billie's offer to move out.I think she was being genuine up to a point.There's no way Leah would have agreed to it, but Billie might not necessarily know that and this is what she was worried about, people finding out and it making a difference. VJ and Billie continue to be the cutest, with or without Luc.I was worried VJ was going to have a go at Leah for upsetting Billie, which would have been unfair, so I loved how understanding he was.Sadly, the cuteness is derailed slightly by the fact that Billie has suddenly started coughing ominously at least once per scene.To misquote Gareth Roberts, "In real life, it would just be a cough.In television, it never is."

Ellie makes her first appearance of 2017.I have to admit I share Matt's initial discomfort with this arrangement.Whilst I'm glad that Maddy and Evelyn are in contact and to hear from her (Matt's "saliva sisters" gag is a bit late by the way since this is hardly the first time Evelyn has hooked up with one of Maddy's exes: At least she waited until they'd broken up this time...), Matt being stuck on a boat with his girlfriend, his ex and his kid sister is an odd arrangement.And when Evelyn said Matt and Maddy are still friends, my response was "...They are?" I'm not sure if he's spoken to her since she left town without telling him, certainly he didn't seem to be aware she knew about him and Evelyn so presumably they haven't spoken in at least two months. Also wary about Ellie being taken out of school for a month right at the beginning of the year.(I take it they don't fine you for that in Australia?)At least they talked about taking schoolwork with them but given how far behind she was last time we saw her it doesn't seem wise.

[Slade]

So are Evelyn and Matt going away for two weeks or four weeks?  Their earlier conversation seemed to suggest two but Matt was telling Ellie it was four.  Not sure it is realistic for someone that age to travel so far for only a couple of weeks.  The problem is Australia is just so far from Europe that a lot of Aussies will spend a significant amount of time traveling around the whole of the continent because a lot of them know it's unlikely they will have that opportunity again.  Good to know that Evelyn and Maddy are still in contact and I'd like to think good friends.

The problem I have with Leah is the backtracking.  She was honest with Zac when she told him how she felt about Billie deceiving her for the past nine months and it was obvious she was lying to Billie when Billie came to talk to her about what she overheard.  I can understand why Leah is  doing this.  She's grown rather attached to Luc and doesn't want Billie feeling unwelcome because that would mean moving out and taking Luc with her.  She also had a split second to make a decision so decided it was better to lie than to be honest.  The problem with this is that it will only lead her to habour more feelings of resentment, anger and disappointment.  She obviously blew off with Zac at that particular time because she was displeased Billie wouldn't let her tag along and show Luc off to her friends.  I guess Leah felt like a bit of a babysitter.  Objectively if Billie spent all night without the baby I guess it's only fair to have Luc to herself. Leah blamed Zac on the beach later on and claimed that it was his fault Billie overheard them talking about her (Completely ignoring the fact that she was the one venting) as I guess he's the closest one to her.  I'm really not liking her directing her anger towards him like this and reminds of how she was like with Miles.  I'm not arguing about Sam returning because she's hot.  After watching what's happened with Sonia and Toadie in Neighbours I'm not sure I would want Zac to cheat on Leah.  He's clearly attracted to Sam so we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Billie's conversation about Leah with VJ shortly afterward their chat really typifies her.  "She still hasn't forgiven me" she says.  So after being against her and VJ's relationship initially, she manages to get Leah onside and she fully supports the pregnancy.  Leah's parents give her and VJ a large sum of money, Leah tells Billie she loves her and truly means it, so she sees her as a daughter effectively. Leah is excited about having a grand daughter for the first time and Billie expects her to be OK with deceiving her for nine months a week after finding out.  This highlights exactly one of the problems with Billie.  Not only her inability to empathise with Leah but she feels entitled to be forgiven immediately.  And she goes on to say that perhaps she shouldn't have told the truth which is really what she's all about.  I find it hilarious that certain people involved constantly ignore the elephant in the room.  Zac, Irene, Ash, VJ even Alf asking Leah what was wrong when she was looking miserably later on in that episode? (Although the scene with Alf goes back to my point previously about Leah having to accept and take on the chin that she doesn't really have a grand daughter and she just has to get over what's happened)  None of them have brought up her deception because they all dismiss it and attribute it as being part of her trauma when the reality of the situation is that when it comes to lying and deceiving, I'm afraid Billie is simply doing what comes naturally.  And I do think at times telling the truth for her goes against her nature.  You only need to examine what happened with Nate to see this and her behaviour after that.  If you think of Billie as a lonely desperate child, then a lot of her behaviour actually makes sense and is very understandable....

[H&Alover]

For someone who is usually encouraging people to talk about their feelings seems a bit of a turn around for Leah to bottle things up, possibly because she thinks it would look like she was a bad person.  It's  a natural reaction she thought she was going to be a grandmother and now is only what I suppose you could call a  honorary one. Just bad timing and luck she and Zac had their argument in the living room of the Summer Bay house.  Leah does love Billie and Luc just doesn't love what Billie did although now she knows true full story why she did it. In a way it's good it's out in the open though there is still a way to go. Billie did the right thing in dissuading VJ for having a go at his mum. Lovely idea of the Baby Blessing so Leah will be a big part of Luc's future as  guidemother, Ash/Marty as guidefather. Billie has never been particularly religious so it's a good compromise, so back off Leah in asking about a Christening.  Wise words from Alf to Leah about it all. Nice to see Billie and the baby out and about braving the locals, but Leah felt hurt Billie wanted to go on her own. How, though, was it Zac's fault she blew up the way she did, not wanting to admit it was down to her, if she'd told Zac how she really felt beforehand there wouldn't have been a row.  Luc is a little darling.  Coughs are never anything but ominous in soaps, after effects from the bushfire methinks, but I thought she'd been given the all clear from that?

Having just read your post Slade, it's not as if Billie had a one night stand and pretended to all and sundry the baby was VJ's as that was the easy option. She was raped which is a trauma!  As I have just sad I have the feeling Leah is not angry with Billie herself just the fact she feels Billie should have trusted them enough to tell the truth before, but as I have said before, bad enough having to admit you've been raped, then finding out you are pregnant by someone  you initially thought was a stranger and never see again, then he turns out to be the son of family friend. As with any lie the longer you keep quite the harder it is to tell the truth.  Zac has only little lies to cover up and look how hard it was for him to come clean!

I don't think bunny boiler, sorry, Sam, would have made her move if she hadn't overheard that row, but Zac is feeling aggrieved for getting flak for something  that's not his fault and she's moved in like a heat seeking missile!   Zac was just about to confess to Leah about Sam the last time when she pitched up to say his book had been rejected and she was leaving, he questioned her whether it was because he'd refused her advances as Leah walked in, then of course he had to tell her everything.  For a seemingly intelligent man, he's principal of SBH for God's sake, it looks like he's going to make another one, by not telling Leah Sam came onto him again except this time he's trying to drag Matt into it, we saw how that didn't work out!

Talking about Matt I also can see why he's feeling uncomfortable, money aside, about going on a sailing holiday with his ex, new girlfriend and Ellie, not as if you can escape when you are trapped on a boat if things got awkward.  After Alf's wise words, he's changed his mind but I did  and chuckle when he called Matt a stick in the mud! Matt is assuming Ash and Justin will him have time off, Justin is only just out of hospital so won't be able to do any heavy lifting so it'd be down to Ash to do that kind of work. I'm guessing here but didn't I hear Evie say she'd told Maddy about her and Matt being a couple and she was fine with it. Was there an official ending to Maddy and Matt's relationship or was it just assumed by everyone it had ended?  When did Eve's 'It's only for two weeks' turn into three-four weeks as mentioned by Matt?  I can see Zac allowing Ellie to go for two weeks, just, especially as Evie would be there to tutor her, but a month?  I was wondering about the fact she had only just started term and if parents/guardians get fined for taking your child on holiday in term time. Ellie was OK with the fact of having to do lessons on the condition Evie and Matt refrained from the tonsil tennis!

[Red Ranger 1]

11 hours ago, Slade said:

So are Evelyn and Matt going away for two weeks or four weeks? 

 

10 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Was there an official ending to Maddy and Matt's relationship or was it just assumed by everyone it had ended?  When did Eve's 'It's only for two weeks' turn into three-four weeks as mentioned by Matt?

I could be wrong but my interpretation was that they're going to send two weeks with Maddy and then spend time together just the three of them.Maddy left a farewell note for Matt, so I guess that was ending the relationship.

Alf's episode count this week:Five, meaning he's been in 20 of the last 21 episodes.

There are times when I think the people making this show must really hate Billie, because they never let her be happy.Every time there's a glimmer of things working out, they do something horrible to her.That climax was a pretty worrying moment, and the palpable fear from Ash made it even more so.And, ominous coughing aside, things did seem to be working out well.VJ gave Billie a "Really?" look when she bulldozed ahead and asked Leah to be guideparent, which did seem to cause initial confusion, but she does seem to have embraced the role.Ash accepted that he's Uncle Marty as well.And I like that Olivia gave a little speech of her own: It's nice to see her and VJ's friendship touched on, and it shows she and Billie have well and truly got over their rocky start.VJ and Billie's discussion on one day telling Luc the truth was one where I could see both sides.It'd be a horrible discussion to have and a horrible thing for Luc to have to hear (I'm remembering Charlie and Ruby here...), but VJ's right in that there's no way they'll be able to keep it from her forever, especially if it's common knowledge and with Irene potentially having a role in her life.

Matt gives Mason some more positive advice than Justin did: Things might not work out with Olivia but that doesn't mean you don't try. Whilst Zac did shut Sam down, he again makes the mistake of not saying anything to Leah and it seemed like he was papering over the cracks as much as her with his awkward "We're all right." He should have just let her leave at the restaurant rather than calling her back to protest a bit too much (and get spotted by Matt). Hard to see this working out the way Sam wants: Zac might be attracted to her and be tempted but he's never going to leave Leah for her.

[H&Alover]

I may be remembering wrong, but Evie did initially say two weeks then Matt said to Ellie how do you fancy three or four weeks in Greece.

We all know Billie has made mistakes, but she didn't have any real positive role models growing up, not blaming Ash, he was thrown into a parenting role when he wasn't ready.  She had rubbish boyfriend after rubbish boyfriend mistaking their attention for love when all they wanted to do was use and abuse her.  Now finally she's got what all people are entitled to a loving family and security. But, yes, it does look like things are going pear shaped again.  That cough is looking a lot more serious than it first appeared, something is spotted on her x-ray. I was thinking the same thing Red, Ash knows being a guide father doesn't detract from him being Luc's uncle so the same will go for Leah still being Luc's Ya Ya.  Lovely speeches from them all, and Leah's did sound sincere. Nice message from Irene and while mentioning she didn't expect to be a granny again she didn't dwell on it.  Hunter wasn't comfortable seeing Olivia and Mason making out in front of everyone but seeing the trailer from this week seems Olivia has changed her mind again - please girl decide one way or the other, it's not fair on either of the guys.

That discussion VJ and Billie had about what to tell Luc when she is older, very mature of them both I thought,  may seem a lot premature as she's only a week or so old, but they will need to tell her at some point and they need to be the ones to tell her before she hears it from someone else or finds out some other way as usually happens in soaps. Do it in stages, when they feel she is old enough tell her VJ isn't her actual daddy, don't overload her, then when she asks about her 'real' dad then explain as age appropriately as you can.

Zac really is a grade one idiot, why, why did he respond to Sam's text and go to see her, using school as an excuse as per usual. was it good idea to confront her in  a public place like Salt?  I don't believe Zac did fancy Sam like she'd like to believe, he rejected her every move, hand on knee, the dropping of her bathrobe and attempted kiss.  His mistake and it was a biggie was going to back to explain. That was an awkward 'We're alright' from Zac, guilt, methinks, at lying to Leah again. Leah was wrong to blame Zac for 'dragging' Matt into it he made the decision to get involved. Zac and Leah have had their ups and owns and probably always will, some couples do, but they get through them and make up, until the next time. It certainly doesn't mean they don't love each other.

Sad that Marilyn didn't feel able to go to the blessing, but there were a lot of people there, usual rent a wedding/funeral or in this case baby blessing mob, do they hang out with the rent a mob lot when not on screen? I'm glad John was understanding and didn't push her, she needs to start off small, maybe Leah and Zac, then build it up slowly, her face was looking better.

[Angelica]

I find myself getting increasingly more irritated with Billie here. Leah expresses some feelings of hurt and betrayal re Billie lying, and Billie moans, yet again, about how this is why she didn't want to tell the truth. Even though Leah's problem was less with the truth and more about the deception and lies over the last 9 months. And no one knows the extent she tried to deceive them by changing dates in her medical records. Billie. I just wish she would separate the scenario where she is a victim (i.e her rate) from the scenario where she is not the victim (i.e her choices that she has made in the last 9 months that have ultimately hurt a lot of people). She is ultimately an adult and is able to weigh up choices. That she made the wrong ones are no one's fault but her own. I just struggle to sympathise with Billie these days which is a shame as I really liked her when she first started.  We end with another medical emergency for Billie and I struggle to care what the outcome is. 

Olivia is incredibly insensitive. I don't buy her relationship with Mason - she clearly has a lot of residual feelings for Hunter (as evidenced by the previews) and I find their scenes cringe worthy as everyone is trying too hard to make them seem cute. There was no need for Olivia to bring Mason to the birth blessing (it was a small gathering to which he hadn't been invited). In addition, as VJ's brother, Hunter was definitely going to be there - it seemed silly to a) being flaunting her new relationship in front of him and b) risk another Mason/Hunter bust up to ruin the day. 

Zac may be resisting now, but there are hints that he may succumb to temptation soon. It feels like we have been setting Zac up for an affair for weeks. 

I don't understand bringing Ellie (or at least timing it so that she is on school holiday). I was also annoyed that when Matt originally wasn't going to go, Evie seemed to make out that she couldn't go either - I don't understand why she couldn't go alone in the worst case scenario, they would only be separated for a few weeks

[Red Ranger 1]

12 hours ago, Angelica said:

There was no need for Olivia to bring Mason to the birth blessing (it was a small gathering to which he hadn't been invited).

To be fair, Olivia did say she'd been told she could bring a plus one.

Not for the first time in the last 12 months, I'm left thinking "Why would they do that?" Given what a miserable time Billie's had up until now (some of it self-inflicted, I accept) and how much trauma both physical and mental she's been put through (and again, I acknowledge some people think she'd been let off lightly), it seems spectacularly heartless to give her some plot-convenient cancer that will kill her quickly and mercilessly."It's like someone doesn't want her to grow old,"Ash said after one of her other many traumas.Looks like they've finally managed it.

The episode could have done with being a bit more focused.It felt like we had a lot of Billie heavy stuff at the start, then we got stuck with a load of lesser stuff.The Nate/Tori/Riley triangle felt particularly unnecessary, going over old ground.Riley bringing Mason into theatre was such an obvious way to curry favour with both him and Tori that I'm stunned Tori didn't seem to realise.Sam feels like a walking plot device rather than a character.Zac's right in that he hasn't done anything wrong, but I can understand that Leah has other things on her mind at the moment.

I will acknowledge that when the episode did give Billie's storyline the focus it deserved, it was done well.It's always nice to see VJ and Ash working together instead of contrived conflict.I loved how much affection Leah showed to Billie at the end, demonstrating what she really means to her deep down.And there was a mounting sense of horror among the doctors as the situation became more and more serious and they were unable to convince themselves or anyone else that it would all work out okay.That last scene where the look on Nate's face told Billie all she needed to know and it was clear from her expression that she knew what was coming shows what an asset Tessa is to the show.If she hasn't chosen to leave, then the show is making a big mistake getting rid of her.