Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[KirstyEkua]

Shame that, as with the first wedding, there was no mention of why Brad, Lucas and Tam weren't there.

Not to mention Tony's five step children and three step grandkids! I know things like this must be a nightmare for the writers so I can understand why they chose to completely ignore the fact that none of Tony or Rachel's family came back for the wedding, but it still felt like there was a great big elephant in the room that everyone failed to notice. Other than that, lovely wedding.

They're not really his step kids as him and Beth were never married and were only together a couple of years. The only one he was pretty close to was Matilda. Someone i don't think Rachel would have wanted Kit there But i agree with Brad and Tam. They're the only family Rachel has since her mother is dead and he father has disappeared.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, I said I'd be impressed and I was.It took guts for Xavier to go to Roman and the police and tell them what happened.(Even if it does seem as though the writers of the last two episodes have never met:Yesterday Xavier rang what was presumably the police station and asked for Charlie, here he turns up at her house the next morning and then decides to go to the hospital first.What happened in between?Did he change his mind and hang up or did they tell him she'd gone home and to ring back later?)It was good of Roman to be so understanding.Ruby forgiving him after five minutes of being angry was...predictable.Seems most of the Summer Bay women have "Stand By Your Man" as their personal theme song.(I wonder if Charlie had a word with her, she did give her a look after Xavier wandered through.)I was actually glad Leah was cold with him, although I don't expect it to last for long:He starts his speech with "I don't expect you to forgive me" but seemed to be expecting exactly that.I don't think he deserves a lot of the flak he gets on here but I wasn't happy with Hugo making out he didn't know what had happened.You could argue there was nothing to be gained by him fessing up and we've seen characters pull similar stunts before(Alf not letting on he knew Kane was in town springs to mind)but the way he did it was very cold.I'd quite like to know how he reacted when he and Xavier were alone but we probably won't see them until next week now.Not sure why Charlie took a statement from Hugo as "the boy[brendan]'s guardian".Okay, Brendan was arguably in his care at the time, even though he wasn't in town, but he's only meant to be staying with them temporarily.He's got a mother and in fact he's with her now so why not get the local police to take a statement from her?

As a side issue, it does seem as though both Hugo and Xavier spend most of their time trying to palm Brendan off on the other.Xavier's better with him because he's had more experience.You could argue that's Hugo's fault for taking off but he can't do anything about it now and he's trying to make up for it by taking Xavier and Brendan in.It's not like Xavier didn't get out once he had the opportunity.(And yes, Hugo possibly does resent how easy Xavier finds it and yes, that is wrong.)I think Hugo and Xavier could do with sitting down together and working out the best way to look after Brendan instead of fighting each other every step of the way.

Nice to see Aden coming off worse for once when he resorts to violence.Not sure why Charlie and Joey were acting as though Gibbsy was the one at fault, Aden took a swing at him and he effectively acted in self-defence.I almost wonder if Joey rang the police just so she could see Charlie.Nice to see Aden and Joey have some meaningful screen time for the first time in ages, their friendship has been badly neglected since Joey started showing an interest in Charlie.Is Joey back working for Lou's company? (Odd end to her and Charlie's chat at the wharf with Steve calling that they're needed at the hospital: Was that meant to come before they took Xavier home and they were going to see him or was it an attempt at casual conversation?)Charlie and Joey's relationship did seem a bit more natural than it has the last week or two.Declarations of love when they're only known each other a couple of months is a bit sudden but here you can actually believe that they're just getting caught up in the emotion of the situation.

[claire_louise]

They're not really his step kids as him and Beth were never married and were only together a couple of years. The only one he was pretty close to was Matilda. Someone i don't think Rachel would have wanted Kit there But i agree with Brad and Tam. They're the only family Rachel has since her mother is dead and he father has disappeared.

I disagree, I think the Hunters came to regard Tony as a father (well, except for Henry, the first child in H&A history to have been wiped from existence!). Obviously it would have been awkward to have Kit and Kim turn up but I think the others would have liked to be there. Matilda and Lucas in particular were conspicuous in their absence.

I'm disappointed by Aden's reaction to Belle's addiction but I do think it's quite realistic. It would have been nice if he could have stood by her in the same way she did him, but his response just serves to remind us how emotionally immature and fragile he still is. Soaps have a tendency to give characters deep-seated emotional problems and then 'fix' them overnight, never for them to be mentioned again, but in reality it would be extremely difficult for Aden to support Belle considering his own past. Not only has he seen his father go through something very similar (and ultimately lost him because of it), but his grandfather's abuse and other problems have meant that he's leant quite heavily on Belle since they got together and he probably isn't strong enough to switch roles with her just yet. It's a real shame though, they're a fantastic couple and I hope they get a happy ending.

[Brian]

The Hugo, Xavier, Brendan storeyline is certainly provoking some criticism here, so it must be a good one.

Sorry I can't reproduce all the quotes, but I agree with Slade and Zetti. Credit is due to Xavier for protecting Brendan and Hugo has been a tosser. with his complete failure to deal lovingly with Brendan.

I disagree with Red Ranger, when he says that what Hugo said to Xavier was "spot on". You ask what was Hugo supposed to do? Well, he agreed to let Brendan live with him, out of guilt at having abandoned his family before. He could have seen that Xavier was much more experienced that he was at coping with Brendan and he should have sat down with Xavier and devised a plan with dealing with this problem, instead of constantly arguing with him. He had expected Xavier to have devoted the whole of his school holidays to Brendan. What about Xavier's developing relationship with Ruby? Hugo was very selfish and now he should take full responsibility for what happened.

[Red Ranger 1]

I disagree with Red Ranger, when he says that what Hugo said to Xavier was "spot on". You ask what was Hugo supposed to do? Well, he agreed to let Brendan live with him, out of guilt at having abandoned his family before. He could have seen that Xavier was much more experienced that he was at coping with Brendan and he should have sat down with Xavier and devised a plan with dealing with this problem, instead of constantly arguing with him. He had expected Xavier to have devoted the whole of his school holidays to Brendan. What about Xavier's developing relationship with Ruby? Hugo was very selfish and now he should take full responsibility for what happened.

I don't know if you read my last post but I did actually say that's what they should have done.I really don't see why a couple of cutesey scenes with Brendan has suddenly made Xavier always right and Hugo always wrong.Hugo isn't handling the situation very well but I don't see why that makes him a bad person.And I don't see why credit is due to Xavier for lying to the police and putting two families through unnecessary trauma.

[H&Alover]

Well, I said I'd be impressed and I was.It took guts for Xavier to go to Roman and the police and tell them what happened.(Even if it does seem as though the writers of the last two episodes have never met:Yesterday Xavier rang what was presumably the police station and asked for Charlie, here he turns up at her house the next morning and then decides to go to the hospital first.What happened in between?Did he change his mind and hang up or did they tell him she'd gone home and to ring back later?)It was good of Roman to be so understanding.I don't think he deserves a lot of the flak he gets on here but I wasn't happy with Hugo making out he didn't know what had happened.You could argue there was nothing to be gained by him fessing up and we've seen characters pull similar stunts before(Alf not letting on he knew Kane was in town springs to mind)but the way he did it was very cold.I'd quite like to know how he reacted when he and Xavier were alone but we probably won't see them until next week now.Not sure why Charlie took a statement from Hugo as "the boy[brendan]'s guardian".Okay, Brendan was arguably in his care at the time, even though he wasn't in town, but he's only meant to be staying with them temporarily.He's got a mother and in fact he's with her now so why not get the local police to take a statement from her?

As a side issue, it does seem as though both Hugo and Xavier spend most of their time trying to palm Brendan off on the other.Xavier's better with him because he's had more experience.You could argue that's Hugo's fault for taking off but he can't do anything about it now and he's trying to make up for it by taking Xavier and Brendan in.It's not like Xavier didn't get out once he had the opportunity.(And yes, Hugo possibly does resent how easy Xavier finds it and yes, that is wrong.)I think Hugo and Xavier could do with sitting down together and working out the best way to look after Brendan instead of fighting each other every step of the way.

Nice to see Aden coming off worse for once when he resorts to violence.Not sure why Charlie and Joey were acting as though Gibbsy was the one at fault, Aden took a swing at him and he effectively acted in self-defence.I almost wonder if Joey rang the police just so she could see Charlie.Nice to see Aden and Joey have some meaningful screen time for the first time in ages, their friendship has been badly neglected since Joey started showing an interest in Charlie.Is Joey back working for Lou's company? (Odd end to her and Charlie's chat at the wharf with Steve calling that they're needed at the hospital: Was that meant to come before they took Xavier home and they were going to see him or was it an attempt at casual conversation?)Charlie and Joey's relationship did seem a bit more natural than it has the last week or two.Declarations of love when they're only known each other a couple of months is a bit sudden but here you can actually believe that they're just getting caught up in the emotion of the situation.

Roman took the words right out of my mouth when he said it took a lot of guts for Xavier to go and face him with the truth and if he had been in the same situation he would have done the same thing. I wondered that as well about the phone call to Charlie and then truning up the next morning as if that had never happened, perhaps she wasn't there when he rang? Perhaps Xavier kept Hugo's name out of it so as to prevent him (and Gina) being in trouble for knowing about it (although it was only the day before). Gina wasn't there when it happened so maybe that is why they need to talk to Hugo. Not sure what if anythinhg they could charge Brendan with, but I'm guessing they could charge Xavier with being an accessory after the fact. You are right Red that Xavier and Hugo should have sat down long ago and discussed Brendan and how to look after him. Xavier could have explained his likes and dislikes etc. and his routine, then Hugo wouldn't have found it so hard to look after him on his own. Ruby was right about Xavier underestimating her when he didn't tell her what had happened, but glad she forgave him. It will probably take Leah a little longer, especially as Roman had just dumped her.

Gibbsy isn't as nice as I first thought he was, I know Aden took the first swing at him, but Gibbsy was making derogatory remarks about Belle. That crossed my mind as well as to why Joey called the police, though she couldn't have been sure it would have been Charlie turning up. I wonder now that she and Charlie are back on will she stay in town and Aden will go on the long haul trip? I said before that Joey has longer to accept who she is and that for Charlie is it a new emotion.

Loved the scene at the end with them in the car, just wante them to get on with it and kiss.

I'm disappointed by Aden's reaction to Belle's addiction but I do think it's quite realistic. It would have been nice if he could have stood by her in the same way she did him, but his response just serves to remind us how emotionally immature and fragile he still is. Soaps have a tendency to give characters deep-seated emotional problems and then 'fix' them overnight, never for them to be mentioned again, but in reality it would be extremely difficult for Aden to support Belle considering his own past. Not only has he seen his father go through something very similar (and ultimately lost him because of it), but his grandfather's abuse and other problems have meant that he's leant quite heavily on Belle since they got together and he probably isn't strong enough to switch roles with her just yet. It's a real shame though, they're a fantastic couple and I hope they get a happy ending.

I can understand Aden's reaction, but I think at least he could have been there to see her off to rehab and to say he would be thinking of her. It probably wouldn't be a good idea for them to have contact until she has been through it.

Also glad that Rachel made the decision to have Belle admitted to rehab as she was still being stubborn and saying she could do it herself.

[Red Ranger 1]

Yay, Pippa's back!Have to say, bit of an arbitary reason:Has Pippa ever worked in any of the Diners? Okay, she made cakes for Ailsa back in the dark ages but aside from that?Not the obvious choice for "the cavalry" but what the heck, she's back!

Loved Ruby sneaking over for a closer look when she saw Charlie and Joey kissing.It was one of many scenes in that storyline that I found utterly hilarious and I'm not sure if I was meant to.Ruby's reaction is interesting:It doesn't seem to be homophobia and I don't think she's worried about Joey as she suggested.Her conversation with Jai made it pretty clear, she's spent all her life thinking she knows her sister inside out and now she's found out something big about her and feels like she's a stranger. Ruby's "I need you to save me!" was a top comic highlight, although Jai's "Wait, your sister's really hot!" is another contender.I actually really loved Ruby and Jai's scenes together and the advice he gave her was spot on.(I know people say I get at him, and maybe I do, but as with Aden and Belle, Ruby is so much better when she's not stuck in scenes with Xavier.Almost makes me relieved everyone involved in that storyline ran out of episodes and left town.What's the point of showing Jai and Trey's reactions when there's no-one to react to?By the time the Austins get back, it'll be yesterday's news.)

Kirsty refusing to serve Phil was a bit childish.Better to rise above it than just confirm what he thinks about her.Is he really so convinced his son's blameless that he thinks he was being "intimidated" by a boy two years younger and about a foot shorter than him?Jai shouldn't have resorted to fisticuffs, it wouldn't have been that hard to make Trey look like an idiot without them anyway.(Anyone else think there seemed to be an awful lot of students hanging arounf after school?The corridor was packed!) Loved Miles' nervousness about the interview.

[Lesley Bee]

Yeah Pippa's back its funny but the minute she came back i had a warm fuzzy feeling, like everything was ok with the world

[Brian]

Yay, Pippa's back!Have to say, bit of an arbitary reason:Has Pippa ever worked in any of the Diners? Okay, she made cakes for Ailsa back in the dark ages but aside from that?Not the obvious choice for "the cavalry" but what the heck, she's back!

Could you please tell me who Pippa is, please? I've been watching for 6 months and don't remember her in that time.

[Slade]

I’ve just watched yesterday’s episode and I really enjoyed it.

Firstly some more really good stuff with Aden and Joey. I liked the bump into each other and the usual casual hello how are you chit-chat. I’m glad she seemed to be concerned about him and was the one initiating the conversation as usually he’s the one doing it. Although Aden tried to take a swing Gibsy it actually didn’t bother me too much as I do feel that he was out of line with some of his remarks and it was heat of the moment. Considering how he has been in the past I thought he did well to just let it go. I was actually pleased Joey called the police not necessarily because I wanted Gibsy to get in trouble but again it showed that she was trying to look out for Aden like he did for her previously. It was good to see her go round to Roman’s just to spend some time with some beers. I think it’s good her being gay because at least it allows the writers to focus more on a platonic relationship.

I don’t blame Nicole (even though you could argue she kept quiet about Belle’s drug addiction initially to try and protect Aden) for getting angry with Xavier and I’m glad he came clean but I can’t help thinking that the he only did it because Ruby told him about Roman’s blindness. I actually don’t mind him and Ruby together too much (as long as she doesn’t get all love sick and start pining after him) and liked the scene where they made up and I hope he has learnt his lesson and does try to start telling the truth from now on but even if he did lie, let’s face it she’d still forgive him.

Roman really went up in my estimation just the way he handled the whole thing with Xavier and the fact that he didn’t blame him, said he could understand his actions, would do the same thing and that he had his respect. It showed true humility. Even though I’m gutted that he finished with Leah, I felt he honestly did it because he wanted to spare her the whole thing of having to go out with and look after him at the same time. I do think there is an element of pride involved but it was more a cruel to be kind factor. It kind of reminded me of when Seb finished with Jade in the hospital after they went of the cliff.

I’m glad Joey and Charlie got it on but I really don’t know what to make of the whole thing. I could definitely understand Joey falling in love with her, she’s young and probably never had a proper relationship with anyone and I know that Charlie definitely has a tendency to fall for people pretty quickly but I’m not sure if I buy that she’s in love with her as well. It just seems too quick and forced for my liking. Either way for both of their sakes I really hope Charlie’s for real and this is not just some phase she’s going through.