Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

One thing that bugs me about the whole John Palmer situation is how Martha and Hugo never mention the fact that just a couple of months previously Palmer and a whole busload of kids would have been blown to pieces if they hadn't risked their lives to diffuse the bomb planted by Trey (John's stepson). I know if I had done something like saving a bunch of school kids, I'd sure raise the issue in an election campaign in front of the whole surf club or on the campaign trail. If he was using dirty tricks like that and bullying me, I'd say something along the lines of 'You wouldn't even be around to campaign if I hadn't diffused that bomb'. Has everybody forgotten about that or is it just bad continuity of behalf of the writers? Maybe I just have a longer memory that Hugo and Martha are supposed to have.

I think they did mention it, but John being John he wouldn't want to be reminded of that now would he? It seems he has air brushed the whole thing from his memory.

[Miranda]

Hugo/Martha said something like: its some thanks for saving his life that time, isn't it?

[Red Ranger 1]

Bit hard to review the different plotlines in that episode because they all run into each other.So let's start with...Oh dear, Ruby.Plus point:She is actually trying to help Charlie, something she hasn't done a lot of lately.Minus point:She is going about it in completely the wrong way.It's ironic given how many times she's bawled Xavier out for lying to the police that she's dragged him into something that could land them both in a heap of trouble.If she's still planning to break up with him(and what's she waiting for, physically at least he seems completely recovered from the accident), then that's asking a bit much of him, especially when I get the feeling he was just grateful she actually wanted his help for once.I suspect the only reason she asked him and not Geoff is because she knew he'd refuse.It was clear that Angelo and Georgie didn't believe them and neither did Robertson.Charlie seemed to jump back and forth between the two viewpoints and Morag's probably pleading the fifth.

Disappointing that Ruby automatically assumed Angelo was at fault but then she has always seemed to take her cure from Charlie where he's concerned.Ironically the only person who seems to be giving him a chance is Morag and she doesn't even like him:When she told him to wait until Charlie contacted him, she might have been less than pleasant but it sounded like she hopes she does.I wonder if Robertson letting Charlie back on the force is partly because he wants to see what happens between her and Angelo now he's driven a wedge between them.

Loved Morag's long-suffering expression while Colleen wittered on with her half-baked ideas.I thought Leah wasn't fussed about her date with Robertson at first but she did seem disappointed when he postponed it.(Loved his "How do I look?" to Ruby before telling her.)Gina did seem to be overcompensating a bit by bawling Xavier out, she basically admitted it was for Martin's benefit.She's probably right, he should be more scared of her than of Hugo.

[Slade]

If Martha went head to head with John Palmer she wouldn’t have a prayer. As I mentioned yesterday she can’t articulate herself anywhere near as well as he does. And if anyone asked her questions about what she plans to achieve I think she would struggle with that too. Her main argument would be trying to refute anything John says. Since Morag returned apart from Aden and Belle’s wedding we’ve had very little interaction between her and Martha. It almost feels as though she’s there solely to support Charlie and Martha is now entrenched within the Austin’s storylines. I found it quite interesting how they hardly spoke to each other at the police station (not that I’m implying anything’s wrong of course) but Morag was on one side with Charlie and Ruby and Martha the other with Gina and Xavier.

I really wish Charlie would give Angelo a chance. If only she could have seen the conversation he had with his senior last week, how important Charlie is to him and how sad he looks she will know that he’s into her. It’s a shame because they both seem completely miserable at the moment. Charlie seemed just as bad if not worse as she was after Roman dumped her when Ruby tried to speak to her in the gym. Glad she’s been reinstated but not how she was reinstated. It will be quite interesting seeing her, Robertson and Angelo working along side together.

Should I be surprised at the actions of Ms Selfish? I think not. Firstly it’s a shame she couldn’t have been as sympathetic towards Charlie today as she was before and they probably wouldn't have ended up in this situation. Now I know Xavier is big enough to make his own decisions but IMO she used their relationship and the situation Charlie was in to manipulate and emotionally blackmail him into making a false statement. The thing that annoys me the most is that she wouldn’t have been able to pull that stroke if Xavier hadn’t suffered from memory loss after Hugo’s scrap with the bloke from the island. The sad thing is now that he’s outlived his usefulness she is free to break up with him and he can’t exactly retract his statement because he, Ruby and Charlie could wind up in serious trouble.

To compound matters further because of that we missed out on the date with Leah and Robertson. Shame as I was quite looking forward to it. At least Leah agreed to reschedule.

[xxJaniexx]

I quite like Robert Robertson as a character, there is something intruiging about him can't wait to see his date with Leah, she deserves a night out

[Brian]

One thing that bugs me about the whole John Palmer situation is how Martha and Hugo never mention the fact that just a couple of months previously Palmer and a whole busload of kids would have been blown to pieces if they hadn't risked their lives to diffuse the bomb planted by Trey (John's stepson). I know if I had done something like saving a bunch of school kids, I'd sure raise the issue in an election campaign in front of the whole surf club or on the campaign trail. If he was using dirty tricks like that and bullying me, I'd say something along the lines of 'You wouldn't even be around to campaign if I hadn't diffused that bomb'. Has everybody forgotten about that or is it just bad continuity of behalf of the writers? Maybe I just have a longer memory that Hugo and Martha are supposed to have.

Quite right, Celtgirl. Martha should use that against Palmer

[alreetlike]

Didn't we all know about Hugo's girlfriend's death months ago? And that it was his fault?

Yes and no. We heard that his girlfriend died in a car crash, but last night was the first time we heard it was Hugo's fault.

Oh dear, maybe it was just me automatically assuming it was Hugo's fault when I heard about the accident which killed her I could have sworn he blamed himself before though...

I thought that too, maybe I've been reading too many spoilers though and they're morphing into my memory.

[Miranda]

Or we just naturally assume Hugo is guilty of everything

It was nice to see the old Xavier back again, he seems to have changed since his accident.

[H&Alover]

You're right Red. the storylines did seem to run into each other. Ruby is being selfish using Xavier for her own ends even if the reason is right in her mind. Robertson obviously didn't believe them, clever trick getting Georgie to bring in an alarm clock so why has he allowed Charlie back, is it because he wants to see how she and Angelo get on or some other reason? A thought struck me regards Xavier that when he gets his memory back will he tell Ruby or carry on letting her think he hasn't? Not too long to wait Slade

On Monday it is revealed why Angelo is back in the bay (at last).

I think Hugo had said before the accident was his fault but not why. Maybe everyone assumed it was something most people would say if perhaps they weren't concentrating on the road properly.

As expected Xavier wasn't too happy about Gina being principal, it must be tricky for any pupil to have a parent as a teacher or principal at the same school, look what it was like with Kim and Barry. Having said that though Nic and Jai don't seem to have that problem with Miles.

Loved the look on Morag's face when Colleen said she was having problems getting a venue for the debate between Martha and John, which was a good idea BTW.

It was a shame the date between Robertson and Leah fell through, third time lucky we hope. Strange little chat between him and Ruby at the fish factory when she said don't you want to interview me and he replied I just have. Why didn't he ask her later why she didn't say she wanted to speak to him about Charlie's alibi?

[Red Ranger 1]

Some nice bit of surrealism with the dreams.Annie having not-all-that-naughty dreams was a bit similar to Geoff doing the same last year.Our first look at Annie's room, presumably it's meant to be Tasha's old room from c.2004, it looked enough like it.Some interesting colour grading in Ruby's dreams:During the scene with Geoff everything seemed very bright while the scene with Xavier was a lot more muted and washed out.At first I thought that meant it was a genuine flashback but the "wound" to her hand seemed psychosomatic so maybe that's how she sees them:She's happy with Geoff but just going through the motions with Xavier.(Bit ironic given what she's just persuaded him to do.)Interesting though that she saw Dream Xavier as someone that worries about her, just as Annie saw Dream Jai as someone who cared about her and couldn't understand why she suddenly doesn't feel the same way.Charlotte's first scene in "modesty clothing":Definitely wasn't expecting that. Loved the little girls' talk between them back in reality, continuing the way Annie seems a bit more grown-up while still seeming like Annie.

Hard to work out what Robertson was up to, whether he was trying to trick Charlie and Angelo into giving themselves away or just messing them about for the fun of it.Not sure whether to take his claim that the bear's a surveillance device seriously or not, it could well be one of his crazy stories.The others seemed to believe him but didn't seem particularly bothered about the fact that he could have been recording them.He would probably make a good relationship counsellor:He was right that it's about trust and a nice touch that Charlie chooses to believe Angelo before she sees proof of his story.Wayan's blink-and-you-miss-it appearance seemed like another example of the show giving us a glimpse of someone we don't actually know that well and expecting us to be able to follow it, be nice to actually have a reminder who he is.Is it certain Grant was killed at the fish market?He was certainly there but he could have been killed at the beach later.

Tony and Rachel...I should probably sympathise with Rachel more than I do.She's obviously at the end of the tether but while Tony could perhaps have been a bit more understanding on a couple of occasions he doesn't deserve to have her continually lashing out at him and insisting she knows best. Having a go at him for helping Harry instead of letting her do it was the last straw.And yes, I realise I'm going to look like a jerk if it turns out she has some sort of medical condition, rather than simply being tired and stressed and feeling like a failure.Maybe she should have stuck with those baby books: The next chapter would probably have advised her never, ever to have a baby in bed with you for precisely that reason.That must be a parent's worst nightmare, accidentally harming your child, possibly seriously.