Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[alreetlike]

Would a chicken really go from uncooked to burned in about thirty seconds, even at maximum temperature?

Pleased someone else picked up on that. As a Masterchef addict I found that highly unlikely.

I'm another who's more inclined to side with Gypsy.. what can I say, she was one of my favourite characters years ago so it's going to take a lot to make me favour Bianca.

[H&Alover]

Would a chicken really go from uncooked to burned in about thirty seconds, even at maximum temperature?

Pleased someone else picked up on that. As a Masterchef addict I found that highly unlikely.

Ditto, I love Masterschef too btw!!!

To my mind I thought Lily was just warning Mark that Gpysy was a rubbish cook. Lily's spilling the beans about Gypsy and her, um, dalliance, just goes to prove you shouldn't discuss your love life when you don't know who might be listening. You can't force a kid to like someone because you do. I think part of the reason Lily prefers Loam is that he is a dad so can relate to children more than Mark can, which isn't his fault. I wondered that about the opening, especially as it was taking place in Gypsy's room at Irene's, perhaps it shows her true feelings. I noticed how Lily went with Gypsy to get the pizza, although it didn't stop her flirting with Liam (Gypsy that is not Lily). That moment between Liam and Brax after they left made me smile too.

Part of me can understand why Charlie was so upset with Brax, true they weren't an item anymore, but she was right in that it didn't take him very long to move on, then just expect them to take up from where they left off. Did Hayley 'accidentally' leave her earring behind? She wasn't backwards in coming forwards was she? It seemed to me the night before when Bianca all but shoved Charlie out of the door if she had seen Brax and Hayley together upstairs in the restaurant? Colleen always does get on her high horse if she thinks people like doctors, police etc have behaved badly. Although she was warned not to by Roo I'm glad she did confront Charlie, at least she says what she thinks to the person concerned instead of being nice to their face then tearing them apart when their back is turned.

I can see Hayley's point about an appeal, by the time it went through the process, Casey's term would be nearly over. It was a good point Heath made about only him and Casey would have done time, though not sure his advice to Casey about fighting back is a good idea, true it might make the other guys leave him alone, but could also open up a whole lot of new problems for him.

I wondered that Red about Heath's apology to Gina and John if it was for Bianca's benefit, he did look disappointed when he saw how annoyed she was with him. It seemed to have had more effect than Brax shouting at him. Not sure what the legal procedure is in Australia, but could Roo throw the Braxton boys (or anyone else) if they kept causing a disturbance, irrespective if the rent was paid on time?

I also thought the reason Leah has been so cool towards Miles was because she blamed him for convincing her to go ahead with the pregnancy. I'm glad she took Elijah's advice and finally told him, even though it probably wasn't what he wanted to hear. Of course Miles talked to Elijah, he couldn't talk to her and he needed to talk to someone. I think both of them need to talk to a professional, I don't think this is something they can sort out by themselves.

[Miranda]

Has April had a personality transplant? One minute she's miss goody two shoes who doesn't sleep with Xavier or Dex, then today she was looking into drug taking and going round to see Heath. Who did the right thing telling her to go home. But she seems to have changed very suddenly.

Glad Irene told Gypsy to pull herself together and grow up.

[Slade]

Love the insinuation that people who favour Bianca over Gypsy are somehow being duped by the writers. Because the great immortal one is getting a raw deal and it's wrong to favour the person who points out that cheating on her boyfriend is wrong even though Irene wasn't OK with it either. Not only that but she was fed up with Gypsy and the whole - the universe revolves around me - attitude and eventually found her just as annoying as I did (well perhaps not as annoying). I think her intentions were honourable at first and she did genuinely come to help and support Irene but I think her time here proves she simply isn't mature enough to handle any level of responsibility. Baring the incident with Penn you could argue and I think that Will was doing a better job and I agree with Irene wondering how Gypsy even manages to look after Lilly on a daily basis. I think ending it with Mark was the right thing. If she continued with the relationship it only would have been stringing him along and she definitely would have come across as a user. I was very surprised at her parting message to Bianca although I think Bianca was just glad to see the back of her. It did appear as though Gypsy was genuinely trying to help her and offer her advice. And it did make her go up slightly in my estimation. Do I feel sorry for Gypsy now that she's lost Mark, Liam and Irene's chucked her out? No, she brought it on herself. Do I think her leaving Summer Bay is good? No absolutely not. I don't like her, she's annoying, self-centred and a drama queen but I think the bay is better with her than without her and is certainly more interesting (and I actually enjoyed disliking her). I think we need characters like that. I think it would have been better for her to move into the Caravan Park to see her how she coped to bring up Lilly and perhaps my attitude towards her would have changed over time.

I really wasn't happy with Liam's role in any of this so actually didn't mind when Bianca shut the door in his face. Not sure why April invited Liam in. She was the one who wanted him to stay away from Bianca in the first place. Does Roo actually know what happened with Liam and Gypsy and does she even know Mark? Because unless Bianca actually told her not sure why she was looking over at them like that. Perhaps it was the way Mark approached Liam but it's a bar so he could have been anyone.

I can't believe the doctor wrote April a prescription drug like that. I'm pretty sure had that been anyone bar April, Heath would have got hold of the drugs for them. Couldn't believe April just came out and said to Heath that he could get what she wanted because he was Liam's drug dealer. Heath way very smart about it. He obviously knows this would have come back to bite him had he given in to April's demands and obviously thinks he's in with a chance with Bianca and doesn't want to ruin it.

I haven't liked April since she cheated on Xavier but going to Dexter's making out with him then stealing Sid's prescription pad was really low. Was that her plan all along or was she simply being the opportunist? Would she really be that calculating? Interestingly Sid referred to her as a realist but her past behaviour has been quite the contrary. Anyway I hope she's proud of herself!

[Red Ranger 1]

Don't get me wrong, people are perfectly free to dislike Gypsy and cheer on Bianca if they like but I do find it odd that the writers seem to assume we will automatically favour the not-always-likeable Scott sisters over an admittedly-also-not-always-likeable former fan favourite.I really didn't like Bianca shutting the door on Liam, it's none of her business who Gypsy sees and once again she was acting out of her own jealousy.I'm sorry to see Gypsy go and I guess I'm in two minds about the stint.On the one hand, we had Gypsy being a less than stellar parent and cheating on her boyfriend, Lily being a brat and a number of people disliking them who perhaps didn't before.But, I actually rather liked the note she went out on.Given that both Will and Gypsy seemed to be rubbish at looking after Lily on their own(I don't really see how Will, who spent all his time shouting at her, trashing rooms in front of her and dragging her halfway round the country when she was at death's door, could be considered the better option), I guess the only conclusion is that they worked well together but have trouble coping alone.I think Mark was what Gypsy and Lily needed but not what they wanted:Gypsy recognised that he ticked all the right boxes, nice guy willing to take them on and support them, but deep down, however much she wanted to, she didn't love him and Lily didn't even like him.I think the experience has caused Gypsy to realise she needs to step up, stand on her own two feet and be a good parent to Lily.And Lily, um, well I think she realises she didn't behave that well and is going to be good from now on.I'm just rueing all the missed potential.Lily and VJ's relationship was one of the best things to come out of her last stint but only one episode really used it.I wanted to see Gypsy interact with Leah, who she used to be friends with, and Miles, given the connection with Sally, but instead their camping trip was just an excuse to stop them breaching their episode counts.And the whole thing about Gypsy being a rubbish cook when she's lived away from home for eleven years, been bringing up a daughter for *cough*ten* of them and been portrayed as an adequate cook in the past was just silly "Donald Fisher doesn't understand computers even though he's used them for fifteen years" characterisation.I can understand Irene sending her away and I don't really mind.Given that her only lasting legacy seems to be telling Bianca to go for it with Liam, it's ironic that that episode demonstrated Liam has much better chemistry with Gypsy than Bianca and I'd rather have them.Still, I'd rather have Bianca with Liam than Heath, which seemed to be where it was going.

Not sure what that Romeo and Harvey scene achieved, other than showing us more evidence that Harvey's a pain and Romeo's not enjoying himself.Why exactly does he need Harvey's permission for his ideas anyway?Liked Indi setting Colleen on Harvey though.

I'm going to give that intern the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't tell April anything and she got the list of pills off the internet.Wonder if Heath refused to help her because he doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, because she's a seventeen-year-old girl who doesn't know what she's doing or because she's Bianca's sister?I do think she was only making out with Dex as an excuse to get the prescription pad.Given that April was pretty messed up at the beginning of the year, I think it's right to take her down this route rather than acting as though because she's dating Dexter she's all right now.

Regarding people not knowing about Charlie and Grant:Do they not?I'd have thought after Grant's death and Ross' arrest it would be all over the local press.Ruby, Xavier, Irene and Leah obviously know, I'd be very surprised if Alf, Colleen, Miles and Gina don't given their connection to those involved and John, Romeo and Liam were all in town at the time so they may well know as well. People like Roo and Bianca who weren't around then, possibly not.

[Slade]

I do find it odd that the writers seem to assume we will automatically favour the not-always-likeable Scott sisters over an admittedly-also-not-always-likeable former fan favourite.

Scott sisters? Please don't tell me people actually favoured April. Bianca I can understand but not April. Was that to do with the April/Xavier/Dex love triangle? Because it's the only thing that springs to mind. Let me guess April and Dex would make a cute couple.

Given that both Will and Gypsy seemed to be rubbish at looking after Lily on their own(I don't really see how Will, who spent all his time shouting at her, trashing rooms in front of her and dragging her halfway round the country when she was at death's door, could be considered the better option), I guess the only conclusion is that they worked well together but have trouble coping alone.

Thinking about your comment regarding Will I don't know too much about the history with Lily but I do recall back in 2004 when he wanted Jesse to sign the adoption papers for Rachel and I did get the impression then that both he and Gypsy were capable parents. Perhaps it's a continuity slip. You being a continuity buff would probably know.

Regarding people not knowing about Charlie and Grant:Do they not?I'd have thought after Grant's death and Ross' arrest it would be all over the local press.Ruby, Xavier, Irene and Leah obviously know, I'd be very surprised if Alf, Colleen, Miles and Gina don't given their connection to those involved and John, Romeo and Liam were all in town at the time so they may well know as well. People like Roo and Bianca who weren't around then, possibly not.

I'm not sure if you were specifically referring to my earlier comment when you mentioned Grant but I was thinking of when Charlie tied him up and electrocuted him. I knew that Xavier and Irene knew about the rape and recall Ruby telling Xavier about Charlie torturing Grant but I assume that wasn't public. If it was Charlie surely wouldn't even be in the job and she might have gone to jail. It's not as if they can use the rape as mitigating circumstances (again memory very hazy) because from what I recall it wasn't reported. So there was no proof that Grant actually forced himself on her.

[Red Ranger 1]

I do find it odd that the writers seem to assume we will automatically favour the not-always-likeable Scott sisters over an admittedly-also-not-always-likeable former fan favourite.

Scott sisters? Please don't tell me people actually favoured April. Bianca I can understand but not April. Was that to do with the April/Xavier/Dex love triangle? Because it's the only thing that springs to mind. Let me guess April and Dex would make a cute couple.

I don't remember the details but when Gypsy first came back she did clash with April a bit over April not having peace and quiet to study and, while it's possibly an exaggeration to say the show favoured April, a few people did seem to take her side.And yes, there were some very strange comments about the love triangle, my favourites being "It's not cheating because April and Xavier aren't in an exclusive relationship" [?!] and "Only your last date counts so it's only cheating if April goes out with Xavier again" [?!?!].

Given that both Will and Gypsy seemed to be rubbish at looking after Lily on their own(I don't really see how Will, who spent all his time shouting at her, trashing rooms in front of her and dragging her halfway round the country when she was at death's door, could be considered the better option), I guess the only conclusion is that they worked well together but have trouble coping alone.

Thinking about your comment regarding Will I don't know too much about the history with Lily but I do recall back in 2004 when he wanted Jesse to sign the adoption papers for Rachel and I did get the impression then that both he and Gypsy were capable parents. Perhaps it's a continuity slip. You being a continuity buff would probably know.

Good point, yeah.It's all to do with this weird regression to their teenage selves that they both seem to have undergone in these return visits.

Regarding people not knowing about Charlie and Grant:Do they not?I'd have thought after Grant's death and Ross' arrest it would be all over the local press.Ruby, Xavier, Irene and Leah obviously know, I'd be very surprised if Alf, Colleen, Miles and Gina don't given their connection to those involved and John, Romeo and Liam were all in town at the time so they may well know as well. People like Roo and Bianca who weren't around then, possibly not.

I'm not sure if you were specifically referring to my earlier comment when you mentioned Grant but I was thinking of when Charlie tied him up and electrocuted him. I knew that Xavier and Irene knew about the rape and recall Ruby telling Xavier about Charlie torturing Grant but I assume that wasn't public. If it was Charlie surely wouldn't even be in the job and she might have gone to jail. It's not as if they can use the rape as mitigating circumstances (again memory very hazy) because from what I recall it wasn't reported. So there was no proof that Grant actually forced himself on her.

Ah, yes, sorry, misunderstood you.Yeah, I'm not sure if any of the current characters know about that aside from Ruby and Xavier.I seem to recall, after Ross' arrest, Robertson said he was going to go back to Grant's other victims and try and get statements as mitigation and Charlie probably gave one as well, so it's probably well-documented by now even if no charges were brought.

[Miranda]

I also forgot to say that I LOVED Dex standing up to Stu. 'do I look like I'm joking?' 'You look like someone who's trying to take advantage of a fifteen year old girl.' Stu had no answer to that! And Xavier sniggering in the background.

[H&Alover]

First of all I must say how impressed I was by Heath (twice), first by the way he handled Mark in Angelo's, by quietly asking Mark to leave and not decking him, then later when April came round expecting him to get drugs for her as he used to be Liam's dealer. He quite rightly turned her away, though whether as Red said it was because she is Bianca's sister or he has decided to change.

I don't think the doctor wrote her a prescription either, I just think he gave her a list of drugs. We know how focused/obsessed April can be and let's not forget her OCD earlier in the year. I think she knew very well Sid wouldn't be home, but it's sad she felt she had to use Dex in that way to pass the time. Right, she now has Sid's prescription pad, isn't her writing going to be a tiny bit neat for a doctor's, if the usual scrawl they use is anything to go by?

You're not wrong Red, April and Gypsy did clash when she first arrived, though we haven't had any scenes of them together very much since then.

Liam did ask a very pertinent question, he knew why he slept with Gypsy, but why did she sleep with him? If she truly loved Mark there would be no way she would sleep with him or anyone. At least it made her mind up how she really felt about Mark, probably very fond of him, but wasn't in love with him. She could still be a good mum (most of the time) and still be a rubbish cook, maybe Will did most of the cooking when they were married? Irene's remark about she didn't know how Lily has survived all these years was a good one, I guess Lily has learnt to look after herself over the years, mind you she is 10 so should be able to wash and dress herself by now. Shame it was such a quick departure, looks like she didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to VJ. It was a weird farewell between Bianca and Gypsy, but I liked that Gypsy said that Liam wasn't over her and we all know she isn't over him.

[Slade]

And yes, there were some very strange comments about the love triangle, my favourites being "It's not cheating because April and Xavier aren't in an exclusive relationship" [?!] and "Only your last date counts so it's only cheating if April goes out with Xavier again" [?!?!].

Brilliant. You couldn't make it up. I'm going to have to find time to venture into the Australian discussion and read the last few months worth of posts. We should be near the season finale so hopefully I won't encounter too many spoilers. Well going by the date on Sasha's iPhone it was Friday October 14th.

I thought Sasha was a lot better in that episode. I really liked the stuff with Dex and it genuinely feels like a proper brother sister relationship, even more so than Dex and Indy. Even though she was still acting like a brat I actually didn't mind at all because it felt more like normal behaviour for a girl her age and there didn't appear to be the same level of hate and malice she had towards Sid previously. I actually think Indy would have done the same thing had she been in the same position at that age. I quite liked parts of that scene the way she tried to cuddle up to Sid and he was totally unfazed knowing full well there was an ulterior motive and I liked the fact that he wouldn't back down with regards to giving her the money for her phone, she stormed off then slammed the door. I thought Indy made a valid point regarding Stu when she tried to have the sisterly chat but it was kind of ironic that she said Sasha hadn't been going out with him for very long but she and Romeo got married only after they'd just got back together.

For me personally the writing for Stu felt a little bit lazy. The part where he was kissing Sasha, tried to get more physical, she told him she wasn't ready then he declared his love for her was OK. That was believable. He obviously did that to allow him to push the boundaries more quickly but the way he turned on her in the car then slapped her for me was ridiculous. Despite the River Boy label he seems like a decent guy and apart from the party he's been reasonably cooperative with Sid so it didn't make sense him losing his patience like that. Then back to the scene where Xavier tried to wind him up (which incidentally I really didn't like) again surely he would have realised after speaking to Sasha that was Xavier's intention as you could see how excited she was to see him all dressed up so she had no reason to lie. Again is this a way to break them up to allow her to build a relationship with Xavier? Xavier has been involved in quite a few scenes regarding Sasha almost all in relation to watching over her regarding boys.

I guess it looks more likely that April purposely went round to Dexter's and copped off with him as an excuse to buy time to steal Sid's prescription pad on Thursday considering the way she insisted that she could go along to Dex's so she could put it back. Not sure how many pills she managed to get hold of but presumably she wrote a repeat prescription.

Wasn't sure about Harvey either at first. He's coming across as desperate regarding Roo but she's still falling for it. Initially considering how patient and calculating he's been with Romeo I couldn't understand why he was being so impatient with Roo but I guess the job and personal life or should I say women are different.

Romeo seemed pretty much redundant in that episode.