Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

I guess some things are too painful to talk to someone about, especially if Harvey, as is suggested, blames himself. It was five years ago which would have made Lottie 11 so not too big a gap. Roo was probably hoping he would tell her after her hints that she knew rather than coming straight out with it and tell him she had found out in a round about way. All she needed to say was that she had heard about the accident and anytime he was ready she would listen. After Sid being discreet with Mel last time, he was pretty clumsy with the way he went about telling Mel he knew and he could have picked a better place than the diner. If it had been at the hospital he could have explained he heard it from Dex as Lottie had told him! You're right Red she can't keep 'going on a break' whenever an accident involving a child happens, I can understand it would bring back bad memories, but until she faces it the harder it will be for her. I can't understand Mel wanting to shield Lottie from Harvey's crime, she is 16, she would have found out about sometime. Why do I get the feeling Harvey is going to be made the scapegoat and the Mayor will get away with it?

I liked that scene Dex had with Sid where he was discusing April having told him she loved him and how if it had been a week or so before he would have taken her back, but now he's not sure. At least he was up front with April and very honest. I thought April had told Heath (and Bianca) she loved him. That seems a reacurring theme in soaps, a couple break up, 'fall in love' with a new partner, they break up and tell old partner they have always loved them!!!

Yes, Jett, where the hell did he spring from!!!! Is he really a pupil at Summer Bay High or just using the uniform to get access to the classrooms, changing rooms etc. Gina is the principal so surely she would have interviewd him and his parents? That guy chasing him on the beach did seem weird and it wasn't until he bumped into Gina she and John realised anything was going on, mind you they were pretty engrossed in another heated discussion about Harvey! Amazing that John recognised him the next day, considering they didn't even see his face! Well done VJ for reporting him, but Leah was a tad over the top about VJ being bullied again, knock his confidence why don't you!

I sure I'm not giving anything away but as we've seen from the promo trailers it looks like Bianca and Liam's plans to leave don't go as planned.

[Red Ranger 1]

I really wasn't keen on Liam in that episode, it seemed like he wanted to pretend April doesn't exist, pretend Heath doesn't exist and just lock himself and Bianca away in their own little bubble.I get that he's got fairly good reasons to dislike both of them but his attitude seemed unnecessarily nasty.I liked the scene where Heath approached Bianca and worried about losing contact with her and the baby, he is suddenly being oddly reasonable about the whole thing.I'm glad Liam pulled back and realised Bianca was only doing it to please him and they couldn't run away from things.But while there's a certain nobility in his decision to end the marriage, I don't think it was the right thing at all.Sure, they've got problems but they're not insurmountable and they should be able to work through them, not run away or give up.

It does seem like Jett is a new pupil at the school, who maybe can't afford a uniform of his own and seems to have enrolled off his own back, which begs the question what he's been doing up till now.He showed a very nasty side with his bullying of VJ and I hope Veej stands up to him soon.It does seem like Gina's got his number and is going to try and keep him in line while also trying to help him.His mother was surprisingly likeable, I was expecting someone a bit like Ma Braxton but she recognises his faults and wants what's best for him.He does remind me a bit of early Xavier, with the morally questionable acts because things are hard at home, although for all his faults Xavier was never a bully.(Except Trey.But the whole school bullied him.)

Sadly, I think this whole storyline with Harvey underlines one of the problems with the show.The scene where Lottie forces Harvey to talk about Ben and reminisce about the happy times was perfect, emotional and heartwarming at the same time, and the sort of family drama the show should do.But it felt like far too much focus was placed on his relationship with Roo, which is suddenly presented as a deep emotional bond with gratuitous use of the L word despite not nearly enough work having been done to make us invest in the relationship.A father and daughter bonding over the son/brother they lost should be more important than who's dating who.I can understand Lottie not wanting Harvey to get into another row with Melissa but in that case she needs to make it clear herself that Melissa can't suddenly ban her from seeing him because she wants to punish him.I'd have thought seven years between Lottie and Ben was a fairly big gap, although I admit it's not unheard of.To slightly contradict my earlier rant, I did enjoy the little Dexter/Lottie scene and I'm glad they resisted the temptation to stick April in there.

[H&Alover]

Maybe Liam feels it was easier to blame April for spilling the beans to Heath rather than blaming Bianca for sleeping with him in the first place. Liam and Bianca weren't togehter at the time but I feel that Liam would it someone he didn't know than someone they knew even more so it being Heath. He did pretty well holding out as long as he did a lot of blokes would have bailed long before now. I'm glad he decided to come back, though it's going to be hard living in the same town and trying to avoid each other. Liked the little chat between Brax and Liam which considering it's Brax's brother who is partly the cause of the trouble could be seen as a bit odd. Good of Brax offering Liam the managers job, it will give him something to focus upon and not going down the looking at life from the bottom of a glass root where Brax had been himself not long ago.

Wow was Hayley wired or what, her drug problem obviously isn't behind her. How wise is Heath being supplying her, I know he only did it because he was annoyed at Brax giving Liam the managers' job, but it could so easily backfire on them both. He loses his custody battle and she loses her career. Liam soon recognised the signs she had been 'sorted' having been there himself and she picked up he'd been there (unless she knew from reading Liam's history). When we saw him sitting on the beach (in the trailer) looking at that packet of drugs I was shouting 'No Liam, don't do it!!'.

It is some sort of soap criteria that bad boys/guys have to have names like Jett? A Gromit/River Boy in the making if he doesn't get straightened out by the good element in town. I liked his mum who initially did come across as bolshy, but obviously has her own set of problems, Jett for all his front did seem genuinely worried about getting back home to her. I thought teachers/principals had to give 24 hours notice of detention? It may be me being dumb but giving someone who can't read a leaflet about literacy classes seems a bit odd. (They had the same thing happen in Emmerdale). Gina's body language skills were a bit off not spotting VJ's unease when she was chatting to him and Jett both at school and at the diner. I think maybe VJ will talk to Brax about it rahter than worrying Leah, he'd give better advice.

So it wasn't Lottie who didn't want to see Harvey, Mel decided for her, glad that Lottie stopped Harvey having it out wirth her which would only have caused more problems. It came across as Lottie being the unwitting go between with Roo and Harvey, she does seem the voice of reason for one so young. I have to admit it wasn't until she was forcing Harvey to talk about Ben that I realised how it must have been for her. There she was only 11 and suddenly her parents refuse to talk about him as if in her own words 'as if he never existed'. They were so caught up in their own feelings of blame and guilt they forgot about her and her feelings. She wanted to talk about him, remember the good times, but wasn't allowed to. I liked her talk with Dex and she didn't throw a hissy fit when he adnitted he had spoken to Sid about what she had told him.

I do wish 'they' wouldn't do things like that! Suddenly bring in a new character, his time the teacher ( Mr. Townsend apparently) who we are supposed to accept has been there for ages yet we have only just been introduced to. When we first saw him at Angelo's I thought he was Harvey, he didn't have much luck with the lady he was then did he? He's not even been referred to in passing, though it appears it was him who Henri rejected in favour of Casey. Another thing since when did it become public knowledge what happened between Henri and Casey? Mr. Townsend obviously couldn't accept Henri preferred a younger guy but taking it out on Casey could become victimisation or bullying in both cases (with the boys and later with Xav) he didn't even ask Casey's version of events. Indeed in the first case he was there and heard the exchange! Having said that he could regret picking on Casey, he does have a temper and if pushed too far.....

Sash isn't taking the break up with Xav too well and her reaction to his suggestion she get help proves she's in denial. He still cares for her and if and when she does get herself sorted I can see them getting back together.

[Red Ranger 1]

Actually, Townsend's been mentioned quite a bit over the past few weeks:Henri mentioned he's asked her out and Casey, April and Lottie have all talked about how much of a pain he is.Except...his name hasn't been mentioned once in these two episodes, except in the closing titles, so you really need to have been paying really close attention to realise it's him.Either way, it seems everyone's assessment of him is pretty much spot on.He's obviously a failure with the ladies and his attitude towards Casey seems like pure victimisation, especially the spurious way he tried to increase his detention time.I thought they had to give notice too, H&Alover, maybe it's different in Australia.While it was dumb of Xavier to suggest Casey give Sasha an illegal ride and dumb of Casey to agree, Townsend clearly just jumped at the chance to get one over on him.(Not that it had much effect other than the police having a quiet word with Brax.)It does seem like Xavier and Sasha have suddenly reverted to the way they were when they first met, with her acting up and starting arguments while he tries to keep her in line.At least a combination of Xavier and Casey seems to have convinced her to see someone.Nice to see Xavier and Casey having some interaction too.

By the way, something very odd going on with the guest cast on Wednesday:That guy that played school bully Jase McKenzie last year turns up to needle Casey except now his name's Gary Campbell.Guess we can assume he's repeating a year like Casey and April and suddenly changed his name.Even more weirdly, Townsend's date was played by the actress who played that waitress Xavier saved from being robbed just a couple of months ago, although we didn't get a good look at her so it's not really noticeable.

I'm still not convinced by Liam and Bianca's decision, although they seem to be making the best of it.Wish we'd seen Irene and April's reaction to Bianca moving back in, episode counts again I guess.Bianca probably made the right decision not to go and see him when Leah suggested it, there's not much she could say.Brax was a good friend to Liam, shame he's wrecked it with his behaviour towards Hayley.I was pleased when Heath initially refused to help her and then was good with Bianca, then he decides to go back on it because he's annoyed with Brax.Hayley dropping him in it made me wince but I'm glad she did and that Brax is putting a stop to Heath's dealing even if I don't like the way he did it, I don't want Heath to slide back.Could Liam be realising Brax isn't the straight up guy he thought?He's rightly disgusted by his treatment of Hayley and I loved his line about not treating him like his brothers.I don't know if they're going somewhere with Brax's failure to acknowledge the consequences of his actions or not:He lays all the blame for Charlie's death on Hayley, ignoring the part he played, then doesn't seem to realise putting the frighteners on someone could affect them and accuses Hayley of playing games.But I'm not sure if we're meant to think about it any deeper than "Brax is hurting so he's lashing out and looking for someone to blame."

Interesting parallel between Romeo and Indi here as they both struggle with their finances:Romeo is embarrassed that he's having to take handouts from Ruby while Lindsay expects Indi to just leech off her father and boyfriend.Lindsay came across as quite superficial here and Indi needs to put some distance between them.There did seem to be a relaxed and supportive air between Romeo and Ruby in the scene at the house and I'm glad to see Xavier hanging out with them, I was worried he might resent them a bit, especially when he seemed to sympathise with Dexter.

So, Lance is moving to America?Marilyn seemed to be trying hard not to say something tactless when Colleen described him as smart.Feels like a lifetime ago that they were engaged.Actually, it pretty much is.

[Miranda]

By the way, something very odd going on with the guest cast on Wednesday:That guy that played school bully Jase McKenzie last year turns up to needle Casey except now his name's Gary Campbell.Guess we can assume he's repeating a year like Casey and April and suddenly changed his name.Even more weirdly, Townsend's date was played by the actress who played that waitress Xavier saved from being robbed just a couple of months ago, although we didn't get a good look at her so it's not really noticeable.

Well spotted, eagle eye! I could go into all sorts of fantasies about why they've changed their names and characters!

[H&Alover]

I must have missed the mentions of Mr. Townsend apart from Henri's. Yes well done Red, perhaps TPTB think some of us haven't very good memories. We ddin't get a good look at Townsend's date so not surprising most of us didn't clock her. He really does have an attitude problem doesn't he, should he be a teacher? Although it was dumb of Casey to give Sash a lift no-one forced him. I don't suppose the police would have told Brax who had reported Casey, but it wouldn't have taken a genius to work it out. It looked like him standing up to Townsend was the push Sash needed to admit she needed help. People could suggest it all they like but until that person is ready no-one can force them.

I guess Hayley is taking the brunt of Brax's anger as Jake isn't around. Brax was right to be angry with Heath as I said in my earlier post if it got out they'd both lose. Looks like I was partly wrong when I thought Hayley recognised a fellow addict she didn't know Liam was a recovering addict. He was so clearly tempted but made the right decision, but not totally convinced chucking the packet into the sea wise it coud easily be washed back in and some kid could pick it up. Wouldn't it have better to just empty the contents into the sand or is that just as bad?

Nice interplay between Romeo, Ruby and Xav. though couldn't quite see Romeo's problem with Ruby paying for the pizza, isn't that what friends do? The same can't be said for Lindsay, it's obvious she does come from money (her dad's that is). She can't comprehend that not everyone is in such a privileged position and Indi doesn't treat Sid as her own personal bank. I really wanted to hit her! At least she is standing on her two feet something I have the feeling Lindsay hasn't had to do. I didn't think the fact the Logan had bought Indi the earrings and dress would be back to bite her on the bum in the form of his sister. Did she more or less suggest Indi was sleeping with Logan just to get them? I agree with you Red Indi should definitely put some disrance between them.

Poor Colleen, I know she doesn't see a lot of Lancey now bit at least he is in the same country. I was with Marilyn when Colleen said Lancey was too smart for his own good, have we all missed something?

[Red Ranger 1]

Roo's episode count this week:Four.

Have to say I'm still loving Romeo and Ruby together, they're not making a big deal about the relationship but their interaction feels very relaxed and natural.Wasn't expecting to see Steve again.Not sure if he was trying to hit them or just wanting to get away, maybe Ruby frightening him with what Romeo would do if he saw him was a bad idea.Rotten luck that Romeo's injured right after he's landed the sponsorship deal, a couple of months isn't that long but I'm not sure his sponsor will wait around that long and there's the question of how he'll support himself in the meantime.John's involvement was vaguely amusing, especially Romeo calling him "Johnny P."Glad that Indi's cut her ties with Lindsay, the resulting scene between her and Sid where he called Lindsay "shallow" was good.

I actually rather liked the Brax/VJ stuff here.Brax seemed to realise he can't sort out this problem the way he usually would and he shouldn't be encouraging VJ to use violence so instead he listened and gave some fairly good advice.Can't say I feel sorry for Colleen:Giving someone money for an extension so you can move in is a bit of a sneaky move and I'm not surprised Debbie doesn't want her there.It's good that she gets to see Lance though, hopefully they can sort things out.

[Slade]

She's in love with him. I don't know how but she's in love with him despite being on the brink of ending the relationship.

I actually found the scenes with Mr Townsend and Casey really funny. It's just hard to imagine someone being that jealous of a pupil. Townsend must have really felt like he had a sucker punch. Regardless the guy has serious issues and he's coming across as unprofessional.

Still not happy about Ruby and Romeo. I actually hope their relationship develops then Romeo cheats on her somewhere down the line so she at least knows how Indy felt. In saying that I saw absolute red when Steve hit Romeo with his car. Can't believe he would stoop to that level to win the surfing competition although if there are sponsors involved then perhaps it's a little more understandable. Romeo really should report him to the police but I'm assuming that neither he nor Ruby saw Steve.

Indy did the right thing ditching Lindsay. There's absolutely nothing appealing about her character whatsoever.

The only thing I can say about the new bully Jett, is that he's a little...<censored>.

I've never liked Colleen so I don't have any sympathy for her. If she's going to see Lance hopefully, somehow she won't come back.

[H&Alover]

I'd guessed Brax would be the one VJ talked to after Brax rang Leah to check Veej was telling the truth about having the' afternoon off' from school as it wasn't soccer. Good advice from Brax, glad that VJ didn't want want Brax to sort out Jett and wanted to handle it himself. I'm sure he'll sort it out without Jett wanting to cause more trouble. Though as we saw from the trailer it looks like Jett goes to see Heath though the reason wasn't clear.

Nice friendship between Romeo and Ruby and like Romeo wants to be independent and not accept any financial help from Ruby which could muck it up. It was bad luck Romeo gets injured and could indeed scupper the sponsorship. I guess as Steve said it was his first offence (for that read the only one he's been been suspected of) he did have a right to be there. Ruby's remark that they were doing spot checks whether it was true or not certainly spooked him. When we first saw the trailer I wondered if Steve reversing like that was an 'accident' or if he may even have been aiming for Ruby and Romeo had pushed her out of the way! Seeing it again though it did look like he had reversed then driven away so he didn't get spotted by them, they didn't seem to realise it was him. Romoe really looked in pain when he was in hospital.

Well done Indi for dumping Lindsay, you're a much better person than she is. Guess this means we won't be seeing Logan again thankfully!

Colleen might have been wrong to assume because she 'gave' Lance and Debbie money for their extension she would be able to move in as and when the time come. They probably haven't seen it as being a granny flat. Lovely idea of Marilyn's to arrange for her to go and see them and hopefully things will get sorted out as you say Red.

[Slade]

So I see April's still hanging around Heath like some lost puppy. She feels really sorry for him does she. That's just code speak for she still wants to sleep with him. I'm glad she's learnt her lesson this time and decided to keep out of what's happening with Bianca and Heath. Doesn't want to risk not being birthing partner.

I do actually quite like seeing this side of Heath. I know he slipped up big time supplying Haley with drugs last week but I do wonder if there's hope. I'm still not sure. He would have to find himself a job and stick at it. I'm not sure if helping out with Brax every so often qualifies. I did quite like the stuff with Bianca and Darcy although I really hope they aren't trying to push her back together with Heath.

Once again Sid comes across very well. Remaining completely professional with Romeo and Ruby (I wonder if he was tempted to say something near the beginning of the episode) and telling Indy about the Romeo's operation despite his daughter being on a date with Logan.

Ruby annoyed me for the umpteenth time. Firstly she could have called Indy and told her what happened or at least got someone else to do it if she didn't want to speak to Indy herself. When Indy came to the hospital she was genuinely concerned for Romeo's well being and quite polite but Ruby wouldn't let Indy see him because she wanted Romeo all to herself. I didn't buy her excuse that he was asleep when she said it. Had that been Alf or Marilyn she would have been OK with it and this was supported by the way she was with him afterwards. If he was really that into her then it doesn't matter if Indy sees him surely. Brought a smile to my face when Ruby heard Romeo call Indy's name when he was asleep. Bet Rubes wasn't expecting that.