Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[H&Alover]

At last Gina seems to have taken notice of what John was trying to tell her about Jett opening up to her when he feels ready. Very sneaky of her getting Natalie to join them for dinner and it fooled neither John, Jett or Natalie, I loved the way John and Jett just walked out on her. At least for the moment anyway a deal has been struck, that if he ever needs to talk to either of them he will and Gina will back off.

Big step for Heath opening out to Bianca about his childhood with Danny, not an easy thing for him (or any other Braxton for that matter) to do. His facing Danny again after the last showdown was quite brave of him. Darcy was only asking questions any child would ask about their parents girlfriend/boyfriend. Bianca will never be able to replace her mum (and she wouldn't want to) but it is only early days for her and Heath.

Mel's plan to expose Harvey's secret via her lawyer doing it in court came well unstuck. I think he was right to tell Lottie himself, he was able (without excusing his part in Ben's death) was broken a lot more gently than any lawyer would have done. In response to her asking him why hadn't he told her before, when was he supposed to have broken the news? Mel really doesn't listen to Lottie does she, at least Harvey does. Mel banging on at Harvey that he isn't able to look after Lottie by himself is a bit off, he isn't on his own, he has Roo, Alf and Marilyn. Lottie was so right by losing her temper with both of them and telling them she didn't want to live with either of them. Sad that she feels responsible for Ben's death because she felt she should have been looking out for him, bet that's never occurred to either of them. Alf gave Mel his usual good advice about her forcing Lottie to live with her will only end in her losing her for good. What was Mel doing when Harvey was drunk in charge of a boat and it was her idea to lie to the cops.

Brax and his drugs deal, am I alone in thinking Dave, was it, is still going to set him up somehow, shame that Heath has got himself involved, when to give Brax his due he has tried to keep both him and Casey out of it.

Casey seemed to have twigged what Danny is up to when he asked oh so casually about Ruby's money and just as cleverly played along with him.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Three.Marilyn was in four.

You know, I think the show's won me round with regards Heath and Bianca.I was once dead against it but now, while I'm not convinced it will work long term, I think the relationship's actually being good for both of them and they're rather sweet together.Bianca does seem committed to making it work and I think the fact they haven't "done anything", in stark contrast to every other relationship on the show, speaks in their favour.Bianca's scared reaction to being left in charge of Darcy made me laugh and it's always great to see Darcy again.Has she grown?I didn't realise Bianca was sitting down in their first meeting but despite that, Darcy seems to be shoulder high on her now.Heath's reaction to finding out what Brax has been up to was pleasing as well:Not too long ago, Heath would probably have been delighted at Brax resurrecting the family business but he seemed surprised and maybe even a little disappointed.I'm glad that he didn't have any direct involvement in what was going on, I was expecting him to go with Brax to meet Bob.

I continue to shake my head at both Harvey and Melissa.I was cheering when Alf called Harvey out for his cowardice, shame Roo continues to look at him with goo eyes.And I was cheering even more when Lottie did what I was hoping and announced she didn't want anything to do with either of them.Shame about her about turn, which is disappointing on several levels.It's hard not to be cynical about the way that Melissa was determined to stick to her guns and hurl mud at Harvey in court, despite his coming up with a reasonable compromise, right up to the point when she was told she couldn't win, at which point she turns on the waterworks so Lottie feels sorry for her and decides to do the noble thing and go with her.It leaves a bad taste in the mouth, even though I've been aware all along that Lottie's only a guest star and probably going to leave.Maybe the writers were afraid we'd notice what a mess they're making of the guy that should have been dating her, as Dexter and April indulge in trashy and creepy sex games involving whipped cream and empty barns that Sasha thankfully interrupts before I choke on my own vomit.Now we're left with the idea of them shacking up together, as if a college student with a part-time job and a schoolgirl could afford their own place.Haven't they learnt anything from Romeo and Indi's disastrous attempt at playing grown-ups?How to break up quickly hopefully.

Couldn't really be bothered to get angry at Brax's latest walk on the wrong side of the law.Just a shame we got treated to more of the same when it showed promise of being something different at first.It was rather amusing seeing him being ordered about by someone he'd once have treated like an underling.And then we got the interesting idea of Bob doublecrossing him, so his crime for once didn't pay and he'd learn an important lesson about how illegal means are no more a guarantee of instant wealth than legal ones.But no, we're soon back to Brax calling the shots and coming out on top(or possibly not, given that phone call).Interesting that he didn't even seem to consider the possibility of dumping the drugs like Bob wanted and insisting on still being paid, Bob didn't seem the type who'd put up much of an argument.I am disappointed however that Natalie's initial potential has been thrown out the window as she turns into another deluded woman who convinces herself Brax is a good man because she wants to sleep with him, despite having seen plenty of his very visible dark side.

[H&Alover]

Had to smile at Bianca's hinting she was willing to be more, um, up close and personal with Heath and his look of surprise and question if it wasn't too soon. Then just as he was getting keen she threw him out. Bianca has looked after Darcy before, but obviously now her realtionship with her dad is different. Kids do shoot up pretty quick don't they, scary!!! Certainly a turn around for Brax to admit he's screwed up, Bob, not Dave, my mistake, still seems dodgy to me and although Heath knows what Brax is up to at least he's being kept out of the action. Perhaps Natalie likes bad boys and naturally Brax telling her to stay away from him is bound to have the reverse affect. At least her being a school counsellor won't compromise her position unlike Charlie.

I'm so going to miss Lottie, she was much more of an adult than either Harvey or Melissa, which she shouldn't have needed to be since she is still only 16. I thought Harvey's plan was very sensible, Mel had worked in the local hospital before so would know her way around. I was wondering whether Lottie felt guilty when Mel said she could stay with Harvey after all. I do hope we see her again, a pity she didn't get to say goodbye to Sash (or anyone else for that matter). Alf especially seemed very upset and his walking away before she was driven off showed it. On Roo, what kept annoying me was every time Mel and Harvey were talking arguing she had to keep popping up in between them and sticking her oar in.

As it is no secret as it was in the trailer, John (and Gina) want to adopt Jett, but that would mean getting Richard's permisson, once it's established he is Jett's dad that is. Suppose he has second thoughts about being involved in Jett's life?

[Red Ranger 1]

As that episode showed, while it's not quite "risking her career" level, Natalie is severely compromising her work by getting involved with Brax.She seems to have done a complete flip after initially showing concern about his attempts to control Casey and is now basically spying on Casey for Brax.If she had a shred of integrity, she'd have told Gina about an unauthorised visitor manhandling one of their students on school property, rather than using it as a bargaining tool to threaten Casey.Instead, she's back making goo eyes at Brax immediately afterwards, as though witnessing him being as physical with his younger brother as he's ever been is nothing to worry about.You've got to feel sorry for Casey, stuck between a manipulative father and an abusive older brother, the latter of whom he inexplicably seems to hero worship to an almost suicidal tendency.I really wish people would look past Brax's charming veneer and see the ugly person inside.Even Ruby seems to be so desperate for a friend that she's got sucked back in by him and forgotten that he's the reason she doesn't have a mother.At least Alf's persuaded her to move back into the house, she'll be better off there than being pulled in three different directions by various Braxton agendas.

It's frustrating that there are so few characters on the show I like these days and even fewer combinations of characters.Can't really be bothered sitting through more Harvey and Roo drama when the only good thing to come out of their relationship has just been packed off to the city.

[H&Alover]

At least Casey is looking out for Ruby. Clever ruse of Casey to encourage her to take Alf up on his offer to move back in. It will get her out of Danny's orbit and very wise of him to tell Leah he had nothing to do with the move in case it gets back to Danny that it was his idea. I do hope, like Brax, he knows what he is doing, btw what is he doing? That scene in the diner when he was chatting to Ruby about a road trip and how he didn't have any money was definitely for Danny's benefit. Apart from Danny thinking they are an item, Casey and Ruby are telling everyone else they are just friends which is just what Rubes needs, no complications.

I reckon Brax chucked out Natalie because he felt more about their night/evening together than he thought he would and felt guilty about it. His attack on Casey was completely out of order and Nat did threaten to tell Gina but Casey got her to keep quite by saying he would tell her about her and Brax. Although, I suppose, not totally unethical might cause doubts as her being suitable to be Casey's counsellor. It was Casey who told Nat Brax would die for him, which he probably would.

Quite a turn around for Ruby to offer to help Brax out finanacially, considering a few months ago she wouldn't even talk to him.

The Harvey/Roo scenes didn't seem to have much to do with anything, can't she leave him alone for five minutes? She knows he's not a talkative chap yet she keeps on pushing it about Lottie.

[Red Ranger 1]

I went off on one of my anti-Brax rants yesterday which I should probably try and curtail, it just annoys me when he seems to be the subject of so much "Character Shilling":Instead of actually showing us evidence he's a wonderful person, we have the likes of Natalie and Casey make big speeches about how great he is(the credibility of which are often undermined by the fact we know things about him they don't).So far as I can tell, Casey's plan is "Stick close to Danny to see what he's doing and try and stop him", which is actually going quite well since he's managed to stop Danny going after Ruby without him noticing.I think there's an underlying theme, with his comments yesterday, of Casey wanting to do things his way rather than letting Brax do things his, which would probably result in either Danny being dead and Brax being in jail or the other way round, given his reaction to the thought of someone taking advantage of Ruby.Brax seems to have accepted Casey's way is best, since that fight at the end seemed staged to make Danny think Casey's on his side.After his conversation with Dex, I was expecting Brax to go the other way.

I am really liking the storyline developing around Heath, which has turned into one of my favourite parts of the show.Heath and Bianca do seem nicely relaxed around each other, so it's a great time to bring Darcy back into the mix.It's understandable that she'd be feeling a bit neglected with all the attention Rocco's getting and it feels the right time to be moving things forward.I've never been comfortable with the idea of Darcy moving in with the Braxtons but if Heath and Bianca set up a family together, which hasn't been decided yet but may in the future, she should be a part of it.Loved getting some interaction between Irene and Darcy and also Irene teasing Marilyn about being the Braxtons' stepmum.

Don't know if there's much new for me to say about April and Dexter, except that the possibility of those two shacked up is getting more and more unappealing.It's obviously an absurd idea for them to live together but they're obviously not going to listen to their families.So I can only hope they make a mess of it because that's the only realistic outcome, they're neither mature enough nor self-sufficient enough for it to actually work.The little bit between Dexter and Sasha reminded me what a shame it is that the show's ended up with April as the only option for pairing up Dexter(except maybe Ruby, which I'd have found quite interesting but which they're thoroughly shut the door on):Dexter's spikey but affectionate relationship with his sisters has always been more watchable than his rather dull "cute" romance with April and ironically they're exactly the sort of girl he should be with.

[H&Alover]

Hope Casey takes heed of Brax's warning about Danny finding out he is just pretending to side with him. As we know from what has happened to Heath in the past and more recently Brax, he is not adverse to knocking his sons about, or getting others to do it for him. That little nod between Brax and Casey after their 'fight' confirmed it was a set up for Danny's benefit. Casey feigning getting it all wrong by not stopping Ruby moving back into the house was a good ploy and made Danny rethink his plan for now. Brax has always been a complex chaeracter, not black or white, just many shades of grey. We all know he can be ruthless, but I suppose knowing what we now know about Danny, he's had to be. He's said before most, if not all, the River Boys have come from broken homes and he was their 'father'. I'm not excusing a lot of what he has done, but he had to grow up quick when Danny went inside and be the 'man of the house' looking after not just Heath and Casey but also Cheryl. He was denied a normal childhood/teenage years and I don't suppose there were many options open to him other than being on the fringes of crime. He is at least starting to listen to Natalie and not dismissing everything she says.

So nice to see such a different side to Heath and the way he is trying to solve the problem with Darcy. Well done him for saying to Bianca he and Darcy come as a package! Liked the scene of him and Darcy on the beach. She, despite knowing how ill Rocco was, must now be feeling left out now he will be coming home soon. She has been great so far, not a moan about how much time her dad has been spending with him. I can understand Bianca's worry about taking her on with a new baby who is still not out of the woods health wise yet. It would be tricky enough if Rocco had been full term and healthy. I'm wondering though what is granny (Tegan's mum) going to think and will she be happy about Darcy living with Heath and Bianca? Marilyn did look a bit flustered at the thought of being a stepmum and a (step)granny!

A kind of parallel story is John and Gina's, deciding, well John, to adopt Jett. Imo I would mention it to Jett now that they are thinking about it, they are sort of assuming he would want that. I don't know how it works in Australia, but there would have to be background checks on both Gina and John so wouldn't his past treatment of Trey be on record somewhere? As I said on a previous post also Richard (if he is Jett's dad) would have to consent to the adoption.

The worse that can happen with April and Dex moving in together is it all goes wrong and they have to move back in with their respective families. The more people tell them it'a a bad idea the more ithey are going to want to do it, they did put across some convincing arguements.

[Red Ranger 1]

I am enjoying seeing the progress in Heath, as he does his best to do right by all his family.I'm glad that Bianca's onboard with him and hope that this means we'll see more of Darcy.And maybe even see an on screen appearance by her oft-mentioned gran?It feels like this storyline's progressed at the right rate, it would have been wrong to have Darcy move in with Heath as soon as he found out he was her father, when they were virtual strangers and he wasn't in the right place emotionally or materially to be a full-time dad, but now I can see it working.

I'm not convinced Dexter and April have thought things through, they seemed to do the bare minimum to address all the issues.I'm not sure if April taking a few shifts at the Diner is going to be enough to afford rent and bills, in addition to which it's less than a year since she flunked Year 12 because she couldn't find time to study and ended up taking drugs, so filling her second attempt with even more stress and responsibility seems pretty foolhardly.(Ditto Dexter, who not too long ago nearly failed a term because he was, ahem, distracted by April.)And since when did anyone in Summer Bay take the bus to school? All the same, I understand why Irene, Sid and Bianca backed down, they obviously weren't going to change their minds so their only option was to take a step back and let them make their own mistakes.Interesting that Sasha seems the most upset about Dexter moving out.(Incidentally, I suddenly remember April's long-forgotten part-time job at Angelo's.Which leads me to the curious fact that she replaced Indi, who was sacked for supplying alcohol to underage Ruby whilst underage herself and is now back working there.And April's now replacing Indi at the Diner...Okay, I need to stop remembering things.)

I think John and Gina are planning to foster Jett full-time rather than "adopt" him, which is odd since I thought they already were doing:Jett's already run away from one foster family because he wanted to live with Gina, so why would they put him with another one?The whole issue with Richard seems rather strange too:I can understand why DOCS would want to tick all the boxes by making sure he's got no interest in caring for Jett himself but why would they force him to take a DNA test to prove he's the father of a boy he doesn't want to look after, especially when there's no other candidates?It seems a bit late in the day to sting him for child support and I don't think you pay that if you've placed your child in care anyway.John and Gina also seem to have grabbed the Idiot Ball a bit:Not telling Jett something's going on when they haven't got all the facts make sense but given that he's already aware something's happening, continuing to lie to him is doing more harm than good.

Wow, can someone kill Romeo already?No wonder he's right down the bottom of the Most Popular Character poll.Having spent the last few months shacked up with another woman, he's suddenly decided that now he's got bored and given her the flick he should be able to just click his fingers and get Indi back.The way he was ordering her around would be pretty reprehensible even if they were together and at the moment he doesn't have any say in what she does at all.Let alone being the latest person in the storyline to start telling people who they can spend time with.Although I accept Indi's sent out mixed messages by coming on strong the moment she found out he was single and then suddenly backing off.I kind of hope something does happen between Indi and Liam just to see Romeo's reaction, although I can't help feeling if they did get together then, much like with Ruby, it'd be treated as an obstacle that stops Romeo and Indi being together rather than a viable alternative.

Roo and Harvey...please don't.A year or so ago, I suggested they should have Roo and Sid living at the caravan park and becoming foster parents and I really hope no-one's had the same idea but substituted Harvey for Sid because those two as the show's lead couple would just be horrible.The moment Roo started asking Irene and Gina about fostering I had this sinking feeling, especially since it seems like she's only doing it to take Harvey's mind off missing Lottie.

[H&Alover]

Must have misunderstood John's intentions. At the moment Gina & John are emergency foster parents to Jett, so could be placed with another family should one come up. As for DOCS needing Richard to take a DNA test, we/they only have Jetts feeling he is his dad, he's not sure himself that he is. But your'e right they can't force him to take Jett on (or Jett to live with him), but I suppose they might need his OK for him to be fostered. I said on an earier post Jett should be told now about Gina & John's plans, he's a bright kid and has already sussed something is going on. He also took a sneak at Gina's phone with all the messages to & from from Molly which may make him think they're going to send him away and ends up doing a runner.

Perhaps that is why granny got 'custody' of Darcy after Tegan died, Heath had only just found out he was her dad and definitely wasn't in the right place, physically and mentally to look after her. Was a father even mentioned on Darcy's birth certificate? Him looking after her the way he has been has been the right way to go, them gradually getting to know each other and coming to terms with being father and daughter. They both have eight years of catching up to do through no fault of their own.

I hope if things do go pear shaped for Dex & April they won't be too proud to admit defeat and return home. I suppose there must be some kids that travel in by bus, we just don't see them, wait, yes there is, John was driving one, when he kicked that lad off for not having his pass. Gosh Red, reading all that x replaced y, then y replaced x made my head spin!!!!

Although Romeo is acting like a jerk, it's not all his fault, Indi did leave him stranded to go off with Liam, however innocent it may have been, a phone call wouldn't have hurt her. I feel sorry for Liam, he's getting it from both sides, he's trying to be friends to them both and steer a middle ground and not succeeding very well. Romeo may be off when he accused of Liam getting too close to Indi, but with those lingering looks they keep giving each other, he may not be that wrong after all. Somehow I don't think it would be right for either of them, Liam is still getting over Bianca (the fling with Hayley was just sexual) and Indi doesn't know where she is emotionally.

Roo, just shut up already!!! For someone who a few months (weeks even) ago didn't want to get involved with bringing up Lottie, now she is up for fostering, oh heaven help us! Way too soon to be mentioning it it Harvey anyway. I bet Harvey wishes everyone would just shut up asking him about Lottie, he'll deal with it in his own time, thought Roo knew him well enough by now to realise that.

[Red Ranger 1]

Good point, H&Alover, about John driving the school bus, I'd forgotten about that.

Alf's episode count this week:Four.

I'm in two minds about the decision Brax and Casey made concerning Ruby.To be honest, I think they were focusing a bit too much on Danny and not enough on Ruby's emotional state, which is a difficult issue in itself.The way she was getting attached to Casey and becoming dependent on him wasn't particularly healthy but just cutting her off and leaving her with no-one isn't going to do her much good in the short term.Hopefully it won't be too long before she hits rock bottom and starts coming back up.She was out of order to have a go at Indigo, even though she had a bit of a point:As I said, Indigo has sent out a lot of mixed messages, acting like she wanted Romeo back then suddenly changing her mind.All the same, Ruby needs to accept that if Romeo's going to dump her for Indi, whether she actually wants him or not, then she's better off out of it rather than having him treat her like the consolation prize.Romeo was similarly out of order with his jealous rant at Liam and Indi.Anyone notice that whenever Marilyn or Roo gives someone advice in this storyline it seems to make things even more messy?

Loved Alf pulling Jett into line, he really is fitting into that elder statesman role well.Natalie actually did a good job with Jett, showing she can do things properly when she doesn't let her personal feelings get in the way.Liked the little family argument Alf and Roo had over watching television, we don't get enough of those "ordinary" moments.Harvey's suggestion to Roo does actually have merit, Roo did miss out on her only chance to be a parent and it makes more sense than her fostering idea.