Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Slade]

Finding Natalie quite annoying. There's the way she's fallen for Brax and the stuff with Jett. He goes and sprays graffiti outside the surf club and she effectively brushes it off. I preferred Alf's approach.

Ruby's back to being just as annoying as she was before the Summer break. Firstly if Romeo is annoyed with Indy and Liam for their friendship what's it gotta do with her. The only reason she went round to Indy's to have a go at her was that she couldn't handle the fact that Romeo got that annoyed about Indy and Liam. She knows full well he would NEVER have gotten annoyed if that had been her. She simply used the excuse that Indy's hurting Romeo by going after Liam to give Indy a serve. Ironic actually when you think that if Casey hadn't broken of their friendship Ruby would have gone after him. Get it into your head Rubes - HE DOESN'T WANT YOU! Didn't have one bit of sympathy for her when she was crying to Brax about it.

Harvey and Roo fostering would be a bad idea although having a kid of their own would be a recipe for disaster.

Sorry that Lottie's gone and annoyed that Melissa won. And she never even said goodbye to Sasha.

[H&Alover]

Tricky situation with Casey and Ruby, he just wants to be friends, but Ruby is getting very needy and perhaps reading much too much into their 'relationship'. He does need to distant himself from her as Danny will still be sniffing around when he comes back from whereever he's gone this time. I suppose "I'm busy working and studying" was the best he could come up with. But she kept pushing and (partly because he felt guilty?) he snapped at her.

Romeo did dump her, then try to get back with Indi so perhaps Ruby feels now Indi is messing him about (which she is), but he is a big boy and won't thank her for interferring and having a go at Indi. She seems to be ping ponging between Romeo and Casey, who is it she does want? A couple of times Romeo has come across Liam and Indi acting all cosy (in his eyes anyway), even Brax has spotted it, what is he to think, even if it is all innocent.

What did I say about Gina being wrong about not telling Jett what was going on, but did she listen to me, did she heck!!!! This time it was Irene who gave out the wrong advice, telling Gina not to say anything to Jett. As I thought he did think Gina and John were thinking of getting rid of him, thank goodness for Natalie, who was brilliant with him and great he felt he could tell her what was wrong rather than just clamming up. I suppose he could have done a lot worse than than graffetti! I guess as it wasn't counselling (just chatting), she can tell Gina and John what he said? Liked Alf's aside to Nat about letting Jett having the cake afte he had finished.

I'm not so sure about Harvey's plan of him and Roo having a baby. She's never really seemed that maternal to me and a baby is a lot more permanent than fostering, which if it doesn't work out they can decide not to carry on. Added to that she is in her early 40's and it may not be that easy for her to conceive.

[cadyctslover]

I can't quite work out what the writers were thinking when they planned this crop of episodes. Ruby is clearly very unstable following Charlie's death, and having been taken advantage of by Romeo. However, I get the feeling the writers don't want us to have any sympathy for her, and are treating it as if this is what she deserves. She lost her mother, Brax hasn't got time for her, Romeo got what he came for and now wants nothing to do with her, and Casey gave her false hope of a true friend before abandoning her to pursue his father. Leah takes the same stance as Brax (surprisingly) and treats Ruby terribly, with no consideration for her well-being.

She doesn't seem to think Ruby needs or deserves her time, and just as with Brax the other week, today Romeo had to force her to go over and see Ruby. Then when she did, she tells Ruby everyone wants to be there for her, and she must stop pushing people away. No wonder Ruby questions her about this, because it makes no sense! Romeo, Casey, Brax, and Leah regularly discuss Ruby's problems behind her back and try to avoid her!

I loved her coming over to Indi's in yesterdays episode to put her in her place, Indi deserved it. Indi slept with someone else and tore their marriage apart, and now she wants Romeo to jump through hoops to get her back (unless she can get off with Liam!) Then today when Ruby confronted her again to apologise, Indi threw it back in her face and physically pushed her away, witnessed by Sid. Then, bizarrely, later on Sid tells Romeo that he saw Ruby 'giving Indi a hard time'. What? What? That's not what happened at all!

It's as though the writers really want us to dislike Ruby, and dismiss the despicable way in which she is being treated by everyone else. Anyway, rant over.

It was nice to see Roo mention Martha, and I believe it's a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why she wouldn't want any more of her own children. I think she has good potential to become the new foster mother of SB, but I think she is still really limited as a character by her relationship with Harvey. I think she was far more suited to Sid, and I hope their romance is re-kindled some day, and that Harvey moves back to the city.

[Red Ranger 1]

Indi lost a fair bit of my sympathy today, by being rather princesslike and cowardly.When Romeo came up to her on the beach, instead of being straight with him and saying she's not interested or she needs space to sort things out, she deflected the question by putting the blame on Ruby and sending Romeo off to harrass her.I was actually slightly impressed that Romeo kept his cool with Ruby and I couldn't fault what he said.Then, having stirred up the hornet's nest, Indi gets all uppity when Ruby tries to apologise to her.Worryingly, it seems like Ruby isn't jealous but is actually trying to do what she thinks is best for Romeo, when I really think she needs to let him go and move on.It's got to the point where I don't think Indi deserves Liam, who's probably going to be the loser in this since he's stuck in the crossfire, although I don't think Romeo's got the right to say who Indi can and can't be friends with.Frustrating that they do seem to be making out Ruby was in the wrong for not wanting anything to do with Brax or Leah, who really does seem to be a part-time friend to her at times.I think Alf and the others need to realise that giving her a room and then leaving her alone in the house all day(while most of them seem to spend more time pushing Romeo and Indi back together)isn't really going to do the job, they need to be there for her.When she came home and went straight upstairs, I really wanted someone to go after her and make sure she was all right rather than being more worried about Roo and Harvey.Slightly disappointed in Sid as well, who made a good start supporting Indi(loved the way he gave her back the hammer), but was soon back to warning Romeo off her again:Not that I didn't agree with every word he said but it's not his place and I hoped he'd have learned from the last time.

Roo was so annoying in this episode she actually made me feel sorry for Harvey.I didn't think his proposal was that absurd and he's not a mind reader(and no-one should ever take advice from Marilyn)yet after spending all last week insisting he talk to her, instead of talking to him she throws tantrums, makes him sleep on the couch for no good reason and generally acts in a childish manner.I can understand that she'd see looking after someone else's child as payback for everyone that looked after Martha but I'm not convinced she should refuse to have another child of her own just because she's too busy committing self-flagellation about giving up the last one.Frankly, having to give up another child would be far less damaging on the kid than taking in someone from a broken home and then sending them back because she can't cope.

[H&Alover]

Wasn't it the case Ruby cut off Leah because she took in Romeo? I'm sure I heard her say the other day Brax was too busy to talk to her, Romeo didn't want to know and Casey who had told her they were just friends, had shut her out. I aslo felt Romeo dealt with her very well, he was firm but kind. I'm glad Romeo persuaded Leah to go and see Ruby and they are friends again, I think Ruby needs to stay away from all men for now, she needs a mother figure. I think it's not such she pushes them (guys) away she scares them off. It's not just since Charlie's death, Ruby has always had trouble with any boy/man she has been involved with way back when she first came to the bay. She is far too intense for someone so young. It did take two with Romeo and Ruby, she moved in on him when he had only just broken up with Indi and yes he should have known better, but it's always easy to be wise after the event. Her sitting around all day doing nothing isn't helping her mood either. Her apology was a tad aggressive, though Indi could have been more understanding. As an aside I did love Indi smashing that meat to pieces, supposingly 'tenderising' it, somehow I just knew she was replacing it for Ruby!

Nice little chat between Romeo and Liam and I think Romeo was right to ask Liam to back off from what looks like in his eyes him and Indi getting cosy. Though by the look on Liam's face after Romeo had left the room he didn't look as if it's going to be that easy, as we saw later. Liam would have protected any waitress from being harrassed by the River Boys, but Indi's kiss later wouldn't have happened and he didn't exactly pull away that fast. This is the third time Sid has tried to warn Romeo to back off from Indi, at least this time Romeo has told him no!.

Roo really didn't need to be that aggressive towards Harvey, why couldn't she just have told him her fears/objections about having a baby, but no that would have been far too easy. She was very young when she had Martha. I did like Marilyn''s rather round about way of suggesting to Harvey it may be Roo's age which has something to do with her decision. Sorry, I disagree about having a new baby adopted being an easier option, your'e obviously not thinking of the effect on the baby when they are old enough to want to know why they were adopted. I'm not suggesting she and Harvey ought to send a child back out of hand, though other foster parents may have had to do just that, that is one reason for fostering, a child can be taken back into care, it might not be the fosterers fault, the child might not be suitable for that home. Fostering isn't always as easy as Tom & Pippa made it look.

Rather an unusual way to propose, I must admit and just as unusual acceptance. I do think it is rather sweet (and old fashioned) for Harvey, as seen in the trailer, to ask Alf for Roo's hand in marriage.

[Red Ranger 1]

Are they really trying to make me sympathise with Harvey by having Roo be a total cow towards him?Because it's working, she seems to have turned into a complete drama queen and is heading down a bridezilla route with Harvey being dragged along behind her wincing all the way.Loved Alf hastily making himself scarce during one of their arguments.I've never been entirely sure whether Roo's been married before or not so nice to have it confirmed here:I think she married Frank some time in the early '90s, which would fit with the age she gives here, but I've only ever read that in one place and even that was ambiguous.(Of course, she did have a big white wedding once but it didn't go so well...)I've never been convinced by the theory that children who are adopted will grow up feeling unwanted, maybe in some cases but in many others they've got a loving family who wants them and realise they're better off.Having had experience of adoption in my own family, I think it's a shame that modern society seems determined to attach a stigma to it.

Sid had another great moment when he grandly announces he's buying Indi a car, waits for a response and doesn't get one.My opinion on Liam and Indi shifted over the course of the episode.It does seem to be all happening a bit quickly, a few weeks ago they barely knew each other and now they're acting like it's some forbidden love.Indi does need to tell Romeo it's over if that's how she feels, regardless of how things go with Liam.But after Liam saw Bianca and Heath together, I was left thinking that she's moved on and he should be allowed to do the same, rather than being restrained by some guy code that stops him going after the same person as Romeo.Even though I suspect he's going to get hurt whatever happens.Wasn't too happy about Leah's rant at him, she seems to be getting on her high horse a bit too much these days.As with their last break-up, it feels at times that everyone apart from Sid wants them back together and I'm not really sure why.Marilyn's advice didn't have the desired effect once again:She was trying to encourage Indi to not give up hope on Romeo but instead seemed to inspire her to take a chance with Liam.

Nice that Heath went to all that effort with Bianca, yet it was still a bit makeshift.I am finding them a surprisingly likeable couple, even if a tiny voice pointed out that the year began with Heath in that exact same bed with April.Bianca was obviously not too happy with that comment at the end though so it seems like they're going to have to have a serious conversation...

[Alison C]

Roo and Frank were getting married at one point but she confessed at the altar that the baby she was having (who turned out to be Martha) was not actually his but that Brett Macklin was the father so Frank ran away from the ceremony and crashed his ute and died... (for about one minute then they revived him).

[H&Alover]

It was funny seeing Roo and Harvey both discussing their wedding plans (Roo to Marilyn, Harvey to Alf) with completely different ideas of what it was going to be like, you just knew it was all going to come unstuck. All it says on her profile page is she got married 'off-screen' but it didn't last. According to wikipedia it was Frank, but they can't always be relied upon for their accuracy. Depends on the reason for the adoption, Roo gave Martha up as she and Brett felt they were too young to raise a baby, in some cases the baby wasn't wanted. However loving an adoptive family is there is always a wanting to know why you were given up.

I agree with you Red (and Liam) Indi should tell Romeo it's over before she embarks on a relationship with Liam, if that is what she really wants, that way it'll leave him free to move on. It's not just a bloke thing about getting involved with the person you both like/love if you're friends with them. The way Liam was looking when he saw Bianca and Heath together made me wonder if there is any residual feeling there and if it's wise he got involved again so soon.

I just loved that brotherly chat between Heath and Brax when Heath admitted he loved Bianca and Brax asked if he had actually told her and very perceptive of Heath when he said to Brax about his love triangle, between him, Natalie and 'a ghost'. His visit to Charlie's grave was quite moving, it's not been a year yet, but perhaps he is ready to move on after all. Charlie wouldn't have wanted him to mourn for her for ever. At least Bianca, during her chat with Natalie, realised what she was doing and then to cap it all Heath told her he loved her.

Talking of Natalie, very clever move of hers to bring the conversation she was having with Gina about Jett to her feeling safe in her job and and Gina being quick enough to pick up on it and realisng what she really meant. The look on Jett's face when they finally told him what they were planning was so lovely, I've never seen him smile like that.

I see Danny is still managing to pull the wool over Marilyn's eyes, he didn't look too happy though when she told him Casey and Ruby weren't friends anymore and as we saw from the trailer he also finds out about Casey encouraging Ruby to move back into the house and hits him! That's what Brax has been afraid will happen, he'd always managed to protect him from that side of him in the past. As an aside does Casey know his results from his mocks yet? We saw Brax knows when he opened the letter, after all his hard work to keep Casey in school it's paid off.

[Red Ranger 1]

Yes, I'm aware Roo and Frank's on-screen wedding didn't go well, as I alluded to earlier, but then they reunited and left together, only for him to come back without her(yes, it's not a new phenomenon at all).I remember a soap magazine saying Frank was divorced twice before he was 21, which I assume referred to Bobby and Roo, so I'm not sure if they got confused by the abortive wedding(because it was the sort of magazine that gets confused)or if there was an actual wedding off-screen.

So, John and Gina finally work out that honesty is the best policy.Interesting that it seems Jett's attitude isn't too far below the surface.Natalie seems to have an odd attitude towards confidentiality, it seems she considers an informal chat to be confidential but then she goes around dropping hints anyway.

Wow, Heath really has become the responsible one among the Braxtons, trying to steer Brax out of doing the dumb thing and gaining a few IQ points by showing insight into Brax's love life(and not getting hit, which is an achievement).It might have been a bit tactless but he had a point about how Bianca had the big wedding with Liam and it didn't stick.Glad Bianca seemed to realise there are more important things.Also liking the new interaction between Irene and Heath, it's better than the former sniping.So, Danny seems to have dropped the act and turned on Casey, who still did a smart job of stopping him taking advantage of Ruby.Shame Ruby couldn't see that in his own way Casey was looking out for her and just felt betrayed that one of the few people to take an interest in her was lying:Maybe Casey should have been up front from the start?But then he couldn't rely on Ruby not to make a scene.Brax's "Go and stay with Mum"(what, Casey knows where she is now?)was obviously never going to work.The date of birth on Charlie's gravestone contradicts every age ever given for her but I think we've seen that before.

Continue to cringe at April and Dexter and the fact that Dexter's already dreaming of having babies with her in the near future shows how rushed this is and how unprepared for it they are.Kind of wish Sasha had continued to stress how Dexter's become obsessed with April rather than pointing out she's already had one brother move on from her, understandable though that reaction is.

[Blaxland 89]

Wasn't it the case Ruby cut off Leah because she took in Romeo? I'm sure I heard her say the other day Brax was too busy to talk to her, Romeo didn't want to know and Casey who had told her they were just friends, had shut her out. I aslo felt Romeo dealt with her very well, he was firm but kind. I'm glad Romeo persuaded Leah to go and see Ruby and they are friends again, I think Ruby needs to stay away from all men for now, she needs a mother figure. I think it's not such she pushes them (guys) away she scares them off. It's not just since Charlie's death, Ruby has always had trouble with any boy/man she has been involved with way back when she first came to the bay. She is far too intense for someone so young. It did take two with Romeo and Ruby, she moved in on him when he had only just broken up with Indi and yes he should have known better, but it's always easy to be wise after the event. Her sitting around all day doing nothing isn't helping her mood either. Her apology was a tad aggressive, though Indi could have been more understanding. As an aside I did love Indi smashing that meat to pieces, supposingly 'tenderising' it, somehow I just knew she was replacing it for Ruby!

Nice little chat between Romeo and Liam and I think Romeo was right to ask Liam to back off from what looks like in his eyes him and Indi getting cosy. Though by the look on Liam's face after Romeo had left the room he didn't look as if it's going to be that easy, as we saw later. Liam would have protected any waitress from being harrassed by the River Boys, but Indi's kiss later wouldn't have happened and he didn't exactly pull away that fast. This is the third time Sid has tried to warn Romeo to back off from Indi, at least this time Romeo has told him no!.

Roo really didn't need to be that aggressive towards Harvey, why couldn't she just have told him her fears/objections about having a baby, but no that would have been far too easy. She was very young when she had Martha. I did like Marilyn''s rather round about way of suggesting to Harvey it may be Roo's age which has something to do with her decision. Sorry, I disagree about having a new baby adopted being an easier option, your'e obviously not thinking of the effect on the baby when they are old enough to want to know why they were adopted. I'm not suggesting she and Harvey ought to send a child back out of hand, though other foster parents may have had to do just that, that is one reason for fostering, a child can be taken back into care, it might not be the fosterers fault, the child might not be suitable for that home. Fostering isn't always as easy as Tom & Pippa made it look.

Rather an unusual way to propose, I must admit and just as unusual acceptance. I do think it is rather sweet (and old fashioned) for Harvey, as seen in the trailer, to ask Alf for Roo's hand in marriage.

I don't think the ever made fostering look easy.