Latest UK Episode Discussion (2006-2017 Seasons)

[Red Ranger 1]

And so we're back, with the last six weeks of the 2012 season.I had a bit of difficulty sympathising with Bianca at first, although I know I should, but the scene at the house with Heath kind of crystallised both their positions even if she remained standoffish.I think she needs to leave Heath some of Rocco's things if he wants them, it's not like she'll have to see them herself.She seemed almost normal in her chat with Adam but that's possibly deceptive and I doubt Irene would be as calm if she knew the reason for Bianca's mood change.It's beginning to feel like Adam, even more than Danny, is a character who can out-Brax Brax:In this case, he's actually managed to charm Brax into ignoring his unsavoury side, while, in a reversal of their previous standpoints, Heath's the one who feels like he knows the "real" Adam.Although we're probably meant to mistrust him, as things stand, Adam seems to be helping the Braxtons without any agenda and his argument about Bianca, that she'd get the pills anyway and he can keep an eye on her, is logical.I don't know whether I'm doing the writers a disservice or not but I disliked Brax going all Reservoir Dogs on some random as much as I thought I would.I can't tell if scenes like this are meant to be morally ambiguous or if we're meant to automatically take Brax's side over someone who does the same things as him for the same reasons. Interesting that Adam was the one who decided to use the carrot rather than the stick, unless he and Brax had decided to play good cop/bad cop from the start.So, what is the back story between Heath and Adam?Heath went to jail for robbery despite Adam providing him with a lawyer but it sounds like Adam might have been behind the robbery in the first place and possibly even had Heath sent to jail deliberately..?

Interesting scene between Gina and Jett at the school as he realises she's trying to trick him into telling her about John and Marilyn then tells her anyway.His little victory celebration over Bianca's replacement was mildly amusing.Good that Gina apologised to Marilyn, although I can't shake the feeling that the show's setting up the possibility of something happening between John and Marilyn further down the track, even though it looks like he and Gina are going to sort things out in the short term, with little details like him being there when they're putting her internet dating profile up.

[Shibs]

And we’re back

Heath/Bianca/Adam – I really feel for Heath at the moment. He has never been my favourite River Boy, but this storyline really shows a different side to him. I liked the fact that he went looking for Bianca and the fact that he’s kept Rocco’s blanket. Bianca’s attitude sucks at the moment, I know she’s hurting but pushing Heath and Irene away makes it worse. And she really needs to stay away from Adam; Heath at the moment is the only one that can see through him.

Brax/Adam – Adam brings the bad out in Brax, and I can’t see it changing soon as Brax seems to worship him. He has no intention of listening to Brax, and I hope Brax will listen to Heath pretty quick, otherwise this could get ugly! Giving drugs to a woman who just lost her kid is pretty reckless; does he have no morals what so ever?

John/Gina/Marilyn – I’m glad Jett told Gina that nothing was going on between Marilyn and John and I’m happy that Gina and Marilyn have buried the hatchet and put a line under the whole thing. John, Jett and Gina’s scene in the Diner was sweet, and I liked the sense of awkward young love vibe that surrounded it. Jett and Bianca scene made me laugh, bless him!

[H&Alover]

I agree Red, Bianca could/should have let Heath keep Rocco's blanket, it's not as if she'd be seeing it every day as she's moved back to Irene's. He is entitled to have something of his son he can keep.

It looked like the drugs Adam gave (?) Bianca were to help her sleep going by what she told him the next day and she went skinny dipping! It doesn't appear that anything else happened between them though. Adam does seem to have two sides to him, the helpful side he is showing Brax and the 'I don't care what you think of me' side to Heath. The 'if she wasn't getting thme from me she'd be getting them somewhere else and I can keep an eye on her' is a pretty old (and tired) excuse. Brax was certainly swayed by it, which is unusual for him. I think Brax is seeing Adam through rose coloured spectacles. But then we found out why he is so willing to believe everything he says, he (Adam) helped the family out when Danny went inside, Heath got it right though he's got Brax right where he wants him as he owes him. So Heath did time for a robbery Adam, presumably, set up and the solicitor he got him wasn't that helpful, surprise or not! Seems Danny still has influence even beyond the grave, if that bloke was more scared of Danny's old mates than Brax and co. Was there more behind Adam's suggestion that he could help the guys younger(?) brother if he played ball, I got the feeling he could make things go the other way if he didn't help them.

Loved seeing Marilyn hungover (again) though not as bad as last time, knew the "I'm never going to drink again" 'promise' wouldn't last. Is Leah setting Marilyn up on the dating site revenge for her embarrassing her with Jamie? Rather awkward moments between John, Gina and Jett, her pumping Jett for info was a bit off, but he got the last word in which made her smile and feel relieved. Nice apology she made to Maz, next step she and John get back together, which going by the trailer could be tonight, him down on one knee will certainly cause amusement amongst the pupils. Although I think it is far too soon for Bianca to go to work I feel Gina made the right decision to put her on exam duties. Jett and his calling the replacement teacher Miss Moron was cruel, but funny.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, any illusions about Adam seem to have been well and truly shattered for anyone apart from Brax(and maybe Casey):He's seemingly using the situation with Bianca to try and force Heath to work for him and, in all likelihood, he's going to expect the same from Brax.Glad Heath seems determined not to give in, although I really thought he was going to cop a beating when Adam's heavies turned up.Getting away for a bit is a smart move, although I'm not sure about his plan to keep an eye on Bianca:I'd have thought telling Irene or April what she's up to would make more sense than asking Natalie to play counsellor.That never really works(viz her various ambushes of Casey and Gina trying to set Jett up with her)and, if he is going to get her to help, he'd be better off asking her to do it as a friend than a counsellor.I notice that Kyle is a)listed as main cast and b)credited as Braxton, ironically just as the Bennett name gets mentioned for the first time, so I assume we're meant to find him sympathetic.(Actually, judging by that scene he had with Brax, that is plausible but I'm not really sure what the point is of keeping him around when there's already three Braxton brothers and he doesn't seem sufficiently different.)

Loved all the John/Gina/Jett stuff in this episode:Jett is still a bit obnoxious but, much like Harvey, he manages to make me smile anyway(his "I feel really sorry for those guys...They just messed up your date" was my favourite line of the episode).John and Gina's increasingly bumbling attempts to go on a date and John's over the top propositioning of her were fun and I loved his little scenes in the coach and his turning the radio off in disgust.Also nice to see a brief scene between Jett and Sasha, I always like it when they stick together characters who don't normally interact and Jett's dialogue was amusing again.

Natalie still irritates me but I'm glad she realised that she messed things up between Casey and Sasha and tried to fix it.Mind you, I'm glad Casey gave her a piece of his mind as well.Good that they're back on good terms and I'm getting a rather sweet friends-with-the-potential-to-be-more vibe from them.

[Shibs]

John/Gina/Jett/Marilyn – Best bit of the episode. Laughed so much. Some classic John Palmer moments and perfect performances! First of all loved the awkwardness between John and Marilyn, but I’m glad they decided to move on and put a line under it. So he finally picked up the courage to ask Gina out, and what a proposal he did! Through out that scene I couldn’t stop smiling. But of course in true love form it wasn’t going to run smoothly. Gina’s problem was unavoidable I guess, but then we had John. Him rocking out in the bus with his hat the wrong way was cute, bless him, but for a bus driver you would’ve thought he’d have checked the diesel. Twice she called him with bad news and I just loved how gutted he was after both phone calls. And then we had the Diner scene just to wrap it up, and how sweet was that. Ruffling his hair, like it made a difference with all the oil on his shirt, despite everything both seemed happy enough in the end, which is the important thing. Most of the stuff that we love about John Palmer and John and Gina as a couple were shown in this episode, it was just simply perfect!

Heath/Adam/Brax – Is there anyone from the Braxton past/present any good? Danny was a piece of work, Kyle is a tricky character and now we have Adam and his crew! I do wonder why Brax has gotten so involved with this character, with him being not that different to Danny. It’s good that he’s tracked down Kyle, but obviously he won’t leave it at that! One thing I was happy about was the fact that Brax took Heath with him to fetch Kyle and not Adam. Heath has had the right idea about Adam from the start, although threating him might‘ve not been the brightest idea.

Casey/Sasha – Love them together and I’m glad they have finally patched things up. Glad that Natalie made him see sense and that he finally figured it out. I guess Casey had a point though about not making any promises, maybe it would.ve been better if he just told Sasha that!?!

[Red Ranger 1]

Okay, seriously, why would anyone ask Natalie to do anything?Heath would have been better off asking VJ to keep an eye on Bianca.And that's not even an exaggeration.She'd have been better off sticking to her word and just being a friend to her than starting an impromptu counselling session and saying the very thing to send her running to Adam for her next fix.I could have done a better job and I'm rubbish at giving advice.Nice that April picked up on something wrong with Bianca(why can't we see more of this rather than her intruding on the Walkers' scenes?), be even nicer if just once Irene could show some insight rather than being a head-in-her-clouds "everything's fine" type.Is Bianca's memory loss down to the grief or whatever Adam's giving her?

Wow, Romeo and Indi really are just repeating all their old mistakes aren't they?Don't believe their "Things are different now" speeches for a second:They're still a couple of immature teenagers who ran off and got married, they're still having to live in her dad's spare room because they can't afford anything else and Romeo's still making big speeches about how he's going to provide for them when he's probably going to be sitting on the sofa feeling sorry for himself again in a few weeks.At least Sid and Dexter look as unhappy about the prospect of having to watch them either having sex all the time or bickering all the time as I am.I thought Dexter's initial pained expression was going to turn into him going "Yay, only joking, I'm so happy and think you two are perfect for each other!" but no, pleasingly, it was genuine.Not so sure about everyone's reaction to Sid and Lisa's relationship.At first I thought Dexter was just upset that Sid felt he had to hide things from them but...much as I hated to agree with Romeo, I think he and Indi are overreacting by thinking that just because Sid's having a secret relationship it's going to end badly, he's changed from before.Okay, his last two relationships ended badly too but that's because the women involved had some very strange priorities.

[H&Alover]

At least Sid and Dexter look as unhappy about the prospect of having to watch them having sex all the time.

I hope you don't mean that literally Red!!!! I was waiting for Dex to admit he was kidding as well, he can put up with the sex side of it, after all it wasn't that long ago he and April were at it like rabbits any moment they could, it's the rows he's wary of, won't be good for his recovery. Was Sasha's opinion asked at all, if so it must have been off screen? If Romeo sticks at his job, maybe, just maybe, they can make a go of it this time. How many times can Sid put a downer on them then change his mind? Sid wasn't that convincing with his 'casual' chatting to Lisa, it caught Indi's interest. I can understand Dex's anger/disappointment with Sid having lied to him, as he said to Romeo he and Indi had been down that path before and someone always got hurt. Going by Sid's expression he hadn't thought about how much his past dalliances had hurt them.

Just as Nat had gone up in my estimation by admitting to Casey and Sash about how she projected her problems with Brax onto them, she let her self down again by not handling Bianca as well as she could have. Glad that Case and Sash listened to her and made their peace, so although they may not be boyfriend and girlfriend they can be friends. Brax was right about Case not going with him, he would have broken his bail conditions and doesn't he have to report to the police station twice a day anyway? I love how Heath is so concerned about Bianca, yet refusing to get involved with Adam again, like most bullies he has to bring back up with him, we definitely see his true character when he's with Heath. Not wrong there Red, Heath would have better asking April to keep an eye on Bianca, who unlike Irene, seems to be more aware that it's not just grief that is making Bianca act oddly. Dex also dimissed it, though to be fair to him, he hasn't seen Bianca, so can't make a judgement call.

Just loved John going down on one knee to ask Gina out to lunch after his chat with Mariyn to inspire him, as thought the other kids thought it hilarious! Shame they never got to have the lunch with the gods transpiring against them, hope the dinner goes well.

[cadyctslover]

Quite a good episode today. I found Monday-Wednesday's episodes quite boring.

I'm glad to see Leah given a storyline for the first time in what seems like months, although it's a shame it's another romance storyline. I wish they didn't reveal so much with the closing credits however, as clearly Jamie is related to Adam in some way, unless they happen to have the same surname.

Romeo and Indi's re-wedding was sweet, but as Red says I can't enjoy it because I know none of the inherent problems with their relationship have been resolved. The farm looked lovely though, and it was nice to see Dexter so involved and seemingly back to normal.

Back in 2011 I really enjoyed Sid and Roo's relationship, I thought they had great chemistry, and so I'm always disappointed when the writers neglect opportunities to weave it into the current storylines. When Indi and Romeo wed in Hawaii that year Sid was still in a relationship with Marilyn, but pursuing Roo. Although they clearly want to promote the idea of Roo and Harvey as a legitimate and interesting couple (I don't see it that way) it would be nice for continuity to have had more than Dex's brief mention of Roo and Sid's past relationship.

With Roo, Sid's relationship with Marilyn wasn't yet over, and once it was she couldn't deal with becoming a full-time mother to his children. Although Lisa is married, she is separated from her husband and clearly she is very fond of Sid's children. I think it would have been nice for Roo to remind him of their own situation in Hawaii and how much easier things are with Lisa.

[Shibs]

Wednesday's episode -:

Bianca/April/Natalie – Well Bianca is clearly losing her mind. Twice in one episode she messed up her plans. I felt sorry for April who clearly wants to help her sister but is feeling so lost and helpless. As for Natalie I think the pizza councelling stuff would’ve worked better if she hadn’t uttered the words ‘It might make you feel better’. People are more likley to spill if they are realaxed and it pops into conversation naturally. And with Natalie’s wrong choice of words, Bianca runs back in to the arms of A dam, who arrived as if he’d been waiting for the call all night! Irene and April have to really watch themselves, one wrong remark and they will be pushing Bianca closer towards Adam, something that doesn’t really need to happen!!

Dex/Sid/Lisa – I really don’t see why Dex is so angry with Sid. 1. It wasn’t that big of a deal 2. It’s not like he told everyone else apart from him and 3. Sid is happy, what more could we ask for after the year he’s had. I think Dex was blowing it a bit out of proportion, I get the fact that it might be awkward for him, but at the end of the day surely it up to Sid what happens with Lisa. Sid’s welcome home comment towards Romeo was classic, nothing has changed has it!! Not sure what to make of Lisa yet, she seems alright, maybe to good to be true?

Romeo/Indi – Very sweet and loved up. I prefer them together than apart and it’s nice to see them happy for a change. Maybe moving into the Farmhouse is not the best idea and it might seem like history repeating itself, but I do believe their speech about being sure was genuine. That farmhouse is getting awfully crowded now though, time for a barn conversion I think!!!! One thing that got me was they asked everyone for permission apart from Sasha, who is as much past of the house as anybody else!?!

Alf/Harvey/Roo – Nice little remider that they are finally planning the wedding. Harvey does make me laugh I have to admit, his character has grown on me so much this year, and I think his relationship with Roo is the key to that. Alf being Alf as always was great!

[Red Ranger 1]

Oh dear.Are Romeo and Indi really determined to repeat all their past mistakes?Their way of proving they're no longer the immature teenagers who ran off and got married is to...do it again.Well, okay, stand still and get married.Are we really meant to find it cute as Indi giggles about those wacky last few months that left the girl Romeo used to get back at her facing a jail sentence and the brother who's about a foot away from her with a brain injury?I'm not really buying the sudden closeness between Romeo and Dexter either, they've never had anything in common apart from Indi yet since his accident they're suddenly acting like they've always been bosom buddies.Well, in some episodes anyway:You get the feeling different writers see them different ways, hence Dexter's sudden shift from "Oh no, you're moving back in?" in the previous episode to "Yay, bagsee best man!" in this one.(Could have done without him and April winking at each other during the wedding for added ick factor too.)I desperately wanted to slap Dexter in the opening scene but he redeemed himself by inviting Lisa along to the wedding.Nice to see Sasha standing up for Sid as well, admittedly she hasn't had to deal with Sid's chequered past but Sid's tolerated the car crashes of Indi and Dexter's love lives, they owe him the same consideration.Shame it looks like they were right, it sounds from Lisa's admission that she lied about being separated and she and her husband are still living together.It also sounds like he's a fairly controlling person.

It is nice to see Leah getting something to do and the friendship between her and Liam is rather nice.Jamie continues to be a fast worker but, if my theory about him being Adam's secret son is right, major alarm bells ringing here:His mother and the man she was having an affair with were suddenly taken ill and died while having lunch together?Does anyone else think that Adam murdered his wife and her lover?If so, he's way more dangerous than he at first appeared.