UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm kind of glad that Naomi's status as an outcast didn't last long and her friends seem to have mostly forgiven her.If Toadie and Sonya carry on like this, I won't mind that much;Sonya does seem to be making some changes, stepping back from Brennan and realising her limitations with Paul.Kyle and Georgia seem to be less irritating too after putting an end to Sheila's wedding planner from hell schtick.

Moral awkwardness aside, I'm mostly liking that recent events are being shown to have real consequences for Paul but sadly I can see him reverting to type before too long if he hasn't already, he already seems very keen to maintain his position and has left Karl in a very awkward position.

So, Josh finally found out about Amber and Daniel, although not by the best of methods.Amber's guilt trip is annoying, I get that she needs to feel some sort of guilt but I really hope she doesn't decide not to be with Daniel after all.So she loses Josh and Imogen as friends, neither of them are really worth having anyway.Meanwhile, Terese seems to be standing in for Paul as the petty tyrant using her position to get revenge on people.I get that Josh is her son and he's been hurt, but given her treatment of Mason when she thought he caused Josh's accident this seems to be way too strong a character trait.I am appreciating the continued focus on Matt, one of the show's more likable characters.

I'm not sure about Kathy, she seems to have toned down her initial unpleasantness but she still comes across as a very cold person.Paige continues to seem slightly unhinged and the implication that she's going to take advantage of Kathy's heart condition is very worrying.I'm glad Kathy's carrying on with her search, hopefully she'll find something...

[Slade]

Even though I blame Daniel more for the whole Amber and Daniel doing the dirty on Josh thing, have to admit as someone who doesn't like Amber I really enjoyed Matt's reaction when Amber wanted to invite Daniel over for dinner. She was expecting Matt to welcome him with open arms but much to her dismay it was exactly the opposite. And the best thing was it was more Amber he had an issue with than Daniel. Again think Daniel should bear the brunt because he was the one who came up with the whole connection crap. He was the one who used it as an excuse to spend time with her and he was the one who seduced her. But it was good to see Amber not getting everything her own way. Similarly when she stole Paige's sketch book (again something that really annoyed me) and showed it to Imogen just so she could get back into Imogen's good books it was great when Imogen told her it didn't make any difference to the way she felt about her and all it meant was that she distrusted Paige just as much as she distrusted her. Although judging by yesterday's episode it looks as though Imogen will change her attitude towards Amber eventually.

I was worried when we saw Paige deliberating over Kathy's medication but when she took it, my head dropped. What Paige did was evil. No two ways about it even though I still don't think she's a bad person. Just a messed up one. Don't think it would have made any difference to Kathy's heart attack though. I think the medication she was on wouldn't have acted fast enough to have prevented it. And even if Paige hadn't taken the pills Kathy wouldn't have taken them sooner because she wouldn't have been suffering from Angina. The heart attack was brought on by the revelation although if Kathy had heart problems previously I don't understand why they didn't put the stents in to prevent a heart attack in the first place. Still as much as I like Paige, I can't condone or excuse what she did irrespective of what Kathy's done in the past. And she's DAMN lucky that Kathy lied to Matt. Obviously for Lauren's sake more than anything. Although Paige did seem to feel very remorseful in the hospital afterwards.

It had reached the point that I was so fed up of everybody not knowing the truth and the writers dragging it out, I was glad Kathy found out. And now everybody else knows which is great. When I saw Paige leave on Tuesday's episode, I honestly thought that Wednesday's episode would be the last we'd see of her. But when Lauren put two and two together after talking to Brennan, there was no way Lauren was going to let her go. I initially thought that Paige was simply going to leave the country with Ethan (he made her the offer a couple of weeks ago) but thought she was just going back to Adelaide and probably Lauren probably would have gone after her anyway. Even though Lauren's behaviour was understandable what she did was incredibly reckless and extremely dangerous. Over taking the bus like that and pulling up right in front of the buses path. Anything could have happened but she was determined so no stopping her. The scene just afterwards said it all. Lauren got out the car walked towards the bus, Paige got out of the bus and they were just staring at each other. Lauren with the look of motherly love and Paige realising that Lauren knew the truth. I really liked the scene just afterwards and have liked most of their scenes since. It's worrying though because Lauren looks very happy at the moment. Almost too happy. In fact I can't remember the last time I saw her like this and you think there's only one way to go from here...downwards. I think there's an argument that Lauren has become attached way too quickly but she's like that. She was the same with Lisa even when she knew Lisa wasn't her daughter she still wanted to offer her a job. I can understand her wanting to spend as much time with Paige as possible but I guess the worry is that she will start neglecting her own kids.

I think Brad's approach is probably more sensible. He's obviously happy but doesn't want to get too involved at the expense of his own family. Well not until the DNA test comes back, which I'm fully expecting to be positive BTW. Some of the reactions from the Turner's and Willis's have been interesting. Nobody has been particularly happy at the level of deceit but Bailey and Josh both seem ok with Paige (Josh is annoyed at her for not telling him about Daniel and Amber but he will come round, I'm sure). Amber and Imogen clearly were not. Amber is obviously annoyed about the drawing ("Princess skank" ) but now more jealous now than anything. Imogen now thinks Paige is two-faced although Paige was right, Imogen is uptight. Matt is understandably extremely cautious, especially after he suspects she took Kathy's medication. Not sure what else Paige has done to make him suspicious other than not revealing her true identity. Paige probably should have told everyone a lot sooner but I can understand her not saying anything. She doesn't feel loved from her adoptive parents and was obviously worried about her "real" family rejecting her. I find it interesting though that Paige gets on ok with Brad, Bailey, Josh, Brennan and even Daniel and not as well as the female characters. I wonder if she is one of those girls who only really has male friends.

With regards to Terese (AKA dragon lady), her reaction was priceless. She was absolutely FUMING. Which basically sums up her attitude towards Paige ever since she arrived. Not sure why she would have such a problem with someone paying for a hotel room by cash. But I think it says a lot considering how much disdain she had towards Kathy that she was prepared to put that aside purely to bad mouth her step daughter. I understand her being weary of Paige but let's be honest, it goes way beyond that. It's funny because I personally feel that Paul has been quite likeable as of late. Not sure how long that is going to last but can't really fault him for anything at the moment. His advice to Daniel about Amber moving in was sound and he made up with Lucy. But yes it does feel like he and Terese have swapped places and she has effectively become the new Paul. I don't like Daniel for the way he stole Josh's girl but Terese removing the dark room was out of pure spite. And her line to Matt with regards to Paige "We have to get rid of her". That's exactly the kind of thing Paul would say.

I still stand by what I said previously and believe this thing with Paige is going to end very badly. I think most people watching will be questioning her mental state. Terese is running a background check on her but I would be surprised if anything shows up. She's not stupid and if she did something illegal, I'm sure she would have figured Matt would have known by now. I do wonder whether she's had some sort of psychiatric eval. I'm thinking back to the scene with Karl in the hospital when Paige brought up the issue of patient confidentiality. Obviously we are led to believe they were talking about Paige lying about her surname but I wonder if there was something else. Also as mentioned previously, she is unstable. And I wonder if she becomes to attached to Lauren or Brad and they try to spend time with their own families whether Paige will do something impulsive again. Then there are the sketches/portraits of the Turner's/Willis's, I wonder if that is some form of therapy she has been instructed to do to deal with her anger. And also the way she threatened the firl Kathy went to meet, who Kathy thought could have been Lauren's daughter. Still regardless it's worth having her around for now if only to wind Amber, Imogen and Terese up. Looking forward to seeing Terese's reaction if the DNA test comes back as positive.

Did anyone else find the scene at the hospital funny when Naomi came to see Toadie and brought him the balloons? Sonya looked like she wanted to strangle her and I think Toadie wanted to talk to her but was bricking it because Sonya was there.

I thought there was quite a bit of chemistry with Lucy and Chris but obviously nothing is going to happen. First I thought Lucy was going to ask Chris to marry her but I was surprised when she said she wanted him to have a baby with her. I guess if he agrees they won't be doing it the old fashioned way. Still what I would give to spend a night with her.

[Red Ranger 1]

I was somewhat relieved that the truth about Paige has come out since it did look like it was going to drag on until the end of the season.I'm finding Lauren's response a bit worrying, she seems determined to have a happy ending to the point that she was quick to turn on Matt when he did his job and arrested Paige (and Brennan shouting the odds and acting like Matt was in the wrong, presumably because he fancies her, was annoying too).I'm actually quite glad that Paige's vandalism was outed, although I'm fully expecting Terese to be persuaded to drop the charges at one point. While I don't like Terese's snap judgement about Paige and determination to get rid of her, I think in this case she's quite right.And I was left unsatisfied not only with the way that Kathy covered for Paige stealing her medication but the way that no-one seemed to notice the accident was Kathy's fault, she deliberately started the car moving when she was having a heart attack, she didn't have a heart attack while driving as everyone claimed.It's no surprise that Amber and Imogen aren't keen on having Paige as a sister, since neither of them liked her anyway.

I'm glad that the fire around Amber and Daniel seems to have died down somewhat and they're both accepted by each other's families.I didn't really like the way Matt spoke to her, it didn't sound like him and it was unnecessarily harsh.Imogen's still being nasty of course but then that's her default mode, she's turned into one of the most unpleasant people in the street.

It looks like Paul's depression is over already, I suppose it was fun while it lasted but it was never going to be too long before they had him back to normal.I'm quite intrigued by the Lucy/Chris storyline which seems to be being given room to develop but I think it really needs Lucy's permanent presence, having her flitting in and out means it doesn't get the attention it needs.The Naomi/Josh hook-up was completely random but I'd actually like it if they became a couple, it's not like there's anyone else around for either of them.

[Slade]

As someone who really likes Paige, have to say some of these episodes with the Turner's and Willis's seem very Paige centric. Even when she's not in them, any argument between anyone in the two families ultimately comes back to her. That's great for me but I can see exactly how this would annoy people who don't like her.

I actually really loved the showdown with Paige and Kathy at the hospital. Especially the way initially Paige was ready for confrontation then to her surprise Kathy welcomed her. Their next scene was even better when all cards were on the table and the camera showed a close up of their faces, facing off. I'm glad they forgave each other and departed on good terms. After not liking Kathy, I did end up feeling sorry for her especially the way Lou was when he first came back and quite liked her.

Having thought about this I do actually get Terese's concerns. Paige has been very deceitful and duplicitous. When you combine that with the criminal record and trashing Harolds then yes there is something to worry about. But she is going about everything the wrong way. The way she went straight to Matt when she had the eye witness without discussing it with Lauren and Brad first and blaming Paige for the fight Amber and Imogen had (which was laughable BTW) has only served to have the opposite effect of what she intended. Lauren has always been team Paige and it looks as though Brad is too. Terese's behaviour is indirectly causing problems with her and Brad where he is now lying to her because he was afraid of how she would react if she knew he went to spend time with Lauren and Paige for his birthday. If she had been smart she would have subscribed to the theory of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, which I believe is what Matt is doing. But even though she has a legitimate argument it feels overshadowed because she is blinded by anger and hatred and at times seems quite obsessed. In spite of that, I am still enjoying seeing her getting wound up and making herself look irrational. It's funny because she wasn't keen on Mason either when he first got with Imogen but in the end felt quite sorry after Imogen dumped him (even after Josh injured his back which ruined his swimming career), so much so that she got him a promotion.

I actually have a lot of sympathy for Matt at the moment. I think it was stupid of him to take a file from police custody and show it to Terese given how he nearly lost his job when he bent the rules before but I do feel he had to arrest Paige. Perhaps he could have taken her to one side rather than humiliate her but I thought Lauren was quite harsh with him in the police station. Still I think he's succeeding where Terese has failed. He is being supportive but at the same time acting cautiously. Keeping an eye on her. After Kathy pointed this out to Lauren, I'm glad she saw this.

I'm glad Paige's thrashing of Harolds is now public knowledge. For the most part I would prefer things to be out in the open. And I'm even more satisfied that everyone knows about her criminal record. It's going to be far harder for her to be scheming now because everyone will automatically be suspicious of her. As I thought Josh seems to have come round and there's every possibility Imogen will. Amber, I'm not sure. I think she's one of those people she would forgive you if you apologised and started being really nice to her. Whether Paige will do that remains to be seen.

Given how sanctimonious he was during Kate's murder, I was pleasantly surprised how supportive Brennan was of Paige when she was arrested and after he found out about her past indiscretions. It's pretty obvious he fancies her and I think she's starting to like him. Quite a few people have hinted how they are already like a couple, Lauren, Naomi, Georgia and Kathy. I think if things remain like this Paige will be ok but I still think the unstable side is there. Her response to Nate almost breaking that guys arm suggests she has a similar thought process.

I thought the fight with Imogen and Amber was definitely Amber's fault as she should have just walked away but she certainly proved she was the bigger person after Imogen publicly slated her and Amber offered the olive branch. At this current time I'm not sure if those two should be friends. And I don't think the car sharing thing will work. It's going to be impossible as they live on the same street but they do need a little time apart. It didn't occur to me that Imogen was jealous until Josh pointed it out. But she did show the same signs with Daniel previously as she did with Mason. It's funny because Paige mentioned that Ethan came to drop off her stuff and I thought perhaps if he just hung around for a little while longer and he and Imogen hooked up again she wouldn't be so focussed on Amber and Daniel. I think the only reason Josh isn't angry is he's moved onto bigger and better.

I quite like Josh and Naomi. Different, but interestingly how they are both using the other to try and get over someone else. This relationship (if you can even call it that) does not have a hope in hell but it will be interestingly to see how long it lasts and how long before it becomes public.

Sonia asking Naomi to come back to work with Toadie was a surprise. That whole scene felt very awkward but even worse was when Naomi went back to work with Toadie. Felt kinda cringeworthy.

Thought the scenes when Paul and Sheila spent the night in the cooler were comedy gold. It's good to see the writers explore a different side of his character although I'm not sure how long that will last for.

Although not a particularly exciting character, I am quite fascinated by Nate. There's obviously something not quite right with him. I found I did quite like the scenes with him and Susan and was very surprised at her response when Chris told her how he manhandled the drunk guy who harassed Paige and Brennan. She completely stuck up for him and dismissed what had happened. Really interested to find out the significance of that list he was crossing off after the funeral he went to.

[Red Ranger 1]

So, as I expected, Terese was convinced to drop the charges against Paige.Even though I think Terese had handled the situation badly and her motives were far from pure, that disappointed me quite a bit.And with Kathy gone, I imagine no-one will ever find out about Paige stealing her medication.Still, Paige is seeming a bit less psychotic now things are out in the open and I like that she seems to be getting on with Amber.Her and Brennan kind of works, although part of me would have preferred them to stay platonic and it feels like it's partly because you've got one character who's been a bit purposeless since his storyline ended and another character whose storyline is just coming to an end and will probably be a bit purposeless afterwards, so sticking them together gives them something to do.

It feels like some of Paul's more controlling aspects are resurfacing, with his trying to turn Daniel into a corporate drone and manipulating Amber...not that that lasted long.I'm slightly worried that the show's suddenly decided Imogen likes Daniel though, since she's a bit of a writers' pet and they seem to resolve love triangles based on which character they like most.I really don't want Daniel and Amber to break up, especially since it would double the chances of Amber going back to Josh, who still seems to be pining over her.

I do rather like Josh and Naomi and it seems to be slowly moving beyond the physical, with their chat in the spa where Naomi tells him about her day and asks him what he sees in her.Their families will probably hit the roof when they find out though.Mind you, Imogen seems to have accepted it.I wasn't keen on her working for Toadie and it still seems a bit random, although at least her lording it over Naomi seems to have stopped.

I had Nate picked out as ex-army from early on, with the way he seemed to be on constant guard duty and the way he overpowered that guy(which I thought Chris and Mark overreacted to a bit).The rest of his mystery seems a bit mundane but he still seems rather on edge and it'll be intriguing to see where things go with him.

[Slade]

And so we have the tornado.

I thought after the way he told that kid to pick up the litter he had dropped, announcing himself as the major of Erinsborough we would see more of the old Paul but then we have today's episode where he felt guilty about hitting the wombat. I did like his line though about Paige when he saw her getting all close with Brennan - "The Willis/Turner love child".

Really not sure about Nate. Thought he was really good with Susan when he was obviously very concerned for her but on the other hand he was aggressive and displayed signs of bullying behaviour. And it's made me completely rethink whether Chris should get involved in a relationship with him.

Fair play to Susan with Lou. I wouldn't have been able to make an incision on his throat like that under the circumstances and I honestly thought he was a goner. The acting was very convincing and he looked dead.

So the first signs that Imogen and Amber can rebuild their friendship. Conversely there are signs that something is on the cards for Imogen and Daniel. Paul reveals how quickly Daniel falls for girls which understandably makes Amber have reservations but then after a bit of talking they decide to get married !? I think that's a recipe for disaster and when you think how Imogen and Daniel bonded over the wombat, all it takes is for them to spend a bit of time with each other and anything can happen.

Whilst I enjoyed the episode and that scenes which followed, I was a bit disappointed with Brad/Lauren's kiss coming out. I honestly felt that the writers had set both families up arriving at the street at the same time so Lauren and Brad could have a full blown affair (with the kiss simply being the precursor). But now it seems that is it. Regardless, I actually felt really sorry for Matt. He's had to put up with a lot since Kathy revealed what had happened after Lauren gave birth to Paige. And has been quite a supporting husband and must feel that's it's all been thrown in his face. What I think is more concerning is that he seems quite calm and so presumably has a lot of self-contained anger. Even Terese kicked off. I've always though Lauren and Matt have had issues with their marriage and am surprised they haven't had any major problems sooner. Ever since they've arrived they've kept stuff from each other and it's going to take a lot for them to get past this.

Although Terese was understandably extremely annoyed which again I thought was highly amusing at least she got to let off some steam. I think she's been quite authoritarian and controlling i.e. making sure Brad has to come straight home from work and if he wants to see Paige it has to be at their home and absolutely not with Lauren. However I do think they will be OK. Their marriage has always seemed a lot stronger than Lauren and Matt's.

Even though it was her fault and she probably should have come clean right away, I still felt a bit sorry for Lauren. It's funny because a week before that she was on cloud nine and now it's all fallen apart. I actually quite liked the scene at Harolds when Terese confronted her and told her to stay away.

I'm surprised Paige and Brennan slept together so quickly but you could argue they have effectively been dating for a while. They have to be careful because if they break up it's going to be difficult living with each other. Perhaps they need another lodger. I wasn't expecting Terese to drop the charges but who's arguing. So Paige gets away with everything scot free. Oh well. I'm looking forward to seeing how she reacts to finding out about Lauren and Brad given that she thought they were still together when she first arrived...

[Homeandawayfan.]

Dont ask me why but there is something about Brennan that I just find sinister. I cannot say I like him very much.

[Red Ranger 1]

The tornado...happened.It was okay but in itself it didn't really change anything, although it did bring a few things that have been bubbling under to a head.I'm very torn over Daniel and Amber getting engaged.I like them together, but I think it happened a bit soon, but conversely I would actually quite like them to get married.If nothing else, it'd knock the stuff with Imogen on the head.As for Paul, the show seems to be dialling back on turning him completely evil for the moment but I can't see them keeping him like this for long.

Maybe I'm letting my personal feelings get in the way but I think in a way Matt and Lauren have the stronger marriage.I mean, Brad and Terese are, for want of a better word, more affectionate towards each other but recent events have shown it to be pretty fragile.Terese could handle Brad having an ex-wife and son on the other side of the country and having history with Lauren, but the arrival of Paige as a real link between them, coupled with their apparently having residual feelings, has sent her into crisis mode, first trying to get rid of Paige and then keeping Brad under lock and key, as if she thinks the family will fall apart if they have to share him.Matt, on the other hand, seems more sad than angry, but also seems to have a stronger relationship with his children which could see them through.I am seriously loving the bond that's sprung up between him and Bailey recently.

I'm kind of intrigued with where they take Nate's character, I'm not entirely sold on him being in the right headspace for a relationship with Chris but as long as they both go into it with their eyes open. Same with Brennan and Paige up to a point, he's been hard work so far.I don't think I'd describe him as sinister but he can be a jerk at times, as well as not being overburdened with intelligence.

[Slade]

I actually went off Paige this week and ending up feeling quite sorry for Terese. Don't agree with the accusation she made about Lauren and doing it publicly but I can see how she came to the conclusion, especially given that Lauren didn't mention Brad to Matt and lying about the painting. Whilst I accept Paige went round with Terese to clear the air when Terese saw her, Brennan/Brad/Lauren, it just annoyed me how Paige told her to suck it up. I actually think there's quite an element of selfishness from Paige. If she cares as much about her parents as she seems to make out then she would want them to be happy. She should understand that at the moment both of their marriages are strained and at least for the time being she should see them separately till things have calmed down. But she didn't really care about that. In the end even though it was below the belt I was glad Terese called Paige's mum and didn't really feel sorry for her when Terese saw her crying after her mother made it clear she didn't really care. I actually would have preferred it if we had seen Paige's mum come to Erinsborough although I wonder how Terese was able to get hold of her so quickly especially if she was abroad. Still at least Terese called Brad afterwards to let her know what had happened.

I am kinda glad Imogen and Amber have made up but I do wonder how long before Imogen's feelings towards Daniel will affect things. If Naomi could see it, it won't take very long for Amber to figure it out too. I'm surprised she hasn't already given that Paige already told her that she thought Imogen liked Daniel a few weeks ago. The whole marriage thing is ridiculous and the fact that they haven't told anyone apart from Imogen yet speaks volumes. This goes back to Paul's point about Daniel falling for people too quickly.

Not really sure what to make of Naomi at the moment. She was obviously trying to protect her mum and I don't have a problem with her relationship with Josh but Sheila did have a point about her hiding everything although to be fair I think she is worried that most people will not approve of the relationship and everybody will judge her. I do like the way she is with Imogen though.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, that was an eventful week.We got the answer to who bashed Chris pretty quickly.I've got some sympathy for Josh, who didn't mean for Chris to be hurt as badly as he was and is clearly sorry, but I think the show overdid it by trying to make him out to be some sort of victim.I think it's unlikely he'll end up doing jail time since the main characters very rarely do, no matter what they've done.Terese gushing over her poor little boy and trying to blame Nate really made me dislike her but she clawed her way back a bit when she accepted Josh was responsible.Kyle didn't come out of it too well either. I'm disappointed Josh and Naomi broke up, especially since they've now gone back to mooning over people that aren't single.

I cringed when Daniel decided to announce he and Amber were engaged in the middle of the stag/hen party but I still hope they make a go of it.It's reached the point where Matt's refusal to discuss anything important is starting to get frustrating, we need to move things along.