Belle/Aden

[Red Ranger 1]

I actually agree with the earlier comment that Aden and Belle are more interesting and likeable when they're apart.Aden works a lot better in scenes with Roman and Nicole than when he's mouthing empty platitudes at Belle.I can't remember the last time Belle had a scene when she wasn't pining after Aden, mistreating Angelo or hassling the developers but when Aden was in the clinic and they gave her a couple of scenes with Geoff and some stuff with Irene I thought those were much better relationships. I'm not sure that "they'd do anything to be together" is a particularly healthy way to live, a life needs more in it than just one other person.

[Zetti]

All the points you have made are valid but the development site is the one thing that Belle has to keep her busy so it is inevitable she is going to be heavily involved in it.

[Jody]

Belle and Aden have certainly made a mess of things recently. But with Belles history of not making the best decisions and Aden being who he is I wouldn't expect anything less. It would be completely unrealistic if they suddenly had all the right answers and did everything right.

As for Belle stringing along Angelo I think people forget sometimes that shes just 18/19. She just wanted to get back into her passion and ended up in the middle of a conspiracy. All she knows is that people are dying and she tried to get the police to investigate but they wouldn't believe her infact noone even took her seriously(with good reason but still). Finally she gets someone to help(even if he didn't do much) but he only did it because he is her boyfriend can you blame her for not wanting to jeopardise that considering the circumstances. It's easy to say that makes her a bad person but for to me it simply sounded like all she could focus on was the fact people were dying and that she was willing to do anything to stop that. Shes 18/19 what more could you expect from her? If you were in that position would you choose to try and hold on to every resource you got to try and stop more people from dying or put the feelings of one person above that? I know what I would do. While I'd hate to hurt someone I'd still choose to focus on the bigger picture and that is that people are dying.

As for Aden and Belles relationship. I don't get how anyone can say that being with her isn't good for him. He may have good relationships with Roman, Morag, and Nicole but Belles the one he really opens up to about his issues. She the one he confides in about how hes feeling. Shes also the one who made him realise that he needed to tell the truth on the stand, or that he needed to go see his father, amongst other things. While Roman, Nicole, and Morag just make cameos when things get out of hand only or when he doesn't have Belle to talk too. Belles been the one who was actually there almost every step of the way since she came into his life, whether they were broken up or not. She also showed alot of maturity by not walking away from him whenever things got difficult or when he tried to push her away. She could see straight through it. As for Roman and Morag he may have had a good relationship with them prior to moving in with Roman and for a little while after, as well as get along with Nicole, but when he was going through his fathers drinking problems, the hit and run, and everything else Roman and him barely had two scenes together(and even those where like 1 minute tops), Morag and his relationship basically became non - existant, and him and Nicoles as well. It was only after the kidnapping that they became involved again. Belles the one who's been there the whole way. Shes done alot for him. But while she has matured she isn't perfect.

The thing that appeals to me the most about them is that their relationship isn't like anyone elses. Sure in the beginning with the flirting and her pretending she didn't care it was. But as soon as they got together that changed. Another thing that puts them above everyone is that, whether as a couple or on their own, they spark more debate then alot of other characters. Not to mentioned that both actors who play them are amazing. They work.

Edited December 18, 2008 by Jody

[Slade]

In response to Jody Previously known as enjoy the ride:

Similarly I don’t understand how people think so highly of Aden and Belle. They’ve been together a fraction of the time of some of the so called other power couples and yet the way some people act you would have thought they are the best thing since sliced bread. Have they been through as much stuff as Sally and Flynn, Kirsty and Kane or even Martha and Jack for that matter?

Like I said my main concern is that the characters will lose their individuality because everything will be about Adelle rather than looking at Aden and Belle separately. I personally don’t particularly enjoy them together onscreen anymore. I would much rather see them be friends. And you might think in terms of screen time, their relationships with other people pale in comparison but I actually enjoy watching them interact with different characters. I remember the episode where Aden and Nicole decided to skip school and he was driving her car and they were bonding on the beach. I absolutely loved that. I also really liked the interaction with Roman when he gave them a ticking off for not attending classes. As for Belle I am less keen on her and feel she is only a fraction of the character she was a year and a half to two years ago, although I still like her (but only just). I remember the love hate relationship with Amanda, when they were arch enemies and then they became really close. Again that was something that I loved and at the time they were one of the reasons I decided to watch Home and Away on a regular basis again after not watching it properly for about a year. I miss the old Belle.

In terms of Belle (and no I’m not blaming her) not being good for Aden’s recovery, my worry was the way he was in the clinic. All he wanted was to see her and I remember the episode when he was granted day release. He seemed so happy and when he saw her with Angelo he seemed quite devastated after that. And I don’t care what the psychologist said, I don’t feel the recovery is complete (And I still don't understand how apparently he's cured in regards to actually sleeping with Belle). What if they start going out again and they break up for some reason and he relapses. I think he would be far more likely to go of the rails. That’s why I would like to see more of an emphasis on building the relationships with people like Roman and Nicole who are now like a family to him and maybe just start off with a platonic relationship with Belle so they can remain friends for a while then perhaps when he becomes a “model citizen” they could look at going one step further.

So at the moment I wouldn’t say I’m particularly anti Aden or anti Belle, I’m just anti Adelle.

[Red Ranger 1]

Okay, I'm going to come out and say it even though people are going to hate it.Belle prostituted herself to Angelo so that he'd help her.The guy obviously cared about her and worried about her and she was stringing him along and using him while sneaking off to be with Aden behind his back.It's all right saying "People were dying" but were they?!The waste had been there for decades and, okay, people had died because of it but it's not as though the entire Bay was being wiped out or the cases were severe enough for anyone to notice the connection.I get that Belle's young and that explains why she felt so strongly about it but what was with the urgency?Half the time it just seemed to be an excuse to spend time with Aden.He didn't behave any better, turning up in her room, kissing her and seducing her while she tried to point out she was with Angelo.After that, any moral stance feels like hypocrisy.

As for Belle supporting Aden, well, yeah in the sense that she seemed to be in every scene he was in. It's not as though she was being altruistic, she got copious amounts of sex out of it.Seriously, these two are incapable of being friends and it's friends who offer genuine unconditional support.Roman was the one that offered him a place to stay, twice, after he fell out with his dad.He was the one who went to the police station and the clinic to support him and asked Belle to visit him when she seemed quite ready to wash her hands of him.Nicole's the one who stood by him through it all without asking him to explain anything.Before Morag left, Aden thanked her for being the one person to have faith in him when the rest of the town(including Belle)felt he wasn't worth knowing.To me, that meant a lot more than any of his childish "We're meant to be together, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me" speechs to Belle.I get that she's his first love so it's understandable he'd feel that intensely about it, but that doesn't seem like the kind of attachment that's going to develop into a healthy adult relationship in the long run.

[Slade]

As for Belle supporting Aden, well, yeah in the sense that she seemed to be in every scene he was in. It's not as though she was being altruistic, she got copious amounts of sex out of it.Seriously, these two are incapable of being friends and it's friends who offer genuine unconditional support.Roman was the one that offered him a place to stay, twice, after he fell out with his dad.He was the one who went to the police station and the clinic to support him and asked Belle to visit him when she seemed quite ready to wash her hands of him.Nicole's the one who stood by him through it all without asking him to explain anything.Before Morag left, Aden thanked her for being the one person to have faith in him when the rest of the town(including Belle)felt he wasn't worth knowing.To me, that meant a lot more than any of his childish "We're meant to be together, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me" speechs to Belle.I get that she's his first love so it's understandable he'd feel that intensely about it, but that doesn't seem like the kind of attachment that's going to develop into a healthy adult relationship in the long run.

I’m going to stick up for Belle a bit but only in regards to the above. Do you remember when Aden was worried what would happen to the house after Larry abandoned it when he absconded? Well I seem to remember her going to the bank, withdrawing all her savings (that she’d worked for two years to obtain) and giving it to Aden so he could make a down payment on a deposit. She didn’t have to do that and it did seem as though she genuinely wanted to help him.

Please don’t counter that with the remark about them having sex and Larry making off with the money.

[Red Ranger 1]

As if I would...Although that incident did prove one thing to me:Belle and Aden are stupid and not just about leaving money lying around while they nip upstairs.Let's leave aside Belle's curious decision to hand over her life savings to a guy she's been dating a month and skip forward to her insane plan to pay off the mortgage on a house Aden doesn't own so he can sell it, despite not owning it.(Did I mention it's not Aden's house?)It never got mentioned again, presumably because someone else noticed it didn't make sense.

Having said that, I'd like to apologise for some of my comments in that post.I tried going away for five minutes and trying to think of something reasonable to say but it didn't work.Yes, Belle supports Aden and(much as it pains me to type this)she does it because she loves him.But when people say "Belle's the only one supporting Aden", what they mean is "Belle's the only one we see supporting Aden."Does his interaction with Roman and Nicole really consist of a two minute conversation every now and then when Belle's busy elsewhere?For that matter, does Belle really manage to go weeks without talking to Geoff or Annie?Of course not but we don't get to see those conversations because Aden and Belle's relationship has pretty much taken over their characters(and, indeed, the show with at least one, usually two or three Aden/Belle heavy episodes a week)to the detriment of other character pairings.

One last thing.There's been some comments on the Melody thread about her being unable to make decisions for herself and becoming reliant on Geoff.Well, there are times when Aden seems to be the same.If he's incapable of facing up to his problems or even saving himself from jail without Belle telling him to, then what exactly does that say about him and their relationship?

[chelsjo]

Just a question RedRanger and Slade, have you seen up to the season finale?

[Red Ranger 1]

Um, no we haven't.We're watching at UK pace, got about four weeks to go.And, hey, maybe there's something in those four weeks that's going to convince me what a really great couple Aden and Belle are but given that all the other episodes that everyone raved about went shooting over my head I doubt it.

[chelsjo]

You sound very bitter about them so I don't think you'll ever actually want to change your opinion on them not matter what happens but a lot of things happen in the last four weeks. Maybe you should watch it before commenting, cause some comments are funny especially the Angelo one's to people who have already seen the last 4 weeks.

Edited December 19, 2008 by chelsjo