Rachel Armstrong - Amy Mathews

[KirstyEkua]

As for her slapping Bridget, only Rach could do that. I adore she's this fesity, strong female who doens't hide behind a man. What Bridget said to her about Tony was appalling and i'm surprised she didn't hit her then. But i don't think Rachel doubts Tony's love for her for one second.

I also love that fact that she lets Tony look after her and she leans on him when she needs too. During the whole Joe thing Tony was really fabulous. He didn't have to say anything, just his face said how concerned/worried he was about her getting to attacthed to him. Rach really showed her vulrable side then and i wish they'd show more of that (after he died and she was obviously shocked and upset and apparantly 'shut him out.') I really would have wanted to see what happened when they got home that night. Oh well we can imagine right?

I guess that's been her emotional trauma for this year....oh and i guess after the whole Aden stuff, she had a few scenes with Leah when she was pretty messed up. And Rev. Hall, and Tony breaking up on the answering machine. So quite a few

One little scene i loved is when she tells Tony she doesn't want him to get the vascetomy reversal becasue of what happened to the other patient. That for me just proved how much she loves him, and that she was willing to maybe sacrifice having children so she could be with him. I don't find her 'obsessed' with kids. I think it's just natural when you fall in love with someone to want to have a family. And i'm so happy Rachel is (hopefully) going to get her baby.

[defying_gravity]

i thought amy was fantastic tonight!! loved her scene with bridget...and i love how rachel is the only person who is sus of her! if morag were in town im sure morag would be onto it though!

[charmed60]

^ I agree. She looked so rejected when Alf was having a go at her tonight, she does the suspicious look very well imo

Kirsty - that episode where she didn't want him to get the vasectomy reversal was a turning point for me to. I always sort of forced myself to like Tachel, I did find them cute but I wasn't sure at first but that episode reeally did it for me. It proved how much Rachel loves Tony because she was willing to sacrifice the one thing she wanted more than anything to ensure he wouldn't be hurt

I'm very disappointed we didn't get the slap but I think since she's become pregnant she's really mellowed a lot. She wasn't running around like a madwoman trying to tell everybody about Bridget, she only wanted to talk to Jack and if she wanted to she could have revealed all there and then to Alf. But I think she wanted to be sensitive about it and she just let Alf lay into her without saying anything. The old Rachel would have got really stressed and angry and no doubt would have hit Bridget I think but I definetely think it's the pregnancy that has calmed her down.

Did you guys notice Rachel took over Leah's blog at the end tonight?

[TachelHolden]

I noticed she wrote something in leah's blog because leah is trapped in the formal she had to do it for her

[Laura]

Yeah, I noticed it too. Was quite funny really, I don't think I've ever read someone else take over her blog.

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

Yeah, I noticed it too. Was quite funny really, I don't think I've ever read someone else take over her blog.

I can remember when Sally was stabbed for the second time (and maybe even for the first) that Leah took over writing an entry for Sally's blog. She must have done an impressive job to now be writing it.

I'm glad that Rach has taken over Leah's blog for this one entry. Although under the circumstances, I think that it was necessary as I'm sure it'll be the last thing on Leah's mind. It's also good to see that Rach is helping out a friend, otherwise it wouldn't get done and we the viewers wouldn't be as well informed.

[KirstyEkua]

I think it's very cool Rach got to write a bit of Leah's blog, it shows how important she is Sally obviously was special and Leah has been around for years but Rach gets to do it after only a few years, very good, hehe.

I want to say well done to Amy for another fantastic year as Rachel. She's been convincing in every senario she's been in and has proved herself as one of the best actresses on the show. She started off fabulously with the Rev.Hall drama (i love when she's with him in the hospital saying she forgives him) and then she had fun dating Tony, then we got a little relationship conflict with the kids drama, then Jimmy/Aden/Bridget/Joe and now her baby. It''s been quite a year!

We've seen a lot of different sides to Rach this year and it's made her really exciting to watch. I agree Laura, she's calmed down a lot since becoming pregnant, and seems so much happier and relaxed about everything in general. I think finally realising how much she loves Tony and how much he loves her has helped as well. I felt so sorry for her during the whole Aden/Bridget stuff, but i think the fact she was able to work past that just made her so much more grounded and settled with him and it really shows. It was especially true during the Joe storyline and she showed her vunrable side to him which was very moving. I adore the happy, little bubble she's in right now. Please more of that next year!

And, i love the Bridget stuff now because it's showing Rachel's feisty side which i've always loved and hope never goes away completely.

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

2008 has been a big year for Rachel!

So I thought I'd sum up 2008 with a few apt questions. These questions are based solely on Rachel - sure she's one part of Tachel but I want to focus on just Rachel as a character and an individual plus her interactions with others.

Favourite casual outfit:

Favourite formal outfit:

Favourite Rachel scene(s) without HotDad - involving a regular cast members:

Favourite Rachel scene(s) without HotDad - involving a guest cast members:

Favourite Rachel quote:

Favourite setting that Rachel has featured in:

Favourite Rachel storyline:

Professional (Hospital) scenes vs Personal life scenes:

Are there any changes to the script that you would have made regarding Rachel?:

Any further comments? -

[charmed60]

Ohhh good idea!

Favourite casual outfit: She doesn't really do casual much, even her work clothes are smart. I loved her black dress she used to wear at work but that could class as formal, so I'd probably choose the red top and black jeans she wore when her and Tony first slept together! She has lots and lots of really nice clothes though so it's difficult to choose. I also like the brown shirt/black top combo and skirt they recently put on her.

Favourite formal outfit: I love her beige dress she wore at Jack/Martha's engagement party I don't think anything can beat that, but the purple jacket she wore when her and Tony visited Martha on the way out to dinner deserves a special mention!

Favourite Rachel scene(s) without HotDad - involving a regular cast members: I loved the scene with her and Martha when Martha gave her the babygro and they had a chat, a nice normal, sentimental scene. Although liked the stuff she did with Belle and Aden when he was holding her hostage.

Favourite Rachel scene(s) without HotDad - involving a guest cast members: The scenes with her and Reverand Hall, some pretty terrifying stuff! In particular, the one where she goes to him in the hospital and looks terrified of him and is trying not to cry but also helps him.

Favourite Rachel quote: "Yer that's right, you nearly pashed your Auntie" is one that sticks in my mind, I also liked "so how soon until we can start making babies"

Favourite setting that Rachel has featured in: I didn't really understand what this one meant sorry :S

Favourite Rachel storyline: There's waaaay too many to choose from! I definetely like the pregnancy storyline because it's brought out a side to Rachel which has been missing for quite a while, the storyline with Aden holding her hostage was also memorable because it gave her a chance to stand on her own two feet again without Tony and show a different, more vunerable side to her.

Professional (Hospital) scenes vs Personal life scenes: I definetely prefer personal life scenes, they're much more emotional, deep and we learn a lot more about the characters. However I do like the hospital scenes because it shows us another side to Rachel and probably gives her more screentime than if she had a job in say the diner

Are there any changes to the script that you would have made regarding Rachel?: Erm...I think I'd have made her reaction to Aden's situation a bit more sympathetic, I mean, she's been raped before. That's not saying I don't understand where she was coming from because I do, but it seemed quite out of character for her because when Charlie and Rev Hall took her hostage, she forgave them straight away and felt guilty for not being able to help them. It also lost her a lot of fans and took a while for her to get back to a point where her every move wasn't criticised.

Any further comments? - I think we may see a different side to Rachel next year, coping with being pregnant and working a hectic and stressful job. I'm looking forward to it!

[KirstyEkua]

Ohhh great idea!! I'll do this later as dont really have time now to fill it out completely.

But, going back to Rachel's reaction after the kidnapping the writers messed it up badly. And her 'renuion' with Tony was terrible.

I think her reaction was understandable though. She'd been tied up the night before her wedding, and had to watch Aden do that to Larry. She then finds out Tony thought she'd left him, and everyone else did too. That, i think was the worst thing about this whole storyline. Rachel has never, ever been one to run off like that. And the fact that suddenly everyone one believes it was crazy. She'd vanished and no one seemed slighly concerned for her well-being. She had every right to be angry with him (Aden). She was an emotional wreck at first and that i think, was realistic. But i'm glad she changed her mind when she saw him at the police station, and was actually the one who helped him in the end. During the whole kidnapping she didn't once complain about her wedding, she showed concern for Aden and Larry, and then Tony once she found out what had happened. So i really didn't understand the hatred then. She has feelings too and had just been chained to a wall and asked to help kill someone, while the guy she loves has ran off and cant be contacted. Anyone would be angry, not thinking straight after that.

And Tony not even asking how she was, or showing anger towards Aden made me mad. He didnt even ask if she was hurt or anything. This huge thing had happened to them both, but suddenly they were both fine, and then Bridget turns up and the whole Aden stuff is forgotten. Pretty stupid.