Rachel Armstrong - Amy Mathews

[Slade]

^As I said myself before, it was very unbelievable that she was able to forgive Aden so easily. Quite recently (UK pace) when Belle went with Aden to the hospital to see Rachel in regards to the waste disposal cover up regarding the council, I remember them all sitting in the same room (I think). The last time they were in a confined space together he was trying to administer a lethal injection to his father. So for me that scene just didn’t ring true.

Also, I feel it was out of character for Tony to not at least confront Aden. Do you remember after he found out about the stuff that happened with Melody and Axel? He went round with Geoff to her house and tried to convince her to involve the police. Furthermore in the same episode when he found out that Aden beat Axel to a pulp, he went round to the Den to confront him about it and tried to make him see sense but Aden couldn’t care less.

Edited December 20, 2008 by Slade

[charmed60]

I watched that episode on youtube today and laughed because it reminded me of how things are easily forgoten in Summer Bay and how they're all friends now after he did such a traumatic thing to them both. It's ridiculous.

I think Rachel's reaction was completely justifiable, maybe I didn't explain myself clearly. I think it's just because she was so forgiving of the other two, if I was her I'd have been how she was with Aden with all three! Then again with the incident that happened with Aden, I think the reason her reaction was different was because she knew it was Tony that was hurt this time rather then her. She was completely calm and didn't get upset until she found out that Tony thought she'd left him, that's when she was desperate to escape. And like you say Kirsty, she never once complained about missing her wedding despite it probably costing them a fortune to cancel it and she could have lost them man she loved! I don't think she deserved the hate that she got after that, her reaction was completely human and I reckon if it was anyone but Aden she said that about, no-one would have said a word. It was just because Aden was such a popular character at the time I think. I guess the only reason I'd have liked her to forgive him straight away was so that she didn't get the backlash from the haters

It would have been very much in Tony's nature to confront Aden. I mean he confronted those boys (who one turned out to be his nephew) when they played a prank on Rachel by pretending to drown and got really angry yet when his fiancee gets taken hostage, tied up for a few days and nearly forced to kill someone it's fine? I guess they thought that Belle/Aden's reaction to the whole thing was much more important and Rachel and Tony's didn't matter. It's the usual case with Tachel - I really wish this would change.

[QUIET ACHIEVER]

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

Just to clarify, it might be that you like seeing Rachel in the Hospital environment or grounds, outdoors on the beach or beach surrounds, in the Surf Club or Noah's Bar, in the Gym or in any of the sets that HAA uses. So either indoors or outdoors, everyone has their preferences.

[KirstyEkua]

I think the worst thing about the whole storyline was Tony's reaction. He was clearly relieved to see her when he got back, especially going by the hug he gave her. But him not asking how she was really angered me Or them not even having a little discussion about it was so unrealisitc. As for her reaction to Bridget that, i think was totally normal and i can understand her anger towards her. It can't be easy to see her everyday knowing she slept with her fiancee. But again, she was a little too forgiving of Tony as well. I think she was more hurt/angry about the fact that he just gave up on her so quickly. The whole thing was just so stupid. They've shown Tony to be totally, madly in love with her then suddenly he thinks she's left and jumps into bed with someone else. I guess we were just supposted to think he was totally devastated and not thinking clearly, and drunk a lot as he implied to her.

Favourite casual outfit:

I love the red top she wears a lot with black trousours. And the strappy one Laura mentioned. She suits red. And the outfit she wore during the Xavier prank episode was great too. It's not often we see her dressed like that, usually she's either in gym clothes or smart work things.

Favourite formal outfit:

Rach has some amazing clothes. Although sometimes i think the clothes she wears for work are a little over the top. She works in the A&E and she wears huge heels But i love her red dress, and the dress she wore to Martha and Jack's engagment. The black dress she wore for her first date with Tony was pretty too. And she has a great shoe collection. I love them.

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

Her scenes with Leah. I love their friendship. The scene when she's with her in the bedroom after Dan died was fantastic. I love how they're always there for each other and the writers have constantly showed us how close they are. And with Martha. Martha tells Rachel everything and it's lovely she feels that close to her, and Rachel supports her no matter what. Also, with Aden. She helped him so much, and even after everything that he did to her she still wanted him to get the help he needed. And recently with Belle. Helping her deal with whats happening. She's so strong.

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

With Bridget. Rachel's hatred for her is shown so well, the little looks she gives her etc. And the scene when she yelled at her in the diner was fantastic.

Favourite Rachel quote:

Gosh so many!!

'I was kinda thinking about something else,' when Tony and her are about to kiss and he stops to ask what the noise was

'You nearly pashed your Aunty!' that's a classic.

'Omg there it is' on seeing her baby on the ultrasound

'So if i catch you in bed together it's just comfort right?' joking to Tony about Jazz

'A life without you would be too short,' when she's telling Tony she doesn't want him to have the operation.

Favourite setting that Rachel has featured in:

Hmm....her hospital scenes are always good because i love seeing her do her work. It's good to see a woman be a strong professional. But i guess anywhere really, although i'm getting annoyed at all the gym scenes she has with Tony.

Favourite Rachel storyline:

The Rev. Hall was fantastic. Amy did so well here. When she's crying in the hospital telling him her really hurt her, and when she cries on Tony's shoulder. I've loved most of her storylines this year to be honest. I liked the kidnapping one (Aden) until the 'renioun.' And right now the pregnancy one is lovely. Rachel is so happy and like in her own little bubble with Tony, it's wonderful to see.

Professional (Hospital) scenes vs Personal life scenes:

I like both. They need to have more of a balance though. At the moment there's too many hospital ones.

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

I think they needed to explore the Aden storyline more. She was a total mess with Leah went for her in the hospital and in the days after, then Tony comes back and she's all fine and over it? Then they have the Bridget drama. She'd been through something pretty dramatic and that had a huge effect on her life but she seemed to get over it pretty fast!! Most of the time Rachel is so wonderful and lovely and nice as soon as she gets a bit angry at someone people come down hard on her. Also her medical skills amaze me. She's only 29 but what she can do is truely amazing. But overall i think Rachel is a well rounded, developed character. She gets a chance to show so many different sides to her character which is great.

Any further comments? -

Rachel needs a new bag. She always has that red one and it drives me mad! She has a great secection of clothes and shoes but only like 2 bags. Writers sort it out!! haha.

[charmed60]

Just to clarify, it might be that you like seeing Rachel in the Hospital environment or grounds, outdoors on the beach or beach surrounds, in the Surf Club or Noah's Bar, in the Gym or in any of the sets that HAA uses. So either indoors or outdoors, everyone has their preferences.

Ah ok thank you for replying! In that case, hmm. I like seeing her in the hospital scenes because like Kirsty said there's not many strong female role models on the show and she shows her strength most here. But I do like her scenes in hers and Tony's house, she's most comfortable there. To be honest, I like to see her anywhere but the gym, it's way overused

Kirsty I also agree about the bag. It looks really big and annoying and she looks really uncomfortable with it, like it's in the way. The straps are always falling off her shoulders when she's trying to talk lol. It's distracting!

[KirstyEkua]

Totally random fact. Amy's mum is half Japanese! Lol i found an old inteview on here where she says that. I always thought she looked a little oriental around the eyes, so there you go! Has anyone seen a pic of Amy's boyfriend. I'm intrigued. I don't een know if they're still together, but i assume the 'Matt' she refered to when she won her Logie is her guy. She also mentioned she thought Rachel was 'just too wonderful and nice and lovely' hehe. I guess we did see a new side to her with the whole Henk situation which i thought Amy did amazingly well. The scene where she tells Leah what happened is fantastic.

Yup Laura that bag annoys me so much. It's pretty but she needs something new. And also Rachel wearing high heels at work too . As if I like her wardrobe though, probably more than most of the other female cast. I like how her style has gradually changed, she's a bit more grown up and more sensible now that she used to be.

[TachelHolden]

She dresses older for Tony me thinks i like her waredrobe too! i am also a hater of the red bag which i would like to see getting burned

Edited December 22, 2008 by CHARL3N3x

[charmed60]

I remember reading that interview with Amy. It makes a lot of sense, you can definetely tell around the eyes, as you say. I would LOVE to see a picture of her boyfriend but I haven't yet, I always presumed he was the Matt she spoke about in her Logie speech. It looked like she was wearing an engagement ring in that interview with her and Jon not long ago but who knows. I'm always intrigued in actors lives haha how sad. I liked the storyline with her and Henk, I thought she acted it amazingly - she didn't overdo the crying which I liked seeing as it was meant to have happened so many years ago but still brought out the distress. The one thing I didn't like is how it just got dropped nearer the end and we didn't see Rachel's reaction to Cassie's HIV and the baby. Of course we saw her find out about it but didn't hear how she felt about it. Shouldn't she have got tested?

I love her heels but you're right. There's no way a real life doctor could do a shift in those! haha. I love her wardrobe the most, not because she's my favourharacter but it's so diverse and changes with her lifestyle. She's a lot more professional now she's got her older man (like you say Charlene) and wears clothes I could see myself wearing.

[KirstyEkua]

With Kim i think she was always trying to be younger to keep up with him. I think the reason she wanted a baby so badly was to keep him, becasue she knew deep down, i think, that he was falling in love with Kit. I guess she thought if they had a baby he'd stay with her.

Now i think she looks a lot more comfotable and relaxed with Tony. Also, naturally people's style change as they get older. I think Tony is dressing so much better since they've been together too I love Amy's hair and wish they'd stop making it straight at the front when she wears it up. It's so much nicer when it's curly, it suits her a lot better i think. It was a bit wild when she first started but now it's longer and the curls not as tight it's really pretty.

I think Amy does emotional scenes fantastically. Her crying never looks forced and it's believable. She was amazing when her mum died, with Rev.Hall, Henk, and with Leah recently when she was all upset over Tony running off. Her timing is pretty much always spot on.

Edited December 23, 2008 by KirstyEkua

[Jody]

Rachel used to be one of my favourites, and if they keep writing her the way they have been since she got pregnant I think she could go back to being one of my favourites.

I hated how harsh everyone was towards her character after the Aden kidnapping her stuff. I'm a huge Aden fan, but I think she handled that situation better than most would. Unfortunately one comment, about how it wasn't a breakdown, and everyone didn't care that it was her, in the end, that kept him out jail. I think she showed alot of kindness, and consideration by talking to the physcologist on his behalf. I felt her initial reaction was a very human one. And I don't like how it's always expected of her to have the right answers because of her job.

But that aside I have found Rachel to be quite annoying for most part of the last year. Especially the way she keeps pushing the baby stuff. I know she desperately wants one, but sometimes she seems obssessed. And her scenes became like a chore to sit through.

I have started to enjoy her scenes again since she got pregnant, so hopefully they'll keep writing her this way. Pregnancy has already done wonders for her character.

Edited January 10, 2009 by Jody