alexx Posted February 14, 2015 Report Posted February 14, 2015 It just makes no sense from the view of a character writer, that they wouldn't have brought back Fin, Damien and her grandchildren. It's literally been more than 15 years since her children came to visit her. So unbelievable. That is what makes it obvious that Irene is just not a priority and character development and consistency hasn't been the aim of the producers. At least not for Irene anyhow. What they should do (if they ever bring them back) is actually address and incorporate the reason why they haven't bothered to visit her, particularly Damo. Create some decent drama out of the situation they've created. Irene of old would have taken it quite personally (and when I say Irene of old I mean Irene up until 2004, not when she first came into the show). Nathan came to visit in 2002 I think.. he fell in love with a nurse(?) and was never seen again. When he returned in 2002, he was played by the actor who played Matt's dad just recently. Yep, 13 years ago. Fin 18 years ago and Damien 19 years ago. Pretty shocking. Imagine having kids and them not bothering to visit you in your own home in that amount of time. That's why I think sweeping it under the carpet and pretending it hasn't happened is the boring and most unrealistic option. And then there was Selina who hasn't been back to visit her 18 years. But let's just deal with her own kids for now.
Red Ranger 1 Posted February 14, 2015 Report Posted February 14, 2015 Or maybe they visit when we're not looking? (Nathan's in another country and, to be fair, relatives who live that far apart often don't see each other for years on end.)
Spinach Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 I thought a couple of years ago (perhaps around the time Spencer and Maddie arrived) would have been the perfect time for Fin to be reintroduced to the show - bringing with her her two teenage sons to fill out the teen group. If Tina Thomsen wasn't available I wouldn't have minded them recasting her (as they did Roo) since it's been long enough since Fin was last seen (1997?). However, I now think that moment has passed as Irene's grandchildren would have just finished high school by now (or be in their mid-20s due to SORASing) and Irene now has Chris and Spencer living with her (though she could still be utilized a lot more). In terms of other characters returning, I still think Jesse could be brought back (although in this instance I wouldn't like a recast) and he would fit in with the crime aspect of the current show. For similar reasons, Alex (Poulos, not the cult one) could be brought back as he has a link to Leah and a link to crime as during his last visit he was a drug dealer.
Jezz Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 Or maybe they visit when we're not looking? (Nathan's in another country and, to be fair, relatives who live that far apart often don't see each other for years on end.) How did Nathan manage to enter into another country? I thought with a criminal record he would struggle to live anyway apart from Australia? Was it stated where he was living specifically when you heard this?
alexx Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 Or maybe they visit when we're not looking? Would you be happy with that explanation? We see Irene in the show every week for the past 19 years and Damien has been back during that time but we didn't see him? That's like if Roo was still absent but we were supposed to presume that she had returned to Summer Bay and visited Alf off screen, it just wasn't ever mentioned. Doesn't makes sense to me.
Red Ranger 1 Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 (Nathan's in another country and, to be fair, relatives who live that far apart often don't see each other for years on end.) How did Nathan manage to enter into another country? I thought with a criminal record he would struggle to live anyway apart from Australia? Was it stated where he was living specifically when you heard this? He went back to Ireland with his girlfriend.How realistic that is when he'd only been out of jail a few months I don't know. Or maybe they visit when we're not looking? Would you be happy with that explanation? We see Irene in the show every week for the past 19 years and Damien has been back during that time but we didn't see him? That's like if Roo was still absent but we were supposed to presume that she had returned to Summer Bay and visited Alf off screen, it just wasn't ever mentioned. Doesn't makes sense to me. I'd be happy with it, yes.If they're just a few miles down the road, then having them pop back for a visit at a weekend off screen is a bit different from Roo flying over from New York and always being just out of shot.After all, how many times has the show introduced new characters who have been in Summer Bay all along, we just never saw them?I can see both sides of the argument.Yes, it would create character drama if Irene was upset about them not visiting in over a decade, but it would also run the risk of being another example of a past character who was sympathetic when they were on the show being character assassinated for the sake of a short-term storyline.And while, as you say, there are ways Damian could be made to appear sympathetic, I think fans who weren't watching in the 90s would automatically side with Irene and assume he's a horrible person;people thought that about Fin because of a few throwaway comments from Will in the 2000s.
alexx Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 I'd be happy with it, yes.If they're just a few miles down the road, then having them pop back for a visit at a weekend off screen is a bit different from Roo flying over from New York and always being just out of shot.After all, how many times has the show introduced new characters who have been in Summer Bay all along, we just never saw them?I can see both sides of the argument.Yes, it would create character drama if Irene was upset about them not visiting in over a decade, but it would also run the risk of being another example of a past character who was sympathetic when they were on the show being character assassinated for the sake of a short-term storyline.And while, as you say, there are ways Damian could be made to appear sympathetic, I think fans who weren't watching in the 90s would automatically side with Irene and assume he's a horrible person;people thought that about Fin because of a few throwaway comments from Will in the 2000s. But we don't actually know where Damien is, that's the point. He hasn't been referred to in such a long time. He could be overseas, he could be in Darwin on a church mission... or perhaps he dropped that at some point and went back to uni. Did he marry, does he have kids? We don't know anything about him. Or maybe he's been a drifter and living off the land for the past ten years. It comes down to whether the writers are good enough at their job to create a well rounded storyline with a focus on the characters (focusing on both Damien and Irene in this example) and not a short term plot. That way they don't necessarily have to take sides because they'd understand the root of the story. I wouldn't mind if Irene came across as over sensitive and it hitting a nerve with her. Perhaps she's still a lot more fragile at the possibility of losing contact/the love of her biological kids due to what she put them through as children, no matter how irrational that is. If he had been living solitary off the land in the bush, how has that changed him and would Irene understand or accept that as a valid reason as to why he hasn't been in touch with her. There are many avenues to go down.
Blaxland 89 Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 (Nathan's in another country and, to be fair, relatives who live that far apart often don't see each other for years on end.)How did Nathan manage to enter into another country? I thought with a criminal record he would struggle to live anyway apart from Australia? Was it stated where he was living specifically when you heard this?He went back to Ireland with his girlfriend.How realistic that is when he'd only been out of jail a few months I don't know. Or maybe they visit when we're not looking?Would you be happy with that explanation? We see Irene in the show every week for the past 19 years and Damien has been back during that time but we didn't see him? That's like if Roo was still absent but we were supposed to presume that she had returned to Summer Bay and visited Alf off screen, it just wasn't ever mentioned. Doesn't makes sense to me.I'd be happy with it, yes.If they're just a few miles down the road, then having them pop back for a visit at a weekend off screen is a bit different from Roo flying over from New York and always being just out of shot.After all, how many times has the show introduced new characters who have been in Summer Bay all along, we just never saw them?I can see both sides of the argument.Yes, it would create character drama if Irene was upset about them not visiting in over a decade, but it would also run the risk of being another example of a past character who was sympathetic when they were on the show being character assassinated for the sake of a short-term storyline.And while, as you say, there are ways Damian could be made to appear sympathetic, I think fans who weren't watching in the 90s would automatically side with Irene and assume he's a horrible person;people thought that about Fin because of a few throwaway comments from Will in the 2000s.But that would be down to the writing. It's not good enough that viewers have to assume things. Considering Damien wasn't even mentioned during her cancer story and he's meant to be a caring priest I think it terrible. The whole point of Irene even being in the bay was to be with her kids and rebuild the relationship. Then to hardly speak of them is very poor. I don't believe for one second they've been to visit her
c120701 Posted February 15, 2015 Report Posted February 15, 2015 Irene went to the City to tell the kids of her cancer diagnosis, but yeah it's awful they've not been to see her. At least she's mentioned Fin quite a few times, but she rarely mentions Damo or Nathan.
Jezz Posted February 16, 2015 Report Posted February 16, 2015 (Nathan's in another country and, to be fair, relatives who live that far apart often don't see each other for years on end.) How did Nathan manage to enter into another country? I thought with a criminal record he would struggle to live anyway apart from Australia? Was it stated where he was living specifically when you heard this? He went back to Ireland with his girlfriend.How realistic that is when he'd only been out of jail a few months I don't know. Strange he went to Ireland soon after his jail stint with his girlfriend but I'm not sure how relaxed Ireland (the Republic of Ireland I presume) are towards people with convictions and being able to let them in or not. I guess it varies from country to country with some being more stricter than others such as the US for example.
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