Matt/Maddy

[Red Ranger 1]

I was astonished that so many people who seemed to be Maddy fans thought that she should get together with Matt, as if it would bring out the best in her or cause her to develop as a character.I knew from the start it would just regress her and make her alternately schoolmarmish and childish.Home and Away has an unfortunate tendency to do this with its teenage girls.They come in with issues, acting out and pushing people away, then gradually they mature and turn into sensitive young women...and suddenly they throw all that away, hook up with a bad boy who they do nothing except argue and make out with, and treat nice guys like dirt.And I go from loving them to losing all respect for them and disliking them more and more.Maddy has gone from a good reason for watching the show to someone I have no interest in.Matt has gone from someone I was indifferent to to someone I despise for dragging her down.Fans have given up trying to pretend they're mature, instead resorting to saying Maddy was "old and boring" and now she's "fun".They kiss, they have sex, they use the L word a lot, they bicker...Part of me's annoyed her and Oscar never got these moments, part of me is pleased that they had far more depth to them.Oscar was her soul mate.Matt's just some boy she sleeps with.

There was no real build-up, astonishing given that it's nearly a year since they randomly became friends.But that was all they were, friends and not even particularly close ones.Matt develops feelings for her but we go weeks without it being mentioned and without them having much to do with each other.Maddy shows no interest in him until a month before they get together, and the whole thing is completely shallow, based solely on physical attraction.I hear a lot of talk of Matt being "caring" towards Maddy but accompanying her to one hospital appointment and holding her hand doesn't come close to matching the way Oscar was her rock.Their talk prior to getting together consists mostly of "Don't sleep with your teacher", "Excuse me while I slut shame you because I'm a jerk" and "I really really like you."

I don't buy them as the innocent parties in the love triangle.The speed with which Maddy dropped Oscar once she had another option makes it look like she never loved him at all, which is a huge dent to her likability and maturity.She goes running to Matt behind Oscar's back every time things don't go her way, making big speeches about how she couldn't bear to live without him.She tells Oscar she's staying away from him, then continues to fawn all over him.She goes to a party with Oscar then ignores him to "roll around on top of Matt like a big tease".(Which is the way Matt decided he liked her, because it happened by accident and he got turned on by it.So, are we seriously saying he pulled Maddy down on top of him for any reason other than to get a cheap thrill?)Then Maddy turns up at Matt's caravan with the clear implication that she's going to tell him she wants him, he doesn't let her speak and she goes running back to Oscar.What would she have done if he had let her speak?Would she have broken up with Oscar before anything happened (leaving aside the fact she should have spoken to him first if she cared about doing the right thing)?Or would she have kissed or slept with him?Seems like she was well on the way to being a cheat herself.Far from playing the victim because Oscar sought comfort in a girl who treated him better than her, she should thank him for giving her an excuse to get what she really wanted.

It's reached the point where I seriously want Maddy to leave and Matt to be heartbroken, before she gets stuffed up even more.

[KittCatt]

I agree with most of that.

Maturity is something i don't think Matt possesses very much of. He has proven time and time again that he doesn't know how to act like an adult and how to not make stupid decisions (even though i'm pretty sure he is older than all the other teens). The current storyline highlights this, and their bickering and lack of respect for other people doesn't make them out to be an adult couple. They just have seemingly adult problems.  And Maddy had a lovely relationship with Oscar, even though i disagree he was her soul mate, they were certainly more mature, because both parties were more mature than Matt. It's a shame they didn't get much recognition from the writers. We will have to wait and see whether Maddy and Matt can move past the bickering stage in their relationship. Though i imagine they won't, how much their maturity is compromised by this remains to be seen completely. Although to be honest, i don't know how much Matt's character can mature. But maturity can take dips throughout a persons life, as we have seen with Maddy throughout the Matt/Oscar triangle and this storyline. It is early days, though, will have to wait and see.

[pembie]

I didn't like how they got together I liked Maddy with Oscar. But I have really liked the scenes so far with them trying to live with Roo very funny. Even if I do think it was silly for them to move in together so early..

Its good seeing Matt abit more because he hasn't been given that much to do really.

[Pierced Musie]

I wouldn't really have a problem with Matt/Maddy if I hadn't felt somewhat manipulated by the blantant character assassination of Oscar. I had been enjoying the natural drifting apart of Oscar and Maddy with the second go at a relationship, to the point that it was reminding me of Lucas and Mattie reconnecting only to realise it wasn't the same.

Then they had Oscar go really out of character & kiss a random extra! Subtle.... not!

[John]

I agree with the previous poster that the final end of the Maddie / Oscar relationship was very badly handled.  When they were slowly drifting apart the slow decay of that relationship seemed natural and believable.  Why the writers felt they had to "hurry it up"with the "kiss a random" episode I have no idea. 

I'm also very disappointed with the writing of the difficulties Matt and Maddie are having transitioning from boyfriend and girlfriend to living together.  It's a good subject to explore with all the adjustments and compromises that have to be made but the writers have oversimplified it to the point where it's just become an endless argument almost without reason.  Like the slow decay of the Maddie/Oscar relationship the issue takes time to explore and it's not being given it.

[Luke39]

49 minutes ago, John said:

I agree with the previous poster that the final end of the Maddie / Oscar relationship was very badly handled.  When they were slowly drifting apart the slow decay of that relationship seemed natural and believable.  Why the writers felt they had to "hurry it up"with the "kiss a random" episode I have no idea. 

I'm also very disappointed with the writing of the difficulties Matt and Maddie are having transitioning from boyfriend and girlfriend to living together.  It's a good subject to explore with all the adjustments and compromises that have to be made but the writers have oversimplified it to the point where it's just become an endless argument almost without reason.  Like the slow decay of the Maddie/Oscar relationship the issue takes time to explore and it's not being given it.

Hmmm yeah I kinda see your pov. But I think the parallel here is. Maddie seeems to have a passion in her relationship with Matt she diddnt have with.Oscar imo. Like they are fighting over every small thing shows me THEY care. But I agree THEY are over simplifying things. THEY need to give it more time. Like THEY just started arguing out of nowhere. Personally im laughing at their arguing. Theirs a banter their . Like Josh going here we go again haha. While I can see why poster's above not a fan of Matt and Maddie. I think theirs understanding between them. I diddnt feel with Oscar. So I guess its just natural progression. Not forcing it. While I still think.Oscar was wrong to cheat. It was unnecessary. So while I agree im disappointed in how they've over simplified their issues. I think because Kassandra and Alec are such strong actors. They are making it work.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Luke39

[Red Ranger 1]

I think they're arguing because they're not suited. They've gone from barely knowing each other to living in each other's pockets. They just come across as a couple of horny teenagers who've mistaken lust for love and suddenly started doing serious things like moving in together.That's how I see them.It may not be how the writers see them but then the writers often have very different ideas to me as to what constitutes a believable endgame couple.To me, Maddy and Oscar had it all, I believed that there was a connection between them, that they were there for each other in a crisis and were the most important person in each other's lives.Maddy and Matt were always going to be like this and I'm surprised that people expected any different.

[John]

I won't go into how differently I see the characters of Matt and Maddy to Red in the previous post.  I've said it all before.

I'm not disappointed that they are bickering now they've moved in together.  I think that was inevitable.  I am disappointed at how poorly the period of adjustment from the boyfriend/girlfriend time without responsibility to the couple living together with domestic responsibilities is being written.  This was a real opportunity for the writers to explore the trials and tribulation of that adjustment period.  All we've seen is  few small bits and pieces of that discovery process. But the resulting arguing and disagreement has been given a huge amount of screen time.

[Red Ranger 1]

The problem is there hasn't been a period of them just being boyfriend/girlfriend. It's a new relationship, a rushed relationship in many ways, and suddenly they're thrust into this storyline.Without meaning to flog a dead horse, if this was Maddy and Oscar moving in together, characters with history together who've been boyfriend and girlfriend during high school and are now taking the next logical step of trying to work out what they're like as a couple in the adult world and adapt to having to take responsibility for themselves, that would be a character-based storyline with a strong foundation that I could get behind.Maddy moves in with a guy she's been dating five minutes...who cares?There's nothing of substance there, no contrast, it's just a bunch of scenes.They'd be bickering whether they moved in together or not, they're just doing it in a different set.

[John]

I think the point of agreement we have here is that the whole process has been unnecessarily rushed.