2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Forgot to say, for the second day running, that it sounded like Olivia knew about Jasmine and Colby when Jasmine mentioned him being back? (Which she didn't during the girls' night.) Also, getting a bit frustrated by Jasmine and Mason's off-screen friendship: I perked up when she mentioned she was inviting him round for dinner, then we don't see him until the next day!

[Razabaza]

What do you think about Nina? 

I know her emotions are understandable, and she seems to be a good mother, but I've never once seen the character relax. She seems to be in a constant state of panic.

[H&Alover]

To be fair Ben didn't know Maggie had planned a special dinner complete with lasagne, he had the grace to admit it felt good doing something 'normal' which Maggie understood. Tis rather a switch with Ziggy being the responsible one!

Can't be the age thing that Olivia is upset about Jasmine can only be in her 20's so nowhere near Irene  age wise, could it be put down to the newness of having a new female in the house, anyway whatever it was has now been resolved as Irene explained to Olivia what it was she was talking about to Jasmine about, her mammogram test and she was nervous about it.  Did I hear right Irene got the result back already, thought they took a couple of weeks, they do here?

It did appear Mason is over Jasmine as he was eyeing up Ebony, did like how she put him in his place when she said the coffee should go to the one who did the work Hunter, as in changing her tyre, not the one who looked on. Seemed Colby has moved on too, that woman he met up with on the beach didn't look like Jasmine.  Must have been good timing Hazel turning up just as Colby left the scene!   We know Tori did her best to save Boyd, but perhaps it suits Ebony better to believe she didn't.  Good point atrus about Ebony passing up a trick and not taking Mason up on his offer, but maybe she prefers the fast track solution by going straight to the organ grinder as in the garage to get her spiked tyre replaced.

Blooming typical Maz and John take in Raffy only to get a call from Doc's to say they have an emergency placement - Ty - who from what we saw clashes with Raffy the moment he walks through the door.  It did tickle me the way Ryder was trying to advise Maz & John about maybe asking Raffy how she wants her room decorating and them poo-pooing him.

From Nina's point of view Justin, the father of their child, vanishes from their lives when Ava was two and doesn't see him again for seven years when he reveals he had to go as he and his family were put into WP.  Just as he thinks are safe and Ava has run away from home to be with her dad,  the Syndicate turns up again!  All this drama happens when Ava is with her dad and now this!  But her ranting at Justin in front of her or while she is within earshot is not helping.

D.B you don't remember Hunter and Ryder having a what?

 

[D.B]

Friday's episode: 

Again, very much enjoying the Ebony storyline, it's been a while since we've seen an interesting villain (Novak and Boyd don't count because we didn't see much of them). She seems so cold and psychopathic that I actually think that she's going to cause more pain, damage and chaos than Charlotte, Hunter, Tank and Dylan combined! The acting is a bit cringing but she seems intriguing and I can't wait to see more of her character. The scene of her with the knife when she was looking at Colby... gives me the chills. That said, I'm very annoyed at Mason on how quickly he seems to be over Jasmine by the way he was eyeing up Ebony! I thought he was getting better since he met Beth last year, but now it seems that his creepy side will always be there. Like you Red, I'm confused how is Hazel able to just walk around the place without getting caught.

Enjoyed the Astonis. I understood why Maggie was frustrated but I liked how she didn't make a big deal of it and was accepting. Ben, in fairness, is allowed to have a good time given the drama of his family. Loved Brody and Ziggy setting up dinner for them, Ziggy has become very responsible from when she first came to the Bay. 

I'm kind of a bit more sympathetic towards Olivia, while she was a brat towards Jasmine, I can see where she's coming from: Her and Irene have been close for a long time now, Olivia trusts her like no-one else, I can see why she's acting a bit jealous. Liked the scene where Irene opened up to Jasmine,  and how Olivia and Jasmine made up. (If I'm honest, I'm actually thinking about shipping these two together, my new Chris and Nate! ) 

While I was annoyed on how John and Marilyn still act like they own Raffy, I think it's great that they're getting another chance to foster, I think they'll be great at it and it will give them purpose again. Speaking of purposes, I like Leah's idea and how she's getting support from Hunter. I still don't like Hunter but I think he has improved a bit between 2017-18, and I love that him and Leah still have a close relationship, even after Evie and Zac have left. 

Side note: one moment we're seeing Jasmine on the beach chatting with Colby while Ebony looks on, the next we're seeing her in Irene's house when Olivia comes in. Wow, the people of Summer Bay must have teleporting powers!

23 hours ago, H&Alover said:

D.B you don't remember Hunter and Ryder having a what?

Sorry, I made a mistake! I meant I don't remember the two of them having a scene together before, but maybe they will work great  together in a brother-like relationship. Good job noticing that. 

[H&Alover]

No worries D.B it's easy to get carried away with 'writing' and forget to finish the       It was just intriguing to know what the what was.

I forgot to say I'm hating how Roo is being so pushy with Leah, at least Hunter was suggesting rather than telling.  Was that Jasmine Colby was talking to on the beach, I wasn't that sure she looked like her?  Makes a change for Ebony to be a brunette I was getting confused with all these blondes, except now I'm getting her confused with Maggie.

Ziggy has matured since the time we first saw her, I reckon a lot of it is Brody's influence.

We had the same problem with Zannis keep popping up despite being a wanted  drugs dealer.

Obviously far too soon but I hope at some point we will hear Morag has been taken ill and Roo and Alf go to stay with her, then we and the bay will  get the news she has died.  She did a lot for various residents legally so would be a shame if she is just never mentioned. 

Same really for Hope, Raffy's sister/cousin Hope, true she wasn't a well known character and hadn't been in it long but she was Raffy's relative and had grown up with her thinking she was her sister.

Do they have the usual 'if you have been affected' statement at the end of the episodes dealing with Maggie's cancer?

[Red Ranger 1]

5 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Was that Jasmine Colby was talking to on the beach, I wasn't that sure she looked like her? 

Yep, that was her. If you look closely, she's wearing the bikini under her clothes in the scene at the Diner and in the scene with Olivia that followed.

Need to chime in here that I've never really got this idea of Mason being creepy, and certainly didn't get that vibe from him here.He's a young man with an eye for the ladies, which is hardly unusual. I don't think he ever crosses any lines and his behaviour isn't really that different from anyone else's (compare Dean's behaviour towards Ebony today). He does have a very low strike rate though...

So, Ebony's heading for strike one.Frankly, Justin deserves what's coming to him here: He knew Ebony needed her car back quickly, yet he left Ziggy in charge and ignored his phone, then has the audacity to tell her she should have checked with him. Er, how? Dean was good form and the three of them at the garage could actually work rather well.I loved the way he was acting like part of the team then added "Or I could just sweep floors if I'm still employed." Not quite sure what Ebony's meant to have done at the end.She couldn't do that much damage by pushing the car and they weren't on a slope, so she must have actually driven it into the tree, fixed the brakes, then got back in and pretended to be injured because...you don't get injured if you drive a car into a tree deliberately? (Okay, being generous, maybe she used some sort of improvised air bag or just braced herself.)

Cringed a bit at that ominous shot of Willow using the gambling app.Seems to be a typical soap rule that if you gamble twice in one episode then it's out of control.

I really don't want to say this, but this whole set-up with Raffy living with the Palmers is actually making me dislike her, which is a shame because she's been one of my favourites for the most part.There was something a bit too bratty about her "So this is the bit where you tell me to come back and live with you", which reminds me of how living with them brought out the worst in her before.Marilyn continues to be slightly creepy while John is at least being a bit realistic and responsible.To be honest, at this point I'm holding onto the fact that Justin clearly isn't happy with her being there instead of with the family (hard to tell how the rest of the family feel since we've had no real response from them, not even Mason) and maybe she'll move back in once law of drama means her "Less drama" belief doesn't last long.

[D.B]

30 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Need to chime in here that I've never really got this idea of Mason being creepy, and certainly didn't get that vibe from him here.He's a young man with an eye for the ladies, which is hardly unusual. I don't think he ever crosses any lines and his behaviour isn't really that different from anyone else's (compare Dean's behaviour towards Ebony today). He does have a very low strike rate though...

I don't think he's as creepy as others on this forum say he is, but I do find him a bit creepy. While it's true that it's usual to for young men to have an eye for the ladies, to me, in his first year, he tends to make moves on girls who just broke up from their boyfriends, therefore  they're in a vulnerable state. He has gotten better in 2017, but the memories from 2016 are still there. Also, as to him not crossing any lines, there was the time in 2016 when Brody and Evie were cleaning up after working in the vegetable patch outside the farmhouse, Mason comes in, assumes that Brody slept with Evie, (whom, I might add, Mason just broke up their friends-with-benefits relationship and gave her the cold shoulder ever since just because she told him she'd rather be friends), and slammed him into the fridge. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I think that's some questionable behaviour.

[atrus]

So, discord in villainsville, with Ebony apparently planning a no-holds-barred reign of terror against absolutely everyone in the regular cast, and Hazel lobbying for a more modest, expeditious kind of evil. It's not really consistent that Hazel's only now interested in bumping off Colby; what happened to her oft-recapped "anyone - and I mean anyone - that had anything to do with this: let's burn 'em to the graaahnd"?  But even overlooking that, it's difficult to take very much of this seriously, really; to be honest I prefer my antagonists a little more complex, and H&A usually does too. It's ages since we've had someone so transparently moustache-twirling. Still - watchable for its outrageousness in a car-crash kind of a way, I suppose. I just hope Ebony's convoluted revenge doesn't drag on forever.

It seems Justin is still unaware that Nina gave Willow an ultimatum about his relationship - yet he must presumably have told Nina they'd split up in order to prompt her decision that he could still see Ava. It still seems pretty cruel behaviour from Nina, to be honest; I can understand to the extent that she wants to make Willow the deciding factor given what happened, but she should at least be honest with Justin about that. So should Willow, although I guess she's worried he'll talk her round, as he almost seemed to today.

Not sure exactly what age Raffy's supposed to be this week, but 15 sounds about right - so not sure why the foster boy also being 15 was stated as if it would be scandalous for them even to be in the same house. Presumably they're not sharing a room, so I didn't see why everyone was assuming they'd immediately be going all Shannon-and-Curtis on us. If they were both official foster kids, or in a care home, then presumably it wouldn't be a problem? Or would it - come to think of it, how do these things actually work in real life? And did The Department not have anything to say about why Raffy isn't living with her real family?

Chiming in on the 'Is Mason Creepy?' debate - I think, honestly, no more than anyone else in the Bay, if we're judging by how quickly they move onto the next crush/relationship. I think the most I'd say about him is that he can come across as a bit eager - but in a pretty harmless, transparent kind of a way.

[630si]

Red is correct, Justin has what’s coming to him where Ebony’s car is concerned. He spent all day swanning around salt instead of being there mucking in. In fact it really wound me up and I don’t know why. Of course, is not everyday a customer cuts the breaks and stages a crash but hey ho. Speaking of which, she must’ve driven the car at the tree at some speed to do that damage, and she still had to smudge her lipstick and ruffle her hair hahaha. Apart from that comical moment we have whitnessed Ebony’s plan step up a notch.  I know a few of you have said it already, but how is Hazel able to just walk around?? 

How nice is it that Maz and John are fostering again. I love this side to the show. But for heavens sake can Raffy go back to the Morgana house please this whole set up is just weird. I keep asking myself questions like “do the Morgans have to pay Maz and John maintenance?” I’m reading too much into it I guess. 

 

[D.B]

I think I've been a bit harsh with Mason, while a lot of the time he looks creepy, I don't think he means to be creepy. He's pretty decent a lot of the time as well. And I shouldn't really be judging him on how quick he moves on from crush to crush because, like atrus says, nearly everyone else in the Bay has done so. He hasn't acted in the best way sometimes, but I feel like there's more to him than that. 

You're right Red, Justin deserves any trouble that is caused when Ebony's car is found, he's been pretty much neglecting his work leaving Ziggy to run the shop, but I fear that she will get the blame when really, he should have been there. Not very sure on what Ebony's overall plan is here, I get that crashing the car will probably get the garage into trouble but it's not really what I was expecting when she said she was "going to make them hurt." 

I'm also confused as to why Willow isn't telling the truth to Justin as too why she broke up with him. I mean, Nina is letting him see Ava now, telling him the truth now won't really change anything. It might make Justin confront Nina and make things worst though (he doesn't really think before he talks) so that's what I'm going with. 

While I think it's great to see John and Marilyn foster again, I'm still annoyed on how they're still trying to keep Raffy. I guess it's good that they're  not fickle, that they really care for her, but seriously this is not Raffy's home! Take her to her real home, to her her real family. Though with Ebony on their trail now, real home may not be the safest place if the woman is as dangerous as O think she is. During the conversation between Justin, John and Marilyn, I was just shaking my head at them, this isn't really what Raffy wants, it's what they want.

Very confused on how Dean seems to be suddenly friends with everyone now. Not long ago, he was marching around the diner and the gym, threatening people about Robbo, now he's acting like he's known them for ages. I don't mind him becoming part of the community, but I wish they'd develop it more. It's good, though, to see his close friendship with Willow and him and Justin slowly but gradually getting along.