2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[D.B]

17 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Not to me, so I guess it's a matter of interpretation. Maybe I'm being harsh but it did seem like another case of a girl wanting a friends-with-benefits arrangement and then forgetting the friends part and being dismissive of the guy a lot of the time.And people did say much the same thing about VJ around that time, which I didn't see either, so I guess it really is down to people's opinions!

I can't really disagree with this, even though Evie was going through a very difficult time which is why I'm quick to excuse her, and while she didn't treat Mason like dirt in my mind, she didn't treat him very good. And you're right, it's all matter of opinion, since you have a higher opinion of Mason than me, and I have a higher opinion of Evie than you. While I do think Mason did look creepy, I'm not very sure if he actually meant to be. In any case, I think he got much better since last year, particularly because of Beth. 

I'm confused though: what did VJ do that had people against him then? 

[Red Ranger 1]

4 hours ago, D.B said:

I'm confused though: what did VJ do that had people against him then? 

Just people's perceptions, I guess.People thought he was creepy when he was interested in Olivia when she first appeared, with loads of comments about "And this is why she prefers Hunter" (which to me made the opposite of sense).Some of the reactions to him kissing Skye when they were pretending to be a couple made it sound like he'd assaulted her.And a lot of people saw him as taking advantage of Billie when he slept with her when she was in a vulnerable state after being raped (which he didn't know about) and losing Oscar (which he did). Of course, a lot of people saw it as her using him as well! (I didn't agree with either.)

Anyway, today! And I continue to be torn between thinking that Olivia and Jasmine actually work really well as friends and wishing the show was doing something better with them. Olivia matchmaking for Colby and Jasmine was insane on just about every level and she definitely deserved to have Jasmine tear a strip off her, more than once. So it was a bit frustrating that Jasmine ended up listening to her: Offering a friends-with-benefits arrangement, probably in the hope that it'll develop into more, seems like a recipe for disaster. (Does Olivia have some special power that lets her know who likes who, by the way? She's magically aware of Jasmine and Colby's thing, then somehow knows Mason likes Jasmine, which even Jasmine doesn't seem to know!) Colby again throws a tantrum at a member of the public who has a different idea about what's important than him and leaves me wondering if he's in the right job.Presumably he thinks it's more important to track down the person who's still got his sister rather than try and catch the kidnapper who's openly visiting her daughter in a nearby motel? Got to love Summer Bay's finest, their buttons are the brightest thing about them...

And the arrival of Ty. I've had said he was abrupt rather than rude and let's face it, not everyone is going to instantly want John and Marilyn to parent them and they need to learn to deal with the more standoffish types. Heck, Raffy wasn't exactly eager for them to parent her to start with, and just because she's decided to treat them like the family she's already got doesn't mean she has the right to force Ty to abandon his old family for them: A lot of foster children probably are going to want to go back to their family and probably will. Still, nice to get a Raffy/Mason scene and a Hope mention!

[atrus]

OK, so Ty isn't winning any prizes for sociability, and perhaps he could have forced down a slice of quiche - but I thought Raffy went way too far tearing strips off him. If I recall correctly, she was very similar when she first lived with John and Marilyn - being civil, but not really offering very much more. And hey - he's a troubled teenager in a new situation. John and Marilyn pretty much seemed to understand this, to be fair to them, and went to lengths to appear unperturbed in front of Ty even if they were a little worried by his lack of engagement privately. It wouldn't have killed Raffy to cut him some slack too, like they did for her. I don't know why Raffy was so aggrieved at him planning to move on when he was 16, either; fostering is frequently a short-term arrangement, and especially so with emergency placements, I imagine. And unless Ty was horrific to Maggie at the unseen start of their conversation, I was nonplussed as to why Raffy had a go at him for the way he was with her, which was just... quiet but responsive where necessary. As you'd expect any teenager to be with the principal. On the other hand, Raffy's close to John and Marilyn, and Maggie's family, too; and knowing she's ill as well, from her perspective I guess I can see why Ty's behaviour might have felt ruder than it was.

Olivia was absolutely appalling today. I almost prefer her when she's scuttling around after Hunter, rather than trying to micromanage everyone else's love lives - whinging on about how meant for one another Jasmine and Colby are when they've shared all of three conversations. Jasmine seemed to have a more realistic grasp on things with her suggestion of 'friends with benefits'. Presumably that doesn't impact on Colby's 'professional ethics' in the way that a proper relationship would, because he was ravishing her on the couch mere seconds later.

[H&Alover]

Raffy wasn't, in my eyes, coerced, she's a very savvy 15 year old and her life at the Morgan's has been somewhat dramatic to say the least.  Her life with Hope, was a nice mention of her btw, wasn't easy either. She just gets settled then she's moved out again 'for her safety'. With John and Maz it's a lot quieter giving her time and space to study. 

I'd forgotten Raffy was a touch on the rebellious side when she first went to John & Maz's, sneaking out and staying out late, throwing a typical teenage strop, but then she'd just had her life, as she knew it, turned upside down. Her 'uncle' was her dad, then he died, her 'mum' wasn't and Hope wasn't her sister.  She had to get to know her new family along with them dealing with The Syndicate. John and Maz showed a lot of patience, but did slap her down, metaphorically speaking, when she pushed it too far. Anyways, she was very quick to judge Ty's attitude, he's further away from his family, well granddad, and friends than her, Raffy's family are just down the road. He's bound to be unsure of what he is letting himself in for and I'd say his behaviour is more of a defence mechanism not to get too close as he doesn't know how long it's going to last.   Having said that it wouldn't have hurt him to try some of the food Marilyn had bought in. Unless ,as you say atrus, we missed something in the earlier part of the conversation he had with Maggie, he didn't seem rude, just disinterested maybe. In his eyes it's only going to be for a couple of weeks anyway until he reaches 16 and can leave. He doesn't know Maggie isn't well.

Oh Olivia, please stop trying to shove people together, you're rubbish at it, though I suppose it did work in then end as Jasmine made Colby the fwb offer which it seems he eagerly took up.  I was wondering if he did, but it looked like he doesn't, take his top off that is, behave yourselves. Her sending that text to Colby was definitely wrong, if that had been done to her she, like Jasmine did, would have flipped right out.

Definitely not looking good for Justin, but I liked how he's backing Ziggy hustling her off to her course and  admitting he is ultimately responsible.  That was lovely how Brody supported her.  Actually it is only right that the garage is closed even though we know Ebony's story is a crock, if it had been a proper claim, it would have to be investigated if there was a problem with the brakes/no oil or any fault that caused a crash. Whiplash is a very tricky injury to disprove unless Ebony gets caught out doing something she shouldn't be able to which is the way any benefit fraudsters get nabbed. The garage being closed is not good news for Dean either, he's already got Willow helping him out with her win on the gee-gees, but that was just for his outstanding rent.

Ebony has decided Hunter is to be the one to pick up gossip on the people she is interested in, though with Colby he is still a closed book to most people. She shut down pretty quick when Hunter mentioned Colby's shooting of Boyd and feigned a headache so he'd go. 

Although I can see Justin's frustration over the lack of progress on Ava's kidnapping Colby is only one cop, course there are going to be others out looking for Hazel but I guess as Colby was the one in front of him at that particular time he got both barrels but he didn't expect Colby to return fire.  We know he knows exactly how Justin is feeling, but yes absolutely totally unprofessional. It's obvious everything is catching up with Justin and is at the limit but of course being a bloke he's never going to admit it and will blow pretty soon unless Tori can talk/shout sense into him.

[D.B]

This episode: 

Could someone please remind me who exactly appointed Olivia as the Cupid of Summer Bay! I get that her heart is in the right place (for once), but Jasmine is right, this is really none of her business. She should have just left her and Oclby to sort this out on their own. I agree with you Red, usually friends with benefit with the hope that it will turn into an actual relationship doesn't end well. But, I hope that this will be the exception because I would love to see Jasmine and Colby as an actual couple. It does make sense though, the two of them have feelings for each other, they both have their own issues to prevent them from acting on those feelings, this arrangement, at this time, seems like the best option. I was suprised to see Colby agree quite quickly though (and to start the arrangement quickly as well ). 

Now I've been ranting about him for a while now, but I'll admit I very much liked Mason today. Form his encouragement towards Raffy, to him totally excepting Jasmine doesn't have feelings for him without a shred of jealousy, to him trying to cheer Justin up, he was very much enjoyable. I did feel for Justin, things haven't exactly gone well for him these past few weeks, and it's unfair that he blames himself for all of it. I do hope that he gets to see Ava soon, and him and Willow will be able to go back to their relationship. 

20 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Colby again throws a tantrum at a member of the public who has a different idea about what's important than him and leaves me wondering if he's in the right job.Presumably he thinks it's more important to track down the person who's still got his sister rather than try and catch the kidnapper who's openly visiting her daughter in a nearby motel? Got to love Summer Bay's finest, their buttons are the brightest thing about them...

I wouldn't call it a tantrum, we know that Colby and all the rest are trying to find her, but as he said, Hazel is a master at not being found. No-one actually expected her to be in Summer Bay, I think that the police think that after her plan failed and Boyd got shot, she took off and went underground. That's usually the right thing to assume because when criminal plots go south, the masterminds usually go scarce. I understand Justin's frustration, but I also see it from Colby's point. Justin was lucky to get Ava back, Colby and his sister may not be so lucky. While I do think that he was a bit unprofessional, I still think that he's in the right job. He does want to care for people, but really, of course he's going to worry for his sister. Family obviously means a lot to him, and in fairness, mostly anyone else would act the same. And besides, he may have been unprofessional here, but he wasn't as bad as others got (*cough* Angelo *cough* Kat). 

Though I will agree with you that Ty seems more abrupt than rude, he is going to need a lot of time to adjust to this whole new house, and he didn't make any ridiculous demands or break anything or something like that, he was polite, but abrupt. While I did enjoy Johna and Marilyn trying to do good by him, I think they overdid it on the first day. And while I appreciate Raffy being loyal to the two of them (even if I don't she should even be living there), I found her the rude one here. Just because he didn't eat the food they made, or he preferred to be on his own, doesn't make him rude. I agree with you H&Alover and atrus, he wasn't rude to Maggie, quiet and abrupt, but not rude, cruel or anything else that requires criticism. I hope she comes around soon. 

I did very much liked the mention of Hope, though I did bow my head in remembrance. 

20 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

And a lot of people saw him as taking advantage of Billie when he slept with her when she was in a vulnerable state after being raped (which he didn't know about) and losing Oscar (which he did). Of course, a lot of people saw it as her using him as well! (I didn't agree with either.)

I have mixed feelings about this. VJ doesn't really seem like the type of guy that would take advantage of someone like that. They were both grieving, and then one thing led to another. While I didn't like that Billie made up all the lies later on about the baby (though it was understandable), in this case, she wasn't in any form whatsoever to use anyone in that form. That said, I didn't like on how VJ haas that creepy smile afterwards. I mean, I get that he should be pleased that he had sex for the first time, but this was a time of tragic mourning in the town, and especially for his own family. I just think he could have used more tact. I liked both VJ and Billie, but I didn't like their relationship, particularly because most of it was built on a lie. I would have enjoyed them more as a couple if it wasn't for the whole pregnancy thing, it did feel forced sometimes but others times it was sweet. Going back to the main point, I don't think either of them took advantage of each other.  But just my opinion.

[Red Ranger 1]

I'm in danger of stirring up a hornet's nest given that a lot of people didn't like the pairing for various reasons (disliking one or both characters, not liking the way they got together) but I was a fan of VJ and Billie: I always felt that underneath the lies there was something very genuine there.

Moving on!

Raffy almost redeemed herself here with her behaviour towards Ty before school and during: She made an effort with him while not being afraid to tease him over his rather sullen behaviour. (Him pointedly walking several steps between her and Ryder instead of talking to them was the ultimate in bloody-mindedness.) Unfortunately, she then spoiled it somewhat with her tirade against him in the Diner, which was completely uncalled for and didn't even seem to be prompted by anything.Ty did seem to be getting on well with Ryder, ironically.I was rather confused that Maggie told Roo to sort Ty out a uniform and then he carried on wearing his old clothes for the rest of the day: Did she just give him one and tell him to wear it in future?

As I indicated when she went, I remain disappointed that we didn't actually get to see Coco's camp and instead it mostly seems to be used as a plot device to make us wonder if she's cheated on Ryder, who is suddenly the third wheel in her and Raffy's friendship.(At this point, I think I'm obliged to ponder whether I should have included Coco and Raffy in the Gay Couples You'd Like To Have Seen thread...)Baz might be a jerk but he kind of had a point about Ben chatting to Maggie in work hours.Ben shows his aggressive side again: I was expecting Maggie to tell him off but instead she was cheering him on.(Are we meant to be calling him Baz, by the way?Everyone called him that in his first episode so I've kind of stuck with it, but since then most people have called him Barry...)

I keep forgetting to mention that it's nice the show's keeping up the idea of the Diner cutting down on waste by having customers reuse cups for takeaway, as Tori did here.Otherwise, it's telling that I'd actually forgotten Robbo was still on the show: It really doesn't feel like he's a part of anything, to the point of him and Colby seeming to occupy that flat at different points in the space/time continuum given that we've barely seen them there at the same time since he's been back.Possibly it's deliberate so far, but there's a distinct feeling of someone deciding to make Robbo a regular, coming up with a contrived way to let him off the hook for his crimes and then not having a clue with what to do with him now he's there: It feels like it's building up to him leaving, but with him only just having been made permanent that seems unlikely, so they'd better find a way to make him feel like he's actually in the same show as everyone else.

[D.B]

18 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

I'm in danger of stirring up a hornet's nest given that a lot of people didn't like the pairing for various reasons (disliking one or both characters, not liking the way they got together) but I was a fan of VJ and Billie: I always felt that underneath the lies there was something very genuine there.

Sorry, I've already read on other discussions on the VJ/Billie pair, didn't mean too start up an old argument. I do agree with you that I also felt something actually real there between them as well from late 2016 onward, though you probably saw it there the whole time. You're probably right. I did like the two of them, and while the age-difference makes it weird, I did like them as a couple a lot of the time. It's just I didn't like the storyline it was forced into.

[D.B]

Today's episode:

I still continue to be sympathetic towards Ty today as Raffy continues to act appalling (though as Red said, she did try again to befriend him). I get that his situation could be worse, but that doesn't mean that he should be over the moon. And as Marilyn said, no-one wants to be in care. And no matter how bad their family life is, foster kids will always have a sense of loyalty and belonging to their actual family. While I think that John and Marilyn are unknowingly making a bad job of it, they are trying to make him comfortable and they did have realistic expectations about any issues that he may have. Also, I can see why he may seem distant, I mean, foster kids usually move around a lot, so there's not really much point most times to start connections with whichever family they send the kids to. 

So Coco's back...yay, I guess. It's good to see her with Raffy and Ryder again, I really enjoyed the three of them together. I am very curious as to who is this Jeremy guy, obviously someone who met Coco in the camp, but she seemed awfully excited when she got that text from him. The fact that she lied to Ryder about it doesn't make it look good. Poor Ryder, I thought they were going great, why would she cheat on him?

While I understand Ben and Maggie are going through a extremely hard time and Baz does seem like a jerk and while I did like that Ben stood his ground, Barry does have a point, he expects Ben to do his job, not spend time talking to his wife. He doesn't know what's happening within the Astonis' life. He can't really make exceptions, though I am more on the Astoni side. 

As much as I like Robbo, and as how much I want to like Tori again, I found them both really awkward and really didn't fit in this episode. It's shame that Tori said that she didn't want to be friends with him, I would have loved it if they remained friends. Hopefully she will change her mind soon. 

[H&Alover]

Have to agree Raffy did try and be friends with Ty asking him what type of music he liked it he was into sports, but he was still monosyllabic with his answers and didn't want to join up with Ryder on the walk to school.  I noticed Raffy was looking round to see if he was still there, was she thinking he may run off? She cares a lot for John & Marilyn and her knowing he's going to move on the moment he's 16 is a big secret for her to keep and she feels it is a betrayal of their trust in him.  She did keep a lid on it all day at school but then let fire at the Diner but John & Marilyn did reprimand them both. John did try and get through to Ty but he's built this wall round himself and he has only been in the bay a couple of days. Ryder & Ty were kind of thrown together as Coco wanted to team up with Raffy and he seemed to relax more with him.

Talking of Coco's return Ryder was certainly happy to see her while she was sort of mmm.  Rather a pathetic reason - bad signal - for not answering his calls, 'we weren't allowed to speak to anyone other than family' would have been better. So there is a Jeremy and from what she told Raffy someone her own age and they had got close, yet she told Ryder he was a counsellor, hopefully to throw him off the scent, I hope not because that would be a breach of trust on his behalf.  From what we saw he  clocks something is not right and asks her to be straight with him.  Ben & Maggie are also in the dark as they assumed that text CoCo got was from Ryder.

Was bound to be tricky Ben working at the school while Maggie is there and Barry too him being a sexist pig (sorry pigs), his remarks were way out of line and didn't stop him even when he found out Maggie was Ben's wife. OK Ben should have been working, but wasn't like he wasn't slacking off for hours.  I could see why he was annoyed at Maggie for stepping into his and Barry's row, would make any man feel small.  It is Ben's problem and he can (and did) deal with it. He did keep it private and she saw his point. His quiet but controlled rant at Barry was done well, Barry may feel it's OK to talk to and about women the way he does (he even looks leery) but not as I said before if it's one of your workers wife/girlfriend.  Maybe the others let him get away with it but this is Ben we are talking about and Barry is a bully and like most bullies when confronted back down. I hope ben hasn't lost his job and he doesn't get all the rubbish jobs.  Barry also made another snide remark about Ben being OK fixing kitchen cabinets but 'this' job was a proper job.

I was wondering when we would see him again and we did - Robbo  in case you were wondering - he did seem to cut a lonely figure in the Diner and on the beach, John was cool but civil to him at least. His attempt at reconnecting with Tori didn't go well either, he really seemed concerned about Ash.  What is this favour he wants to call in from Lance?

[Red Ranger 1]

Well...Coco was a bit annoying at times, so it's a shame people listened to her.I can basically grasp the idea of cancer sufferers shaving their heads because the hair's going to grow anyway and they want to do it on their terms, although I suspect if it was me I'd keep it for as long as possible, not shave off an essentially full head of hair as a statement.But Maggie going from "I'm going to do nothing, if I lose my hair then I lose my hair" to "I'm going to shave my hair off!" in a matter of seconds, as though that's somehow a logical progression rather than a complete 180..? It triumphs because of the performances from everyone involved: All of the Astonis have been hitting every note exactly right, even when their characters aren't being entirely noble and sympathetic.

Another great episode for Mason, from his poking holes in Tori's attempts to seem reasonable to his winding up Ryder and sending him running off to see Coco.Robbo as some sort of James Bond type increasingly makes it feels like he's wandered in from a whole other show: He's the only reference point we've got in this storyline, yet his life seems completely removed from anything most of the audience are likely to be familiar with.(Even the storyline can't quite decide what his back story is.He's gone from a uniformed cop with a family to some deep cover globe-trotting secret agent.)Still, with Hunter facing some dodgy types, it gives us a chance to see his heroic side for what seems like the first time in ages.