2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[H&Alover]

Hardly subtle is she - Ebony that is?  You don't have to be a genius to know she isn't the Miss Innocent she tries to be.  Pitchforks out again then, John more than Alf forgetting Colby has been a good cop.  Leah didn't spill the beans to anyone just went and had a quiet word with Colby just to confirm if what she had been told was true. Like you said Red 'they' did get the telling of it by Jasmine to Leah wrong it was outside the surf club with a random person passing by. The not so whispered conversation about no-one must find out , was later which Ebony overheard.  If it had been any other job it probably wouldn't have mattered about Colby having been in a gang when he was in his teens, he was vague about how long ago and how old he was, but this is the police he's in so of course it's going to be a lot more serious and McCarthy was right to tear him off a strip. It opens him, Colby, to all manner of pressure, blackmail even.  I know I've said this before but it still hasn't been addressed by Colby is how he managed to get in the force with those tats in the first place and my conclusion it was somewhere where they didn't have any meaning for the local cops or he just said he liked the designs. They weren't that bothered to check were they? I think McCarthy was very reasonable with him even ready to go and bat for him with the PIC. Dean and to a lesser degree Willow were understanding about Colby not being able to associate with him and that was after Colby suggesting he'd been the one to blow the whistle, but as was said it is not the River Boys style. If it hadn't been for the photo Ebony was so conveniently in the right place at the right time to take, his farewell to Dean would have gone unnoticed.  Moot point now but how far would this no associating go, passing each other in the street, being in the same place at the same time?  McCarthy once he'd received said photo naturally felt let down and he had no choice but to suspend him, Colby had broken his word to him. I do wonder how Ebony knew about McCarthy's ruling, that was in private?  Colby has been a good cop, he hasn't been cooling his heels waiting to see if any sign of his sister turns up, there have been plenty of 'legit' cops who have done the least work they can get away with.  He did take down two River Boys when he first arrived, nicked Dean following their chasing of Robbo, so wasn't giving them any special treatment.  I wondered that about Willow, not a River Boy obviously, but could she be classed as an associate?

Oh no Robbo has committed the crime of not falling at Ebony's feet!  It didn't take him long to mark her card, he hadn't been an undercover cop for all those years for nothing and as for her trying to interrogate him well I'm sure better than her have tried. Now of course she has put that seed of doubt in Colby's mind it was Robbo who grassed him up, by 'wondering' if he really has given up being a Fed.  He's only just come back to town and wasn't aware of all the hoo-haa until Colby told him. Whatever time she rocked up to Colby's she either spent a long time there or it was later in the day then 'we' thought as it was dark when she left.

Was a quite return passing of the day with Tori and Alf.  Tori mentioned to him Ash was back and a lot better than he was than when he left but of course Ash doesn't know Robbo is back wonder how that will go down, better surely, and I know your name isn't Shirley, he's 'warned' than them just bumping into each other.  Tori did have the opportunity when she met up with Ash at Salt but didn't say anything.  She, while plotting with Ash to get Willow and Justin back together, kept her word to Willow and didn't reveal the real reason she'd split with him.

I liked Ash and Justin's talk on the porch at the Morgan's house and Ash's reveal he still loved Tori not knowing she was listening to every word.  They do need a long talk and while she said she didn't want to go backwards they don't have to they can go forwards but take it slowly. 

I did have to smile at Jasmine's whine to Olivia about Ebony's name  as in what sort of name is that? Maybe Hazel was a fan of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder's Ebony & Ivory.

Of course back in 'the old days' when you actually spoke to the person you fancied and you went out on a date didn't mean it still didn't go pear shaped. They did have Lonely Hearts columns in the newspapers so you still run the risk of getting a dud when you meet for real. There won't be any danger of Olivia accidentally going on a date with Hunter as his photo will be on show.

Beautiful idea of Maggie arranging her and Dan's night away before her chemo starts again. They do have some lovely hidden places in the bay and it's surrounds.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

I probably shouldn’t be cheering on Ebony as much as I am but what the heck. Once again, we have regular characters being rude to a character who we know is evil but who, in terms of the fiction, hasn’t done anything to deserve it, with Robbo’s snide “Why should Colby take advice from a barmaid?” Colby running around with his tattoos on show was beyond dumb: If he didn’t deserve to lose his job before, he does now.

Justin continues to be an utter jerk but, to be as fair as possible, Dean probably should be looking for another job instead of waiting around to be reinstated. (Maybe he’s read the scripts for later episodes.) Tori encouraging Justin to talk to Willow seemed like an exercise in pointlessness: Willow doesn’t want to tell him the real reason she broke up with him, so she’d either spin him a line or tell him to go away. It is good to see Ash back on form though and delivering some much-needed tough love to Justin. As a result, I actually found myself smiling when he and Tori kissed, despite getting tired of them quite some time ago, because despite disagreeing with him a lot over the last year or so, I do want him to be happy. I don’t really see them as endgame though. Tori’s “You were great with Robbo earlier” felt like something had been cut although I’m not sure what and where. (I guess Ash was reasonably calm during their last on-screen meeting but “great” might be pushing it.) I also enjoyed seeing a bit of interaction between Tori and Olivia, it’s always interesting to stick characters together who don’t often talk.

So Robbo gives Alf the highlights of his past and it seems we’ve gone full circle with Alf back to giving him a leg-up. I did ponder during Robbo’s attempt to investigate Colby if he might set himself up as some sort of private detective…

I really loved the stuff between Ziggy and Coco here, I’d go so far as to say this closer sisterly relationship they’ve developed is my favourite aspect of Coco’s character these days and her going to comfort Ziggy when she heard her crying was a rare selfless moment. The reaction to them finding Maggie’s letters…wasn’t as bad as it looked from the promo but I hope they can talk it through sensibly.

[atrus]

Well, Wednesday's episode was such a slog that I couldn't initially bring myself to write about it afterwards. All I will say in its defence is that having someone who actually seems to be suspicious of Ebony makes that storyline a little more interesting: a little. It sort of beggars belief that nobody else has been suspicious about her, given how blatantly she's hanging around all these people she barely knows and transparently stirring at every opportunity. Curious to see her turning the blame back on Robbo; if I were her and suspected that he suspected me, then I'd be wanting to inflame things as little as possible between him and Colby. It's obvious he'll bite back if she tries to frame him.

"It does seem like the old Ash is back," muses Tori to Robbo. Erm, what? I thought it was new Ash who rocked up in town the other day, and that's why we all suddenly didn't mind him - because to me, old Ash is just the violent, vengeful, tantrum-throwing Ash we've had throughout most of his stint. Anyway, I'm putting that aside because he's OK at the moment. Which is not to say I'm particularly interested. I may have been a cheerleader for Ash and Tori at first - but I was too annoyed by them for too long during the aftermath of Kat's death to be bothered about seeing them together again now. Today's episode did little to disabuse me of that opinion.

I feel like I should be saying more about the Maggie storyline each time it pops up, but the truth is there's not a lot I can critique about it because it feels so strong and authentic. The Ziggy and Coco scenes were particularly good today. Much as I sympathise with them all, I'm hoping the family doesn't succeed in browbeating Maggie into putting on a front; they do all need to be prepared for the worst in case it happens and takes them by surprise, and conceding that possibility isn't the same thing as giving up the fight to get better.

[H&Alover]

Thank goodness for your comment Red about Tori remarking to Ash about his being 'great with Robbo earlier' I was thinking I'd misheard or imagined it. Was there a meeting or crossing of paths we didn't see on screen?  I don't think she meant the meeting between them before Ash left as Ash was still in angry mode back then.  Also atrus she confused me about the 'old' Ash being back, the old Ash was an angry person who flew off the handle at the least thing, if anything it's the new old Ash, still a good friend to people he cares about like Dean & Justin but calmer, loved how he dragged Justin out of bed to talk.  Actually it must make it awkward for Ash being stuck in the middle between Dean & Justin, he's a friend to both. I'm confused .com are Ash & Tori back together?  While they shouldn't ignore the past altogether, it was a big part of why they broke up, they do need to get past it if they are (or want) to be together again. 

OK Robbo's remark about Ebony being a barmaid was uncalled for and hasn't endeared him to her any more than he had already.  It is, so far,  only women who are suspicious about her, namely Olivia and Jasmine, all the men seem blinded by her dark, alluring looks. 

From wanting to string him up a few weeks/months ago Alf is now offering Robbo jobs at the bait shop and caravan park with no apparent apology. Without being pressured Robbo felt able to let Alf in on a little bit of his past, quietly mentioning his family being killed and his going undercover.  Alf was  surprised but not overly so to find out Robbo was a AFP, does that mean it's still not common knowledge? Once again Red we seem to be thinking the same thoughts about Robbo becoming a private detective seeing as his main purpose for being a cop was to help people.  As a detective he wouldn't be subjected to the same restrictions as a cop - fed or otherwise but still able to help folks.

They were lovely scenes with Ziggy and Coco and Brody was very understanding at being 'dumped' so they could have a sisterly night.  Going back a bit why was Ben so worried about leaving them alone overnight, they aren't kids?  Anyways it was so believable them being scared about the film, laughing about the memory of the spider in the loft and just being there for each other.  Them talking about their mum and dad and how it would be so hard for him should Maggie die as they know and see everyday how much they love each other. That was more like the old Coco, being there for Ziggy who was probably trying to play the big strong sister act and failing and welcoming Coco's cuddle. I think  Ben & Maggie were silently please to find the homestead still in one piece and Ziggy and Coco talking.

Beautifully shot scenes of Maggie and Ben at the beach side cottage

But oops then Ziggy accidentally finds Maggie's letters, which I thought she had put back in her box but clearly didn't. You wouldn't have needed a high IQ to realise what they were but it came across that they were all initially in denial.  Naturally they weren't meant to be found until a lot later if indeed at all.  Maggie's death wouldn't be a surprise as it's cancer, but Maggie is trying to think of a future for them without her and not everyone who has a terminal or possible terminal illness thinks that far ahead, it depends on the type of person you are. I think they need to take time and think of it from Maggie's point of view, I'm no expert on the matter but I reckon the person who is suffering from cancer can be more realistic about their chances than their family and especially as at the moment, after her recent scare, Maggie is doing better, she certainly doesn't need to be arguing with her family about her decision to put her hopes for them in writing.  A lot of families are left feeling at a loss wondering what their late loved one would want them to do in regards to certain things, funeral etc.

Seemed a bit of an add on with Olivia having a whinge about her useless on line dates.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Five!

Not quite sure where to start with my thoughts on this.The letters, I guess.To be honest, I mostly favoured Coco's method of dealing with it here: Don't throw it away, but this isn't the time to read it (as Ziggy taking the wrong message from it demonstrates). Keep it in case the day comes, and maybe read it if she gets the all-clear, but don't read it now.I liked the scene between John and Ben, with John sharing his thoughts at losing a wife without warning, and then the moment when he went back to Marilyn later without her knowing why.

While it was apparently innocent in this case (did they know the other one was going to be there when they got Ryder's message?), I can't see this "Keep Raffy and Ty apart" plan working for long. So, turns out both Hunter and Olivia found each other's photos on Smouldr! (And...that photo of Olivia was from the photoshoot she did with Axel.)

[atrus]

There's something about Ryder's delivery that makes me laugh. "John's given me a job at the gelato bar," or whatever he came out with on the beach just had me in fits today and I'm not sure why. Possibly I've had too much sun. Coco seemed to have randomly taken a level in maturity, meanwhile, being uncharacteristically nice to Ryder all day, but also in how she dealt with the letter - as opposed to Ziggy and her spontaneous decision to propose to Brody just so Maggie could be sure to make the wedding. I guess I understand Ziggy's response on an emotional level, but hopefully once she's had time to process things properly she'll realise that getting married for any reason other than wanting to get married isn't the greatest of ideas.

The Raffy/Ty situation is starting to get ridiculous. I don't see how on one hand, Marilyn and John can insist they continue living together, but on the other, insist they can't be alone together? It's the ultimate contradiction, and bluntly an infringement on the kids' individual privacy to insist that at least one of them is within eyeshot of Maz and/or John at all times. Presumably if this was a real-life situation and Raffy didn't have another perfectly-good-albeit-sporadically-perilous home to go to, then they'd just have to trust them not to leap on each other the moment their backs were turned. But since they show zero sign of trusting them, and Raffy does have another perfectly good home to go to, it is starting to feel like that must be the most sensible option - not least because it would mean that Ty and Raffy could actually date like normal teenagers if they wanted to.

Difficult to imagine prizes being awarded for guessing where the "Hunter and Olivia make entirely independent decisions to re-enter the dating scene" storyline is headed. And looks like Brody and Ziggy just declared themselves paid-up members of Team Mason is Creepy.

[H&Alover]

Nice touch of getting John and Brody's prospective on hearing about 'the letters' and should they - Ben/Ziggy - open/not open them.  Brody's wish he would have liked to known what his mum had had In mind for him, but as of course as her death was so sudden, she never got to tell him.  Then John telling Ben how he wished his last words to Gina had been less mundane.  As an aside no reason why Ben would have known John had been previously married to Gina, (golly five years already) he's only known Marilyn as his wife. Seemed too he'd never visited Gina's bench. Moving way to film Ben & Ziggy reading their respective letters with Maggie's voice over, gave them some understanding of Maggie was thinking when she wrote them. Yes Ziggy's decision was a complete knee jerk reaction not at least because a few weeks ago she was in a blind panic because she thought Brody was going to propose to her! Is her thinking well I've got a lot of making up to do so this will be a big step in the right direction. Be interesting to see/hear Ben's reaction.

I think Ryder invited Ty and Raffy 'together' but just as a means to help him cheer up Coco.  J&M did jump to the conclusion, at least to me, that Ryder was a cover for them to meet secretly. They did have the good grace to apologise though.  Will this mean they will allow Raffy & Ty a bit more leeway as in letting them spend time alone together in the house?  Well from being a little cool with him on the beach Coco warmed up a lot to Ryder after his arranging his cheering up afternoon  and she apologised to him.

Liked Olivia's advice to Hunter about dumping the topless profile photo on the Smouldr site.

[Slade]

It's been a real struggle keeping up with these episodes, with the World Cup on, watching other soaps and Love Island.

 

I haven't really liked Justin and especially didn't like the way he dragged Raffy from the Palmer's when he caught her and Ty kissing but objectively I do think it would have been irresponsible to not address the issue at all.  Just  thought he was too heavy handed.  Brody's approach was a lot better.  Didn't like John's attitude to Ty at all.  He can't help the way he feels.  It's funny because I wanted Raffy out of the Palmer's because I thought she was manipulated into staying by them but want her to stay at least for now just to see what happens with Ty.  Glad Justin changed his mind.  Although I'm still not liking Marilyn and John's attitude and were glad they were made to look like idiots when they thought Ty and Raffy were lying about meeting Ryder.

 

So Jasmine wants to be friends with Colby.  Right.  No doubt she's going to try and sleep with him again at some point.  Found Dean really funny when he and Willow gatecrashed Colby and Jasmine's date.  Continuing to love Ebony winding Jasmine up and especially liked the way she got Colby to blame Jasmine for details of him being a former River Boy leaked to the press.  It didn't surprise me that John was so judgemental although surprisingly I do agree with his attitude towards internet dating.  Nothing wrong with having a conversation with someone.

 

It's interesting that Robbo was immediately suspicious of Ebony when he met her.  I suspect he's going to become a problem for her.  Whilst I am enjoying the way she's playing with some of the Summer Bay residents, objectively given the motivation behind her revenge I think she's going way to easy on them.

 

Whilst he did it for the right reasons I was glad Leah called Ryder out about him uploading the video he filmed of her without her consent to her website.  I continue to enjoy the relationship with her and Hunter.  Perhaps Hunter should think more about setting up websites as a line of employment as he seems to be quite good at it.

 

Before she had a chat with Brody about it, it was hard to tell whether Tori wanted to get back with Ash or whether she wants Robbo.  I feel part of her wants Robbo because of how she is with him whenever they interact.  I felt this was the case when they were at the beach and they had chemistry.  However she still clearly has feelings for Ash so I'm not sure.

 

So Olivia and Hunter both on the same dating app.  I really hope this isn't a plot device to get them back together.

[Red Ranger 1]

Huh.A public proposal. Is it the last three that have gone disastrously wrong? (Ziggy even points this out!) As it turns out, Brody does respond the way Ziggy hoped although things started to go wrong quickly afterwards. I'm not quite sure why Coco was so enthusiastic but I continue to like the sisterly relationship between her and Ziggy, and I guess she is still only about 16/17.It was a bit more understated but I also liked the brotherly stuff between Brody and Mason, with Mason genuinely happy for Brody and Brody hoping Mason does find someone special at the singles night (despite considering him a weirdo!).Ziggy's timing is rather suspect, but I think she wouldn't propose if she didn't actually want to marry Brody: She probably wouldn't have done it if she was dating Jarrod at the moment, for instance.Hunter and Olivia have got tickets on themselves assuming they'll end up in the same group: That depends on them actually being compatible, which some of us would dispute.

Wow, even Ebony gets an Obligatory Bikini Scene! So, she and Robbo are both trying to convince Colby the other one's the baddie, resulting in a last scene of them both calling the other one's bluff and going on a date that neither of them considers a real one.Not sure John deserved to have Alf come down hard on him: He didn't say anything that isn't true or common knowledge.It is reaching the point where Ebony's plan relies on no-one telling each other the contradictory stories she's spouting. In fact, Colby has told Robbo what Ebony said to him, which contradicts what she's said to Robbo, so no wonder he's suspicious.

[atrus]

Hmm. I don't doubt for a minute that Ziggy believes what she says about wanting to spend her life with Brody at this point in time, and I'm sure she does indeed love him - but nonetheless it seems obvious Brody is right, and that she'd never have asked, here and now, if it hadn't been for the letter. Just a few weeks ago she was panicking because she thought Brody wanted to have a family, and reasonably enough given how young she is. I do like them a lot as a couple, but it's way too soon - what's the harm in waiting till they're sure they won't just fall out of love around the corner? And to be honest I didn't feel that Maggie interrogated her hard enough on her reasons, or that the entire rest of the Bay should've been cheering it on unquestioningly. Especially given the town's abysmal track record on marriage.

In other news, something with Huntivia, and... back to Ebony again?! Lord save us - she's only had one episode off. Still, Robbo clearly has her number, and Alf does too, so presumably her scheming days are coming to a close.