2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[H&Alover]

Yes Red, previous public proposals haven't worked out the way the proposee hoped - Kyle to Phoebe, Zac to Leah and most recently Hunter to Olivia.  But Ziggy seems  to have broken that part of the spell and Brody said yes!  Coco, if I'm right doesn't know what Maggie 'said' to Ziggy in her letter to her and just thinks Ziggy is being all loved up. I was more surprised by Ben being so enthusiastic considering it took him such a long time to even accept Ziggy and Brody talking to each other. As often happens someone overheard something personal to them.  Brody could have chosen to ignore it but didn't, which says a lot about how far he has come and is willing to face the truth so I was glad Ziggy was honest with him, he's got some thinking to do. I don't doubt Ziggy really meant it but timing not the best. Maggie batted Ben's remark about Ziggy being so young into touch, they were both a lot younger.  Ben doesn't know either what was in Ziggy's letter. Should Brody come round and he and Ziggy do make it up the aisle where are they going to live, the Morgan house would be a  touch overcrowded so that either leaves the farmhouse or they get a place of their own.  I would imagine it may be a bit of a shock as neither of them have spent time alone as a couple so don't really know each others funny/bad habits. 

So Alf isn't a fan of Ebony either, but although John  can be a motormouth he didn't really divulge anything that secret about Robbo, it was common knowledge he arrived with amnesia and he and Kat were an item and she died. Liked that Alf gave Robbo the heads up but  he was already onto her, hence the asking her out.  She doesn't know he was an undercover does she? To anyone else she would come across as paranoid suspecting Robbo of spying on her when it's just coincidence that whenever he is looking over the beach or even walking along it, he sees her and Colby deep in conversation. Only people with a guilty conscience would think that and she has no reason to have one does she?  Both Robbo and Ebony made good points about Colby not having known the other very long, Colby knows just a bit  more about Robbo than he does Ebony who we know is lying.

So internal affairs or the Aus equivalent  are digging further into Colby's cop past for cases where he has turned a blind eye, but as he and Robbo both agreed he wouldn't be the only cop to have done that though far as I can recall since he's been in the bay he's played it by the book, heck he even arrested Dean. Kat bent the rules, so did Jack, Angelo and Charlie, bet even McCarthy had done the same back in his younger days. Unless in Colby's case they are concentrating on anything to do with the River Boys.

Mason seems the most keen on the singles night and it doesn't have to be anything heavy just a dipping of his toe back in the water.  Huntivia  sorry I HATE the mixing of names!  Hunter and Olivia do know each other pretty well so actually it wouldn't be unusual for them to end up in the same group.

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎02‎/‎07‎/‎2018 at 19:46, atrus said:

back to Ebony again?! Lord save us - she's only had one episode off.

We hadn't seen her since Wednesday!

6 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Coco, if I'm right doesn't know what Maggie 'said' to Ziggy in her letter to her

She does. Ziggy told her at the end of last week.

So, where to start? Well, Ash was in the same location as Robbo three times, and while he didn't seem at all comfortable with it, he didn't jump on him and start punching him either, so I guess he is trying to move on. Not that Tori seems entirely ready to believe that, or indeed to let go of being Robbo's go-to person, so while it seems they have tried to pick up where they left off, it is probably about time they admit that it's never quite worked.Robbo actually seemed like he was on a genuine date with Ebony until his questioning of her resurfaced, although he's still not quite sure whether she's up to something or not.Ebony continues to be more disingenuous than she needs to be, since it was Colby that told her Robbo was with the feds (and that he did some undercover work), but maybe it's her way of putting people off guard.

Talking of things that never quite worked, love that I was right and the test showed Hunter and Olivia aren't compatible...not that they fared any better with their chosen dates.The set-up seemed a bit weird though: We get told they're being put in groups, but then it seems like they can just wander around and talk to whoever they like.(Are they meant to check someone's on their list before approaching them?)Mason probably would have done better without his support group, and his repartee with Dempsey was vaguely reminiscent of how he was with Beth.Of course, given that they have placements at the same hospital, it's more possible than usual than they could run into each other again...

Ben's defence of Ziggy was interesting, as was Ziggy's chat to him about how she was affected by Maggie's letter but it's about more than that. Brody and Ziggy breaking up, which is what "calling off the engagement" seemed to mean, does seem a rather extreme response, the sensible thing might be to stay engaged but not actually get married until they've worked through what they're going to do with the rest of their lives.(That wouldn't make exciting television, though!) Nice to see Mason again being to Brody what Coco has been to Ziggy lately, helping out with his own banner gag.

[atrus]

36 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

On 02/07/2018 at 19:46, atrus said:

back to Ebony again?! Lord save us - she's only had one episode off.

We hadn't seen her since Wednesday! 

Really? Whoops. All I can say in my defence is, it didn't feel that way!

I'm glad that Brody and Ziggy aren't breaking up - that would have been an overreaction. On the other hand, I can't help but feel that this iffy proposal is going to hang over them like a cloud. Ziggy may mean what she says about wanting to marry Brody (and I think she does), but he's probably always going to have that niggling doubt, and I wouldn't be surprised if gets dredged up and weaponised by one or both of them in future arguments. Still, I liked the scene between Ben and Brody, and Brody's public proposal acceptance (so much better an idea than a public proposal), and I do hope I'm wrong and that marriage works out for them.

Meanwhile, Robbo is the cloud hanging over Ash and Tori. I can't blame Tori for assuming the worst when she heard Ash was eyeballing Robbo on the beach, given his past form. But at the same time, she could've been more tactful the night before when they ran into Robbo, and just spoken to him later about Ebony rather than making a big, urgent scene of it and putting her night with Ash on pause. Lots of psych-outs and mutual suspicion between Robbony (Ebbo? Sorry, @H&Alover, I'll stop now, I promise), and their interactions continue to be the most interesting thing about this saga so far. I could definitely see them having a mildly sexually-charged clifftop fight-to-the-death sometime soon. Finally, Olivia is needlessly offensive to potential soulmate Raj, while Hunter and Mason continue to fail to see what's staring them in the face.

[Red Ranger 1]

I thought I enjoyed that episode, but looking back on it I'm not sure I did. I think the highlights were a Justin/Raffy scene and the good Ryder/Ty interaction.Other than that...Tori and Ash are obviously just going to carry on having the same storyline every week

 

until he leaves

and weren't even a particularly good couple in the first place.(Having realised they need to deal with their problems instead of papering over the cracks and pretending they haven't hurt each other, they decide to just have sex and go on pretending the problems aren't there.Give it up, guys, you're rubbish together!)More underplayed gambling stuff from Willow: I just about sympathise with her but she doesn't make it easy.Tori blurting out the details of Willow and Nina's deal Just Because. Wasn't the whole point that Nina let Justin start seeing Ava again when he and Willow broke up? Why is Nina suddenly playing hardball?(Upset that Ava clearly isn't willing to accept the deal, perhaps?)Frankly, Justin turning up at the party and calling Nina's bluff seems a better tactic than hiring a lawyer and hoping that a)he'll be able to convince a judge to ignore all the kidnappings, stabbings, motor accidents, drug addictions and murders and b)Nina will back down when she's got no reason to.Oh, and Raffy whining about something that's her own fault for insisting on carrying on living there instead of going home.And what the heck was she wearing?When we first saw her in the kitchen, I thought she was wearing an apron.Then she carried on wearing whatever-it-was all episode.

[D.B]

Last week, Monday, Tuesday, and yesterday:

The Ebony stuff is becoming kind of boring and cringeful to watch. All that build up of us believing that she will bring havoc across the bay in her revenge seems pretty much pointless and petty now.  Her exploiting Colby's past is serious, but still feels petty. At least Robbo is on her trail now, hopefully he will be able to catch her. Colby and Jasmine breaking up is sad, but pretty much expected. And as much as I like Colby, I do agree with Red that he,shouldn't have been lying, even though his good dreads as an officer, in my opinion, pretty much made up for it.

On 3 July 2018 at 19:33, Red Ranger 1 said:

Not that Tori seems entirely ready to believe that,

Well, no-one can really blame her, Ash has spent nearly all of the year trying to kill Robbo or pushing his buttons for no real reason  except that he wrongly thinks that Robbo killed Kat. I get that Ash is trying to change, and he does seem to doing a good job of it, but no-one can really ignore the past events. I almost rolled my eyes when I saw Tori and Ash getting together again, even if they're likeable now, they've been on and off the whole damn time now,  it's getting pretty tiring now.

The Astonis as always were the highlight. It must have been really painful for Maggie to write those letters, and while it must have been really hard for the rest of them to see the letters, it's very important that they understand that what may happen won't be good. The sisterhood shown between Ziggy and Coco were absolutely lovely and I really enjoyed Roo being there for Maggie and the talk between John and Ben. I think it's wonderful that Brody and Ziggy are engaged, they had a bit of trouble, but thanks to Ben (the least likely to do so if we remember him last year), they pulled through. I hope they'll be happy together. 

I enjoyed watching the Raffy-Ty storyline too, though I found John and Marilyn's reaction towards them very ridiculous with them watching them 24/7. For God's sake, it was just a kiss, at least they weren't at each other's heads like before! I loved how Ryder was being a good friend to both of them and the banter between him and Ty. 

I know I've said he's not my favourite, but I really felt sorry for Mason this week, his chance of finding another relationship was ruined by Hunter and Olivia. Mason and Dempsey did look really good together, and he's been through a lot, he deserves a break. He's been a better friend than Olivia and Hunter deserve. But hopefully, since Dempsey will be working at the hospital, we will see more of her, and her and Mason could start a relationship. The Hunter and Olivia stuff- at the risk of sounding like a broken record, I honestly couldn't care less.

At least Justin now knows the truth, but it still didn't ease things between him and Willow. It's very cruel that still Nina won't let him see Ava, but, I don't know, maybe Ash and Tori have the right of it, maybe crashing the party and confronting Nina wouldn't be the best move. A lawyer does seem like the most practical approach, it would make him seem more reasonable than it would if he went in guns blazing. I do like the idea of Willow and Jasmine being friends, Willow hasn't really been close to any of the women in the Bay so far, but soon I fear that will go away now that Jasmine caught her stealing from the surf club. I do sympathise with her, but she should know better.  

[H&Alover]

Thanks Red.

We haven't seen Ash & Robbo have any 'close' meetings, just from a distance no exchanges of any kind between them  which imo should happen  if just to clear the air between them. Tori really did overreact when told Ash had - gosh - seen Robbo on the beach with Ebony, running about the bay like a headless chock.  no wonder he lost his rag with her.  Tori then also has doubts about her, not at least because Ebony has shed her neck brace and is acting like the accident never happened. Funny that her 'injury' cleared up as soon as Justin made the offer of a pay out. She is, however, underestimating Robbo,  he has had many years of listening to peoples stories, and also spinning his own. Studying to be an accountant eh, well from I could gather with that first mother/daughter meeting she had been off the scene for a while, but though you shouldn't assume anything, she doesn't come across as the accountant type. I do enjoy watching the mind games they are playing, she is obviously practised in the art of deception but Robbo is a pro. I think Ash & Tori are destined for a stormy relationship, some couples are just like that. Wise words from Justin though.  He was on a kind of high having had an invite from Ava to her party, kind of naïve of him though to assume Ava wouldn't have done it behind Nina's back, hasn't he learnt anything about his daughter yet?   Seeing as Justin didn't know about Nina's ultimatum to Willow why would he let her, Nina, know he and Willow were no longer together, he thinks it's just because bad things happen when she visits the bay. An innocent comment by Tori got Justin's interest and she was backed into a corner into admitting the real reason why Willow broke up with him. For a usually intelligent guy he was again being very dumb when he told Willow if they had stuck together they could have talked Nina around. He also bought her story she was happy with Dean when her face to anyone with eyes couls see she was lying. All bad stuff like you mentioned Red can happen in the city just as easily, though not as personal,  be interesting to see how Nina explains to Ava daddy won't be coming to her party. Should Justin be preparing to meet her at the bus stop? When you think of it Ash's idea isn't that out there, may give Nina pause for thought and how about mediation?

The only other person apart from Colby, I think that Robbo told about his being a fed was Ash and he hasn't had any interaction with Ebony.

Ziggy love how did you expect Brody to react, what would you have done if it had been the other way around? Methinks not as calmly as Brody, probably thrown something at him.  Problem with the idea of not getting married right away is Maggie and how much time she may or may not have so I don't see it being a long engagement. Sign that miracles do happen with Ben giving Brody advice on what it is like being around the Astoni women, I don't think anyone, at least of all us, would have thought it possible Ben would be welcoming Brody as a son-in-law. His line about if Brody wanted a quiet life than maybe Ziggy wasn't the one for him  made me smile.

Both Olivia and Hunter were amazed they weren't in the same group but thinking about it it would have been a bit awkward as they would have had to avoid each other, it was an independent party that arrange the questionnaire so completely unbiased in any way.  The only one that's seem to be getting somewhere was Mason and didn't Hunter have his eye on Dempsey at first, both Hunter & Olivia scuppered that for him, still if she is working at ND hospital it'll be a more familiar  background to properly get to know each other.  I can't entirely blame Hunter for getting peed off with his 'date' I mean who does that forcing your food beliefs on someone you've just met? Did Hunter look like someone who stuffs his face with junk food every day?

Oops Willow busted by Jasmine robbing the juice bars till, guess who's going to get the blame for that? John must have a good memory to be able to tell at a glance the takings were down. Talking of whom just as I thought he & Maz had learnt their lesson in a rather public way revert to keeping as close an eye as possible on Ty & Raffy.  I did cheer at Raffy's repeating John's 'no whispering in this house etc' remark back at him.  As we see the not leaving them alone in the house plan goes pear shaped as Raffy and Ty find a place to be alone outside of the homestead.  I know it doesn't mean much nowadays but they are both under 16 so I don't imagine, hope, wild passionate sex is on their minds.  Is Ryder forgetting he had never had a proper girlfriend before Coco or isn't that something a young guy would admit to another?

btw atrus you are barking up the wrong tree as regards male 'friendships

.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Ahh, where to start? Well, maybe with the rather bizarre Justin plot. As I thought, calling a lawyer did no good at all, but then the whole situation is very confusing.Why is the kidnapping being "resolved" suddenly so crucial? If Hazel was looking to grab Ava again, would the fact she was living with Nina and Brian rather than the Morgans really make a difference? Also, Nina has been perfectly fine with Justin visiting Ava in the city since he and Willow broke up (and seemingly thought it was Willow that the Eastons were out to get rather than Justin), so why is she suddenly banning him from all contact completely? It's like the show needed an excuse to escalate the storyline and this is the best they could come up with.

Elsewhere, as Alf sagely notes, Raffy and Ty demonstrate that "Life finds a way." At this point, I think someone really needs to come up with a better plan.Willow continues to demonstrate that she does have a conscience even if it's on the blink: Stealing is apparently okay, letting Ryder get blamed is not. What little sympathy I had for Colby is in danger of giving up the ghost.He's not quite at planning-a-jail-break levels yet, but he's demonstrating that usual regular police officer trait of believing the rules don't apply to him, as he thinks he can use police resources for personal reasons while suspended.Not sure why they let him keep his badge for so long except, y'know, symbolism.Also not sure why Dean, whose steady drip of poison really hasn't helped, was so panicky at the end.It's not like Colby's done anything that could get him arrested, worse they'd do is kick him off the force and that increasingly feels like a done deal anyway.

[H&Alover]

I'd forgotten that Red about Justin being allowed to visit Ava in the city but now Nina's banned all contact.   Hazel grabbing Ava again while she is in the city would be more awkward no nearly empty road sides.  At least Justin gave the legal way a try.  Apart from the job Willow has at Salt, and not doing badly to give her her due she is a worker, has she got the money she demanded from Justin?

Loved the way Raffy & Ty were winding Maz & John up.  Very wise words Alf. Inevitable the banning of them being alone together in the house or anywhere would lead to them sneaking about. Rather sweet scene of them hiding under the upturned dinghy and another kiss or two. Now they have Coco & Ryder on their team and acting as look outs for them. Ryder has accepted he & Coco aren't girlfriend and boyfriend  but just friends and nice to see Coco smiling again.  

Would Willow have 'owned' up if (a) Ryder wasn't being accused in front of her or (b) Jasmine hadn't already sprung her?  I like to think so, glad she decided to stop being so proud and independent and accepted Jasmine's loan, she has to kick the gambling habit though. OK Dean hasn't got the job at the garage but is that really stopping him from trying elsewhere, she's subbing him too.

I was puzzled when I saw Colby toss his badge into the bonfire I thought a cop had to hand it in when they were suspended.  It wasn't police resources as such more of a mate who he wanted to help him, heaven knows plenty of suspended cops have done it before. He did say to Dean what I've already said on here that even after all the time he's been on the force he hasn't got anywhere with his search for Belle. A few home truths coming out in that argument he had with Dean, booze helping with that methinks.  Another non fight Colby takes a swing at Dean, misses and falls over.  Alf and Roo spotted them drinking but would he have called the cops or would it have been another vanner fed up with them making a racket and disturbing their peace. Despite the angry and hurtful words Colby flung at him Dean still hid Colby in his van and lied to the cops.  Not that it helped much going by what happened later and what we saw in the trailer.

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week: Five, for the second week running!

Well, at least Justin gave a passing mention to Nina having arbitrarily changed her mind about him seeing Ava.I still think his best bet would have been to just turn up to the party and dare Nina to let the mask slip. Meanwhile, Willow, who up until now has seemed completely oblivious about Colby's sister and what was happening when he and Dean had the accident, is suddenly fully clued up and spilling the beans to Justin.Are we meant to assume that Dean brought her up to speed now they're an item? Colby gets a bit of respect for fronting up to McCarthy rather than hiding in Dean's van like his bit on the side, while McCarthy gives him some harsh but pertinent comments.Maybe Colby and Robbo could set up that detective agency together.

Meanwhile, more Astoni stuff which is as well-acted and poignant as always (although, at the risk of being the boy saying the emperor has no clothes, it's at the stage where so many scenes and conversations have ended with Ben telling Maggie she's beautiful that it's starting to lose its impact). The wig did suit her and Leah's vlog was dignified and respectful.

[H&Alover]

Well of course Justin isn't going to drop Nina in it by telling Ava mummy stopped daddy coming to her party.  Finally it has clicked with him Colby wasn't just palming him off with the "I know what you're going through" line and it is something he knows about. I wondered about that too Red, Willow must have been aware of who Belle was before she was snatched, Dean mentioned her name in front of Willow who didn't look as if she had never heard of her but I think not of Colby, Dean & Jay's involvement in the chase to stop her being taken. She did look surprised to see Belle's file on Colby's coffee table, thought he would have learnt from last time.  He did take it pretty well though when Justin told him he knew all about it, they do have common ground now and it looks like they are going to join forces - no pun intended - to find Hazel and look Ma Baker has resurfaced!  It looked like she was  getting Ebony to poison Colby & Robbo.  Hazel has managed to keep a low profile so far.

It was a fellow caravanner who reported Dean & Colby, Colby showing his face was a point in his favour but in his current state a telling off from McCarthy wasn't going to have any impact. I'm guessing then the keep away from Dean still stands even though Colby is suspended.

Great scenes with the Astoni's as usual, lovely one with her and Ben on the beach, Maggie was right whatever scarf, urban, hat she wore it was going to be obvious she had cancer so detracting from what should be Ziggy's day, even though everyone knows anyway.  I was pleased Ben didn't get all 'I'm not accepting charity' when Leah said the cake for Maggie was on the house and took it as it was meant in the spirit of friendship and was able to open up to her & Roo about how Maggie was feeling about wearing a scarf to the wedding. Did Leah & Roo have the light bulb moment at the same time?  Some real fun moments with the trying on of wigs,  the one they settled on was the right choice as it looked like Maggie's natural hair would look.  Considering the shaky start they had Leah & Maggie have a good friendship and had a touching moment when Leah tentatively suggested the vlog to put Maggie's story out there.  Yes, a lot of people have cancer but it's the way Maggie has dealt with it that was the point, showing to others out there, men & women that they too can cope with the right support groups, friends and family  behind them.