2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Slade]

18 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Tori isn't jealous of her, just like other women doesn't trust her.

She doesn't trust her because she's jealous.  There are two schools of thought with regards to Tori being the green eyed monster re Ebony.  The first is that she fancies Robbo irrespective of what is happening with Ash.  Tori has proven time and time again throughout her time on the show that she's extremely naive and almost adolescent when it comes to relationships.  And she will take an interest in any guy who shows her a moderate amount of attention.  So I think it's plausible she may fancy Robbo because of the time they spent together.  The second option is that she saw Robbo as her pet project.  Everyone turned against him but she was trying to save him (all for Ash she claimed).  Now that he's getting his life back on track from her perspective he no longer needs her because he has someone else to spend time with so perhaps she feels redundant.  The other main person who was distrustful was Jasmine and whilst I wouldn't necessarily say she was jealous, she perceived Ebony as a threat (like Tori) with regards to her trying to have a relationship with Colby.

I was kind of rooting for Mason but the interaction with him and Dempsey did feel kind of awkward initially.  I wouldn't say that Mason is a particularly shy person but this demonstrates what happens when you encounter someone you really like and you get nervous.  And it felt like that with Mason.  It's a good thing Hunter was there because there were a couple of times where they were veering on awkward silences and Hunter had to bail him out.  Well it's good that he got her number anyway.  Hopefully he will be more relaxed if she agrees to go on a date with him.

I've made no secret of my dislike for Willow and whilst I don't agree with hitting her and know Jasmine was only trying to help, I could kind of understand Willow here.  From her perspective with Jasmine getting involved with everything she pretty much came across as a nuisance.  Funny how Lea (Jasmine's bestie) and Marilyn (Ms Nosey) just happened to witness what happened.  Dean made me laugh when he met up with Jasmine earlier on to discuss Willow - "Got your text.  You know I'm taken right".

[H&Alover]

Tori does have an additional reason not to trust Ebony, just weeks ago she was wearing her neck brace, claiming the pain in her neck was getting worse/spreading now she's swanning around like nothing happened. Also she does know Robbo is quite vulnerable still and she doesn't trust Ebony's motives in getting close to him.

Willow slapped Jasmine when she said she was an addict because she told the truth but Willow is still in the denial stage about it all.  You know - the 'I can handle it, I don't do it often, I can stop anytime I like' stage.  Brody could certainly relate to that.  Jasmine had tried to be more subtle about it earlier by talking about her days when she worked in a casino and saw it from the other side.  Jasmine did no worse than any other person in the bay by overhearing a conversation she shouldn't have, but it did help her understand what was going on with Willow.  Jasmine has been giving Willow all the chances she can, but it's not going to be long before Willow is rumbled. I can see Jasmine's  reasoning behind telling Dean, he's known Willow such a long time and should be able to make her see sense.  It did appear Willow talked him round and persuaded him there was nothing to worry about, but it could be he was just playing along to keep her on side.  He managed to put Alf off chasing him for their rent and I get he may have trouble getting a job, but why didn't he ask Alf if there were any jobs he needed doing around the caravan park? If not paid at least he could do them in lieu of rent.

I did like Hunter and Mason's interaction, though why would Hunter have any idea of what to do for Brody's stag - sorry Buck's night.  I had to chuckle at John & Alf's ideas which may have seen as cutting edge back in the days but Hunter & Mason did well to seem to be at least to be considering them.  Mason's stopping listening to Hunter at Salt when Dempsey walked in was funny.  She didn't look away from Mason when he looked at her and even smiled. It did seem awkward at first but then it all made sense,  I liked how Hunter apologised for wrecking her and  Mason's talk at the Date Night. Clever of Hunter to decide to ask Dempsey if she had any ideas, though not usual, got the conversation moving and as it turned out encouraged Mason to ask Dempsey for her number.  Nice mention of them faking VJ's broken arms with the double splints. Be interesting to see what idea they have decided on, hope it's a real fun one that Brody will appreciate.

Maggie must feel really out of it not being able to go with Coco & Ziggy to chose the bridesmaids dress, but thank goodness for mobiles.  She has every right to have a whinge at times, not possible to be upbeat all the time, that must be very exhausting. Marilyn can sympathise with that and although a small thing with Roo, Marilyn & Leah bringing over the mouth ulcer cream and other remedies it was very thoughtful.  Maggie I'm thinking has always been the independent type and not used to leaning on people and though not generalising there isn't the same sort of community in a big city like there is in a place like the bay. The fact that so much can be done on line nowadays does make the whole invites, place cards, order of service and other little things much easier and with four of them on the game Maggie is still able to feel a big part of the wedding.  That is the bay at its best.  I can see Alf and John chipping in as well.  Sadly it looks like things are going to get worse for Maggie.

 

[Red Ranger 1]

Well. Hunter and Mason’s idea for a bucks weekend didn’t actually sound that bad. I get Brody’s point about not wanting to be away while Maggie’s ill but part of me thinks he should have made the effort and definitely not used Ziggy as an easy out. Looks like they’re going for a Plan B anyway. It certainly sounded better than what Ziggy’s having forced on her. In what universe is it up to Marilyn of all people to organise a hen’s night for someone less than half her age? Why isn’t Olivia or Coco or Jasmine or even Tori arranging this rather than her mum’s friends looking for ways to send her to sleep? Also, what was all that nonsense about Roo going to look after her mum because she's sick? Martha manages for 30-odd years with no family support and now she's going to call Roo every time she has a cold/Georgie Parker's absent from a few episodes? I wouldn't have minded if they'd just said Roo was visiting her, but they have to do the whole Taking Care Of A Sick Relative trope.

Well, Willow apologised to Jasmine but still doesn’t quite seem to accept she’s got a problem. Deleting the app in front of Leah was obviously all for show as she seems to have promptly reinstalled it. John sacking her was a bit hard but basically fair, confessing was her only chance of saving her job but it was no guarantee. Nice to see Mason continuing his nice guy behaviour: I was expecting him to have a go at Willow but instead he dealt with her reasonably.

Maggie gets hit with another dose of bad news which seems to be a deal-breaker. I can’t really fault her here, she’s letting the doctors put her through hell and it’s not doing any good and the cancer’s not even slowing down. They can’t cure her, at least not without a stem cell match, and their delayed tactics aren’t delaying anything. So, there does reach a point where “treatment” is simply making you more ill and you’re better off with a few months of relative health. Whether Maggie is actually at this point is another matter but ultimately it’s her decision.

[H&Alover]

No, wasn't a bad idea by Hunter & Mason, but like you I can see why he doesn't want to go the city, lots of bad things could happen, but was disappointed he used Ziggy by 'agreeing' it was her who didn't want him to go, she won't be a happy bunny.  John looked crushed they didn't want to use any of his ideas. Maz & Leah did have another suggestion about a shopping day and lunch out but toned it down to the pamper day because of Maggie not being able to keep up.   Admittedly Coco and Olivia do know Ziggy better and as bridesmaid I'm surprised Coco hasn't put it on her things-to-do list, though I suppose she knows  a hens isn't a Ziggy thing. I wondered who they said had dashed off to see to her mum.  We didn't see Alf's reaction.

I know it must be hard for Maggie and even more so for Ben really to understand why despite all the treatment Maggie has had her cancer has spread. Sadly cancer has it's own rules and can still defy medicine.  It may not make sense to the people not suffering from it when  the person who is says 'enough'. She knows how sick the treatment makes her, she doesn't know what effect this new treatment will have on her. Case of the cure being worse than the disease.  It's two weeks until the wedding, starting the new treatment now could wipe her out completely maybe even put her back in hospital.   Ben suggested postponing the wedding but for how long and there is no guarantee she will be feeling any better than she is now. Of course Ben and Ziggy and Coco would want her to continue but Maggie knows her own body and how much it can take.

Willow is one complex person, she knows she's done wrong but still in denial mode as to why, apologising to Jasmine then slamming her down by saying just because she saw people struggling with their gambling problem didn't make her an expert, she never said she was. Willow has a demon on one shoulder and an angel on the other. Jasmine had been doing so well not telling anyone what Willow's problem was but finally cracked under Leah's interrogation. Willow took the news Leah news better than I thought she would and yes that 'deleting' the app was so obviously just to placate Leah. Took guts to own up to John who didn't really have a choice but to fire her, he is only the manager, he'd never feel he could trust her again.  Stoops really low today by the looks of it.  Ziggy shouting about how much money Ben had given her wasn't a wise idea, even without Willow sitting there, anyone would have heard her and why dump her bag behind the counter with all that dosh in it when there's a safe in the store room.

[Red Ranger 1]

I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate Willow but I really don't have any sympathy for her and pretty much wanted her to get found out here.I'm not sure Dean's done her any favours by covering for her, she really needs a wake-up call.She's handed back all the other money she's stolen but this time she actually went and lost it.(Also have to say that after weeks of her betting online, she suddenly has a betting slip for Dean to find.Did she print it out or something?! Actually, thinking about it, she placed the bet with the stolen cash and it would have taken too long to pay it into an account...Okay, nitpick revoked!) She was worryingly unconcerned about where Dean got the money from: Sounds like he's now in debt to someone rather dodgy.Still, it's good for Brody and Ziggy that they got their money back.Maggie does have the right to make her decision and her family should support her rather than trying to pressure her or guilt her. This time, I didn't blame Maggie not wanting the girls to know (although Ziggy ended up finding out pretty quickly).I also kind of appreciate Ben and Ziggy's plan: There's nothing wrong with stopping the treatment until after the wedding and then having a rethink, just as long as the final decision is Maggie's.

Meanwhile, poor Murray continues to be everyone's patsy and I was kind of hoping he would tell Colby to get knotted.I don't really have any sympathy for Colby either, he's broken a whole string of rules.Yet I'm fully expecting him to get reinstated by the appeal because cops on this show seem to be able to do just about anything and get reinstated: Angelo was the only one who had the decency to stay gone, and as a result was the only one to get out of it alive.And once again, Colby's using police resources illegally for nothing: Worse than nothing in fact, as Ebony makes sure he's following a false trail.Meanwhile, Hazel has apparently just switched motel rooms and they still can't find her.I did like Ebony calling her bluff about taking over though.

[atrus]

Willow's getting a bit more difficult to redeem now. Flogging some disused gym equipment is one thing, but stealing Ziggy's wedding fund was pretty low.

That said, I'm still of the view that Jasmine should either report her, or just mind her own business - although now everyone's seen Willow slapping her it's admittedly made it more difficult for her to take the second option. I wish Leah would mind her own business too: has she ever even had a converation with Willow before? I thought John dealt with Willow pretty reasonably under the circumstances - but losing the job only made things worse. As, I'm sure, will Dean's decision to take a loan from the kind of person who writes him a message saying "two weeks left, tick tock" on the day it was issued.

Difficult not to feel for all the Astonis. I'd like to think in Maggie's shoes that I would want to do everything possible to stick around for my kids, but at the same time I don't think she should be obliged to feel that way - and nor can I or anyone really understand unless they've been through what she has. If she wants to stop treatment, then it's obviously tough on Ben but he just needs to support her, come what may.

I'm sure nobody will believe that the phone Ebony planted is Willow's, given that it presumably doesn't have any gambling apps installed.

 

[D.B]

Well, I'll start this with all the people I felt sorry for this week. First, is all the Astonis. It must have been really difficult for Maggie to have made that decision to stop treatment and while I completely understand Ben and Ziggy's reaction to it, I would hapreferred that they were a bit more supportive instead of Ben's outburst without considering calmly why she wants to do this. It's horrible that Maggie's cancer was spreading and I hope that Ben and Ziggy's plan works in that hopefully after the wedding she'll change her mind. The next people I felt sorry for was Mason and Hunter because, in all fairness to them, they did have a pretty good idea for a bucks night, and it must have been really disappointing for Brody to shut it down, but it does look like they have a different idea, so hopefully it will be good. And the other person is poor old Murray, who again resumes his role as the main cops' resort to getting things not-by-the-book style. He really keeps on putting himself out there, but at least, in this case, it was for a good cause and besides Colby said he'd keep Murray out of this. But, as before, Colby's recklessness will pretty much add up to nothing now, since Ebony will be framing Willow for the phone, but I guess it's the effort that matters. In fairness, while Colby may be getting the resources from the police illegally, at least him and Murray are actually trying to do something, rather than the rest just sitting on their bums. 

And now, here's the people I had little to no sympathy whatsoever: Willow and Dean. Willow, very disappointedly, has become one of my least favourite characters. I thought stealing from the people who gave her a living and slapping the one person who was actually trying to help her, rather than encouraging her gambling problem while doing nothing non-dodgy to provide money and just assuming that things will be alright (Yes Dean I'm looking at you!) was as low as she could get, (and even when she was apologising to Jasmine, she still came off as unlikeable) but stealing from her friend's wedding, especially when she know they're going through an extremely difficult time, shows that, just like with many characters before her, like Hugo and the smuggling operation, or Charlotte covering and murdering for Hunter, or Andy and his tirade against the Braxtons, or Dylan Carter abusing Kat and plotting against Zac, or Tank almost killing Josh, or Kat unbelievably covering up for Josh or Josh letting his friends and family being questioned and in some cases arrested for killing Charlotte, there's little hope for Willow now. In in fairness to him, Dean did return the money but not without getting involved in something dodgy while doing it. Honestly I have no idea how these two think this is going to end for them, but surely they would suspect it probably won't end well. As for Ebony planning to frame her, well, while I don't like how Ebony's going to get away with it again, I have literally no sympathy for Willow or Dean. In my opinion, the sooner they get into trouble or get caught the better.

[Red Ranger 1]

Hmm. Well, despite not being very keen on Willow recently, I actually enjoyed seeing Colby have a go at her less than I enjoyed seeing Dean turn the tables on him and him be left stamping his foot impotently.To be fair to him, Ebony has been making his actions look worse than they are, but really, in the grand scheme of things, meeting with Dean to explain he can't meet with Dean and someone inventing a fight are pretty minor compared to lying on his application and illegally accesing a police database (not to mention car theft!), and as Justin points out, admitting to using police resources without authorisation again isn't going to do his cause much use.So, is this Ebony including Willow and Dean in her revenge, by having them be blamed for trolling Colby? (I have to say at this point that I don't think Willow was in the right position to have taken those photos of Colby and Dean.) Robbo seemed to be dragging things out there, having already heard Hazel with Ebony. The only reason for him not looking in the bathroom that I can think of is that this isn't the episode where he finds that out.

So...Ash has been drifting for a while now.Could this be it for him?If it is, I'll take that, but I guess I'll give more thought on that if and when it happens.I was disappointed to hear him refer to himself as "Uncle Ash": Billie stipulated he was "Uncle Marty" and he seemed to have accepted it.I wouldn't be 100% against him staying in Cyprus but that is VJ's territory so I'm pleased that he only seems to be planning a flying visit.

[atrus]

There continues to be a real electricity to Robbo and Ebony's scenes, and it remains the most interesting part of this story so far. It's certainly more interesting than Colby's self-righteous tantrums. No surprise that Hazel isn't keen on how chummy Ebony and Robbo are getting and want him dispatched ASAP - but it seems Ebony is only willing to exact revenge on Hazel's behalf if she can play by her own rules, and I'm starting to detect a bit of a power shift there.

Meanwhile, I'm left wondering just how many times Ash is going to leave town. Hopefully third time lucky. I don't mean that in a 'glad to be rid of him' way - he's been much more tolerable lately - but I do feel the character has pretty much run his course and I think it would be good for Ash as a person to start afresh somewhere else, away from all the unhappy memories. Having not mentioned Luc in what seems like months, Ash is suddenly pining for a reunion - but I do think it's the best exit strategy for him, and Cyprus is as good a place as any to start a new life.

[D.B]

I do like him, however Colby  really annoyed me yesterday with his tantrums. He's being a lot more reckless than I would like. Robbo was right on it when he said Colby wasn't handling it right. I get that it's his career on the line here, but moaning about it to Robbo and Ebony and lashing out at Willow didn't really do much except make him very unlikeable and less of the professional cop he was before. Justin, very unusually, was the voice of reason, he was right when saying that Colby taking into the cops wouldn't really help him out, it would just make things a whole lot worse. But at least now Robbo is on Ebony and Hazel's case, speaking of which, their bickering seem to be reaching a breaking point here. However, I'm still not sure about whether Ebony actually cares for him or not. Well, hopefully we get to see Lance again.

Well, it does seem that we'll be saying goodbye to say Ash very soon. While he has been much more likeable for these past few weeks, I do like this for two main reasons. One, like you atrus, I feel like Ash needs somewhere else to be if he really wants to get on with life, for he can't really do it in the Bay. He's been pretty much hanging around not doing much that didn't involve Tori. And secondly, I fell it's great that he's going to see Luc. While I didn't like his pig-headed ways during the custody storyline last year, I have always believed that he wants what's best for Luc so it will be good for Ash to be part of her life again. Though I did feel sorry for Justin though, it does feel like he's been pretty much being left out to to handle stuff on his own.

18 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

I wouldn't be 100% against him staying in Cyprus but that is VJ's territory so I'm pleased that he only seems to be planning a flying visit.

While I do believe that VJ is much better a father figure to Luc than Ash, (even though he did struggle), and I really didn't like Ash in the custody storyline, Ash still should have an important part of Luc's life growing up, so if he was to stay in Cyprus to live with VJ and Luc, I would be mainly fine with it.