2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four. Everyone else managed two or three, aside from the still-absent Leah.

Well, after my comments yesterday, I suddenly found myself enjoying Ebony again once she was a physical presence rather than just someone for Robbo to growl about.Another case where a villain's having so much fun that I find it hard not to have fun with her.And I certainly enjoyed her poking fun at the increasingly Too Dumb To Live Colby.He sets "Bella" a test, she fails it and he spends the rest of the day running around looking for a way to get in touch with someone that might be his sister but equally as well might not.He is seriously asking for it here.The police should keep him sacked and hire Jasmine instead.

It was extremely weird to have Alf saying it's a bit early for "the chat" while sitting right next to his daughter that got pregnant at Ryder and Coco's age...and then he makes it even weirder by actually pointing that out! The characters could do with keeping their opinions out, really, especially Irene who seems to have turned into Colleen this week.

Mason drooling over Jasmine again: My main thought is "What about Dempsey?" After all that trouble to arrange a date, and spending the night with her, and exchanging texts with her the next day...what's happened? I'd still kind of like him and Jasmine together, but the answer was only going to be one thing (and last time he tried to ask her out, she didn't even notice then either), so while I wasn't too keen on Olivia sticking her oar in, on balance I think she did him a favour.

[atrus]

Ty's sixteenth was a nice, feelgood interlude, albeit mainly used as a device to help resurrect another heterosexual romance rather than introducing one for Ty himself; I couldn't help thinking it would be nice if it had been an opportunity to bring in another boy from school who Ty could begin to develop reciprocal feelings with. But hey, that could still happen down the line, so best not complain too prematurely. I must also admit to being disappointed that Ty is already 'so over' Ryder. Even if that's what he'd say to Ryder's face, I don't think it's what he would really feel at this stage; and seeing him nonetheless encourage Ryder to ask Coco out before withdrawing to a corner looking sad would have been far more affecting than what we got. We've had more of this kind of thing with Raffy's feelings for Ty since they split, and I've seen no reason yet to think that Ty's feelings for Ryder were any less intense. Indeed, acknowledging this would have been a great opportunity to have him confide in a new fifth teen, with whom a bond could then begin to develop as he helped Ty to move on.

Still, I'm definitely pleased for Ryder getting a second shot with Coco - he certainly deserves some happiness after all the points he's earned being a good friend to Ty, including today by initially avoiding talking about his designs on Coco to avoid hurting Ty's feelings. I just hope that Coco treats him a little better this time around; recent signs have been positive, but let's wait and see. Alf, Roo, Ben, Marilyn, John and Irene all angsting over whether Ryder had had 'the talk' was frankly ludicrous, though, to the extent that by the end of it I was wondering why they hadn't solicited Madge Wilkins' advice on the matter for good measure. A bit early, says Alf... isn't he meant to be seventeen?! And if it's such an issue, why were none of them talking about this the first time they got together?

John and Marilyn really did tie themsleves in knots over Ty's possible departure, meanwhile; and to be honest, I could see why he thought they were paving the way to eject him. After all, it seemed like he didn't know that Raffy had blabbed to them about him wanting to leave when he reached 16, so the very fact they were even bringing it up must have come as a surprise. Still, even though they articulated it fairly badly, they were only trying to do their best by him by going to pains to make it clear it was his choice where to go from here, despite not wanting him to leave in the least - and I was glad that it all got resolved by the end of that episode. Only for the call from Ty's mum to come through... We don't know much of the history yet, but I really hope that if she's genuine about wanting to be back in his life, then Marilyn and John won't try and stand in her way.

Not sure what to make of the Hunter situation. He doesn't seem to be reciprocating Christina's affections, so at this point I'm wondering whether it's going down the road of a female-on-male sexual harassment story, or whether she'll manage to win him over and entice him into bed. The former would be more interesting, certainly, and would have the added benefit (from the writers' and only the writers' perspective) of being able to send Olivia galloping in on a white horse to rescue him. It certainly doesn't look like Mason will be doing any rescuing; I really didn't like his reaction, which was to make Hunter feel like he couldn't possibly be the object of Christina's attentions. Laddish banter may have been the intention, but it had unpleasant echoes of some of the kinds of comments frequently levelled by some men at women when they complain of sexual harassment, which are unhelpful at best and downright hurtful at worst.

Good to see Maggie making amends with Diana by homing in on the most positive aspects of their relationship, rather than the least. And a great scene with Ben in the chapel - I can't remember if the show has touched on his religious background at all, but regardless of that or if he even has one, the scene really got to grips with his desperation not to lose Maggie. Now I guess it's just a waiting game with the stem cells.

Willow's gambling seems to have hit its lowest ebb, with her desperation to keep betting now so severe that she doesn't care who's in earshot at the time. Dean may have made some really poor choices in all this too (and continued to do so this week), but I'm getting the distinct sense it's all being done (including the break-up) out of a genuine and selfless love for Willow, which redeems him to an extent. I feel like he's recognised that Justin is pretty much what Willow needs right now, even if that's going to be at the expense of his own relationship with her - which I think underlines depths to the character that we haven't previously seen. Still, my view is that Justin and Willow are the preferable pairing, since their feelings for each other seem to be on a pretty equal footing, whereas with Dean there's always been the sense that it's more one-sided despite their closeness. Hopefully Justin and Tori can also help Willow climb out of the hole she's dug for herself, while there's still something about her to redeem.

As for Ebony... I find it difficult to believe that as a probable murder suspect and at least an attempted murder suspect, the police wouldn't already have done all they could with the burner phone. Then again, it is McCarthy leading the investigation, so who knows which arbitrary position on whether or not to bother investigating it he'd have taken. Not interested in Jasmine returning to Colby's orbit, and I'd definitely rather see her give Mason a chance, regardless of Olivia's views on the matter. No idea why Robbo is out of custody again, other than to be on hand to save Colby when he inevitably falls into Ebony's honey-trap.

[Slade]

When I watched Ryder talking with Raffy it's interesting that when he was going on about Coco he had the sense to realise it was the last thing Raffy wanted to hear so he apologised and stopped.  If that had been Coco it wouldn't have even occurred to her because she's too self-absorbed and not a particularly good friend.  I still see chemistry from Raffy in scenes with Ty but then I saw chemistry with her and Ryder previously.  I guess the actress just naturally has that onscreen with some people she interacts with.

 

I wasn't sure at first whether Jasmine did still like Colby and thought despite her conversations with Irene/Olivia was trying to convince herself otherwise.  She did annoy me slightly the way she thought Colby liked her but I was glad when he made it clear to her he didn't feel that way about her either.  Although if he had it would have been her own fault.  I don't get why she's going out of her way to be so pally with him given what happened before.

 

So Mason's really going to be staring at Jasmine with his mouth open as if he's never seen her before (I would actually like to know what actually happened with the brunette and why it didn't work out).  I don't think he should have gone round to Irene's to ask Jasmine out like that.  It just felt like he would have been putting too much pressure on her.  I really didn't like Olivia advising Mason against inviting her out on a date (As quite frankly it's none of her business and if Jasmine isn't interested perhaps she should be the one to tell Mason).  However she did have a point.  The fact that Jasmine wasn't interested before and shortly after jumped straight into be bed with Colby should be enough for Mason to have doubts.  She obviously didn't like him then so what would have changed now?

 

Just as Colby and Robbo were talking about how psycho Ebony was on Thursday, I was just thinking that I always found her to be quite calm and controlled but she is starting to act slightly deranged now.  Funny she's in that messed up house but dressed impeccably.  Can't believe how naive Colby is being although I guess putting myself in his position he's being overly optimistic because he so desperately wants to find his sister and has been trying to find her for such a long time.

 

Have to admit, I quite enjoyed Tori not liking the fact that Ash appeared to be getting on without her and enjoying life.  Although I'm sure it won't be long until the next love of her life turns up.

[H&Alover]

I think it was mentioned at the beginning his  mum was having problems coping after his dad died and that is why he was with his grandparents.  Not sure how long he's been with them, I wonder if that was what the phone call Ty had from Christine was about - that his mum wanted to see him? Hopefully John and particularly Marilyn will deal with it calmly, talk to Ty and let him know they'll be there as support for him and it'll be his decision whatever he decides.  Ty's party would have  been too soon to bring in a  never seen before  random boy to be Ty's love interest.

Ah 'the chat' talk, aren't they all jumping the gun rather, Coco & Ryder have only just got back together, not even been on a date yet, yet here are all the adults discussing the likelihood of them sleeping together!  Ben said they had had 'the talk' with Coco after the trouble with Ziggy and how do we and Alf and co for that matter know that Quinn hasn't already had 'the talk' being a single mum she wouldn't have anyone else to do it.  Alf seemed very uncomfortable about it, wonder how his dad explained it to him!   To be fair to Alf difficult  for any single dad to have 'the chat' with their daughter, true Alsia was on the scene but Roo hated her.  A;f back then wasn't the more laid back Alf we now know. Also sex may be the last thing on Ryder's mind, despite his comments sometimes giving the opposite impression and the talk may put thoughts in his mind that weren't there before. Do they not have sex education lessons in Australian schools?

It's good that Jasmine & Colby have decided to be friends and just in time for her to be there when he got the messages from 'Bella', she was able to keep him grounded, her suggestion he ask her something only the two of them knew was a good one because it certainly threw Ebony. Yes Slade Colby does so desperately want it to be her after searching for so long and is letting his heart rule his head. Actually where was Robbo when all this was happening? He's got  a level head and would probably look at it with a more professional eye.  Ebony had done her homework with all those press cuttings from when Bella first disappeared.  That's the thing with psycho's Slade a lot of them do come across as 'normal' that is how they operate and fool people into liking and trusting them then they show their true colours. If Ebony is still in the bay somewhere it doesn't say a lot, though we should have learnt by now, that the Yabby Creek police  haven't picked up on the fact. I can only think that they think she has got as far away from the bay as she could, though Robbo of course has different thoughts.

Mason seems to have reverted to the guy we first knew, before Beth,  fancying any young woman that crosses his path.  Maybe he and Dempsey aren't serious.  What though was with all the slo-mo when Mason saw Jasmine and Olivia and he got all gooey eyed?  Olivia did presume a lot when Jasmine is quite capable of telling Mason how she feels about dating (or not) him and if not letting him down gently. I guess after Beth he knows  you can't waste time wondering 'should I' and just went for it. The fact she wasn't that interested then doesn't mean she wouldn't be now, but as she has just broken up with Colby may mean it's a bit too soon.

 

[christine king]

16 hours ago, Slade said:

I still see chemistry from Raffy in scenes with Ty but then I saw chemistry with her and Ryder previously.  I guess the actress just naturally has that onscreen with some people she interacts with.

Agreed although I’m still hoping for Raffy and Ryder to get together some time in the future.

[D.B]

On 19 August 2018 at 10:01, Slade said:

I wasn't sure at first whether Jasmine did still like Colby and thought despite her conversations with Irene/Olivia was trying to convince herself otherwise.  She did annoy me slightly the way she thought Colby liked her but I was glad when he made it clear to her he didn't feel that way about her either.  Although if he had it would have been her own fault.  I don't get why she's going out of her way to be so pally with him given what happened before.

I didn't feel it was like that, I just think that if she really did still feel for Colby, why would she talk to him about setting it straight? And given the things he said to Jasmine when they were at the gym, I could see why she would think he might still be into her. Her confident way she talked about it with Olivia in the next episode did sort of confirm it that she just wanted to be friends. Also, if I may ask, if he still did have feelings for Jasmine, how exactly would it be her fault? In any case, I'm glad she was there for Colby when Ebony's emails came in. She did try her best to keep him grounded and clam, not that it made much difference. Now that I'm on the topic, I've been defending a lot of Colby's decisions this year, but I can't believe how stupid he's being. Ebony, who's been showing her more psychopathic side, avoids giving absolute proof that it is her, and he immediately jumps on the idiocy wagon and goes on an extremely questionable hunch. Where's Robbo when you need him? We definitely need him now to get Colby out of the hole he's thrown himself into. 

Ok, I've been between thinking Mason's being weird and creepy again, and feeling sorry for him. At this time, him falling for Jasmine, doesn't exactly make sense, I mean what happened to Dempsey? It's been shown that the two seem to go fine together so I'm not entirely sure why he's acting like he's hasn't even met Dempsey. That said, I did feel a bit sorry for him at the end, he was very excited about it and who knows, maybe him and Jasmine would make a good pair, but his dreams were crushed by Olivia, who, perhaps, was in the right, but it wasn't her place to say anything I think. If Jasmine doesn't want to be with Mason, she can tell him that. And if she does, she can tell him that as well. For the meantime, I guess we'll have to accept them as friends.

I did feel sorry for Tori, she just wants to find a purpose in her life other than boyfriends and work. 

I found the idea that the 'chat' has to be said to Ryder and Coco kind of ridiculous, they just got back together, I think it's a bit forward yet. Though I did find John, Roo and Alf arguing about it a bit funny. Ty's coming to see him is a surprise, I'll be interested in seeing where that goes.

[H&Alover]

Ebony did come across as convincing at being 'Bella' due to her having all that info to hand, about there they lived and all relevant stuff, except of course that question about the teddy which Colby made an excuse about.  It's been said that  he so desperately wants her to be Bella although he was a good cop, this is personal so not thinking with his cops head, but following a brothers heart. A sense of guilt he didn't do more at the time playing a big part.

[pembie]

2 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Ebony did come across as convincing at being 'Bella' due to her having all that info to hand, about there they lived and all relevant stuff, except of course that question about the teddy which Colby made an excuse about.  It's been said that  he so desperately wants her to be Bella although he was a good cop, this is personal so not thinking with his cops head, but following a brothers heart. A sense of guilt he didn't do more at the time playing a big part.

It would have been better if she had been the real Bella

3 hours ago, D.B said:

 

Ok, I've been between thinking Mason's being weird and creepy again, and feeling sorry for him. At this time, him falling for Jasmine, doesn't exactly make sense, I mean what happened to Dempsey? It's been shown that the two seem to go fine together so I'm not entirely sure why he's acting like he's hasn't even met Dempsey. That said, I did feel a bit sorry for him at the end, he was very excited about it and who knows, maybe him and Jasmine would make a good pair, but his dreams were crushed by Olivia, who, perhaps, was in the right, but it wasn't her place to say anything I think. If Jasmine doesn't want to be with Mason, she can tell him that. And if she does, she can tell him that as well. For the meantime, I guess we'll have to accept them as friends.

I did feel sorry for Tori, she just wants to find a purpose in her life other than boyfriends and work. 

.

Mason must be a big fan of the bachelor sent his auditon tape in but didn't get through so he just wants to get with Sam Frost and find out why she's calling herself Jasmine lol I would enjoy that story they should have done that

[Red Ranger 1]

Last week, Hunter seemed uncomfortable with Christina's attention.Now he's flirting with her, giving a creepy/cheesy grin every time she's around and kissing her.As a result, the storyline's a lot less interesting.I did wonder if him inviting her for dinner was him testing her to see what she'd do but nope, seems he's not really bothered that they're crossing a line.

Again, there's the feeling that the nonsense John and Marilyn have been lumbered with to give them a connection to one of the teen characters has soured my opinion of them, because I found myself increasingly annoyed by their attitude towards Ty and his mum.They really can't let go: They don't respect Raffy's decisions unless they're the ones they want, and now they're throwing tantrums that Ty's mum might want him back. Nice to get some background on Ty.I liked the scene between Raffy and Justin, it's just a shame that scenes between Raffy and her family feel like a treat when they should be the norm.Ty did make the decision without any real pressure, although it's hard to imagine it being that simple.

Okay, neither Colby nor Robbo were that stupid, even if they do have an inflated opinion of their ability to catch Ebony on their own.Colby was way too enthusiastic about her con but at least he calmed down and faced facts when Robbo got evidence to the contrary.Not that that stopped him walking into the lion's den anyway, but at least he had a bit of a point.I did smile at Ebony again, especially the reveal of why she was painting the letters of Bella's name last episode.I'm not sure why Robbo assumes she's at the house:If she's using CCTV to spy on Colby and talking to him via radio, she could be nowhere near it.

[Little bean]

17 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Last week, Hunter seemed uncomfortable with Christina's attention.Now he's flirting with her, giving a creepy/cheesy grin every time she's around and kissing her.As a result, the storyline's a lot less interesting.I did wonder if him inviting her for dinner was him testing her to see what he'd do but nope, seems he's not really bothered that they're crossing a line.

Totally agree. Just when I thought I might be able to muster up a teeny bit of interest in storyline involving Hunter......they just chucked it away. 

Im enjoying Ebony’s antics way more than I probably should!