2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count:Suspended. Dean was in four this week, although he wasn't credited on Thursday.

So we get our first proper look at Karen, who seems a highly disturbed individual to say the least.Dean almost seemed like a little boy around her at times and I do feel sorry for him, although I don't see that as a reason to try and make Chelsea out to be the bad guy against a reckless criminal and a bent cop.Especially with a promo that leaves me thinking I'm going to be hating Colby and Dean all over again next week, but I guess we'll see how that plays out.The incident did at least take Justin's mind off blaming Dean for everything.I can't fault John though: Given that Dean's very lucky not to be in jail, he needs to give a proper account if he runs out on community service (and he did have a good reason) rather than trying to charm or blag his way out of it.

The stuff at Salt was little more than a light-hearted B-plot but it succeeded as that and it was interesting to see Brody, Ziggy and Maggie all working together.Brody's realisation that he'd just promised the critic the one thing he'd told Ziggy not to promise was a nice moment.

[H&Alover]

 

That was a sad recollection Willow told Justin about her first meeting with Dean, if is she more or less the same age as Justin, 34, and Dean was then 10, she has known him a long time, certainly explains a lot about him, he's still trying to win her approval, not a new story by any means.  Sad when Justin mentioned about SS taking him away rom her and Willow said he wouldn't have gone. I don't think Colby has known him that long though. Karen sure has some mental problems, not sure what, psychotic tendencies/bi-polar/schizophrenia. The drink doesn't help any though I bet.  She did say she was proud of him when told he was doing a mechanics apprenticeship. John didn't have a choice really, if it had been anyone else he would have had to do the same thing, Dean did save his life or serious injury by pushing him out the way  when Karen drove at him.

Sorry but Chelsea really annoys me, she does see things in black and white, as you said atrus, McCarthy accepted his friendship with Dean went further back than their River Boys days and he was going to continue to be friends with him.  Has she never been in that position?  Her and Colby did a lot more than kissing D.B by the looks on their faces.

What a time for the oven at Salt to decide to blow up!  Great though to see them all working together and good thinking Maggie for using the oven at the Diner, though Brody had to resort to using a wok as it wasn't big enough.  The critic wasn't too impressed at Ziggy's attempts to get him  to try something else without giving the game away and how she kept it civil, knowing what her temper can be like, was a wonder. Duck can be served pink, but obviously not raw/undercooked, but Brody got away with it and won much praise. I loved the look on their faces while they were watching him eat it.  15 days to go then until Maggie gets the all clear - fingers crossed.

Is this now definite Tori has decided to go ahead with Robbo as the donor?  If he carries on with the counselling there shouldn't be any huge problems, just a matter now to see if it works, how many attempts do they get?

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎28‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 15:34, H&Alover said:

Willow told Justin about her first meeting with Dean, if is she more or less the same age as Justin, 34, and Dean was then 10, she has known him a long time,

I don't think it's been made clear but I'd be surprised if Willow and Dean are much older than mid-20s.Colby's a bit older, but probably still under 30.(As we learn here, he and Dean were already friends when Dean was eight.)

Well, I'm still 100% on Chelsea's side.If she's got a black and white view of policing (and frankly, that feels like an informed attribute, with no real evidence except her giving John a parking ticket which she later rescinded and getting annoyed about Colby covering for his dodgy mates), then that's far better than Colby thinking that his friendship with Dean is more important than the law or the safety of the public.I wish she'd stuck to her guns and logged the statement rather than letting Colby convince her to bury it, even temporarily, but given how pig-headed he is, the compromise of delaying it for a day was probably better than nothing. Hopefully she'll be a good influence on him because he definitely needs it.We're basically talking attempted murder here - Karen might say she swerved but it looked to me like she drove straight at where John had been standing without making any attempt to avoid him - yet Colby acts as though he needs Dean's permission to take action.Whether Karen's a criminal case or a medical one, she's too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.Just because McCarthy and co inexplicably okayed Colby being friends with a criminal doesn't mean he isn't expected to still do his job.Objectively, I can see sense in Colby wanting her to get psychiatric help rather than just flinging her in a cell.The problem is Colby's competence is only about 50/50 and he doesn't seem to have a clue how to handle Karen.

[H&Alover]

Yes,  it did come out Colby had known Karen when he was a lot younger.  I feel so sorry for Dean, he had to grow up with Karen never knowing from one day to the next what frame of mind she'd be in, heck maybe even hour to hour.   He had to live with that for years and until he met Willow and Colby didn't have any friends so could feel normal. Quite sad her remembrance of  Dean's eighth birthday party was different to his, her saying Dean had all his friends when it was only Colby and her mates. Despite knowing what she can be like he still feels an obligation to look out for her.  His character is a lot deeper than the River Boy public persona most people see. Willow said Karen'd be fine one minute  then just flip out.  We saw signs of that in the hospital, got very edgy when they suggested she see a psychiatrist which made me think she does know she has mental problems but is resisting seeing someone as she's scared of what her specific problem could be and will be put away.  They couldn't force her to see someone, I'm leaning towards bi-polar myself. 

Not fair of either Dean, though he has a valid reason, or Willow putting pressure on Colby not to put in his report using their friendship as leverage.  To be fair though, Karen was in no fit state to give a coherent statement so wiser to delay it.  The police wouldn't want any future lawyer acting for Karen to bring up that little fact. Willow then tried to talk John out of pressing charges but to no avail and you can't blame him. While I understand Marilyn's argument about how Karen could have hurt a child with her dangerous driving it was John she was aiming for and anyway she wasn't there. We didn't see/hear him do it but I hope he mentioned Dean pushed him out of the way. Sometimes you can be too blinkered is seeing things in black and white and when it is personal as in Colby's case what with him knowing the people involved the lines get blurred and fade to grey.  Chelsea did seem to understand Colby's dilemma when he explained it to her.  That informal statement started off well but then slid into something else entirely!  Did he really not feel Karen's hand on his leg until she moved it up towards his crotch?  The way Chelsea stormed out doesn't bode well for him, surely she didn't think he encouraged  it and in a public place?

[Red Ranger 1]

Okay, Colby was even more of a joke as a police officer here.He should have taken Karen straight down the station when she failed to co-operate, not stormed off in a huff with a sulky "She's all yours" at Dean.At that point, he basically abandons any pretense at impartiality by telling Chelsea he can't do that to Dean's mum.His flawed priorities meant he helped precisely no-one: If he'd done his job, Karen would be safe and possibly getting treatment.Instead, she's hitch-hiking to goodness knows where, Dean's stressed out and it's left to Chelsea to clear up his mess:Tellingly, it's her, not Colby, who stops Dean throwing his future away trying to fix things.

Tori and Robbo return on cloud nine but reality soon intrudes, mainly in the form of Justin.His lecturing Robbo wasn't quite as bad as the promo made it look, mainly because James Stewart had the sense to portray it as Justin not really wanting to be there but feeling obligated, but his over-protectiveness is annoying all the same.The result is Tori being left in the same position as Jasmine last week, wondering whether to be a good friend to Robbo even when it might affect her own plans.

I'm confused about Raffy, who we haven't seen in nearly a week (even if the in-universe timescale seems quite small).Yesterday, John implied she was being dropped at theirs, but here Justin says he left her with Mason and Buddy, even though she's barely set foot in the house since moving out.I'd love it if she'd moved back in with the Morgans, but that's not what earlier references seemed to suggest.Are they just keeping an eye on her while John and Marilyn are at work?

[H&Alover]

Colby was in a tricky position knowing Dean and Karen,  the normal police procedure would be to step back and let another cop deal with it but then this is a soap. Chelsea did have the brainwave she should interview Karen though too late as she'd already shot through.  That must have been one of the most awkward conversations Colby has ever had, telling your old mate his mum came onto him and no there was no mistake. Dean knew Colby well enough to believe him and not knock him flat.  Colby did get the appointment for the shrink sorted but short of Dean knocking her out and dragging her  how was he supposed to get her there? All academic anyway as she ran,  I was concerned when that guy in the truck changed his mind about picking Karen up, she may act all tough and probably can look after herself, but she is in a vulnerable state.

The Jasmine/Tori/Robbo story seemed to be going round and round in circles with everyone second guessing each other.  Justin did jump to the wrong conclusion initially when he walked in thee gym and saw the big hug between Jasmine and Robbo, but maybe not that far off as we know how Jasmine feels about Robbo. From an outsiders point of view just two mates hugging.  Robbo did assure Justin he and Jasmine were just mates, whilst not mentioning his unreturned (or so he thinks) feelings for her.  There are very valid reasons for Justin being concerned if Jasmine & Robbo did become a couple where does that leave him & Tori and their plans?  Though I do think everyone was getting way ahead of themselves, they had Robbo and Jasmine in a deep relationship and thinking about babies before (a) Jasmine had confessed to Robbo her true feelings and (b) before they'd even been on their first date!   Justin, to his credit, later told Robbo even if he and Jas become a couple it didn't mean it'd last, but while they were possibly dating time would be going by for Tori.  Tori rightly tore a strip off Justin again but it make her think and her thoughts when she saw Robbo & Jasmine on the beach must have been the same Jasmine was having when she saw Tori and Robbo.   Irene finally owned up to the fact she knew to Leah and then later to Tori but quickly adding it wasn't Leah who told her but a 'third party'. It would be hard for Robbo and by extension Jasmine if they had got together, he'd rightly would want to be there for Tori and even though there is nothing between them, a little bit of envy would creep in.   Thank God for Irene pushing Jasmine into owning up to Robbo she did really like him and wanted to give them a go, it had to be his choice and as heart breaking as it was for him and Jasmine he is standing by his promise to Tori because as Jasmine said it was him being such a caring, generous guy that made her fall for him.  It's going to be tough for Jasmine when, fingers crossed, Tori falls pregnant.  If it fails how many rounds of IVF do they get in Australia? Oh and Willow is now in  on the secret - except maybe it isn't now such a secret after all.

Well another two weeks flew by now it's only two days to go before Maggie gets the all clear, but oops an unexplained bruise has appeared.  Not an uncommon thing for most people  but when you are in Maggie's position not a  real good thing.   They are all going back to the keeping it from Coco because of her exams plan, though it seems she's having her own trauma over  said exams and she's not the only one from the look of the trailer. 

Seeing as all of the Morgan's work wouldn't it have made more sense if Raffy was at John & Marilyn's and Marilyn took time off, Leah & Irene would understand and cover with the other staff. Did I hear Justin say Rafy was up to speed with the IVF thing?

[Red Ranger 1]

Objectively, I can see that Tori needed to be sure of Robbo’s commitment before starting the IVF. But it feels like she emotionally blackmailed Jasmine into putting herself on the line with Robbo and thus caused her to get her heart broken. So it was a bit hard to stomach seeing her all pleased that things had worked out for her, especially when it feels like Robbo’s sticking to the plan out of a sense of obligation.

Are they serious?! Last week there was fifteen days left of Maggie’s wait, now it’s suddenly down to two, and they can’t even wait that long so bring it forward. It’s a shame that a storyline that’s been paced well for most of the year is so blatantly skipping through this last bit, and that they included that chart to make it as obvious as possible. I suspect it’s been considerably less than 100 days, although I can’t be bothered to check.

So, after a week without the teens, we suddenly get almost a whole episode devoted to exam stress. Ryder was back to being a tool but I loved that Leah got all fired up to give him a lecture only to find out that Raffy had already done it. (I continue to remain unimpressed with Roo, who made a big deal of claiming she’d handle him better than Quinn and has instead neglected him just as much. She couldn’t even phone or text?) Frustrating that we hear a lot about the Morgans looking after Raffy off screen, then as soon as she actually appears, they're not in the episode and she's back hanging around with John and Marilyn. I’ll allow Coco her little panic, she’s probably still got a few issues and seeing Raffy’s accident has brought them out, and it allowed Ben an opportunity to be a good parent. Not looking too good for Raffy at the end, that was shockingly graphic.

[H&Alover]

Tori's main problem is her fertility - yes she's only 32 so not normally a cause for panic - but the longer she waits she harder it could be for her to conceive.  She's lucky Jasmine is such an understanding woman, though both Tori and Irene were right she couldn't keep faffing about whether to say anything to Robbo.   Robbo didn't look that downcast when he turned up at Tori's office, do love his smile.

The fact two weeks in H&A time seem to have gone since the last time Maggie's countdown was mentioned means it doesn't match with the rest of the storyline with the teens, no way could they have not been around for that amount of time!  Good to see Ryder, Raffy & Coco back even so.  Seems the blame for the accident has shifted from Dean to Ryder who's already blaming himself, though Coco & Raffy don't, it's not as if he dragged them up there kicking and screaming and forced them into the tunnel, in fact Raffy was leading the way before the collapse, could easily have been Ryder trapped.

You think Leah would have learnt by now how to talk to a stroppy teenage boy but apparently not. Naturally he'd take more notice of Raffy and if Coco had been there she would have put her two penneth in. I do like he later apologised to Leah . All this time that Roo has been away and there hasn't been a single call, email, text?  Yes she had Caroline's funeral the day before so she & Alf are excused that but a simple text wishing him good luck wouldn't have hurt and Irene was right Leah should ring Roo.  Ben, Maggie and Ziggy did a good job hiding the news about Maggie's test from Coco, neatly pretending the bits of conversation she heard was about something else. Liked how Ben & Maggie united in persuading Coco to sit the exam, clever plan that Ben.  Good girlie day for Ziggy and Maggie, scoffing chocolate - is that part of her new healthy eating plan? Of course eventually Coco overheard something that couldn't be fobbed off.  I suppose we are being led to believe that Tori coming to deliver the news about the results in person means it has to be bad news.

Warning signs that all was not well with Raffy apart from her headaches, the fact she forgot she said she'd wait for Ryder at the caravan park was ringing alarm bells.  Her double vision while trying to read the paper and another headache later.  Ryder surprised himself and did  a lot better than he thought he would and Coco sailed through it.  She did pretty job of lying about how she did to Marilyn and John.  How lucky was Raffy that Ryder was her when she had her fit - sorry they call them seizures nowadays don't they?  That was some clever camera work going on there giving us the experience from Raffy's perspective.  Raffy did get head scans and was given the all clear before so obviously something has occurred that the scans didn't pick up on. I guess there must be  a shortage of surgeons at NDH as Tori is going all unethical again and operating on a family member along with Mason. 

[D.B]

Well, Dean certainly has his hands full with Karen, hasn't he? Those were some extremely disturbing tales from Willow about their childhood, and it definitely appears that not much has changed. This is a extremely difficult case, because Karen pretty much did attempt to murder John and that can't be ignored, but she does need professional help. I'm honestly conflicted with Colby, because, like Red, do feel at sometimes he's putting his friendship with Dean above the law, but on the other hand, I feel like he's just trying to make the situation better for everyone, and in fairness, after being come onto by his best mate's mum, he would be rather uncertain what to do. Chelsea is right, that they do need the statement, but it would be best if she saw a shrink before forcing her to do a statement in which she would mnot t likely lie about, or react badly for it. That said, I don't think Colby and Willow should have left much of it up to Dean, who is sometimes subject to being wrapped around his mother's finger, as we saw during his shouting match with John and Willow. But now she's done a runner, so it's good that Dean is actually letting the cops help him, since him going rogue won't help anyone. I feel really bad for him, having to deal with Karen above everything else can't be easy. Still, it was still great performances from the actors.

While, I am still supportive of the idea of Robbo and Jasmine being together, I do think they're dragging it on a bit now, and it doesn't help that everyone involved is just guessing what the other is thinking. I understand Justin's overprotective behaviour, but it really is none of his business who Robbo hangs out with, particularly since Robbo and Tori aren't looking for or in a relationship. Also, while I do like that Tori is supportive somewhat of the two getting together, and I enjoy her and Jasmine's behaviour, which surprisingly, we don't see much of it, I agree with Red that giving the news of the cycle, she did, unintentionally or otherwise, put Jasmine in a very hard situation, making her pretty much blurt out her feelings for Robbo. It must have been difficult for Robbo, because he does feel for Jasmine, but he does feel an obligation for Tori to stick by her, though while he could do both, it would be difficult, but he did do the right thing by telling Jasmine the truth, not to hurt her. I feel sorry for Jasmine, this must have been really hard for her, but she shows again what a decent person she was by accepting it, and even defending Robbo's decision. On a side note, when Robbo and Tori came back from the city, and Tori had her chat with Leah, is it me, or did Tori grew a lot at the city,  or did Leah shrink, because during their conversation, she seemed to tower over Leah. 

Speaking of Leah, I do appreciate that she's trying to look after Ryder since Roo and Alf would be busy in Hawaii (and given the circumstances with Caroline, I understand why they were too busy to phone, and they do trust Leah to look after things), which was made even more difficult with Ryder acting like a tw*t, though he did come around in the end. I did feel sympathy for Coco, since I do understand the pressures of exams, and it did get us some good family scenes with the Astonis supporting her. The scenes in Angeloes were fun, because I have always found the way Brody cares about his cooking always funny, so it's glad with the help of Maggie and Ziggy, that he succeeded in impressing the critic. I honestly didn't expect Maggie's unexpected bruise, it must have been terrifying for her, processing this and thinking about what it could mean. The stuff with Raffy was very disturbing,  from being unable to focus on anything during the exam, or straight up collapsing and shaking on the pier. There's definitely more than a headache going on, and most likely have to do with the traumatic experience from the house, which is going to make Ryder feel even more guilty, especially since everyone just now was telling him not to. 

[c120701]

I don’t think this is popular opinion, but Ryder is rapidly becoming one of my favourite characters, he’s very well formed - fun, lost, scared, a little broken, good-hearted and well intentioned. I quite like the little teen group, Coco is probably my least favourite of the three.