2021 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Slade]

Chloe was really getting on my nerves the way she was acting towards Ryder.  I didn't blame him for being confused when she kissed him.  Although hopefully it will be an end to the bickering when he's ready to admit he has feelings for her as well.

Amber's obviously into Dean.  I still think there's something between Ziggy and Dean though.  Ziggy I think has a spark for him but she's trying to move on with Tane.  Dean, I actually think is still in love with her and he's just looking at Amber because he's attracted to her and she's the mother of his kid.  Not sure he'll see her the way he sees Ziggy and it seems as though she's just second best.

Well at least Martha seems to have acknowledged that she has a problem.  Although checking her out of hospital is not good but hopefully, if she can't be convinced to go back in she will still get help as an out patient.

I was in stitches when Susie accused Irene of being jealous with her "I got in first" remark.  Part of me would have rather that had been Marilyn than Irene although I guess that would have been fairly cliched if Marilyn had been the one who sussed Susie.  I'm also not convinced Irene's problem with Susie is solely due to the fact that she's dodgy.  She (like Roo and Marilyn) didn't like the fact that Susie dared to go against Alf.  In saying that, there is a concern, not just about John now but Justin and Leah too.

[H&Alover]

I thought Alf said on Friday, he'd see what the doctors said about arranging Martha's meds and therapy so she could come home.   Obviously then they said no way hence his decision to take her home against their advice.  With all respect to Alf he is getting on now so not really that fit to be able to look after Martha 24/7 even with Roo, Ryder's and Marilyn's help.  Not the best idea of Alf's to take Martha back to Merimbula, they would be miles from NDH, family, friends and any other back up needed.  Irene and Marilyn probably meant well but them hovering over her the way they were would make me jittery.   Martha deciding she wanted to empty the van by herself, plus furtive look over her shoulder, made me wonder if she was expecting Kieran to be there yet looked shocked when he was (or was he)?  If that really was him in the flesh, how did he know that was 'his' van and how did he get in?  I'm sure Alf used his key again to unlock it.  We did see Martha telling him he wasn't real, but then we saw him - the real him - lurking in the bushes.  If that was the real Kieran in the van he looked pretty well groomed for someone who has been in  hiding.  Maybe, ironically, it is good that Alf is no longer President  so hasn't got that added pressure/responsibility.

Susie seems OK on the surface but like Irene said sometimes you just get a 'feeling' about someone.  What did she call her Real Estate Agent Barbie!   Leah is a very savvy woman and has been a business woman for years so of course she would check out this mortgage broker to make sure they were the real deal.  But even  if it's kosher on the surface doesn't mean there aren't sharks below it. We should know by now that good news like this and Leah and Justin  have  been on tenterhooks about it, and we've all had our fingers crossed hardly works out well.  Be Leah's first place of her own (and Justin) of course for a while, not since her old home burnt down six years ago, was that hers or was it rented? 

Susie does seem to have taken over several things, John's house, life, getting  him to run for President, arranging an alternative loan for Leah & Justin.  Very neat of her to get John to suggest opening up a separate account for the Surf Comps donations, her "that's why you're President" comment -really.   Not a secret account then as was suggested in some TV mags.  Maybe, not that I know how these things work, they need Gerald's signature as Treasurer.   What was the look on her face when Willow told her she was only the manager of the gym and she'd need to speak to Jasmine?    She did appear to be brow beating Irene, but maybe that is because I don't trust her,  she's 'buddies' with Leah now so why not approach her?   Her true self did come out, didn't believe the "you're jealous cos I got John" for one  moment.  Then the old 'don't cross me'.  Girlie, Irene's been threatened by bigger folk than you, the cop from years back and her own son.  Then the trailer showed her spiking the wine that John drank which was was meant for Irene, because of course Susie wouldn't know Irene is a recovering alcoholic.  Although a lot of people in the bay know, it is a secret of sorts and Irene only tells people when she has to.  

Could it be Willow felt sorry she had blanked Ziggy when Ziggy wanted to carry on as before when Willow came back and found she had   taken up with Tane so quick while Willow had been gone?  Now she, Willow, knows Dean has now accepted it and, so far, Ziggy and Tane are OK and wasn't a rebound she feels she can be OK about it - only guessing.    

 

[CaptainHulk]

Leah's joint was hers, I think she and Vinnie bought it outright from Travis.

During Winegate, I was actually thinking about the Corey mess that sent Irene loopy with the drugging and the general gaslighting...

 

[Red Ranger 1]

I think the last definite news we got of the ownership of Leah's old house was that it was in VJ's name after Ralph Patterson bought it off Josh West.

So, it would seem Martha's eccentric messages were going to the real Kieran after all: We saw enough of him from a neutral perspective that we can be fairly confident he is actually there. Alf and Roo make the mistake of treating absence of evidence as evidence:If Martha had been able to see Kieran when they couldn't, then that would prove she was imagining him, but if none of them can see him, that just proves he's not there then.

Well, if there were any lingering doubts that Susie was dodgy...Poisoning Irene seems like a rather extreme move in the circumstances that would probably only arouse further suspicion, in much the same way that John getting the toxic wine has done. I assume whatever Susie put in there isn't actually fatal, otherwise you'd expect her to be more worried.She's obviously got Willow's hackles up with her attempt to paint Irene as a jealous suitor, which even the normally gullible John didn't really entertain.

I guess Ziggy's intentions were good but worst plan ever there.Her logic seem to be that Bella was in a good/calm mood, so she'd be pleased to see Willow.This, needless to say, was not the case.That girl can hold grudges.

[CaptainHulk]

And in WHAT world would Irene want Palmer?

[Slade]

Even if you exclude the sociopathic element of spiking someone's drink, in terms of the storyline to me it doesn't make sense.  Susie's gone to the trouble of moving in with John, getting him elected as the chairman of the Surf Club and currently in the process of trying to obtain sponsors.  There is absolutely nothing to gain by doing this.  She's actually been pretty smart and attempting to drug someone seems pretty stupid in comparison to what she's done so far.  It just feels like the writers want to get the character to the point of no return where she really is the baddie.

I was cheering when Ziggy's plan for a reconciliation with Bella and Willow failed.  That moment when Ziggy realised it was a bad idea, tried to text Willow, was too late and Willow came through the door much to Bella's dismay was wonderful.  In particular the way Ziggy and Willow left gobsmacked.  Always good to see the smile wiped of Willow's face.  Don't really have much against Ziggy but I'm glad things didn't go as intended for the sheer underhand way she want about it.

Part of me is glad Keiran's back.  I am hoping he is caught by the authorities but I believe that Martha loves him and would like to see some sort of reconciliation between the two, if only Keiran acknowledging the part he's played in all of this.

[H&Alover]

Cheers Red and Captain.  

Don't forget Martha had just been convinced she wasn't really seeing Kieran and he was a pigment of her imagination so naturally when she did actually see him as it turns out, she thought he was still an illusion.  Damn where were the rest of the caravaners when you need them, she was shouting at Kieran to leave her alone and no-one was about to help or to confirm, there was a man bothering her.  With Irene it was apparent nobody was there when Martha reintroduced Kieran to her.  This time is different though, but either Alf didn't notice any change in Martha's van, Kieran had been sitting on the bed and must have mussed it up or ignored it.  Will say again Kieran looks pretty tidy for a guy who's been on the run/in hiding. 

He seemingly goes on the rampage today, before kidnapping Martha, where have we seen that before(?),   Again seems the caravaners either had all been away at the same time or were all in a very deep sleep.

Where has Susie got the idea Irene is in love with John, there has been absolutely no sign of her having any romantic leanings towards him.  Did Susie see Irene and John having that meal at Salt so that is why she's got the impression they were more than friends?  Btw CaptainHulk John  has been married three times so has to have something going for him.   It seems Susie rubs Willow up the wrong way too, and vice versa, it's always a bit prickly when they meet.  Clever idea of Willow's of not letting Susie win by suggesting Irene attend the dinner. Well Susie's plan to poison Irene, for whatever reason, backfired on her!  I have to say John was very discreet  by telling Susie the reason Irene didn't want any wine was because she was teetotal.  Of course John being John wouldn't want to waste money by sending the wine back. It wasn't just Susie being distracted by waiting for John to drink it and not really listening to what he was saying, so was I.  Maybe the plan was to just keep Irene out of the way for a couple of days by making her sick- who knows. Irene, it appears, has worked out what should have happened. 

Another plan, though this time well meant, that backfired.  At least Bella wasn't angry enough at what Ziggy had planned to prevent her from letting Ziggy take her home.  It seemed so simple to Ziggy, but it is a lot more complicated than that, at least in Bella's mind.   Willow does know Bella better so Ziggy should have listened to her. 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

It should be pretty obvious by now that Lewis really shouldn't be working in that department, and that's just what the characters know about. Using patients' deaths to score cheap points with Christian is bad enough, and now that ending and the promo imply he's actually willing to help them along to make Christian look bad.I know a couple of us speculated that Lewis was planning to do something to that patient that died before: Was he actually responsible, despite Jasmine seemingly interrupting him? (I again feel like asking about post-mortems, but I guess I'll go for that plot hole when it's actually there.) Tori and Jasmine both handled things badly. Jasmine covered up Lewis' remarks even though she knows he meant them, while Tori overhears half a conversation (missing the fact Jasmine actually praised Christian) and makes a failed attempt to give Jasmine the lecture she should have given Lewis.So, I'm confused, last week Jasmine and Lewis wanted to keep their relationship a secret at work, yet now Tori apparently knows about it?

Well, at least recent events have opened Martha's eyes to Kieran, even if she's not quite willing to turn her back on him yet.At least she got Constable Murray to come to her rescue! Sounds like she's going back to the hospital: Probably for the best, and it seems her return home was just for the kidnap drama!

I don't think Susie actually believes Irene's in love with John, it's just a way of excusing her own hostility and trying to drive a wedge between them. Well, if the plan was to get Irene out of the way for a bit, then it's backfired big time and just made her more suspicious.

[H&Alover]

Lewis is very clever and mostly subtle in his jibes at/about  Christian, just unfortunate Mia happened to be standing behind them.  I'm being generous here as i don't think Lewis knew she was there, hidden by the pillar. Him, Lewis, sitting by Ari's bed and his remarks to Ari/himself about putting him out of his misery was very disturbing.  Have there been any other deaths apart from that patient from the road accident, it has been implied there has been.  Deaths do happen in hospitals even those with excellent records, it's usually only when someone notices there has been a higher than average death rate for a hospital ND's size that an investigation takes place.  Both Jasmine and Tori are in the same position defending their man, in Jas' case her man is her boss, in Tori's she is Christian's boss.  I thought Tori already knew about Lewis and Jasmine but Jas had assured her it wouldn't affect her work, didn't it come out the other week?   Tori did jump on Jasmine's comments to Mia, when perhaps if it had been anyone but Christian she was talking about, she maybe wouldn't have.  It is a patient's relatives right, which btw Mia isn't, to ask for a second opinion if they feel the treatment isn't going as it should, they aren't happy with the doc/surgeon in charge etc.   From I've been able to gather, pure speculation on my part mind,  Lewis has psychological problems that need dealing with and no doubt stirred up by meeting Christian again.  If so, so poor Jas just as it looks like she'd found happiness again. 

Lewis has got Christian doubting himself he's rereading Ari's notes, hesitating about whether or not to take Ari off the ventilator, when from what we've got to learn about him, he'd,  after following the right procedures, would just do.  There wouldn't any guarantee it would work any more than it would for any patient, they would just put him back on the ventilator, heaven knows we've seen it enough times.   Anyways, a family conference has been called where the options will be discussed.  No-one, not even a neuro surgeon of Christian's calibre, can say what will happen, the brain is a funny thing, one patient can come round fairly quickly and easily with not many after effects but another may take a while to recover and have lasting, though not always serious, after effects.  

My that was a rapid resolution to the kidnap!  After the event now but why didn't Martha kick out at something when Kieran had her in the van or was it because TPTB wanted to see a car being  driven fast down a deserted highway, and the cops come roaring up and arresting Kieran.  Seeing  how paranoid Kieran was, he was rather lax in not taking Martha's mobile off her so therefore allowing her to be able to phone the cops.   Although cowed at first Martha found her inner courage and stood up to Kieran, telling him although she may have not been the best mum he had to start taking responsibility  for his own actions and he couldn't keep blaming her.  He blamed his ex for setting the cops on him as, of course, it wasn't him, it was all her. He certainly sounded like he has schizophrenic  symptoms, switching from blaming Martha to begging her to give him another chance.  He definitely needs help, and better help than  he got last time.   It wasn't either Alf's or Roo's fault they didn't believe Martha at first, she was imagining seeing Kieran.  As much as Alf loves Martha and wants to help her, he is too close and can't give her the help she needs, but this time she's made the decision by herself and hasn't been talked into and it sounded like she is going further afield than ND.  Alf's going to be  a bit lost now, as he was ready to put his life on hold for her, he can't spend every day fishing and at the bait shop, tiding up round the caravan park, though he has a few locks  to replace. 

Susie wasn't happy John had 'escaped' her clutches and had made it to the Diner.  Not the most sympathetic comments he got but Irene and Maz were concerned , but then Susie comes swanning in all concerned about John, well she would be.  The looks she was giving both Irene and Marilyn who were just doing what they would  for anyone who was a bit crook.    Susie got herself into a  right fluster by babbling on about John having a 24 hour flu/sickness thing to avoid a hospital visit.  Although it is possible for two people to have the same meal and for it to upset one and not the other, it's very rare so good deduction by Irene, after remembering it was after John drank her glass of wine that he started to feel unwell.   Course there is no proof - dammit.   Btw don't panic John, the committee will forgive you for not turning for a meeting up cos you're sick. 

[CaptainHulk]

Anyone else relish that slap?