2022 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

So, all that panic about Theo not turning up turned out to be a bit of a red herring: He cut it fine and wasn't exactly calm when he got there, but he'd have been even earlier if Leah hadn't made him change.Seems he's out of the loop where Chloe's concerned though:Surely there was no reason not to call him once she was in New Zealand? (Some of Tane's instructions seem over-cautious, anyway.) I quite liked the bit where Eden remembered she was standing in front of a microphone.

Good news for Theo, not so good news for Ziggy.Justin gave her the brush-off but agreed they need to talk.In fact, the two of them and Theo really need to sit down and find out what exactly his plans are.

Jasmine not turning up is a bit worrying.I did wonder if someone had said something to her but Irene swears she hasn't and, despite Xander's loose tongue last week, it's hard to imagine him or Rose blurting it out now.It's a bit odd that we were told Cash used to have a crush on Eden yet she's the one that seems to be looking for excuses to hang out with him.

[pembie]

I think maybe Jasmine should have had a crash on the way home that would have been a better ending she’s not missing though so that’s abit silly for Cash too report that also being held hostage by Robbos parents is very amusing for some reason 

Far too much band and far too much Ziggy who I think has a pretty none existice character these days Theo should stick with the band given it’s his dream of course we all would choose that it’s not as if Ziggy and Theo got that far into studying anyway so it’s quite silly 

[atrus]

Is anyone feeling the current cast is very disjointed? It seems to me like a lack of solid connections between characters is hampering the show, and so they're having to force interactions that don't feel natural. Today, John Palmer (who is often at a loose end at the best of times since his split with Marilyn) spent all day worrying about the fact that Jasmine hadn't called Cash back, two characters he's seldom had anything to do with; while Eden and Remi were also shoehorned in to provide the same function.

We're told Jasmine isn't coming back, meanwhile, in possibly the strangest off-screen departure yet - and there have been plenty of contenders for that title recently. I was assuming the reason the show was building up the tedious 'Cash and Rose sleeping in the car' debacle was precisely so that Jasmine could find out, get mad and call things off remotely. But instead she doesn't even seem to be aware of this, and has just called things off because, in a cold-as-ice message via the local constabulary - which feels like a character assassination and not the Jazzie we know and love. Even if she was annoyed at Cash for some unclear reason, it seems inconceivable that this is how she'd choose to sever ties with Irene, rather than just calling her directly. I'll have to be content with imagining that Robbo is alive and has been in witness protection all along, and has whisked her off somewhere for her own safety.

Meanwhile, Ziggy and her incessant carping over Theo's clashing apprenticeship/band commitments feels like the modern show's equivalent of the annual HSC preachathon of old, except Theo wasn't even in it for her to whine to today, so she had to be content with giving Justin a sustained earful instead. It's not that I even necessarily blame her for being a bit surly/disgruntled about it, but she's literally talked about nothing else for the last three episodes. And Roo had to make do with being sent on a sad-sack picnic on her lonesome. Maybe she should go and resume her mysteriously evaporated job at the school so we can resume the HSC dramas for real, rather than drifting around aimlessly. There's very much a sense that everyone is treading water currently, for whatever reason.

[Red Ranger 1]

It does seem as though Jasmine's departure has suffered badly from storylines changing halfway through. I agree it seems like character assassination, although maybe not entirely out of character.After all, I seem to remember her taking refuge at the Shaw farm once before and getting dragged back to town by Irene and Colby for what I was never entirely convinced were the right reasons, even if it did result in her and Tori smoothing things over.So, yeah, I think I can buy that the succession of shocks this year got on top of her and she's decided to retreat out there again, even if it doesn't really match her demeanour when we last saw her.(I am getting mild flashbacks to the police's spectacularly incompetent "welfare check" on Leah, but they do seem to have spoken to Jasmine in person this time, plus everyone's been in contact with her while she's been away.)I didn't see anything odd about John's involvement:Hanging around the surf club getting involved in everyone's business (including Cash and Jasmine) is pretty much what he does.Ditto Eden and Remi, who've been established as knowing Cash from way back.

Justin was being rather cavalier where Ziggy was considered so I'm glad Dean have him a few home truths.Still, like I said yesterday, it was really a conversation that Theo needed to be involved with.Instead, Justin gives Ziggy a load of information that he seems to have made up on the spot, then realises he didn't have anything like all the facts.

Roo did seem at something of a loose end.

[atrus]

Well, at least Irene and Cash are heading to the Shaws' farm to get some answers rather than just shrugging and accepting Jasmine's behaviour, although something tells me any answers received are not likely to be very satisfactory. A fair old meal was made of Cash summoning up the courage to tell Xander about it; I guess if he and Rose are that upset about having uprooted their lives only for Jasmine to disappear, they could always go and live on the farm, too. (Though something tells me we're stuck with them.) I don't know how seriously I can take the trauma-tattoos - while it's good to have a male mental health storyline and it's also refreshing to have a male character be allowed to cry on the show rather than stoically bottling up their emotions while they pump iron at the gym and/or dutifully protect their womenfolk, I'm afraid I found myself laughing out loud when the tattoo-lady paid a home visit and he told her to hurry it up because she hadn't needled him within the first ten seconds of crossing the threshold, before pointing at the first design he opened the book on and practically telling her to stick it wherever she could spot some spare skin. Probably trauma-tats are a real phenomenon for some people, but... meh, I'm not feeling it yet.

No dilly-dallying around with today's other breakup-necessitated-by-abrupt-departure, either - seems sensible not to expect a Chloe return at this stage. Kirby deciding to make Theo write a song about his heartbreak within about thirty seconds of the break-up was a bit risible, but hey, we have a band in town now, hadn't you heard, and so we must reference their musical inclinations at every available juncture.

Roo seems to have managed this long without any particular gainful employment other than occasionally opening and closing the bait shop, so I'm surprised she's only noticing now how empty her days are.

17 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

I didn't see anything odd about John's involvement:Hanging around the surf club getting involved in everyone's business (including Cash and Jasmine) is pretty much what he does.

I know it is, but it just felt even more pronounced than usual for some reason. At least when he's hectoring Nikau or Dean it's usually got something to do with them working there. I think it's about time John and Marilyn were put back together and given some kind of makeshift family unit, because they both seem to be drifting at the moment and they're far from the only ones.

[c120701]

It may have been ages ago, but I’ve suddenly noticed the Diner seems to have loads more tables in it. When did the pillar near the “Oldies” table get removed?

[Red Ranger 1]

There was a pillar?

So Justin finally got around to talking to Theo, who took a while to hear the penny drop that he's basically got two jobs now.And in the end Theo decides to keep doing them both and see what happens.It's a sensible choice in one way, since he doesn't know what's going to happen, but he's probably going to have to make a choice at some point which will mean letting someone down.And yes, he and Chloe end to very little fanfare.I still can't help feeling that Tane's whole "No-one can know you're in New Zealand" schtick is absurdly melodramatic.

To be honest, I feel more sorry for Xander than I do for Cash, which feels like an indication that he seemed to form a more believable bond with Jasmine in a much shorter space of time.I wonder how Jasmine would feel if Rose and Xander suddenly moved to the farm...Anyway, while Cash and Irene have decided to head off to the country because they've had their three episodes, Xander is left resorting to his tattoo addiction. I guess Rose had to pull an all-nighter?

We seemed to be way into the episode before Roo turned up, at which point it seemed to be a case of Alf and Marilyn calling her lazy until she cracked...

[Dan F]

6 hours ago, atrus said:

I'm afraid I found myself laughing out loud when the tattoo-lady paid a home visit and he told her to hurry it up because she hadn't needled him within the first ten seconds of crossing the threshold, before pointing at the first design he opened the book on and practically telling her to stick it wherever she could spot some spare skin.

Dead handy having an emergency out-of-hours tattoo artist on call to do home visits though, you don't get that in every town.

6 hours ago, c120701 said:

It may have been ages ago, but I’ve suddenly noticed the Diner seems to have loads more tables in it. When did the pillar near the “Oldies” table get removed?

That disappeared sometime in 2014 - after the entrance was changed, but before the back partition/toilet corridor was removed. All these little improvements over the years to bring it back to being more 'set like'

[H&Alover]

Starting with the on-call tattoo artist, what about hygiene, the flat isn't the most sterile place to have one done and not just a small one either, has Xander done this before, he seemed to know her.   Will he be following the after tat safety rules, wrapping it in cling film, no swimming in the sea? He is very intense isn't he, what with him not being able to cope with the stresses he has to deal with.in his job.  His counsellor whoever she/he was did suggest exercise but not his scene and Cash was distracted anyway.  Then Cash had to break the news about Jasmine not coming back, of course Rose couldn't be there.  Xander's counsellor got it in the neck he's only just started, it's not an over the night cure. 

Where did Jas being held captive by Ian & Wendy come into it?

Remi has picked up on how Eden seems fixated on Cash so keeping a wise eye on her. 

I suppose people do know now that Sam Frost - Jasmine - was supposed to be coming back and it would have thrown the writers completely that she's decided not to.  They, like most soap writers, plan things for their characters for months even years ahead, their storylines tie in with others so not just their plotline, so huge and rewrites for all concerned - Cash, Xander, Rose, in a smaller degree Irene, Leah.  They had to think on their feet in that respect. Ditto with Harley Bonner - Logan - who had to leave quickly because of him not having a Covid vaccine. 

Anyways why wouldn't Jas speak to Irene and why didn't Ian & Wendy answer Irene's calls?  No surprise Cash asked the 'fairly' local cops to make a welfare check, they are very remote, and anything could have happened.    Irene thought, though why she'd think that, that Ian & Wendy would object to Jasmine meeting someone new and moving on, of course they wouldn't, no more than Robbo would have.   All seemed fine between Cash and Jas just a few days before he asked her to come back, asked, not told her to.  

Good job Irene is going with Cash, she does know how long a drive it is. 

Why would Xander and Rose want to live there?

Next big debate to have - Theo and what he wants to do with his life.  Justin really got it wrong big time didn't he - thinking that all Theo would be doing is rehearsing and doing a fortnightly gig at SALT so no probs fitting that in with his apprenticeship - yeh right.  Just as he and Ziggy got it sorted, thanks to an intervention by Dean, he's now got to tell her, or rather Theo has, together with Justin that's it a bigger deal than originally thought. His apprenticeship work will get harder as he goes on, he's got to be careful of his hands too, I bet he hasn't thought of that!

I know some on here think Ziggy has been a right mardy mare about it, but Justin did chivvy her into taking over being Theo's supervisor.  She's now just put together a new plan so Theo can juggle his band work and do his apprenticeship, but that has gone out of the window.   

Theo seems to think he can do it all, of course he does, he's young and enthusiastic, but it will catch up to him.   

We saw it coming, but of course he didn't know what we knew about Chloe, I'd forgotten Flick knew so good dodge when he asked her if she'd heard from Chloe and what this urgent family business was. 

Roo didn't last long with her newfound 'freedom', did she?  She was active enough when she was trying to get Martha healthy enough for the transplant, can't she do something like that?  

 

[pembie]

Of all the women of the night that you could call I wouldn’t have thought of a tattoo artist the music made her out to be dodgy but I’m sure she is perfectly normal woman haha 

I’m putting it out there that Xander probably has more tattoos than the bikers gang put together