2024 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Slade]

I don't have one iota of sympathy for Mali.  He's entirely the blame for the situation he's in.  Like the last time he went to see his family, I'm glad he's gone and again wish that he doesn't return although once more wishful thinking.

I enjoyed the dinner party stuff.  Again enjoyed the uncomfortable faces or Marilyn/Leah but Justin as well.  It's interesting there appears to be a divide.  In one hand you have Justin and Marilyn who are reluctant to put too much pressure on Irene and rather just provide support and keep an eye on her.  On the other hand you have John and Leah, who believe they should actively intervene and stop Irene from drinking.

I did smile when Irene called Harper moody.  Shame Marilyn interrupted because I would have loved to see how the interaction continued when Harper didn't take very kindly to it.

Not really enjoying the stuff with Tane and Perri.  I'm not surprised Perri reacted like that at his party as to me it felt Tane was putting far too much pressure on him for something he has no real connection to.

[Foellfan]

I can appreciate Eden's anxiety in that she knows she's onto a good thing with Cash but sometimes in your desperation to not make the mistakes she's afraid of making, i.e. cheating, you can overcompensate and end up driving someone away anyways, take it slow and keep talking, at least neither of them are under any illusions.

[c120701]

On 19/09/2024 at 19:47, Red Ranger 1 said:

Alf's appearances are a bit weird at the moment: He only seems to appear in a scene or two each episode, usually in or around the surf club. I suspect Ray Meagher was on limited availability when these were filmed.

It’s not the first time he’s been conveniently kept away from a storyline he’d shut down in 20 seconds.

[H&Alover]

Eden said yes after giving it a lot of thought.  I remember now her 'proposing' to Cash and he was the one panicking, it wasn't the right time for him then.   It may have seemed sudden, but he may have had it his mind it was only Remi saying when you know she is the right one and want them to be in your life always it triggered him to do something about it.    They do love each other that much is apparent, they have been through a lot together, but she would have trust issues after what happened to her parents when she thought they had  a happy marriage.    I did find her hiding, well trying to, by the bins amusing.  Kirby, Theo, Remi, Bree  and Felicity are all for it but only if that is what she really wants.   Kirby was so busting to tell Mali THE news but managed to bite her tongue.   I would have thought Bree may have cottoned on when Cash and Eden came into Salt  looking especially lovey dovey but then they just announced they were engaged. More free drinks then. 

Felicity looked good and seems to have got over Rory OK.  She was fine with Cash and was pleased to her he had proposed to Eden who hadn't then given him an answer as yet, but keeping her fingers crossed.   Of course Mac didn't know about Rory so was of course worried about her being in Salt, but as Flick said being there was better for her. 

Mali wasn't away that long, overnight,  but hopefully he's now in  a much better place now he's had his earbashing from mum and Elandra.  I hope Iluka got the same as it was him that dragged Mali into it all.   He gets back then gets another earful from Mac who wanted to have a go at Dean but he wasn't responsible for the new RB's. 

Perri is one complex character, up one moment down the next, typical teenager I guess. At least he  had the decency to apologise to Tane  and decided to eat some of his party food.    Next day he was having down moments when Tane suggested they practice with the weapon when he wanted a beer and got the strop again.  But sometimes Tane is his own worse enemy, without meaning to, he's likely being  as pushy as Perri's dad was.  Can Perri just walk away from Tane?  

Oh it looks like we get one of those crossed wires moments tomorrow between Tane and Harper because of something Dana says and he misreads it.   Harper thinks he knows the real reason, how many times does that happen in soaps. 

[Foellfan]

I know Mac gave Mali an earful but I did enjoy the fact she said that she'd have done/would possibly still do the same to Dean, at least this time she sees clearly, hehe.

[c120701]

Irene’s alcoholism reminds me in a way of Ailsa’s criminal conviction, the old timers know about it, but she’s vague in what she tells people and they don’t ask further questions.

It’s actually quite sad seeing her like this as it’s her pride she’s losing as well as her sobriety. As others realise she’s now got to face people who saw her as this pillar of the community and at least in her mind she’ll see them looking at her differently. She had to tell Harper & Dana about her criminal conviction too, which was hard.

[H&Alover]

Perri has decided to stay so Mali's words did sink in.  I suppose he would find it weird about what Mac and Levi put in their card which Tane read out for him, obviously where he grew up people weren't like that.   Good that Tane approached Harper about Perri's read/writing problem and how to get help for him - I hope I'm not jumping the gun and putting a label on him but he could have dyslexia.  The only other thing would be he never paid much attention at school.  Did he stop bothering after his mum died?  Harper very wisely said he'd need to talk to Perri first. When kids keep being told they are stupid enough when they are growing up they do believe it.  Tane said Perri had signed up for this course and I guess he meant that  literally as putting his name to some sort of paperwork. 

Irene really is spiralling out of control at a rate of knots, now she's filling up a hip flask of grog to sneak into work.   She got a real  shock when Dana  appeared.  Leah, Justin and  Maz did this time round have clocked something is not right  with her, but still need to agree how best to handle it. They have noticed the booze on her breath and her sneaking off to the pantry, didn't Mac keep doing that at Salt when she had her drink problem?  Not just Irene getting Justin's food wrong which he would have  kept quiet about and others, but Leah had to call it  and send her home in case there had been an accident.  There are rules about having an employee/fellow worker who isn't fit to be there, especially if dealing with customers, handling knives and such I think.   

Irene was being very defensive when Leah  called round but Leah, though being well meaning can come across as overbearing and she has been there before.  Never a good idea going up or downstairs when drunk.   We did see her being found, taken to NDS and Bree - who else - looking after her. 

I think with newbies she just says unless I've OK'd it there is no booze allowed in the house, hoping most people would work it out for themselves. 

That was a close call when Tane called round to see Harper and he mentioned Dana had told him what was wrong with her   and she thought he knew about the baby, but just in time he mentioned the word virus.  Harper does need to tell him but her excuse is he's tied up with Perri so doesn't need any more problems.   He will need to know at some point and won't be  a happy bunny she's kept it from him.   Then Dana accidentally let slip Xander knows.  But as we know he thought she, Dana, was the one who was pregnant and she didn't actually say it was Harper, just didn't deny it. 

[Slade]

Whilst Irene is amusing e.g. "Your lordship" re Justin, it is getting very serious now.  Someone really should tell Harper and Dana as they live with her, have a right to know and the outbursts towards them are becoming more frequent.

Initially I was keen for Harper to tell Tane about the baby but part of me is hoping she puts it off in order to see his horror when he starts to notice the baby bump.

[Foellfan]

The scene with Irene and Leah at the house was utterly heartbreaking; it is so hard to watch someone destroy themselves.

I think Tane did the right thing getting info as the assessment might actually benefit Perri in his own self-worth ultimately, fingers crossed.

[TessyBear]

Hi,

I know I haven't been here for quite some time but I just wanted to share some thoughts as I don't know if I've got the wrong end of the stick or not. 

I swear Irene's friends shouldn't have been leaving her alone so much. They DEFINITELY shouldn't have been encouraging her drinking. Disgusting. Alcoholism is a beast right. A real beast. It's not gonna be easy to help Irene. Doesn't mean they don't try. I swear Irene ended up in hospital today coz of all those sad sacks. I mean Irene told John to leave her alone. Did he really take her seriously??? He could've asked Harper or Dana to let him into the house when Irene wasn't there. Then he shoulda poured all the alcohol away. He could leave a note for Irene or wait til Irene got home! It's not easy or comfortable. SO?????? Look what's happened to Irene now. I mean she was the one who was drinking the alcohol yes, writing herself off, BUT her friends have sure done a LOUSY job at supporting her.

So you know the message at the end of every episode? About "You can call the helpline". So what if someone's watching H&A and they feel just like Leah as a friend of theirs or family member is suffering with a relapse... They watch H&A and go 'Well... there's no hope then. There's nothing I can do. I'll just make it worse'. WRONG. REALLY WRONG. Irene can't help herself. She shouldn't have had to end up in hospital for things to start changing and improving again. Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad writing. 

I mean I have no experience of addiction myself. At all. I've seen it on TV a few times. In Brothers and Sisters Justin's family stayed up with him all night when he was going cold turkey!! I'd have just taken an intervention on H&A!!

So... Have I oversimplified it? Is it a bit more complex, a bit more tricky than I've thought? Does it need to be thought about a bit more than I have? I think Leah and her friends have done a poor job. Is that wrong. We can have a respectful discussion about it all. I have autism and I find seeing gray areas tricky. I just feel like Irene's so called "friends" dropped the ball baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad and the tptb to be honest too.

Harper was my star of the week this week/star of the storyline today!! Taking Irene to hospital and being firm with her! *singing* Aaaahhhhh!!!! The Happy Clappy Leahlyn Brigade woulda just patched Irene up, sent her to bed and gone home. NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

I had an experience once with an alcoholic. Alright so I've had one. It was a lady I didn't know, at night, while I was waiting for the bus home. She asked me if she could have some money. I said "no" out of habit. I think then she said it was for alcohol. I said "no" again. Definitely said no then! I knew who she was. I then asked her "Are you an alcoholic?" She said "Yes". I replied "I just don't think I can set you back". She'd told me, I asked if memory serves, she was going to rehab. I said "I can't be the one who sets you back. Not this close to going to rehab". I don't know if she was really going to rehab. I hope she was! I said "We can talk about it if you like?" But she left. She came back one more time to ask for money and I still stood firm. I prayed that she wouldn't come back again, nor get alcohol and that she'd really go to rehab!! That's what you have to do!! I mean praying's optional I suppose but you hafta stand firm!!! The Happy Under The Carpet Brigade?? They woulda taken this lady/Irene to the supermarket - 2 mins walk away and helped her carry the bottles to the checkout. And WHY??? So they wouldn't get Irene offside?? Heads up dummies - the alcohol has already done that. I feel like the "friends" thought it was more important to be nice to Irene than actually help her. Please. It makes me sick. Well with the exception of Harper, though she coulda come to the realisation she came to today a whole lot quicker, who needs enemies when Irene's got such great "friends"???

ETA: I did really enjoy the bts photos!! Thanks Dan!!!! You must live Down Under? Do you work on H&A?

Edited September 25 by TessyBear