2018 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Razabaza]

Didn't we already see Jennifer's father last year when she was bullying Coco? . He was the guy who asked Leah out at the diner and she turned him down because she still wasn't over her divorce with Zach

 

It wasn't the guy who was on screen yesterday

[Dan F]

1 hour ago, Razabaza said:

Didn't we already see Jennifer's father last year when she was bullying Coco? . He was the guy who asked Leah out at the diner and she turned him down because she still wasn't over her divorce with Zach

 

It wasn't the guy who was on screen yesterday

Yup—it is the same actor as last time (Jacob Allan), he's just got a very different hairstyle and is clean shaven this time around

[c120701]

Ahh, that makes sense, I did wonder why her Dad was happy for her to stay over at Hunter’s house but it’s because he knows Leah.

[atrus]

So, Robbo's back in the community; and said community's reaction was so galling that I found myself siding with Robbo over the entire sorry lot of them immediately. It feels like I've missed or glazed over during the Beckett Reid Explanatory Memo, so now not at all sure whether Robbo is supposed to be him or not, or indeed whether to care. But whatever he has or hasn't done in the past, I just found the attitudes towards him of Alf, Irene, Leah, John, Marilyn and pretty much anyone else you might care to mention - none of whom actually know anything about him - to be so comprehensively sickening, that he could have murdered all their firstborns and I'd still be paid-up Team Robbo. None of them have whiter-than-white pasts, although Palmer in particular ought to know what it's like to be on the receiving end of a lynchmob, and to have duly shut his obnoxious trap. As for Ash turning up at the flat and goading Robbo into attacking him, I just have less and less sympathy for Ash by the day - and it means that once more I'm finding myself siding with Tori, Robbo's only in-universe cheerleader, despite reservations over her recent behaviour. Oh, and also Colby, perhaps. I was thinking that maybe I judged Colby and Dean as uninteresting too quickly in my last post; we've had a lot more fleshing-out in the last fortnight, and Colby was the only one who was actually prepared to give Robbo a home - so fair play to him. Oh, and Professor Juliet, who was fantastic and seemed to be channelling Lady Penelope from the 2004 live action adaptation of Thunderbirds (but not the same actor, surely?)

As for Dean: I was super-sure I noticed him checking out Ash on the beach in one episode - but then he ended up in Willow's bed, so the jury's still out. I enjoyed a lot of the back-and-forth between him, Willow and Justin, and even found myself grudgingly liking him a little. There appear to be hidden depths to Dean which we're not yet entirely party to, and I must admit I'm intrigued to know more about his background with Colby, and whether Colby's betrayal of him is more than just joining the cops (and/or breaking his heart  ). Enjoyed seeing more of Willow's relationship with her dad too, after he took the car - it really adds a fun, human dimension to her character.

As far as Roo and Alf are concerned - it's difficult to see how Alf's refusal to help find Martha is in any way justified. Surely when he decided to blurt the truth to Roo in the sinkhole, he must have known that she would then want to try and find her mother, and also that he should have given her the opportunity long ago - or else he wouldn't have said it. Roo seemed to be doing a lot of burying her head in the sand/padding out the storyline through inaction, but then perhaps that's not an unrealistic reaction to something so shocking. I sometimes just go into hibernation when something upsetting happens even if it ought to prompt action, so I wonder if I'd behave in much the same way in that situation. Anyway, I'm glad they moved past it and seem to be getting back on track now. Wonder if we'll actually see any of Roo's adventures in Merimbula.

The whole "David takes Leah, Jasmine and Ryder hostage" debacle was quite a spectacle, but David himself was pretty one-note, and I didn't understand why the three of them weren't trying to overpower him or escape - he hadn't really threatened them physically and I'm sure he wouldn't have been able to take all three of them at once. Clever move by Leah writing a call for help into the pizza order, although I'm not sure most of the takeaway establishments I deal with would have noticed if I'd written similar in the comments, seeing as 3 times out of 4 they **** up the order itself. Ryder's health issues seemed to come slightly to the fore as he got a bit panicky and breathy during the 'pizza siege' - wondering if that gives us any clue as to what his condition might be. Aside from her stalky ex, Jasmine doesn't seem to be adding a great deal to the table other than potential romantic interest for Mason, and I'm not really feeling that either.

You get the feeling Jennifer is far more into Hunter than vice versa, so that can probably only end in tears - although it's a shame, because Olivia was lurching between being inappropriately chummy with Hunter and revoltingly unpleasant, so I've no desire to see her succeed in her transparent efforts to win him back. I'm interested as to why the writers have suddenly decided to drop Olivia's character down the pan in such an extreme way; she was always moderately annoying but has never been as out-and-out nasty as she has been at times in the last fortnight.

Glad to see that Ryder's pretensions to womanising from his early days have proven to be nothing but bluster after all - the poor boy was clearly terrified that Coco didn't really like him, and looked as if he'd never been on a date before. We still seem to be getting the odd longing look in his direction from Raffy, so who knows if/when that will resurface.

The Maggie storyline is definitely causing a bit of a turnaround in my feelings for Ben, who contrary to my earlier posts has already out-depthed Brad from Neighbours several times over since the storyline began. It's nice to see the family rallying around and their deciding to be more open and honest about the potential consequences of Maggie's illness, even if Raffy - who suggested that idea in the first place - never got her deserved apology from Ben.

[Slade]

On 4/19/2018 at 14:39, H&Alover said:

Robbo remembers he killed Novak it's the alleged ones he may have committed as Beckett Reid he can't remember, that is what the police and other authorities have to establish.

I understand that he knows he killed Novak and doesn't know about any other offences he may have committed as Beckett Reid but he's still going to trial for killing Novak isn't he?  So as per my point it's inconsistent with feeling guilty and trying to atone.  If he'd pleaded guilty he would be serving his time and awaiting the trial of the other offences and that would be more consistent.

 

14 hours ago, atrus said:

I just found the attitudes towards him of Alf, Irene, Leah, John, Marilyn and pretty much anyone else you might care to mention - none of whom actually know anything about him - to be so comprehensively sickening, that he could have murdered all their firstborns and I'd still be paid-up Team Robbo.

 

I find I really enjoy scenes with Hunter and Leah.  Still like how she's looking out for him.  I also really liked the ebb and flow of the interactions with Hunter/Jennifer/Jasmine/Mason on the beach.  Thought they made quite a good foursome although I suspect Jen will be replaced with Olivia eventually.

Found Olivia's reaction to Hunter being at the Fresher's mildly amusing and the way she was trying to go out of her way to help him.  It was even funnier when Jen just showed up.  Apart from Hunter, nobody looked pleased to see her.  Especially not Olivia.  As has already been stated I would imagine it's going to be quite difficult going back to her custom designs because of her contract so she is probably going to have to come up with something completely different.  And there's also the issue in the unlikely event she is highly successful Axel's company will probably default to suing anyway.

So Nick didn't know about Hunter.  I'm surprised he didn't question Jennifer saying she was going to study with Coco in the first place given that he thwarted their parents plans for the peer or that Jennifer was bullying her previously.  That must have been really embarrassing for her him showing up like that.  It's a difficult one because he's obviously quite protective but she is 17 although he definitely had a valid point about her being out with them when they were drinking.

I think Olivia's right when she says Hunter's moving with Jennifer too fast but I was glad he called out her hypocrisy by brining up her infidelity with Axel.  I agree with him at this point it's not a good idea for them to be friends as she obviously wants to get back with him but he is trying to move on.  She is still cracking me up anytime she moans to Mason about it - how it's none of her business that Jennifer is staying at Hunters or she shouldn't care.

I suspected we would see a U-turn on Mason's medical career after Alf had a heart attack.  I'm glad the writers introduced that rather than just having him change his mind after drinking at freshers and getting to know Jasmine.  If he had been the Mason of 6-12 months ago I would have been dead against it but I've seen a definite change in him since Beth's funeral.  I used to quite loath him but actually quite like him now.  I still have reservations as I recall how he conducted himself by sabotaging Nate's chances for a job and trying to pressurise the relative of the organ donor patient when they were grieving but I do think he's grown up.  It remains to be seen whether that will be translated and maintained in a professional capacity so I'm glad he has to deal with the suspension although I don't think Tori should be getting involved at all especially because she's his sister but also because she might feel as though she owes him one  because of Robbo.  I wonder what Justin was thinking when he was looking at Mason and Jasmine in Salt when he went to the bar.  He didn't seem that happy for him (like he and Brody were on Thursday when Mason brought Jasmine home) so perhaps he doesn't feel he's getting involved in medicine again for the right reasons.

I actually think Leah's being irresponsible letting Ben stay at the house,  Especially without checking with the others first.  She wanted him to leave the Diner because she felt he was highly contagious and didn't want to infect the other customers but she's OK for him to infect the other people she lives with.  Alf is recently recovering from a heart attack.  Ben should be staying in a caravan.  She can bring him food if she doesn't mind getting the illness herself.  I guess it was a shame he couldn't be there in person for Maggie's birthday but it's a good thing they have Skype/FaceTime.  Still not fussed about this storyline although I can tolerate Maggie more than I did before and she seems to have moved on from referring to her daughter as a cereal to referring to her as body lotion.

I loved Raffy's line - "Why is the zombie version of Coco's dad here?" when she saw an ill Ben emerge into the living room.  And I liked Ryder teasing Ben and trying to hit on Coco down the Webcam right next to him.  I can't say I'm particularly excited about them.  I would much rather see Ryder get together with Raffy.  They interact really well with each other and have good banter.  Raffy is funny, lively, takes a lot of stuff in her stride, generally has a net positive effect on people and quite extroverted (He'd have to wait a lot longer before he can tap it but still...).  Coco has self-esteem issues, is generally more negative than Raffy, self-absorbed, high maintenance and quite introverted.  This has been indicated throughout her and Raffy's friendship.  You can argue this isn't necessarily Coco's fault but I would imagine Ryder would have to put a lot of effort into the relationship.  With Raffy you would get more bang for you buck.

[Razabaza]

On 4/21/2018 at 12:33, Dan F said:

Yup—it is the same actor as last time (Jacob Allan), he's just got a very different hairstyle and is clean shaven this time around

Thanks, he looks different to me.

[H&Alover]

I may be misunderstanding you Slade but Robbo hasn't stood trial yet for Novak's death yet so the fact he has or hasn't atoned doesn't come into it.  Kat sprung him before it got that far. It would have been down to the lawyers to argue whether it was murder/manslaughter/self defence.

That may be part of the problem atrus, it's because they don't know anything about him that 'made' them so willing to turn on him. Mind you they'd known John for years and that didn't stop them doing the same!

Seems even Ben had forgotten about his up hearing for hitting Brody. Brody refused to press charges,  it was the cops themselves who decided to charge him because years back he had assaulted his brother. I think he's made a mistake in deciding not to tell Maggie and persuading Ziggy to keep quite, you just know that is not going to work out well.  His reasoning is he doesn't want Maggie to worry about it, but she'll be furious that he did it to 'protect her'. His case is on the same day as Maggie's next treatment and he thinks he can make it to the hospital in time, but he's not allowing for the possibility his time in court could be delayed.  I did love the Skype he sent her as he couldn't be there in person. Maggie's immune system is compromised so of course he can't stay there, apart from Alf everyone else at the Stewart house is young and healthy. Rather sweet to see an insecure Ryder, he's understanding about her wanting to be with her mum, but scared she's no longer interested in him.  I smiled when she shut him up by kissing him. 

Jennifer said her mum was' always busy' so that is why she couldn't approach her about her dad's attitude, but I'm wondering if that is the truth.  Nick isn't  Leah's biggest fan so surprised he was willing to let her stay there seeing as that is also where Hunter lives!  She was very presumptive in thinking she'd be sharing a room with Hunter, but as Leah explained it's Alf's rule no boyfriends/girlfriends sharing a room and she agrees. Seems from what we saw that gets flouted and Alf catches them!  I think it was Olivia who made the comment doesn't she have any other friends she could have stayed with - good point.  It is now no longer any of Olivia's business what Hunter does and with whom but she is right Jennifer does seem to be making all the running and is Hunter ready for it. Despite her originally saying she was cool with taking it slowly she's starting to come across as needy. Hunter made sure Jennifer was drinking any alcoholic drink at the Fresher's day, her dad just jumped to the conclusion she was.

I think now is the time for Mason to get interested in being in medicine again and seeing his old friend nudged it along.  His talk with Jasmine also put it in perspective for him, Tori had the same arguments but she's biased as she's family.  Both Justin and Brody had the same thoughts about him and Jasmine, as in 'oh so that is what is so tempting about going back to medicine'.   Bit of a bind he can't re-register unless he can get his un replacement at ND overturned. He can go somewhere else but (a) he doesn't want to and (b) what sort of reference would he get.  But you're right atrus Tori shouldn't get involved, she did cover for him chasing up the transplant people so could be more of a hindrance than a help.

For some as yet unknown reason Dean ends up in ND.  Also from what we saw Robbo's first session with Carol/Juliette doesn't go well.

[Slade]

4 hours ago, H&Alover said:

I may be misunderstanding you Slade but Robbo hasn't stood trial yet for Novak's death yet so the fact he has or hasn't atoned doesn't come into it.  Kat sprung him before it got that far. It would have been down to the lawyers to argue whether it was murder/manslaughter/self defence.

I think you may be.  With regards to Robbo to clarify I originally said:

 

On 4/18/2018 at 07:59, Slade said:

I don't quite get why he's going on trial.  If he feels that he deserves to be punished why not just plead guilty?  Not complaining of course but just seems inconsistent with his state of mind.

 

You then replied:

On 4/19/2018 at 14:39, H&Alover said:

Robbo remembers he killed Novak it's the alleged ones he may have committed as Beckett Reid he can't remember, that is what the police and other authorities have to establish.

 

I replied with:

6 hours ago, Slade said:

I understand that he knows he killed Novak and doesn't know about any other offences he may have committed as Beckett Reid but he's still going to trial for killing Novak isn't he?  So as per my point it's inconsistent with feeling guilty and trying to atone.  If he'd pleaded guilty he would be serving his time and awaiting the trial of the other offences and that would be more consistent.

 

 

•  Nowhere in any of the above posts did I say that he didn't remember killing Novak.
•  My original statement wasn't about any of the other offences.  It was specifically about killing Novak - He doesn't remember any of the alleged crimes before so they are not relevant.  He can't fess up to and is unlikely to feel guilty about something he's not aware of
•  My whole point was that Robbo felt guilty and remorseful about killing Novak and even more so about Ash losing his unborn child.  He mentioned to Ash that he wanted to do time i.e. atone.  He also mentioned to Tori that he should pay for what he's done.  He didn't actually cause the death of Kat and her baby but he's the reason why they're dead.  So in his current state of mind he feels he has to be punished for something.  He can't be punished for Kat and the baby but will still go on trial for Novak's death.  However that's not really atoning.  If he feels he murdered Novak then he should have pleaded guilty and begun serving his time - in a way that would also be punishment for Kat and the baby.  If he goes to trial there's a chance he could walk free.  This is all on the assumption that Novak's killing was premeditated.  I'm not sure whether it was or whether it was self defence as we didn't see what happened - just heard the gun go off.  But it doesn't work in his favour that he went after Novak knowing Novak wanted to kill Kat and after the incident, rather than report what happened to the police (which if the death had been accidental he would have been more likely to have done) he disposed of the body

[atrus]

Well, I'm still Team Robbo. It wasn't the cleverest move marching out of Lady Penelope's therapy session, and didn't like the way he was bellowing at Tori on the beach either - but as usual, Ash flew in like a moron and completely eclipsed Robbo's own bad behaviour. Probably a sound instinct by Tori to take Robbo to Kat's grave and allow him to say his goodbyes - and there was a suitably moving scene as he apologised to Kat for not being able to save her.

So, just as Justin and Willow finally clarify where they stand in relationship terms (some of the lines weren't very Willowish - "I've never felt this way about anyone", "I'm scared" etc etc - but were redeemed by nuances in the acting), Ava rocks up to throw a spanner in the works. I don't recall them talking about Ava, so it's probably safe to assume that Justin hasn't got round to telling Willow about her yet. Awks.

Not sure what Ben is playing at keeping his court appearance from Maggie, or in what sense it's supposed to be protecting her. She'll have known it was on the horizon anyway so chances are it's already playing on her mind; why not just get it over with? Best case scenario is he'll get a slap on the wrist and so will probably end up telling her later that day anyway; worst case, he gets sent down, leading to an unnecessarily nasty surprise for Maggie.
 

[H&Alover]

On ‎22‎/‎04‎/‎2018 at 21:01, Slade said:

 Nowhere in any of the above posts did I say that he didn't remember killing Novak.

•  My original statement wasn't about any of the other offences.  It was specifically about killing Novak - He doesn't remember any of the alleged crimes before so they are not relevant.  He can't fess up to and is unlikely to feel guilty about something he's not aware of
•  My whole point was that Robbo felt guilty and remorseful about killing Novak and even more so about Ash losing his unborn child.  He mentioned to Ash that he wanted to do time i.e. atone.  He also mentioned to Tori that he should pay for what he's done.  He didn't actually cause the death of Kat and her baby but he's the reason why they're dead.  So in his current state of mind he feels he has to be punished for something.  He can't be punished for Kat and the baby but will still go on trial for Novak's death.  However that's not really atoning.  If he feels he murdered Novak then he should have pleaded guilty and begun serving his time - in a way that would also be punishment for Kat and the baby.  If he goes to trial there's a chance he could walk free.  This is all on the assumption that Novak's killing was premeditated.  I'm not sure whether it was or whether it was self defence as we didn't see what happened - just heard the gun go off.  But it doesn't work in his favour that he went after Novak knowing Novak wanted to kill Kat and after the incident, rather than report what happened to the police (which if the death had been accidental he would have been more likely to have done) he disposed of the body

. I never said you did.

. He was prepared to plead guilty - to what charge exactly we don't know - but as we know he didn't get that far.  In the eyes of the law they only have Robbo's side of the story about what happened between him & Novak.  The fact both their prints were on the gun doesn't help either way. I'm probably biased being on team Robbo but I don't believe it was pre-mediated, at least not on his part.  In fact when Robbo did have the gun in his hand he couldn't shoot Novak which Novak taunted him about.

Me too atrus as already said.  I didn't see how Juliette/Juliet bringing up Kat was of any use, he remembers her, it's his late wife and family and his life then he needs to remember. He was taking it out on Tori as she was there and it was her idea.  Ash riding in on his white charger backfired on him because as Tori pointed out when she was tearing him off a strip, he was acting just like him!  He did later tell Justin he was backing off and leaving him, Robbo, alone. Justin also seems to have accepted the fact Robbo is, for the moment, a fixture in town so is not going to tell Tori what to do anymore. That was a good idea of Tori's to take him to visit Kat's grave so he could say a proper goodbye.  I did think it was ironic that an amnesiac 'told' Kat he'd never forget her. Lovely line about she saved him but he couldn't save her.

Willow told Justin about her previous involvement with Dean so there was no misunderstandings, and has reassured him there is nothing between them for him to be jealous about. If this is Willow's first serious relationship I can see why she is scared of maybe getting hurt. I'm glad she had a good time with her dad. As for him not mentioning Ava, when do you tell your new love interest you have a child from back when you were a lot younger.  Plus for eight years you had no contact with her because you were in WP. None of the other Morgan's have mentioned her to Willow even in passing.  So, she's going to be staying for a month, nice of Nina to check with Justin first that'll be OK, just as well he does have Dean working at the garage then!

Ziggy had to think on her feet a bit when Maggie said she is having more tests on the same morning as Ben is appearing in court.  Ben didn't get  a lot of notice, bit lax on the courts side I would have thought. Now he's rushing around trying to get  a lawyer but it seems Justin has come to the rescue with Brody's lawyer.  Re him staying away so as not to infect Maggie what about him seeing Ziggy who could catch his cold and pass it on to Maggie? I liked the fact he told Ziggy he couldn't lie to Maggie as she always knew when he was lying and she told Ziggy when they run into Ben on the beach she always knew when he was hiding something.   Rather sweet comment from them both that they couldn't sleep without the other being by their side.   Hopefully the court will decide as it was such a long time since his last assault charge they'll dismiss the case - good use of public time and money.