2019 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Dan F]

Just to stop the going back and forth - I've highlighted the part of the conversation in bold which RR1 was originally trying to correct:

On 11/03/2019 at 20:54, D.B said:

Makes the fact that she spent at least (correct me if I'm wrong) 17 years with him even more discomforting.

 

On 12/03/2019 at 15:02, H&Alover said:

D.B. Bella was with Ross for six years  - five on her own after he killed her mum.

 

On 13/03/2019 at 00:07, Red Ranger 1 said:

H&Alover: Bella is sixteen.She lived with Ross for sixteen years.

 

On 14/03/2019 at 15:18, H&Alover said:

Red - Bella has been with Ross on her own for six years since she was 10.

 

16 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

No, she hasn't, and she's been living with Ross for sixteen years since she was born.

 

1 hour ago, H&Alover said:

She may have been with Ross since she was born but when she was younger she had her mum and Colby to protect her from Ross, but since she was 11 it was just her and him for five years. 

 

[c120701]

Was today the first time that Home and Away not airing in Australia on a Friday caused a noticable ‘error’ on air in the UK with the toast to Thursday?

Leah’s reaction to Marilyn saying Martha was in town seemed to be a bit off for me, straight away she knew which Martha. I realise she probably knows they’re unlikely to see Martha Jnr again, but still...

It’d be nice to see Martha showing a bit more love or recognition of Summer Bay House really though. For someone who worked so hard to keep it pristine, even cleaning under the table everyday, it’s a bit like she only stepped foot in there last year.

[Slade]

I didn't realise Justin didn't know Tori was pregnant.  In one hand I did understand why he agreed to keep quiet it being his sister but on the other I didn't like the way he and Leah were firmly behind her although Tori has made her decision and isn't going to change her mind so they probably both thought there was no point being on her case.

Tori made me laugh again.  The way she was wincing when she saw Robbo in the Diner, told Justin/Leah that Robbo saw her under her breath and they they all quickly slipped out.  Also when they were toasting the pregnancy and had to make up an excuse at Salt when Jasmine asked what they were celebrating.  I was a little surprised Jasmine checked Tori's medical records so quickly as I don't think that would have generated enough suspicion. Towards the end of the episode my thoughts were who's going to figure out Tori is pregnant first between her and Robbo as he was also suspect.

Still wasn't happy with Mason especially when Ryder was trying his best to show that he wasn't going to take advantage of Raffy.  Mason obviously found it funny Ryder was squirming.  I'm glad Ryder told Raffy and she called Mason out on it later on.  He had better watch himself.  Raffy is spending quite a bit of time at the Morgans and they don't want to give her an excuse to just be tied to John and Marilyn all the time if interfering in her love life is going to put her off going there although she was OK about everything afterwards.

[Red Ranger 1]

Two things I forgot to mention yesterday: Yes, finally confirmation that Coco is 17! And finally Belinda Giblin gets credited as Martha Stewart instead of Martha, so we can laugh at IMDb for getting it wrong.

11 hours ago, D.B said:

I believe that Robbo was either a) trying to interrogate Novak on more information about Robbo's past (Which at this point I remind you he has no idea of) before planning to turn him over to the police (which would put Robbo in trouble for withholding information of the police and kidnapping but I digress), or b) was trying to intimidate Novak against going after Kat yet again, which after seeing Robbo taking him down, Robbo would be hoping that Novak would take him more serious.

Also, in reference to you last comment on Bella, is Ross actually her father? I thought he was her step-dad, same with Colby. So does that mean Colby and Bella are half-siblings? 

There was no way Robbo was going to let Novak out of there alive: He'd already tried to intimidate him once, including showing that he could easily beat him physically, and it hadn't worked.If he'd let him go, he'd have gone after Kat again.If he'd handed him over to the police, he'd have told them Robbo was Beckett Reid.He killed him (Novak putting up a fight doesn't make it self-defence, any more than Ross trying to shoot Colby when he was charging at him intending him harm was self-defence) and then hid the evidence and buried him in a shallow grave, hardly the action of an innocent man. He's very lucky he had friends in high places to make the charges go away, and the fact that the audience (including myself) have been willing to accept him as a "good guy" after that has problem encouraged the show to do the same with Colby.And, as others have said, yes, Ross is Bella's father, making her Colby's half-sister.That was established when he first told Jasmine about her.

Alf's episode count this week:Four.

Hmm.I'd forgotten that Justin knew Tori had had the embryo implanted, which does make him joining the dots with her nausea when Mason didn't seem plausible.And I kind of get that he's already given her the lecture, and it's too late to do anything about it now, and he's got a reminder of how fragile life can be, so he's not going to repeat himself, although the toasts seemed a bit much.(I don't really see saying it's Thursday as an "error", Home and Away's never been as obsessive about synching up with real world dates as UK soaps are.)This is one occasion though when Tori's "funny" discomfort really doesn't seem to fit the tone of the storyline. But then neither does Justin thinking it's a really good idea to hide the pregnancy from Robbo for months and then go "Hey, man, we used your DNA to impregnate Tori without your consent but it's okay because we made you a video of the ultrasound." Always nice to get an update on VJ and Luc. I'm really not sure what to make of Jasmine's behaviour at the end.I get she was suspicious but going behind everyone's back to look up Tori's records (would she really be listed as "Tori" rather than "Victoria", by the way?) has achieved nothing except putting herself in a difficult position.

I doubt Orpheus Pledger travelled forward in time a few months to read my thoughts on finale week, but Mason came over a lot better in the scene outside the surf club, there was more of a feeling that he wasn't really going to punch Ryder's lights out and was just enjoying winding him up.Raffy of course still wasn't receptive but, potential seizures aside, I did like the scenes of her at the house that followed, with Justin and Mason not entirely in agreement with her and Tori giving her the benefit of her experience of having brothers.(You'd think she'd have more of a clue after knowing them for two years but hey-ho, run with it.)I have to say I'm really not feeling Raffy and Ryder as a couple though.It feels a bit awkward, and as I feared it seems to have drained the fun out of their relationship somewhat by having them try too hard to seem "sweet" together: I preferred it when their interaction had a bit more bite to it.

I guess we're just going to have to go with the flow on Alf and Martha, since it feels as though we're not going to get any more information.There is a more relaxed relationship between them which makes them believable as a former couple, and since Alf's had about half a dozen teenage sweethearts turn up over the years we don't really need another one, but I do wish that the show had thought more about what the back story actually was before making her Martha.But oh well, I'm kind of enjoying it.

[D.B]

11 hours ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

There was no way Robbo was going to let Novak out of there alive: He'd already tried to intimidate him once, including showing that he could easily beat him physically, and it hadn't worked.If he'd let him go, he'd have gone after Kat again.If he'd handed him over to the police, he'd have told them Robbo was Beckett Reid.He killed him (Novak putting up a fight doesn't make it self-defence, any more than Ross trying to shoot Colby when he was charging at him intending him harm was self-defence) and then hid the evidence and buried him in a shallow grave, hardly the action of an innocent man. He's very lucky he had friends in high places to make the charges go away, and the fact that the audience (including myself) have been willing to accept him as a "good guy" after that has problem encouraged the show to do the same with Colby.And, as others have said, yes, Ross is Bella's father, making her Colby's half-sister.That was established when he first told Jasmine about her.

I'm not going to continue this debate, because I said everything I thought about it last year, only that a) Colby charging at Ross isn't really the same thing as Robbo fighting Novak because Ross was on the ground, injured and unarmed when Colby shot him, the last we see of Novak is when he is physically fighting Robbo for the gun, the two disappear into the other room and then a gunshot is heard. Given the time length between the fight and the shot, I think it's unlikely that Novak would have been in the same position as Ross was when he died. And b), that's the thing about a viewer's interpretation of what they watch. Two people could watch the same thing and yet have a totally different view-point of the other's. You may think that Robbo was intending to kill him from the outright, and you may be right, while I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and he maybe had other intentions and him covering the evidence, while not the right thing to do, to me wasn't the actions of a cold-blooded killer like Colby did, but more like someone who simply panicked. For me, I think it comes down to whether or not the character appeals to me or not. For example, Robbo does, as he has shown himself to me times before that he wants to be a good person and has taken responsibility for his own actions, and that's why I'm more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt than I would to Colby, or Hunter, or Ash, etc. Also, while we're on the topic of actions going unanswered, I don't think we should forget Ash's crimes during his manhunt (which included, as I remember, dangerous driving causing 3 counts of injury and public damage and attempted murder, among others) and he got off clean with that with no consequences. And with that, I've said all I wanted to on this. Also thanks for clearing the situation with Bella, I was rather confused there. 

On Friday's episode: The scenes with Tori and Justin and Leah were cringeful to watch,  especially the 'celebrating Thursday' thing, (thought to be fair I laughed so hard at their faces), and I'm honestly surprised to see Leah suddenly accepting of Tori's deception, ,last time we saw her she was urging Tori to tell the truth and now she's just 'meh', but then again, she's had that attitude with Hunter for two years now, so... I'm glad though  to get a mention of VJ and Luc in Cyprus. And now Jasmine has figured out the truth, so I can't wait to see her reaction. 

And while I get that Mason had good brotherly intentions, I'm glad it all got sorted out and that he'll lay off Ryder, because Ryder was over exaggerating the situation a little bit I fear, and needed some calming down. I liked the sisterly scenes with Tori and Raffy, finally the show seems to remember that they were related. 

While I would like some more discussion on the past, I'm still liking the scenes with Alf and Martha. For a while, Alf hasn't really had any main storylines other than talking with Ryder or Ben and his business, so I look forward to this. 

[CaptainHulk]

In fairness IMDB has some European editors who are way off the mark (see the numerous credit cockups) I at least try to keep it semi-accurate.

My first thought about Alf/Martha was "Don't tell me we're in for some Septegenarian Sexing!" Okay, presumptuous but there's that tension there. All the same, I'm still struggling to accept the storyline. To quote Jebediah Springfield: "Why did you disturb the bones of the past?!"

And with Tori and co acting sus, someone's bound to smell a rat, Robbo's not the smartest man on the planet but even he'd work it out! I can just see a shaven headed toddler holding Tori's hand, wearing a tank top, then waving and grunting at Robbo in a similar manner

 

[pembie]

58 minutes ago, D.B said:

I'm not going to continue this debate, because I said everything I thought about it last year, only that a) Colby charging at Ross isn't really the same thing as Robbo fighting Novak because Ross was on the ground, injured and unarmed when Colby shot him, the last we see of Novak is when he is physically fighting Robbo for the gun, the two disappear into the other room and then a gunshot is heard. Given the time length between the fight and the shot, I think it's unlikely that Novak would have been in the same position as Ross was when he died. And b), that's the thing about a viewer's interpretation of what they watch. Two people could watch the same thing and yet have a totally different view-point of the other's. You may think that Robbo was intending to kill him from the outright, and you may be right, while I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt and he maybe had other intentions and him covering the evidence, while not the right thing to do, to me wasn't the actions of a cold-blooded killer like Colby did, but more like someone who simply panicked. For me, I think it comes down to whether or not the character appeals to me or not. For example, Robbo does, as he has shown himself to me times before that he wants to be a good person and has taken responsibility for his own actions, and that's why I'm more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt than I would to Colby, or Hunter, or Ash, etc. Also, while we're on the topic of actions going unanswered, I don't think we should forget Ash's crimes during his manhunt (which included, as I remember, dangerous driving causing 3 counts of injury and public damage and attempted murder, among others) and he got off clean with that with no consequences. And with that, I've said all I wanted to on this. Also thanks for clearing the situation with Bella, I was rather confused there. 

 

 

In the days that I found Robbo interesting because I thought he was a trained hitman  and that is their job haha I quite enjoyed the whole Norvak takedown myself

Ross was always going to end up dead I can't comment really because I havent seen it yet 

[atrus]

Hmm. Well, I've been prepared to excuse a lot of Colby's actions up until now on various grounds - his difficult past, his concern for Bella, his shock at learning his parents' fate - but I certainly won't excuse him shooting Ross in cold blood. It would've been much more satisfying for this storyline to end with Ross being bundled into the back of a police car, but Colby's gone and potentially ruined everything, putting his own bloodlust before his marriage, his sister, and, yes, actually, his best friend. While I'm not condoning Dean's involvement in covering this up, Colby should never have put him in this position, and is now taking advantage of his loyalty to keep himself out of jail.

So, Justin and Leah have both done complete about-turns and are now toasting Tori's continuing duplicity, and encouraging her not to worry about it until she's crossed the 12-week bridge. I said in last year's thread that I don't approve of her leaving Robbo in the dark on this, even if I could sympathise with her decision to implant the embryo despite his wishes; and so any backlash she'll get now Jasmine has found out is at least partially deserved.

Elsewhere, Maggie and Coco relive the old "parent bans child from fulfilling move interstate on safeguarding grounds, when it's secretly because they don't want to lose them" chestnut. I'm glad she relented in the end, although I can't say I'm hugely sorry to see Coco go - she's been hard to like a lot of the time with how she's treated Ryder and Raffy, and her recent overnight maturity has been too little, too late. I presume Bella is being drafted in as her replacement in the teen trinity, which sounds like a fair swap to me.

The Martha story just feels very much like "Alf hasn't had anything to do for a while, so let's bring back Martha and still not address the elephant in the room" - although in fairness, I have a suspicion that Roo was meant to be around for this latest return and isn't, thus leaving the writers scrabbling for ways to make Martha relevant.

And finally... good to see Raffy asserting her independence with Mason, although to be fair I don't think he meant to scare Ryder nearly as much as he seemed to. And like Colby, Brody's another character who seems to have decimated any chance of audience sympathies this week. Again, what he's doing is inexcusable.

[H&Alover]

Going by the things Dean & Colby found in the boot of Ross' car it looked like he wasn't going to let anyone walk away from it, too many witnesses, though more than he originally envisaged.   I feel he would have even killed Bella he couldn't have risked her running off even if she had agreed to go with him. His plan was well thought out, Colby's (and I am not excusing him) actions were spur of the moment.  Robbo was willing to accept his killing of Novak and do time for it, other people kept intervening, first Kat and then the AFP.  With Robbo and Novak either could have been killed in that instance.

Once again a member of the ND Hospital does something they shouldn't but hey nothing new there, wasn't the first time and won't be the last. Something really tweaked Jasmine's antenna, can't just have been Leah, Justine & Tori's odd behaviour, did she pick up on the fact Tori wasn't drinking alcohol - in fact were any of them? Maybe the fact Tori has stopped nagging her to ask Robbo re the implant?  Robbo may not know much about medical matters but even he looked doubtful when Mason quite honestly said Tori had been sick so must have picked up a bug at the hospital. Is it me or has her morning sickness kicked in early, she wasn't like this last time. It is too late for either Justin or Leah to have another go at Tori but have decided to support her, that toast was odd, so much for keeping it low key. Nice little scene on the beach when Tori told Leah Justin knew, hint, hint, wink, wink.  It really can't be long before Mason works it out if not I worry about his competence as a doctor.  Was there a little bonding there between Leah and Justin over absent children/grandchildren?

Ryder made me smile with his freaking out every time he came across Mason when he was with Raffy and trying to pretend to her everything was OK, even jumpy when he 'begged' Alf to come home and he found Ryder and Raffy alone on the sofa and he leapt up saying 'nothing's going on'.  As has already been mentioned Ryder is a rubbish liar so Raffy finally dragged the truth out of him and so  gave Mason a right royal rollicking.  She is 15/16 so jury is still out on her age, a bright girl and hardly likely to be talked into doing anything she doesn't want to, so yes she is your little sister so only  looking out for her but  have a little faith in her guys.  Lovely little sister on sister chat. 

Finally Alf got over being all stubborn and macho and sat down and had a proper talk with Martha.  Would things have been different if she had stayed and her illness had been treated, even if she had acknowledged things weren't right mentally?  Her condition wasn't widely recognised back then and she would likely have been put in a mental hospital which would have been just as upsetting for Roo. How they will move on from there, he did offer to let her sleep in Roo's room and she agreed.  It's not really Martha's home anymore so she may have felt uncomfortable poking around.

[Red Ranger 1]

On ‎16‎/‎03‎/‎2019 at 12:17, D.B said:

a) Colby charging at Ross isn't really the same thing as Robbo fighting Novak because Ross was on the ground, injured and unarmed when Colby shot him, the last we see of Novak is when he is physically fighting Robbo for the gun, the two disappear into the other room and then a gunshot is heard. Given the time length between the fight and the shot, I think it's unlikely that Novak would have been in the same position as Ross was when he died. And b), that's the thing about a viewer's interpretation of what they watch. ...him covering the evidence, while not the right thing to do, to me wasn't the actions of a cold-blooded killer like Colby did, but more like someone who simply panicked.

Sorry, if I wasn't clear: I meant earlier when they were out in the bush, Ross was still holding Chelsea and Bella, Colby charged at him and Ross tried to shoot him. I wouldn't say that qualifies as "self-defence", so I don't think Novak charging at Robbo when he had a gun and was threatening to kill him makes it "self-defence". And many of Robbo's actions seem far too calculated for simple panic, notably going to the trouble of retrieving Novak's phone and planting it on a lorry bound for Melbourne so the police would follow it.

Anyway, today!

I'm not sure if my opinion of Colby could be lower.He's quite happy to leave Bella in fear forever just to save his own skin.He's twice now ruined the police's chances of arresting Ross, and his attitude isn't any different this time, so there's no reason for Bella to believe his banal assurances that he won't let Ross hurt her when that's exactly what he said when Ross was alive and at large and he couldn't keep his promises then.Bella earns a few points by confessing to knowing Ross was around, although typically Colby decides to keep it from the police anyway.Well, why not, he's never honest with them when he doesn't have to be, and yet the show keeps on acting as though we're meant to see him as some good old boy.Oh, and were those actual clothes Chelsea was wearing? I assumed she'd slept in them and was going to get changed, then she went out dressed like that!

I did enjoy seeing Jasmine rip a few holes in Tori, who really wasn't in any position to lecture about ethics (even though I don't think Jasmine should have done what she did) and was soon reduced to a panic when she realised how badly wrong this could go. I'm not keen on Marilyn interfering between Alf and Martha, this is something they need to work out for themselves.(Leah's bemusement at the beginning was quite funny though.)Again, you get the feeling the current production team don't have much of a clue about anything that happened before 2011, as Martha reminisces about going out on the Blaxland with Alf 40-odd years ago even though he bought it a lot more recently than that.