2019 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four.John was only in one, although he was credited on Friday for no appearance.

Leah did no-one any favours by acting like Justin's bodyguard.While it's nice that Robbo stepped up, he didn't say anything that Mason couldn't have said himself if he'd actually been allowed to speak.But I guess the result is what matters and it managed to get Justin stepping up to the plate and getting to the hospital.As for Ian and Wendy's plan, all I'll say is that it is way too soon.Tori's only been in a coma a month, no-one should be assuming this is a permanent arrangement yet and definitely shouldn't be dragging Grace away from her and the Morgans.It feels like Robbo's known who he is for over half his time in the Bay.

It didn't occur to me that Martha's updates might be because she was insecure but it makes sense and it's best they deal with it now.Her and Alf's chat with Alex sorted a lot of things out.Meanwhile, Ryder's spending time with Jade and his wisecracks were quite amusing.Of course, Jade's not into meeting the family and Roo is unlikely to have a high opinion of her after that.

[H&Alover]

What is it with Jade and her wearing that heavy jacket -  not as if she feels the cold.  Give Ryder and Jade a chance Roo they've only just got together, how would you have felt if Alf had asked your date to dinner however casual when you hadn't had a proper date yet.  It took her aback when Jade effectively told her to do one. Bless Ryder and his going back to the house to get something.  

I guess Robbo was coming at it from a  different angle and Justin was assuming it would be bad news.  Can't see Justin or Mason being happy with Grace being taken off into the middle of nowhere until there is more positive news on Tori, he doesn't need that right now. Robbo does have a job, OK he's not been there much lately, but he does have responsibilities and what about Jasmine's job, doesn't that count?  See poor little Grace is still swaddled.

Glad it's been sorted with Martha and says a lot for Alf and how far he's come in the intervening years that he is able to discuss Martha's insecurities so easily.  Alex really is a helpful soul, giving up her free time and having the right names to hand. 

[Red Ranger 1]

My opinion of the Shaws' offer hasn't changed since Friday. It might be a decent option to have for further down the line, but it should not be happening now.Ian and Wendy don't know Tori and have just got a tunnel vision idea about having family around them again.(Weren't they meant to have a daughter close by though or something?)Jasmine is leaving it to Robbo.And he seems to have responded to an emotional plea.Yes, of course Tori would want what was best for Grace, but she'd also want Grace with her.So they should not be disappearing off to the countryside with her now as if Tori's dead already.There's no rush.Irene really had trouble taking a hint when she bulldozed into their conversation at the start.

It's hard to know what to make of Roo and Jade's spat.A lot of people expressed the opinion that Roo should have waited for Ryder to introduce them.There may be some truth in that but it's understandable she'd take an interest.Still, she needs to back off now because Ryder's not going to take her side.So he finally loses his virginity after meeting someone who isn't one of Roo's students, as he put it.I guess there's worse ways...

[H&Alover]

Ian & Wendy do seem to be railroading Robbo into going home so I liked Jasmine telling Ian although she could see his reasoning she wouldn't talk Robbo into deciding to back just to suit them.  Another thing it wouldn't be Robbo and Jasmine's place, it'd be his parents.  Will Robbo and Jasmine have their own part of the house or will they be expected to live with ma and pa and abide by their rules?  Robbo's a grown man used to his own space, earning his own money be it as an AFP or owner/manager at the gym, will he be reduced to working for his dad?  Will he sell the gym  or will he keep it and appoint someone  as a manager? I can see Jasmine looking forward to being part of a family and as she said there must be a hospital nearby where she can get a job.  I believe there is another son and a daughter.  From what I can remember Wendy didn't think a lot of Tori so probably not bothered about her condition or her family  and how they will feel.  I know it's not real and apologies for keep going on about it but I do feel for Grace being all swaddled up, she can't move her arms or kick her legs and I'm sure it's not healthy.   Good luck with breaking the news to Justin and Mason. They all need to know what the doctors have to say about Tori and her condition long term.   They are all saying "It's not Tori would want" or "What would Tori want", how could they know the answers, what happened came right out of the blue.   She'd like Grace to be with her dad but also to have the rest of her family around too even if it is just Justin and Mason.  The most ideal solution would have been for Robbo and Jasmine to have got their own place in the bay arrange a  baby sitting rota, unless NDH has a creche - simples. 

Irene really was quite thick there, unlike her,  instead of just saying 'see you later' and leaving Ian & Robbo to have their 'discussion' she just stood there when it was apparent things were tense between them. 

I'm with Ryder Roo - who I seriously wanted to smack- had no right sticking her oar in with Jade, Martha and Alf also thought she shouldn't have stuck her neb in.  I noticed she didn't mention the fact she'd asked Jade to dinner having only just met her.  OK Jade is an unknown quantity and Ryder hasn't known her long unlike Coco and Raffy, but she is also older so should be treated like an adult.  She may also be worried about Jade's future plans, is she just playing with Ryder, she wouldn't want to see him hurt.  Neither would we so don't hurt our Ryder girlie or you'll have us to deal with.  Be upfront with Ryder, are you sticking around, is this just a casual thing, let him know now. She could have just waved to Jade or just a quick hello. Loved Ryder's old fashioned view that Roo should have waited for her and Jade  to be introduced properly,  that's when people say "Oh yes we met earlier" like Irene and Ian did when Robbo introduced them all in the Diner.  Alf would have been away - I think - so Ryder must have booked her into the van. It didn't put him off and Jade did give him another chance.  Apart from splashing it all over Ryder did get something else - condoms - from the house - as he took great pains in telling Roo tonight.  Not wanting to assume but as Jade is a rover she'd be on the pill anyway wouldn't she, but good that Ryder was being extra careful.  

Martha's options of  a therapist - Aiden wouldn't be the name of one of them would it? 

[Slade]

I initially thought Jade was quite rude to Roo last week but Roo has gone back to being annoying to the point where I was glad Ryder had a go at her yesterday and I smiled when he brought up the fact she got pregnant when she was younger than he is now.  A small part of me feels Roo might have prejudged Jade because she was rude but doesn't know what the audience do i.e. hitting on Dean, bringing back the waiter from the club etc.  But there may have been other stuff that indicated to her that Jade is not right for Ryder that could have happened off screen that she observed whilst Jade has been staying at the caravan park.  Or perhaps she's just picked up on the way Jade conducts herself and interacts with the opposite sex.  Regardless, Roo has a valid point.  Jade is not girlfriend material and if Ryder thinks she wants a relationship he is seriously delusional.  I don't actually blame him but side with Alf's reasoning to Roo i.e. Ryder has to make his own mistakes.  And trust me he's going to get hurt bad for the simple reason that we can see he is already falling for her quite quickly and is investing a lot.  But once Jade gets bored, (presumably after all of five minutes) she will move onto the next guy.  On another note, a little surprised she didn't pick up on his inexperience given how nervous he was.

Good to see Robbo and Jasmine getting on quite well and I'm glad she's decided to support his decision re moving to his parent's farm (Not surprised he thinks Colby's a good mate - Got quite a bit in common, killing people and disposing of their bodies).  Seriously though, I like Robbo and Jasmine as a couple so wouldn't want to see them leave just yet.  It may be harsh on the Morgan's him taking Grace away but no worse than Raffy/Brody leaving and Ava being such a distance away.

[Red Ranger 1]

I found both Roo and Ryder quite childish here.Ryder slinking around looking as though he wanted an opportunity to boast that he'd had sex wasn't particularly endearing, but Roo giving him a lecture didn't make her come across not better.On the other hand, Roo did have a bit of a point about Ryder staying out late without calling: It's all right for him to make smug remarks at being out on a date, but that doesn't stop people worrying that maybe something happened to him.So I think Alf was right to call him out on that, but also right to stop Roo badmouthing Jade to him every five minutes.Ryder is clearly setting him up for a fall, since Jade is not going to stick around and go steady, but he does need to learn that the hard way.

I'm slightly annoyed that Ian and Wendy got quietly ushered out of town and didn't get to see the human cost of their desire for a family: It's all right for them to act as though Tori's out of the picture when they've never met her, but she's still very much in the front of the minds of her family.Justin was never going to take the news well, especially not when everyone else seems to be giving up on Tori as well.John appearing right at the end of the episode and not being credited suggests that was meant to happen tomorrow, which doesn't surprise me since it was a very strange last scene and Justin's "Go to hell" would have been a stronger cliffhanger.

[H&Alover]

Yes Ryder is now an adult, though a young one as Roo said so doesn't have to answer to her as much any more but he still lives under her and Alf's roof so a text or quick call to say he wouldn't be home would just have been common decency and respect towards others in the house. They could have locked up the place then.  The same rule applies to the other adults of course.   Jade had been a free agent when she came to town so not answerable to anyone let alone Roo but I can see why she is worried about Ryder getting hurt, but it is part of life all she needs to do is when it happens is just be there for him.  All that Alf said about how she acted when she was his age went straight over her head.  That was quite a vicious remark of Ryder's about he won't  be making the same mistake as he's sensible enough to use protection,  assuming as before Jade is likely to be on the pill but Ryder is/was  a virgin so unlikely to have picked anything up so a condom would be just as much for his protection as Jade's. Ryder after talking with Alf did apologise to Roo and she said she'd back off.  Ryder is a 18 year old boy, sorry young man, so of course he'd boast about having sex for the first time, actually it's quite late for Summer Bay, a lot of the previous kids thought hitting 16 meant you had to lose your virginity. Oh Slade, perhaps she did and was gentle with him.

Robbo didn't need Wendy spilling the beans about the move before he had a proper talk with Justin it would have made a sad and tricky situation even worse. Wendy would have made it all about her and Ian's needs.  Another one of my questions answered Robbo and Jasmine will have their own cottage.  Not as if they are moving away tomorrow or next week they've got to hang around for the trial which is as said a couple of times is a month away.  I suppose as big bro Justin does feel everyone is assuming Tori isn't going to make it when they're not they're  just trying to be practical in terms of her ongoing care.  More debate of what would Tori do if she had the option.  Her doctor side would, I think, would have wanted to be free the bed up for someone who had more of a chance, medically than she does, but her non doctor head would still want to be helped as long as there is a chance so a specialised hospital would have much better facilities to cope with someone in her condition.  Justin as we know of old can be very stubborn but there others views to be taken into consideration.  I can see why Leah was worried about where he was but please back off woman, he'll ring or contact you when he's ready. 

Very tender and touching scene when Robbo turned up at the hospital with Grace - good suggestion Alex - and Justin laid her next to Tori to get reacquainted and GOSH Grace does have arms and legs!!!!  Has that been a real baby we've seen all swaddled up till now?  Does NDH have the specialised unit Tori needs?  

I had forgotten Robbo had paid for Willow's training course and she was paying him back - her getting promoted will likely mean a pay rise so she can pay him off quicker. Robbo took my advice -  - and is keeping the gym so he'll have some separate income.  Something else is that cooker in the flat the cleanest in the bay because I've never seen Robbo or Jasmine actually use it, she's always getting takeaways or they're going out to eat.  Robbo's used the hob to warm Grace's bottle but that's it unless others know better. 

[Red Ranger 1]

I keep forgetting to say this so I’ll start off with it: I suspect Grace gets wrapped up a lot to hide the fact there’s about fifteen different babies playing her! Jasmine’s turn to make an uncredited appearance around the episode break: I guess things got rejigged a bit more than I thought. It’s hard to take Robbo’s claim that he hasn’t given up on Tori seriously: This whole move is based on the assumption that Tori isn’t going to be around and it’s up to Robbo to decide what to do with Grace. He did at least take her for a visit after getting his conscience pricked by Leah and Alex, and Justin’s decided to keep the peace. After briefly being on the same page, Justin and Mason ended up at odds again. Mason chose completely the wrong argument, talking like a doctor rather than a brother: Justin really isn’t going to care if the hospital need the bed. Still, fair play to Justin for apologising and Mason, with a bit of help from Alex, managed to come up with an alternative solution.

Looks like bad news for Bella: She’ll be crushed if she has to repeat Year 11. She’s not doing herself any favours elsewhere though. Mackenzie realising she doesn’t have to be nice to her anymore wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been, mainly because not only had we seen virtually the whole thing twice in promos but they re-edited it and the one in the episode was less effective. I don’t blame her for not being happy with Colby or Bella, but Dean didn’t really deserve the hand grenade. Willow probably should have stuck with the No PDAs rule given how close by Colby was…

[H&Alover]

Would alternative babies be that different body wise, face yes, but body?  I guess it's hard for Mason not to keep him from wearing his doctors head at times, Tori is a doctor and maybe he's trying to see it from her point of view too.  Justin and Mason have to convince, with Alex's help perhaps, Tori's doctors at the city hospital for Tori's move to NDH and get their OK.  This is a soap so wont be that easy.

Though it is especially hard for Bella if she has to resit Year 11 she won't be the first pupil/student who has had to go through it, been plenty of others in the past have been there, done that.  Unless of course Roo & Maggie come up with an alternative.  That news would bound to have an effect on her mood so hence her stroppiness at Salt, btw is Colby meant to avoid it completely if Mac is working?  Good to see Ziggy back and a warm welcome from all.  Had to smile at seeing Dean hanging his washing out.   The news of the year nearly got revealed but then Ziggy found out thanks to a drunk Mac Dean was pleased she hadn't got the job.  Ziggy did revert a tad by storming off but Dean went after her and they had  a proper talk, he must be torn, he wants to see her achieve  her dream but also doesn't want to see her leave the bay.  She was unfair to Dean, but seeing them loved up must have stung. Atmosphere got very frosty whenever Bella and Mac had contact, but hey they agreed on something.   Wasn't Mac breaking some kind of licencing law/rule by being drunk behind the bar?  I did like Willow's dress, remember this is a soap so of course Willow and Alex get caught out mid snog  when they thought it was safe.  That's going to make for one awkward chat between Colby and Willow + plus Dean(?) tonight.  

[CaptainHulk]

Ryder living up to his name lol