2020 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

9 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Why did you refer to them as the graves of unknown murder victims Red? 

Possibly poor phrasing since obviously the Morgans and presumably a few other people know who they are, but the graves were deliberately left unmarked aside from the crosses.

As Tori said, a second goodbye to Mason.A bit of humour at the start as Tori talks about how infuriating he is and Justin reminds her she's meant to say something nice, but what followed was heartfelt and I found myself agreeing with it: He didn't always do the right or the sensible thing, but his heart was in the right place. I can understand Justin blaming himself, he's been the head of the family since Mason was a child, but sadly there wasn't really anything he could have done.It's good Leah was able to be there for him, and Tori's right that Mason would want them to move forwards.Jasmine finds the opening to share her news, although it's not clear if she's actually done a test.(We got Irene urging her to do so in the recap, so that's probably going to be significant.)

I'm pretty sure it's been established Ben and Maggie are the same age: She indicated here that she's also 41, saying her night with Marco was 22 years ago when she was 19.She confides in Roo but not in Ben.If she's going to, she needs to do so before he signs that contract.I'm not sure what Marco's angle is: Is he desperate for the money or is he enjoying having a chance to twist the knife with Maggie after all these years?

Willow snapping at everyone is unfair, although they didn't do themselves any favours at times.(Jasmine didn't learn from her last disastrous intervention by badgering her about getting in contact with Alex.)I think Dean was better off letting her wallow rather than trying to tell her to get over it.

[baywatcher]

Willow needed a hug.  Dean can be quite sensitive when he needs to be.  His banter over Colby's failed relationships was funny.  Great idea of his to take Willow away for a few days change of scene.  Btw, I love how he addresses everyone with "Oi!" 

Interesting that they tried to address Willow's status now but like she said, why does everything need to have a label?

If Mac is really into Ari then good but if she's just after a Colby substitute then it may not end well.  Saying that though, she does seem to like him.  Colby is very keen to rekindle things with her but Dean may have scuppered his chances by telling Ari that Mac is into him.

The Justin and Leah interlude was nice.  He innocently tried to move just that little bit too quickly but it was too soon for her but she does love him and he will wait as long as it takes. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by baywatcher

[H&Alover]

I'm supposing maybe it was decided not to mark their parents graves they would be left alone and so any bad guys wouldn't disturb them.   I'd forgotten what a beautiful spot they were in. If a sister or brother couldn't have a go at a brother (or sister)  no-one can, and it was done with love. If you believe in it at least he is now reunited with Beth. Not doing Justin down but Mason was an adult so allowed to make his own mistakes and it's not humanly possible for anyone to be there for someone else 24/7. He needs to forgive himself, very touching and telling Leah stepped up to hug Justin when he broke down in the bathroom.  Tori sharing Jasmine's news gave them all hope for the future, let's just hope she is pregnant, no confirmation she has had a test yet. Now Roo and Marilyn know so be quite a few people she may have to tell different news to.

Is it just me or has Ada had something done to her lips, they seem a  lot fuller than they used to. 

That's what Maggie is debating whether to or not, does she tell Ben.  Had to be Diana that caused the row, bit difficult trying to work out the time scale between Ben dumping her, her sleeping with Marco and her and Ben getting back together, matter of weeks?  Has she ever had any doubts about who Ziggy's dad is? Was Ziggy full term, premature?  She does need to take back control but to do that she has to tell Ben. Marco has worked his charm on Ziggy.  Maybe a bit of both with Marco and why now, he hasn't had a need to before now as papa was in charge but now he is and has new ideas which need money.  If I was Ben I'd check, double check and check again the terms of the contract. 

Willow has never been in this situation before, Alex has been the first person she has really fallen in love with so wouldn't know how to deal with the fall out.  She's being a Mango River Girl and pretending she's handling it the way she would have done, keeping busy and pushing people away. Dean was the right person to tackle her about it, he's known her long enough and she's been supportive to him in the past, just the right amount of sympathy but not overdoing it.  I know Jasmine is new at this running  a business lark and Willow wouldn't be doing her down in any way but she should have read those papers before she signed them. 

[Red Ranger 1]

After criticising him in the last episode, I think Dean did a good job here, I liked the scene of him and Willow on the beach at the start and even the subsequent scene of the three Mangrove River ex-pats chewing the fat. But it's not a quick cure-all for Willow, so Dean has to step up and find something better, even if it's just watching him surf.I'm surprised that there was no mention of Jasmine's news, which was the reason for Willow feeling sad. Irene, Leah and Justin didn't mention it either. (I assume Tori actually told Leah and Justin, because we've seen no reaction from them?)

Given that we haven't seen Bella since Colby washed his hands of her, it feels like we needed a better catch-up than a throwaway "She's at TAFE." (And why aren't we seeing that?! They set up her and Ryder as TAFE buddies and then it's all off screen!) After a decent showing with Willow, Colby was back to being self-centred, but this time Mackenzie isn't buying or even noticing.I'm unsure about Dean's actions.Ari seemed unaware that Mac liked him, which suggest he's either been on his own a long time or had his eyes closed, but why exactly is Dean recommending he stay clear? Because he's been in prison? That seems a tad hypocritical...

Leah and Justin seemed to be slipping back into the groove, exchanging jokey banter, but Leah isn't completely there yet.And that's their three episodes for the week, so I guess we've got a wait before hearing how Tori felt about the green walls...

[baywatcher]

It was nice to see Colby & Bella spend some (quiet) quality time together. 

It took courage for Bella to tell Nik that she likes him and now she thinks she stuffed up because she didn't wait to see what his response was.  It looks like she was going to tell Roo about it, which is good for her to get a broader spectrum of people to interact with and they can move on from being ex-teacher and pupil.

Mac is funny .  I loved her scenes with Ari at the caravan park!  I guess she really does like him.  I must admit that when I read about the pairing I thought "ick!" but they aren't too bad together.

I actually think that what Ari gets up to with Mac is none of Gemma's business.  I guess Ari feels responsible for what happened to her husband but it does seem a rather odd relationship.  Gemma & Nic seem concerned that Ari could cause them problems with other Bay residents but they also both seem genuinely concerned about John & Marilyn's marriage problems.

John telling Marilyn about Ari didn't have the end result he was hoping for.  He was comic, bustling into the Diner to spread the gossip.  I still think Marilyn is just as in the wrong over all this.

So Colby got his answer from Mac but not the one that he was hoping for.  They did make quite a hot item but maybe they would be better off as friends.  I think he is destined to end up with Jasmine anyway, which is what I would like to see (speculation not spoiler).

Edited May 23, 2020 by baywatcher

[H&Alover]

Mint walls Red!  Leah and Justin do know Jasmine's news, Tori told them the day before -  well our day before - unless my memory is playing tricks with me.

I remember the paint argument that was going on before when the nursery was being planned - wasn't it Raffy's room back then?  Then of course everything got turned upside down. 

That was so how it should be - Colby, Dean and Willow together - nobody knows them like they do, have jibes at each other, but have each others backs too.  Colby joked about himself as being the first divorcee amongst them, good question from him when he asked Willow if she was still gay after this encounter?  Echoes of Charlie who turned gay then turned back again.  As I said before Willow has never opened herself up like that before even with a  bloke.  Good idea for him to take her away for a few days - OK'd it with Jasmine I take it? 

Colby is not getting the hint is he, Mac is not returning his calls or texts, but she then could tell him either way to stop trying to contact her, this way he is not going to stop and could end up getting a real shock if he sees her and Ari together.  Dean is doing his best, especially now he's realises Mac has got the hots for Ari, he does know more about Ari's past than she does, to keep Mac and Colby apart.  Ari isn't dumb and was OK with Mac flirting with him but he didn't realise she was into him.  He did beat a hasty retreat when she started asking questions about his past. Dean is only doing what Ari would do if some guy was a potential love interest for Gemma and Dean did say to Mac he hoped she wasn't just using Ari to get over Colby.  Unfortunately Ari not turning up at his usual time had only piqued her interest and she pitched up at his van.  John spots her coming out the next morning. 

It was quite late when Willow, Colby and Dean met up at the flat - how late do they keep students at TAFE - but  Bella is back tonight making a declaration!  As a quick aside Willow was worried about Colby climbing the stairs to Salt to see Mac, which she was trying to stop him from doing, they are a lot safer looking than the  stairs to the flat which he manages all by himself, up and down, but hey what do I know! 

Leah was comfortable enough to kiss Justin the day before but after their playing around and he went to kiss her she drew back, I'm guessing it was because the time before she was in control.  Lovely though they both told each other they loved the other. Also I noticed she wasn't so keen to Irene's suggestion she do a couple of shifts the following week when only the day before she said she was up for doing some. 

 

[Red Ranger 1]

9 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Tori told them the day before -  well our day before - unless my memory is playing tricks with me.

I'd say it's 99% certain she told them, but as I recall, the scene ended on Tori saying something like "I've got something to tell you", then when we cut back to them, they were talking about Grace being asleep and rearranging the rooms.

Anyway, today. It was a bit strange that, after the whole "We're done" thing last week, we suddenly see Colby and Bella getting on but hey, rather that than him bawling her out again, and it is nice that they can chat like this.Bella's early attempt to talk to Nikau was amusing, as was her way of dealing with the situation: Shouting "I like you!" and running off! I'm slightly disappointed that she went to find Ryder and got Roo instead, but it looks from the promo like she and Ryder have screentime together tomorrow so I can wait.Mackenzie finally shuts Colby down. I'm glad Bella seemed to take it well because I thought she might switch back to anti-Mackenzie mode.

Because Mackenzie has got Ari! I don't know what John was trying to achieve here.If the fact Ari's a convicted armed robber wasn't going to make Marilyn change her opinion of him, then I'm not sure why he thought that finding out he had a girlfriend or one-night stand would change things.Possibly we don't know just how bad things were for them in their last town, but I think Gemma and Nikau are overreacting.It's hard to see why Ari having a girlfriend would resort in half the town hating them.They already know John doesn't like him.

[Slade]

Well the treat em mean, keep em keen approach worked for Ari.  Mackenzie did seem a little bit desperate turning up at his caravan with the beers and refusing to leave even when he went to have a shower.  Can't help thinking if that had been the other way round...  I wasn't sure whether he liked her but putting myself in his position if a younger, attractive lady came to my place with drinks and wanted to hang out and was into me, I would probably go there.  Especially after I'd been drinking.

I have to admit, even though he did it out of spite, I still found it really funny when John told Marilyn about Ari and Mackenzie even although admittedly it backfired.

The best part was Colby.  I couldn't believe he was complaining about the radio silence from Mackenzie (Because he never took his time getting back to her).  But his sheer look of disbelief when Mackenzie didn't want to try again with him was priceless.  He wasn't expecting that.  Can't wait to see his reaction when he finds out about her and Ari.

Gemma, really wasn't happy about Ari.  Given what he's done in the past, I don't see it too much of a problem sleeping with a consenting person who is single.

[baywatcher]

I'm glad we got to see Bella's chat with Roo.  She hasn't had that mother type figure in her life for a long time.  At least she and Nik are now on the same page, after some effort from Ryder.

John was out of order the way he spoke to Gemma when she first approached him but he calmed down and went for a drink and I think it probably did them both good to chat.  I was hoping that what Gemma said to Marilyn would act as a wake-up call and it looks like they are going to have a talk, so hopefully some fences can be mended.

Maggie chickened out of telling Ben at her first opportunity but it looks like she is going to go through with it now.  I said the other day that Marco was a slimeball but that has ratcheted up considerably now.

Edited May 23, 2020 by baywatcher

[H&Alover]

It was nice to see Colby and Bella have some proper brother and sister time together.  He quickly spotted her eying up Nik and he didn't buy her "I'm not interested in him in that way" comments.  It would have taken a lot for her to tell him, or rather blurt out she liked him before doing  a runner, leaving him looking very bemused.  He likes her but knowing her history will, I hope, take it slowly and move at her pace. 

Ryder, this time round kept his own counsel when he saw Mac and Ari together and just told Colby she was at the caravan park and left it at that.   Looked like Bella and Colby spent all afternoon and evening at Salt waiting for Mac to turn up. He seemed to manage the stairs OK. 

John wasn't spreading gossip when he told Marilyn about Mac and Ari, he saw it with his own eyes and Mac wasn't exactly being coy about leaving Ari's van.  The fact Ari had been inside didn't faze Mac though he didn't mention he was in there the same time as Dean, but that's down to Dean to  tell her.  I hope Mac does really wants to be with Ari and isn't using him to get over Colby.  Ari does have a good bod on him comes with being a construction worker I suppose. Is that what John been so worried about - he thought Marilyn liked Ari more than as a friend?  Is there more to it that it appears when Gemma was telling Nik about Ari and Mac, I got the feeling something happened back in their old place that went wrong which is another reason they had to leave.  She did mention he was seeing a cops ex girlfriend.  Mac did put Colby in his place when she finally told him they were over for good. Better to tell him face to face than by phone or a text.  Bet your bottom Australian $ when he does find out, he'll be checking Ari out.