2020 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[CaptainHulk]

I think the Farmhouse is cursed. 

[H&Alover]

20 hours ago, Dan F said:

No they both came back to town in Tane's car - Tane dropped Nik off outside the bait shop before going around to the Morgan House to drop off Grace. There was no mention of what happened to Tori's car or whether it had been found.

They're driving up to Cairns to see Coco and are flying to Italy from there.

I thought I heard Tane tell Nik to go back to the bay and he'd sort Tori's car, he'd dump it in the bush, not likely he would have left it by the side of the road where any passing motorist would have found it or did we all miss something?

TPTB must have read my mind about Coco.

When Ari and Tane aren't locking antlers they are good brothers, even if they have to be reminded of the fact by Mac,  they have to work together for Nik's sake, he definitely doesn't need to know the rent is short by $500. Liked Ari's response to Tane's it'll be just be one job as that was what Mikaere said about his last job which it was-  literally.  Wonder why Tane is so against doing a honest days work?  I know one cop who won't be happy (or maybe he will as it will prove what he's been saying) that Tane has left town. 

Nice touch that with Alf and Leah remembering when Ben & Maggie first came to town and they found out they were the new owners of the pier complex, there was that big fallout because Ben wanted to change everything.  Of course Alf being Alf it didn't go down well at all.   Eventually all differences were settled as they usually are and they become  a big part of the bay. Irene is going to be upset she missed them going. I remember the incident of the snake..  Coco  wasn't the model daughter either, she'd been suspended from her previous school for cyber bullying, Ziggy we know was a wild child, trying to run away from the bay by hiding in Brody's work van. 

It would have been a big step for Dean and Ziggy to take on the house, it is more for a family or  a group of people.  Not entirely convinced by Dean's comment about it's a way to commute, Ben and Maggie had to do it.  Who would have thought when we first met him Dean would be the owner of an actual business!  Ben did a good thing  remembering how Dean helped him set the business up in the first place.  Laughed at Ben telling Dean he wouldn't always answers his calls, that's even without taking into account the time difference. 

Real foot in the  moment there Zigg saying you'll  be all alone, the look on Dean's face, though I do get that isn't how she meant it.  Then saying she's an orphan! that was way OTT.  It is her wedding album and as Maggie said not just Brody in the photos, the rest of her family and friends were there too and she didn't know Dean was behind her.  I think she is  entitled to feel sad it went wrong now the bitterness has passed. Reminder though from Dean, in trailer,  divorce hasn't come through yet.  

 

[Red Ranger 1]

13 hours ago, CaptainHulk said:

I think the Farmhouse is cursed. 

I don't know, I think they've kind of broken the course given how many previous occupants are currently taking up space in the local cemetery! (Especially from the share house period.)

There's always a feeling when a departure comes five minutes from the end of the episode that the show doesn't see it as that big an event.Especially when they bring Irene back in the last five minutes instead of giving her a farewell scene with them. (I guess Lynne wasn't around when the lunch was filmed but couldn't she have run into them at the Diner?) I couldn't help wondering if there was a bit of fourth wall breaking with all the comments about expecting them to be around longer. Maybe the original plan was to have Ben and Maggie get over their difficulties and stay in the Bay rather than leave less than two weeks after reuniting.But anyway, it's good that they leave together with all the troubles in the past.It's a shame their status as a solid couple took a dent this year but they got through it.

Justin and Ben getting John to the farewell dinner brought back vague memories of Justin and Mason getting Jett up to Raffy's birthday party. (Is Salt more wheelchair-friendly these days? Probably not, so it'd be nice to revisit that.) Marilyn can be frustrating and self-centred sometimes: Trying to have an adult conversation with her when she's in full-on denial is an uphill struggle.

I know we've never seen her get the papers, but I'm pretty sure Brody and Ziggy have been referred to as being divorced, and they divided up their assets before he left, so why is this coming up now?

[H&Alover]

That was decidedly weird Irene popping up like that, it didn't appear she knew they had left unless Marilyn mentioned it after we left them sitting at the table.  On that subject it seemed poor John was left starving at home,  Marilyn took off in the afternoon and returned in the dark.  

That was a lovely meal, great amusing speech by Alf getting his little pops in about Ben ruining his new water tank after he'd let him stay in  a van overnight because Ben's car wouldn't start, then gazumping him and others over buying the Pier complex.  But going on to say Ben and Maggie had made themselves a part of the community and would be missed.  One thing I found very odd, Maggie said to Alf she was sorry about not being able to say goodbye to Martha - er excuse me no mention of Roo who is her friend, work colleague and of late confident.    

Purely on a superficial level I'll miss Ben as he was a great piece of eye candy.    Nice shot of them driving out of town, and the obligatory shot of the Summer Bay sign.  Chuckled at the awkward man hug between Ben and Dean and Ben thanked Dean, again, for being there for Ziggy when she needed it. 

Ziggy saw the error of her ways and apologised to Dean about the thoughtless remarks she had made and explained why she was crying over the album photos.  No sign of Colby or Bella at the flat, OK Colby could have been at work, but I guess they had done their three days.  Been nice for Bella to have thanked Maggie for the help she tried to give her. Bella can give Irene the letter she wrote now. 

Really thoughtful of Ziggy that once she had taken the photos she wanted she gave the album to Justin as there were photos of Mason in it.  I think like Colby and Chelsea because she and Brody hadn't been married a year they  have to wait a year after they separated, Ziggy and Brody married in 2018 but you have to apply for it, surprising Brody hasn't already, unless it's down to the injured party in this case Ziggy.  I suppose it means the final break with the past, did she become a Morgan or stay an Astoni?  Wonder what she will do with her certificate?

OK maybe I'll give Marilyn a pass about it being awkward for her getting John and his wheelchair in the car on her own, she would have had help at the other end, but it did seem she made the decision about it being too hard on John after his rehab the day before on his behalf again.  His speech is a lot better, he didn't have to think before he spoke, though it probably gets a bit slurry if he's tired. Really great of Justin and Ben to go and get him reminding him he'd helped Mason back in the day.  I may have been wrong but Maz didn't look that overjoyed to see him, but she did do her usual lunge in to help him when he didn't need it. 

Seems we are finally going to get the  in the room talk between John and Marilyn, be a relief in one way as they can both stop pretending. 

Are Dean and Ziggy staying at the farmhouse until it's sold/rented?  They couldn't seriously consider leaving it empty. 

[Jamie2811]

Great to see Irene back. A lot can happen in 5 weeks in Summer Bay, as she found out at lunch with Willow and Jasmine. Had to feel for Marilyn, her and John have had problems for a while and it wouldn’t be fair to either of them if she stayed with him out of obligation. Finally the penny dropped for Tori over Jasmine’s recent manipulations. I wonder will Tori find out about the forum and how Jasmine has been pretending Grace is her child. 
 

Farewell to Ben and Maggie, it’s been quite a 3 years since their arrival and was pleasing to hear references to their early days at the farewell lunch and how they’ve grown to become part of the community over the years. What really endeared them to me was the cancer storyline and their love for each other as a family and the bond between them through that story. 

[Red Ranger 1]

I've pretty much stopped defending Jasmine now that she's moved from inappropriate to vindictive (her list of Tori's faults is getting increasingly petty), but again she mixed a load of truth with the lies.I think Jasmine did always intend for it to be her and Grace in the photos, but she also knew full well that Tori had misunderstood her: She gave her a sour look at the time.She tried playing the Robbo card and then storming off again, but it looks as though it's not going to work this time.Tori's choice of Colby as a first stop was a bit odd: Has Jasmine really done something you'd get arrested for? Going to a lawyer would seem like the first logical step.

I'm not too impressed that Marilyn gets to act awful and yet John's the one who gets heartbroken while as usual she has everyone fussing around her and telling her she's lovely: It seems Irene has arrived back just in time to replace Alf as her chief cheerleader/enabler. I must admit, despite it being on my mind earlier in the week, Bella's letter to Irene had slipped my mind. I hope we actually see it delivered and hopefully as soon as possible, enough momentum's been lost already.Looks like Bella's in the next episode judging by the promo, so hopefully it'll happen then.

[Jamie2811]

It feels like Irene and Alf haven’t been around at the same time for ages. Alf had his long honeymoon then Irene went away just after he came back, now she’s back and Alf’s off again. 

[English Invader]

1 hour ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

Tori's choice of Colby as a first stop was a bit odd: Has Jasmine really done something you'd get arrested for? Going to a lawyer would seem like the first logical step.

I think she wanted a friendly and familiar face to try and defuse the situation as amicably as possible.  Lawyers are expensive and the threat of a lawsuit or an injunction would only increase the animosity between them.

In any case, pretending to be Grace's mother on an online forum and using an online profile to defame Tori is definitely getting into criminal territory (although Tori doesn't know about this yet).  In the UK, I believe those behaviours would be classed as Stalking under the 2012 Stalking Act and Australia seems to have a similarly pro-active policy in that area.

[CaptainHulk]

Bottom line is Jas needs help, Wouldn't trust her with a bag of sugar right now, let alone a child.

Edited August 14, 2020 by CaptainHulk

[Slade]

Well, it's a shame to see Ben and Maggie go.  I hated Ben shortly after he first showed up but ended up really liking him.  Maggie I've never been keen on but baring the recent revelation about Marco do think they are pretty good together.

It wasn't ideal the way John put his foot down with Marilyn and demanded that they talk about their current arrangement but I do think it was necessary given how stubborn she was being.  She hasn't been in love with John for some time.  I would even go as far as to say before the siege at the hospital.  So getting things out in the open is the right decision as if Marilyn isn't love with John she will get fed up being his carer and will naturally end up resenting him.  It will be interesting to see what happens with the living arrangements because they're probably not going to be able to live together and John can't be expected to find somewhere else to live given his current state.

Notice how when crazy Jasmine brought up the subject of Tori's car getting stolen with Grace in it, Irene's immediate reaction was to have sympathy for Tori whereas the emphasis with Jasmine is to continue blaming Tori. The whole thing with the photo with Grace on the gym website took the mick.  The main thing being the nature of the pictures themselves.  The way Jasmine posted herself with Grace was that she was trying to make a statement i.e. Grace is hers.  Then she was manipulative when Tori confronted her about it and made Tori think she was mistaken.  I'm glad Tori has decided to take a more hardline stance now.  Diplomacy is not going to work with Jasmine.  Justin has done well to bite his tongue for as long as he has I think.