2020 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

Alf's episode count this week:Four.

There is a definite pleasure in seeing Colby do his whole confident thing and then be quite clearly bricking it as soon as there's no-one looking. Angelo's acting as though he's suspicious of him already: I wonder if he's learned his techniques from Robertson, who tried similar tactics on him at times? Kudos for us getting the conversation between Ryder and Bella, which had at least one nice moment when he rescued her from Irene's well-meaning smothering, but she obviously wasn't in the mood to pretend to be sad, or at least surprised, about Ross' death. I'm not sure why the Oz-pace fans are saying Angelo hasn't had scenes with anyone: It seemed like the show made a point of having his first scene with Alf and his second with Irene and Leah, the people who've known him longest. So, yes, today we actually had Irene and Bella talk to each other and still no mention of the letter. Part of me thinks it's been forgotten, but with the promo suggesting Bella runs away (again?) I'm left wondering if someone searches her room and finds it. If it says what I hope it does, that she doesn't need Irene making her a project, then the conversation here was a nice set-up.

As was Irene's involvement in the other storyline. It's bad enough that Jasmine is still making comments like "I'll do whatever I can to see Grace", but people like Irene and Tori are saying much the same thing to her and it's really not helping. There are times when Jasmine seems like the most level-headed one. Handing over the photo album was a bit of a dramatic gesture but perhaps what she needed.

As Alf and Roo found out, John being back to his old self is both a good thing and a bad thing. Ryder certainly found being his chauffeur a less than rewarding experience. Nice scenes between John and Bella, possibly the most civil conversation they've ever had!

[H&Alover]

At least Bella was able to give Colby the heads up there was a cop asking questions.  All, or most of the men in any soap,drama, do that,  the whole "I've got this under control" thing when it's blatantly obvious they haven't.   Threw Colby a tad when Angelo said he'd already spoken to Chelsea, had to have got him thinking what she had told Angelo,  he just needs to work out how to take things forward, warn Dean who was his accomplice and Willow who's an accessory after the fact.  Nice touch seeing Angelo back in the restaurant that used to be his, wonder what he thought of the changes.  It does need to be resolved how he got back in the police force if just to settle our curiosity.  A small aside Colby had his tats covered so unless he already knows for another source Angelo is still unaware Colby used to be a River Boy. 

I liked we got an on screen re-union with Bella and Ryder so they were able to comfort each other, even if Bella didn't need it in quite the same way Ryder did.  It did show what a good relationship they have.  

Jasmine has done  bit of a u turn, by realising  she needs to sort herself out first before she can think of being close to  Grace again, wonder if that was the reason she gave the album to Tori, to stop herself keep looking at it and brooding over it.  She did finally fess up it would have been her and Robbo's 1st Anniversary. 

Welcome back John, I think.  Just because you are feeling better though you still need to take it slow ad not be afraid to ask foe help, won't mean you're anything less of a man.  His being driving instructor to Ryder was so him.   Was Amber sick or as John hinted 'sick'.   Not your normal neighbourly chat between Bella and John but amusing nonetheless and  at least she got him a ride to the surf club, Ryder will thank you for that later.   

The occasional mentions of Justin's headache and other aches and pains he's getting is I feel sadly building up to something like you feared Red.

[CaptainHulk]

Well..  from what I read, it don't look too good for Justin☹  No more said on that matter...

I wonder Angelo will mention Nicole at any point (I'm guessing they're still in some sort of contact). Last heard out of her was the statement that all but scuppered Maz's chances of adopting.

[Red Ranger 1]

For a police officer, Colby is really bad at not being suspicious: Rehearsed answers are never going to cut it because they always sound rehearsed.I loved seeing Angelo slowly chipping away at him until his mask slipped and he angrily tried to make out that his victim wasn't a victim.(Angelo being a lot more successful than when he tried that one with Aden all those years ago...)As ever with post-2011 Home and Away, there's that odd feeling that we're meant to be siding with the criminals: Was that scene of Colby taking a shower while sad music played actually meant to make us feel sorry for him? Nice to see Bella, Ryder and Nikau all hanging out, although for some reason I'm still uncomfortable with seeing Nikau fondling Bella, whilst poor Ryder doesn't even get his $10. Bella still can't be honest about her father of course: That's another one that Colby's turned into an accessory out of cowardice.

And I'm back to thinking Jasmine's hard done by.It's not so long ago that Willow sacked some poor woman who forget to open up precisely because it put more work on Jasmine, yet hypocritically she thinks it's perfectly fine for her to leave Jasmine in the lurch to check up on whether her friend's still getting away with murder or not.And Irene decides to side with Willow in a way that seemed to have more to do with still resenting Jasmine for ghosting her than actually thinking about how badly Willow's behaving.

[H&Alover]

I know you don't like him Red, and I may have been sucked in, but I did feel sorry for Colby - there was definitely more to his history with Ross than he has let on before.  Dean and Willow knew what he had gone through though.  Ross wasn't a victim, at least not an innocent one.  Ross was the criminal, he'd hurt many people in his time, he murdered Colby's dad and his mum, letting Bella think she'd run out on her. He would have killed either Bella or Chelsea, maybe both, shot Willow without a second thought.  Watching it back, again, Colby did hesitate but then Ross made that jibe about Bella and the red mist descended.

If Colby had been admitted to hospital on many occasions due to what Ross had done  to him where were child care services?

It was a mistake, imo,  for Colby's and later on Dean's account to be exactly the same as the one they originally gave, little things would have been forgotten, the police would allow for that.  Angelo is one good detective, gave nothing away, but you could hear the cogs turning.  True comments though from both Colby and Dean Ross had made many, many enemies and why would he have been buried in the quarry?  Either it was a slip by the script writers or a ploy by Colby to find out what Chelsea said but he called her 'my wife' when she isn't anymore.   If Angelo has done his homework on Colby he must know he's an ex River Boy, small niggle I know, but considering his history with them be interesting to see if it affects his judgement of Colby and Dean. 

Seems Willow and Bella are up next.

Although nice to see Ryder, Bella and Nikau together it was strained because of what Bella is going though but can't tell them about.  Nik did seem more aware that something was wrong with her than Ryder did. 

Jasmine seems to be fixating on Tori this time all because she hasn't texted her about the baby book she gave her which just has photos of her, Robbo and Grace in and she thinks she's upset about it.  Well it was your book Jas so would only have those photos in and if I remember correctly they were taken while Tori was in a coma.  OK Willow turns up late because of her hangover, then with very short notice ditches her afternoon class to go and see Colby.   Good argument on both sides but Jasmine did leave Willow in the lurch, leaving her to run the whole place with no back up, refused to answer just one call to say she was OK.  Wasn't just Irene Jasmine ghosted.  It does  appear for there to be a theme for  the gym to have  it's owner and or manager doing a runner from time to time.  Robbo did it quite a few times leaving Mason and Willow in charge, now Jasmine has done/is doing  it.  They certainly have very patient clients.

Someone, more likely Irene, sometime has to mention Nicole.  Was Nicole ever one of Irene's housemates?

PS. I know a secret.

 

Edited September 15, 2020 by H&Alover

[Red Ranger 1]

So, more of Colby being Ross 2.0 and demonstrating that he definitely isn't innocent or a victim.The conflict seems to be between the person Colby wants to be (and probably think he is) and the person he actually is, and between the person he wants Bella to be and the person he needs her to be.I say it a lot, but if he was as noble as he pretends he is, then instead of making empty promises about keeping Dean out of it, he'd be confessing now instead of letting Dean, Willow and Bella get into more trouble covering for him.I'm not even sure why he's trying to achieve: Angelo is more likely to be suspicious of people mechanically reeling off scripted responses than of people being emotional, but maybe Colby's more worried about Bella letting something slip.It's like he's given up trying to convince Angelo he's innocent and has adopted a policy of "It doesn't matter if he suspects us, so long as he can't prove anything." (I think he said Chelsea used to be his wife, by the way.) In contrast to the previous episode, Bella seemed a lot more happy and relaxed around her friends than with her dysfunctional family.

Another episode where it seemed like Jasmine was getting it from all sides. Tori's mixed messages are beyond a joke: Weeks of practically stalking Jasmine and insisting she spend time with her, then she starts treating her like the plague, then she reverts to treating her like her surrogate sister. No wonder she's lost track of whether she's allowed near Grace or not.Willow giving her the cold shoulder didn't help, but at least she made up for it.

Alf, Marilyn and Roo all lived with Nicole at various points, Irene never did.Not sure their connection went much beyond Nicole being on-and-off with Geoff for a bit and occasionally helping out in the Diner.

[H&Alover]

I don't think anyone has said he's a innocent of a victim, except of child abuse in the latter instance. That pulled  Colby up when Dean told him what Bella had said!  He was really going too far with Bella though, Angelo, I hope, wouldn't be as hard on her as he was with Colby and Dean.  I agree he would be more likely to believe Bella if she was upset than her giving mechanical answers to his questions and not remember things as precisely as Colby and Dean did.  Bella having to try and remember everything Colby drilled into her would make it more possible for her to make a mistake, not just a minor gaffe either.  As I'd recorded it I  played it back, and he did say 'my wife', though thinking about it that shouldn't have made a difference what she told Angelo was for his ears only. Bella did 'use' Colby to get out of her interview.  It was at her insistence he didn't confess the last time as she couldn't manage without him. 

All seems to escalate today with Bella, seemingly about to tell Nik everything so dragging a total innocent into it and no secret as they appear to be going on the run along with Tane's money.  Ryder seemed to be being pushed out of it again with Bella and Nik, but Nik can relate more as he his dad died violently too.

The photos hadn't been all taken while Tori was in her coma then, Jasmine had decided to air brush Tori out of the picture and Grace's life, so Tori's reaction was understandable, it did all start innocently before, then Jasmine went all The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.   It's not been said but has the AVO been lifted, would Tori be able to do that seeing as she was the one who got raised it  in the first place?   Not Jas' fault Willow had much more pressing things on her mind when she tried to apologise and say she'd be there for her so wasn't concentrating.   

There's a surprise - someone, especially a young girl not living with Irene!

Edited September 16, 2020 by H&Alover

[Red Ranger 1]

That's another one of those episodes which leaves me disgusted at Colby and what he's done to that girl. The fact Bella thinks she can't manage without him shows how abusive their relationship is, and her spiel about how Colby saved her from living in fear shows how much she's been brainwashed by him: She's spent the last year living in fear precisely because of what Colby did, as this episode shows.And yes, now there's yet another person for Colby to drag down with him as Nikau is let in on the least secret murder in the Bay.Colby goes from trying to bully Bella into covering for him to making cloying reassurances about how it's okay for her to drop him in it, and he wonders why she's so messed up she has to run away.Nikau looks way older than her, and yet he's acting like a stupid little kid again: Took him less than two weeks to break his promise to not be stupid and irresponsible and put Bella in danger. This is why I think she needed someone better than him: She's already got Colby, Dean and to a point Willow teaching her a screwed up sense of right and wrong, she needed someone who'd provide a different perspective, not an enabler who encourages her to go against the law. A real friend would have stopped her.

Not much else going on, except for Marilyn seemingly getting her feet under the table, Alf deciding to trust Nikau at exactly the wrong moment and even more worrying behaviour from Justin.Was he really okay while he was away, or just hiding it well? I liked Ava's present for Grace, it's easy to forget that Robbo made her Grace's honorary big sister last year.

[H&Alover]

Um did I miss where Bella had grown up enough to tell Colby she didn't depend on him as much as she did before?  Wasn't that the point of  going to therapy and her letter and her saying to him she wanted him to be a brother not a parent?  I didn't hear her begging Colby not to give himself up as she couldn't live without him, like she would have last year. How is Colby 'dragging Nikau down,  Bella's done that all by herself, Colby would freak if he knew, it's meant to be a 'family' secret.  She's told Nik everything and sworn him to secrecy putting him under pressure.  She is also the one who has decided she'd screw things up in the interview and has decided to run to protect Colby, Dean and Willow.  Had to smile as Nik went from 'running away doesn't solve anything', well he'd know,  to saying he was going with her, the fact he had Tane's $5000 helped of course, Bella didn't appear to have any sort of funds, remember it was her idea to go on the run NOT Nik's so how is he putting her in danger?   Better she wasn't alone, surely? Out of the two Bella, from what she said, would seem to be more equipped to life on the run thanks to Ross.  If, as I think, Nik is only 21, he's not too old for Bella, not his fault he looks older.  Just who is she supposed to get a balanced view point from as she can't tell anyone the truth. 

Of course we also have Dean acting shifty around Ziggy, he won't be able to carry that on forever, she's too smart a cookie. All this shutting up the moment  she appeared when they were talking about Willow and Bella. I would have liked to have seen Willow's interview to see how she handled it, after all she would only be telling Angelo what Colby and Dean had told her a year ago, that they'd gone looking for Ross and lost  him. She had been in hospital at the time having been shot by him. 

Just an aside and it's been mentioned on the Aus site, how did Colby make the mistake of leaving Ross' driving licence on his body?  Seeing as he is a cop wouldn't he have of all people thought to take it off the body and burnt it? Unless because it wasn't pre-planned he panicked and forget about it.

Smiled at Alf's bigging up of Nik. Never a good idea to praise someone or get too upbeat about anything that is bound to get  the alarm bells ringing, the red flags flying.  Tori skipped round the Jasmine situation.  with Justin.  Great to get a mention of Ava, crumbs a teenager, scary thought.  I'd forgotten about Ava being Grace's honorary big sister. 

My thoughts exactly Red.  Just speculation on my part - NOT A SPOLIER - it couldn't be the cancer cluster rearing it's ugly head again could it?  He's got odd symptoms, headache, back ache, both which seemed to have eased while he's was away.  But then there was him forgetting the rush job, which OK if arranged before he went away, he could have forgotten about, but forgetting he'd told Tori he'd babysit just an hour or two  before?  That is worrying.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, there is a certain satisfaction to seeing Colby constantly on the back foot.He's spent weeks acting like he's better than the Paratas, and now he's finding that very hard as it's obvious to everyone involved that they've all got something to hide.What's more, it turns out he needs them to clear up his mess as he can't go after Bella himself without looking even more suspicious.The fact that Angelo is treating him like he treated Ari, only a lot more effectively (no aggression and wild accusations, just keeping the pressure on), just adds to it. Did Mackenzie and Amber actually have something approaching a civil conversation? John being the biggest gossip in town actually came in useful for once.

Justin's headaches and memory lapses could indicate a brain tumour, I'm not sure if the back aches and stiffness fit in though.No-one really seems to have noticed anything wrong yet, he seems to be just laughing it off.

It's almost easy to ignore the big reveal: It might save Dean from Ziggy prying into his other secret, but given he was insisting he was never going to have children, it's a bit of a jolt for him that he already has, once the penny dropped.I recall Willow mentioned Amber's parents suddenly took her away and she never contacted anyone: I'm guessing that's because she was pregnant, and presumably her parents are still on the scene since someone must be looking after her son while she's having sleepovers and all-night raves. (Conversely, I suspect this may be the reason for her sometimes disappearing on John.) Her behaviour seemed OTT at first but the final scene suggests that, despite their truce, she still doesn't trust Colby: Her brother died fighting his battles for him and she doesn't want Dean doing the same.