2020 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Red Ranger 1]

19 hours ago, Nephlim14 said:

Im gonna need context for the yelling and kicking out stuff. When did he do that to her and why. From what Im seeing of her now, Im not going to fault Dean for getting pushed to his breaking point.

There wasn't really any context. Colby was in hospital for a bit and, having always been fairly relaxed around her up until then, Dean abruptly decided that there was a vacancy for an overbearing big brother and started telling Bella what to do all the time and kicking out her friends on a spurious "I don't want you having boys in here" pretext.

Anyway, it looks like we're unlikely to see that revisited.Ari is the only one to notice, or at least the only one to say, that Dean's keeping it together for Bella's sake, but I think that's a good thing: If he needs a reason to keep things together, she's as good as any, and maybe they can be good for each other since they're both a bit short of alternatives to hang out with at the moment.As today demonstrated, Dean's as committed to the idea of them being "family" as Bella is.I was lobbying for Bella to stay at the farm at one point, but she's better off with Dean than she was with Thorne. Hopefully.

While there's probably several good reasons for Angelo and Taylor to call it a day, it's good that Thorne didn't cause any more permanent damage.And it's good too that Angelo got a last scene with Alf and Roo, showing that he is still one of them.(We didn't see if he tried to say goodbye to Irene though!) Roo had probably already worked out that Irene knew about Kieran, but that was a sneaky way to confirm it...

[Nephlim14]

15 minutes ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

There wasn't really any context. Colby was in hospital for a bit and, having always been fairly relaxed around her up until then, Dean abruptly decided that there was a vacancy for an overbearing big brother and started telling Bella what to do all the time and kicking out her friends on a spurious "I don't want you having boys in here" pretext.

Anyway, it looks like we're unlikely to see that revisited.Ari is the only one to notice, or at least the only one to say, that Dean's keeping it together for Bella's sake, but I think that's a good thing: If he needs a reason to keep things together, she's as good as any, and maybe they can be good for each other since they're both a bit short of alternatives to hang out with at the moment.As today demonstrated, Dean's as committed to the idea of them being "family" as Bella is.I was lobbying for Bella to stay at the farm at one point, but she's better off with Dean than she was with Thorne. Hopefully.

9 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Nephlim14 -It wouldn't be  a good idea for Bella to stay at the Parata's with all that is going on with Leon and Paul, that is why Ari and Tane sent Nik to stay with Gemma after all.  But at least Mac has now persuaded her to stay at the farm.  I'd say Bella has a right to act 'bratty', she's lost her only blood family for 25 years and both the others have gone AWOL.  The other times Dean has cleared off Bella has had Colby or Willow for company so it's not been as important he stick around  as whatever it was didn't immediately affect her. 

Dean may not have been as close to Bella as Colby and Willow but he did put up the money for her TAF course so does care about her. 

Ari has seen a side of Dean none of the others have as they weren't inside with him, inmates do tell each other things they wouldn't tell  family and friends, so good guess by him to seek him out in Mangrove River.  Two random ladies for Dean, wow doesn't hang about does he? Was it just me or did random lady no.1 resemble Willow both in looks and attitude?

 

Good point, but still Bella living at the farm sounded like a good idea. Why couldnt she have stayed there until Dean came back on his own. 

My main issue is everyone expecting Dean to just "suck it up" and focus ONLY on what Bella wants. Ever since I heard about post partum/natal depression and the.....tragic cases that resulted from it, Im pretty much against forcing/pressuring someone into a caretaking role they arent mentally/physically ready for, especially when theyre supposed to be the sole caretaker.

Maybe calling her bratty was bit premature. What I meant was that she couldve been more understanding and sympathetic instead of acting like her need for a shoulder to cry on was more important.

Plus, from what iVe read of their relationship, Colby has a habit of taking Dean's loyalty for granted. Or to be more frank, Dean sees Colby as a brother, while Colby sometimes sees Dean as an underling whose loyalty he's entitled to, which has lead to a lot of misery and losses for Dean.

From what Im seeing now, it's gonna be the same with Dean and Bella, except Bella will have the other adults backing her up.

[j.laur5]

3 hours ago, Nephlim14 said:

Good point, but still Bella living at the farm sounded like a good idea. Why couldnt she have stayed there until Dean came back on his own. 

My main issue is everyone expecting Dean to just "suck it up" and focus ONLY on what Bella wants. Ever since I heard about post partum/natal depression and the.....tragic cases that resulted from it, Im pretty much against forcing/pressuring someone into a caretaking role they arent mentally/physically ready for, especially when theyre supposed to be the sole caretaker.

Maybe calling her bratty was bit premature. What I meant was that she couldve been more understanding and sympathetic instead of acting like her need for a shoulder to cry on was more important.

Plus, from what iVe read of their relationship, Colby has a habit of taking Dean's loyalty for granted. Or to be more frank, Dean sees Colby as a brother, while Colby sometimes sees Dean as an underling whose loyalty he's entitled to, which has lead to a lot of misery and losses for Dean.

From what Im seeing now, it's gonna be the same with Dean and Bella, except Bella will have the other adults backing her up.

But Dean has done some questionable things that were not Colby related. Dean once knocked over 73 year old Alf. Sure Dean didn't mean to knock him down as he was running in the Surf Club but he didn’t stop to see if he was okay.  

As much as I love Dean and  Dean how is he  now would probably stop to help Alf if he knock him over by accident. 

Edited February 17, 2021 by j.laur5

[H&Alover]

Ari does have the advantage of seeing Dean in a different situation to any of the others when they were in prison, I chuckled at his "so this is the famous Mangrove River" or something like that.  I think it was more in keeping with his character he came back on his own rather than leaving with Ari.

Btw Nephlim 14 Bella did stay at the farm until Dean came back even if  it was only the one night. 

Mac gave her the option to go back with her but she opted to stay with Dean in what to her is her  home. Her welcome home was  very her, nearly knocking him off his feet. Like you Red I think Dean & Bella will be good for each other,  Dean may be faking it at the moment as there is a part of him that feels guilty about Colby taking the full rap, but being around Bella will refocus his mind, at least that is how I see it unfolding. Let's hope he has some loyal customers left so the Board Shop doesn't go under, that won't help at all if he hasn't got anything to keep him occupied.  Mac was still fretting about whether she should have insisted Bella go back with her but Bella is an adult now.  I always knew Ari was a  good guy and he has proved that lately.  Did smile at Dean opening the fridge and looking in it, don't know why he did because as I said there is never anything in it. 

Those pots and pans must be  as clean as the day the day they were bought as they are hardly used. 

Nice goodbye between Taylor and Jasmine and the fact Taylor had visited Colby gave Jas some food for thought, yes Colby is a bad guy now but he was always the same old Colby to Jasmine.  I hope, more for Taylor than Rosetta that their marriage works, rather a stilted goodbye between Rosetta, Alf and Roo.  Btw I think I remember her telling Jasmine she still loved Rosetta, but was feeling neglected by him hence her and Colby happening. 

Roo knew Irene was hiding something concerning Martha but I didn't see her being sneaky about getting Irene to fess up about it, to me she seemed surprised. 

Did my ears deceive  me or did Martha refer to Kieran as a kid in the trailer?  Why do folks in the bay do that when the person in question is in their 20's. 

Oh and Paul has been in touch. 

  

 

 

[Nephlim14]

41 minutes ago, H&Alover said:

Ari does have the advantage of seeing Dean in a different situation to any of the others when they were in prison, I chuckled at his "so this is the famous Mangrove River" or something like that.  I think it was more in keeping with his character he came back on his own rather than leaving with Ari.

Btw Nephlim 14 Bella did stay at the farm until Dean came back even if  it was only the one night. 

Mac gave her the option to go back with her but she opted to stay with Dean in what to her is her  home. Her welcome home was  very her, nearly knocking him off his feet. Like you Red I think Dean & Bella will be good for each other,  Dean may be faking it at the moment as there is a part of him that feels guilty about Colby taking the full rap, but being around Bella will refocus his mind, at least that is how I see it unfolding. Let's hope he has some loyal customers left so the Board Shop doesn't go under, that won't help at all if he hasn't got anything to keep him occupied.  Mac was still fretting about whether she should have insisted Bella go back with her but Bella is an adult now.  I always knew Ari was a  good guy and he has proved that lately.  Did smile at Dean opening the fridge and looking in it, don't know why he did because as I said there is never anything in it. 

I meant stay at the farm until came back back on his own. As in when he decided for himself to come back, not when Ari or somebody else browbeat him into coming back. 

Ari may have meant well, but it smacks of the same toxic attitude I was talking about earlier. To me, it would have been better if Ari had just checked on Dean, let him know how Bella was and made sure he actually planned to come back at some point.

[Red Ranger 1]

Well, some stuff seemed to be hitting the fan here. I kind of felt for everyone.Justin's obviously an innocent bystander caught up in this, and he's understandably angry that Ziggy got the garage mixed up in this: The personal comment was perhaps uncalled for, but also perhaps not too wide of the mark.And I can understand Ziggy being reluctant to report Tane...who's likable enough and gets credit for owning up to Justin, but still doesn't quite seem to get it at times.I'm glad Ari had the same idea as me about calling Paul's bluff, although they could use a more bulletproof scheme just in case he really isn't bluffing. Oh, and Constable Murray gets to make presumably one last appearance this season!

After an awful lot of procrastinating, Tori finally talks to Jasmine and is forced to admit that, yes, Christian was right and she actually is fine.

As for Dean...I'm not sure he would have ever come back without someone to give him a bit of a nudge, and I think he's better off back in Summer Bay, with things to occupy him, people to support him and people for him to support, rather than getting drunk, fighting and having meaningless sex.

[Nephlim14]

1 hour ago, Red Ranger 1 said:

As for Dean...I'm not sure he would have ever come back without someone to give him a bit of a nudge, and I think he's better off back in Summer Bay, with things to occupy him, people to support him and people for him to support, rather than getting drunk, fighting and having meaningless sex.

I dont think its fair to make that assumption. People deal with grief in different ways. Sometimes people need some time to themselves and to vent. Plus, Ari going back for Dean was less about helping him and more about what Mac and Bella wanted. It was about them wanting him to come back and comfort Bella simply because of some narrow notion of family. Ari may have believed he was helping Dean at the same time, but that could easily be the result of a self serving perspective. You shouldnt assume that somebody's dealing with a situation the wrong way just cuz its not the "more noble" way you prefer they handle it. Sometimes you should let people deal with things the way they choose to deal with it.

All Im saying is that I would have respected the writing more if Ari had simply checked on him, told him about Bella, encouraged him to use his phone and left him be. Dean could have had a mini arc and then he could have come back of his own volition.

[H&Alover]

Nephlim14. But isn't that what happened, unless we were watching parallel episodes? Ari told Dean how things were Bella and Mac were both worried about him.  Ari left Dean to make up his own mind, which he did and he did come back on his own.  We've seen this side of Dean before, he goes off to blow off some steam somewhere, calms down and comes back.  Ari wasn't trying to coerce him into anything, just gave him food for thought, he does have a mind of his own, you seem to be implying he was brainwashed. 

Christian has got one thing spot on Tori does over think things, all her shillying and shallying and it only took a few words between her and Jasmine and it's settled.  As long as Tori and Christian aren't too out there with PDA Jas is OK.

Before we get into the heavy stuff with Justin and the garage I did smile at his  round the houses question to Christian as to when he and Leah could get back to 'normal' relations or in adult speak having sex, making love - you make your choice.  I guess if his scans come back OK and he wasn't thinking of hanging from the light shade or leaping off the wardrobe he'll be fine. 

Good to see Tane and Ari still pulling together, well most of the time, did they go and check out the place to see how they could  get themselves a way round it without always being under Paul's thumb? Be interesting to see what excuse they give Mac when they go to do the job, unless they just slope off without saying anything. 

The guy who was supposed to be picking up the hot van has really coughed all he knew, but I'm reckoning he didn't know about the drugs as the police were only looking for the stolen goods in it.  Tane is a seasoned enough hand to know to make sure nothing was left at the garage even his prints being there wouldn't prove anything.  Although Justin is innocent of anything that went on in his absence he is still the owner so responsible for what happened on his property.  Did they really need that many cops, also in a couple of TV mags it said 'armed' police again why?  Hardly likely bad guy was waiting to pounce on them.  Naturally Justin feels let down by Ziggy, not the first time the garage has been caught up in dodgy dealings, he trusted her.  Tane really stepped up by going to see Justin and saying it was all him and Ziggy knew nothing, he appears to have got over Mac and now has feelings for Ziggy and by the looks of it and despite her protestations was being swayed by Tane's persuasions. Ziggy isn't in a relationship but that doesn't mean Dean will not be a happy bunny when he finds out what Tane has got her involved in.  Not that I know anything about the criminal world but I would think the guys that took the van off Ziggy's hands knew how to dispose of anything incriminating for their own protection if nothing else.   Brief appearance by good old Constable Murray.

  I guess at some point the bay will get a replacement for Colby.

 

 

[Psychic Wombat]

I was surprised Taylor going back with Angelo, I hoped she'd stay in the bay and maybe help Jaz run the gym. I bet I'm not the only one who thought Angelo was borderline creepy with his spying and obsessive behaviour - good luck to her! 

Although in normal life Ziggy would get fired I think she'll keep her job as there is no one else who can fix cars. Looks like she's taking a leaf out of Mack's book in hooking up with Tane. 

[Nephlim14]

13 minutes ago, H&Alover said:

Nephlim14. But isn't that what happened, unless we were watching parallel episodes? Ari told Dean how things were Bella and Mac were both worried about him.  Ari left Dean to make up his own mind, which he did and he did come back on his own.  We've seen this side of Dean before, he goes off to blow off some steam somewhere, calms down and comes back.  Ari wasn't trying to coerce him into anything, just gave him food for thought, he does have a mind of his own, you seem to be implying he was brainwashed. 

Note: I watch episodes at Aus pace.

Ari may not have outright demanded Dean to do it, but i remember it being presented in that soap operatic way where it basically presents Dean as the bad guy if he didnt go along with it. I definitely disagreed with his advice to "fake it" instead of giving himself enough time to legit get in the right headspace.