2023 Season - UK Episode Discussion

[Slade]

I've mentioned how I feel Dana comes across as a nurse.  I'm not expecting her to be like Faith from Casualty but to me she lacks compassion.  Just watching her interact with Banjo today reaffirms why I'm not keen on her.  During their whole interaction, she just seemed disingenuous and insincere.  She doesn't seem all that nice even when she's trying to be.

Was extremely displeased with Tane ending the lease on his house without even having the common courtesy to tell Felicity and Cash beforehand.  I wasn't happy Felicity has decided to fight for him because I actually don't think he's worth it, although she's so in love with him, it looks as though she's not going to throw in the towel just yet.

[H&Alover]

Tane could and should have given Flick & Cash the heads up about him giving up the lease, at least it wasn't the panic it was first thought to be, they have  a month to move out or can take it over if they want to.   Will he move out from the Farmhouse?  he was only supposed to be there until he got his head together.  Seeing as Tane effectively moved out and it's not the family home it used to be I guess it may make sense for him not to be there.  When he first moved in there was him, Ari, Gemma and Nik, Gemma left then Mia and Chloe moved in, then Bella, then Bella and Nik left then Felicity and Cash moved in so always been quite full.  Also too many bad memories to make him want to stay there.  I'm taking it Flick and Cash contributed towards the costs,  rent, utility bills, if not included in the rent, food etc which would  be OK being spread between the three of them, but now there's just two of them, will they manage?  Is Cash being paid while he's on suspension? 

I'd forgotten how lovely that Wedding cloak of Tane's is and they were in love then, well Flick still is and despite his protestations I think Tane is still in love with Flick.  She did jump to completely the wrong conclusion when she saw him with Harper. 

Mango - sorry- Banjo wasn't as bad as he first came across though he did get the huff and stormed off when he thought Dana had asked him out on a date but who had  actually asked him to come and talk about his decision about  John being  fired from his  Life Saving duties.  It seemed from what he said the decision had been taken away from him as he was more than satisfied with John's apology.  It was daddy who wanted John fired and he had tried to change his mind but to no avail   Does Banjo's dad remind you of anyone? 

Now Alf has the unenviable task of advertising  John's job, would the new bod be GM automatically, then having to do the interviews, making sure they have the right person, rather him than me. 

John must rent, if that is the right term, the Juice Bar, from the Surf Club  so it might come under his other duties/roles as GM.  Looking it up it can mean the Surf Club is giving John the right to run his business on their property, could be totally wrong of course.   Mali and Alf have found out just how hard John works.  Of course we have seen how much he does without noticing,  natch John being John he does bleat on about it at times but otherwise he just gets on with it.   Did laugh, though we shouldn't, seeing Mali trying to tackle the juicer and talk on the phone.   Then him roping in Xander to help. John does have staff running it though doesn't he? 

[pembie]

The way they are making it look like the surf club is over busy is kind of funny John is only one person so how he managed to run the place single handed it seems makes he think he has a super power 

[Red Ranger 1]

I was slightly worried when Roo came up with the bright idea of taking over as surf club manager, but at least she seems to be doing it for John's sake, and after a bit of a wobble, he seems to have accepted that.Seemingly no nearer to getting his job back though.Is Irene having a word with Pa Henderson really that bad an idea?

Felicity pinned far too much hope on that box giving Tane an epiphany.Despite her disappointment, he definitely seems to be softening: There's no way he'd have had a civil conversation with her like that a week ago.Felicity was wrong to tackle Harper like that, but Harper really should have removed herself from the situation rather than biting back.At first I just thought it was a dramatic moment for the trailer, but it seems Harper felt the same. (I don't recall Bella ever living with the Paratas, thankfully? Wasn't she always at the Diner flat or the farm house when they were around?)

Kirby really had trouble picking up on the fact that Justin wasn't in the mood! I see why he felt backed into a corner but I'm not sure Justin did the right thing taking the decision out of Leah's hands and telling Roo what was going on. Couldn't he have let her go anyway? She is still engaged technically!

Another day, another case of Xander being dumped on, with Rose and Mali making him feel pushed out this time.

Edited February 15 by Red Ranger 1

[H&Alover]

Bella did stay at the Parata's  now and again though mainly in Nik's bedroom so  maybe not technically  living there. 

There are other employees at the Club/JP's but we hardly see them just like we only briefly  see the other employees at The Diner.  

Hope Roo's plan does work out as we know what Roo can be  like, she does love to take over.  

Which imo she was doing with organising Leah's Engagement Party even if it was a mini party with just her, Irene, maybe Marilyn  and Leah, she was being pushy again.  He knows how Leah is feeling better than Roo does and I think he was right to let her in on the secret.  Leah didn't know about this party so all  Roo needs to do is just to say to lrene we'll leave it for now.   Of course as we saw Leah goes ballistic. Justin was very restrained with her just like he was with Kirby who was was absolutely buzzing with her ideas and revealed the song she and Theo were writing for the Wedding.  Justin putting the phone down on Roo rather than getting angry with her, proves the Anger Management Courses worked. 

Quite a reasonable conversation between Tane and Felicity when she handed over the box and her explaining that as  he wasn't going to be at the house  he should have it.   I didn't agree with him saying she was 'spying' on him,  it just happened she was on the balcony and saw him sit down and open it, take out the photo of them, then place it face downwards - ouch - then Harper coming up and he was telling her about what it was and what it meant.   Flick did totally overreact accusing Harper of being one of Tane's randoms.  Flick being at SALT   at least meant Xander could have time to himself.

I got the opposite about Xander  getting dumped on, Rose and Mali  did ask him if he wanted to join them and he turned them down.  I felt maybe he didn't want to  play gooseberry.   

[Red Ranger 1]

4 hours ago, H&Alover said:

Rose and Mali  did ask him if he wanted to join them and he turned them down. 

You're joking, right? They practically kicked him down the stairs with their repeated "It's nice to have time alone, just the two of us.You should go and visit Mackenzie now.No, now.We mean it, now.Don't hurry back" hints!

Alf's episode count this week:Three. The only other characters to manage three were Irene, Marilyn, Justin and Cash.

Well, it's pretty clear that Justin getting Leah to keep quiet about the wedding postponement was a bad idea and Rose turning a blind eye to her erratic driving was an even worse one.She's suddenly gone from being a bit snappy and defensive to unravelling big time.I'm not sure that Roo turning up, while trying to keep things from Irene and Marilyn, helped her mental state much either.

I felt Tane was a bit pushy with Harper.He accepted her decision at first, then decided to ambush her with his rather odd claim that she's the only person he looks forward to seeing.(Since when? Well, a week ago, I guess, but he seemed to be barely tolerating her until then.) I suspect his insistence he's not going to let Felicity control his life has more to do with it. Not sure why Roo was so firmly Team Harper either when Irene and Marilyn were trying their best to be practical.

Was there a point to Rose and Kirby's night out, other than to get Theo out of the way for Justin and Leah's dramas? On the back of her and Xander being the depressed singletons in the previous episode, are we meant to see Kirby as isolated? She seemed reasonably happy to sit down and get on with her writing once she was alone.

[Foellfan]

Loved Irene's 'Felicity's a handful', you've only just noticed?! 

I think Tane just wants a friend right now, someone uncomplicated and with Harper being a fitness buff too I think helps. Flick was spying in a sense because she wanted the reaction she wasn't going to get. Whether she likes it or not, he's allowed to have friends without clearing it with her, Harper needn't have backed off.

I feel for both Leah and Justin, I get why he told Roo as ambush would've been the correct term! I know Leah isn't thinking straight but it bothers her that much, she should announce the wedding's off. Unfortunately, hard as it would be for Justin, I think he sadly has to let her crash as she is because it has to be her ephiany or secure help i.e. sectioning before anything can be resolved properly, very sad scenes all around. 

[Slade]

Roo's reaction of disbelief when Justin hung up on her was hilarious.  Leah is insane.  Sick to my back teeth of her taking everything out on Justin.  She needs help.

I didn't like how Tane was with Harper at all.  It's concerning that he seems far too keen for a friendship.  It makes me wonder if he's looking at her romantically.  Irene and Marilyn were both seriously getting on my nerves the way they kept looking over at them and started gossiping.  I'm surprised Harper was not going to be put of initially having a friendship with Tane or that after she thought they should keep their distance and having spoken to him since, she's prepared have a friendship, considering the support she provided to Felicity regarding the rape.

[H&Alover]

OK, hands up, yes I got it wrong about Xander and Rose & Mali  wanting alone time, but I thought later they had asked him to join them? 

People who suffer PTSD aren't insane. They do take things out on their nearest and dearest.    Roo, of course, had to stir things up by going to see Leah after Justin told her Leah wasn't ready for a surprise Engagement Party , so no wonder she flipped out, as it was meant to be just between her, Justin and Theo.  But as Justin explained he did it to put Roo off and her, Leah, having a 'surprise' sprung on her.  Roo, to give her some credit, was discreet about why she, Irene and Maz should wait until Leah feels more up to it.  Leah has announced the Wedding is off  and she never wants  to marry Justin ever!

A mention should go to Theo who was supposed to be excited about Lyrik's new album, but you could see he was distracted by thinking about Leah and Justin. He's come a long way since the young galah we first met and many of us wanted him gone and has grown so much maturity wise.   Btw, just how long did it take for him to walk from Leah & Justin's to SALT, it was daylight when he left but was dark when he arrived? 

We saw on Friday how much Leah is unravelling, she obviously thought Justin was talking  about her not the car, camera and sound does that weird thing making you 'see' and 'hear' it from the victim's ears/eyes.  I won't spoil it in case people haven't see what has been in the TV mags for next week but next week Emmerdale is following more or less the same storyline with Charity.

Maybe Harper sensed Tane does want more than a friendship which is why she backed off, maybe her counselling antenna was twitching.  Though of course he is not in the right mind space at the moment. 

[Red Ranger 1]

I know hindsight's a wonderful thing and all, but given how Leah was acting, it probably wasn't the smartest move to bring Justin to the police station.Rose's hands are tied a bit, since until the last scene Leah hadn't done anything that out there, but the fact things escalated because she felt Leah's sleeping issues didn't need any more action than a friendly warning that she blatantly ignored (she's not even bothered about driving now) is one of those things I'd have been spitting feathers about if it was Colby doing it so...yeah, she messed up. Of course, Justin deciding to go off half-cocked convinced he could talk Leah round didn't really help, it might have been better to have let Rose at least try and go down the official route. One of the clearest signs Leah isn't thinking clearly: Barricading a door that opens in the opposite direction!

So, as it turns out, Roo doesn't exactly slip easily into the role of surf club manager after all, as the only person (or perhaps one of the two people, along with Alf) who could have told her how it all works is the one that the committee have chased away. Fortunately, it turns out he left instructions for his successor! Adjacent to this we get a brilliant scene of Irene giving Alf a much needed talking to about the way he's taken John for granted over the years. Might it actually sink in?

Edited February 19 by Red Ranger 1