Let the Lizard King sing:-
I did something I don't think I've ever done before. I gave this episode a ten.
Cast aside the lead-in to the fire as totally unbelieveable and riddled with potholes, tonight's episode showed the show at its best. There were a diversity of characters, with the subtle beginnings of some things that are going to transpire, and you saw some first rate performances from most everyone concerned. Oddly enough, for the brief time they were in the episode, the weakest links were Lauren, Peter and the atrocious Tina. I have a feeling from the trailer that this whole ordeal is a vehicle by which two of the most entitled and self-centred characters find and deserve each other.
Special mention goes to Danny Dyer, Shane Richie, Letitia Dean, Kellie Bright and Jessie Wallace.
Background Bits: -
Some of the background scenes were the most normal and realistic I've seen in the show, especially from an EP who wasn't strong in aftermaths during his last stint with Diederick Santer. I'm talking about the scenes with Carol, obviously experiencing Empty Nest Syndrome. Carol's always only ever had a gaggle of kids around her - first as the mother of four and now as the grandmother of more. Now, in the house with only Liam and Whitney - and both of them at school and at work daily - she's all alone in the house - no Bianca popping back in, no kids to pick up after, no ginormous meal to organise.
I thought it nice that Whitney perceived this and also perceived that - for all she can be a diva sometimes - there are times when Carol wants acknowledgement without much of a fuss, and so, she offered her a comforting pat on the shoulder. I thought for a moment she was going to give her a kiss on the cheek, but it was mete that DTC remembered that the relationship between Whitney and Carol has always been prickly. It might be silly, but I was more than a little touched with emotion when Carol told Whitney that if she had any ironing, Carol would do it.
Poor Carol! She's lived for children's needs for so long, she's lost without children around her, and that makes me wonder in which direction they are going to take Lindsey Coulson's character now. She's obviously not ready, physically to go back to the cafe, which makes me wonder how she's going to make household expenses, including the nominal rent she, presumably, still pays Janine.
With the ubiquitous appearance of Sonia, one wonders when she is ever at her home? It seems as if every waking hour when she's not taking another day off from her job as a nurse, she's at Carol's. Now I understand that Carol has been ill and is now on the mend, but Sonia also has a child, herself. Today, she scooted right over to Carol's, presumably, after her shift at the hospital, and got ready to attend Sharon's hen night, which, more than likely, would go on for awhile. Would it be too late and would Sonia be too drunk to go home? It amazes me how she can hang around the Square, almost exclusively - either at Carol's or running a Fat Blasters class - and then trash talk Martin about the way he treats her. Who, precisely, is caring for Sonia's child, when she's on the Square? Martin, Rebecca's father. The saving grace of tonight's episode is that we heard much less of Sonia than we've formerly been called upon to hear, and that is only for the better.
I suppose tonight saw the proper beginning of Namwar or Tancy. Nancy so deserves better than a miserable, self-pitying, moral coward. Tamwar's astounded that Mas would stand up having dinner with him in order to spend the evening planning a stag do for a man with whom he has little to do, but I'm astounded that Nancy likened Tamwar to James Bond. Still, I suppose she could do worse - she could be paired with Dexter. Nancy is such a delightful character, I hope Tamwar doesn't bring her down.
It was kinda unusual, in a good way, seeing Stacey as pretty much a background character, but this sort of took her back to the way she used to be before certain producers became obsessed with her character. I was never a Stacey fan, but I find this time around, I'm liking her more and more. It was reminiscent of old times, the way she bantered back and forth with Big Mo, over the dodgy hairspray. The two lines of the night go to Stacey and Carol.
Stacey (in the Slater/Moon kitchen): Stop it, Nan! That stuff smells like cat food.
Carol (in the pub): Not being funny, but do you smell tuna?
Even the scene in the salon with Dean, bantering about the dodgy mousse and wanting to experiment on Stacey, took me back to both their first stints, when they were teenagers, and it did make me feel sad, especially about Dean. Speaking of Stacey, we have to mention Roxy as well, and how Roxy's making peace with everyone.
I've always been a Roxy fan. I know she's selfish and can be arrogant and more than a bit ditzy, but she has a great heart, and is so much more personable and likeable than her psychopathic sister. It was inevitable that Roxy and Stacey would cross paths - as Roxy said, they're never going to be best mates, but they can, at least, get along - followed by Roxy's rapprochement with Alfie, who's at his lowest ebb. It was ironic that she, his ex-wife, should remind Alfie of what he has that's so important - three lovely boys and Kat, who loves him - ending by reminding him that he's Alfie Moon, who can make things happen. Lovely moment.
I'm still left to wonder, however, where Amy and Tommy are.
The Two Alfies or The Two Micks.
Seriously, I've been totally going off Mick for quite awhile, but he went a long way in redeeming himself tonight in his interaction with Alfie. Let me be frank - Ido think the Carters are overused and infiltrate a lot of storylines in certain ways, and - OK - they're now involved in the fire storyline, but that scene needed to be aired. Any other day, and maybe Ian would have sat down with Alfie. As it was, I'm glad it was Mick.
Mick and Alfie both have the Vic in common, and they are similar sorts in personality, although people would disagree. Mick likes a peaceful life, and so he likes to see those around him happy, especially Linda, and sometimes that does mean erring on the side of caution and creating a lie or a myth, even to the point of enabling Linda's childishness. Alfie is much the same. He's always been an enabler and someone who wants the people around him to be happy, often at his expense.
The scene where Alfie gazes at the picture of Nana Moon tonight was significant, especially his anecdote about lying to keep her happy about her bread-and-butter pudding. Alfie isn't a stupid man, he isn't feckless or xenophobic or racist or a fool. He is, however, desperate, and he wants to look after his family. His masculine pride is dented because, at the moment, he can't. I don't know what Alfie did before he came to Walford or before he took the blame for his cousins' crime and went to prison. It would be interesting to know.
The Mick-Alfie scene was the richest and most poignant scene tonight, but more than anything, it made me realise how similar in type and delivery both men are. Alfie needed someone with whom he could be brutally honest, someone detached from his family, who could listen to him dispassionately. But once again, something didn't make sense. Alfie only wanted a small fire, smoke damage, but it's debatable that smoke damage would even cover the back rent that's owed. I still keep wondering where Mo is in all of this. After all, she is the principal tenant there, and yet, everyone is acting as if this is Alfie's responsibility. All the correspondence coming to the house is in Mo's name. Surely she should have been paying the rent all along, and ensuring that the Moons paid her. She certainly badgered Kat, Alice, Joey and Michael enough when they lived there, and Kat was still family then. Instead, her answer is to flog dodgy Romanian hair products.
My Sharona.
Sharon is another one who isn't stupid, and she certainly is on to Shirley's venomous smiles and bitchy looks and attempts at playing nice. Shirley certainly thinks Sharon is stupid, all the moreso because she thinks Phil is going to humiliate her publically. She's like the cat who's caught the canary. Little does she suspect that her behaviour sparked suspicion in Sharon. Sharon hasn't forgotten that it was Shirley with whom Phil was talking about the attack. Good. That's registered. And Carol's remark about likening her and David to Sharon and Phil struck a chord too.
Let the games begin. Good episode.
I did something I don't think I've ever done before. I gave this episode a ten.
Cast aside the lead-in to the fire as totally unbelieveable and riddled with potholes, tonight's episode showed the show at its best. There were a diversity of characters, with the subtle beginnings of some things that are going to transpire, and you saw some first rate performances from most everyone concerned. Oddly enough, for the brief time they were in the episode, the weakest links were Lauren, Peter and the atrocious Tina. I have a feeling from the trailer that this whole ordeal is a vehicle by which two of the most entitled and self-centred characters find and deserve each other.
Special mention goes to Danny Dyer, Shane Richie, Letitia Dean, Kellie Bright and Jessie Wallace.
Background Bits: -
Some of the background scenes were the most normal and realistic I've seen in the show, especially from an EP who wasn't strong in aftermaths during his last stint with Diederick Santer. I'm talking about the scenes with Carol, obviously experiencing Empty Nest Syndrome. Carol's always only ever had a gaggle of kids around her - first as the mother of four and now as the grandmother of more. Now, in the house with only Liam and Whitney - and both of them at school and at work daily - she's all alone in the house - no Bianca popping back in, no kids to pick up after, no ginormous meal to organise.
I thought it nice that Whitney perceived this and also perceived that - for all she can be a diva sometimes - there are times when Carol wants acknowledgement without much of a fuss, and so, she offered her a comforting pat on the shoulder. I thought for a moment she was going to give her a kiss on the cheek, but it was mete that DTC remembered that the relationship between Whitney and Carol has always been prickly. It might be silly, but I was more than a little touched with emotion when Carol told Whitney that if she had any ironing, Carol would do it.
Poor Carol! She's lived for children's needs for so long, she's lost without children around her, and that makes me wonder in which direction they are going to take Lindsey Coulson's character now. She's obviously not ready, physically to go back to the cafe, which makes me wonder how she's going to make household expenses, including the nominal rent she, presumably, still pays Janine.
With the ubiquitous appearance of Sonia, one wonders when she is ever at her home? It seems as if every waking hour when she's not taking another day off from her job as a nurse, she's at Carol's. Now I understand that Carol has been ill and is now on the mend, but Sonia also has a child, herself. Today, she scooted right over to Carol's, presumably, after her shift at the hospital, and got ready to attend Sharon's hen night, which, more than likely, would go on for awhile. Would it be too late and would Sonia be too drunk to go home? It amazes me how she can hang around the Square, almost exclusively - either at Carol's or running a Fat Blasters class - and then trash talk Martin about the way he treats her. Who, precisely, is caring for Sonia's child, when she's on the Square? Martin, Rebecca's father. The saving grace of tonight's episode is that we heard much less of Sonia than we've formerly been called upon to hear, and that is only for the better.
I suppose tonight saw the proper beginning of Namwar or Tancy. Nancy so deserves better than a miserable, self-pitying, moral coward. Tamwar's astounded that Mas would stand up having dinner with him in order to spend the evening planning a stag do for a man with whom he has little to do, but I'm astounded that Nancy likened Tamwar to James Bond. Still, I suppose she could do worse - she could be paired with Dexter. Nancy is such a delightful character, I hope Tamwar doesn't bring her down.
It was kinda unusual, in a good way, seeing Stacey as pretty much a background character, but this sort of took her back to the way she used to be before certain producers became obsessed with her character. I was never a Stacey fan, but I find this time around, I'm liking her more and more. It was reminiscent of old times, the way she bantered back and forth with Big Mo, over the dodgy hairspray. The two lines of the night go to Stacey and Carol.
Stacey (in the Slater/Moon kitchen): Stop it, Nan! That stuff smells like cat food.
Carol (in the pub): Not being funny, but do you smell tuna?
Even the scene in the salon with Dean, bantering about the dodgy mousse and wanting to experiment on Stacey, took me back to both their first stints, when they were teenagers, and it did make me feel sad, especially about Dean. Speaking of Stacey, we have to mention Roxy as well, and how Roxy's making peace with everyone.
I've always been a Roxy fan. I know she's selfish and can be arrogant and more than a bit ditzy, but she has a great heart, and is so much more personable and likeable than her psychopathic sister. It was inevitable that Roxy and Stacey would cross paths - as Roxy said, they're never going to be best mates, but they can, at least, get along - followed by Roxy's rapprochement with Alfie, who's at his lowest ebb. It was ironic that she, his ex-wife, should remind Alfie of what he has that's so important - three lovely boys and Kat, who loves him - ending by reminding him that he's Alfie Moon, who can make things happen. Lovely moment.
I'm still left to wonder, however, where Amy and Tommy are.
The Two Alfies or The Two Micks.
Seriously, I've been totally going off Mick for quite awhile, but he went a long way in redeeming himself tonight in his interaction with Alfie. Let me be frank - Ido think the Carters are overused and infiltrate a lot of storylines in certain ways, and - OK - they're now involved in the fire storyline, but that scene needed to be aired. Any other day, and maybe Ian would have sat down with Alfie. As it was, I'm glad it was Mick.
Mick and Alfie both have the Vic in common, and they are similar sorts in personality, although people would disagree. Mick likes a peaceful life, and so he likes to see those around him happy, especially Linda, and sometimes that does mean erring on the side of caution and creating a lie or a myth, even to the point of enabling Linda's childishness. Alfie is much the same. He's always been an enabler and someone who wants the people around him to be happy, often at his expense.
The scene where Alfie gazes at the picture of Nana Moon tonight was significant, especially his anecdote about lying to keep her happy about her bread-and-butter pudding. Alfie isn't a stupid man, he isn't feckless or xenophobic or racist or a fool. He is, however, desperate, and he wants to look after his family. His masculine pride is dented because, at the moment, he can't. I don't know what Alfie did before he came to Walford or before he took the blame for his cousins' crime and went to prison. It would be interesting to know.
The Mick-Alfie scene was the richest and most poignant scene tonight, but more than anything, it made me realise how similar in type and delivery both men are. Alfie needed someone with whom he could be brutally honest, someone detached from his family, who could listen to him dispassionately. But once again, something didn't make sense. Alfie only wanted a small fire, smoke damage, but it's debatable that smoke damage would even cover the back rent that's owed. I still keep wondering where Mo is in all of this. After all, she is the principal tenant there, and yet, everyone is acting as if this is Alfie's responsibility. All the correspondence coming to the house is in Mo's name. Surely she should have been paying the rent all along, and ensuring that the Moons paid her. She certainly badgered Kat, Alice, Joey and Michael enough when they lived there, and Kat was still family then. Instead, her answer is to flog dodgy Romanian hair products.
My Sharona.
Sharon is another one who isn't stupid, and she certainly is on to Shirley's venomous smiles and bitchy looks and attempts at playing nice. Shirley certainly thinks Sharon is stupid, all the moreso because she thinks Phil is going to humiliate her publically. She's like the cat who's caught the canary. Little does she suspect that her behaviour sparked suspicion in Sharon. Sharon hasn't forgotten that it was Shirley with whom Phil was talking about the attack. Good. That's registered. And Carol's remark about likening her and David to Sharon and Phil struck a chord too.
Let the games begin. Good episode.
No comments:
Post a Comment