Another tour de force by John Altman! He is really getting into playing Nick this time, but I don't want to start with the Cotton/Brannings. Instead, I'll start with the Branning Brannings.
It Sucks to Be Abi.
In the course of events, when it was rightly pointed out by Abi that everything was all about Lauren, in the end, it became all about Lauren.
We whooped and cheered, my end, when Abi sought to dunk Lauren's head, and dunk it again and again, in the apple-dunking bowl. Kinda reminiscent of when Shirley tried to drown Ben. Of course, it was a red herring reaction, designed to make various tranches of viewers think, once again, that maybe Abi was capable of killing Lucy.
Abi is capable of getting very upset at a time in her life when everything she's ever wanted has appeared to go tits up, and in this highly emotional adolescent state (and entitled), she's bound to lash out and blame everyone for things that happened to force her to make bad judgements. And in this instance, all roads lead to Lauren. Lauren is not without blame, although she is without tact. It never once dawned on her that Abi was upset, at not making the grades to get into the uni she'd chosen, at losing Jay, and so Lauren paraded Peter the Posh Trophy about, reminding Abi that, had Peter not dumped Lola for Lauren, then Jay wouldn't have (and didn't) dumped Abi for Lola.
As the Dowager Countess of Grantham said to Lady Mary in last night's Downton Abbey, A lack of compassion can be as vulgar as excessive emotion. And Lauren has a lack of compassion about everyone but herself.
Nope, the drowning was a wake-up call. Even Abi backed off after she'd gone too far, after calling out some home truths to Lauren.
Deciding not to go to uni was down to Abi, but what Lauren told her was a hefty load of platitudes, made palatable by a plate of sandwiches, and by Lauren playing the noble martyr and not wanting to tell Max that she was still being followed.
In true Branning fashion, I like how Summerhayes the Dim is beginning her relationship with Max based firmly on a lie.
Really, we could have done without this lot messing up what would have been a fascinating episode. I hope Abi does go to uni - sooner, rather than later.
Cot-Cot-Cottoning On.
WooHOOO! Take a bow, John Altman. He had the absolute line of lines tonight.
Nick: I got a new identity.
Dot: Well, who are yer?
Nick: Reg.
Dot: Reg who?
Nick: Reg Cox.
Who the hells says EastEnders can't do comedy? Ever since Nick has reappeared, an episode hasn't gone by that I haven't whooped with laughter at something he's said. Altman looks as much as if he's thoroughly enjoying this return.
Good continuity too, for Dot to wonder why Nick didn't tell her he was alive, only to have Nick remind her of the last words she'd said to him during the time of Dottie/Kirsty - and good that Nick remembered all three of his children, including Dottie/Kirsty's real name.
As to truth and lies, I happen to think that no one of the three involved is telling the full truth to Dot. It benefits Nick that Charlie and Yvonne are seen in a bad light, and it benefits Charlie that Nick's seen in a bad light. The fact that Yvonne knows Charlie's cheated Nick and wants to run doesn't say much for her too.
And it was as everyone thought - the "policewoman" accompanying Charlie wasn't a policewoman at all, which shows how much Dot trusts the authority of uniforms.
I actually think that what Nick told Dot was mostly the truth, because most of what he told her, Charlie corroborated - that Charlie came up with the plot to have Nick die, and that even whilst Nick was in Spain, he thought of Dot. It's a curious relationship he has had with her - he keeps undermining her and involving her in terrible things, but in his own warped way, he does love her. At least he keeps coming back, whether he's on his uppers or being successful at whatever. It seems as though, as well, he was involved in something more, something bigger, with other people, and I'm wondering if he knows the Whites, because I don't think we've seen the last of them yet.
I think he left Charlie with a share of the money, and Charlie and Yvonne plotted to announce Nick's death to Dot, with Charlie revealing himself to her as her grandson and becoming fond of her. But here's something else which doesn't ring true:- Charlie told Dot that Nick went on and on about what a monster Dot was, and whilst it was true that Nick, himself, has remembered some of the "Christian" punishments Dot used to mete upon him as a child, I don't think he'd ever have referred to Dot as a monster, nor do I think that Nick hit Yvonne. Nick's a liar, a thief, and a killer, but he's never been known to hit a woman.
Another classic line ...
Dot: The why have you come back now?
Nick: I thought maybe you'd like a resurrection.
I think Nick basically told the truth about Charlie - and I don't think Charlie is as nice a man as we think he is - and I think Charlie sought to blacken Nick's name even further with Dot.
Good call for Dot to remind Charlie, in the midst of his smarming, that Nick used to sweeten her up this way, and good call on Yvonne for calling out Charlie's similarities to Nick, the fact that he'd get bored with his son and walk away, the way Nick did to him and the way Charlie Cotton did to Nick, and interesting to note that Charlie and Yvonne had been drifting about here and there.
As hammy as she is - and June Brown was her hammiest tonight - you couldn't help but feel for Dot. You got the impression that she was being pulled apart by a family of fiends she didn't realise was amongst her. As untrustworthy as he is, I couldn't help but trust Nick's word: Dot doesn't know Charlie. She doesn't know him at all, and she's being swayed by his association with Ronnie, her affection for Ronnie, the fact that they're having a child and his snow job of her, in general.
Yet now she knows he's a liar. Bad piece of continuity. Not only does Ronnie know that Nick was alive, Carol knew as well, and before Ronnie did.
The irony of the situation is that Dot has chosen to stick with Charlie and his legacy, rather than cleaving to her son, whom, despite everything, she loves unconditionally. To have her tell Nick he'd best remain dead was chilling; but remember, Dot is known for making bad judgement calls and wrong choices all the time. Nick is right. She doesn't know Charlie, and she doesn't know Ronnie at her worst.
This is going to be very interesting.
It Sucks to Be Abi.
In the course of events, when it was rightly pointed out by Abi that everything was all about Lauren, in the end, it became all about Lauren.
We whooped and cheered, my end, when Abi sought to dunk Lauren's head, and dunk it again and again, in the apple-dunking bowl. Kinda reminiscent of when Shirley tried to drown Ben. Of course, it was a red herring reaction, designed to make various tranches of viewers think, once again, that maybe Abi was capable of killing Lucy.
Abi is capable of getting very upset at a time in her life when everything she's ever wanted has appeared to go tits up, and in this highly emotional adolescent state (and entitled), she's bound to lash out and blame everyone for things that happened to force her to make bad judgements. And in this instance, all roads lead to Lauren. Lauren is not without blame, although she is without tact. It never once dawned on her that Abi was upset, at not making the grades to get into the uni she'd chosen, at losing Jay, and so Lauren paraded Peter the Posh Trophy about, reminding Abi that, had Peter not dumped Lola for Lauren, then Jay wouldn't have (and didn't) dumped Abi for Lola.
As the Dowager Countess of Grantham said to Lady Mary in last night's Downton Abbey, A lack of compassion can be as vulgar as excessive emotion. And Lauren has a lack of compassion about everyone but herself.
Nope, the drowning was a wake-up call. Even Abi backed off after she'd gone too far, after calling out some home truths to Lauren.
Deciding not to go to uni was down to Abi, but what Lauren told her was a hefty load of platitudes, made palatable by a plate of sandwiches, and by Lauren playing the noble martyr and not wanting to tell Max that she was still being followed.
In true Branning fashion, I like how Summerhayes the Dim is beginning her relationship with Max based firmly on a lie.
Really, we could have done without this lot messing up what would have been a fascinating episode. I hope Abi does go to uni - sooner, rather than later.
Cot-Cot-Cottoning On.
WooHOOO! Take a bow, John Altman. He had the absolute line of lines tonight.
Nick: I got a new identity.
Dot: Well, who are yer?
Nick: Reg.
Dot: Reg who?
Nick: Reg Cox.
Who the hells says EastEnders can't do comedy? Ever since Nick has reappeared, an episode hasn't gone by that I haven't whooped with laughter at something he's said. Altman looks as much as if he's thoroughly enjoying this return.
Good continuity too, for Dot to wonder why Nick didn't tell her he was alive, only to have Nick remind her of the last words she'd said to him during the time of Dottie/Kirsty - and good that Nick remembered all three of his children, including Dottie/Kirsty's real name.
As to truth and lies, I happen to think that no one of the three involved is telling the full truth to Dot. It benefits Nick that Charlie and Yvonne are seen in a bad light, and it benefits Charlie that Nick's seen in a bad light. The fact that Yvonne knows Charlie's cheated Nick and wants to run doesn't say much for her too.
And it was as everyone thought - the "policewoman" accompanying Charlie wasn't a policewoman at all, which shows how much Dot trusts the authority of uniforms.
I actually think that what Nick told Dot was mostly the truth, because most of what he told her, Charlie corroborated - that Charlie came up with the plot to have Nick die, and that even whilst Nick was in Spain, he thought of Dot. It's a curious relationship he has had with her - he keeps undermining her and involving her in terrible things, but in his own warped way, he does love her. At least he keeps coming back, whether he's on his uppers or being successful at whatever. It seems as though, as well, he was involved in something more, something bigger, with other people, and I'm wondering if he knows the Whites, because I don't think we've seen the last of them yet.
I think he left Charlie with a share of the money, and Charlie and Yvonne plotted to announce Nick's death to Dot, with Charlie revealing himself to her as her grandson and becoming fond of her. But here's something else which doesn't ring true:- Charlie told Dot that Nick went on and on about what a monster Dot was, and whilst it was true that Nick, himself, has remembered some of the "Christian" punishments Dot used to mete upon him as a child, I don't think he'd ever have referred to Dot as a monster, nor do I think that Nick hit Yvonne. Nick's a liar, a thief, and a killer, but he's never been known to hit a woman.
Another classic line ...
Dot: The why have you come back now?
Nick: I thought maybe you'd like a resurrection.
I think Nick basically told the truth about Charlie - and I don't think Charlie is as nice a man as we think he is - and I think Charlie sought to blacken Nick's name even further with Dot.
Good call for Dot to remind Charlie, in the midst of his smarming, that Nick used to sweeten her up this way, and good call on Yvonne for calling out Charlie's similarities to Nick, the fact that he'd get bored with his son and walk away, the way Nick did to him and the way Charlie Cotton did to Nick, and interesting to note that Charlie and Yvonne had been drifting about here and there.
As hammy as she is - and June Brown was her hammiest tonight - you couldn't help but feel for Dot. You got the impression that she was being pulled apart by a family of fiends she didn't realise was amongst her. As untrustworthy as he is, I couldn't help but trust Nick's word: Dot doesn't know Charlie. She doesn't know him at all, and she's being swayed by his association with Ronnie, her affection for Ronnie, the fact that they're having a child and his snow job of her, in general.
Yet now she knows he's a liar. Bad piece of continuity. Not only does Ronnie know that Nick was alive, Carol knew as well, and before Ronnie did.
The irony of the situation is that Dot has chosen to stick with Charlie and his legacy, rather than cleaving to her son, whom, despite everything, she loves unconditionally. To have her tell Nick he'd best remain dead was chilling; but remember, Dot is known for making bad judgement calls and wrong choices all the time. Nick is right. She doesn't know Charlie, and she doesn't know Ronnie at her worst.
This is going to be very interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment