I thought that was a very good episode with which to start the week, which sort of amazed me, considering it was a Peter Matessi episode, and I usually don't rate him as a writer; but once again, the pace was good, the characterisation spot on, and from which we learned a lot about both new and existing characters. There was just one bit of bad continuity, but that was minor.
This was a genuinely good episode, even if I'm not overly fond of the storyline.
You see, as I've said elsewhere, I think there's been a skewered meme about parents and children this time under DTC's tenure. There's a worrying tendency to cast aside adoptive or legal parents in favour of people who've fathered of given birth to children and then either adopted them out or abandoned them. There's a subtle encouragment for such children to cast aside the people who've nurtured and loved them in favour of the sperm donor and/or incubator who gave them life.
That doesn't make a parent, and this incipient storyline is just another piss poor excuse for a rapist to hang around like a bad smell.
The Main Emphasis
The Masoods and the Carters Are Now Indelibly Linked. The Carters have extended their tentacles into the realm of the Masood family dynamic now, with the discovery of Shabnam's secret child and the fact that Dean was the father. Masood seems a tad uneasy, but he's willing to accept Kush's sudden proposal and welcome him into the family; however, he doesn't reckon on Shirley sitting in the café like Banquo's ghost, willing to put the mockers any happiness there might be in the Masood household. Shirley, as we ascertained from last week, doesn't believe Shabnam at all.
Don't you think there's something missing? She hisses.
And so we get the great confrontation, and it was contrived, yet clever of the writer to ensure that Nancy was there, as Tamwar's guest, during the reveal. Her face was a picture when the truth came out that, not only did Shabnam have a child, but also that that child's father was none other than Dean.
It was easier for Masood to assume Dean had raped Shabnam, or that, since she'd been drunk at the time, that he'd taken advantage of her without her knowing what she was doing, but Shabnam is quick to deny all of that.
And here's where the slight discrepancy creeps in ...
Masood: Seven years ago ... you were here ... in this house ... pregnant ... with your mother ... and you said nothing?
Shabnam nodded affirmatively.
Hang on ... I remember when Shabnam left. She sat and spoke with Dawn about traveling, about going to Pakistan and working in an orphanage. I thought Shabnam left Walford and instead of going directly to Pakistan, she landed herself in Bow, where she ran into a bitter and twisted Dean, who'd probably gone there directly from his brutal meeting with Shirley after having been released from prison, and there the encounter in the loo of the club took place. Anyway, she must have remained there or thereabouts until the child was born and deposited on the doorstep of Fatima and Imzamam.
Instead, in tonight's episode, the encounter happened when Shabnam was still at home, that she was pregnant and panicking in the house with Zainab, and that this was behind her reason for leaving.
Shabnam is insistent that the child was adopted out, by Fatima and Imzamam, whom she thought would keep the child; and she used this as a means of throwing some home truths in Masood's face. He's understandably angry with her, and she uses that anger as a defence mechanism, telling him she adopted her child out because she recognised she could never be a good parent, unlike Masood, who liked to present himself as such but never gives any sort of compassion or understanding to his children, only anger.
Shabnam says she only returned from Pakistan because Masood was drinking, gambling and hitting Tamwar. Funny. I thought Masood brought her back after his mother's funeral. The drinking, gambling and hitting on Tamwar didn't start until Shabnam was entrenched in the household and showing her big disapproval of Masood seeing a white woman (Carol). Shabnam, herself, knew exactly where her pregnancy would place her in her culture and her religion, and she did the only thing she thought would save face.
Kush, at least, has forgiven and accepted her. He loves her.
Nitin Ganatra was tonight's main star - a man confused and angry at the revelation that he had another grandchild, and yet, recognising his shortcomings as a father and husband. It took removing his children from his presence and the calming influence of Fatima and some tea to get him to talk about the situation. There was another revelation to come, when Mas mused about how Imzamam would sit in judgement of him, yet again, on this situation. That's when Fatima confesses that Imzamam has left her and returned for good to Pakistan. (I'll bet her throwing off the burkha did it for him). Now, she's left alone with their son, Ali - but wasn't there a daughter as well? I seem to remember a child of either sex. What happened to the daughter?
Fatima elicits a bit of sexual tension in wondering if she's married the wrong brother, assuring Masood that he was, indeed, a good man, in the circumstances. Then she confesses that Shabnam's child hasn't been adopted, and that she, Fatima, knows where she is.
My guess is that, as the child is mixed race, adoption may have been hard, and it means that she's with foster carers, which means - yes, it would be possible to re-connect with the child; but not without a thorough vetting by Social Services, of both Shabnam and Dean.
I loved Nancy's presence throughout - silent, mouth agape in worry and disbelief. I kept expecting her to run away, but she didn't. She stuck by Tamwar, and her reaction when they all repaired to the pub was that she certainly was glad it wasn't just her family who were totally bonkers, and topped it off with some champagne, including non-alcoholic champagne, for Tamwar and Shabnam.
The Start of Something Big. There were two stories within this main story tonight, the first being Martin and Stacey's becoming flatmates.
Martin is socially gauche. If that bitch Sonia ...
... thinks Martin's attitude toward her dampened her own self-esteem, I think the opposite is true. Martin's experience with women is limited. He married the first woman with whom he'd had sex, he'd had a girlfriend briefly before marrying Sonia, and afterward, he had a brief fling with Carly Wicks and was stalked by a girl. He's thirty, single again for the first time since he was twenty-one, he's attracted to this young woman, and he doesn't know how to make his feelings known. He hasn't yet sussed that, in many instances, relationships which last, are often slow-burners.
I thought it was a bit brusque of Stacey to hand him the keys and imply that she needed a flatmate to babysit her child and for companionship. Companionship is one thing, but to expect him to babysit Lily is also a bit much. The touching of the knee was totally gauche, but then, Bradley, in his early days of knowing Stacey, often had moments like that; but his subsequent apology was heart-rending. Sonia's convinced him that he's the ultimate turn-off for women, and he believes it.
I've no objection to Stacey charging him rent. That's her right, but to expect him to clean et al and to charge him for not doing so is, once again, a bit much. A little compassion regarding his situation wouldn't go amiss either.
The fact that Martin's aim is to marry Stacey within the year is telling. She's attracted to Kush, who's in love with Shabnam. This is reminiscent of Ian-Cindy-Wicksy without the pregnancy. Martin is going to be used by Stacey, and that's going to be very bad for Martin.
The other sub-story in this tale was Nancy edging a proposal out of Mick for Linda, so there's a Carter wedding on the horizon.
Eeyore.
Let me just say this: Donna is vile. She's the worst sort of person who hides behind her disability and uses this as an excuse to say anything rude she wants about anyone. She was well out of order in referring to Denise as a dog, and I was totally Team Kim when she punched a hole in her wheelchair.
Vincent is an appalling villain played by an appalling actor. I keep expecting him to do pliés across the Square, so fey is he. It's obvious that he wants to keep Kim sweet, whilst not committing to her, in order to see Pearl - whom I assume was either being babysat by Tina or Buster as Shirley was in the café. He knows the only way to seeing Pearl is through Kim. Kim's been married for a year now. She should start divorce proceedings.
This shit with Phil is ridiculous as well. I can't understand the scope of it. So he's sussed that Ronnie's killed Carl White. There was some heavy foreshadowing tonight when he remarked to Phil that he was enjoying the atmosphere of a bustling pub. Watch this space. This guy is obviously supposed to be a heavier version of Michael Moon, but he's not cutting the mustard.
Clever of Phil, however, to overhear Kim's witterings about assault enough, to call in a favour with some dodgy copper and have Vincent arrested.
Really, this back-and-forth isn't interesting at all.
Watchable episode, but Eeyore and his sister Lady Farquaad, can take a running jump.
This was a genuinely good episode, even if I'm not overly fond of the storyline.
You see, as I've said elsewhere, I think there's been a skewered meme about parents and children this time under DTC's tenure. There's a worrying tendency to cast aside adoptive or legal parents in favour of people who've fathered of given birth to children and then either adopted them out or abandoned them. There's a subtle encouragment for such children to cast aside the people who've nurtured and loved them in favour of the sperm donor and/or incubator who gave them life.
That doesn't make a parent, and this incipient storyline is just another piss poor excuse for a rapist to hang around like a bad smell.
The Main Emphasis
The Masoods and the Carters Are Now Indelibly Linked. The Carters have extended their tentacles into the realm of the Masood family dynamic now, with the discovery of Shabnam's secret child and the fact that Dean was the father. Masood seems a tad uneasy, but he's willing to accept Kush's sudden proposal and welcome him into the family; however, he doesn't reckon on Shirley sitting in the café like Banquo's ghost, willing to put the mockers any happiness there might be in the Masood household. Shirley, as we ascertained from last week, doesn't believe Shabnam at all.
Don't you think there's something missing? She hisses.
And so we get the great confrontation, and it was contrived, yet clever of the writer to ensure that Nancy was there, as Tamwar's guest, during the reveal. Her face was a picture when the truth came out that, not only did Shabnam have a child, but also that that child's father was none other than Dean.
It was easier for Masood to assume Dean had raped Shabnam, or that, since she'd been drunk at the time, that he'd taken advantage of her without her knowing what she was doing, but Shabnam is quick to deny all of that.
And here's where the slight discrepancy creeps in ...
Masood: Seven years ago ... you were here ... in this house ... pregnant ... with your mother ... and you said nothing?
Shabnam nodded affirmatively.
Hang on ... I remember when Shabnam left. She sat and spoke with Dawn about traveling, about going to Pakistan and working in an orphanage. I thought Shabnam left Walford and instead of going directly to Pakistan, she landed herself in Bow, where she ran into a bitter and twisted Dean, who'd probably gone there directly from his brutal meeting with Shirley after having been released from prison, and there the encounter in the loo of the club took place. Anyway, she must have remained there or thereabouts until the child was born and deposited on the doorstep of Fatima and Imzamam.
Instead, in tonight's episode, the encounter happened when Shabnam was still at home, that she was pregnant and panicking in the house with Zainab, and that this was behind her reason for leaving.
Shabnam is insistent that the child was adopted out, by Fatima and Imzamam, whom she thought would keep the child; and she used this as a means of throwing some home truths in Masood's face. He's understandably angry with her, and she uses that anger as a defence mechanism, telling him she adopted her child out because she recognised she could never be a good parent, unlike Masood, who liked to present himself as such but never gives any sort of compassion or understanding to his children, only anger.
Shabnam says she only returned from Pakistan because Masood was drinking, gambling and hitting Tamwar. Funny. I thought Masood brought her back after his mother's funeral. The drinking, gambling and hitting on Tamwar didn't start until Shabnam was entrenched in the household and showing her big disapproval of Masood seeing a white woman (Carol). Shabnam, herself, knew exactly where her pregnancy would place her in her culture and her religion, and she did the only thing she thought would save face.
Kush, at least, has forgiven and accepted her. He loves her.
Nitin Ganatra was tonight's main star - a man confused and angry at the revelation that he had another grandchild, and yet, recognising his shortcomings as a father and husband. It took removing his children from his presence and the calming influence of Fatima and some tea to get him to talk about the situation. There was another revelation to come, when Mas mused about how Imzamam would sit in judgement of him, yet again, on this situation. That's when Fatima confesses that Imzamam has left her and returned for good to Pakistan. (I'll bet her throwing off the burkha did it for him). Now, she's left alone with their son, Ali - but wasn't there a daughter as well? I seem to remember a child of either sex. What happened to the daughter?
Fatima elicits a bit of sexual tension in wondering if she's married the wrong brother, assuring Masood that he was, indeed, a good man, in the circumstances. Then she confesses that Shabnam's child hasn't been adopted, and that she, Fatima, knows where she is.
My guess is that, as the child is mixed race, adoption may have been hard, and it means that she's with foster carers, which means - yes, it would be possible to re-connect with the child; but not without a thorough vetting by Social Services, of both Shabnam and Dean.
I loved Nancy's presence throughout - silent, mouth agape in worry and disbelief. I kept expecting her to run away, but she didn't. She stuck by Tamwar, and her reaction when they all repaired to the pub was that she certainly was glad it wasn't just her family who were totally bonkers, and topped it off with some champagne, including non-alcoholic champagne, for Tamwar and Shabnam.
The Start of Something Big. There were two stories within this main story tonight, the first being Martin and Stacey's becoming flatmates.
Martin is socially gauche. If that bitch Sonia ...
... thinks Martin's attitude toward her dampened her own self-esteem, I think the opposite is true. Martin's experience with women is limited. He married the first woman with whom he'd had sex, he'd had a girlfriend briefly before marrying Sonia, and afterward, he had a brief fling with Carly Wicks and was stalked by a girl. He's thirty, single again for the first time since he was twenty-one, he's attracted to this young woman, and he doesn't know how to make his feelings known. He hasn't yet sussed that, in many instances, relationships which last, are often slow-burners.
I thought it was a bit brusque of Stacey to hand him the keys and imply that she needed a flatmate to babysit her child and for companionship. Companionship is one thing, but to expect him to babysit Lily is also a bit much. The touching of the knee was totally gauche, but then, Bradley, in his early days of knowing Stacey, often had moments like that; but his subsequent apology was heart-rending. Sonia's convinced him that he's the ultimate turn-off for women, and he believes it.
I've no objection to Stacey charging him rent. That's her right, but to expect him to clean et al and to charge him for not doing so is, once again, a bit much. A little compassion regarding his situation wouldn't go amiss either.
The fact that Martin's aim is to marry Stacey within the year is telling. She's attracted to Kush, who's in love with Shabnam. This is reminiscent of Ian-Cindy-Wicksy without the pregnancy. Martin is going to be used by Stacey, and that's going to be very bad for Martin.
The other sub-story in this tale was Nancy edging a proposal out of Mick for Linda, so there's a Carter wedding on the horizon.
Eeyore.
Let me just say this: Donna is vile. She's the worst sort of person who hides behind her disability and uses this as an excuse to say anything rude she wants about anyone. She was well out of order in referring to Denise as a dog, and I was totally Team Kim when she punched a hole in her wheelchair.
Vincent is an appalling villain played by an appalling actor. I keep expecting him to do pliés across the Square, so fey is he. It's obvious that he wants to keep Kim sweet, whilst not committing to her, in order to see Pearl - whom I assume was either being babysat by Tina or Buster as Shirley was in the café. He knows the only way to seeing Pearl is through Kim. Kim's been married for a year now. She should start divorce proceedings.
This shit with Phil is ridiculous as well. I can't understand the scope of it. So he's sussed that Ronnie's killed Carl White. There was some heavy foreshadowing tonight when he remarked to Phil that he was enjoying the atmosphere of a bustling pub. Watch this space. This guy is obviously supposed to be a heavier version of Michael Moon, but he's not cutting the mustard.
Clever of Phil, however, to overhear Kim's witterings about assault enough, to call in a favour with some dodgy copper and have Vincent arrested.
Really, this back-and-forth isn't interesting at all.
Watchable episode, but Eeyore and his sister Lady Farquaad, can take a running jump.
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