Emmerdale: Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

Technically, I know it'll never be over but we won't have to watch Aaron sob for the foreseeable future. 

 

I thought Emma was a hoot tonight. I knew when he didn't cut that intercom off, Emma knew his secret. I am glad she is not going to do the cliche thing (too) and get him fake her ailment. I'm glad he's gonna just imply that he has more test he has to run on her. 

[DRW50]

The scenes with Diane today were nice in of themselves - the reminders of her early days in the village, her choosing to leave rather than be turfed out of the increasingly insular Dinglepack, starting her new home and life with Doug - but I’m not sure if any episode has better encapsulated just how much Kate Oates, and several Emmerdale producers before her, have made the Sugden family completely meaningless to the narrative and to each other. 

Robert was on - no mention of Diane. 

Gabby was on - no mention of her grandmother, instead just a casual sneering at “old people” and gloating from unpleasant Liv about how she’d taken that “old person’s” bedroom.

No mention of Andy, Victoria, or Bernice, even though Bernice was the reason she came to the village, and worked at the pub, in the first place. 

If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Diane had been all on her own all these years.

It’s sad to me just how little any Sugden interaction matters to the show at this point. We got more scenes when Andy was porking Victoria’s best friend than we do now. How does that work? And I can’t really assume it will get any better, because they have been so systematically put into their own little groups. So we get Andy talking about the importance of an adopted family when it’s time to move Chrissie’s story along, but he doesn’t actually give a damn anymore about that family. We get Robert hovering around the Dingles, who will (for good reason of course) never accept him as one of their own. We get Diane with Pollard and Doug. And we get Victoria...offcamera. 

Jack - and Kevin Laffan - would just shake his head at it all.

Edited May 12, 2016 by DRW50

[DRW50]

Two "new" September 1998 episodes of Emmerdale have been put on Youtube, meaning the entire week of episodes with the horse theft are now available. I'd never seen the two that show the theft/Kathy's hit and run, and the immediate aftermath, so this is a real treat. Claire King also gives a lovely performance in the second episode - her quiet dramatic work is one of the unsung reasons why Kim was such an enduring character. The second episode is also the debut of Tricia Stokes, brought in by new producer Kieran Roberts to liven up what he saw as a staid Woolpack. With Tricia and soon Bernice, the pub would never be the same again. These episodes also have a drunken karaoke brawl, and the conclusion of the Biff/Tara affair. A night of passion doesn't change the inevitable outcome, but does give one last reminder of the incredible chemistry Stuart Wade and Anna Brecon had (and some all too poorly lit glimpses of Stuart's chest).

 

(these are only 24 minutes each - the second half of each is some type of duplicate)

 

 

Please register in order to view this content

[Bright Eyes]

Episodes like today are clear reasons why the Dingles are awful creatures who make my eyes bleed. The only saving grace of those scenes was Nicola walking into the pub horrified. Robert's disintegration was most devastating. And of course Kate Oates had to once again leave us with one more instance where Robert could be a murderer. I'm a big fan of hers, but this stuff is rotgut.

[DRW50]

After the shambles Kate Oates made of Alicia's rape, I knew to expect the worst with Aaron's story, but I was unprepared for a child being raped for years somehow ending up being about the romantic travails of whether Aaron believes Robert killed Gordon. Worst of all, this story has been so poorly done and they've overloaded Aaron on so much repetitive, hollow misery, that a lot of fans are angry at him, the rape victim who just learned his abuser died and doesn't know how to process it. 

 

This story has repeatedly sent terrible messages to abuse victims and has repeatedly thrown any genuine emotion out the window in favor of melodrama. 

 

Kate Oates and Emmerdale should be ashamed of themselves for how they have handled this. Kate Oates should never be allowed to go anywhere near a sexual abuse storyline ever again. She's shockingly clueless and insensitive. 

[TimWil]

I thought tonight's episode was very moving, though, and a fitting tribute to Edna. Wonderful performances by the cast.

[DRW50]

The non-Edna stories were about what I expected, and thankfully didn’t take up much time.

Other than my annoyance that Edna’s family was not there (instead going on a “day trip” - even though Lily and her son had a terrible relationship after he found out she was his mother and even though Eve hadn’t had much contact with her father or Lily that we ever knew of), and a bit too much of Kerry being sour (they have gotten the balance wrong with this character in recent months), I thought the scenes were done well enough.

I wasn’t really expecting to be emotionally affected, but Pearl’s goodbye to her, and Sandy and Ashley saying their own goodbyes, were very poignant, and very real. I felt like I was there with them, somehow. 

I’m also glad they remembered her relationship with the Kings, and Jimmy’s fondness for her. It was a nicely done scene.

I also loved the last scene of Sandy celebrating with Edna, real or imagined, over helping Ashley through his crisis of faith. Freddie Jones and John Middleton are perhaps the most underrated acting pair in Emmerdale. 

And the beautiful shots of the countryside and community were also a nice touch.

So overall I’d say I’m pleased, and I think Shirley got the respect she deserved. As did Edna. 

Even after all these months, I miss her as much as ever. But I’m glad I got to say goodbye. 

[DRW50]

ITV put up Edna's first scene. Someone was kind enough to make a version that those of us not in the UK can see without using the cheat codes.

 

http://sorenkingsley.tumblr.com/post/144345999064

[Adamski]

Am skipping all of David's cancer storyline, as I just can't get past the fact that Alicia is out in Portugal alone while her ex - and her teenage son - trot around the village. Not to mention her rapist. I wish the show had been brave enough to lose Matthew Wolfenden and send David and Alicia off into the sunset together. 

 

Am also sick of Cain's rough justice - wish Pete had punched him back. 

 

Do we think a Kirin recast could work? While Pierce is still around there could be something to play.

[DRW50]

It could, yes. (the recast)

 

I don't think they should have let Matthew go just for Alicia. David is a good, decent, moral character, one the show needs, and also a sympathetic character (something else in relatively short supply). I do wish they had handled the Alicia situation better. I wish Natalie could have come back briefly for this story.

[TimWil]

I also agree that a Kirin recast could work very well.

[Adamski]

Yes, that is a fair point, characters with a sense of morality are in short supply on the show. I did howl at Finn's line to Pete: "Half the staff in here have done time - it's like the cast of Chicago behind that bar."

[TimWil]

Why would Aaron turn down £250k? So stupid. I hate when soap characters do this. It's unrealistic. So Liv will inherit £500k and at least two guys will try to kill her for her money. Or Charity might kidnap her for ransom.

reply 212

a few seconds ago

Edited May 18, 2016 by TimWil

[Adamski]

Did they explain how Gordon came to have that money to leave in the first place? They all seemed to accept it very readily. 

Am loving all the Pierce/Rhona/Vanessa/Rakesh psychodrama. 

 

[DRW50]

Other than Home Farm and Jai and Megan, I enjoyed the episode. One thing I noticed which feels fairly infrequent now is that almost everything was connected - Carly and Marlon talked early on, then Carly got into it with Jai, then went to see Tracy, while Marlon was involved in Ashley's story. It actually seemed like a community. 

I feel like Diane/Doug/Eric all at the B&B is a bit full-on, but I'm glad they're addressing the Tracy issue (I hope she doesn't move in with David - maybe she could live with Vanessa and [do Leyla and Carly still live there too?]). I will say Diane adds some presence to the B&B. 

Everything with Ashley is so hard to watch, but I appreciate the family drama aspect of it. You can see how hard this is for everyone, this fading away. 

Is it me or did that social worker look a lot like Tess? Was that intentional?