You know, far be it from me to defend David Platt. He's a nasty little oik and a small part of me will enjoy seeing him get a good pasting. Not that we'll see it, because it's a mystery, innit? Anyway, that's not what this post is about. Joe. Joe's Addiction. I saw it coming months ago. David, naturally, managed to take full advantage of the situation after Graeme decided not to supply Joe after that one time. Too risky, he's turned his life around, as he said in last night's episode. David did not actually go out and buy the drugs, he stole the ones Joe already had, extorted money out of him and withheld them, teasing him with one at a time. In a way, David did Joe a favour by only giving him one or two even though Joe went spiralling into withdrawal. Oh sure, David twisted it when he told Audrey that he kept the pills from Joe to help him. That covers him when Joe (and Tina) blame David. There's a small grain of truth in David's story, just enough to be remotely believeable.
But David is NOT to blame. David did not go out and obtain drugs for Joe over and over, not even the once, and he didn't give those all to Joe either. Joe got addicted all by himself. Joe begged and pleaded Graeme and David to get him a supply. Joe stole from Gail. Joe broke into the health centre. All by himself. As of last night, he is taking responsibility and is not putting the blame on David, like Tina is but she's got a hate on for David anyway. She's bound to want to defend her Dad, and she's not going to want to believe the worst of him.
Maybe we'll see Joe and Peter go to the same addiction meeting. Maybe they'll forge an unexpected friendship or at lease support each other. I'd like to see Peter reach out to offer help when Joe's ready to take it. It would be realistic. It doesn't look like Joe is ready yet, but he will be.
We all know that David is NOT to blame. Fact. Joe's addiction is precisely that, JOE's addiction.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the reason David is getting so much flak for this is simple.He recognised Joe's predicament fairly early on. Did he try and help him through it? No. Did he alert someone else to Joe's problem? No. Did he try and support him through it himself? Not really, no.
He is a selfish, manipulative, nasty human being. His actions are only ever to serve his own means and he will take whatever he can get from any situation that arises. Including attempting to profit, or improve his own position through someone elses misfortune. He attempted to blackmail Joe to get him a better chance with Tina (living on cloud cuckoo land i know), stole his pills away from him, lied to Audrey about the EXACT circumstances around the whole sorry mess and maniplulated her into believing his side of the story.
The kid is poison.
Brillianty acted though!
David added coal to the fire, but he didn't start the fire, agreed.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't have as much faith in Joe McIntyre that you do Tvor! I don't think he'll be doing ANY serious addiction support therapy. His whole thing is "I only had a bad back..." No, Joe, you were a loser before you had a bad back. Well, he was, wasn't he? He never had a place to live, he was never a good worker etc. I think he's been on a slow downward spiral into loser-dom probably his entire life, and now he's hit rock-bottom, and I don't think he's going "up" from here.
I think in the beginning, no he won't be looking for support, but eventually? But you could be right, Yoork, i just hope it doesn't end up with him in the gutter and having him and Tina both leave the Street. I want Tina to stay!
ReplyDeleteThere is no chance of Michelle Keegan departing is there though?!
ReplyDeleteI am finding this embarrasing to watch. Joe is not addicted to Heroin and he could easily have bought painkillers at a pharmacy or on the internet, and the dreadful crying, wailing and wallowing in it is just awful. I personally dont like the character of Tina, she is never nice to anybody. I wonder if her mother and Joe's ex will be brought in.
ReplyDeleteI do think you're being a trifle harsh on poor old Joe, Yoork. I think that he could just about turn his life around and be happy with just the love of a good woman. He has that, but unfortunately the good woman in question is Gail Platt, who comes with a poisonous little villain of a son in tow that scuppers every relationship poor old Gail tries to form.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure about the comment that it isn't heroin. All we know is that it is an opiate-based prescription strength painkiller for which there is a black Market. But it seems unlikely even a soap med centre would go straight to dimorphine for back pain. Perhaps the pills were DF118's - another strong opiate?
ReplyDelete