Coronation Street Blog: How do you solve a problem like Maria's

Sunday, 24 April 2011

How do you solve a problem like Maria's

Friday night's episodes had Frank pull back from the factory partnership deal and then reconsider, much to Carla's delight. Maria doesn't know about that yet. There were some lovely scenes this week, between Maria and Sean and Maria and Kirk. I love it that Sean is so protective of her but Maria, oh Maria... it's all a bit of a mess, isn't it, girl?

Did Maria overreact? Was she justified in going to the police? Should Carla take on any of the blame for this situation? Yes, Yes and Yes, I think.

14 comments:

Adam Rekitt said...: This story makes my blood boil. Corrie is on pre-watershed, so cannot show a really frightening, clear cut attempted rape. So it's inevitable that Maria is going to be seen to be overreacting. And it's clear that the script writers intended it to be an attempted rape, otherwise Maria would have claimed to have been assaulted, which is what we actually saw.

Involving the police just seemed to be a device to elicit sympathy for Frank, with all that whining about how humiliating it was to be arrested. We all knew what the outcome would be, as did Maria the day after the incident. The passage of time seems to have rotted her brain and made her think that it was more likely that Frank would be prosecuted if she reported "the crime" weeks after it happened.

One of Carla's redeeming features is that she can be compassionate and supportive. That's out of the window in this though, as Carla gets amnesia and forgots all she said and did around the time of the incident, like accusing Maria of going to Frank's all dolled up, when she told her to take the day off and buy a provocative dress.

I don't know what the producers are playing at. They seem to be conveying some very dodgy ideas about sexual assaults on women and the support such victims can expect. And we are also left with Frank. He's clearly meant to be an attempted rapist and how is that reedeemable? Whatever he does, or says, however good the performance, he will never be likeable or even acceptable, because he should be behind bars.; 24 April 2011 at 16:35
abbyk said...: I agree with you, Tvor. Everybody was wrong - Frank for assuming he had a green light, Carla for sending an inexperienced employee out with a directive to flirt, and Maria, who is not a daft 15 year old, for following Carla's inane instructions in the first place, and then not reporting it to the police right away.

As for employment, how about a little of that dish that's best served cold? Since Aud is handing David the keys to the kingdom, why not have Maria become Claud's new Senior Stylist? She can take what she knows best and make some real money, with delicious story possibilities.; 24 April 2011 at 16:39
Frosty the Snowman said...: The whole story has been ridiculous and as for the watershed, Emmerdale is on even earlier but their rape story was done sensitively and excellently acted. Maria to me is just a pointless appendage with a constant whining voice that just grates. Unfortunately like Claire before her when the actress returned from maternity leave she just didnt seem to fit in any longer and is a spare part. I seriously feel that Maria should be written out now to return to Ireland with baby Liam.; 24 April 2011 at 16:57
Frosty the Snowman said...: The whole story has been ridiculous and as for the watershed, Emmerdale is on even earlier but their rape story was done sensitively and excellently acted. You dont have to actually SEE something happening to know it has. Maria to me is just a pointless appendage with a constant whining voice that just grates. Unfortunately like Claire before her when the actress returned from maternity leave she just didnt seem to fit in any longer and is a spare part. I seriously feel that Maria should be written out now to return to Ireland with baby Liam.; 24 April 2011 at 16:58
Adam Rekitt said...: Yes, Frosty. You made the point I was trying to make better than I did. It is clear that we are meant to think Frank attempted to rape Maria. But it was so badly written, directed and acted that many viewers don't think that's what happened and so Maria is seen to be overreacting.; 24 April 2011 at 17:29
Dolly Tubb said...: I can only agree with all that's been said. This is a very serious storyline with far-reaching consequences and yet it is all being undermined and trivialised by poor script writing and appalling acting; it is an insult of a story.; 24 April 2011 at 17:57
Anonymous said...: Agreed. But unfortunatly I don't think this will be the last we hear of this sotryline, Maria's a character who like to whine and whimper about her misfortune for a long time.
Attempted rape is a serious problem but the execution of the scenes was rubbish. She should have gone to the police when Carla suggested, Frank would've left embarrased, he would never have talked Carla round and I'm sure Frank was not the only available contract to Underworld throughout the whole of England.; 24 April 2011 at 20:24
gab said...: i dont think this story is over with yet or it would be completely careless to portray attempted rape being forgiven and forgotten

anyway the way he had words with sean makes me think theres more to come; 24 April 2011 at 21:07
Ref11 said...: Agree with Frosty, Maria does not and has not fitted in since her return, She hasnt smiled since she gave birth. I want to slap her whinning face everytime she comes on screen, time she left; 24 April 2011 at 21:37
Anonymous said...: Good post Tvor. Phoning the police was never going to end well for Maria, but I can understand how she feels, so I don't blame her for going. You also summed up why I dislike Carla, she's definitely complicit in all this.

I don't think TPTB have taken Maria's character in the right direction since Samia's maternity leave. Working in the factory with Carla was just so unlikely. I agree with abbyk, it would be a great idea if Maria went to work for Claudia. I've always liked Maria, and don't consider her a spare part at all - she has lots of links to the Street and her scenes with someone like Sean (who she's never been that pally with) showed that.; 24 April 2011 at 23:12
Tvor said...: Toyah's rape was very well done and very graphic in the aftermath, with blood all over her face. It was handled extremely well and there was no two ways about it. It was what it was.

Attempted "date" rape is serious, I am not downplaying that, but yes, the way it's been written here, has made it seem more like Maria has overreacted especially after Frank apologized genuinely and we haven't seen any sign of him getting physically angry and rough with her though she persists in accusing him. As i said, Maria felt threatened and as such, should have gone to the police straight away no matter what Carla said. It would have given her case more credibility in the eyes of the police.; 25 April 2011 at 00:05
Adam Rekitt said...: How do you apologise for attempting to rape someone?

We know that Maria went to Frank's on business with not the tiniest hint of wanting to have sex with him. She clearly stated that she was not interested in Frank early in the evening. When Frank attacked her, she clearly said no. Did Frank stop then? No. (When David attacked Tina, he stopped when Tina said no and David immediately apologised. That was misreading the signals).

Maria had to struggle to free herself from Frank. She then ran out into the street and if I remember rightly flagged down a car to ask for help.

Maria has consistently claimed Frank attempted to rape her and has persisted in that story for weeks to the extent of calling the police. Frank claims he "misread the signals" and we viewers know he is lying. It is clear that the intention was to depict an attempted rape.

That many viewers think Maria is overreacting to some harmless drunken lunge is just testament to the rotten writing, acting and directing.

This disgrace of a story is sending out all sorts of appalling messages, the worst being it’s easy to get away with attempted rape. Frank probably will get his come-uppance in the end, but at the moment it's Maria who has lost her job, has not had justice and is being criticised for her actions!

I agree with Dolly Tubb. A serious offence is being trivialised. The whole story is inept and offensive.; 25 April 2011 at 11:28
Beth said...: This is a terrible storyline. I hate it. Viewers are torn between Frank and Maria's side. This is due to the pre watershed time of the show, the writers have made a hash of the story and the edges are so blurred, I'm really not sure if it's attempted rape, assault or if Frank really is genuine in his apology or what. Then she wouldn’t go to the police because she accepted his apology and said so. The story seems all over the place.

Secondly Samia is a weak and poor actress that it's hard to feel sympathy for Maria when all the actress is bringing to the role is dirty looks, whining and the occasional grabbing of handbag and storming out. Then if I feel sympathy for Frank for these reasons then it's even worse.

Then what got me was when Chris owned up to beating Cheryl, his confession was brushed aside. So is that ok with Maria? When Chris was talking about it was as though the scriptwriters were trying to justify his actions - either that or they are now sorry that they wrote him in as a “wife beater” as it’s no longer needed now Cheryl and Lloyd have settled down and are now giving him a personality transplant. Disgusting if they are and an insult to women who have suffered at the hands of men like this.

Maria’s got a right knack of picking men. Liam, Tony, Charlie Stubbs now Chris!; 25 April 2011 at 14:43
Anonymous said...: I don't know, but I am starting to think that this story is deliberately murky and ambiguous. There have been lots of different opinions on whether it was attempted rape, or not etc. I think it's a good storyline in this respect. And I don't think we are supposed to know whether Frank's apology is genuine, this story is definitely unfinished. I actually think Samia Smith is a good actress, but ultimately she can only follow the script, and if that tells her to whine and give dirty looks then so be it.; 25 April 2011 at 22:43