The Barmaid and the Idiot: Mon June 6, 2011 Corrie Episode Review

7:30

Written by Ellen Taylor, directed by Laurence Moody

In the Rovers, Steve cries to Lloyd that he might have lost Becky for good.  Isn’t that “for good” though?  Roy’s mum comes into the Rovers to tell Steve that Becky’s been “squatting in her son’s cafe.”  Meanwhile, the Barlow’s, especially Deirdre, fight back tears as they try to make sense of their demolished living room after hurricane Becky stormed through.  Deirdre thinks they should call the police, but Tracy figures that insurance will cover it and tries not to get Becky in trouble?  Tracy wants Steve onside for custody of Amy but Deirdre wants justice for her things.  Steve finds Becky at Roy’s and she’s completely depressed over Max and doesn’t even listen to Steve’s apology.  Becky wonders what will happen to Max now and tells Steve to get out and sobs in the cafe. 

Later in the Rovers, Tracy tells Steve she came to see if he’s alright and tells him how she persuaded Deirdre not to press charges.  Tracy tells Steve that she just wants to be a good parent and tells him she’ll bring Amy around later to cheer him up.  At the cafe, Sylvie tells Becky to get out of Roy’s cafe and to stop wallowing.  Sylvie says she knows that Steve loves her and if she’s willing to throw away her marriage then she’ll be the heartless cow in thirty years time.  Trust her, she knows. Becky returns home to find Steve, Tracy and Amy playing happy families in the Rovers living room and looks on in sadness while Steve follows after her. 

Fiz is happy to be cradling baby Hope again in hospital after the whole John-commits-suicide-or-does-he-disappear business.  The detective arrives to tell Fiz that it’s been discovered that John was pretending to be Colin Fishwick in a teaching job last year but Fiz plays dumb telling him she thought Colin left for Canada and that’s the last she’d heard.  The detective doesn’t seem so sure she doesn’t know anything but leaves anyway.  Fiz is told by the doctors that she can be discharged now and return home.

Norris’ nose gets bent out of shape when Dennis is “working” at The Kabin.  He reads the paper and the front page news is on the kidnapping and murder slash disappearance of John Stape and are in awe.  Sally comes in and already knowing the news feels it’s terrible that Rosie has to re-live it all.  At least Rosie got some cash – what did Chesney and the Hoyle’s get?!  Norris figures that Fiz was John’s accomplice and Sally agrees.  As usual, Norris is half-right.  Norris asks Julie if Fiz was in on John’s criminal activities.  Julie and Chesney stand up for Fiz to the loose-lipped newsagent. 

Later, the detective comes to see Fiz and they tell him that they’ve had a spotting of John and that he’s boarded a ferry.  The detective wants to talk to Fiz about John Fishwick.  Uh-oh.  The detective tells Fiz that someone has claimed Joy’s inheritance with Colin’s name.  Fiz claims complete ignorance to the situation but the detective tells her how he was speaking to a solicitor that said a woman calling herself Mrs. Colin Fishwick claimed Joy’s inheritance on her husbands behalf.  She also attended Joy’s funeral and according to him that woman has long wavy red hair and a young premature baby.  Fiz buckles and tells the detective she’ll tell him everything.  She tells him how John stole Colin’s documents to get a teaching account and how Colin found out and confronted John then Colin had a heart attack and died.  That’s what John told her – he swore he didn’t kill him.  John then was scared that his fraud would come out so he hid the body under the factory floor of Underworld but she didn’t know any of this until just lately.   She found John with the body last week when they dug up the body at Underworld and how John coerced her into disposing the body.  Fiz pleads with Chesney that she didn’t know what to do as she gets arrested by the detective.  Fiz is taken into the police car crying for Ches and her baby. 

The Alahan’s are back on our screen for anyone who missed them.  It would seem that Sunita’s aunts are back and here for a visit.  This begs the question – where on earth are they going to sleep?  As Sunita says she barely has room to swing a cat in there.  Let’s hope she never gets a cat.  Dev wants to lie to the aunties about their financial situation and marital situation since on Corrie, lying is always the best policy and first solution.  The aunties arrive and are lied to about why they live in this small house now as opposed to “their” bigger old house.  The aunties complain about sleeping in a camper bed in the Alahan’s so Sunita gives up their bedroom. 

Xin is looking for jobs, but doesn’t want to waitress.  Graeme apologies to Xin for things turning out as they did.  Xin’s attempts at humour are thwarted by a humourless Graeme.  She says she needs to pack and sends him to the Rovers.  Tina is excited for Xin to leave but Graeme is just awkward.  David asks Graeme what’s the matter and Graeme tells him that he slept with Xin.  David thinks this whole thing is absolutely hilarious but Graeme is horrified.  David doesn’t understand why he’s so upset and he should just keep mum about it – unless he’s not sure it was a mistake. 

8:30

Written by Debbie Oates, directed by Laurence Moody

Steve begs Becky to come back but she continues to sulk.  Steve tells her that everything could have gone the other way if David hadn’t messed things up.  Everything is always someone else’s fault, isn’t it Steve?  Why doesn’t he just admit that he did this for his daughter, end of.  He coaxes Becky back in for a pint together in a patronizing way but she doesn’t follow.  She comes back eventually and is greeted happily by Amy who asks her to help her with her puzzle.  Tracy takes Amy home on Steve’s request.  Becky says that she hates Steve but Steve figures they’ll get through since they’ve gotten through mistakes before.  Steve tells her to think of the future and how they’d be nothing apart.  Steve says they’ll fight for Max, but Becky knows they’ll lose.  Becky says she can’t be at the Rovers because it reminds her of how Max will never be there.  Steve says they can move to a flat or something. Becky says if they move it has to be somewhere far, far away and completely new.  Becky wants to start a new pub called ‘The Barmaid and the Idiot.”  I’ll let you figure out who’s-who.  Becky wants to leave with Amy but Steve figures he can’t rip her away all of that.  Steve doesn’t want to leave Amy and move far, far away.  Becky thinks they’ll fall apart if they stay around there.  Later, Becky tells Steve she’s been upstairs packing.  She tells Steve not to follow her, and hands him her wedding ring and leaves. 

At the police station, Fiz takes her interview with the detectives.  Fiz tells them the play-by-play of what happened when she discovered John with Colin’s body.  Fiz says the smell was terrible and from John’s face she knew something bad would happen.  She didn’t call the police because John said if she did they’d both go to prison.  Fiz says she’d go to prison over Joy’s money, even though she didn’t keep it.  She tells the police that she wanted to put it back, so she gave it to charity instead.  The detective wonders why John would dispose of a body of someone he didn’t kill just to avoid awkward questions about money.  Fiz begs not to be sent to prison.  The detective asks where Colin’s body is and Fiz tells him the canal.  Fiz is brought to the canal with the police to find out where the body is.  They have divers look for Colin’s remains as Fiz asks aloud what will happen to her now. 

Later at home, Chesney feels bad about just standing there when Fiz was taken away by police and wants to tell her that he’s on her side.  Katy thinks he’s in no state to do so and should just leave a message.  Chesney is enraged that Stape is running around while Fiz’s going down for murder.  Back at the station, the detectives try to suss Fiz out and figure out what kind of person she is.  Fiz blames all on John and how he kidnapped Chesney.  She says she only did it for Hope and how she’d be alone if she was in jail.  The detective thinks that Fiz was being reckless by letting John continue to assume Colin’s identity when she found out about it.  He figures that they BOTH knew that Colin wasn’t thousands of miles away in Canada, but a few yards away under Underworld.  Fiz attests that she didn’t know Colin was dead.  They start all over again.  Fiz begs them to let her go but the detective arrests her on suspicion of fraud by false representation.  Fiz’s solicitor tells her not to say anything else. 

At the factory, Carla tries to get into her office to do some work, but is told by Owen that it’s not her office, it’s a building site.  They’re both corrected by police who tell them that it’s actually a crime scene. 

Cheryl is excited about their move into No.13 and has the paint and rollers laid out for Lloyd.  Lloyd gets drunk instead of starting to paint, so much that he steps into the paint tray with his shoe on.  So much for Cheryl’s gift for him doing the decorating of a 42” plasma TV.  He hasn’t even done any work!  But seriously, what did she expect?

The Alahan’s treat the aunties to dinner at Nick’s Bistro where they proceed to outspend each other on their meals.  I’m sure Dev’s wallet is just shrivelling as they talk.  Dev’s cards are all declined at the restaurant and Dev has Sunita take the aunties home.  Dev admits that he has a cash flow issue and he can get Cheryl some money from the bank in the morning.  Sunita suggests to her aunts that they all just chip in but the aunties are flabbergasted at that suggestion.  Sunita admits that the house they’re staying in is the one that they live in and Dev apologizes for lying. 

HIGHLIGHTS

- Sylvie to Steve: “Your wife has been squatting in my son’s cafe.”

- Dev imitating Sunita’s aunts: “Oh, not married! She’s a hus-sy.”

- Sylvie showing somewhat of a softer side. 

- Amy happy to see Becky. 

LOWLIGHTS

- The Barlow’s should TOTALLY have called the police on Becky.  They’re entitled to their insurance claim!  The complete disrespect Tracy shows for her parents home and belongings!  Ugh.

- Did anyone notice that Becky’s looking a LOT how she looked when she first arrived on the cobbles?  Is this on purpose as though she’s supposed to be coming full circle again by time she leaves?  Will Slug show up and take her off into the cider-tinted sunset eventually?  (stay tuned for a post)

- Tracy’s such a manipulative little brat!

- Poor Fiz getting taken away by the police.  Ugh.  I always knew John Stape was a bad’un and she was a dumb’un. 

- Why does Steve always have to be the one to grovel and make excuses for what he does to Becky?  She ruins his life and he’s set apologizing for it.  It WAS best that Max be taken to live in a better place without rowing and obscenities. 

- Poor Carla!  Running that factory has been a nightmare from the start.  First the builders, now it’s a crime scene!  She’ll never make production deadlines now.