Dim Sum, Lose Some: Mon June 13, 2011 Corrie Episode Review

7:30

Written by John Kerr, directed by Graeme Harper

Tina wakes up in tears on the sofa in her newly reclaimed flat.  Meanwhile, Graeme and Xin wake up in a mess on the sofa at the Platt’s.  Kylie blasts Tina, but is reminded by an offended looking Xin that Tina’s still her friend.  Wow, if that’s how Xin treats her friends I don’t want to be her enemy.  Perhaps there’s a REAL reason she didn’t want to get deported back to China. Gail not liking to have Tina hurt, after all she’s been to reminds Graeme of it.   Xin tells Graeme  Rita is arrives at the flat to comfort Tina where Tina tells her how much she hates Graeme and Xin.  Tina figures Graeme didn’t love her enough.  Tina goes to work, but Kylie and David come in and Kylie can’t stand by rub Tina’s face in Graeme leaving her for Xin.   Kylie pushes Tina too far and the two girls cat fight until Steve breaks them up and almost fires Tina over it.  Graeme later returns to the flat to get some of his things and Tina grates him over where they slept together, but Graeme says he did care about her and that it’s not his fault he fell in love with Xin.  Graeme felt he was always a safe bet for her and that she never needed him – but Xin does.  Tina threatens Graeme to report he and Xin to immigration.  She tells Graeme to get out, and he leaves.  He goes right to Chez Platt and tells Xin to pack her bags they must flee since Tina is going to call them in.  Graeme lets Gail in on their secret and now she understand why they’re there.  They frantically pack, but Gail says that she’ll have a word with Tina.  

Sean is being a big girl about working back at the factory where he could be “inches away” from where a dead body was.  Marcus also accuses Sean of being a wimp, but tells him some good news. He’s been due some tax money and wants to treat Sean to two weeks in Las Vegas, which grabs him quite nicely.  Sean gets a call later with some bad news.  Violet’s been in a car crash and she’s injured.  Violet’s grandmother is watching Dylan in the meantime.  Later, Sean confides in Eileen that he wants to look after Dylan while Violet’s recuperating but he’s afraid of what Marcus will think about it since they just got back together.  Eileen encourages him to just as Marcus, but later she goes behind Sean’s back and tells Marcus of the situation.  Good news, because Marcus would love to have Dylan around and tells Sean as much. 

At the factory, the girls are mostly freaked out by their returning to work in someone’s former grave.  Business as usual, Carla as usual wants folk to forget it and work.  Julie says it’s all a bit peculiar, so Carla points out where she thinks the body was.  Fiz actually returns to Underworld as we all thought she would, since she hasn’t got one of those money trees in the backyard like Gail McIntyre.  Eileen points out later that Fiz was really brave for coming in after all that’s happened.  Fiz was really only slighted by two people: the predictable Sally Webster and the prickly Sylvie Cropper. 

James visits Sophie at work to tell her that the charity has forgiven her and he wants her to come to an event tonight.  Sophie tries to tell him that her parents have banned her from helping the needy since it’s a waste of time.  She tells James she’s sorry and he says so is he, since she had so much more to offer.  Yeah, more money.  Later, Sophie meets James at No.1 and offers her an unpaid job with the charity.  Sophie takes this unpaying job since she never knew what to do with her life and no one else has ever offered her anything.  No one?! She can come to my place and clean for free…how’s that for an offer?! Sophie completely disregards her parents opinions on her charity work and accepts. 

Steve’s solicitor comes by the Rovers to get him to sign that custody agreement that he wanted to have drafted up before.  The solicitor asks if he’s sure that Tracy will agree to it.  Steve says to leave Tracy to him.  He reinstates Tracy at the Rovers, plus makes her think she’ll be getting a bar manager position. 

8:30

Written by Jim Cartwright, directed by Graeme Harper

Xin freaks out that it’s all her fault that Graeme is leaving Weatherfield but he insists he came there with nothing, and he’s leaving with all he needs.  How long would you give Graeme and Xin?  I’d give them five months max.  Gail goes to see Tina and after a few wise words or two, she gets Tina to agree not to call the authorities on the young lovers.  Tina says that she really loved Graeme, since he took away that black hole that her dad left when he went.  Gail tells her to pick herself up – she’s got to.  Gail tells her that betrayal is one of the worst things to deal with, and doesn’t she know.  Gail convinces her that revenge is not the best answer.  Tina goes over to Gail’s and tells Graeme and Xin that she’s not going to call immigration and gets a thank you from Graeme.  Xin wants to know what she and Graeme are going to do now.  Graeme and Xin have decided that it’s best for them to just leave Weatherfield.  After a final drink with David in the pub, a brief flirt with Gail and her blue dressing gown, a and goodbye to Norris. Graeme can’t but help tease Norris and tells him that he’s going to be cleaning windows in China.  They’re really going to London.  Graeme says goodbye to all in the pub – well, like four people that cared he was leaving.  It was a rather lame goodbye, as though he was just going on holiday for a week or something. 

As is true Corrie style, however, no goodbye is complete without someone running out after you into the cobbles.  So, as Graeme was ready to get into his cab with Xin, a love-torn Tin runs out from the flat screaming his name.  It would have been a sweeter moment had Xin not uttered, “ugh, someone needs to speak to you.”  Yeah, that someone is the reason you’re still in the country and have a husband you scheming, selfish little so-and-so.  Tina tells Graeme that he broke her heart, but she could never hate him since he saved her life once.  With that, Graeme gets into the cab with his wife and drives on while Tina is left with only Gail to console her.  The street loses one of the best characters to come by in recent times, in my humble opinion. 

Julie asks Fiz if Brian’s been asking about her.  Over drinks, Fiz admits to Julie that she and John deliberately broke up her and Brian for the sake of secrecy.  Julie asks about Brian’s wife, but Fiz admits that they brought her back into the picture, not Brian.  Julie figures that if it’s real love – it’ll find a away and Fiz agrees to help her track down Brian again so that they can roll of into the sunset singing Neil Diamond tunes, presumably. 

Dev continues to complain about Sunita’s aunties when Sophie comes in and tells Sunita that she’ll be quitting her job at the shop.  She’s tells them about her charity work opportunity instead.  Sunita thinks it’s a great idea, but Dev thinks she owes him that payment-in-advance.  Sunita says that Sophie will just have to pay the back when she can.  The aunties tease Dev saying they can’t blame Sophie, “Rats leaving a sinking ship come to mind?”  Later, Dev informs Kevin that Sophie has quit to do more charity work and Kev doesn’t seem happy to know this.  Later at home, Kevin yells at Sophie for working at that soup kitchen but she tells him that he can’t stop her, so he can stick it with his loads of money. 

Jason pokes holes in Sean’s child-rearing plan pointing out that Sean is a big kid.  Sean gets touchy and leaves. Jason reminds his mum that they’ll be bursting at the seams with a kid running around.  He says it’s not fair on Rosie, but Eileen says that if Flossy Webster doesn’t like it, she knows where the door is.  Hint hint, Jason.  Later, Marcus assures Sean that he can take care of Dylan as a proper father. 

HIGHLIGHTS

- Nice touch in Graeme going back to the empty butcher’s shop to remember Ashley – the person who really helped him find his way in Weatherfield.

- Eileen joking with Marcus about “tempting him over to the dark side (dating women)” at the mention of a trip to Las Vegas.

- Xin helping Gail with her Freshco bags: “Lucky for you I saw you coming off the bus.” Gail: “Yes, heaven knows how I managed all these years.”

- Gail’s nice sentimental words of advice to Tina, regarding Graeme.

- How Jason lies with his legs up on mummy’s lap on the sofa.  Mummy’s boy for life!

LOWLIGHTS

- Does anyone feel sorry for Gail that her home is basically David’s to take in whomever he likes?  Gail has become completely irrelevant to everyone in her life.

- That rotten little Xin: “Tina’s still my friend.”  Did anyone else ever believe the chemistry between Graeme and Xin? I didn’t – completely cold fish.

- I’m going to TOTALLY miss Graeme, but Xin – whatever.  I’ll be glad to see the back of all those terrible Chinese stereotypes that Corrie writers heavily ink into the scripts, more like.

- Why does it look like Tina’s been borrowing from Gail’s (or Marc’s!) closet?  Not that she doesn’t look nice, but it’s a bit of a change, no? 

- Sylvie assuming because Sian and Sophie are lesbians, they must be vegetarians too?! Is that a bad joke on “not eating meat?”  Oh, Corrie. 

- What is Sophie thinking ditching a paying job for a charity one?  Charity’s all fine and good but you’ve got to be supporting yourself before you can support others!

- Why does it seem like anyone who lives on the Cobbles that has no specific reason for leaving (ie. another place calling them) seems to head to London?  As though to say “we really have NO other place to go, so let’s just take a train to London and we’ll fall in line real quick.”

- That lame goodbye to Graeme in the Rovers!  I will miss him!