After a few days of battling Becky, dealing with the shock of finding out about Hayley and having her son stand toe to toe against her to defend his wife, we found her sitting in a corner gazing at a well worn photo of her son as a child. Clearly, that was a photo of David Neilson himself which added a nice touch to the scene.
Sylvia loves her son, she's even admitted as much but also said he was a disappointment. Let's look at that from her point of view. She had two bad marrages. We've heard Roy speak badly of his father occasionally and also of an abusive step-father. Women of her generation usually stayed with their husbands even when things were very bad. Add to that a son that had difficulties, very likely dealing with Asperger's Syndrome. That's hard to handle if you don't know what you're dealing with and when Roy was a child, nobody really did. He was branded as weird and awkward and she didn't have the proper skills to know how to help him. It must have been very frustrating and she dealt with him entirely the wrong way, no doubt.
Now she's feeling old, left out, with nowhere to go, embarassed at having to accept charity from her son who is providing her a home more out of duty than love. Her daughter-in-law has a past history that bewilders her. But she's built up a wall for so long that she has no idea how to let it down and being cranky and insulting is the way she deals with it all. Little by little we are seeing cracks in the wall and perhaps we'll see she and Roy make peace.
Will she turn into a sweet old lady? I doubt that but she may occasionally show a softer side to offset the vitriol and she'll be the classic Corrie battleaxe that we need and love. We're very lucky to have an actress of the calibre of Stephanie Cole to bring Sylvia to life and the chemistry between she and Julie Hesmondhalgh and David Neilson is a powerhouse trio, in my opinion!
8 comments:
How old is Roy? Somewhere between 50 and 60 so he would have been brought up in the 1950’s/1960s – a completely different society then where there was no help or probably even recognition of a "different child" like Roy was. He was Sylvia's peculiar kid and nothing more so she was left to get on with it however she could. Back in those days you were thought odd if you wrote with your left hand! Another world from the more caring and more informed/aware Society we live in today.
Excellent post, and really summarises how I feel about Sylvia. The way she treats Roy says so much - she loves him but is exasperated by him, she is annoyed by him but tolerant. You do get the feeling that he was as much of a trial for her as she was for him. And then she met Roy's stepdad, who finally gave her the attention she'd been missing, and so Roy took off and left them. It's a great dynamic and beautifully played by all involved.
Also, how cute was that picture of the young Roy? David Neilson must have borrowed that off his own mum!
I am pretty sure David's mother is long gone. And did you know it was her satchel that he used when he first came on the show, the one with the key attached by a long elastic?
Thanks for blogging this tvor and for the picture, I was hoping it would end up on the blog, such a gorgeous touch!
Lovely post indeed! As Looney B said different times. The trio will be such fun to watch as this all plays out. Wonderful acting by all!
Hayli
It's very nice to have this storyline, with so much character exploration, in the face of all the other malarkey going on. Having excellent actors certainly bolsters the story as well! While I agree that certain parts of the world are more informed about issues such as those that Roy may have faced growing up, I honestly don't feel that we are collectively a more caring place; there seems to be a significant lack of compassion in a lot of ways.
IT's just the kind of thing i like to write about :)
I welled up when I saw that photo of young 'Roy'/David Neilson! It's amazing how he little he's changed. I bet the actors had a 'moment' between takes of those scenes.
I've been a little put off by Sylvia's predominantly grouchy persona, despite some great comic lines. But this is now looking good in terms of getting into a deeper storyline. I have my doubts that Roy is meant to possibly have Asperger's Syndrome. He could equally have just been a shy child who just didn't fit in, very intelligent and not into sports. Then again, his 'difference' could be just that.
I knew that about his carry-all bag belonging to his real Mum too, and always felt it was so sweet. It's always worth waiting for substantial stories for actors like these three. I hope the young'uns are watching closely.
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