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Monday 11 November 2013

Coronation Street double episode review, Monday 11 November

Somebody soon must realise just what a manipulative, scheming girl Grace is. The big money here is probably on Owen and when he does see her malign influence, I don't think he'll go too easy on her. She is poisonous and at the same time exceptionally able to select those she can ply her trade on, due to their vulnerability at the time. Victims so far are Sally, Mary and Simon. Sally is an unusual choice but it is because of her vulnerability where Tim is concerned that it works. Mary is an obvious victim and, living in a motor home makes her an easy target. Simon is very young and for all his maturity and wit, which is considerable at his age, like most young people, when with those a little older, they want to appear 'up for it' and cool, so, Simon tries to steal from Dev's, and understandably, just like any responsible adult, Dev tells the parents.

Of course, the nearest victim of Grace's bullying is Faye. Faye is undoubtedly insecure despite Anna's attempts to show Faye how loved she is. Tim too, in his own way, loves Faye, but could be better at showing it. Grace telling Faye that Owen is nothing to her, will obviously encourage Faye to be more unpleasant to Owen, which might just be Grace's undoing. Make it soon, please, so that Grace stops all this, as much for her own sake as other people's.

Todd has no scruples. What has happened to the sweet boy who went to that London? His attitude to those who are helping him out, his mother, Sean and the place he's in, is obnoxious, talking about the pace of life being so slow and suggesting there is nothing interesting happening. Todd has the 'I just want to pay my mum  back' mantra going on, but who really will fall for that? He easily accepts money and drinks from Sean. Obviously, his claims to want to be able to pay for the sausage sandwiches, 'One of these mornings the sausage butties will be on me.' are not very believable, as he just wants to keep his mum on side and clearly that is a good idea as Eileen has obviously asked Steve to give Todd a job, and Steve has done just that.

How do people feel towards David? Can't say he endeared himself to the viewers tonight when he left Tina a plastic bag for breakfast as he finished the cereal. Pushing your luck David!  Tina tells him he's a mess, 'Look at the state of you.' Tina tells David that Kylie will never take him back like that and sure enough shortly afterwards Kylie herself sees David and tells him to 'Have some pride and move on.' David himself says, 'I hate me.'

So Coronation Street's ratings are up. No surprise whatsoever. No surprise either if the ratings go through the roof and bring in more viewers than any soap ever. Unbelievably brilliant acting from David Neilsen and Julie Hesmondalgh, Roy and Hayley. When we first see them tonight Roy has been looking at the effects of palliative care and also at first and third person accounts of what that's like, trying very hard to see both perspectives. The journey to Jane's funeral was painful and to see the grief of Geoff and Jane's boys was a brutal reminder of deep grief. That Jane had made a tape and had said that her love would be with them every day, surely brought a lump to many throats.

A brilliant twist was the writers having us believe that Roy had genuinely switched to supporting Hayley's wish to take control as the end drew nearer. That it was Anna to whom he revealed that it wasn't the case, was a good choice too. People have been very critical of Anna of late, but she does have compassion and was wise when speaking to Roy. It is going to be very hard for Roy now as he cannot disappoint Hayley and tell her that he lied to make her happy. Who knows - when the end cones, as it surely must, he may, along the way genuinely change his mind.

The whole situation is heartbreaking for Roy and Hayley, both in the detail and in the huge impact of Hayley's impending death. So intimate are the scenes and so convincing, that it is as if we are in the room with them. Particularly affecting are Hayley's final words and their raw simplicity. 'I don't want to die, I don't want to leave you, I don't want to leave life.'  We had better steel ourselves and we had better do it now.    

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12 comments:

Billy Niblick said...

So when is the big death scene scheduled for?

Surely not Christmas.

Frosty the Snowman said...

Sudden turnaround from David who was cooking in the kitchen to scoffing the last of the cereal and getting drunk when I thought he had no money? Who cares? Tina s now getting so dark as to look ridiculous next to other characters, she looks like one of Dev's love children. And the Hailey and Roy business is just getting too mawkish for me now I am afraid.

John McE said...

Am I really the only one that find's Roy's attitude not only hard to believe, but almost unbearable to watch?

We know he can be very stubborn, but we also know that he loves Hayley very much, and would do anything to avoid upsetting her, especially now she is terminally ill.

ISTR that Roy isn't religious, so it seems only to be his view that he doesn't want to lose a single day with Hayley that makes him so against her choosing when to end her suffering, yet he is prepared to endure argument after argument with Hayley in her final weeks, rather than agree to her wish. And it all makes very uncomfortable viewing.

Queen's "These Are The Days of My Life" was perfect at the end of the episode, though.

And on another topic, exactly how much time had past between Simon (almost) stealing the sweets and him returning to Faye and Grace? An awful lot seemed to happen in between.

Anonymous said...

Todd/Ryan - it's the same storyline all over again. They should change the name of this show to Deja-vu.
If the Corrie producers think they've got top writers on staff they'd better give their collective heads a shake.
More dismal Eileen whining and moaning about a man..this time it's her son,
Why is Tina shoved into every storyline now? Didn't like this character from the first time she met up with David on the bus.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Although it hasn't been fully explored, there have been strong hints that Roy had/has Asperger's Syndrome. This would mean that he has difficulty seeing things from other people's point of view. He hasn't had long to digest this change to his routine. At the moment, he's struggling with 'What's going to happen to me?' and that's why he wants his life to stay unchanged for as long as possible.

Anonymous said...

Christmas is safe..... Get extra Kleenex for mid-January.

Anonymous said...

There was not one thing remotely joyous about last nights episodes, it left me feeling thoroughly low. If this is going to be the calibre of stories for the foreseeable future, I'm afraid I'll be switching off..again.

Zagg said...

I'm with Frosty on the Roy/Hailey storyline. Great acting, yes, but another two whole months of this is a bit much for me. Everything is such a downer now. What happened to the Corrie Street balance of reality/tragedy and humor? I'll say it again...these writers do not understand these characters.

Anonymous said...

Why would Carla give a toss about where Tommy's gone or what Tina's up to? They've hardly had two lines between them, and now Tina is popping up all over the place, Peter is looking stressed and Carla's acting like an idiot. Typical 'let's rush this plot through' and make a right mess of it.

Anonymous said...

David has always been an immature, selfish git set on self-destruct with the intent to take as many people with him as possible. What could possibly happen next for this character? He needs to go away, far, far away! Let Tina kill Trace and she and David take it on the run - all the way to Mars!

The.HR.Doctor said...

David Neilsen is, by far and away, the best actor on the Street - regardless of storyline. Peter Barlow's dramatic scenes look like panto, compared to Roy.

Peter couldn't even give Tina money in the lat episode without it looking like a ham sandwich.

Anonymous said...

i am rapidly going off corrie, the story line with Faye and Grace is unbelievably boring, i mean the girls are clearly way over 11 years old they don't look like 11 year olds they don't look a day younger than 17!! though not sure what age they actually are! the manipulating antics are so NOT convincing with wet rag mum Anna, who should not be let loose with children (sorry really old girls pretending to be 11 year olds)!!!

and the story line with Roy and Hailey is so in your face, Hailey has turned into an aggressive, spiteful so demanding person that it is horrible, demanding Roy sees things her way, the corrie script writer has milked Hailey's so called pancreatic cancer for all its worth!!

Poor Tina has been turned from a lovely person into aggressive gutter trash with all the shouting, brawling and silly story lines developed for her character, what a waste of someone that had real appeal as an actress, she would do much better in leaving corrie and finding good roles in other productions instead of being left at the mercy of the idiotic story lines concocted from the corrie team!!!

There is not much to keep me watching corrie any more, more than mind numingly boring....

GRITTY SAGAS BY CORRIE BLOG EDITOR GLENDA YOUNG, PUBLISHED BY HEADLINE. CLICK PIC BELOW!

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