The aftermath of Hayley's death, for me, has been more emotional and difficult to watch than the episodes in which she took her own life. Just as in real life, once the shock has passed of a loved one dying, the enormity of what has happened sinks in, the reality hits home. And in Coronation Street, Roy is dealing with the death of his soul-mate as best as he can, and in his own way. He takes comfort from the order and precision in the list that Hayley has left for him, even though his heart is in pieces and his mind is in turmoil.
But Carla and Anna and everyone else, have other ideas. They want Roy to deal with his grief in a way that makes sense to them - not to him.
Everyone complains that Roy is working in the cafe on the day after after Hayley dies. Nick tells Leanne he can't understand why Roy is washing the windows in the cafe. But we, as fans, know exactly why Roy is doing all of these things. It's distraction from the hurt and the guilt and the anger he feels at Hayley leaving him in the way she has chosen to do. It's Roy's way of coping with something he can not comprehend. He needs order, calm and quiet.
It's credit to Corrie that we as fans know Roy better than the other characters on the Street do. We understand and know Roy. We know him better - and we've known him longer - than Carla and Anna, even Fiz. This is Roy we're dealing with, he's different, he's special, he doesn't want to be hugged. He doesn't want fuss. And it comes as no surprise to read he plans to boycott Hayley's funeral.
The world turns. And Roy will deal with Hayley's death in the way that makes best sense to him. It breaks my heart that they won't leave him alone to grieve and cope in the way he needs to do.
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15 comments:
You're definitely not the only one but in reality, the worst thing that could happen is for Roy to be left on his own and that's the last thing Hayley would want. He once tried to take his own life...
Also, doesn't he go missing? Roy all alone - without anyone who cares about him doesn't sound too good to me.
I think they just want to show they care and given the nature of Hayley's passing , they are worried about how Roy will cope. Anna in particular knows Roy really struggled with Hayley's decision. I know what you are saying but I'm quite sympathetic to Carla and Anna in this too.
I agree with Graeme.
I think the episode was acceptable. They feel grief...they think it must be so much harder for Roy. They want to comfort and watch over him but they are doing so in a careful manner (rub on the arm, head on the shoulder - as opposed to full on hug).
Roy is different in his way of dealing with things...this does not make it right. I think the ladies in his life are doing wonderfully. I do feel bad for Fiz however because she is feeling like she lost a mother and so far she is getting no special attention. Even Roy who should recognize this is oblivious. He is so self centered when things upset him generally so this is not surprising.
Did I read he had Asperger? I do not remember this but read it. If so wouldn't - shouldn't it be brought up in regards to Roy to help others deal with him?
I agree with alot of what's been said, however, I felt his moments with Hayley were invaded, and I felt anger, and was yelling at the tv as Flaming Nora did. I disliked Carla slamming the door when her and Annie walked in on a very private moment. Roy is special, but even last night's episode I felt they were all crowding him, overwhelming him, although we all know everyone has Roy's best interest at heart. You can definately see his anger building, and it didn't help when he overheard Fiz saying "I didn't even get to say good-bye" Oh what a sad week this has been.
I'm one of the people that thought Carla and Anna's intrusion was way over the top. Much of what happened then, though, was driven by the needs of the production team. I'm sure there's a technical term for it but I don't know it. Hayley took the drink at 6pm not because she wanted to be found but because the director needed people to be up and about to find them. Bit of a boring episode if it happened at 2am.
By contrast, I see their behaviour now as more realistic. His friends do care for him but they also want to not have to worry about him. It's human nature. We're not good at death in this society and we often deal with it by bustling about, almost ignoring the bereaved party. Heaven help the first person who wants to sort out Hayley's clothes for the charity shop. However, we need someone to put the opposing view and maybe this is where Sylvia would have stepped in. Rita or Audrey perhaps, the wise widows of the Street, could say just what FN has said: 'Leave him be for a while.' Roy needs the help to be at arm's length but, there again, would that make good television?
They do have his best interests at heart but I feel frustrated for him. The poor man had no control over his wife choosing to end her life and now he must feel like he has no control over how he deals with losing her.
I would have preferred to watch Carla telling everyone to back off Roy but I think the story has been written this way so that Roy will feel so powerless that he has to get away.
Having said that, in the long run he will be grateful to Anna and Carla. There is a new interview with Stuart Blackburn http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/20/hayley-cropper-dies-in-devastating-coronation-street-cancer-plot-but-whats-going-to-happen-to-roy-4270726/
There is a bit where he talks about how Roy will remember that Carla and Anna were there for him and Hayley and it sounds like Roy will be involved in their storylines.
"We’ve got big stories with both Carla and Anna coming up so the focus will be very much on them and what we’ll see, not in an over-the-top way or a gushing way, but there’s a moment in time for both of those women when Roy steps up to the mark. He remembers they were there for him and Hayley and it’s almost like an unspoken change in Roy."
"He’s got a big debt to Anna and Carla and bit by bit he’ll try and repay that."
I think it's realistic to not want to leave a person alone so soon after the death, especially someone like Roy who isn't known for being open with emotions. But I think it was overkill for all three women to be in the flat with him. To me what would work best in a real situation like this would be for the women to come up with a plan where they each look in on him at different times.
I think Anna showed a bit of that when she came back with the food. Roy shouldn't be left alone but he shouldn't be bombarded by a group of people.
A lot of interesting comments and I agree with many. I think, though, that we have to remember that this was the just the day after Hayley's death. No one really had a plan yet, and the "ganging up" on Roy hadn't been a deliberate plan. Both Fiz and Carla had just stopped by to see how Roy was doing, and were surprised to see that he had opened the cafe. I think they were all just trying to help as best they could, not really realising that that was not what Roy needed. However, when he finally made it clear to them that he wanted them to leave, they did so without much fuss. I'm sure that they will sort out how best to help him, as Shan pointed out regarding Anna and the food.
We also have to remember that Hayley had asked people, especially Fiz, to look after Roy when she was gone.
As for Roy's Asperberger's, I don't think that diagnosis has been made on the show, but only by fans of the show in discussions about Roy.
*Asperger (sp!)
Humans get very uncomfortable when people refuse to conform to the norms of our society, whether that is tattooing your face, swearing in church or appearing not to grieve.
It's characters like Roy and Hayley and stories like this that make Coronation Street a cut above the rest. Well observed.
Let me get this straight: So the characters of Anna, Fiz and Carla were just supposed to forget that, the night before, Roy was so consumed by his grief that he didn't want the undertakers to take Hayley's body out of the flat? Or that he wanted to go with her body that night in the back of the van?
Maybe my mind is playing games, but was it not so long ago that Roy was bottling his grief and anger over his father's death and then lashing out on residents of the street, including Hayley herself, and Craig?
Maybe, just maybe mind you, these incredibly pestering women are afraid history might repeat itself in a much larger way when it comes to someone he has loved and cherished for 16 years?
Yes, what absolute cows for daring to be concerned about a man whom they care about who appears (to them at least) to be bottling up his grief.
I think Roy leaves for a bit after Haley's funeral - Anna runs the café while he's gone. I also think the episode was done well. Roy doesn't know how to deal with Haley's decision at all and will confront his feelings for her - how could she do this to him and say she loved him etc etc. 'The dead sleep and the living weep.'
Your right roy has autism (asperges syndrome) so they react diffrent to how normal people would in this kind of situation.
I understand what you all are saying, but I stand behind my comments about invasion of privacy, and overwhelming him because, they know him well, and they know he had to have time to absorb what had just happened. Yes, keep an eye on him, and why would anyone be surprised that he was scrubbing windows, and open his cafe the day after Hayley's passing? Did they not expect that? I did. lol I just had a problem accepting the sudden friendship between Hayley and Carla. I still feel that the intrusion by anna and Carla was annoying..then they added Fiz to the mix...and Roy's moments were stolen from him. I can't help how I feel...been there and done that. Maybe that's why it's bothering me. :(( Other than that, this is the best storyling I have ever seen on Corrie. Love the writers of the blogs, they capture so much of how I feel.
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