Its day three of Who Kills Tina? week, and as
9pm approached, I promptly returned to the edge of my seat and braced myself
for the massive twist we had been promised. I was not disappointed.
Breathless and clearly in shock, a stunned Rob peers
over the balcony at a motionless Tina and gathers himself before trashing her apartment,
even making off with some of her possessions. What he doesn’t expect is to find
her alive when he exits the flat. Despite not having said a single word between
Tina’s fall and this latest discovery, Marc Baylis deftly conveys the maddening
range of emotions Rob experiences as he hurtles from one phase of the aftermath
to the next.
Asking her if she’s okay, and offering to call
her an ambulance, together with the accidental nature of her fall ensures that
Rob is portrayed as a good man with a conscience as described by Marc Baylis and Stuart Blackburn last week. However, after he fails to convince Tina that the
bang to her head is affecting her memory of events, things take a nastier turn.
Assuring him she’s more determined than ever to see him go down, now adding
attempted murder to his list of charges, and ignoring his appeals for leniency on
the grounds that he’s happy and getting married, Rob decides to silence her
forever with an iron bar.
As things stood last night, both Tina and Rob evoked
immense sympathy in me. She would have died a vulnerable and lonely character,
and he would have been a good man who committed a murder by accident. Tonight
therefore provides a double twist for me; not only would Tina have made a
recovery had Rob not attacked her a second time, but it is their respective
character flaws which actually lead to their downfall.
Through gritted teeth Tina asserts, “I was born
gobby”. These, her final words, prove that she is unable to suppress this part
of her nature, and it ultimately leads to her death. Similarly, while a tearful
yet menacing Rob may visibly appear to struggle with the choice that lies
before him, he announces his impending murder with the chilling retort, “and
you’ll die gobby too”. While I look forward to both the psychological battle that
we’re promised lies ahead of him, and Marc Baylis’ undoubted ability to offer a
mesmerising portrayal, it is difficult not to consider Rob a coldblooded killer
after tonight. It’s a great twist, and a thrilling and fantastic episode
throughout, but perhaps an accidental death would have been preferable if the aim is to ensure viewers are “with” Rob as this storyline progresses.
With everyone convinced Tracy and Rob are
having their own private engagement party next door to the Rovers when in
reality both are up to no good on their own terms, and lie to eachother on
reuniting, it will be interesting to see how this prospective alibi plays out.
Liz likening pondlife Peter Barlow to a
jellyfish may have left viewers plumbing the depths for clues as to why, but once
you consider how he appeared weirdly calm and floated through the tempestuous
waves of adulterous transparency while simultaneously stinging Carla with the
news that Tina was not better than her, but different, it couldn’t be more
accurate. At least he can rely on Steve for a kind word in the face of yet
another personal disaster. “You never know,” his friend chirps, “it might all blow over.”
Carla's fury doesn't offer much hope for Steve's prediction. She concludes that Peter, the only man she ever wanted to have
children with, mustn’t have loved her at all despite his insistence that he never
stopped doing so. Her rage sees her announce to the Rovers rabble that she’s going to
kill Tina before storming off to find her. As she emerges on to the balcony of
the builder’s yard she spots Tina’s body on the ground below just as a stunned
Leanne and Kal arrive on the scene. She receives no support from anyone but
Michelle as the police arrive and take her away, not even Rob which may prove
that his fear of returning to prison outweighs his concern for his sister which
could have interesting consequences for the story as it progresses.
Meanwhile, Debbie Rush’s powerful performance is a triumph
of tragedy and despair as Anna breaks down and confesses all to an incredulous
Owen. Despite the dreadful nature of the revelation, considering the tender and loving side
of him that has emerged in recent times, I didn’t expect that his reaction
would be so cold; he even appeared repulsed at one point. However, he does eventually break down, and is clearly
struggling to cope with the news as he tells her “Nothing will ever be normal
ever again.”
This was another gripping episode which was
superbly acted, written and directed, and if the week so far is anything to go by, the fourth installment
tomorrow night at 9pm can't come quickly enough.
By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes
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