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Saturday 18 October 2014

The Guilt of Rob Donovan

We all know Peter is innocent of Tina's murder and we all know he's guilty of a lot of other things, bad judgement being the worst thing. He's been on trial this week for murder. The question is whether the evidence was enough to convict beyond a reasonable doubt or not. This is a soap and the innocent don't usually get convicted unless their freedom will shortly be given to them once the real culprit, Rob Donovan, is revealed.

I have no idea what the verdict will be. The spoilers are vague and give nothing away so far so as I write this, I'm in the dark as much as you all are. We know Rob is the real villain of the piece and we know he's bricking it. If Peter gets set free, there will be more scrutiny into the case. The pressure on him will mount.

I do like that the defence brought up the fact that the prosecution accused Peter of hiding the bloody bracelet in the outdoor loo, (which is accessible to anyone) but that the murder weapon has not been found and if he'd been hiding it under his jacket, why was there no trace of blood on his clothing? Excellent point. We know Deirdre washed the bracelet after the dog found it so any further prints on it shouldn't be admissible in evidence but Deirdre hasn't given that testimony nor must she have mentioned it in a statement. It probably didn't even occur to her. If Peter is set free, and the prosecution re-focuses on Number 1, who else lives there? One convicted (and released) murderer. Check. Another who's been in prison for robbery. Check. And one more who's been convicted and freed from fraud charges. Check. There's a lot of "previous" there and Rob knows it.

What will happen? There's a 50/50 chance Peter will be convicted or set free but then what? Rob's near-violent reaction to Carla's testimony that showed Peter in a more favourable light has raised a few alarms in her opinion, I think. I believe she will figure it out or find out somehow. If Peter is convicted, Carla would not want an innocent man to go down for a murder he didn't commit, even if she has finished with him. Rob would no doubt try to convince her to keep quiet and play the family guilt card but I don't think she'd hold out. Therefore, I'm going out on a limb and speculating that Peter won't be convicted. When Carla then finds out, there might be more of a chance she won't go to the police, not straight away. I think she'll try to persuade Rob to turn himself in but of course, he won't.

What I'd really like to have happen, and this is probably wishful thinking, is that Carla stands up at Rob and Tracy's wedding and outs him as the killer and Tracy's fairytale day will be ruined. I may be asking too much, here! I do think it's safe to say that if the wedding does happen, the marriage will not be all that much longer than hers to Steve which only lasted a few hours.

Rob will go down for it, it's a matter of how and when. I think the wedding will be the day it all happens but I don't really know if Carla will out Rob or if the pressure that Carla puts on him makes him admit it to Tracy himself or if Tracy will connect the dots as well. Maybe she will and then dump him at the altar? (Isn't speculation fun?) What do you think? How will Rob get nicked?

It's a shame we're losing Marc Bayliss. I have enjoyed his portrayal of Rob and I've really liked the brother-sister dynamic they've built with Rob and Carla.


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8 comments:

Defrost Indoors said...

Wasn't there a spoiler which sort of hinted it (the wedding/revelation) would happen around Guy Fawkes night? It would be nice to see some resolution although the fallout for the Barlow family would be immense. We know he has to be outed at some point as the actor is leaving but for now I'm enjoying the suspense.

Frosty the Snowman said...

You dont have to be Mystic Meg to see that in the usual way, Rob will be arrested on his wedding day. Frosty's ideal scenario would be Tracy getting framed for the murder and locked up for a few years to free us up of this dreadful and poorly acted character. This would leave Rob to establish himself instead of being got rid of when he had just settled in. I also predict that Peter will be found not guilty and want to resurrect his relationship with Carla, she will rebuff him and he will move away as CG is moving on, for a time anyway.

Anonymous said...

I agree. I wasn't fan of Rob at the start but he's one of the strongest and most interesting characters on the show now and I think he works brilliantly with Carla and Tracy. I'm looking forward to the upcoming scenes that apparently involve the writers delving into Rob and Carla's past.

This is how I think it will play out:

1. Peter will be found 'not guilty'
2. Peter will leave when he realises that Carla isn't going to get back with him and people still blame him for what happened with Tina.
3. Carla will get suspicious of Rob
4. Carla will confront Rob and Rob will admit everything
5. After Rob has begged and pleaded with Carla, Carla will agree to say nothing until he marries Tracy
6. Rob will tell Tracy everything on their wedding day and ask her to run away with him
7. Tracy will refuse
8. Rob will run off and confess over the phone to the police
9. Tracy will blame Carla
10. The police will turn up looking for Rob at the wedding venue and Tracy will be arrested
11. After Rob explains why he can't go back to prison, Carla will help him do a runner.

Humpty Dumpty said...

I understand why Deirdre isn't around at the moment, AK being unavailable, but surely she's a key witness. She and Eccles found the bracelet. I wonder if they will read her statement in court.

Spoilers suggest that Carla will confront her brother when she realises the truth. Rob hid the metal bar in his boot so there may still be forensic evidence if searched.

Peter will be found innocent and Rob's behaviour will be so erratic that Ken becomes suspicious. He quizzes Carla who then has it out with her brother. Maybe it's Ken who goes to the police.

This is wishful thinking but I go along with Anonymous above in that Rob and Tracy run away. We've seen pics of Rob in wedding gear on the phone and, by the way, he was lucky to find a phone box and an old-fashioned red one at that. Maybe all these photos of the wedding are red herrings.

Rosie said...

As Rob has already filmed his last scene and left, there obviously won't be another trial, so I agree he does a runner, I can't see Trcey going with him. I think it will all kick off at the wedding. But will it be before or after they are actually married! Can't wait to see that smug little madam get her comeuppance.

canadian bacon sarnie said...

Kate Ford has done a great job of being a villain. Apparently, lots of folk want to see her 'pay' and she's not even the guilty one.
I'd love to see redemption for Tracy Barlow. Just as her daughter Amy is turning into miss junior devilette, turning the tables on her newly 'character transplanted' mom. We have seen 'the child's' eyes, she is truly scary.
Down the road, Amy will kill someone that doesn't please her and Tracy will take the rap and go to prison for her.
Now that's Soaplaw!

Anonymous said...

It wasn't so long ago that Deirdre and Tracy were willing to see Gail go to jail for a crime she didn't commit, the 'murder' of Tina's father and Deirdre with Ken's supporting her testified against Tyrone on how he 'abused 'Kirsty, so in a way I hope Rob does do a runner before Peter can be freed just so the Barlows can get a taste of the pain they were willing to put Gail and Tyrone through.

Stephen said...

I like canadian bacon sarnie's comment, and agree that what I'm really anticipating is Tracy Luv getting slapped in the face on her wedding day, rather than Rob being fingered as the murderer. Peter's exoneration will be great, but the real climax will be his sister's ruin, however brief.

The writers pile on one incident after another in which she is scathingly nasty to other characters, and she keeps getting away with it, receiving no more than the occasional verbal zinger from one of them. None of which have the slightest effect upon her. Not even Ken's measured and entirely reasonable admonishments ("You really have no consideration for anyone but yourself, have you") dent Tracy at all.

So yes, I want to see her brought truly low, but also to see her redeemed. Her character would be so much more interesting if a genuinely remorseful Tracy Luv spent the next several years trying to make amends for her hundreds of misdeeds, battling her natural mean-spirited tendencies, and we could observe trust grudgingly develop toward her among the other characters.

As she is, she's become a cardboard cutout villainess with no justification nor sympathetic qualities. Her only use is as a firework to throw at others in the Rovers or in the street. Isn't Kate Ford herself sick and tired of it? There are enough villains in Corrie.

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