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Saturday 18 July 2015

Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 17 July 2015

I don’t often sympathise with Leanne, but she really is going through the mill at the moment. As if losing Kal, aggression from Simon and threats from Dan that he’ll tell him about her past weren’t enough, she gets a visit from Liz who wants to know what’s going on between them. 

I only wish Leanne would confide in Nick rather than trying to hold everything together by herself, as he is offering her great support at the moment. 

In any event, I was delighted that she was strong enough to tell Liz about Dan's true colours, and so quickly too. Liz has by no means had it easy either, and it was also brilliant to see her draw it down with Dan at the first opportunity. Never a woman to do anything by halves, she exposes him publicly in the Rovers with his boss and daughter present leaving him reeling.

As Liz and Leanne later sat talking, I thought how marvellous it was that both women showed such strength and saw fit to do the right thing regardless of what they are already suffering, or of any fears they may have had; Corrie women at their best. A menacing Dan glaring at the flat from beneath at twilight gave me a chill, however, and I shudder to think what he has up his sleeve for the pair. Whatever it is we can be assured that Andrew Paul will do the part justice as his performances have been great so far.


On a lighter note, the Nazirs celebrated Eid al-Fitr and invited Anna and Gary to join them. News of Alya and Gary’s engagement was music to everyone’s ears, but her hesitation at announcing it belies her guilty struggle over sleeping with Jason. 

I continue to enjoy the Nazirs since they’ve been toned down. The overly theatrical Yasmeen, comedy Sharif and sulky Zeedan just weren’t working. Now we have a subtle, strong, understated performance from Yasmeen which is a credit to her intelligence; Sharif is appropriately serious which is more fitting of his nature and reveals a gentle side to him; and Zeedan struggling with his father’s death, but doing so with dignity and humility, is far better than him being inexplicably and terminally grumpy over nothing in particular.

Much has been written about Tracy’s capacity for redemption on the blog this week and there have been some really insightful comments from our readers. Her apparent reform sees her cooking, cleaning and walking Eccles in tonight’s episodes as opposed to buried emotions or guilt coming to the fore as you might expect of the newly redeemed. This makes me wonder if her transformation will be lasting. Emily’s concern is that she is deflecting grief and wonders if she should try talking to her so she can let it out, otherwise it will be harder on her down the line. It’s lovely to see the neighbours rallying around her and Ken, particularly Emily and Steve.

I’m glad to say I’ve taken to Kathy in the last few episodes, and her gesture of presenting Roy with a thank you gift of a replica of the train he drove on his wedding day, his having been destroyed in the break in, was lovely. On paper, this might sound somehow inappropriate to some viewers, but the way it was done was such that it wasn’t at all, and leaves me confident that their trip to Blackpool will be the same.

It was a shame for the scene to be interrupted by the arrival of a confrontational Carla. I do like her, but when her vicious tongue makes one if its rare, but nonetheless nasty, appearances, it really turns me off. Concerned for her welfare, Roy had broached the issue of her late nights and drinking habits with Michelle who agreed to talk to her. Why Michelle couldn’t just enquire without revealing her source I don’t know. In any event, Carla sees this as Roy intruding, and after losing a lot of money at the casino, she goes on the rampage. 

She casts aspersions on his and Kathy’s relationship, calling her a gold digger and accusing them of sullying the memory of Hayley. It’s great to see Roy challenge her and defend both Kathy and their relationship, but after Carla storms out, he manages to disappoint his new friend by wondering if people are questioning the appropriateness of their relationship. This sees Kathy follow Carla out the door and poor Roy is left alone.

Carla later reveals to Michelle that she’s hurt him, and has the deaths of Maddie and Kal on her conscience. She can’t escape the thoughts in her head, and feels there’s nothing she can do about it leading Michelle to encourage her to take a break. I do like the relationship between these “stubborn cows”, Michelle seems to bring out the best in Carla, and despite her indiscretion, Roy did approach the right person. 

After apologising profusely to him, clarifying that she only said what she did to hurt him, and doesn’t actually believe it, Carla heads off to Madrid. Despite everything, he has dinner kept for her and says he cares a lot about her. She asks if there’s a statue of him in a church somewhere, and if not there should be.

As night's before your driving test go, this is probably the type to be avoided, but here's hoping Roy passes with flying colours.

By Emma Hynes
Twitter: @ELHynes

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6 comments:

Humpty Dumpty said...

Great blog, Emma, as always. Dan had the makings of a super villain. His redeeming feature would be his powerful love for his daughter; just as Tony Gordon really did care for Maria even though he'd arranged for her husband to be killed. Dan probably won't last long, unfortunately, after the hostage scenes. Shame it was brought to a head so quickly. Enough has been said about Tracy. Not very impressed with Robert the saviour so far. Only point will be if Tracy confesses everything to him and he forces her to come clean. I still think she ought to leave the Street for a while. Yes, the Nazirs are getting better, and have changed considerably in Kal's absence. Zeedan ought to go off to university and leave his sister and grandparents. That set-up could really be interesting. Roy's character is shaping up well and I do hope they don't make any kind of love story out of him and Cathy, requited or otherwise. I'd like to seem him with a really good pal. Roy and Norris might make a good team, not always seeing eye to eye but maybe finding they share a love of trains/boats/doesn't matter. They both struggle to fit in with the community and there might be material in their friendship.

Anonymous said...

Great review, Emma - and Humpty, I agree with your comments too.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed Roy's little "joke" at the end. I always thought he had a wry sense of humour in there somewhere.

Just for the record, "Eid Mubarak" is the greeting people give each other on the festival of Eid ul-Fitr.

Tvor said...

Really good episodes last night!! I would like to see Simon opening up to Nick, anyone really. Leanne really needs to get that child some counselling now and nip that in the bud, that kid is building up to some serious problems, far more than just a rough puberty.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Tvor about Simon. He is getting scary and i am having a hard time with his storyline age. He is older than 12 with his cracking adolescent voice. He needs to start having some independence and stop being treated like a baby. Leeanne's character is well played and she needs a break soon.
I like Roy and Carla's friendship and sad to see Carla leaving as her feisty character will be missed.
Sad to see Julie gone, hope she comes back..

Belle Fleur said...

I thought Carla's little outburst at Roy a bit contrived and came from nowhere really. I even felt a bit sorry for Cathy who I myself have been finding rather annoying lately the way she pitches up all the time and Roy drops everything, even important things, for her.

But as I put on a previous post, Dan has the beginnings of a great villan, in fact its a shame his stay will only be a short one.

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