Coronation Street double episode review, Friday 7 August 2015

Carla announces to the shocked factory crew that she’s moving away and putting Underworld up for sale. Sally may be enthused by Kevin’s ambition, quinoa, kale crisps, and the possibility of becoming the new owner, but her dreams of upward mobility take a sharp downward trajectory when Carla catches her snooping at the accounts, and she’s promptly sacked. There is something immensely satisfying about her telling Carla to “drop dead”. While Sally may have overstepped the mark, I’m no fan of Carla at her worst.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s Lord Sugar effort sees him order Tyrone to move his holidays to cope with the workload. It takes Fiz to stand up to him, and while I’m glad she does, I’d rather see Tyrone do it. At least Sally benefits from Kevin’s new found entrepreneurial spirit, as he agrees to buy the factory with her, provided the books are in order.

As they share a bottle of wine, and Sally thanks him for keeping her sane, they kiss. Even more disappointing than the fact that this had to happen at all, is to find Kevin more worried about “best mate” Tim than Sally who doesn’t appear to give him a second thought in the immediate aftermath. Nor does she appear overly guilt-ridden when Tim returns early to tell her he missed her and loves her. By the time the oblivious groom-to-be asks Kevin to be his best man, Sally and Kevin are as ecstatic as if nothing had happened at all.

What was interesting about the exchanges between Sally, Tim, Sophie and Kevin in the aftermath of the kiss, was how we were continually lead to believe that the truth was about to be revealed. It seemed rather awkward, as the acting and dialogue didn’t match the announcements that were made. For example, Tim bursts in to Kevin’s declaring “Sally’s told me all about it. What have you got to say for yourself?” We’re supposed to believe from the serious tone and performance that Sally has confessed, but of course she hasn’t, and it’s about purchasing the factory. Similarly, Tim and Kevin return to Sally’s, and Tim announces that he isn’t being completely honest with them, to suspicious looks all round. The reason? He wants Kev to be his best man. What was he not being honest about? I can see that this is done for suspense purposes, but the mismatches do lend an unreality to the scenes.

In any event, Sally and Kevin may have some competition, as Alya looks for Sharif to speak with him about the factory, suggesting she too may put in a bid.

Liz still pines for her bracelet, and Eileen and Michael conspire to get it back. Am I alone in thinking all they would have to do is talk to Tracy about her mother’s bracelet being up for sale in her shop? Nevertheless, Eileen instructs Michael to buy it back from Barlow’s Buys, but they find it closed. Instead of waiting one hour, as the sign states, she orders him to break in in broad daylight.

His weapon of choice, a spatula, rivals the Kevin/Sally kiss for being wedged into somewhere it didn’t belong. All of Gail’s weddings come at once when she catches him in the act and is left with a considerable amount of ammunition against Eileen, making sure to give her both barrels for leading Michael astray.

They eventually purchase the bracelet for £200, and it is amusing to learn it has all been for nothing as Liz reveals she has found the original. This, of course, sees Gail gloat atop a high horse requiring an industrial crane to mount.

New chef Robert proves to be a smash at the Bistro when the coulis based 'sorry' emblazoned across Tracy’s dessert finds itself in pieces on the floor. Unfazed, even bemused, he follows her outside to assure her she’ll be his before long. As she struts off on the pretense that she has the moral high ground, we assume he’s right.

I’m really enjoying Zeedan of late, and like the influence he has on Simon. At the suggestion that Simon may be disobedient Zeedan asks crossly, “You been misbehaving mate?” Leanne later finds Simon to be very polite and helpful at home, that is until she mentions drawing a line under the past and he throws a tantrum.

Roy is concerned to learn about Carla moving away and after she resists his attempts to talk about it, he calls over with the Nick and Michelle to stage something of an intervention. They all claim to be selfish in wanting her to stay, but she tells them that she needs to be selfish herself – perhaps even selfless – as leaving would spare those who can’t bear to look at her from having to do so. I would’ve liked Nick to have added something of value, but Roy more than makes up for it. With regard to Hayley, he tells her “Fiz and Tyrone apart, you’re the only person who comes close to missing her as much as I do”, and we are left wondering how it is possible to love him any more than we already do.

The Sally/Kevin kiss aside, I particularly enjoyed the scenes involving Roy, Les Dennis’s comedy performance, and Jonathan Harvey's very welcome knack of bringing out the best in Todd.

By Emma Hynes

www.emmahynes.wordpress.com

Twitter: @ELHynes

Download our free App | Follow on Twitter @CoroStreetBlog | Like on Facebook | Visit Corrie.net



All original work on the Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License