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Thursday 7 April 2016

Coronation Street Weds 6th April episode review



"Do lesbians have hen nights?"
"Well, it's not illegal"

Hiya! Guess who it is with this week's  mid-week musings.

What did tonight's episode have in store for us? Well, Robert's every move was Traced in an attempt for yet another reconciliation, Liz McDonald added a new man to her collection and we heard a lot about Tim's coq.


At number one, Tracy is leaving a desperate voicemail for Robert, after they split again following her revelation that she knew all about his infidelity that wasn't. She refuses to explain anything to a concerned Ken, even after she and Robert have a shouting match out on the cobbles. Carla becomes increasingly concerned and stoops to voluntarily putting herself in the company of Tracy in order to find out what is going on. At first, it looks as if the Wicked Witch of Weatherfield is going to stay quiet and simply send Carla on her way; but then she talks. She fires the harsh truth at Carla that she initially doesn't believe, but Tracy continues. She smugly reveals all about how Robert now knows of the blackmail and where the money for the Bistro came from. Still desperate to believe that Tracy was lying, she rushes round to the Bistro to confront Robert. He complains about how evil is and what she has done makes him feel like a conman. He then somewhat blames Carla for simply adhering to the blackmail and just going along with it. Knowing that Tracy will spill the beans to Nick, she follows Robert through to the kitchen, plays Cupid and persuades him to go and get Tracy back. Tracy tries to justify herself to Robert. She doesn't like it when her men come second; she likes them to win. She only wanted everything to be perfect. And with that, Robert falls victim to a spell cast upon him by the Wicked Witch of Weatherfield and agrees to overlook the whole thing. I find it amusing that they have split up over a couple of minor things already and they hadn't even been reunited this time last year. They split up over silly things and then get back together right away. But if Tracy starts a fire which kills two people, well, that is just absolutely fine. No harm done. However, it did take a bit more of sincerity from Tracy this time to persuade Robert to take her back. She's even promised to stop ruining people's lives. What else is she going to do?


"I suppose you've come for your stuff. I just wanted everything to be perfect"
"Just don't ever do it again"
"Are you saying you forgive me?"
"Forgive is a bit strong. I'll overlook it"

Our pal Sal is dashing around the house, making herself look busily important for some high up meeting she just has to go to. The lovely Tim sits on the sofa with his feet up and enthusiastically offers offering to cook dinner. As Eva Peron puts on her lipstick, she is paying no attention to her husband and even scoffs at the very thought of him cooking. She suggests that he cooks wild salmon or coq au vin, but doesn't really believe he can do it. Nonetheless, he tells Sally he will cook for her as she rushes out the door, making herself look more important than she actually is.  That night, it appears that he has made a roast dinner for each of them. But just as he is about to serve, Sally calls him to say she'll be home late due to a drainage canal meeting. Poor Tim looks genuinely upset later on when he is on the sofa with a can of beer, dinner now ruined. Sally bounces in, spouting something about the fascination of drainage canals, totally full of herself and uncouth towards Tim's efforts. Even when she apologises, she momentarily starts talking about herself again. Tim has had enough and mutters that he's going for a pint with Kevin. Sally wasn't even a caricature tonight. She wasn't funny. She was just selfish. Maybe this will be the start of her downfall.

"I'll cook us something, yeah?"
"Yeah. Whatever. See you later"
"Coq au vin, eh? Mmm"


Elsewhere, Grandma Liz is dropping Amy off at her violin rehearsal.  Chris is dropping his grandson off at the rehearsal too and he instantly takes a shine to Liz. It must be that lovely zebra print tent she was wearing. Chris invites Liz for a coffee and the pair chat about the musical talent- or lack of- in their families. An amusing amount of irony ensues when Chris assumes that Liz is Amy's mother. Liz cannot help looking thrilled at this and even manages  to make it through the conversation without letting him know otherwise. In fact- does he assume or has he been told that Liz is her mother? Perhaps Amy is to embarrassed to admit that Tracy Barlow is her mother. After the rehearsal, she is cheekily riled for details by Little Miss Barlow. Amused and aghast by her granddaughter's lack of subtly, Liz tells Amy that she categorically does not 'fancy' Chris. Yeah, right! I personally think he'd be a good match for Liz. He's very different to any of her previous men. He was wearing a suit!

"What kind of earplugs are you using?"
"Foam mainly!"
"Wax ones block the noise out better. But it beats staring at computer screens for hours on end. You must be a very proud mother"


And to finish off, here comes my little whinge of the week. Sophie went for lunch with Kate, just as Caz got out of a taxi and spotted the pair heading off together. She later ruins a conversation about Betty by turning up unannounced in the pub. We already know that Kate is a bit sick of her fiancée and Sophie has feelings for Kate because you can't have a lesbian character not have feelings for every other lesbian character introduced to the show. That's unheard of! Imagine if every straight character fancied every other straight character, the Street would be practically inbred. Oh, wait. Anyway, Caz has decided to become the jealous bitch archetype and later on that day, when she catches Sophie on her own, she boldly confronts her and tells her to keep her distance. I have several problems with this storyline. I don't get the point of it- other than to get Sophie and Kate together, Caz is just being unbearable. Even the dramatic irony is thin. And I love Sophie as a character. I think she's great and would love to see her on screen for years to come. But can we please have her in a storyline that is nothing to do with her sexuality? Ever since they decided to stick the label of 'lesbian' on her in order to fill the quota, most of her storylines have been about her meeting a girl and trying to pair her off until it goes sour and repeating it over and over again. And apart from anything else, it's actually a little insulting that LGBT characters are seemingly paired up just because of their sexuality.

"What is it with this place and hotpot?"
"Don't let Betty hear you say that!"
"Who?"
"Betty. It's her recipe, she used to work here. She'll get you from beyond the grave"

"Caz!"
"Just keep your distance, okay?"
"Caz, me and Kate are just friends. You shouldn't even be talking to me like this. You have got it so wrong"
"Shall I spell it out? Don't mess with me or you'll know about it"

My, that was a long whinge. I actually really enjoyed this episode, I promise I did. I've had more fun reviewing tonight's episode than others I've reviewed recently. There was good drama provided by Carla and Tracy and lashings of comedy were throw in by Liz and the ever-fabulous Amy Barlow. t was also interesting to not see Sally in a comedic light. She usually provokes a laugh with her ridiculous ways, but tonight we saw the upset she is causing with her desperation to succeed.


Thanks for reading!



Jordan

Twitter- @ JordanLloyd39



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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I get what you are saying but at the same time Sophie & Kate seem to bounce off each other & have chemistry so I don't have a problem with them getting together. It would be nice to see Sophie having fun in a relationship instead of the usual angst.

As for Caz - from the first time she came on screen she came across as insecure so her behaviour isn't really out of the blue.













Humpty Dumpty said...

Is it just me or is the Carla storyline confusing? I think it's Robert who is the problem. High moral standards one minute, ruthless and menacing the next (he threatened Carla that he could ruin her life), and now we're back to Mr Nice Guy.

It's not so much that almost every story Sophie has is around her sexuality, it's that the writers only give her ones about relationships. Same with Sean. As soon as a gay character appears, we know where they're headed. Anyone else think that Pablo will form another triangle with Billy and Sean? It would make a nice change if Pablo couldn't give them the time of day.

C in Canada said...

Sean and Sophie maybe, but they've given Todd some juicy storylines (working with Tony, getting beat up, ruining his mum's love life) and have yet to pair him off with anybody.
I actually like the new Todd, especially since they've let his softer side shine through his cynicism.

Anonymous said...

Рablo and Todd?

Zagg said...

I could not be less interested in the Sophie/Caz/Kate triangle. It is so contrived, it makes me shudder to even watch. They have morphed Sophie into a one dimensional character whose only function is to be the lesbian on the show, at any cost to anyone else's relationship. No more church stuff and no friendships that are not portrayed as her worming her way into a lesbian relationship. Enough.

Ancient corrier said...

I know it was contrived for Liz to meet Chris, but really, was it necessary for Amy to be taken and collected from her music lesson in the community centre which is just across the road?

Anonymous said...

I just love your episode analyses Jordan - always insightful and always funny. Keep'em coming!

Gayle said...

Jordan, I also love your writing! Are you a journalism student by any chance?

Unknown said...

Aw thanks for the nice comments guys. I'm actually a Humanties student- basically a cross between English and History and I'm moving onto a full English degree in September.

Anonymous said...

i am by no means saying that the LGBT community don't have a place on the street, of course they do, but surely this is getting ridiculous, we now have 6 openly gay characters living in one very small area.......as others have previously said, it feels like it is being forced on us rather than being realistic.

Anonymous said...

Jordan - also love your reviews!

Re Sally and Tim: I kind of dread a retread of Deirdre and Ken, where Ken gets jealous when the job of Councillor causes Deirdre to pay less attention to him. Enter Wendy (Flaming) Crozier. I really hope Tim isn't tempted that way. A better comeuppance for Sally, IMO, would be to do something that forces her to step down and have Tim take over her seat:)

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