Let’s cut straight to the chase, pun intended, David Platt was the highlight of Friday’s double Corrie. Struggling with grief despite putting on a front, and even joking about it, he’s forced to face up to his feelings when Bethany admits to missing Kylie, and Gail confronts him over the bloodstained hoodie hidden under his pillow.
I didn’t agree with the unquestioning suspension from school of both Bethany and Lauren, and with the return of Brian Packham in the offing, one would have to think it would have been handled differently had he been in the hot seat. It's not clear why Lauren decides to pay the salon a visit, but it's convenient as Bethany is alone while helping the temporarily absent David. On his return, he appeals to the pair to make up, using Kylie as proof of how serious confrontation can get. He dupes Lauren into having an olive branch wash and blow-dry, and Bethany into going for ‘posh coffee’.
Once alone with Lauren, he insists she end her bullying campaign. When she resists, she ends up getting the ‘choppy bob’ she never asked for. I could only imagine the Renshaw twins beside them, saying nothing but looking disapprovingly on as they did when Audrey gave Nessa a dodgy do. Although if that was the case, David might have stopped short of warning Lauren that it will be her throat next time if she messes with any of his family again.
We’ve seen Weatherfield police arrive slower at murder scenes than this bit of hair shuffling off its mortal curl. David is nonplussed, but the same can’t be said for Bethany who now has more than the cancellation of her gym membership by Sarah to worry about. Having entered Lauren's name in the book as if she made an appointment, David tells the police she simply changed her mind half way through the cut, and failed to pay at that, despite being given an expensive treatment.
Much like the school meeting, apparently hearing two sides of a story isn’t enough to take measured action, and the police still see fit to arrest him for affray and false imprisonment. Gemma revels in the drama and adds that she witnessed the whole thing and would be happy to make a statement; unnecessary and unlikely, I would've thought, considering Gemma’s general attitude towards the police.
Despite chauffeuring both to the station, it all appears to come to nothing as they don’t seem to have enough evidence to charge David with anything; a fact I would’ve thought they’d have established from the off and saved themselves the petrol.
On release, Gemma suggests they celebrate, but David isn’t interested, telling her it’s not a game. Back home, he assures Gail he’ll bin the hoodie, and anything else that prevents him from moving on, which makes his subsequent sending of a friend request to Macca (AKA Cormac Hibbs) from a social media profile in the name Mark Bailey, all the more chilling. I'm looking forward to seeing how his grief will manifest itself next.
We’ve long known that we're unlikely to see Maria in the Mastermind chair any time soon, but she reached new lows tonight. Considering how he's been treated, it was quite a feat for her to convince Luke to give up a night with the footie lads at the Taj to attend the Regional Stylists’ Awards with her, and in a tux too. Rita’s resulting beer mat wafting swoon as he pitched up in the Rovers did make me giggle.
If Maria’s Persuasion worked, however, her Sense and Sensibility went out the window when she ditched Luke yet again for a tearful Caz who was upset on missing her chance at a job interview after an altercation with Kate, and an early bus. Interestingly, Kate appears to suspect a connection between Caz’s newfound role as Maria’s bodyguard and the break-in, an assertion which results in Caz grabbing Kate, the latter shaking her off and spilling coffee on her interview suit with possibly the first paper cup in the show’s history to have anything in it.
Grieving for the army she couldn’t get further away from, and lamenting how she enjoyed being told what to do and can't cope in the 'civvie' world, despite getting on just fine up to now, Caz definitely has Maria wrapped around her little finger. Maria then gets tearful over her world falling apart with the infidelity and death of Liam, and the sorry pair set their sights on a takeaway and a bottle of wine. In truth, it's hard to feel pity for either of them.
Whether there's a spark between Gary and Sarah or not, the sight of them talking in the street leads Izzy to realise and accept that some day he'll want to move on with someone else, and she doesn't want to be the albatross around his neck. I was glad to hear this, and while I've never thought of Gary and Sarah as a couple, there could be something in it.
I like the friendship between Craig and Faye, and her encouraging him to write a letter to his Dad which he could burn afterwards was lovely. Even if he made a smart comment about her own situation with Miley, which was unbecoming of his character, she unflinchingly persisted. He later bins his list of questions for his Dad, but she winkles the name of the prison from Kirk. We'll have to wait and see what she does with this information.
Despite being fully aware that it’s only for a few nights, Todd announces to Eileen that he’s moved in with Billy, leaving the reluctant vicar uncomfortable and the too proximate Sean upset. Todd takes to the rectory like the faithful to prayer, but Billy interrupts DVD and pizza night to ask if his lodger is flat hunting and to reveal he’s not ready for such a big step. This results in Todd storming off, and the tempestuous start to their relationship persists. Billy’s not the only one hesitant in this regard, as Aidan continues to waver. However, he finally agrees to move in with Eva after being pressed yet again, and she's predictably over the moon. Knowing what we know, will it all end in tears for poor Eva as it has so many times before, or will Aidan manage to keep his secret?
Again, David Platt was my highlight of this double with some great scenes and plenty to want to stay tuned for.
By Emma Hynes
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12 comments:
I don't think Caz has been coping very well on civvie street, not really. She wasn't out of the army 5 minutes then she was sleeping rough and civvie street really is a different way of life than army life. In many cases, for the regular soldier, they really don't learn a lot that can get them a job in the "real" world unless they're trained for something special or have gone up the ladder and have had supervisor/management experience. I appreciated her telling Maria about it and Maria really wouldn't understand even if she knows what it's like to have her world crash down. Everyone has a new normal to figure out and Caz has her challenge.
I felt for Caz - I think this could be a character that could make a turn around and become very likeable indeed. Maria is a weirdo.
As for her saying she never trusted after finding out Liam had cheated on her....uh...she trusted his murderer enough to get involved with him. lol
Bottom line for the episode is this....Jack P Shepherd is a brilliant actor. There are not enough awards for this young man. He is already a Corrie icon in my eyes. :-)
True Tvor, but Caz has proven herself to be manipulative, even capable of arranging a break-in, so it's impossible to know what's the truth and what isn't when it comes to this character. Also, she faked an injury to get out of the army, but she's now acting as if she never wanted to leave it. I appreciate that adapting may be a struggle for soldiers, but for the reasons above, I'm skeptical when it comes to this particular one.
I agree with TVOR. Caz has not been dealing well with life outside the army. But when you think of her main contact, a spoiled rich girl named Connor, is it any wonder!
the highlights of these episodes were seeing Luke and Andy. The topping on the cake was seeing Luke decked out in a tux. I agreed with Rita on that one, which just goes to show she really has great taste.
David's acting was on point and I loved the way he very calmly put Lauren in her place. Wacking a chunk of hair off her head was spot on. Probably the first time a customer has left the salon looking different than when they walked in - well, apart from Nessa that is.
I just wasn't sure why Gemma had to back up his story with the policemen. If the police were serious about the allegation wouldn't they have questioned them separately about the incident so they couldn't back-up the other's story and wouldn't they have done it at the salon???
The other highlight was Steph giving Maria a lecture on messing Luke around. Yes both Maria & Caz are weird and deserve each other. May they live happily together away from the street. Once again where were Liam and Ozzy?
Agree with Anonymous 14:36--Jack Shepard/David Platt truly is a Corrie icon in the same way that Blanche was and Carla never succeeded in being. Outrageous, authentic, idiosyncratic, over the top. Everything marked by his own personal, unmistakeable signature. I've already begun to forget about Carla and am a bit surprised by how quickly and easily she has been replaced by giving more screen time to other attractive feisty women (Leanne, Michelle). But David is a one of a kind who can't be duplicated--whether he's pelting Gail with nuts or chopping off Lauren's hair!
Also agree that Maria is fast becoming a complete mental case. Stupid alone doesn't really explain why she is doing some of the stuff she's doing--randomly marrying the gay guy, now befriending psycho Caz. Has she decided it's her mission to sacrifice herself for every needy person who comes along, all the while dumping the gorgeous, personable, and hard-working Luke who treats her and her child like gold? Please find a shrink to understand why she's become so masochistic!
'Posh coffee' - or, as a girl raised in Milan would call it ... 'coffee'.
Maria is well and truly a complete moron. Just look at her history of being utterly incapable of telling that she's getting too close to a lunatic. Maria should know full well that Caz is a stalker, given her interaction with Kate. Yet there she is, constantly dragging Caz out of the gutter and bringing her home... like a stray dog. When she's not doing that, Maria's randomly hooking up with Aidan and treating Luke like something disposable... you know, the man she randomly dressed up like a lion to win his heart?? The writers must really hate this character.
I felt sorry for Izzy when she saw Gary and Sarah together[innocent conversation between them].It must felt like deja vu for her seeing them together after she and Gary broke up together as the last time they broke up,he started dating Alya.
Perhaps it would be easier for Izzy if Gary wasn't paired up with someone who also lives on the same Street?
Since his attention seems to be focused on Bethany,I wonder if Gary has forgotten about his son Jake?
Anonymous 20:00 Where would the story for Gary be? Have you ever seen a story of interest where someone had a love interest off of the street? I think Izzy is past her sell by date...time for her to move on. As for Jake, he is probably with Dev's kids and Kev's kid and Tyrone's kids and Maria's kid and so on and so on.
Children on soaps are not seen every day every episode....
Anonymous 20;07,To answer your question,Yes there was an interesting storyline in which Craig experiences love for the first time with Caitlyn whom he met while camping with his family.
I don't think Izzy is past her sell by date but I do believe Sarah is.Since she arrived all she's done,is sleep with a drug dealer to spite her brother and get pregnant[again!.
Unfortunately,if Sarah is paired up with Gary,it will be the same old storyline,
I liked Gary and Izzy as a couple and it would've been more interesting to see them reconcile and make a real commitment to each other rather than the possibility of him being paired up with Sarah and have a relationship that won't last due to her manipulations,
Izzy was wearing that horrible top again with 'SICK' written on it. How old is she?
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