I’ve been suspicious from the very start, but really, please, what on earth is going on? Well, to answer my own question, we know that Henry is ‘involved’ with Gemma for a bet. It seems it is as crude as that.
So, we have the toff with the working-class girl - all brash and brazen and on the surface with no finesse, at least not of the superficial kind. But there is an irony here, and that is that though Gemma appears to have no class, at least superficially, I repeat, she is in possession of some excellent qualities – and she has them in spades.
Gemma is the embodiment of loyalty. It was Gemma who went back into the Register Office room to check that Chesney was ok after the wedding collapsed. It was Gemma who devoted herself to Rita when she had a brain tumour diagnosed and was the best friend anyone could have had.
Gemma has her rough edges, but she is decidedly a good person, despite her background and some of the friends she hung around with in her earlier days.
Why then is Henry on the scene? Does Gemma really want to be with him? Is Henry engaged in some kind of social experimentation? It was confirmed in Friday’s second episode that Henry was going out with Gemma for a bet. Such an undertaking is at best stupid and at worst cruel. It will end, Gemma will be hurt and Henry will continue his life pretty much unscathed by the experience. His attitude towards Gemma can be summed in some of the words of the secret telephone call he made. ‘Can you believe the cheeky wench tried to finish with me?’ Wench! Are we in a Shakespearian tavern in 1590? Heaven help us if there are people still referring to women as wenches!
It could have been so much better. Henry’s snobbery could have been exposed by Gemma and her ‘rough diamond’ character could have genuinely turned Henry’s head and maybe they could have had an honest relationship. The storyline could have been treated with a light, deft touch and Gemma could have mocked him, gently, because no one can help the class that they were born into. As it stands, we are left with an untapped vein of humour and if our favourite street needs anything right now, it is a sizeable dose of humour.
By Ruth Owen, twitter:
Read more Corrie news, interviews, gossip and spoilers
Please read our advice for leaving comments on the Coronation Street Blog
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
I wonder if the same story we’ve seen time and time again, where the boy sates the girl as a bet, but falls in love for real, and it’s not until after that, that the girl finds out and breaks up with him, and then the boy wins her back?
ReplyDelete*dates
ReplyDeleteI had such high hopes for this story line when it was introduced. Now I'm just scratching my head. :(
ReplyDeleteOh come on! Please! Common sense should tell you that someone like Henry would not give someone like Gemma a second glance. I know, it's harsh, but it's true.
ReplyDeleteI was cautiously optimistic about this one, but alas, the man's a doofus after all. Such a shame. As you say in the blog, this could have been great fun but of course they've turned it into a misery.
ReplyDeleteJeanie (anon):
ReplyDeleteI think Susan has it right. It's a formula used a million times--from Pygmalion/My Fair Lady to Mills and Boon. He STARTED dating her on a bet--this is actually kinda realistic, for, as Boris says it's very unlikely he would begin a relationship with her without an ulterior motive. But then, as he's exposed to her world, he will realize that she has a heart of gold--especially with the Brewery birthday party--and that she really cares for him in a way that his rich friends don't. He will start to fall for her for real. Then the discovery of the bet, the break-up and heart ache, and his attempts to win her back when he realizes how much he cares for her. In My Fair Lady, Henry Higgins was a first class pratt in need of a good smacking as well.
My only complaint with the story is not that Henry has ulterior motives in dating her--you need some sort of premise like that or why would he ever be entering her world? Is he really going to find her behaviour at the party she crashed so charming?! I think this latest twist has a lot of promise and is more interesting and convincing than the straight Cinderella fairy tale. It's that the story has been presented very unevenly, inconsistently, very choppy going in different directions. The story writers started by presenting it as a Cinderella story--suggesting he was genuine--and even had him behaving in a much more sincere way. Now, suddenly, he's filled with upper class superiority, hardly able to hide his disdain. Meanwhile, they already had the earlier story line with the guy hooking up with Gemma on a challenge from his mate right before her meeting Henry.
The writers should be able to do so much better than this in terms of consistency and flow!
Don’t forget though that the Higgins/Eliza relationship was not a romantic one. The bet was an academic exercise that failed to take Eliza’s feelings into account. Shaw himself always insisted there should be no romantic attraction between the two, and even wrote a postscript in which she had married Freddie, but remained in a close platonic friendship with Higgins. (Such is the original Pygmalion, anyway - the musical version may have hinted a little more at other possibilities). But I think your comparison is apt, Jeanie, as both involve a bet and an obliviousness to the emotional effect on a vulnerable young woman.
DeleteI'm disappointed but they could still make something of it. I don't want Gemma to change too much. Soften a few edges, maybe but not to the point where her bubbly personality becomes vapid. Becky and Kylie were both toned down but still retained that edge, that volatility when provoked. I would like to see Henry called out on his behaviour in public, having him realize he's genuinely grown to like her a lot and having him kicked unceremoniously to the curb.
ReplyDeleteJeanie (anon):
ReplyDeleteA few weeks or month down the road, we'll be seeing Gemma express sentiments to Henry N. similar to those great lines from My Fair Lady: "Just you wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait/You'll be sorry but all your tears will be too late!" Actually a lot more fun to watch than a standard Cinderella fantasy which would have just looked out of place with Gemma (who is no delicate Cinderella princess waiting to be rescued, much better as a feisty, in your face but still vulnerable Eliza Dolittle).
The big question is how long is Henry on for? Is he a regular character or is he only a guest? This will show where the story is headed perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI think it's a very uneven story for a reason that's becoming almost normal on Corrie these days. The writers couldn't decide where to go with the storyline. It's possible that the two guys - Henry and the previous scumbag whom Peter threw out - are mates. The first time they got rumbled, and now they're having another go at the bet. It strikes me as odd that Henry, if he is indeed the grandson of brewery family - would choose the Rovers to carry out this stupid bet. Perhaps that's the point and Henry is trying to discredit his own family. Now why they've picked on Gemma, who is rough, ready and a very easy target, is strange. I can only think the writers will retcon this when they've worked out where they're going with it. It could have been a Cinderella story if Chesney and Sinead hadn't broken up. When the truth comes out about Henry, Chesney will be there to comfort Gemma. So I'll stick with this last thought. Henry will be overheard on his mobile, Liz will phone the brewery and he'll be marched out of town. Chesney and Gemma start their new romance.
ReplyDeletePlease no, don't make Gemma take revenge on Henry. Everyone on this street is all about getting even. When Mike Baldwin first arrived on the street, he did a similar thing to Bet Lynch. Swept her off her feet, she built castles in the air then she found out he was attached and she was being used. It made her reflect on herself, introspect. The scenes were done with pathos as well humour. I am not saying have Gemma repeat the same but it might make her enroll in some night classes, ask Rita to help her dress better, even talk to Sally about ways to rise in society despite a disadvantaged beginning. I think these everyday things are more watchable than murder and revenge all the time.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see her find someone better and dump Henry, and be none the wiser about the bet. However, I realise there's no chance of that happening. I hope they will find a better come uppance for him than the standard pint tipped on his head.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to see Gemma stay as she is. She has already softened quite a bit since she was Callum's side kick.
Why do Corrie men who are posh and/or intelligent nearly always turn out to be psychotic, weird or a bad lad?
It's a waste of time until the whole Ches/Daniel/Sinead boring as hell triangle came to an end. Gemma will probably tell Henry to do one, and hook up with Chesney.
ReplyDeleteI am also sorely disappointed that this story went down the bleedin' obvious road.It would have been fun to see the two of them overcome the differences and experiences in their lives. What's next? Gemma ends up pregnant and has a long, drawn out custody battle??
ReplyDeleteJeanie (anon): That's a great point, Cobblestone. I had forgotten the difference between My Fair Lady and Pygmalion. Maybe after Gemma transforms herself, she will realize she doesn't need Henry to validate her. But plse, don't have her move on to Chesney...gosh, that would be 100 steps backwards.
ReplyDeleteBut anyways, as Susan says, this is a standard story in romances. Guy from upper class is dating/using a girl from lower class only to realize (perhaps too late?) that she is more authentic and cares for him more deeply than any of his upper class friends or lovers. There are hundreds of variants of this story out there.