It has not been an easy week on the Street and on Friday we are back to a single hour. (Worth noting that EastEnders moved their Friday episode to avoid a clash as they cannot afford to see viewer numbers drop further!). Tonight was somewhat dominated by two downbeat stories maturing further.
Last November (I looked it up) Dr Gaddas caught Ali in her office and it was never explained. Tonight it finally was. He started taking benzodiazepines after scoring some from the good doctor's office (do doctors have drugs in their office in t'North - we have to go to chemists in the South?) and subsequently was getting a decent supply from a hospital pharmacist who knew how to undetectedly bend the system - whom you may recall was arrested on Wednesday, so the missing drugs had been spotted - which means Ali is now unable to cope with real life. Ali tells Maria he is feeling under the weather and tries the same line with Dr Gaddas (above we see Ali pleading for his "fix") for a prescription for the pills (often known as Valium). Dr Gaddas is not stupid and recalls the aforementioned event but does not report him.
The news of Sinead's limited life expectancy is being passed on by the family and Beth has the duty of telling Chesney [above] and we are reminded by Jenny's observation that he still loves Sinead. Jenny promises to tell the pub patrons and the news is passed by word of mouth around the Street. Sinead is enduring the impact - should be at home or in a hostel - but in the background of various scenes the toll on Daniel is showing and he is struggling to cope as well as Sinead is doing. Chesney and Sinead share a moment later on - she will always be just Sinead to him - not "poor Sinead".
Ali leaves the doctors and Roy asks him to convince Carla to take her tablets, Ali thinks about stealing them but under pressure from Roy gets Carla to agree. Most notable was that Ali did this with a different haircut to the one he had in the surgery earlier!
Kate is told by Craig that Gary gave her the £1k in a brown envelope. She is convinced that Gary felt sorry for her and was doing her a good turn using Derek's money - a story she believes. Inevitably before her departure on her travels there is a party in the Rovers and there she was - gone. Speaking personally I have never warmed to Kate, she never struck me as interesting or convincing and I will not be missing her.
Light relief was provided by a Gemma and Bernie shopping expedition where Bernie is trying on some maternity trousers which, when they start arguing, she forgets to remove as she leaves the shop. She tells the store security that she has never stolen anything in her life and this was clearly a mistake (the last part is true). A more senior security guard arrives - Kel - whom Gemma is pleased to see and after making their lives difficult he lets them go. He later turns up at the Chesney residence and we learn from Gemma that he is one of the few men who managed to keep Bernie on the straight and narrow and we can see that whatever ended it between the two of them has been forgotten as they are getting on very well. There is a spoiler on Kel here. Chesney and Gemma also find out about the scam that Bernie has been running.
Ryan finds Ali fitting on the floor in the flat - just where he found Cormac last time. This time he calls an ambulance - by the time it arrives Ali has come round and denies losing consciousness - he knows that if word of his problem reaches the authorities his job and career are lost. Paramedics gone Ali asks Ryan to score him some benzos. Ryan refuses but tells Robert what has happened. Ryan and Robert are going to babysit Ali as he goes cold turkey on his addiction. A message is sent to Maria telling her that Ali's cold has got worse and their date is off. The three of them prepare for a difficult night.
Paula convinces Sophie she is worth so much more than being a manager at Speed Dahl so in the course of the episode Sophie signs up on a business management course. No-one has mentioned where there is a course with empty spaces - is it actually in Manchester (Hint - Sophie you might need a larger bag to hide that bump) above? Sophie is convinced to take the step into the unknown by her old stick-in-the-mud dad Kevin who has been approached over the internet by an ex-girlfriend (spoiler here) which he initially turns down but uses the need to live to the full as you never know when there is a "Sinead" moment around the corner both to agree to meet the ex-girlfriend and to convince Sophie to be bold.
Despite the content the episode nicely moved some things along with characters - particularly Kev and Sophie. Carla being helped by Dr Ali even when he is in the grip of withdrawal shows he is good really. I feel that the gap between November and now for the Ali story is a little extended - but with good reason I hope.
Next week MsKelstar will be here with the round up.
Written by Sam Holdsworth, directed by Mickey Jones
Kosmo
@Kosmo100
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
3 comments:
We need more information on Sophie's business management course. Is it full time and how will she pay for it if she gives up her job? How long does it last ? Conveniently until the end of Brooke Vincent's maternity leave!
She's got to have an exit storyline somehow
Of course, but it should be believable. Personally, I am all for Sophie getting some qualifications. She was always brighter than Rosie, and it was a shame that she chose to leave college when her wedding to Sian didn't happen. She'd have been better off completing her A levels instead of taking a series of dead-end jobs.
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