Tonight was the Bailey family and only the Bailey family as all other stories were dropped. So here is what else happened. Leanne wants to know Oliver's diagnosis - and yet she does not want to know and Leanne is exactly right - when you do know you wish you didn't. Toyah comforted her. Saying goodbye to Toyah later Leanne finds Nick outside the hospital and they make up.
Grace delivers Tianna to Michael when James announces he is quitting, not just Wethy County but football. James cannot take the abuse.
Ed has finally finished the snagging work at the Bistro and the opening can go ahead. He finishes a speech which started in his work clothes but ends above standing there in his suit at the party, neat but on checking not quite as clever as I had thought!
During the party Don the new manager is telling a mate about the problems he has had getting the work finished and (sorry about this) ends by observing that "if you pay peanuts you get monkeys", which he thinks is very funny. Ed and the rest of the family hear it. Ed marches across to his and asks him to repeat it. When Ray tries to stop Ed the latter asks when is the right time and place to face up to a racist? Ed tells everyone that he has had a lifetime fighting name calling and sstupid comments, people "doing" his accent, or being asked if he came over on the Windrush, asking if he can read, if he went to school, if he can swim, being assumed he is a criminal or can he supply come ganja and what he eats even what cricket team he supports - so perhaps Don could repeat the joke? Ed repeats the joke himself. But he is not prepared to leave the fight to others. An apology is given which Ed tells him to shove and the Baileys all leave. Frankly I was so upset at Ed's hypocrisy (and that I don't believe that such comments are made these days) that I was not invested in the scene or the people.
I was more taken by the first sight of the Bistro; I don't know if those tables are permanent or just for the launch party. Hopefully there will be more to come - although will we ever be allowed in such establishments again as standing 2km apart is not really practical?
Michael heads home with Tianna where ex-friend Grace is waiting. Michael tells Tianna always to stand up for herself. He and Grace will stand by her and will challenge and fight to make the world a better place for everyone. Grace nods. And when Michael stands up the clearly moved Grace moves in and snogs him. Then both back away awkwardly and Grace departs faster than Concorde.
The other Baileys retreat to the Rovers, James - at the bar chatting to Emma who denies ever experiencing overt racism, although everyone wants to feel her hair - refusing to sit with his parents for reasons that we know. Dev joins Aggie and Ed and retells some of the abuse he has suffered - even in his own shop and being told to go back where he came from - Birmingham apparently! Even at the golf club. Ed refuses to talk to James.
At this point my incredulity meter fell off the end of the scale. Kev is 54 and he has never thought about racism. All right I know he is not the sharpest knife in the block but come on this feels unbelievable. Dev talking to Kev refers to what goes on at football matches on the terraces and Kev says that is down to the weird racist countries England are playing, allowing Ty, Dev and Abi to point out that Kev is not quite woke yet. Kev then comes up with the best Kevinism yet - babies are not racist or homophobic - it is the rubbish that gets stuffed in their heads.
Aggie works on James first - he tells her that Ed has to make the first move. So about 5 years too late Aggie gets around to point out that if you can't be racist then you cannot be anti-gay either - and Ed is told to go and talk to James.
Which gave us sight of another refurbished set. Someone has been doing up the back yard of the Rovers. Ed joins James and he tells him he knows about the terraces, the comments by the coaches and especially all muck on social media. And how being a homosexual footballer is going to make it worse - and although James is a grown man he is still Ed's little boy. However Ed accepts that James has to be his own person - so no more pretending. No more running away. We all have to live our best lives. Ed then admits that is truly sorry - an apology of real meaning and heartfelt unlike the one delivered earlier. Ed tells James to walk tall and be true to himself. Mighty man hug.
OK I have already mentioned a couple hangups with the racist element of this story and I feel it was wrong to be used as the fulcrum for Ed to admit his own problems, but that was the way the told the story. We all know that out there in the real world there must be some real gay footballers and whilst football has taken steps ("Kick it Out") to combat racism it is a pity that the campaign was not wider - intended to deal with all forms of discrimination on the terraces [except at the referee when he makes another wrong decision for my team].
Written by Ian Kershaw and directed by Lee Trevor (who needs to cast a little more light in scenes please).
Kosmo
@Kosmo100
All original work on Coronation Street Blog is covered by a Creative Commons License
I thought the new set was the Bailey's backyard. And very nice it is too!
ReplyDeleteAnd it has been drawn to my attention that Kevin enjoyed a close and loving relationship with Molly Hardcastle who worked at the medical centre. So how come he never thought about racism?
ReplyDeleteWomen are oppressed but many men would not have known until recently when women start to show us how we are oppressing them. So it does not matter if Kevin was in a relationship for a short period of time back then. I know someone who remind me of Kevin, they did not know about racism either.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the music in the background when Ed and Aggie were talking in the pub and carried on to the end?
ReplyDeleteWhat was the music playing in the background when Ed was talking to Aggie in the pub and carried on to the end?
ReplyDelete