Tonight it's the Corrie courtroom drama, and as the trial begins, I'm hoping to feel less of a hankering for classic nostalgic Corrie of old, as we enter the court for the opening day speeches. Monday night was very good although it felt slightly surreal and a bit Hollyoaks in places. I'm also unsure of legal parlance so if I get anything wrong in this review, please remember I am reviewing Coronation Street and not Crimewatch. It certainly felt like the latter, in some places though!
Taking to the stand, Nina's distraught gothic attire gave her ‘suddenly remembered’ statement a lot of credence, the key witness statements were somewhat surprising, and the replay of Seb’s heart-wrenching audio hit the spot. Grilled by Sabeen over the graphic novel evidence (how good is Imran’s ex!), I think the 117 days gap in memory was a fair point.
Unsurprisingly, Asha’s take to the stand was nuanced and not at all in Corey’s favour. I do wonder if Asha’s feelings for Nina would be relevant in terms of a murder case? That said, that was probably the most Corrie thing that happened tonight and the (rarely seen) serious side of Dev was something else entirely - what a treat!! Also enjoyed seeing Corey’s true side come out in front of Sabeen during the courtroom break. Will that side of him appear under questioning? A bad boy always shows his colours in the end - that's the Corrie rule, don't forget.
The former bad boy, Simon Barlow, was also at court (forgetting his drug scandal) and his defence of Kelly is admirable. A future romance maybe? You’d hope Kev’s warning would hit home but I doubt not. And what about Abi? I will stand in any court and defend our Abi Franklin! Just like Nina, this story has been truly driven by both characters, brilliant performances from both, and I am keen to see the post-trial fall-out for those two. It's just the court scenes, legal parlance, and procedural stuff I have trouble with.
And what of Imran? His performances throughout this drama have been brilliant. The reality would be a legal conflict of interest of course (as Kelly’s foster parent) but I think we can put that to one side what with his convincing characterisation and delivery of top-notch writing. That scene between Dev and Imran on Victoria Street was episode defining for me and was an exceptional piece of drama. That aside, a few of the directional twists from Monday also seeped into tonight; swift surreal scene shifts, different directional style, and quite a bit of it felt very unlike Corrie for me.
My hankering for Corrie nostalgia may have to wait for another few episodes!
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