Coronation Street Episode Review, Wednesday 4th January, 8pm

Happy New Year to all Coronation Street Fans! 

This is my first episode review of 2023 and the fast-paced, issue-based, high-intensity of Weatherfield drama continues in earnest. 

Wednesday night's episode began with the Victoria Street Christmas Market reemerging as the Peace Market. In this early morning episode opener, Alya and Maria are out and ready to get the market going. Alya clocks the speed daal van and thinks she sees someone in it. She doesn't, but viewers see Lauren’s Dad steal the van. Max then meets with the gang, who subtly hint at a peace festival protest, telling him they nicked speed daals van and ditched it in the canal. Reece warns Max that he and Lauren must stay out of the way of the festival. Later, Speed Daal's van reappears on the street - viewers see a homemade explosive device attached to its ignition!! With his conscience pricked, Max tells Lauren about the beating, Spider's undercover work, and the market protest plan (thank you, Max, I missed the Monday episode) 

Realising the gang's plan to blow up the van/market, Max races to inform Yaz and Alya about the unnoticed disappearing/reappearing van, but of course, they have no interest in heeding his warning. Checking the van, however, Alya spots the improvised explosive, and with Lauren having already called the police, our heroine decides to drive away with a bomb on board! Reece returns looking for Lauren but is quickly bundled into a car by Griff and his cronies and driven away.

With the clock ticking, Alya has to dispose of the van before the bomb goes off, and on a phone call with a panic-stricken Yasmeen, she resolves to head to a canal!

Meanwhile, Spider is still in the hospital following the attack, but Teddy has recovered and is released. With Jenny offering Teddy some convalescing in the Rovers, Stephen is panicking and stirs things up, as he always does. I despised! this character to start with, but the Hillman / Phelan undertone has been a masterstroke in Corrie's plotting. Teddy doesn't remember anything, and still thinks he met Leo in Canada, so Stephen's murderous manipulation continues. Later, Spider wakes up, explains the grooming premise to Toyah, and defends Max's predicament. 

On the street, news of the bomb spreads, and the Victoria Street peace market begin evacuation. Max and Lauren race to David to explain, with Max finally realising what he got himself into, and Alyla arrives on a disused wasteland, where the bomb explodes the van. Alya has been thrown from the vehicle, unconscious on the floor, but manages to stumble home, with the police finding her on Balaclava Terrace. The police then head next door and arrest Max. 

Elsewhere - Damon tells Jacob to quit the Underworld job to work at the Bistro full-time, which he does, telling Nick to double-pay his son, and it's clear that Damon is obviously planning something when he wants a mysterious package delivered. Gemma and Bernie are upset at Bessie Street's reluctance to take on BSL usage, so they head over to shout it out. The snooty school teacher ignores their pleas, so Bernie, Gemma (and Michael Bailey, randomly) decide to do a sit-in protest. With one Corrie cause celebre slowly nearing completion, they thought it was time for another. As someone who wears hearing aids, I get what this is about, so I am all for it. 

Elsewhere, I loved Roy's astonishment at the banality of mobile phones, memes, passwords, and emojis misuse. Brian needs to reintroduce those peace cakes to Mary. I’d love to see a modern retelling of the famous 2003 scene (episode 5581) where the old-guard patrons got stoned at Roy's Rolls. Peter’s barter storyline is also enjoyable. 

What did you think of tonight's Coronation Street? 

Let us know in the comments box. 

I am @rybazoxo self-styled cobbles connoisseur & Coronation Street superfan. 

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