Firstly, let me set the record straight. I love Carla and Peter together. As a Corrie superfan, I've watched religiously since 1997 and both characters are legends of the shows modern history, that's undisputed! My fandom for these two fine actors is unwavering - long may they continue on Corrie!
However, Monday's episode brought my current thoughts on their storyline to the fore, and I need to commit to paper, or Corrie blog, which is the same thing. So, as a firm believer of a balanced debate, and as an ex boozer myself, I feel qualified to sit on a fence, or Maxine's bench, to ponder such a conundrum and offer my thoughts on the future of Carla and Peter.
Nearly two years ago, I became teetotal from alcohol. No rehab, AA, detox, or hospitalization for me. However, to enact full sobriety, I had some toxic relationships to remove from my life as well. It's what Peter would have been taught in rehab, and this is something I can relate to when it comes to Peter's predicament. Alcohol is a poison and poisonous relationships usually go hand in hand with addiction and abuse. To free yourself from toxicity completely, well that's a big part of any recovery journey, and is essential, in most cases. It's a tricky predicament as you often love the person as much as you do the booze, however, it's just as damaging.
Peter may have now stopped drinking but is Carla an addiction he needs to quit as well? Metaphorically speaking, you could argue he's been long addicted to the factory boss, and who can blame him! The sultry brunette beauty is a modern-day Elsie Tanner! However, it doesn't mean that the relationship is good for his recovery nor drying out.
In recent episodes, we have seen Peter struggle to put the pieces of a jigsaw together. As anybody will tell you when you stop drinking, you gain a lot of free time, and a jigsaw is a good bit of cognitive behavioural therapy that keeps the brain busy. I smiled as they introduced this on-screen, my CBT was a Corrie colouring book!
Is the jigsaw being used as a visual metaphor, for Peter putting his life back together, perhaps?
Peter did seem distracted though by Carla's factory flirtation, and lest we forget that whilst he's trying to recover, Carla has slept with his nephew, been tempted by Lucas, and now lied to him about getting drunk with Jenny!
It does seem like a rather toxic relationship. Can Peter put the pieces back together and still be with Carla, or will he find that there's a final piece that just won't fit? I'd hope not but for Peter to gain and keep sobriety, he has to remove the toxicity and at the minute, that looks like a Carla shaped piece in his life...
What do you think?
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