"Some obligations can't be passed on": Watching A Place To Call Home

Mel O'Drama

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Episodes Nine to Twelve... continued




Political ambition in soapy drama series rarely excites me. By necessity, it can only be taken so far or highlight that the world these characters inhabit is different from ours. This is perhaps especially true with historic drama such as this.

That said, this series is almost tailor made for such ambition. After all, the PM has been a recurring character since Season One. Such a story also highlights the appeal of the speed with which the stories can move in this series with its short seasons and frequent time lapses.

With George’s political ambition well-established, things are taken to the next level by Regina’s suggestion that Jack should run as an independent in order to keep Sir Richard occupied. Wisely, Jack is shown to resist the idea, giving sound reasons:
Jack said:
Bennett’s out to ruin me. And now you’re suggesting I paint a bullseye on my back and let ‘im take aim? A great big bloody red one, so he can’t miss? Yeah, terrific idea. You’ve all got rocks in your heads.

Jack said:
How would it look? Me running against my brother-in-law. People would assume some sort of conspiracy - which it is - or a rift in the family. Sooner or later they’d be right on both counts. Politics is a dirty business.

Jack’s also concerned about the impact such stress could have on his drinking. Indeed, he’s already popping pills from the stress of Richard investigating him to try to find dirt. Episode Nine is the first time Jack’s named his condition as alcoholism, showing he recognises the severity of his illness and the importance of avoiding triggers. George and Carolyn are disappointed but accept Jack’s reasons for saying no.

In the meantime, having earlier outright stated his intention to Regina to try and put Elizabeth in an early grave, Richard pays Elizabeth a visit:
Sir Richard said:
Well, well, well. Miss Haversham amongst the relics. And even though you managed to marry a man he still left you high and dry… What’s he left you with, eh? Him stone cold in the ground. His mongrel dogs defanged. The crazy lady down in Inverness. And me. Right here. It’s enough to do an old biddy in. How is the old ticker, by the way. Oh, must be a terrible strain.


Although Richard doesn’t realise it, this forces Jack’s hand, and he steps up to run.
Jack said:
I’ve stopped taking the pills.
Carolyn said:
That’s good news. But, I want you to promise me something, doctor. You let me know if things start to get on top of you. You won’t be doing this on your own

And it’s here again that the series’ Reader’s Digest approach is also used to good effect to give us a tantalising and crucial piece of instant gratification in a non-linear way. Immediately after this scene there’s a “Three Months Later” caption. And as the episode comes to a close we see Jack staggering round a field at night, almost empty bottle in his hand.


Episode Ten is a classic “plan coming to fruition” episode that made last season such fun to watch. It begins with Jack still staggering round in the dark, until he falls over and passes out. Then we flash back to fill in the gaps.

Richard is lured to Inverness by George introducing Sarah and David to the community as his fiancée and son during one of his podium speeches. Through Regina, they’ve got wind of Richard’s plan to rally local bigots (including Stan O’Rourke) and disrupt Jack’s campaign on the basis of his friendship with Frank, who is of Aboriginal descent. While Richard stands in the crowd, smirking, Jack faces it head-on as they’ve planned:
Jack said:
Seems there’s a few here who don’t approve of me being mates with Frank Gibbs… Frank and I, we were both prisoners under the Japs. Different camps. Same brutality. We all suffered the same. No-one cared about your colour in there. We’re all there for each other… Frank Gibbs fought - and suffered - for his country. He’s as much my mate as any of these blokes. Any vote that costs me is a vote I don’t want.

The majority of the town rallies to support him and drown out the bigots, and Jack raises a knowing eyebrow at the furious Richard. Richard then demands dirt on Jack from Henry, with the threat that the medical board will learn that Henry is a “shirtlifter” if not. So at the next hustings, they collude with Doris and Roy to nip that one in the bud:
Henry said:
I’d like to introduce one of the finest men it’s been my privilege to work with…
Doris said:
Congratulations to Mr Fox and Miss Anna Bligh.
Roy said:
Round of applause for the newly-engaged couple.
Richard said:
What is this?
Sarah said:
Justice. George’s secured the loans free of you. You’ve no hold now. You’re nothing but a paper tiger.

But the victory is short-lived as Richard has a bombshell of his own. After a furious glare at Regina, Richard walks calmly to the podium and grabs the microphone:
Richard said:
Ladies an’ gentlemen. Good folk of Inverness… I wanna add my words to the ones said about the candidate here… Doctor to you all. An’ a friend to most, I am sure. But I have one question to ask, and it’s an important one: Do you want your man to be able to stand up for you in Canberra? D’you want a man with courage? Do you want one with balls? Well Dr Duncan can’t help you here. [laughs] He doesn’t have any. Right doc? The Japs cut ‘em off in the war. You want a eunuch in Canberra, ladies an’ gentlemen? Then you vote Jack Duncan.
[Jack walks off. Richard continues]
Richard said:
He’s got nothing between his legs.
[George punches him to the ground]
George said:
You. Get your miserable arse out of here.

There follows a scene in which Richard is essentially pilloried by the Inverness community, beginning with young Larry Grey throwing Leah’s toffee apple at Richard. He’s then pushed back to his car and told in no uncertain terms to leave. Before leaving town, he pays a visit to Regina at her farmhouse:
Richard said:
You played me from the get-go.
Regina said:
With pleasure.
Richard said:
I oughta kill you.
Roy walks into the room from where he’s been waiting:
Roy said:
An’ I oughta stomp you like the little grub you are. I’ll give you two seconds to piss off. An’ you better not be back.

Richard leaves after promising to ruin the town. Roy goes outside to check he’s gone. Regina is left alone:
Regina said:
Nearly there.


With Jack, now drunk and missing, Carolyn and Elizabeth are frantic with worry and searches have shown up nothing. It’s over breakfast the next morning that George gets a phone call as the family listens with increasing horror:
George said:
Oh God. Dead?

We cut to the scene. Beyond a police car, we see a group of people gathered on a sandy bank near the water. Then we join them. The camera pans past an officer interviewing a fisherman who found the body. Then to officers looking down on the body. And finally the camera moves round and between the officers to reveal Regina’s lifeless corpse.








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Mel O'Drama

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Episodes Nine to Twelve... continued




While the series wraps up loose ends before season’s end, we do get an episode and a half of mystery after the death. Yes - it would have been more fun to have a big cliffhanger and characters’ lives in jeopardy. But since it seems that’s not an option, what we got was highly enjoyable, and with a classic prime time feel.

Anyone familiar with Knots Landing will see some Knotsian elements to this one. In particular, there’s the relapsed alcoholic character who due to a blackout can’t remember what he was doing when the blonde woman who’s been the centrepiece for the season apparently drowned. If the Ciji storyline had coincided with Gary’s later brief foray into the political arena, this is what we would have got.

There’s also a reverso-Patricia/Luke scenario. Whereas the dead man in that instance had scratches on his face from a very live woman, Regina has skin under her fingernails… and Richard has scratches on his face.

This forensic detail leads me onto the post-death detail. The mortuary scenes with Regina on the slab are downright creepy. Her skin is like blue marble. It’s also icky that while the post-mortem on her body is being performed by Henry and Sarah, they simultaneously give her character the same treatment:
Henry said:
I didn’t have time for the woman. Loathed her, in fact. Loathe her even now for putting us through this.
Sarah said:
The truly tragic part of this is that finally - finally - just when she was getting to the point where she could be…
She leans down to Regina’s face:
Sarah said:
…Where you could have been some use to the world and finally contributed to it after all your spleen and malice… If this is about making us all feel guilty…
She looks to Henry and says with a smile:
Sarah said:
I could really slap her face.

And while we miss much of the post-mortem, other than inspection of the bruises on Regina’s chin and arms and the skin under her nails, we do later see her in the background covered in a slightly bloody sheet, while Henry and Sarah inspect her lung in the foreground, eventually discovering there’s no water, which indicates she didn’t drown. This is the first time I can recall seeing a main character’s organ given screen-time like this, which is quite exciting.

Scenes like this are another reason why Episode Eleven is, unfortunately, so Henry-centric. He turns detective here, with he and Sarah bouncing theories off one another and putting pieces together. And when he’s given more to do it highlights the flaws that niggle me. His facial expressions suggest Tim Draxl is trying really hard to bring gravitas to the role, but it’s all undone when he speaks. He croaks and smokes his way through his scenes, speeding through the dialogue.

Back at the plot, Jack has been returned to the fold and is hiding out in a hotel suite with Carolyn, afraid to face the town. He has bloodied knuckles and is suffering flashbacks to Regina standing over him and talking. But he recovers enough to face Richard, with Carolyn at his side:
Jack said:
You think you’ve shamed me… Destroyed my reputation. But what you’ve actually done is put a stench around your own I reckon you might never recover from. You see, I will. ‘Cause you’ve done me a favour. Living with that secret… that’s eaten me inside out. But you’ve gone and liberated me from the Japs all over again. This time for good.

Meanwhile, Sarah discovers - through Doris - that Nurse Valda Fisher is Sir Richard’s mole at the hospital and confronts her. The police become involved when it is apparent that Valda signed out the morphine that killed Regina, and she confesses that she did it under orders from Richard. When she learns of Jack’s flashbacks, Sarah makes a deduction, mid-episode:
Sarah said:
There’s a way it all fits together… I know who killed her.

Having done some experiments to test her theory, Sarah gathers the whole Bligh family together in the drawing room, Christie-style, telling them there’s a decision to be made:
Sarah said:
We’ll never know the exact events, but it must have been something like this: [Richard] did force the morphine onto her… Enough to bring on confusion but not sleep. She wandered off into the night… Then she came across Jack… She went home. She cut the telephone line to make it look like [Richard had] done it. Then she wrote the note [suggesting Richard was trying to break in and making threats]… Jack heard her rowing out into the river… and then she hacked a hole in the bottom. Just enough to admit water slowly. Then she took whatever morphine was left. A fatal dose. She died before the boat sank. She made it look like murder. That Richard had tossed her into the river to cover his crime… Regina returned to make amends, and killed herself to do it.

So, in shorthand, Regina Jill Bennetted herself, linking the story to yet another Gary Ewing drama.

The decision is about whether to tell the police or to honour Regina’s sacrifice and let Richard take the fall. Due to his previous form, the entire family are in favour of not telling the police. Except one.
Elizabeth said:
I betrayed my moral code for an act of love. I can’t add to that burden by doing so for hate.

In light of the unrepentant Richard’s release, she takes a more biblical approach by going to his office, producing a knife from her handbag and putting it on his desk:
Elizabeth said:
It started with this knife. A mother, seeking individual justice. Have you enough gratitude to end it with an eye for an eye. You do to me what I did to you. I will bear the pain if it allows you to achieve balance in your mind.

It doesn’t come to bloodshed, but it’s a winning moment for Elizabeth all the same. And the vendetta is over. Or so it seems.
 

Mel O'Drama

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And a few final thoughts about Regina.

Firstly, I knew she was to be killed off. Not based on the plot, but on doing an image search I saw one image accompanied by an article called Why A Place To Call Home killed off Regina Standish (which I’ve now, finally, been able to read. Happy days).

I saw the headline probably as I was watching late Season Four episodes, so when she wasn’t killed in that finale, I’d assumed she’d probably end up committing suicide in the asylum. Probably off-screen. I couldn't imagine the character needing to appear on-screen again. How wrong I was.

When it was clear she was going to be a big part of the landscape this season, I shared the scepticism Jenni Baird had about Regina returning after such a definitive and dramatic exit. And watching early episodes in Season Five, I thought I was right to feel that way.

But Regina’s arc during Season Five has blown my socks off. Because I didn’t think it was possible for her to find any kind of redemption with both characters and viewers. Bevan Lee set himself a seemingly impossible challenge. For me this echoes the challenge he set himself back on Sons and Daughters of making Terry Hansen a hero despite him being a rapist. Regina’s possibly taken this to another level because of the escalation of her character which has seen her say and do some very vile things. And again - he was successful in doing what he set out to do.

Seeing Regina’s entire journey with the benefit of hindsight puts a whole new spin on things for me. The character has been so much more nuanced and accessible. The article makes it clear there was a plan all along for her, and I now wish I hadn’t been so resistant to the character in her earlier seasons. Having watched Season Five, I’d most definitely view the character very differently during a rewatch. And I hope I’d enjoy her all the more.

After spending so long concerned about how different APTCH was with Regina, I now find myself thinking that Season Six is going to be a lot less interesting and colourful - and possibly enjoyable - without her.
 

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Season Six


Episodes One to Three





Even with the preparations going on, Sarah and George’s marriage surprised me. Mainly because I’d all but forgotten they weren’t married. With major plots every season bringing us to this point, it’s a little wrong for their wedding to have taken place offscreen in a Register Office. But then the reason I forgot is because they’re essentially already man and wife. They just haven’t been sharing a bedroom. The fact that their son announced their marriage is exactly why the way they marry should be anything but traditional.

As well as a peace offering to family and friends, the drawing room exchange of vows was also presumably there to satisfy those in the audience who, for all their claims of liberalism and modernity, like nothing nicer than a nice, traditional wedding.

I’m not certain if this is the final season by design, but if so then it makes sense that we should see the two living as a married couple for a time. The biggest adjustment for characters is Elizabeth getting used to the idea that she’s no longer mistress of Ash Park. This has been debatable for some time, first with Regina and then with George saying neither she nor Regina are mistress. However, the fact that Elizabeth is now struggling with the reality of it tells us clearly that she accepts Sarah in a way she never could Regina.

Happily for us - because complete acceptance can be terminal for soap characters - Elizabeth is far less happy about Sarah’s faith becoming a significant part of the household. Not least the weekly Shabbat which, when explained in her voice, helps the viewer understand the reality and the validity of her fears from her view on Shabbat:
Elizabeth said:
You’re invited to her Jewish dinner, I hear? Presents a weekly dilemma.
Carolyn said:
There’s no obligation.
Elizabeth said:
Making one a refugee from the dining room each Friday.
Carolyn said:
Like the Middle East, we have our Jewish Question.


Through dialogue we also learn that George has been denied a conversion. Elizabeth’s umbrage at this is most enjoyable.
Elizabeth said:
How offensive.
George said:
They saw right through me. You see, I was doing it for love - not love of God.
Elizabeth said:
Any group judging you unworthy…! Let alone…
George said:
Elizabeth said:
How much will we have to walk on religious eggshells, George? How Jewish will the household be?
George said:
As Jewish as Sarah wants it. It is her home now.



With this in mind, Elizabeth takes her leave (again) and heads for the Goddard place in the city, trying to escape the family dramas. Which would be a nice idea, but for the fact that Anna, Olivia, Matthew and Georgie are staying there.

Olivia and Matthew are in strife, with Matthew struggling to accept the soapy secrets that lie within the family. Perhaps I’ve been involved with them too long. How else would you explain Matthew seeming like the unreasonable one?

First he’s heard Olivia advising pregnant Anna not to tell Henry he’s the father (prophecy fulfilled). And after that discussion, Olivia’s realised she can’t marry him unless she reveals an even bigger secret: Georgie’s origins. After some vacillation she decides to tell him, but Matthew insists that they must trace the mother and see if she gave up Georgie willingly, or if she wants to be part of his life. Objectively, he has a valid point, but his refusal to even begin to see things from Olivia’s point of view doesn’t bode well. Indeed, on the morning they’re due to visit the doctor in question, Olivia hands her engagement ring back and tells him he brought it on himself. Which is probably for the best.

Helpfully, we come to understand that Matthew himself has his reasons for feeling so strongly. As he tells the returned James, Matthew has a child he never sees because the mother simply vanished and took the child with her. All the same, his personality change this season seems quite profound. I suppose laid-back surfie dudes don’t make for much drama.








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Episodes One to Three... continued





There were several dark clouds looming over Sarah and George’s joyous day. The most significant being Roy’s Dawn’s waters breaking. Jack and Sarah - but not Roy - knew that the pregnancy was very risky for her, since she’d suffered a massive haemorrhage after giving birth to her last child. So Sarah spends her wedding night with Roy in the corridor, while Jack and Henry deal with a complicated labour.

What I love about these scenes is how effectively the message is given to us without words. Sarah goes to see how things are and we see her looking in horror at Jack, who has come out of the theatre. Without dialogue, the camera cuts to Sarah’s vision of Jack’s white scrubs absolutely covered in thick, dark blood.

When Sarah goes to tell Roy, Doris sees Sarah’s face and immediately knows what she’s going to say. Sarah says nothing during the scene apart from Roy’s name a few times. But the devastation for Roy is as real as any brutal words she could have used.

Tragic as it is, Dawn’s death is a good thing for the series. For the spouse of a leading character, Dawn was surprisingly tertiary and has never really been explored. She was wallpaper for the series, but lacked the strong presence of other “surface” characters like Doris.

That’s not to say she was a bad thing for the series. Her presence was simply an unassuming one. Almost everything we’ve learnt about her has come through other characters, and so it’s appropriate that this continues after her death.
Elizabeth said:
We’ve had our moments, Mr Briggs, we two. But this brings us closer.
Roy said:
Dawnie liked you.
Elizabeth said:
She epitomised all that’s best in countrywomen.
Roy said:
She was salt of the earth.
Elizabeth said:
She was. As was Douglas. As are you. They’d not want us salting the earth with sorrow. Such soil cannot sustain life. And we must live to honour them.

Frankie J. Holden gives an incredibly strong performance through these episodes. I’ve always enjoyed his gruff presence, and the occasional exploration of his depths. His discussion with Sarah back in Season One about the sons he lost painted a character who was a loner as much through fate as choice. And now he’s back in that position. And the irony is that Dawn died trying to give him a son - despite the risk she understood - because she knew how much he missed the ones he’d lost. He doesn't need to do much to be effective. But this story is proof that he can deliver the big stuff with huge emotional depth. The sight of old toughie Roy crying while burying his head in Lucky the dog is heartbreaking.

We learn his baby was a girl, and there’s a terrific scene where he marches into the hospital to face Henry who looks bug-eyed with horror. Roy shakes and breathes heavily before opening his mouth, and we have no idea what’s going to come out:
Roy said:
I’m here ta see Dawnie. An’ my little one. I know ya done your best. Both of yous. There’s no ‘ard feelings. I want ya ta know that.

There follows a beautiful scene in the mortuary where he looks at Dawn and the baby which has been placed in her arms, and there’s a sense of both huge loss and peace.
Roy said:
That’s how I want ‘em buried. You tell the funeral home that. I want ‘em together.

And when left alone, he speaks to Dawn’s body:
Roy said:
I’ll make sure Emma doesn’t want for nothin’. Oh Dawnie. I do love you. I didn’t say it. People round. That’s blokes for you. Their own worse enemies at times. But I do love you, Dawnie. I don’t know why I didn’t say it. My beautiful girls.
He gives her a kiss
Roy said:
Sleep tight.

It’s perfectly pitched. Moving without being mawkish. It’s a very dark storyline, but Roy being a loner and an outsider once more feels very right for a series which values its outsiders like no other.






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Episodes One to Three... continued






Over in soap cliché land, Anna - who was apparently infertile despite years of trying with Gino (and numerous encounters with other men in the years since) - has become pregnant after one time with Henry who is evidently as virile as he is obnoxious. Anyone could have seen this trope coming from a mile away. And, indeed, I did. There’s an attempt to diffuse the absurdity by having Anna discuss these very facts with Olivia. But it’s just plain daft. And, God forbid, any storyline that attempts to increase Henry’s importance to the series is not a good thing at all in my eyes.

Henry has been an absolute trial to watch this season, and I’m less than a third of the way through.

Naturally, it started with righteous anger when James returned for George and Sarah’s ceremony. Henry became a pouty child, all but stamping his feet despite the fact that James is the groom’s son and has helped them prepare things, while Henry has no real connection to the family and has breezed in without invitation by the bride and groom. After hissing with anger at James, he spent the entire ceremony sucking the joy out of the occasion by standing in the corner glaring and sulking and making the occasion all about him. And when James pointed out that he was being a bitch, he replied that he was entitled to be.

Since it was scripted, we can assume that Henry’s unlikeable personality is partly intentional. The character clearly views the world through a very selfish prism, even more than most soap characters. And yes - he has been wronged by James. But the fact that he’s so entitled, joyless and self-involved doesn’t mean that’s all he has to be, and that’s what I’m getting from the portrayal.

In these three episodes, he’s made George and Sarah’s wedding and James’s return all about him with his outbursts and sulking. He’s made Dawn’s death all about him with more outbursts about his self-doubt and a dramatic letter of resignation that he knew wouldn’t be accepted (tellingly, after Jack said he would accept it if it was handed in again in a week, Henry ripped the letter up). And he’s made Dawn’s funeral all about him by showing up limping round with his arm in a sling, eliciting everyone’s attention and sympathy while poor Roy suffered almost alone.

So it’s been a marathon of bug-eyed glaring to show anger, and bug-eyed gurning to show sorrow. With an accompanying soundtrack of tremulous vocal fry.

He’s harder to get rid of than a dose of scabies. I thought Regina was thick-skinned when it came to staying where she wasn’t welcome, but this guy is something else. He just refuses to go away. He has no reason to be in the series, and hasn’t had for around two seasons. But here he is. Making it worse is the false hope. I mean, I knew the resignation letter was going nowhere. But then he was in a serious car accident which ended with him hanging out of his car unconscious, and in the next episode he was simply feeling more sorry for himself than ever. Now his damaged tendons mean he can’t be a surgeon. Do we think that will stop him from hanging around Inverness?

We’ve had some “tears in private” moments where Henry is supposed to be sad after putting up a front to James. But these just come across as a mire of self-indulgent pity. He seems to lack empathy for other characters, other than how they affect him.

And he hasn’t even found out about Anna’s baby yet. God save us.

Henry’s car accident, by the way, was caused by Stan O’Rourke, who was drink-driving after staking out Ash Park, furious that Carolyn, Jack and Henry had intervened when he and Sheila were arguing outside the women’s health centre. Sheila, grief-stricken with news of Dawn’s death, lost it and screamed at Stan, slapping him and asking Carolyn to telephone the police. And while Stan was strapped to the bed, she took the kids and left town. So yes, it’s not a great time to be Stan. He even takes on Elizabeth when she interrupts his new job, culling crows for the Blighs:
Elizabeth said:
Perhaps you might find other duties for today. Mr Briggs has suffered a tragedy. He’s staying. He requires rest.

He walks towards her, holding the shotgun
Stan said:
I heard. I never liked her much. Gettin’ in the missus’ ear. Not too keen on ‘im, either.
Elizabeth said:
I’ll tell Mr Bligh you’ll return tomorrow.
Stan said:
You’re not the boss. [He points the gun up and fires without looking] I’ll earn my quid till he gives my orders.
Elizabeth said:
You’ll be getting your notice if you’re not careful.
Stan said:
You reckon I care? …You think your shit doesn’t stink.
Elizabeth said:
How dare you.
Stan said:
Lady Muck. That’s what they call you. You’re a joke. Shove ya job.





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Episodes One to Three... continued






In happy news, not only is James back - his accent and dress more stereotypically British than ever (presumably from hanging out with Noël) - but he’s brought Harry Polsen with him. And Dominic Allburn is a series regular this year, which is great.

As ever, Harry’s humility, empathy and simple honesty are very welcome indeed. Though they’re not welcomed by Henry, naturally. He oozes with uptight, passive-aggressive bile whenever Harry’s near.

Harry’s presence has also brought out shades of the old Elizabeth Bligh. Always a good thing. She visits Harry in the room at Ash Park where Sarah has extended an invitation for him to stay for the duration of James’s visit, and pointedly asks if he’ll be leaving in the morning:
Elizabeth said:
Mr Polsen, I appeal to your discretion. Your continued presence can only complicate matters… James - with divorce imminent - arrives with a male friend from outside his sphere, causing agitation in another close male friend. The locals may be naïve. They are not blind.
Harry said:
I don’t wanna cause any trouble. I’ll tell Sarah another time.
Elizabeth said:
There’s nothing personal in it.
Harry said:
If I had a tenner for every time I’ve heard that…
Elizabeth said:
I would prefer this stayed between ourselves, yes?

Elizabeth seeming so threatened by Harry’s presence once again highlights the contrast between this and how willingly she accepted Henry’s more dominant and coercive hold on her grandson. In both cases due to social status. It’s also interesting that she addressed her concerns with the friend of James’s who has worked hard to be inconspicuous, and not the one who created an atmosphere and scenes of drama very publicly.

Fortunately, the new and improved Elizabeth Goddard is able to give a little more than Elizabeth Bligh would have done. And in light of Dawn’s death and Harry’s desire to support Roy, their next conversation has a very different tone:
Harry said:
Mrs Goddard, I can’t see Roy being up to the farm for a bit, so I’m gonna stick around. Just wanted to say I’ll stay somewhere else.
Elizabeth said:
You’re Mrs Bligh’s guest.
Harry said:
You’ve got worries enough without me causing more. All this must’ve brought back your own loss. Don’t mean to presume.
Elizabeth said:
You don’t. Few would be as sensitive. Have you lost loved ones yourself?
Harry said:
All my family, ‘cept Amy. Only none died.
Elizabeth said:
Perhaps that made it harder… My husband would have liked you, Mr Polsen.
Harry said:
That’s quite a compliment.
Elizabeth said:
It was meant so.

Oh - I do hope James sees the light. If he can’t be with Matthew, then Harry is the man for him. Even though the writers - and James - currently seem to favour Bitter Henry.

Harry isn’t the only ghost of trysts past that James invites back into the lives of the Blighs. There’s also - new character alert - interior designer Delia Craig. An old friend of the family who is bringing an injection of grandiose glamour into the show. She arrives to meet James at the Goddard house:
Delia said:
Well, we can start with this one, darling. It screams “decorate”.
James said:
Belongs to Livvy’s fiancé. They’re marrying once the divorce is through.
Delia said:
He cannot carry his bride across the threshold into this monstrous interior.
James said:
My grandmother inherited it from his father. They were married. She signed it across.
Delia said:
More serpentine than the lives of the Windsors. I’ll be pressuring him for a commission.
James said:
I’m told he’s into surfboards, so good luck. I imagine chic is a low priority.
Delia said:
Caro. Is she on deck?
James said:
Delia said:
You didn’t mention me?
James said:
You ask, I obey. What’s this surprise you keep smirking over.
Delia said:
I’m surprised she never whispered it. To you, at least. She embraced the queer, my pet, well before you. Ten years ago, in London, we were lovers.



And Carolyn looks visibly delighted when she has a surprise visitor:
Delia said:
Give an old flame a kiss.


Things are getting - to paraphrase, Alice - gayerer and gayerer.
 

Mel O'Drama

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Season Six
Episodes Four and Five



I’m delighted to say that the series has once again played with my expectations in terms of character and storyline. In particular, Olivia and Matthew’s arc through the first half of Season Six, and the truth about Georgie’s birth.

More than anything, there have been ironic echoes of Olivia’s Season Two arc in which she went to extremes to protect her relationship and spare the feelings of her partner, while being isolated and controlled by someone claiming to be a saviour who in truth has an underlying motive for manipulating her. The twist here is that the partner in question and the person pushing Olivia into taking potentially harmful actions are one and the same: one Matthew Goddard.

It’s worth noting that when discussing episodes earlier this season, I questioned my own judgement for viewing it unreasonable for Matthew to push Olivia so much around finding Georgie’s birth mother. Which shows how successfully the writing has allowed me to see things from Olivia’s point of view, and understand why she would go along with his demands. Even other characters - including Anna and even James - have said that what Matthew is asking might be for the best.

Elizabeth herself commented earlier in the season that this wasn’t the Matthew they knew. Even this raises questions: how well did they know him? After all, he was only around for four episodes or so before heading off to Hawaii with Olivia and Georgie. But this included at least one time lapse of three months during that time, so I suppose they’d have got to know him a little. Probably better than the audience would.

In light of Olivia handing Matthew his ring and choosing to leave and keep the status quo of not knowing the facts about Georgie, Matthew gets Elizabeth involved by ordering her to speak to Olivia, and the degree of Olivia’s entrapment becomes clear:
Elizabeth said:
He intends to follow through on tracking Georgie’s mother, whether or not you’re involved. He asked me to convey to you that even if you went back to Ash Park this morning, he’ll still feel compelled to investigate.

So Olivia’s choices are to seek out the birth mother and keep Matthew, or to be alone while Matthew does it himself. Either way she could lose Georgie, so it’s a question of how much more she wants to lose.

Olivia is the dutiful fiancée and obliges by speaking to the doctor. And it’s here that the cruel irony can be seen. It’s Olivia’s presence that ensures the search is successful. Without Olivia’s support, Matthew may still have been able to obtain the information, but it’s certain it would have been a far more difficult task for him. And there’s a likelihood that he wouldn’t have been successful. But we’ve also seen Matthew convincing her that he’s doing this for her. For them. So they can be happy and free together. And Olivia’s nothing if not a romantic.

When Elizabeth expresses concern that Matthew is pressing Olivia to move too quickly, he simply smiles at her while eating:
Elizabeth said:
You express empathy for Olivia, but can you actually feel it? What is Georgie going to make of this. A stranger hugging him. Weeping over him. It is cruel. This is my great-grandson we’re talking about. He is not a parcel. He’s not a bill of goods. From this family’s point of view, you are behaving most harshly. And you should put a stop to this.
Matthew said:
That’s the problem right there. You people are incapable of seeing anything other than your own point of view. Our way or the highway.
Elizabeth said:
You really don’t like us, do you?
Matthew said:
Individually, yes. Collectively, I reserve my judgement.

When Georgie’s biological mother is found, Matthew suggests he should go alone to see her in the first instance. And this is where screaming alarm bells and flashing red lights couldn’t be ignored for me. At this point, I’m certain that Matthew isn’t to be trusted. But Olivia is so shaken by the reality of her past becoming so tangible that she acquiesces and agrees.

Something I both hated and loved is that we saw Matthew approaching the house, but we weren’t privy to any part of the meeting. Which raised all kinds of questions: was Matthew trying to get rid of Georgie so he didn’t have to share Olivia? Was he somehow in cahoots with the birth mother? Or was this just about making the Blighs suffer because he doesn’t like them, or because of their connection to Douglas?

It’s to nobody’s surprise that Matthew returns and says the birth mother wants to meet Olivia and Georgie and the three of them are to go tomorrow. All on Matthew’s terms, and Olivia’s world is closing in on her as she’s given less and less choice in these matters.






continued...
 

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Episodes Four and Five... continued





Fearing the worst, Olivia takes flight for Prudence’s, where Elizabeth, James and Carolyn are staying. This even leads to Olivia spilling the truth to Prudence. I love how hilariously uncomfortable the repressed Prudence looks being around Olivia’s raw emotion. She looks completely out of her depth, and ill-equipped to deal with a real conversation. But you can see she’s trying. And she discusses the situation with Carolyn afterwards:
Prudence said:
I could throttle Andrew with my bare hands. I had no idea all these years… That really was Andrew’s ratbag period… Now, of course, he’s a lovely young man. He’s out there changing the world. But that’s a little bit too late for her. And for all of you. I feel so ashamed.
Carolyn said:
Please don’t be. Our family loves you. And Georgie.


Olivia does eventually return to Matthew and agree to the meetings: but on her terms.
Olivia said:
We’ll go to see her. Tomorrow… I’ve decided to take Elizabeth.
Matthew said:
Really? …I think it’d be more manageable just the two of us and Georgie.
Olivia said:
I mean just we two women. And Georgie if we must.
Matthew said:
You’re making a mistake.
Olivia said:
Perhaps. But at least it’s mine.


At the house, as Olivia awkwardly watches Georgie’s mother - Avril Newman - bonding with Georgie over his cars, Elizabeth awkwardly listens to Avril’s mother speaking in hushed whispers:
Mrs Newman said:
It was a terrible time back then. We didn’t even know Avril had a boyfriend. She always kept herself to herself. Well, you can’t give up your newborn and not regret it. My late husband and I offered to raise the child, but Avril was adamant. And before we knew, it was adopted out. Perhaps that’s why she’s so keen to see him now.

It’s to the series’ credit that both mother and daughter are immediately likeable people. Both are extremely grateful to have been contacted, and there’s no sense of agenda at all. Which makes it more effective, because it’s evidently a home of love with nice, warm people:
Avril said:
This makes me so… Just… Thank you. Just so happy, I… So unexpected. I never thought this day would come.

Olivia smiles politely, but shares terrified glances with Elizabeth. Avril asks Olivia if Georgie may have some cake, and suggests that her mother and Elizabeth take him to the kitchen, watching as they close the door. My instincts were telling me that this is when we’d see the “real” Avril. And I was right, but for all the wrong reasons:
Avril said:
I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy. He’s grown into such a lovely boy.
Olivia said:
Avril said:
So looks like his father. Uncanny, really. So looks like his father. [she looks at the closed kitchen door, then back towards Olivia] Like his father. And mine. His, and mine. Do you understand?
Olivia said:
Oh my God.
Avril said:
After this had all stopped, and… he died. You love him so much, don’t you? Georgie?
Olivia said:
Yes. Yes.

And that’s quite possibly it for Avril and her mum. Two brief but powerful scenes that have taken this story somewhere full of humanity and tragedy.

With Georgie having Avril’s blessing to be with Olivia, she returns to Matthew:

Olivia said:
I’m not coming back. Avril Newman gave Georgie away because she’d been broken - completely broken - by a man who convinced her that what he was doing to her was out of love. Whereas in fact he was brutalising her. Until she no longer knew which way was up. [she takes off her ring and puts it on the dresser] Goodbye, Matt. Someone will come to pick up our things… You love your version of me. The me who’ll never disagree with you. Never challenge you. A level of perfection you certainly never demand of yourself.

He chases her out of the house, telling her how sorry she’ll be, to find Elizabeth waiting at the car:
Elizabeth said:
Matthew. I just wanted to say thank you. I could never reconcile the Douglas I knew with the man who had supposedly ostracised his son. Now I see you for who you really are. You’ve given me my Douglas back.

And that, I assume, is that for Matthew. As I said it’s been a great storyline. Not only has it tied up some loose ends, it’s done so in a way that has challenged me.

This storyline has reminded me how good it is to have Olivia - and Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood - back. Every scene is fraught with meaning and an understanding of her character and her history. Season Five was less because she wasn't around as much. This arc has been a welcome reminder how very vital Olivia is to this series. She is an absolute asset. And a meaty storyline like this is no less than she deserves.






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Episodes Four and Five... continued


With Anna’s return to Inverness, her pregnancy is now common knowledge. And so begins the battle of propriety versus progressiveness. Anna is keen to challenge small town minds by remaining defiantly single. She’s even made a point of showing off her bump to Doris while telling her that she’s not married. While George orders her to marry Henry, whose block he wants to knock off, Jack has a different view on the matter:
Jack said:
Don’t tell me you are stupid enough to marry Henry. He’s a ruddy shirt-lifter.
Anna said:
What? He doesn’t deserve to see his child grow up. Is that what you’re saying? …So all the years that you didn’t know about me, was that because you didn’t deserve it?
Jack said:
Well, that’s not the same. You do not settle for half a man.
Anna said:
Well, Mama did, so why shouldn’t I?


It's a cracking scene that perfectly captures that "heat of the moment" of an escalating conversation that goes a step too far. Both Jack and Anna herself are clearly horrified, as are George and Sarah, whose presence brings additional humiliation to Jack.

Anna later apologises for what she’s said, and is forgiven. But just the fact it was said shows that emotions are flying high. And I love that the series didn't shy away from this natural evolution of Anna's long-time rebellion.

Meanwhile, Jack has Scooby Dooed the truth about Stan O’Rourke’s involvement in the car accident and is looking into it with George, Roy and Sarah. Stan has warned them off investigating further, continued to threaten the women’s clinic with arson, and warned Sarah, Doris and the women from the clinic are still getting grief from the men of the town. But then he’s gone home, sat on his porch with the barrel of his shotgun in his mouth, and looked like he was about the pull the trigger. But he might have been stopped by a thought.

Hatchet-faced Henry cracks a smile on learning he’s to be a father, but quickly gets back to self-pitiful whining about Anna’s liberalism. He whines about his ruined career. He whines about Jack’s archaic outlook towards medicine. He whines when Harry - his inferior - strikes up a conversation. He does bug eyed glaring as he hisses and spits, and is challenged:
Harry said:
You’re a doctor. You’ve read Charles Darwin. You know it’s all random. Our stations in life. The families we’re born into. Yeah, I’ve read Darwin’s book. No need to be surprised. So you had a family… who could afford to let you stay at school. I could’ve been in your shoes. You could’ve been in mine. But you can’t even think that. Otherwise, all this might crack.

There’s more false hope when he packs up his car boot, says his goodbyes to Anna and drives out of town. Then he stops and waits for Harry to ask if he’s OK before he starts crying with self-pity and whining some more. Lord. He’s so tedious and he just won’t go away. Surely Harry wouldn’t lower himself…?

Speaking of whining things, Dawn’s daughter has finally decided to treat Roy like a human being.

Delia’s doing the soapy old-flame-who’s-now-a-friend thing by escalating physical contact and intensifying eye contact with each passing scene. When Carolyn is in pain at the thought of the family losing Georgie, Delia is there for her. She says all the right things. But as a means to an end. Because it allows her to sidle up and touch Carolyn. And now Caro’s having wet dreams about Delia. Gosh - what will Jack say?!





Oh - and for some reason I've started to write "Caroline" instead of "Carolyn" (which is the opposite to what Fiona Thompson verbally did on a regular basis). This must be stopped.
 

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Random thought #1
  • I cannot get used to the new, flamboyantly arch James who wears boaters and cravats and purrs each line of dialogue in an affected British accent through a knowing grin while calling people "dearie". A few more episodes and he's going to be Frank-N-Furter.


Random thought #2
  • There's a lot of smoking going on. I mean a whole lot. Nobody, but nobody, smoked in Season One. Now we've gone to the other extreme. It's a little triggering.




Random news
  • With Season Five over I'm finally able to enjoy Michael Yezerski's score on my Music From Seasons 1-5 soundtrack CD. I've also purchased some additional tracks from the individual season soundtracks on iTunes, but there are some discrepancies between the CD and the digital tracks when it comes to which tracks were composed for which season. And I don't know the series well enough to be certain which is correct. Which is a First World problem, I suppose.
 

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So much to take in and enjoy from your updates as ever - so much so that I need to reflect and respond when I have a bit more time, hopefully over the weekend.

You've really captured the "feel" of seasons 4, 5 and 6 though. They all struck a very different tone to me and while my memories aren't sharp, I'm picking it up again through your thoughts on them.
 

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Just dropping by quickly to comment that I've now finished the series.

My head is spinning with excitement and satisfaction, but I'll get some proper thoughts down on these final five and post over the weekend.

I was feeling terribly sad until I realised I still have the "happy ending" version of the Second Season finale left to watch. So I'll be viewing that over the weekend as well.



So much to take in and enjoy from your updates as ever - so much so that I need to reflect and respond when I have a bit more time, hopefully over the weekend.

Oh great. I've thoroughly enjoyed your comments through my viewing. You've been like my sherpa, guiding me through Inverness to make sure I get the most from my journey.
 

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I so look forward to your thoughts on the final stretch. There was a lot of unapologetic sentimentality but I thought about it for weeks - I sort of 'mourned' for a TV show which I don't usually do.

After spending so long concerned about how different APTCH was with Regina, I now find myself thinking that Season Six is going to be a lot less interesting and colourful - and possibly enjoyable - without her.

That was my fear and while Season 6 was very different without her, I didn't find it boring which had been a worry given how much I enjoyed Regina. Fascinating to see you reflect on her arc across the series though and particularly the Jill Bennett exit. I clocked that at the time but not the other Knotsian parallels you've noted.

I saw the headline probably as I was watching late Season Four episodes, so when she wasn’t killed in that finale, I’d assumed she’d probably end up committing suicide in the asylum. Probably off-screen. I couldn't imagine the character needing to appear on-screen again. How wrong I was.

:eek: I watched the first two seasons back to back but was then season to season from three onwards so thankfully didn't have any spoiler risks. Ironically, given how much I enjoyed the villainess Regina, I was really, really against her being that way in Season 5. You noted the playing around earlier on where you weren't quite sure which side of the fence she was manipulating and I realised I'd be far more interested in a redemption arc than a "bitch is back" which felt like it would be old ground. Bevan managed to propel the story forward constantly in the show. Yes it was melodramatic and some plots were thinner than others but I don't recall significant rehashing of former glories.

Tragic as it is, Dawn’s death is a good thing for the series. For the spouse of a leading character, Dawn was surprisingly tertiary and has never really been explored. She was wallpaper for the series, but lacked the strong presence of other “surface” characters like Doris.

Agree, she was 100% plot device for Roy's story. The tragedy of the fall out pushed the right buttons for me but I never had a sense of who Dawn actually was. There was very little to the writing and I guess the actress didn't have a presence that rose above that.

I cannot get used to the new, flamboyantly arch James who wears boaters and cravats and purrs each line of dialogue in an affected British accent through a knowing grin while calling people "dearie". A few more episodes and he's going to be Frank-N-Furter.

Ha! As you've mentioned the writing around James suffered immensely from the actor availability issue which was patently obvious. I don't know if Bevan had planned to 'show' the evolution of James originally but it was very jarring. I kind of get the "exploding out the closet" aspect, I guess? But he had been such an uptight character and the change seemed remarkably sudden.

Which brings me to the tremendously queer themes generally in Season 6. I don't recall any mainstream period drama having such a heavy slant but it felt fresh to me. Carolyn's story could have pushed things into contrived territory but I thought it was well done. Really interested to hear your thoughts when you've pulled them together!
 

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I so look forward to your thoughts on the final stretch. There was a lot of unapologetic sentimentality but I thought about it for weeks - I sort of 'mourned' for a TV show which I don't usually do.

It's been the same for me. I've actually been in what some of the characters might call a "funk" for much of the weekend, and I think it has to do with some kind of sense of loss attached to the end of a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Which I know sounds a bit melodramatic and OTT, but Bevan Lee's writing is so poetic and deep I think it pushes buttons on a subliminal basis. Also, there was so much information in that last episode there's a lot to process. I almost feel like Seasons Seven to Thirty are playing out in my head, even though they weren't actually filmed.



That was my fear and while Season 6 was very different without her, I didn't find it boring which had been a worry given how much I enjoyed Regina.

I didn't really miss Regina as much as I expected. I suppose because she was given such a thorough and appropriate closure it just feels "right" for her not to be around. It's also given space for the series to focus on the ending. I love that it was known to definitely be the last season as it's allowed for some proper arcs for the characters to explore their own endings and their own places to call home.


I watched the first two seasons back to back but was then season to season from three onwards so thankfully didn't have any spoiler risks.

I've been irritated by stumbling on spoilers, but they haven't bothered me as much as they normally would with a series in which I'm so invested. I think this is because I'm interested in the "how", "why", "when" and "where" as much as the "what". Even knowing what happens, I've found APTCH gets there in an unexpected way (and I suppose the infamous flash-forward of Season Two helped with this mindset). Because the series is more about character than event, I didn't mind knowing about an event ahead of time because I still didn't know how characters would react to it.



Ironically, given how much I enjoyed the villainess Regina, I was really, really against her being that way in Season 5. You noted the playing around earlier on where you weren't quite sure which side of the fence she was manipulating and I realised I'd be far more interested in a redemption arc than a "bitch is back" which felt like it would be old ground. Bevan managed to propel the story forward constantly in the show.

That's interesting that you viewed it that way. It's definitely one of the arcs that played with expectations and reminded me that there's so much going on under the surface.


The tragedy of the fall out pushed the right buttons for me but I never had a sense of who Dawn actually was. There was very little to the writing and I guess the actress didn't have a presence that rose above that.

Absolutely. And I was fine with that because I felt her character brought out great things in the characters we did know. It's kind of ironic that she was introduced at the same time as Milly Davies, since we never knew her either, but her death impacted so much on the storylines and character interactions.


As you've mentioned the writing around James suffered immensely from the actor availability issue which was patently obvious. I don't know if Bevan had planned to 'show' the evolution of James originally but it was very jarring. I kind of get the "exploding out the closet" aspect, I guess? But he had been such an uptight character and the change seemed remarkably sudden.

I'll rant about this as I review the final episodes. But in short, I almost feel like James and Henry switched hats in the latter seasons. James was more shallow and arch and peripheral - and less important to the overall stories. While Henry was effectively the gay romantic lead with strong ties to the Bligh family who impregnated his lover's sister, was tormented and eventually found true love. And I don't feel either of those changes was a good thing for the series.



Which brings me to the tremendously queer themes generally in Season 6. I don't recall any mainstream period drama having such a heavy slant but it felt fresh to me. Carolyn's story could have pushed things into contrived territory but I thought it was well done.

Yes, same here. The slant was so heavy it came very close to tipping the balance to an unrealistic degree. But I love that it's something that was explored in the series through a main character who was likeable. And while we didn't get to know Delia that well, I thought she was also likeable and sympathetically played.



Really interested to hear your thoughts when you've pulled them together!

I've just finished, so watch this space....
 

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Season Six
Episodes Six to Ten




Considering the level of satisfaction A Place To Call Home has consistently delivered from its opening moments through to the halfway point of Season Six, I wasn’t about to lower my expectations watching these final five episodes. And I was right not to do so. On almost every level, the ending has successfully given a sense of closure.

The references to the past and a few nice little return visits felt appropriate for such a reflective moment in the series, and helped give a sense of cohesiveness. Olivia and Anna’s petticoat dip in the waterhole, and their remembrance of their first visit there together, was especially welcome. As well as being a welcome nod to its early days, it comes with an implicit acknowledgement of the significant changes that have happened for two young women - not least in the fact that they are now accompanied by Olivia’s son and Anna’s new brother, and that Anna herself is heavily pregnant. This is a series still very much in touch with its roots, and using them to inform the future.

The musical house element has felt a little disorientating. Are we at Ash Park? The Goddard house? The Swanson place? I got confused about who was meant to be residing where during the Sixth Season and it started to feel a little like Sons and Daughters or Neighbours where people randomly move in with other people or swap houses. There were reasons given, with varying degrees of plausibility. And the story has still worked, which is the main thing. But it’s a slippery slope to potential incredulity, and perhaps a sign that the series is reaching a natural end.

Setting the final “proper” scene at a New Year’s Eve celebration, as the calendar changed from 1959 to a vibrant new decade was appropriate on so many levels. It’s a reminder that beginnings and endings are inextricably intertwined. Personally, I find New Year’s Eve downright depressing with all its hope and reflection. Capturing the “feel” of this maudlin evening also captured how I feel about this series ending. I know it’s got to happen, and the time is right. But somehow I’m very conscious that the best years are behind me. By this point, part of me just wants it to be over, rather than live with the aftertaste for the next few days.

The Fourth and Fifth Seasons ended with a degree of closure, presumably “just in case” (and then there’s that alternative Second Season ending which I’ve still to watch). I was expecting the Sixth Season wrap-up to give a little more closure. Which it did.

Let’s dive in to the last episodes…
 

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Episodes Six to Ten... continued






Let’s get this one over with. My biggest frustration with Season Six is the same as with the previous three: Henry. Unfortunately, Season Six has been the most Henry-heavy yet. And there have been yet more prolonged “exits” followed by him returning. “I won’t return,” promised Henry as he left the hospital. Before returning in the next episode. It’s clear the writers feel him important, something I still fail to understand. I wish I could. It would have made my viewing perfect.

Harry and Henry as a couple is entirely predictable on the one hand. It’s probably in character for Henry to utter a hasty apology when he sees Harry shirtless in one scene, and then in the next to forcibly kiss Harry and then beg when Harry rebuffs him. But for Harry to be head over heels with someone who has shown nothing but contempt towards him as a person, and for them to be a supercouple within the space of two episodes is incredibly unconvincing. Sarah and Elizabeth’s similar journey from hostility to friendship has taken them six full seasons. As well it should. Adding insult to injury, the text at the end of the final episode tells us Harry and Henry are still together in their Nineties when they marry in 2018, which scuppers my chances of creating a more satisfactory headcanon (it’s also ironic that the two characters who were most comfortable with their sexuality in the 1950s while James was married should ultimately end up committing to an archaic, heteronormative contract in the name of progress).

It doesn’t help that Tim Draxl doesn't convince me when Henry is meant to be sincere. Henry being brittle or self-pitiful is all too effective. But when Henry looks “adoringly” at someone I’m reminded of the looks I used to get from the elderly landlord of a bar I frequented in my twenties and I get creeped out. It’s been that way since he shared a cigarette with James early in Season Three, and it’s only become worse with time.

I know I’ve spent a lot of time trashing Henry the last couple of seasons. And I’m going to continue doing so for a good few paragraphs yet. Maybe I’ll feel differently about him when I look back on the series, but at the moment I make no apology for it. He’s a one-season secondary character who’s outstayed his welcome and inexplicably become more and more important and central in the eyes of the writers and the characters. As his screen time has increased my enjoyment has diminished. I’m glad to see the back of him. It’s just a shame it’s taken the series ending to do it.

If I were saying something to let him off the hook, it would be that most viewers will find a certain character - or several characters - in a long-running series a bit irritating (even if just at times). Perhaps the fact that every single main character on APTCH spoke to me in a very profound way in the first few seasons has made me come down harder on the one that didn’t. I can be fascinated by a character who thinks and behaves in ways that I find unattractive if there’s something in the performance that speaks to me.

Now I’m free to look up information on the actors from the series, I’ve seen little to endear Draxl to me. He’s alternately described as a “cabaret artist” and an “influencer”, and image searches mostly yield pictures of him scowling while wearing very little. And then there’s that video of him talking most seriously about his strict skincare regime. All off-puttingly narcissistic and shallow. Perhaps I’ve picked up those vibes from him.

Equally disappointing is the treatment of James by the writers in these last couple of seasons, which I feel is due to Henry emerging as the series’ gay protagonist of choice. If I were to guess I’d say that David Berry was unavailable for much of Season Five and perhaps on a limited basis for Season Six. But subjectively it just feels as though his character has been edged out by Henry who has insinuated himself into his family and effectively made it difficult for James to fit into the series again. Hell - Henry’s even reenacted James’s old storyline of getting his old lover’s sibling pregnant and all the three and four way quirks that entails.









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Episodes Six to Ten... continued





Incredibly, Harry’s character hasn’t been as diminished by his new pairing as it might have been. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed seeing him back. During the first season, I wrote him off as a foil. A character who was primarily there to service James’s story. But he’s emerged as an interesting character in his own right. Dominic Allburn’s performance is almost always nicely understated, but consistently watchable. He has good chemistry with the entire cast, even though he feels quite peripheral (something I’m more than fine with).

His relationships with Roy and Doris - both of which have gathered history over the seasons almost without me consciously noticing - have been especially satisfying. Perhaps because all three characters are outsiders or loners in their own way. The three come together in a roundabout way after Doris sees Harry and Henry kissing. Sarah visits Doris with the aim of damage limitation:
Doris said:
As an intimate of Ash Park, I’ve embraced many unorthodox trends. Your ways. Loose views on divorce. Miss Anna. First Catholic, now unwed and expecting… But this, I cannot condone… It goes against the laws of God and nature.
Sarah said:
I have seen that thinking used to justify murder. I was there. I saw. They were rounded up along with the Jews… They died along with us. You’re no better than the Nazis.

While Sarah later apologises for that last comparison, the conversation has begun to challenge Doris’s perspective, and Roy continues the good work:
Roy said:
I’ve known about him for yonks. Threw me at first, but a good bloke’s a good bloke. Even if he does like blokes… Dawnie figured it out. She still ‘ad time for them, but… Drop the Lord bit. I’ll tell you what. Go inside. Go through your Bible. Start listing down all the things it says you shouldn’t do that you do. Be honest, mind… If you can’t find any, judge away. But if you do, show some ruddy compassion.

Which leads Doris to drive up to Roy’s place, now being run by Harry, armed with scones she’s baked:
Doris said:
Mr Briggs hopes that the farm will pass to you. He says that Dawn would approve. So, how can I not?

It’s the classic soap “issue” approach, aimed at challenging viewers who may hold certain outdated views. Provide a relatable character who holds similar views and see their minds changed. It’s an effective way to go about it, although I’d assume any viewer uncomfortable with homosexuality might have checked out of the series long before this point. But either way, it’s wonderful to see Doris given some screen-time. She’s been an absolute gem from start to finish. Every scene - every line - has been memorable.

It seems a little wrong to think of Roy not living at the home where we and Sarah first met him. And stranger still to think of him living at Ash Park. But other characters expressing the same view helped. And we know his reasons. So I can accept it.

There’s a nice outdoor scene between Roy and Olivia as he feeds chickens, where she presents him with an printed of the new plaque logo for the building formerly named in her honour. Now to be called The Dawn Briggs Community Clinic:
Olivia said:
We’ll never forget Mrs Briggs. Let’s ensure the future doesn’t. She was a fine woman.

I can’t remember these two sharing a scene before, even though they must have. This one is just beautiful - full of rich autumn colours and warm light.

I’d been wondering how old Lucky was, given all the time jumps. Since we learn he lived to the age of seventeen, I’m assuming he died not long after the series ended. Learning that he died with his head in Roy’s lap brought a lump to my throat.

Roy himself, we learn, lived until 1975. While Doris married a new employee of Ash Park and “had twenty years being loved, as she deserved”. Which got me misty eyed.

Returnees for the final episodes have been a very nice touch. Leah Goldberg in particular shows promise. It’s great to see her joining the hospital staff as a trainee nurse. Madeleine Clunies-Ross is a good fit with the cast. There’s something quite knowing about her eyes that mirrors Sarah. It’s a shame Larry wasn’t physically back for the finale, but at least we saw his face in magazines and on record covers (and even heard his record). Learning that he not only married Leah but that their daughter would marry Frank Gibbs’s son is all very neat and tidy. And I can forgive the neatness since it also suggests challenges and eventual progression for the characters and the town.

Frank himself was back for the last episode and got another campfire scene with Jack. A nice touch.








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Mel O'Drama

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Episodes Six to Ten... continued





One of the series most reliable recurring characters has been given a little more to do this season, being an asset to Season Six. Prudence Swanson is a little like Charlie Bartlett, she’s evolved from an out and out snob with a bitchy streak into someone who gets ditzier and more liberal with each passing episode. There was a nice scene where Matthew called in to hand over the Goddard house to Elizabeth, and she tut-tutted that he was a disappointment as she left them alone.

She’s revelled in a gay couple staying at her home (speaking in stage whispers that they have their own room, but who’s to say who tiptoes where during the night). Trilled with excitement at Carolyn’s bohemian friends coming to her party (with her friends hand picked to be understanding). And she tried her first joint at that party.

Then there’s her comment to Delia as the latter departs:
Prudence said:
You have brightened Casa Swanson through more than renovation… If I were that way inclined I’d be after you myself.
Delia said:
And I wouldn’t be running.

Meanwhile, another Swanson is back on the scene:
Olivia said:
A couple of months ago - not long after I arrived in France - Andrew was holidaying there and we met up. On a yacht party, of all things. Sheer coincidence.
Prudence said:
Oh heavens, I’m lost for words. I mean, I thought he’d turned a new leaf when I saw him last and his friends tell me so. But for you to… [she squeals and hugs Olivia]
Olivia said:
And James has given his blessing. [Andrew] really has transformed.
Prudence said:
Yes, I hear he has. In that country that starts with a “V”*.

*Vietnam, it turns out. Leading Carolyn to surmise that Andrew is now a spy.


It’s good to see Andrew back, albeit for what amounts to a cameo. His being with Olivia feels right to me (even though it also feels as though it ought to feel wrong). A good deal of the groundwork was laid in Season Two, and even though Andrew’s dastardly scheme to destroy the Blighs undid a lot of it, the mutual respect was established. After all, it was Olivia that gave Andrew his first pique of conscience. And it means my Season Two theory about Olivia’s granddaughter’s blonde hair coming from Andrew’s genes isn’t that for off the mark. That’s some foreshadowing.

The message of James having to move 10,000 miles away to be happy is probably something grounded in reality. It’s like a longer range version of Gary Ewing moving to a new state to find himself. James’s move makes less sense, though, given how progressive and inclusive a place Inverness seems to be. It just seems another example of the writers seeming more interested in servicing Henry than James. How else does one explain James being banished to the Riviera to contract HIV while Henry works side by side at Elizabeth’s new centre, with him and Harry apparently shacked up in Inverness to this day.

Leaving Henry for William and sending Olivia to let the family (and Henry) know, has somewhat demonised James as a character. This has only been compounded by his new arch persona during Season Six. Given the torments we’ve been through with him as a viewer, it’s right that he should be happy. But to be so shallow and irreverent along with it is a wrong a fit for both actor and character. It’s almost like someone switched James and Henry’s names on the Season Six scripts and they both ended up playing the wrong character. Badly.

While I’m generally fine with bittersweet endings, I don’t feel great about the text at the end of the finale informing us that James died an AIDS-related death in the Eighties. I can appreciate that the series hasn’t shied away from real-life atrocities in a way that’s meaningful and gives it a human face. But after all we’ve seen him put through, this is not so much poignantly tragic as just a downer.

The fact that Olivia and James remained friends until the end of his days softens the blow. But only a little.








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Episodes Six to Ten... continued





Stan O’Rourke’s had quite an interesting journey this season. His increasingly confused state, caused by a slow bleed and leading to a stroke, brought some mid-season drama. First with him forgetting that Sheila’s left, then keeping Sarah and Jack at bay with his shotgun when they try to visit, and finally confronting Sarah in the darkened hospital, causing her life to flash before her eyes until he has a timely fit just as he’s pulling the trigger.

Jack Ellis has impressed me in the role of Stan from the onset of his illness through to his return to town post-stroke, which has cast him in a new light. Now speech-impaired and struggling to walk, Stan is reliant on both Sheila (who has reluctantly returned with their legion of kids) and the goodwill of the community. He doesn’t like it, but even attends Jack’s new men’s group, which is what Sheila wanted from him as her Christmas present. So bridges are being built and there’s an implication that this will continue.

The incident has given Sarah her final crisis. Frankly, it felt like just one crisis too many. However at least it meant another visit to René's grave - now very overgrown and blending into the surrounding field. And it felt important that we, as much as Sarah, visit it one last time. I felt less involved in her going on about happiness never lasting because it just felt like creating drama. It was ironic - almost hypocritical - that she warned Jack against doing this very thing. But then it could be seen that she was speaking from lessons learnt:
Sarah said:
You and I we are opposite sides of the same coin. Because of my war damage I ran and couldn’t stop. Because of your war damage you can’t move… These things, they become habits. And we’re too scared to shake them off… I think you have to do something big, Jack. Or you won’t be any good to anyone.

Jack and Carolyn’s separation after The One With The Lesbian Kiss brought some nice moments. Particularly in light of the birth of Anna’s daughter. Jack wasn’t there at the birth, and since it was an emergency, taking place in a beautiful orange grove reminiscent of the Polettis’ vineyard, that’s not surprising). He also absented himself from the naming ceremony (Elaine Elizabeth Bligh, in case you’re wondering), again dashing Anna’s hope to reunite her parents. They had a lovely tearful scene in the nursery when he came by early to leave his present.

After Sarah’s words, Jack makes a decision to return to Burma. This prompts Carolyn - who has been tearful every time she thinks about Jack - to pay him a visit at the hospital:
Carolyn said:
I didn’t come here to fight. I heard what you’re doing. Where you’re going. I’d like to know why.
Jack said:
I was a mess before you came back into my life. Been an even bigger one since you left. Loving you helped dull what the war did, but it’s never not there. Time I face it head-on… It’ll be a hard slog, but going there. Standing there feeling whatever I’ll feel. It’ll force me to really address it. An’ I haven’t. I’ve just kept pushing it down.
Carolyn said:
Has it got anything to do with me? I’m sorry if that sounds self-centred, but has it? In even the smallest way?
Jack said:
Carolyn said:
I think it does. I think you want to see a way past this as much as I do… I’m here to say that I want to go with you. If you find the answer, I want to be there. And if not, I hope that my sharing it can somehow take the bitterness from our lives. All I know is that I love you with all of my heart, and I can’t let you do it alone.

I don’t think I was ever really in doubt that the two would reunite. But this series has a way of playing with expectations, so I try not to take anything for granted. It being a midnight at New Year reunion, emotions were high. The moment where she saw him through her tears was as satisfying a reunion as I could have hoped for, especially given it’s only been something like two episodes.

More touching than this was learning that they died within days of each other. Carolyn having been Inverness’s first female MP and Jack having received an Order of Australia for his rural medicine work.






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