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Apparently I'm in season 4 right now, although it doesn't really look like it yet. Gosh, so much has happened in these 11 episodes, but I like to start with a comment on the excellent picture quality of these last 20 episodes or so. It really looks good enough for an official DVD release.
The end credits song sounds very crisp and every now and then I get the idea of a sensurround system which magically transports all the Australian birds into my living room.
Patricia, still on the run from Carlyle & Co, is now hiding in the guest flat at Dural, the mansion that was once her home, and where she schemed and bossed and ruined peoples lives.
How things change!
The highlight (for me) is when she has to leave her hideout in order to rescue Wayne who's been pushed into the swimming pool by Karen. He's too drunk to swim so it looks as if he's going to drown.
Wayne thanks her for saving his life, especially considering his nasty blackmail for more money.
"I've watched you growing up", she replies.
This seems like a turning point in Patricia's arc, as she continues to be on her best behaviour and even plans to disappear altogether for remarkably unselfish reasons.
Wayne pretends he wants to come back to Karen, and she tells him how much she loves him. Then he rejects and insults her in the most vicious way possible.
This is also a turning point for Karen, who now slips into a Fatal Attraction mode.
There's nothing left of the confident and successful finance tycoonette who stormed the Sons & Daughters set with guns blazing. She loves Wayne, and she's going to have him - and that's really
all that matters.
There's even an end of the season turning point for Irene when she finally tells David that she's in love with him, and always has been. She hints at leaving, going overseas, practise medicine again.
David tells her that they can still be friends, but he's not trying very hard to stop her from leaving. It's kind of reminiscent to his scene with Beryl, when he asked her about the baby.
Irene tries to be as calm and sensible as she can be, but inside her head she's falling apart. It's a great example of an actor playing two different mindsets at the same time.
Mitch has kidnapped Amanda, I'm surprised it took him so long. He also discovers Barney's war crime journals, he gets shot by Amanda and after that he gets killed by Wayne in a painfully unconvincing physical scene.
Of course the only thing that matters is that Wayne believes it, but because it was such a lame accident (a Sesame Street version of Ted Dinard's death) I find it hard to "feel" his guilt and torment.
Karen later claims that she has made his body disappear in order to protect Wayne (Ted Dinard becomes Peter Hollister) but it turns out to be a scheme and Mitch is still alive and kicking. With the money from Karen (from Alan) he's going to disappear, but Amanda spots him in a car at a later time. Seems like a pivotal plot point to me!
I find Mitch to be hit-or-miss, he has some great moments an initially he had a very dark presence, but then when things really happen it just feels a little bit too late, as if he can't keep up with the story (which is not the case, of course).
Evil Dr. Rossi Newman is an interesting character but I feel he's been exposed too early on in the series. There's no more room for mystery and suspense - can we trust him or not? - and other characters believe he wanted to kill Patricia but they're not particularly upset about it, or
him, I should say. He's still in contact with Carlyle but at this point I like to see this story being wrapped up.
He and Barbara are still dating and her friends warn her about his true intentions, but she's offended that they think Ross can't like her for who she is ("I’m not over the hill yet!").
A contagious laughter session between Fiona and Irene reminds of how loveable Fiona used to be. She used to bring so much humour to the show, but when Beryl returns from Perth because things didn't work out with Jim (and I want to know all about
that) she decides to upstage Beryl's drama and have her big moment in the iconic Palmer kitchen.
Before that, Beryl catches Katie and Alan in her bedroom (!) and since that kind of thing wasn't the reason why the O'Briens were allowed to stay there, she tells Katie to pack her bags and leave.
Katie, who's working on her "entertaining woman" imago to please the bad boys, basically tells Beryl to mind her own business.
Beryl snaps. "You little SLUT!"
And so the fourth season starts with the show's campiest bitch-slut-slap so far. Needless to say, I sat here squealing with delight.
Charlie visits Patricia in the hospital and she has a bottle of champagne stuffed in her fake dog. To be honest, at first I wasn't sure if the dog was supposed to be fake.
She decides to organize a party for Patricia's release from the hospital and combine it with the wedding party that couldn't happen at the time of the wedding.
Oh my God, some guys are tampering with the wheelchair!
Most of the guests end up sitting in the wheelchair at some point, just for the fun of it, and the combination of suspense and hilarity looks very
Number 96.
David and Patricia's wedding speech is short but bittersweet. I wish Beryl and Terry had been there too because it also feels like one of those farewell-to-the-crew moments.
And then...BOOM!
A moment later they're all in the hospital, Amanda, Alan and Barney are in critical condition. Problems during the operation, the doctor comes out of surgery…"I'm afraid I have some bad news…"
It's almost
too exciting!
I find it so hard to imagine that this soap was only popular in a few countries. Does that make Sons & Daughters the underground soap?