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“Welcome to Summer Bay”: Rewatching the early years.
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<blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 197727" data-attributes="member: 23"><p><u><span style="font-size: 22px">Episodes 175-179</span></u></p><p></p><p></p><p>The interwoven paths of four or five characters have been the key relationships of these five episodes. Nothing’s quite as it used to be in these relationships, but there’s the sense that they could be. Tentative truces have been broken, only for a further truce to come out of it. There’s been straight talking. Lies that have been tainting the atmosphere for the longest time are being dispelled and we’re reaching a point of truth.</p><p></p><p>With Alf back from Tahiti, Roo continued her act, making it seem she was choosing to give up Martha. It’s a lonely rock bottom for her character, as - Brett aside - only the viewer is aware of her pain. We see her frogmarched to the hospital by Brett in order to breast feed the baby he’s forcing her to give up. And further isolating her we see Brett and Alf bonding as it appears to Alf that Brett is more interested in Martha than Roo.</p><p></p><p>After signing over her shop to Celia, Ailsa has been given what seems like a definitive exit, leaving her friends in Summer Bay and her oldest friend Graham as she plans to fly to London forever.</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/1PoKha.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The Bobby/Donald scenes continue to crackle with an exciting energy as Donald initially chastises her for skipping her exam to say goodbye to Ailsa, and refuses Bobby’s challenge to test her with an oral exam there and then. He changes his mind after an off-screen phone call:</p><p></p><p></p><p>Naturally, the new, studious Bobby gets her mark. Not that this impresses Roo:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The battle between Roo and Bobby has been given further ammunition with Roo’s recent actions. Not helped at all when Roo seeks out Frank for support only for Bobby to walk in on them embracing.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The truth will out, though. The turning point for Roo is realising that Alf has reached a point of acceptance that giving up Martha may be the right thing for Roo to do. Adding substance to this frothy story is a further bit of oral history from Alf:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/RQ54go.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/Px0MBv.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p>Roo’s moment of confession creates an immediate shift in <em>how</em> these characters interact. Not least, Roo and Bobby:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Which prompts Bobby to break Ailsa’s confidence and tell Alf the truth about Graham’s relationship to Ailsa, along with details of the hotel in which Ailsa is staying. The balance for Alf is arguably tipped by Roo who takes Alf by surprise with her input into the situation:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>On the face of it, Roo’s new outlook towards Bobby and Ailsa is a frustratingly sudden hackneyed softening of a character. Particularly with the slightly nauseating suggestion that motherhood has instantly self-actualised Roo. What makes it fly is that we’ve been here before. Roo’s been Bobby’s friend. She’s welcomed Ailsa. And she’s betrayed that trust. So, rather like Patricia Hamilton at her smiliest, she’s become a little more interesting because it’s not yet clear if has an agenda and whether or not she is simply using her current situation to win points.</p><p></p><p>Alf, though, takes her at her word and gets in touch with Ailsa, whose Singaporean stop off has given us a <em>Sons and Daughters-</em>esque intertitle:</p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/4QcStZ.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p>Like Alf’s heartfelt proposal to Ailsa, Ray Meagher pulls the emotional rug out from under us by showing us Alf at his most sensitive and vulnerable. Both actors are beautifully in the moment, with Alf spilling his guts and Ailsa overcome as she listens to him:</p><p></p><p><img src="https://i.vgy.me/s1V2M2.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/HTQlGW.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /><img src="https://i.vgy.me/BcyqEH.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Brett’s skipped town with Martha. When Philip tries to stop him, Brett crushes Phil’s hand in his car door. And with it, perhaps any chance of Phil being a surgeon. There’s been some power romancing going on for Philip and Stacey, but it’s difficult to care. In fact there’s something about the Macklin office in general that feels so dead and empty that anything happening within its confines feels at best unimportant and at worst a drag to watch.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Spells & Karma, post: 197727, member: 23"] [U][SIZE=6]Episodes 175-179[/SIZE][/U] The interwoven paths of four or five characters have been the key relationships of these five episodes. Nothing’s quite as it used to be in these relationships, but there’s the sense that they could be. Tentative truces have been broken, only for a further truce to come out of it. There’s been straight talking. Lies that have been tainting the atmosphere for the longest time are being dispelled and we’re reaching a point of truth. With Alf back from Tahiti, Roo continued her act, making it seem she was choosing to give up Martha. It’s a lonely rock bottom for her character, as - Brett aside - only the viewer is aware of her pain. We see her frogmarched to the hospital by Brett in order to breast feed the baby he’s forcing her to give up. And further isolating her we see Brett and Alf bonding as it appears to Alf that Brett is more interested in Martha than Roo. After signing over her shop to Celia, Ailsa has been given what seems like a definitive exit, leaving her friends in Summer Bay and her oldest friend Graham as she plans to fly to London forever. [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/1PoKha.jpg[/IMG] The Bobby/Donald scenes continue to crackle with an exciting energy as Donald initially chastises her for skipping her exam to say goodbye to Ailsa, and refuses Bobby’s challenge to test her with an oral exam there and then. He changes his mind after an off-screen phone call: Naturally, the new, studious Bobby gets her mark. Not that this impresses Roo: The battle between Roo and Bobby has been given further ammunition with Roo’s recent actions. Not helped at all when Roo seeks out Frank for support only for Bobby to walk in on them embracing. The truth will out, though. The turning point for Roo is realising that Alf has reached a point of acceptance that giving up Martha may be the right thing for Roo to do. Adding substance to this frothy story is a further bit of oral history from Alf: [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/RQ54go.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/Px0MBv.jpg[/IMG] Roo’s moment of confession creates an immediate shift in [I]how[/I] these characters interact. Not least, Roo and Bobby: Which prompts Bobby to break Ailsa’s confidence and tell Alf the truth about Graham’s relationship to Ailsa, along with details of the hotel in which Ailsa is staying. The balance for Alf is arguably tipped by Roo who takes Alf by surprise with her input into the situation: On the face of it, Roo’s new outlook towards Bobby and Ailsa is a frustratingly sudden hackneyed softening of a character. Particularly with the slightly nauseating suggestion that motherhood has instantly self-actualised Roo. What makes it fly is that we’ve been here before. Roo’s been Bobby’s friend. She’s welcomed Ailsa. And she’s betrayed that trust. So, rather like Patricia Hamilton at her smiliest, she’s become a little more interesting because it’s not yet clear if has an agenda and whether or not she is simply using her current situation to win points. Alf, though, takes her at her word and gets in touch with Ailsa, whose Singaporean stop off has given us a [I]Sons and Daughters-[/I]esque intertitle: [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/4QcStZ.jpg[/IMG] Like Alf’s heartfelt proposal to Ailsa, Ray Meagher pulls the emotional rug out from under us by showing us Alf at his most sensitive and vulnerable. Both actors are beautifully in the moment, with Alf spilling his guts and Ailsa overcome as she listens to him: [IMG]https://i.vgy.me/s1V2M2.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/HTQlGW.jpg[/IMG][IMG]https://i.vgy.me/BcyqEH.jpg[/IMG] Meanwhile, Brett’s skipped town with Martha. When Philip tries to stop him, Brett crushes Phil’s hand in his car door. And with it, perhaps any chance of Phil being a surgeon. There’s been some power romancing going on for Philip and Stacey, but it’s difficult to care. In fact there’s something about the Macklin office in general that feels so dead and empty that anything happening within its confines feels at best unimportant and at worst a drag to watch. [/QUOTE]
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“Welcome to Summer Bay”: Rewatching the early years.
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