Festive Names

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mel O&#039;Drama" data-source="post: 406125" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 391 - 400 28 July -  26 August 1986 continued Coinciding with the almost-gay tension currently on display in Nick’s storyline, there’s actual gay tension with the return of the long-absent Gordon. By original transmission, it’s been the best part of two years since Gordon was last physically on-screen, though his story has evolved hugely since he was last seen, frolicking at a Hallowe’en party with his girlfriend and a medical skeleton. Another thing that intrigues me about the timing of Gordon’s return is that both Annabelle and Paul have plenty of material of their own going on of late. Annabelle has become a magistrate, despite of Paul’s brush with the law during his road safety campaign (or, in part, because of it, since it appeared in the paper on the day of Anna’s interview, with those conducting it suitably impressed by Paul’s passion for his crusade). Neither one of them lacks interest in their own right at the moment. With Paul’s redundancy creating more opportunities than it closes. The change of life has actually breathed new life into him, and he’s more open and three-dimensional than he has been for some time. Annabelle, too, is passionate about what she’s doing, and they function individually in their own plots on and off Close as well as together. Some of it has been essentially frivolous - such as Paul trying to hide his inability to ride a bike not only from neighbours but also Annabelle - but it’s the kind of frivolity that adds balance and injects a sense of fun.Because of this, it doesn’t feel as though Gordon is needed. But in the best possible way. There’s no sense that his return is a plot device or anything less than organic. Certain seeds have been sown, with Paul’s avuncular attitude towards Adam Black especially seeming to pave the way. This, I think, is the second significant recast… the first being Gordon’s sibling. And there’s a certain consistency in the way the new face is revealed to the audience: once again, we see a photograph of the new-look Collins before the actor appears on-screen. Did Lucy also arrive back in a cab? I forget. The writing revels in some ambiguity when it comes to the question of whether Gordon is or he isn’t, with the audience given much the same information as Paul and Annabelle. Neither they nor we know the gender of the “friend” Gordon is bringing until we see Cecile get out of the taxi with him (to Paul and Annabelle’s huge relief). We’re not told, at first, the nature of Gordon and Cecile’s relationship. They happily shared a bedroom, we learn, when they stayed with Lucy and Barry. But  there wasn’t the space and they prefer separate rooms here. Gordon gives Cecile a kiss on both cheeks when heading to bed, but then he does the same to Annabelle (this is followed by a wonderfully comical moment when Gordon leans in and gives Paul a kiss on the head. Paul’s eyes widen and he makes a little sound of surprise before observing awkwardly that it’s “very French”). The current state of play with Gordon’s sexuality is finally confirmed at the end of the 400th episode when Cecile, thinking it already known, tells the shocked Annabelle that Gordon and her brother Pierre were in love but have recently split up. There’s just enough here to create conflict. Paul and Annabelle have both moved towards a degree of acceptance in Gordon’s absence - something we understood to be reinforced by an apparently pleasant visit to France in which there was a degree of reconciliation. Still, their scenes in private as Gordon’s return was imminent made clear that there’s still work to be done in terms of their comfort and acceptance. Social propriety is just too important to them, and both are too conservative - in both senses of the word - for this to be anything other than a slightly rocky road. continued…</blockquote>

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