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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marley Drama" data-source="post: 410110" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 431 - 445 15 December 1986 - 2 February 1987 In the space of just fifteen episodes, there’s been a fair degree of change to the cast, regular and recurring.Karen returned briefly for some closure before departing more permanently. While low-key and not unexpected, Karen’s final arc did feel like a last hoorah for the Grants. I’m fairly sure this is the final time we’ll see the entire Grant family together, a feat which has become increasingly difficult to achieve now all (with the exception of Claire, of course) are adults, and with the benefit of understanding this whilst watching I’ve been able to bask in the warmth of the sparks flying between them which has felt like quite a luxury. While I’ll miss Karen, the time also feels right for her to move on. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why this is, but I’m sure hindsight factors into this as well. I thought it sweet that she trusted big brother Barry with her secret plan to move to London, and that her final scene was a heart-to-heart with Sheila, since there have been a number of these over the years. It was a nice touch, too, that Guy came back for some final scenes as the two officially broke up. This feels like the kind of detail that could potentially have been dealt with off-screen and relayed to the viewer after the fact, which makes me appreciate his return all the more (incidentally, it appears <a href="https://welldoing.org/article/meet-therapist-ian-michie"> Ian Michie has since become a psychotherapist in London</a>, which is something I could very much envisage Guy doing today). Barry, too, is back on the road, but not before tying up - to lesser or greater degrees - loose ends of storylines in which he’s been involved. His confrontation of Charlie with the news of Nick’s death gave another character a parting shot. And there’s a détente of sorts for Barry and Bobby when the latter confesses that he was indeed jealous that Barry did for Sheila what Bobby had wanted to. The Bobby/Barry relationship is one of the most complex on the series and never fails to compel. I vacillate between thinking they will never truly understand one other or that the conflict is there because they do understand one another. Despite his confession to Barry, Bobby still finds himself taking the wrong approach with Sheila. It seems his version of not wrapping her in cotton wool is poo-pooing her desire to visit Rome at Easter, and giving her a hard time over returning to education. Sheila’s desire to spread her wings isn’t confined to herself. It was Sheila who convinced Karen to fly the nest and follow her dream, despite her fears, and Sheila herself is now living this. There’s an undercurrent of defiant rebellion, Sheila’s determination to make her pilgrimage driving her to take a part time job as a barmaid at The Swan in order to fund this. Clearly there’s a lot to this, some of which raises eyebrows for all kinds of reasons, but the series hasn’t shied away from addressing twists which could be viewed as contrivances or even poor continuity. First, Sheila’s arguable restructuring of her priorities by handing over a degree of parental responsibility to others could be viewed as uncharacteristic - certainly of the Sheila of earlier years (this is the thrust of Bobby’s problem). In large part, though, the uncharacteristic nature of this is the point. Sheila has been changed by her experiences. Her education may have been interrupted, but up until that point the scales were falling from before her eyes. She understood there was a big world out there that, despite its societal problems and injustices, offered her potential to affect some change on her own life and possibly others. Now she is finding her drive again, it feels as though she is picking this up and running with it, spurred on by the fact that the trip to Sheila’s recovery from the rape is another force driving this. Barry’s philosophy of tackling things head-on - as demonstrated by taking her out of the house and bringing her home in a taxi - seems to have made such an impact as for her to embrace it. At the risk of broad generalisations which polarise things into “Brookside” and “other (lesser) soaps”, most such series probably have a more confining social structure, with communal spaces such as pubs being important hubs into which characters pretty much have to gather regularly to be part of the ensemble. Brookie isn’t a slave to such necessities. The Swan is seen only infrequently and I’m fairly sure there are characters who have never set foot inside. By virtue of Brookie’s own setup, Sheila never needed to cross its threshold again. Which is exactly why her doing so feels like a statement. This isn’t a case of the writers being forgetful or contradictory. It’s an important step in Sheila’s recovery. And it’s acknowledged as such. Traumatic association aside, Sheila taking a job as bartender does seem a little questionable, but I appreciated the effort put into highlighting the limitations as Sheila read the cards in the jobcentre (or shop) window and realised she was unqualified for the few available. Damon’s envy at how easily she walked into a job was a further timely reminder of the crushing unemployment of the times (1987 would see Thatcher win a third consecutive election). Her interview at The Swan showed a pleasingly forthright - almost sassy - side to Sheila that I associate with the Sheila of earlier times. With the most nerve-racking part over by entering, she seemed to grow in confidence and be comfortable not taking any stick as she drew on her personal and professional background to handle it efficiently, promoting her own strengths at the same time:The rest of the scene, in which Sheila is put to the test with questions about various combinations “brown mixed” and “brown bitter” and asked to pull a pint of mild feels genuinely anxiety-provoking, but she takes the fails in her stride and gets the part. She even does homework before her first shift by having Damon test her on the ingredients of drinks from snakebite to snowballs (a favourite of Gail’s, he explains with a weary sigh at the thought). continued…</blockquote>

Verification: What month follows July?