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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spells &amp; Karma" data-source="post: 430434" data-attributes="member: 23">Episodes 696 - 722 28 June - 27 September 1989 continued Sheila and Doreen’s first ineraction was another nice surprise, with Sheila coming round to find Billy and Doreen still in the garden, talking more calmly by then, and in a way that - especially from Sheila’s observation point - could be read as intimacy. At this point, Doreen has no idea, and greets Sheila warmly, even hugging her tightly after a faux pas when she asked after Damon only to be met with the news that he’s dead.While there’s lots to love about this scene in terms of event, it’s the way its staged and the attention to detail with the dialogue that really makes it fly. After long scenes where actors are given pages of dialogue at a time, there’s something subliminally important about the shift to scenes such as this where exchanges are characterised by brevity. Sometimes a response is just a singular word, but even in sentences characters are speaking a fragmented sentence structure that in black and white reads like a kind of telegraphese. This jumps out in that first scene with Sheila, Doreen and Billy:There’s one winning little detail around this point that’s so fleeting it’s barely noticeable. As they enter the kitchen though the back door, Doreen gets to work in the kitchen and again invites Sheila to “go through and sit down”. It’s a throwaway line, almost lost with what goes on immediately either side of it, but it sets things up so perfectly. It’s even more powerful because as far as Doreen’s concerned it’s just a comment. There’s no subtext for her beyond establishing that the status quo is resumed, which she would do with any visitor. If I remember, Sheila visibly tenses for just a second when this is said, because of what it means to her.The kitchen is the symbolic heart of the home, and Sheila made herself at home there just as quickly as Doreen does now. It’s where they feed and care and make themselves indispensable to Billy and the family. It partly speaks to both Sheila and Doreen as people who thrive when caring for others - albeit perhaps with varying degrees of manipulation attached, just as Kathy, too, tried to fry her way into Billy’s heart. Now the kitchen becomes a territorial stage (this will later be extended to the entire home when Doreen attempts to claim her territory and her man by throwing Sheila and Claire’s belongings out onto the street and changing the locks).We shift into it with two different conversations taking place. Sheila comments to Billy that he hasn’t told Doreen. Doreen still thinks he’s taking about Damon until Billy tells her Sheila’s been staying there and looking at their faces, the penny drops:Who can blame Doreen.?The line might be dripping with sarcasm (and very funny) but underneath it all is a continuation of the theme that she has a lot of catchin up to do. And with the series operating in more of a bubble than when she left - with musical houses and unexpected pairings, not to mention Annabelle’s affair with Brian - it wouldn’t be entirely beyond the realm of possibility.Most impressive with this storyline is how balanced sympathies towards characters have been. Billy and Sheila’s pairing feels hard-earned, and they’re often quite sweet together, so there’s a feeling I should be rooting for them. At the same time, I can completely see things through Doreen’s eyes and view their actions as a betrayal.It’s so very Doreen to choose the moments after the discovery to unpack her things and claim back her half of the home, throwing in regular little digs about Sheila’s age (“so you wanted a mother too, did ya?”) and faith (“Some kind of Catholic thing, is it?” she sneers at Billy, as Rod and Tracy rush off without breakfast. “Everyone fastin’?”).With Doreen living with Billy again, Sheila removes herself. At different points in the storyline, she returns to those supporting players who have been continuous threads in her journey on the series. Much later in the run, Matty talks about blaming himself for Theresa’s death and how Sheila has the opportunity to not push someone away. More immediately, though, comes a very revealing heart-to-heart with her sister, Margaret:There’s just so much information about both women in here. I’ve commented a number of times that I’ve felt the new, freer Sheila is unfamiliar and feels almost uncharacteristic. That hasn’t changed, and it’s not really explained here. Somehow, though, bringing it out into the light through Sheila’s own acknowledgement somehow makes it feel a little more acceptable.Likewise, Margaret’s inner world is revealed more than ever before. She’s always made sense to me as a character, and her appearance here - as usual - is to facilitate Sheila’s current storyline. Even her dialogue here does that, since it’s really about giving Sheila permission to follow her heart (understandably, almost none of Sheila or Doreen’s scenes in this run would pass the Bechdel test). Still, it resonates and feels like a little reward to long-time viewers, as well as to Barbara Marten who is consistently reliable. continued…</blockquote>

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