Musings on all things Holby

Episode thoughts, not recaps. Special love for the strong women of Holby City Hospital

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E36 - The Perfect Storm

Well, I’m hardly updating regularly any more, but just occasionally, an episode comes by that’s just SOOOO good that I have to wax lyrical about it.  And tonight was one of them (I’m actually surprised to say).

I wasn’t convinced I was going to like this ep.  Whilst I’m enjoying this 20th anniversary reunion year they’ve got going on with previous cast members popping up, I didn’t really think that bringing back Joseph and Faye was going to be a highlight.  But I was wrong, because it was the absolute perfect thing to remind me that :

Rosie Marcel is an absolute gem.  I simply adore her, and tonight was a real showcase of what she can do.  The ending, with Jac and Joseph in the office, then Jac walking away from the hospital was raw and messy and beautiful and oh, so painful.  Simply wonderful.  I think with Jac that she’s such a great character to have around always because of her brilliant snark and cutting one liners, that it’s easy to see her character as just that.  These episodes where we’re afforded a glimpse into the vulnerable person that exists beneath the (sassy, sexy, wonderful) queen bitch shell are to be treasured.

I was right in my pre-assessment of one part of this ep, though.  I absolutely LOATHE Faye.  I always did.  It was so interesting watching she and Jac trade bitch remarks.  Everything that came out of Jac’s mouth was pithy and perfect, whereas everything that came out of Faye’s sneering face just made her look even more petty and hateful.  And yet objectively, neither was nastier than the other...  Of course it’s deliberate that we should root for one of our own against an outsider, but still.  Very telling scenes.

Joseph, however, grew up quite nicely indeed.  And Luke Roberts also did an amazing job of emoting the dilemma of his feelings and his obligations.  Excellent chemistry between him and Jac.

I read an article today, about how Rosie Marcel had previously asked him to come back for Jac’s swan song, should the day ever come that she decides to leave for good, and apparently he had agreed to.  Let us hope that this episode was in addition to, not in lieu of, that promise. 

However...

I do have a last mention to make.  And that is the very small scene with Jac and Fletch.  “Is he the reason I never stood a chance with you?”  I never made it a secret that I could NOT see Jac and Fletch as a couple when it was first reported that they were going to take the story in that direction.  But, it kind of crept up on me very, very slowly, and from where I stand now, that tiny little line did break my heart just a little bit more.

All in all, a surprising and incredibly good episode.  Bravo, Jacster!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E31  post script and (mild) spoiler alert

So, after posting I’ve just now seen the trailer for next week.  Namely, Alex, bashed up in an AAU hospital bed, being cared for by Serena, and admitting she’d lied to her.  About what, we don’t know.  But fairly safe bet that it’s her engagement status with Bernie.  Which she lied about to wrangle an invite to her funeral/memorial/whatever she could get into.  Because perhaps, as much as we’re not liking Alex, she really did love Bernie and want to say goodbye?

Will be interesting to see just how deep her lies went.  Ie, was it just about their engagement?  Or about the entire relationship?

(Because we all know Serena really WAS the love of Bernie’s life).

And when I say was, I mean is, because Bernie is still alive!  ***EDIT - In my opinion.  This is NOT fact!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E31 -  Things My Mother Told Me (and other tales)

Oh my.  It’s been quite some time since I last posted my thoughts on an episode.  This has mostly been due to some Holby City storylines that I found a little tough to swallow, and the fall out kind of impacted on Casualty too.  But, I have still been watching (although sometimes saving several episodes and binging together rather than watching as they aired).  The question is - do I restart these musings of mine?  Or lay it all to rest?

Whatever happens, I feel compelled to jot a few thoughts from tonight.

Firstly, I don’t care what they’re telling me, Bernie Wolfe is NOT dead, until I see a body (or at least until some cast member does!).  Currently, in my head canon, she was held at gunpoint by some enemy insurgents, forced to remove her body armour before being marched off at gunpoint to a secret base, where she is now being kept as a POW, until such time as Serena leaves HC.  At this point, she will make her miraculous escape and return just in time to head off into the sunset.  NOTHING you can say will make me believe differently.  Just saying.

All the above makes Alex’s statement tonight that she was the love of Bernie’s life to be particularly galling.  I have seen various folk saying Alex can’t be trusted and she’s lying, etc.  FWIW, I think she’s telling the truth as she’s choosing to see it.  I can understand why she and Bernie might have ended up together.  As much as we all feel we know Bernie and Serena better than anyone, at the end of the day they are characters owned and created by the HC writing team, and if they think Bernie would never have been able to settle down and live a suburban life with Serena, as much as it galls, we have to accept that that is their vision.  And frankly, even if Serena was the one great love of Bernie’s life - we don’t all get our happily ever after, many of us do  have ‘one that got away’, and we do have to settle for good enough.  And to my mind, Alex would be the perfect partner for a non-tameable Bernie.   (Before anyone yells at me, my Bernie is totes happy sitting round the fire with Serena every day til she’s 95...)  I’m just saying I get that she’s not ours.  She’s theirs, to do with as they will.

Also, massive, proud LGBT Berena fan that I am - I also respect that essentially, Berena have NOT been treated differently to any other couple in the show.  Folk seem to think that lack of representation in general media means that they should be seen to be living happily every day.  Doesn’t work like that.  That’s not true representation, that’s singling out a LGBT relationship for special treatment.  I think that Berena have been handled the same way every. single. other. couple in the show have too.  And that’s true respect.  (Though I STILL totally hate it, and wish they could indeed have been shown to be happy every single day forever).  But realism just won’t abandon me.

Final word on Berena, I really actually want to like Alex.   But goodness me, was her character skeezy the last couple of episodes.  Her handling of Cameron showed the total opposite of respect to Bernie’s memory, and the final scene with her and Serena - <shudder>.  For a moment, I actually thought she was going in for the kill...

Next, I will move on to the intial reason I stopped reviewing - Dom.  Please understand, I appreciate adoption is a very emotive subject, and furthermore, I totally agree that Carole should have told Dom from an early age about his adoption.  BUT - I have not been able to stomach the way he has been treating her since he found out.  She may not have given birth to him, but she’s wiped his bum, soothed him when sick, taught him to ride a bike... apart from actually growing him, she is more his mother than anyone else could ever be, and I couldn’t stand the way he was treating her.  I know he’s a huge fan favourite, and I don’t hate him, but I do see him as I always have (and now more than ever), as the most self absorbed, spoilt little brat ever.  He really does think the world should revolve around him, as he’s repeatedly shown in his relationship with Lofty, and continues to show with his interactions with Carole and now Ange.  Therefore, I applaud tonight for finally, first Hanssen, and then Ange, opening his eyes to how unreasonable he was being toward Carole.

Briefly on to my reason for not starting to review again after Dom stopped me (!!!).  Evan.  I literally struggle to watch scenes with Evan in them.   He has made my skin crawl from the moment he appeared in show, and I’ve considered stopping Holby all together until he’s gone... (hasn’t happened yet, though).  I know his abuse is reasonably hot on the heels of Isaac’s, but whilst I hate and in no way condone what Isaac did, for some reason I’m finding Evan’s manipulations so much more insidious and frankly scary.  I know we have a long run to go yet before Chloe is out of his clutches, but by goodness, I hope it goes quick. Side note - I also know Ange doesn’t seem to be a popular character.  But I can’t for the life of me work out why.  She is an AWESOME mother - to Chloe.  She might not be prioritising Dom, but whilst he’s her flesh and blood, he’s barely more than a stranger, so to my mind, it’s totally reasonable.  Especially since she IS there for Dom.  Just not ahead of Chloe.  She’s also an awesome doc.  Imagine being an NHS patient faced with waiting lists?  Wouldn’t you want an Ange doing some overtime with volunteer staff so you could be helped quicker??!!

Brief mention to Cameron (and Nicky).  Poor, poor Cam.  I hope this storyline ends well for him.  His treatment of Nicky is pretty shoddy after their one night stand, but heck, girl, did you expect different?  You know what state he was in, you know how he feels about Chloe.  I hope they don’t make Nicky into too much of a victim over it, because she’s not stupid and it’s not a shocker when he’s drowning that deep in grief...

Finally, Ric.  Is this the big mistake that’s going to kick off a big storyline?  And whether it is or not, seems like only yesterday that Ric was jailed over some supposed mistake which had some secret reason behind it,  PLEASE don’t be going down the same route again.  That’s just tired.  Give Ric something interesting to work with that doesn’t involve malpractice.  Please!!!!!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E13 - Running

Ooh, what a cracking episode!  I’m not going to lie, I’d seen the odd spoiler and figured out that Dom was going to be Ange’s son, but that’s not to say I didn’t utterly love the unfolding of the story!  Pretty well played by all concerned.  I hope we get to find out a little more about the circumstances of Dom’s birth, especially in relation to Ange having Chloe, because I am a bit stuck with the maths of it all.  Chloe is seemingly a higher grade than Dom?  Or at least equal?  Which would suggest they are a similar age?  So, what, twins?  In which case why would 14 year old Ange be able to keep one and not the other?  And if not twins, I would still have put Chloe as the older, which confounds things even more!  Really, really would like to have it laid out for me.

Oh my, so Petrenko has finally left once and for all?  The show is the lesser without her.  BUT, I was pondering within the previous episodes how Chloe’s ex Evan was going to fit into Holby, and although I didn’t mean it so much in terms of ward placement as of character placement, I guess at least we now know which medical role he will be slotting into!

Couldn’t care less about Cameron’s dating woes - but I did enjoy both COTWs with the pregnant girl and the refugees with Legionnaires disease.

Looking forward to watching more fallout from Ange and Dom.

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 28

SO glad that Duffy finally told Charlie about her dementia diagnosis.  It’s not how I imagined the reveal would play out, in that I imagined it would be done on a more personal footing, rather than a professional - but I think it was probably better this way.

The new doctor - I think I’m going to like her.  She’s certainly not short on character.

Not really much more to say, despite enjoying the episode!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E11 & 12 - A Simple Lie - Parts 1 & 2

So, since scheduling pushed these two episodes to consecutive days, and since they’re essentially one story, it seemed practical and convenient to put them together here (not to mention the fact that I’m a week late!)

So, Holly.  I am so, so grateful that they finally let her have some peace.  Whilst I have every sympathy for the family dealing with an unimaginable situation, to carry on with nothing but false hope and fake promises was painful.

That it should be set against the backdrop of Ric, and Kofi and Darla’s religious beliefs was well timed.

The Frieda and Zosia relationship was interesting, I had forgotten that Frieda had been ‘in love with’ Ollie, I thought initially it was to do with Elliot or something!  But I am glad they found their detente, Zosia might not be around for long, but I do like her and I want to enjoy her time there.  (Still think Ollie could be the father of her baby though).

The appearance of Chloe’s ex was... curious.  So, he’s heading in permanently, right?  I’m not sure where he’s going to fit in, to be honest.  Certainly didn’t feel any chemistry there.

Donna and Xavier’s mum.  Well, Xav’s mum is deliciously conniving, isn’t she?!  The question is, can she do it?  Can she split them up?  I am fine either way - I like to see conniving people get stamped down, but then I’m fine if Xav and Donna split too, so I guess I’ll just sit back and enjoy the ride!

Theo’s disappearance was the oddest storyline ever.  I mean, I get highlighting the problems with the protesters, and I get why you might want to throw in a misdirect, but something as random as bringing Amira back for a single episode just to have made her the kidnapper seemed frankly pretty nonsensical.  Ah, well, someone somewhere clearly thought it was a good idea.  Have to admit, that this entire storyline didn’t really grip me, although I did enjoy seeing a hint of the Jac and Fletch dynamic.  (Speaking of - I am really NOT enjoying the potential Flange set up.  I do NOT see Fletch and Ange together under ANY circumstances!!!)

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 27

An episode heavily focussed on loss, grieving, and survivors despair.

Of course, Iain’s suicide attempt was the centre of the episode.  And the impact of that, whilst clearly felt by all members of staff, was most keenly displayed by Gem (who again, I wish I could like), Ruby, and Jan.  And Ruby’s method of dealing was to become overinvolved with a girl who unexpectedly has to deal with the loss of her mother, for whom she was the carer.  So here, we got to see the complete confusion and bewilderment of sudden loss, not knowing how to move forward. 

Then, there was the COTW of the man who had lost his wife, and was afraid to find out if his stomach pains meant that his cancer had returned - almost hopeful that he would soon get to be with her again - so loss further along the path. 

We hear David talk of the loss of his brother to suicide when he was 20, and the devastation of finding his body.

We also had the COTW of the boy who had ‘lost’ his father - to prison and to the father not wanting to be seen there.

So all pretty heavy, but thematic.

Thought - was Ruby’s overinvolvement with the girl a one off, or is it the start of a story?  I wondered through the ep, although the end where the girl decided to go on the trip suggested otherwise...

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E10 - Powerless

An hour of completely over the top, unbelievable cheese.  And I LOVED it!

I’m just shocked they didn’t find a way to make every single staff member collapse and get rescued, one by one...

Right, so:

Ric and Elle.  OK, I’m now good.  I can totally cope with the fact they hooked up once, but he’s now dating Francoise.  All good.

So glad that the Sacha/Beka/Darla story turned into Sacha needing the surgery rather than Beka.  Definitely worked in the getting-me-more-invested stakes!

Ric climbing through the ventilation tunnels in the ceiling.  Superb.

Essie and Beka’s chat whilst stranded in Imaging.  I was glad to see this happen, I think Essie and Sacha’s break up over Essie’s desire to have children has actually been sadly neglected in terms of follow up (yes, I know there was the whole Parker thing, but still).  Overall, unless forced to (like by Fletch’s chat with Essie at the end of the episode), I like to ignore the fact she ever hooked up with (married) Raf, I still think she belongs with Sacha.  I half wondered if the conversation was going to turn into the ‘I still love him’ trope, but sadly no.  Just that adoption might finally be on the cards.  Now Fletch won’t let her do overtime and all.  (???!!!)

One other thought on the Essie/Beka storyline.  Is there really no way Beka could have kept that neck brace on when she sat up??!!

Serena and Ange fighting again.  I have still not lost that strong feeling that this antagonism may lead to a slow burn hook up.  Let me make it clear that I am not rooting for this.  Just getting that niggling feeling.

I simply loved Noel sitting in Hanssen’s office, owning up, at the end of the episode.  Noel is so often portrayed as the fool - Casualty’s poor man’s Sacha Levy - and it’s incredibly good to be reminded every so often of what a decent bloke he really is.  I absolutely loved that Hanssen had taken the time to truly nominate him for an award.  One of my favourite scenes of the whole crossover. 

Second only, really, to anything involving Jac and Connie.  Quick shout out to the scene where Jac ripped Sacha’s shirt open first.  Now, nothing particulary sexy in Jac ripping Sacha’s shirt open.  But just take a moment to focus on the ‘Jac ripping open someone’s shirt’!  That moment aside, loved the reinforcement of the fraternal love that Jac feels for Sacha.  Jac really is just the most awesome character, she cares so deeply for her friends and is just so ill equipped to show it.  Pretty much my favourite character ever!

Then forward to the wonderful rivalry and bitchiness between Jac and Connie - former Queen pitted against reigning Queen.  The fighting, the force of will.  And ultimately, the begrudging respect that they can’t deny for each other.  I am going to be having some very happy dreams tonight!

Overall, I am really happy as to how this crossover has gone.  It might have been a long time coming (since the last crossover), and it might not hold up in the believability stakes, but by goodness, it sure stood up in entertainment value.  Bravo!

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 26

Hey, check me out!  I actually managed to do it!  I resisted watching Casualty until now, just an hour before Holby, thereby watching the two back to back...  Random scrambled thoughts following:

This was actually pretty good!  I have bitten my nails! 

Oh, my god, I bloody LOVE a crossover!  I can’t even describe the thrill at seeing all my faves from the two episodes mingling (although lots of it with clever filming, but still)

NOOOOOOOO!  Not Elle and Ric!  I had read the spoiler that there was a clandestine relationship happening between a Casualty person and a Holby person, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t pondered who it might be.  But I didn’t come up with this pairing.  Which might make me a bit stupid.  But I still prefer the idea of Ric with Francoise.

The Iain storyline is incredibly good.  Despite the fact I’ve been getting a bit fed up with Iain generally, I felt really invested in this.  And massive, massive kudos to Ruby - because her character/acting are what made this as amazing as it is.  On the flip side, my dislike for Gem is reaching new heights.  I really want to feel positive toward her because I can imagine the pain she must be feeling, but sadly, for me, the character is just so utterly unlikeable that even this huge trauma can’t make me warm to her.

The Sacha/Beka/Darla storyline isn’t grabbing me quite so much, although I can see the truth of Sacha’s reactions (bearing in mind it’s his real life daughter, I can imagine finding the emotion is made more real for him!).  Maybe the Holby part will cement the story for me.

I also found the part where we watched all the lights go out, section by section, whilst contrived, to be very thrilling too!

Jac and Connie.  My night is complete!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E09 - Guts

It’s funny, until the very end, I was going to start this with a rant.  Oh, sod it, I still am. I do not like the way Dom treats Lofty.  He seems perpetually dismissive, self centred, and completely uncaring about anything to do with Lofty - his thoughts, feelings, opinions, everything.  It makes me think of Lofty as a bit of a kicked puppy.  And of course, the biggest irony is that it wasn’t that long ago that we were all wishing fatal accidents on Isaac for the way he treated lovely Dom.  Whilst Dom isn’t being anywhere near as nefarious, he’s still not really a nice bloke right now.  THEN, of course, he offered for Lofty to take his Gran away with Dom’s winnings.  Now, at this point, I should be thinking what a stellar bloke Dom is, how thoughtful and supportive, etc.  But I’m still left feeling like he’s just packing Lofty off to get him out from under Dom’s feet.  Hmm.

Now, on to Zosia.  Why am I being left with the feeling that Ollie is her baby’s father?  She did say to Jac that all her demons were right here in Holby...

OK, so what is this antipathy between Serena and Ange?  And will I always feel this paranoia about Serena and potential new relationships?  Because I fear that this could be the start of a slow burn...  But let’s hope not.

Speaking of Ange, it was interesting to me tonight that Hanssen was so supportive of Zosia, then so supportive of Jason (whose behaviour was pretty out of line tonight, Aspergers or no), but so harsh toward Ange.  I’m not keen on him picking and choosing who he backs amongst his staff.

So happy for Sacha that his surgery and his innovative treatment plan were a success.  He deserves to get some good.

Will be interesting to see where all these threads pick up in a couple of weeks.  Because let’s face it, next week we’re in for a one off rollercoaster as we get part 2 of the crossover which starts with Saturday’s Casualty - so I’m thinking the focus will be well and truly diverted from the ongoing stories for our next ep!

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 25

Goodness.  I actually didn’t think Iain would hit that rock bottom.  Although there were all the preparations from the beginning of the episode - with getting the glass of water already on the table etc, I still didn’t think he was contemplating suicide.  I thought he was going to leave - just as Louise did the other week, and he was packing his life up ready to disappear.  So, mildly shocked.  (It also seems likely, therefore, that he is the Casualty person who requires surgery vs the Holby person?)

The episode generally was an interesting departure from the norm.  It reminded me very strongly of the BBC documentary dramas such as Ambulance, etc, and as such it was a format I was comfortable with.

In terms of content, the death of the child was pretty upsetting.  The lesbian couple was an oft told story - in that the newly discovered woman gets left behind by the one who has been out longer.  And thank goodness the poor crush victim ditched his arsehole ‘mate’!

Ruby was pretty good, especially when she stood up to the aforementioned ‘mate’.  And Dylan was, as ever, epic.  Favourite line: “I’m not inclined to argue with electromagnetic radiation...”

So, onward, with next weeks’ episode being the first of the 2 part crossover, ending with Holby City on the Tuesday.  I still have no idea if I will watch Casualty on the Saturday as it airs, or save it and watch it in the hour prior to Holby being broadcast - thereby turning it into a movie!  Anyone else having similar thoughts?!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E08 - Never Say Never

Wow, lots happened in this episode!

Yay for Zosia’s return.  She always brightens up the screen, so delighted to see her back for a bit.  Pretty surprised no one noticed her stomach before her announcement at the end, especially Dom - and I must just say that I was really happy to see their reunion play out on screen.  He was so deliciously excited, it was joyful! Also, whilst I was never a Jasia shipper, I did find it amusing that Jac began the episode by acting a little like a spurned lover upon Zos’s return.  Glad we cleared up why she was so annoyed by the end though, I know Jac doesn’t really need reasons to be snippy, but I do like it when we understand her motivations.

I really, really have to say, please NO! to a Cameron and Chloe pairing. Just... no.  And I’m getting a little sick of Cam’s digs at Bernie.  It’s like she was a single parent family.  Never a word about Marcus, and he didn’t come across as an unmotivated medic, so I’m sure he might have encouraged Cam to do his best also.  But no, let’s get as many digs as possible against Bernie.  And WHY would he imply he would air all her dirty Holby laundry over a drink with Chloe too?  Bring back the old Cam.  This one is a total tool.  (Also, he asked if Chloe actually chose to work with her Mum like it was weird.  Yet he chose to work with his at one point too.) Continuing on Chloe for a minute (and I still don’t like her, although she wasn’t as unpleasant this week as she has been), what was that whole scene with the newborn?  I can’t remember a scene of recent which felt more out of place than that one did.  I get they needed something like that to further the Holly story, but sheesh!  Weird.

Xavier and Donna.  Oh my goodness, how tedious!  He acted like a petulant brat, and she got her knickers in a twist about a pair of pants and some supposedly subliminal message they were giving about her being treated like a slave.  This all predicated on the fact that he’d left the pants there for her to pick up.  Who says he didn’t leave them there to pick up himself later?  It amuses me that she thinks she can change him.  We all know how that goes.

Holly.  Well, I have a lot of opinions about this storyline, and I won’t go into them in too much depth here.  But what on earth is the point of the mother going to the press?  The only reason I can think is to try and strong arm the NHS into paying for Holly to be transported to the US.  And in what universe is it reasonable to expect the NHS to do so?  Perhaps if it were a tried and true treatment, but not to some untested and quite possibly fly-by-night charlatans.  I’m not saying I don’t understand Holly’s Mum’s desire to hold onto hope, but to try and force the NHS into wasting thousands on a lost cause, makes me furious.

Finally, and this is a little bugbear really, but the elevator scene when Jac confronted Hanssen really annoyed me - firstly, as CEO, Hanssen should have stepped out of that lift because a) then the waiting patients wouldn’t have been kept waiting, and b) the discussion about Petrenko’s private situation wouldn’t have been had in public.  I understand that him trying to close the lift doors and Jac keep opening them was supposed to be humorous, but for me, the humour totally missed the mark and just descended into annoyance!

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 24

So, another one bites the dust.  Or, farewell Louise.  It’s funny really, there have been many things to dislike about Louise over her Casualty stay, but the last couple of weeks, she’s actually been quite a sympathetic character - what with the way she has been supporting Marty and Jade, and the whole Ernest storyline.  It was enough to make me feel a brief pang of sadness.  But only a brief one.

Poor Connie.  It’s unsurprising that there are going to be some pretty big emotional and mental ramifications of dealing with her attack, and the fact that the attacker is still out there and may never be found.

Poor Iain.  We always knew he had a rough background, but with a mother like that...

Dylan was excellent tonight, but then so was the woman who kept telling him to button it!  Sad COTW with the dying COPD patient.

Marty continues to grow, very slowly.  Jade, however, does not.  And a frenemy hug at the end doesn’t mitigate that.

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E07 - Good Side

Let’s see.

Nice haircut, Hanssen. 

Cameron.  The more I see Cam, the more I feel like he had a personality transplant since his last appearance on Holby.  I really liked him as a character then, and these days, he has few (to no) redeeming qualities.  His panting after women is embarrassing, his constantly trying to throw his ‘friends’ under a bus is disgusting...  And WHAT is going on with this constant reference to being a rich kid?  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I never imagined for a moment that Marcus and Bernie were badly off, but the constant reference to it these days makes it sound like they were practically royalty, and this, as far as I am concerned, is an entirely new development in the Wolfe-Dunn history.  I don’t like it. And further to the Cameron situation, what was all that tonight with Mr Burman-Roy?!  I get that he was supposed to make Cam face up to a few home truths, but his story was so odd as to lose any intended message.

Holly’s story, with Ange and Chloe.  Very sad, tricky situation.  I feel like it’s helping to establish Ange well as a character, and I’m still liking her.  I feel she is integrating just fine into the show.  Chloe however, (as much as I respected her for calling Cameron out on his bullshit), I am still finding a generally unappealing character. 

Love the interactions between Dom and his Mum.

I feel like tonight we might have seen the beginning of a Fletch and Ange ‘thing’.

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episode 23

Oh dear me, no! We only just got Connie back after barely seeing her for weeks, and now she has been the subject of a vicious attack which may leave her recuperating for ages! No fair!!! In terms of her attack, though, who did it? Surely it can't be Ernest's daughter. She was so heavily signposted that it screams misdirect, also, there were a couple of mentions made of her spirituality, and however much grief and anger, I can't imagine she would cast that aside to attack someone. So from this episode, that leaves the not-father, but what on earth would his reason be? Connie didn't wrong him... I am sure all will (eventually, very eventually) be revealed. Ernest dying was particularly sad, although kind of inevitable. It was another politically driven episode, and having introduced us to Ernest some time ago and built his life up, he was the perfect sacrifice to highlight the issues with the NHS. But I still wish it could have been different. Anyone else think that Jade had her attack cam filming the entire shift? So Rash wants to go on an adventure before committing to a specialism. Does this mean he and Gem are leaving the show? How long before Duffy's illness starts to affect her work? I kept expecting her tonight to go off to tell Louise something, then totally forget about it. I had even thought that she might be inadvertently responsible for Ernest's death, before the episode actually played out. I wonder at her decision to continue working, considering the consequences of making a mistake. Finally, Dylan was excellent tonight. As always!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S21 E06 - Force Majeure

Fair warning here - I had some pretty strong reactions to this episode.

Firstly, absolute yay to seeing Francoise back.  She’s rather lovely, and even better, she reminded me of the good ‘ole Berena days...  And her dance with Ric near the end gave me a smile and a wee heart swell, sorely needed after the frustrations of the rest of the episode.

From the top.  Chloe was back, of course, as we knew she would be.  I will say I found her marginally more tolerable this week, now she stopped slagging her mother off behind her back, to her mother’s colleagues.  This week, her relationship with Ange seemed true - flawed, but genuine.  And thus she didn’t seem like such an unpleasant person.  I remain decidedly NOT a fan, but at least I didn’t have a burning dislike to contend with, which was a relief, because...

Oh my goodness.  I’ve rarely known such an unpleasant patient as Holly.  To turn on her mother that way, when it’s been her mother that has been there for her, her whole life, in favour of the absentee father who only showed up a few years ago and doesn’t even live on the same continent... (the irony of it all, of course, is the fact that if her father knew she wanted to move to Australia to live with him, he a) wouldn’t want her, or b) would want her, but would realise a couple of months in that there’s no way he can handle a teenaged daughter...)  But I digress, because that doesn’t matter.  So, on the one hand, I am furious with the ungrateful, selfish child who can’t see the value of the parent who has bothered to always be there for her.

BUT - on the flip side - the mother dumped Holly into boarding school.  To my mind, that’s a massive deduction of brownie points too.  I’m not sure I’m surprised Holly doesn’t listen to her, either!  A pretty screwed up situation, populated with wholly unlikeable characters - and although the episode ran with a voice over from Ange about how some patients are more important than others (clearly meaning Holly), never have I cared less about a patient being left with severe deficiencies post surgery than I did tonight.  Sorry.

Right, what else?  Oh, yes.  Ric.  He’s very ANGRY at the NHS.  And so he bloody should be.  In his early interactions with Serena, the most perplexing thing to me is how she’s so NOT angry.  I mean, I get that anger and frustration isn’t going to solve a massive overarching problem, but seeing his reaction to it, how can she be so sanguine?  Can’t she even acknowledge his feelings aren’t without basis?  Considering this is such a (relevant) political storyline, I don’t understand why the writers are undermining their own illustration of a geniune problem by making their protagonist look like a kook!

Despite all of the above (or perhaps, as part of it), I was bothered to see Ric trying to persuade a patient to sue.  And fair play to the patient for not buying into this litigious society in which we live.  Although I felt totally sorry for him that in the 20 mins it took him to take the lift downstairs to meet Francoise, the entirity of AAU managed to get cleared.  (Yeah.  Right!).  And Serena trying to encourage him to take a week off?  Is this the beginning of another of Ric’s incredibly famous and several month long sabbaticals?

Finally, Nicky/Cameron/Xavier.  Right, so I know Xav has bailed Nicky out in the past (although I’m still not sure why?).  Bit cheeky of her to hit him up again.   Liked Xav’s chat with Cameron.  Since his return, Cameron has been a complete dick - and I never thought he was before.  I like that Xav vaguely intimidated him.  He needs converting back into a decent bloke again.

Xav and Donna?  Conflicted.  From Donna’s POV, she shouldn’t date someone her ‘kids’ don’t like.  From Xav’s POV?  Why waste all that time trying to win over some jumped up little brat?

Strong views tonight, folks.  Strong views.

[holbyconfessional]

Casualty S33 Episodes 21 & 22

Nope, not a two parter, just epically behind!

Going to go backwards, so Episode 22, last night’s, first:

Well, I was suitably impressed that the Iain arrest storyline was wrapped up so quickly.  I had visions of weeks of it stretching ahead, culminating in something recorded on the 999 call exonerating him...  Very, very pleased that it wasn’t dragged out further.

Whilst I was watching, I was pondering Jan’s reaction in getting Iain arrested.  Now, I am totally against the leniency she has shown him in his actions in the past, he’s got away with things he should seriously have been brought up for.  But I can’t help but feel that part of her reaction here was because she always knew Iain was telling the truth about Ross - not on the surface, but deep down - and she hated Iain for forcing her to confront what she worked hard to subconsciously ignore.  Having said that, I did feel pretty sorry for her in the final scenes with Ross, then with Iain in the prison.

Did we know Jan was with a woman? 

Ethan.  I felt sorry for him earlier in the episode when he was leaving a message on Alicia’s voicemail.  But then found myself totally perplexed by his reaction when she called him back.  Cancel the call, yes.  Delete her number straight away?  OK, you don’t want to speak to her again because you realise it’s a toxic situation.  Check.  But now, when she tries to call again, how will you know it’s her, to decline the call??!!  Ah, well.

The biting patient.  Anyone else think they missed a trick here?  Surely that could have been a far more interesting case than just a late aside from Louise to Duffy about how there were far more complicated issues with the patient than they thought.

And finally Duffy.  Oh, my, she is deteriorating quickly.  Like, REALLY quickly.  Another storyline that I think must come to a head soon.

Now back to Episode 21.  I did actually watch this at the time, but didn’t (and still don’t) have much to say.

We had Louise taking Ernest in, which was incredibly kind, but pretty risky, especially with his history of theft.  We had the ridiculously rude CT surgeon (I think I saw someone say he’s supposed to join HC?  Surely not??!!), and we had the mentally ill guy who thought shooting people would stop them taking his farm from him and his heavily pregnant wife despite their massive accumulated debts.  Oh, and Iain pretending the man’s gun was out of bullets despite knowing there was one left and kind of hoping he’d get shot. Then, of course, there was Base.  Genuinely sorry to see him OD, I kind of liked him.  But a nod to the truth of it, relapse rates are SO high, and ODs from relapse so common, as people use the same amount they always did, yet their bodies have lost the tolerance for it.

Not a favourite episode of mine, by a long shot.