So I’m just doing a little post/rant because it really annoys me that Victoria got to just leave her troubles behind and go to Portugal. This isn’t a dig at the actress—I think Isobel is wonderful—but I cannot stand what’s been done with Victoria as a character. She used to be firmly in Robert’s corner, but it feels like she hasn’t truly been there for a very long time.
First, she wouldn’t lie about what happened between Lee and Robert—that it was self-defence—because telling the truth mattered more to her than whether her brother went to prison for trying to protect her. And honestly, if the roles were reversed, Robert would’ve lied for her in a heartbeat. Instead, he ended up losing everything—his husband, his son, and he never even saw Liv again before she died. We also saw how much it destroyed Aaron when Robert went to prison. This is just my opinion, but sometimes protecting your sibling from a life sentence matters more than telling the truth.
Then Robert comes back to the village and finds the love of his life marrying his half-brother—someone he’s never even met or heard of—which is already devastating on its own. But instead of giving him space or even trying to understand how painful that must be, Victoria pushes him to spend time with the man who literally married his soulmate. Not just suggesting it—forcing it, like his feelings don’t matter. Like he should just be able to sit there and be okay with it.
I’m sorry, but that’s beyond cruel. That’s not support—that’s completely disregarding everything Robert’s been through and everything he’s lost. He’s just come out of prison, he’s dealing with PTSD, and instead of being given time to breathe, he’s expected to play happy families with the person living the life he should’ve had.
She was also incredibly unkind to Robert when it came to his PTSD. She put him in charge of looking after Harry, knowing how vulnerable he was, and then didn’t even bother to hear his side of what happened with the “shouting” incident. Instead, she immediately jumped to threatening to kick him out. I honestly doubt she even asked her own son what actually happened—she just took John’s word for it without question.
And that’s what makes it worse—this wasn’t a one-off. She kept doing it, over and over again, choosing to believe someone she’d known for less than a year over her own brother, who she grew up with.
Then she finds out Aaron and Robert slept together, and instead of actually taking a step back and questioning anything, she immediately has a go at Robert, telling him to stop trying to destroy Aaron’s marriage and dismissing it all as just a “mistake.” She doesn’t tell John—the brother she suddenly adores—that his husband has cheated on him, and she doesn’t even bother to confront Aaron to ask why it happened, especially when it’s only been a few months since the wedding. And that’s what makes it even worse—she’s known Aaron for years, she knows the kind of person he is, and that he wouldn’t just cheat on John for the sake of it. There would have to be real feelings involved, especially if it’s with Robert. But she ignores all of that and chooses to keep quiet so John and Aaron can stay “happy.”
But let’s be honest—if the roles were reversed, she would’ve absolutely torn into Robert. She would’ve called it cheating, said it proved he still had feelings for Aaron, and made sure everyone knew about it. That double standard is what makes it so frustrating. And on top of that, when Robert tries to raise concerns after speaking to Paddy, she just shuts him down and refuses to believe him, like his perspective doesn’t even matter anymore.
Then there’s everything that happens after the gorge. She throws what happened with Lee back in his face, which was completely uncalled for given that he did it for her. She disowns him, and doesn’t even question why John has footage of Robert “attacking him.” If it weren’t for Matty convincing her to go and see Robert, she wouldn’t have spoken to him at all until after Aaron woke up and confirmed everything Robert had said was true. And even then, all we get is a half-hearted apology on the phone.
Then Kev appears on the scene, and when Robert explains he married him for protection, her first reaction isn’t “what happened to make you agree to that?” It’s “how’s Aaron going to react?” She’s experienced Robert’s PTSD first-hand, she knows he was targeted, yet she doesn’t seem concerned at all about the kind of man Robert has ended up married to just to stay safe. Her immediate focus is Aaron’s feelings—despite Aaron having already said multiple times that he doesn’t want to be with Robert.
She shows no real concern for Robert’s safety with Kev, or for what kind of situation he might be in. In fact, the only person who actually voices concern is Mackenzie, who says, “The man is terrifying, I would not want a mate of mine going out with someone like that.”
That said, she does go along with Robert’s lies to Kev, but even then she repeatedly tells Robert how upset she is about it and keeps bringing everything back to Aaron’s feelings, as if that matters more than Robert’s actual safety or wellbeing.
Then when Aaron finds out the truth about Kev, he once again makes it clear he wants nothing to do with Robert—going as far as to say how much he hates him. Yet Victoria is, once again, having a go at Robert for staying with Kev, who he believes is dying, instead of fighting for Aaron, even though Aaron has repeatedly said he doesn’t want Robert. She makes one comment to Aaron telling him to fight for Robert (despite all Aaron doing is lashing out at Robert), but that’s about it.
On the day of the vow renewal, she has another go at Robert before finally speaking to Aaron to show him Robert’s wedding vows—but even that just feels very bare minimum.
Then when she kills John in self-defence, Robert is the one blackmailed into selling his farm land and framing Moira, all to protect Victoria from going to prison—and she once again berates him for it. Victoria then leaves and goes to Portugal, and Robert is left to face everyone’s anger, despite having had no real control over the situation.
I know this was long, but I just wanted to get it off my chest as I’m getting more and more frustrated with the writing of the show as time goes on. I was very disappointed in the way Victoria’s character was written, because I don’t think Robert has truly had anyone in his corner since his return—and it’s sad, because Victoria used to always be that person for him.
We can now say Aaron is in Robert’s corner, but I feel like his support is quite conditional. Even when he does fight for Robert, he still ends up berating him, and I just want to see more consistent support from Aaron without the judgment or the constant “threat” of what Robert’s actions might mean for them as a couple. I think, as well, it’s often only on Aaron’s terms—much like their relationship tends to be most of the time. And that says a lot as well but that’s a whole other post.
