Goodbye DS Thorpe...
Rounding up a week in Hollyoaks (26th-30th March 2018)
Hold the front page! A Hollyoaks police officer actually managed to solve a crime all by themselves this week! Unfortunately they were dead by the end of the episode but still, well done DS Thorpe! The drama unfolded as the truth about Ste and Ry Ry’s relationship was revealed during Amy’s memorial service. Leah had been planning to out Ry Ry with a little help from print outs of his and Ste’s text messages but she got cold feet and left them in the flat, where they were found by a furious Leela. Despite initially trying to deny everything, Ry Ry eventually came clean and had a heart to heart with uncle Geoff. It was quite a touching scene, until you remember everything that Ry Ry has done. DS Thorpe eventually worked out that Ry Ry had been responsible for killing Amy but, rather than phone his follow officers, he agreed to meet with Ry Ry at Hollyoaks High, where Ry Ry confessed to putting Tegan in a coma and locking Kim up. As Geoff made his way down to the basement, it was fairly obvious what was going to happen next...
As Ry Ry stood over his Uncle’s lifeless body, he was interrupted by Glenn, who quickly realised he could use the situation to his own advantage. The pressure of working for Glenn was beginning to take it’s toll on Adam and his behaviour annoyed Maxine so much that she and Minnie moved out for a couple of episodes. Keen to know why his Dad had not yet been arrested, Adam called on DS Cassidy, who was forced to tell him that his private investigation was not above board and as a result, he had no protection. Adam’s behaviour also became a cause for concern for Glenn and he and Ry Ry soon struck a deal. If Ry Ry could help frame Shane for Trigger’s murder, then Glenn would help dispose of Geoff’s body. With Trigger having been discovered, Ry Ry headed along to the mortuary and planted Shane’s watch on the body. DS Cassidy was soon on her way to Price Slice, where Shane had started working, to arrest him for Trigger’s murder, but she got more than she bargained for when she opened the back of Price Slice’s van to find Geoff’s body.
With Shane protesting his innocence, Glenn ordered Adam to scare him into ‘confessing’ and so Adam started a fire at the McQueen’s, where Jesse was enjoying a bunk-up with newly released Goldie. It didn’t take long for Adam to realise that his Brother was inside and he rushed into the burning building to rescue him. Glenn was furious with Adam for endangering Jesse’s life and Shane wasn’t too pleased either when he heard what had happened. Eventually, Shane was persuaded to ‘confess’ to two counts of murder and so Ry Ry and Glenn are off the hook. As the week drew to a close, Grace also found herself being coerced by Glenn as he ordered her to sleep with a potential client in return for his business.
Also this week, as if killing DS Thorpe wasn’t enough, Ry Ry soon set his sights on Tegan when the Lomax’s received news that she was to be woken from her coma. Keen to keep his secrets hidden, Ry Ry snuck into Tegan’s hospital room and planned to kill her, but he was put off when he spotted the CCTV (the CCTV that of course only exists when it benefits the story!) As Ry Ry planned his next move, Tegan woke up...
That’s about it for this week. It was a real struggle to write this round up as I failed to muster any enthusiasm for the main stories. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it’s been one of the worst weeks of the show I’ve seen in a while. We lost a decent character in the shape of Geoff and for what? To keep Ryan in the show for a few extra months (although knowing Hollyoaks, he’ll still be here this time next year). What is Ryan bringing to the show at this point? Where is the benefit in dragging his sorry mess of a storyline out for even longer? His relationship with Ste is an absolute joke and I refuse to believe that either party would ever go there given their history. Is it just so the show can throw more misery at Ste when he finds out that his latest boyfriend is a murderer? Whatever the reason is, I don’t care anymore, Hollyoaks made sure of that.
Just to end on something more positive, I wanted to say how impressed I was with young Ela-May Demircan, who plays Leah, during Monday’s episode. What’s impressive about Ela, is that, like Ellis Hollins (Tom), she was cast at a very early age. It’s often the case with child actors that, as they get older and get given more to do, you find that they’re just not very good actors. That hasn’t happened with Ela and she’s shaping up to be very talented young lady. She’s been given some very challenging storylines over the years but has stepped up to the plate each time. She’s certainly one to watch for the future!
5 Things We Learnt This Week:
1. Ry Ry’s Dad was killed in the line of duty because he was “bad at his job” according to DS Thorpe. He’d have fitted right in with the Hollyoaks police force!
2. Hollyoaks care not one jot about Amy Barnes. Well, we knew this a long time ago, to be fair. They couldn’t even let her have a memorial service that was purely about her. That service was nothing but a way of outing Ry Ry and Ste publicly.
3. There’s a whole manual to read before you can begin work in Price Slice, as we saw this week when Shane started work. So what was Simone doing leaving Scott in charge as soon as he walked through the door on his first day last year then?
4. DS Thorpe thinks that the folly is the perfect place to have a private chat with Ry Ry. “There’s less chance of someone interrupting us” he told his nephew after he questioned why they were there. What? At the one place every Hollyoaks resident goes when they’re having a crisis?
5. If Ry Ry asks you down to the school basement, don’t go!
Characters Featured:
Adam, Cleo, Courtney, DS Roxy Cassidy, DS Geoff Thorpe, Farrah, Glenn, Goldie, Grace, Hunter, Jesse, Joel, Kyle, Leah, Leela, Louis, Lucas, Maxine, Myra, Prince, Sebastian, Shane, Simone, Sienna, Ste and Tegan.
Past Characters Mentioned:
Amy Barnes, Mike Barnes, Brendan Brady, Neeta Kaur, John Paul McQueen, Michaela McQueen.
