State of the Street - June 2013

What a great month it's been for the most part! I really think that, overall, Corrie is looking up these days.

Tina couldn't give up the baby which was obvious. Even early on she couldn't watch the screen during scans. But rather than drag this out through an unimaginably dull custody court case, we wound up the story fairly quickly. Izzy, the true mother, could not see dragging that little boy through court cases that could last years, and though Gary was not having it, she managed to make him see that he couldn't put the little boy through that. He didn't want his son to grow up angry and though didn't like it, backed Izzy when she told Tina she could keep the baby. But, after hearing Tommy tell her a few hard truths, and seeing Izzy giving up what he wanted for the baby's sake, Tina finally did the right thing.

Now she's trying to get on with her life and the Armstrongs and Windasses are always in her face, thanking her, or just celebrating which is kind of like rubbing her nose in it. Izzy seems to be a bit more low key about it but she's not innocent of it either While Gary and Owen and even Anna are practically crowing about it all over the street.

I wondered if the amount Owen was paying Tina was more than what she wanted to cover Tommy's debt? Now that Tommy is probably clear of debt and Tina gave the baby back to Izzy, will she get to keep the balance of the cash?

It's not going to be easy. I wonder if we'll see her spiral into depression again. She is scared she might after what happened after her father died. Tommy will be there but I can't see him knowing what to do to help her. Graeme didn't know either, but his presence seemed a lot more calming to her. He just didn't give up. I don't think Tommy would either but he would be more confused and probably not that much help. I suppose time will tell. That will be a storyline for August.

Evil David is back!

In a wholly contrived explanation scene, Gail and Kylie review the whole thing with David listening from the top of the stairwell, arms full of flowers and tears running down his face as he hears Gail and Kylie talk about how they hope the baby is David's. Gail affirms they should stop talking about it altogether (Makes a change from her constantly sniping at Kylie ever since she found out).

So now David knows about the baby and the fling and as you would expect, the evil David is back. Some people think it's very one-sided to have him revert to the old David, smashing things and taking revenge but you must remember that David is damaged. He was thrown by his parents' divorce and never did get councilling after the Hillman death attempt, he was just a kid and never learned to deal with the anger and fear. No wonder he was out of control as a teen and this kind of betrayal certainly would be enough to tip him back over the edge, almost literally when he stood on the top of the cliff.

No, revenge is better, he's thinking. And the best revenge is to be taken against Nick it seems, not against his beloved wife, Kylie. He seems to be forgiving of Kylie at this point, or at least not willing to let her go so he's got to take it out on someone and Nick is the obvious choice, with Gail a second runner up. He's going to split up Nick and Leanne if he has his way. I wonder if he'll succeed?

He's working on Gail's suspicions, those she already harboured about Leanne and now he's starting in on Nick's insecurities. I suppose we have this to look forward to all summer until the baby comes, September wasn't it? I'm loving this storyline, because I love all the Platts and I think it's been well plotted out for the most part.

Roy didn't deal very well with the aftermath of his father's death, did he? First he was angry and intent on cleaning up around himself with a passion, then weird things started happening in the cafe. There couldn't be a ghost so he was sure someone was playing tricks and making him the butt of a joke as per usual. Turns out he was sleepwalking which didn't surprise me. All the stress, the guilt and the regret just piled all up inside him. I've also enjoyed Sylvia's little insights into Roy's childhood though she is always trying to explain to Hayley what he's like when Hayley knows very well. It's been wonderful to see the Croppers at the forefront.

It seemed to take Eileen an awfully long time to finally get to the point where she decided to take advantage of the family help and councilling that the fire department offers and it seemed to take an awfully long time for them to even mention it in the show. I have been constantly amazed that nothing was brought up earlier and even more mystified that Paul never made any reference to how Lesley dealt with things. She was married to him for over 20 years, surely he must have dealt with this type of thing at least when they first married. He should have recognized the signs especially after they nearly split up because of her fears.

Dev's quest finally settled down after he reached a dead end, (sorry) and both Mary and Karl told him a few hard truths, Mary moreso, ordering him to put those children first. But there have been clues being dropped here and there and it looks very much like young Craig will have the missing piece of the murder puzzle somehow. I don't know how or where or what, but the lad is off his food, having nightmares and looking worried and scared every time Karl is around. They don't do these things for nowt! This will come out, it's a given, and Karl is always looking so ill and shakey, like he could blurt out a confession any time. Stella is setting a wedding date for September so there's a 50/50 chance the wedding will or will not go off. If it does go off, I think the truth will be out soon after anyway.

I'm enjoying watching Rob and Carla circle each other, dragging their family skeletons and old baggage out of their shared history. There is resentment, pain and regret. Tracy on one side, pushing Rob and winding up Carla and Peter on the other side, his California glow dimming rapidly. As much as I hate Tracy and I really dislike the actor, I'm actually enjoying her interaction in this storyline which surprises me. I dislike Rob and the actor as well, but the dynamic between he and Carla is great. Maybe it's because Carla and Peter are such good characters and their portrayers are excellent that they leak a little of their talent to those they play against, giving them the oomph to rise to the challenge a bit more. I don't know but while the acting skills of the dastardly duo is still less than stellar, I also find it less grating than usual.

Maria and Marcus were hardly seen for weeks or months then had a little panic blip on the radar over that wedding. Now I guess they're back in the closet again. It can't last. Maria has too many insecurities. She's her own worst enemy when it comes to fellas. Now that the baby stuff is more or less off the radar, we are back to Faye. Anna seemed to forget all about her while the rest of it was going on.