State of the Street - January - February 2018

Blog fail award: Me for forgetting to do January's State of the Street and I'm late with this one! I'll try to combine the major points in with February.

Didn't I say that Phelan would reach out and we'd have another body lurking around?  This time, a lovely, gentle man, Luke, got on the trail of where his mate Andy is after  the post has been piling up for months. Not really a lot to be going on with but they needed an excuse to put Luke in Phelan's path.It was a well kept secret for a change and a young actor like this one will do well. I liked him quite a bit. It's too bad none of the women they paired him with were all that interesting as far as "match made in heaven". First, Maria and then Alya. Luke would have been a much better partner for someone like Rana rather than Zeedan.

By the end of February, Phelan's alarm bells are ringing loudly and he suspects Gary is up to something. Then he discovered Seb in Nicola's flat and realizes she's betrayed him. She doesn't believe him anymore. He won't hurt her but he did throw her out (she was staying there after a hospital visit). He's isolating Eileen, trying to keep her from her friends, all of whom keep a dim view of him. She doesn't understand and has already fallen out with Liz over it. Then, at the Mill development site, things are looking to go very badly because the little lake there has to be drained and we all know there are two dead bodies in it. Phelan could play innocent but once they're identified, one being his former tennant and one his former business partner who allegedly scammed him for a lot of money, he'd be front and center in a murder investigation and so he should be!

It's the beginning of the end for Pat Phelan. Some viewers think this has gone on too long but I think it's been great. Some of these villains need a long game to get to the inevitable end or it will feel too rushed. Sometimes, aspects of it are a bit too contrived, I admit that but overall, it's been great and Connor McIntyre has been absolutely superb.

Luke Britton, we miss you. Not in the way Alya does, with what was left of her life's blood draining out daily, just... it's a rotten shame he went so young and horribly. I never bought into Alya and Luke as a couple and certainly not "love's young dream". I do believe you can meet the love of your life but I don't necessarily believe you would know it within 5 or 6 months of dating  someone in that early flush of lust. And since it appears Luke never did introduce Alya to his parents, clearly he was not that into her but has she taken that on board? No. She just hoped she wasn't seen as rude to miss the burial and wake when Mr. and Mrs. B. had no clue who she was in the first place.

Anna's trial went pretty much as expected. In the majority of trials, the person arrested and jailed is never the guilty party and even then, they are often convicted, with new evidence revealing the real guilty party later. However, when you know that an actor is leaving the show, all bets are off. This was a trial for pushing Seb off the ladder and we know she didn't do that. But she is also up on charges for assaulting Eileen (when she thought it was Phelan coming up the steps to the builder's office) and she'll get time for that because she's guilty of that charge.

What I'd really like to see is Anna vindicated and released and then deciding to move away with Faye somewhere. Otherwise, you have Anna in prison with a release date somewhere down the road. Now, does she come back to Weatherfield where, all things being equal, her daughter still lives? But chances are that Faye won't be there anymore as there really isn't much to keep her there other than Tim. Maybe she'll stay with Tim's father and Tim can come back to town with Sally. That will give Anna a place to go on release.

Rana and Kate?  I still don't buy them as a couple. I always thought Kate and Sophie would have been better. Kate could bring some fun into Sophie's life finally and at the moment, they are dating but there's still that draw between Kate and Rana. Poor Rana, though, more or less forced into staying with Zeedan for a year while they build a business financed by her father, just for the sake of putting on a front. That won't last long, I am pretty sure. At this point, I don't think Zeedan will end up with a cafe either. There has been publicity that a British coffee chain, Costa, will have it's name bandied about Weatherfield which means that's already going to be a drain on Roy's business. I can't imagine there would be another cafe, albeit with a different sort of cuisine, opening up nearby.

Bethany as a lap dancer really falls flat for me. When she first worked there, it didn't seem that sleazy at all, certainly not true to reality but during her next stint, she got a bigger reality check with a less sympathetic owner and a lower class of customer. Probably just as glad to get sacked out of that one. I think she needs a bit more counselling!

All this baby business with Eva just makes me hold my head in my hands and sigh. 17 weeks pregnant when she finds out, and ok, not everyone has the most obvious signs and signals. Toyah's surrogate had a miscarriage which must have been nasty because she must have been fairly fair into her pregnancy, too. Secrets and Lies. Toyah hasn't been able to tell Peter and now she's apparently going to raise Eva's baby as the surrogate's and not tell Peter about that, either. It's really going to bite her in the bum and probably throw Peter in a direct path of a bottle of whiskey. Here we go again unless he can manage not to drink.

Carla's duff kidneys were seen to, with Aidan having the operation. During her earlier stay, she had herself seen to with Daniel Osbourne doing the deedl ; Some lovely scenes between Johnny and Roy working out how to share Carla's affections. Carla is bonding with Johnny but Roy knows her better and there's a much stronger bond there as Carla and Johnny are still getting to know each other. I'm suspicious, though, there's something going on with Aidan. He was emotional after the surgery and he's been distant ever since. '

Carla had more than her kidney seen to by young Daniel Osbourne who capably  took the reins. That was one of the oddest couples on Corrie yet.And it feels like Daniel isn't far from an all out crush on her with Peter grimacing from across the bar, jealous in spite of himself. And Daniel? I'm sure he thought all his birthdays came at once but out of this little friendship came a reunion with the woman he really wants, Sinead because it was clear that's what Carla could sense and she pushed them together.

And then there's that story that everyone both assumed ITV forgot and wished the viewers did too and the story that the viewers criticized ITV for not remembering even though it was the worst retcon ever. It's back. I guess ITV gave up trying to make everyone forget that Michelle's son Ryan isn't biologically hers and her bio son Alex is still out there somewhere. He's pitched up as a trainee doctor at  the medical center just a few meters from where his mother lived. He may have assumed his mother could have moved away but I very much doubt it. I reckon he has been secretly tracking her all these years during which neither of them have made much effort to keep in contact. Curiosity, on his part. Now he's back, Michelle would like to have some sort of relationship with him but he's not supposed to be in the show long so I'm predicting once he leaves, there will be a reconciliation and then he'll sink back into the cupboard and we won't hear about him yet again.

Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Another Corrie Wedding Jilting

Chesney and Sinead's wedding day dawns. Suits are waiting. Soaps are wrapped and decorated as favours. Chesney looks like he's facing the firing squad. But Tyrone and Gemma's ear-bashing rendition of Get Me To the Church On Time manages to raise a smile on our earnest ginger groom. They've brought beer, Chesney has sausage. What more could you want to start your special day!?

Over the road, Kirk is practicing his speech, determining that a nephew is closer than a brother but in any case, it's true. Kirk and Chesney have been very close. Sinead finally arises from her beauty sleep and she's glowing. It's mentioned that Dev has paid for the food, all very appreciated. A nervous Kirk decides to go to see Chesney.

Sinead's Mom and Nan have arrived, both of them dressed completely inappropriately. I love it! Her family, the few times we've seen them, are so over the top that characters like Cilla, or even Liz in her heyday, look like nuns!

Tracy is doing the flowers. She makes sure Daniel gets the full meal deal of wedding and loved up couple talk but he says, glumly, he's very happy for her. Carla comes along and exchanges a few words on the nightmare that is Tracy. Simon ambles along as well and he tries the dinner money scam on her but she sees right through it and sends him on his way.

When next we see Kirk, he's in the ginnel and later in the house practicing the speech. He's at the part where he's talking about Chesney's career. His jokes don't seem to be too obvious. Oh dear.

Carla offers to take Daniel for a cup of tea and when she does, he wants to know what women want in men. Her answer ends up being a lot of contradictions and that's pretty much right. He asks if she wants Peter back but she's emphatic. No. And that's not "No" as in "she protests too much". That's "No, that ship has sailed". She's encouraging him to give it one last shot to convince Sinead to marry him instead.

Gemma has Henry in tow and they are watching Joseph draw a picture of his new family. He calls Sinead his new Mum which makes Chesney uncomfortable. Tyrone tells him he's getting married in a hour so he better get used to it. Henry puts his foot in it making a remark about Joseph's mother and is very embarassed when told by the lad that his mother is dead. Ooops.

Gemma follows Henry outside to the car and his response to her seems a bit off, telling her he thinks she looks great, especially if she was covered in grease (the kebab shop reference). Across the road, Tim has a decorated cab for the bridal party. Sinead's mother gets a grope at Tim's backside before taking her mother to their car.

The bride emerges and her dress is very much in Sinead's style, with a short underdress and a floral sheer mid-calf length overdress, flowers in her hair. Beth is dressed in sparkly hot pinks, purples and greens with bright bows in her hair. A few other guests gather round. Sally and Sophie have handmade fascinators courtesy of Gina and I think they look just fine. Others call over their best wishes.

Just before she gets in the cab, she sees Daniel on the corner looking longingly at her. Chesney spies this exchange from an upstairs window. Daniel heads back towards the ginnel as Tyrone and Kirk call for Chesney to hurry up. Daniel calls Robert and leaves a message to say he's feeling sick and can't come in to work.

At the registry office, Sinead's mother reminisces about Jason. Her nan makes a less than complimentary remark about Kirk, much to Maria's annoyance. Roy, Cathy and Brian are sitting together talking about their favourite buildings in Weatherfield. Gina's fascinator must be meant to outshine Sally's but it's rather like a pink explosion on her head! The male half of the wedding party is practically pacing, waiting for the bride. Kirk panics because he thinks he lost the rings but they're only in another pocket.

The bridal party arrives and Sinead makes her way into the room with Beth, pretty much holding Beth up. That bubbly wine earlier went down far too well! Sally whispers to Sinead as she passes by to ask where Tim is and is told he's parking the car. Now I don't believe for a minute Sally would make such a faux pas.

The bride and groom are in front of the Registrar and the bride looks particularly happy.

But outside, Daniel rushes into the building and approaches the room where the wedding is about to start. Will he or won't he? While we wait to find out, Gemma has go at Henry for yet another sarky comment. Then the door opens but it's a late arriving Craig. Daniel is still out in the entry way looking sad and deep in thought. He walks away.

 

Rings are exchanged. Sinead sincerely pledges her everlasting love. But when Chesney is ready to be-ring her finger, he looks nervous, edgy. He starts his vows emotionally. He has to be prompted by the Registrar but we're not sure he's going to get through it. He backs down. He uses Joseph as an excuse, saying they've rushed it and the lad isn't ready. He tells her he doesn't think they should do this!!

The room is empty next time we see it. Gemma pops her head in to tell them they have to be out soon for the next wedding along. Sinead gives Chesney a load of grief and he tells her he couldn't tell her before then because he hadn't worked it out. Worked out that she'll eventually leave him just like everybody else. Great timing, mate. Humiliating her out of self pity? It comes out though. He saw how she looked at Daniel that very morning. But she assures him she would have married Daniel if that's who she wanted. It isn't. Chesney still thinks it's too much of a risk that they'll break up and it'll be detrimental to Joseph. She's feeling betrayed and well she should. He didn't have the faith in her that he should have.

The guests have convened back at the pub anyway, bringing the news. Carla's there and Toyah hovers over the wedding food, not wanting Carla to have any as she wasn't a guest. Maria asks David to try to find out how Bethany feels about Craig. Gemma accuses Henry of causing the wedding fiasco by his comments making her stressed which Chesney picked up. She ends up dumping Henry. A bit of a stretch. Dev thinks Chesney just lost his nerve. Dev wonders if he can get reimbursed for some of the food even though it's already been paid for and people are eating it.

Sinead, Beth and Kirk have returned to Maria's flat. Sinead is gutted, looking down over at the Rovers where she should be now, celebrating. Kirk is happy, at least, he doesn't have to do his speech. Beth shoots him a very killing look over her shoulder while Sinead sobs in her Auntie's arms.

Chesney and Tyrone are picking the meat off the bones of the wedding. Chesney admits he's still mad about Sinead. He's convinced she'd leave him eventually and he could have lived with it if it weren't for Joseph. Tyrone tells him he should have had more faith. Chesney says he won't regret his decision. But Roy arrives. Good old Roy. More of a dad to Chesney than he ever had with any of Cilla's many men.

At the end of the day, it's just Chesney and Joseph.

And here are a few more photos of the fashions of the day, particularly Gina's fascinators!

 

Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Random comments

Luke is dead at the hands of Pat Phelan because you know, once you've killed, it's not  quite so difficult to kill again. It was a bit of a gruesome death, though, burned alive in an exploding car. What I wondered was...what was Pat's plan previous to that where he got Seb's fingerprints on the gun? Was he going to set up Seb for the death of Andy and Vinny should the bodies surface? The big hole there is that Seb wouldn't have any motiviation. He didn't even know them. Did Phelan check to see where Seb actually was on the night they were killed? The bodies have been in the water awhile, I don't know if they could with any certainty know the exact day they were killed. And now that Pat used the gun himself, the prints will have been worn off by the gloves her was wearing.

Let's move over to Rana who was frantically trying to get hold of Luke all day. We know his battery died but the voice messages would still be saved on the phone company's system. Luke thought Rana was pregnant but she's now lied to Zeedan and brushed off Luke's remarks as having got the wrong end of the stick. She was terrified that Luke would tell Zeedan that he was told directly that Rana was pregnant. He can't tell anyone anything now but the voice mail messages might raise some interesting questions. 

Are the bodies about to resurface? Whose shoe popped up coincidentally when Phelan was at the pond? That was a bit contrived.

Rana's brother, Imran, is now in the show. We haven't seen much of him yet but so far I think I kind of like him. Charming but not too cheeky and annoying or arrogant. A good foil for Adam who thinks very much of himself. Is he an actual solicitor or is he a paralegal like Todd? He's newly single, as well. My guess is Maria. She is usually the first one a single man sleeps with before he settles down with someone else, isn't she? Wouldn't it be nice to see him take a shine to Izzy?

Jude and Angie are still around, I see, and not found a home of their own yet. When ITV opens up the set to new streets or parts thereof, I am guessing that's where their home will be. Poor Sean ends up losing both of his jobs though neither was due to Jude and Angie. But if you go blabbing about a patient's personal health in public like he did while talking to Eileen, it was right that someone report him. It's down to him that he chose to quit because Dr. Gaddas was only going to give him a warning. He also lost his lodgings so he does what a lot of people have been doing lately, turn up on the doorstep of Number 9. I guess all these guests are putting that loft conversion to good use. Poor kids still don't have a place to play but the lodgers have a place to crash. Or so it seems.

Peter sacking Sean seemed a bit abrupt but I don't think Peter was ever comfortable with Sean behind the bar. He knew that Sean was Team Liz and probably felt that Sean would rather be working for the McDonalds. Sometimes you gain staff with a business that you kind of have to keep but they'd be the first ones you'd replace if you had the opportunity. I wonder if Peter will take him back?

Daniel turned on the self sacrifice to push Sinead away. It's clear he still loves her but he ended up telling her he never loved her. The wedding is coming up soon. The thing is, I do think Sinead is better off with Chesney, they have much more in common. They do make for a deadly ordinary couple but Sinead and Daniel never did click for me, either.

I've never liked Michelle, but this week she surpassed my low expectations for her. How on earth would she believe that Steve missed paying her 10K in the divorce settlement? I reckon she probably knows down deep that he is making excuses and she has no guilt taking his hard earned money but she also had no guilt robbing the Bistro and defrauding the insurance company with rigged and untrue claims on how much was in the till. If she's wiling to do that, she certainly has crossed that line; it's only a matter of time.

It seems wrong seeing Tracy and Steve looking all loved up. It has to go wrong, it always does. I'm with Amy, the pair of them are toxic to each other. Most of the time they have known each other since Amy was conceived they've hated each other. There was only one brief moment that they were a real couple and that's only because she got pregnant with twins. Then she ruined it all by losing the babies and lied that Becky pushed her down the stairs. It feels like they've put them together because they don't know what else to do with them. Both Steve and Tracy are settling for each other rather than be alone.

Carla's back and I'm thrilled but since she needs a kidney transplant, likely from a family member, I have a bad feeling. Johnny could never be a donor because of his MS diagnosis but there are enough Connors to pick from. Someone's going to be a match and there's always a possibility that someone will die and be a donor that way. That person may or may not be a family member. In the meantime, the burning question on everyone's lips is ... who will they pair Carla with? Will they split up Peter and Toyah? Carla had more chemistry in one scene with Peter than Toyah has, that was evident. Toyah knew it, too. Should they put Peter and Carla back together? Probably not.

It's a pity we've lost Bruno Langley. That really put a ragged rip in the storyline fabric that is going to be difficult and awkward to set right. I hope Summer comes back and I hope Billy doesn't lose her to that awful Geraldine.

And finally, Brian and Cathy are moving into number 12, the flat he used to own with Julie. When Brian left the show, there was talk about Julie buying his half and she couldn't afford to. It seemed to be a dropped subject after that and we don't know  that the flat was sold or not. It's been empty for a couple of years. Now Brian has the key and he's moving into it. Has he had the key all along? there has been no word that he re-purchased it or contacted the new owner so I must assume he still owns it or a share of it. And if that's the case, why on earth was he blagging a place to stay with Norris and later, Roy? For the comedy value? Because I can tell you there wasn't any of that for me. Inquiring minds want to know why the continuity elves missed this one.


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)