An Affair to Remember

Pretty much all the feedback on the Karlita (Karl and Sunita) affair is negative. 'Out of character', and 'sleazy' are the kindest things we've heard. It's certainly not been played like a coy 'nudge, nugdge, wink, wink' type affair we've seen in the past or even a fairly straightforward one but with a lower mark on the sleaze scale. Perhaps that's because many of the past affairs involved characters that we liked, characters that had a certain charm and chemistry. This one has none of that. And according to the poll in this post, it's even out-sleazed the Molvin  (Molly and Kevin) affair which, in my books, had reached a new low at that point.

Sunita was always loyal and kind and honest. If she felt hard done by or taken for granted, she'd have confronted Dev, not thrown up her hands and chased after the first man that gave her a cheeky grin. Karl is a newish character and we haven't really seen him in a sympathetic light since he's been here. He's a gambler, he's a bit of a schemer and most definitely feckless. We did hear that he'd cheated on Stella in the past so this is, at least, not a personality transplant for him.

For the past couple of months we've been peering at the screen through our fingers whenever Sunita and Karl have played tonsil hockey with their tongues or plugging our ears and singing "la la la I can't hear you" when one makes blatantly sexual comments to the other like when Sunita suggested she wouldn't wear underwear beneath her Jubilee cossie. How many of you out there were as creeped out about that one as I was? I might have expected that out of Beth or Tracy but not Sunita.

Now we're at the point of the affair where Dev is suspicious. He found the wad of cash that Sunita is keeping for Karl, the gambling win that Karl is hiding from Stella and though he leaped to the wrong conclusion about that, he's putting a lot of other pieces of the puzzle in the right places. All this time she wants to herself, all these friends coming out of the woodwork needing to talk to her including an overnight with one of them. He's sure she's having an affair.

Anyone that's had a cheating spouse has seen all of this before. Once you're suspicious, you watch, listen and try to catch them in a lie. The cheater's reactions are varied but they all try to do a merry dance to try to keep you from finding out the truth. Smoke and mirrors. Fancy footwork. Or, as we in Canada might say with reference to (ice) hockey, stick handling. But those of us watching who've been there recognize the bluff for what it is and it's not pretty. As awful as this storyline is, I have to say from the point of view of a once wronged spouse, it's painfully realistic.

Dev confronted Sunita with his suspicions and she started down that cliched route. First, she pretended not to know what he was talking about. She denied. She put it all down to his overactive imagination. Then, she broke her own phone so as not to have to call or take a call from Karl, pretending it was "Laura". She accused Dev of bullying her. You could tell she was backed into a corner but there was still a way out. Right out the door and into Stella's back room which was obviously the worst place she could be, considering she's doing Stella's fella but she grabbed the first hand hold she could, like someone dangling off a cliff. Doesn't matter that the roots are shallow and she could very easily plummet down onto the rocky shores below.

Even if Dev backs down and Sunita goes home, even if the affair ends with a whimper and they think they're in the clear, it's going to come out. These things always do. Will Sunita go quietly? Will either Dev or Sunita end up in the corner shop flat? Will Stella weld shut the lock on her handbag, the one in which she's already got Karl's 'family jewels' firmly situated. Will there be blood and carnage on the street or forgiveness?

The "Icks" Factor

Sunita and Karl's affair is stomach turning. It's so bad that there isn't even really a good shortcut name for it. Sarl? Kunita? No, not nearly as snappy as Molvin (Molly and Kevin) or Pilene (Paul and Eileen).

This affair makes our skin crawl. It's tawdry and cheap.  The worst thing about it for me is that it's so out of character for her. The personality transplant fairy has a lot to answer for on this one. Sunita used to be a bit of a flirt sometimes but she was always loyal and loving and it seemed like she would never cheat on Dev. Leave him, yes, but cheat? I wouldn't have said so.

I would have guessed Dev would be more likely to cheat. He's arrogant,  he lives his life firmly by the double standard. He's got a womanizing past. He believes that whatever the man in a relationship wants, he gets, but the little woman should be traditional, a wife, a mother, a skivvy in the shop, that sort of thing.

But Sunita? Ducking and diving, cheating under Dev's nose, or over it in the shop flat. Cheating with the husband of the woman she's working for? Chasing Karl shamelessly, out for a good time, not even feeling guilty about it. Even allowing him to grope her in the middle of the bar where anyone could have seen or in the back room snogging his face off when they could have been discovered. Tina's lying in a coma and Sunita can hardly wait for her to recover and get back to work so she can get into Karl's pants.

It doesn't even seem to be about danger. It seems to be about getting her own back on Dev for taking her for granted. SO not the Sunita we knew.

It's probably the second worst affair I've ever witnessed on Corrie. Nothing could beat Molvin (Molly and Kevin) but it comes pretty damn close as does the Paul and Eileen (Pilene?) affair, both of which were also pretty Icky. So with that in mind, which of these three affairs is the most cringeworthy? I'll leave the poll open until the end of the month and post the results with the monthly State of the Street wrap up.

Sunita has boobs!

What the heck happened to Sunita!?? We've known her for a long time now. She's dressed up and dressed down, she's a sexy woman but never in all her years has she exposed that much cleavage, even when she was bent on snaring a man like Ciaran or Dev.

Yet one hissy fit and one new job later, behind the bar, and her cups runneth over. I wonder if she dressed so provocatively specifically to wind up Dev who had been treating her like a doormat...for years, really. I can't blame her for getting fed up and quitting her job in the shop. Dev is a sexist twit for all he thinks of himself as a modern playboy type of guy. It's ok for him to dress sharp and speak softly and smoothly, flashing his hooded "bedroom" eyes at the "Ladeez" but it's not ok for his wife (no, they aren't actually married) to display herself in front of drunks and punters.

Ok, in a way, I can see his point. I'd be uncomfortable with people giving my partner ogling looks, too. Still, it's not as if she's working in a lap dancing club or a strip bar either. But... on the other hand, Sunita has *never* dressed with such low cleavage and an industrial strength push up bra! I can only think she went out and bought them on purpose because I doubt either of those wardrobe choices were in her closet prior to that.

Did she look hot? Yes she did! Her heavier-than-usual makeup looked smoky and sexy, too, as did her shiny, beautiful hair. It just struck me as way out of character for her to be falling out of her top like that. Maybe she was making a point as Dev suggested and we will see her ramping it back just a bit from here on.

Personally, I don't really think Sunita suits the pub as barmaid. She seems out of place there and the bar doesn't really seem to need the extra staff, either. I have a feeling that they have Sunita in place to take over the food service when they write Betty's death into the show, though she would still be working as barmaid too, as Betty did. I can see her in that role as cook/barmaid for some reason.

Thoughts?

Do they still fit in?

A few days ago, commenter, "Ena's Hairnet", on this post on The Coronation Street Blog, suggested a topic for conversation. When a character leaves for an extended time, do they really fit in when they return? She mentioned characters like Carla, Hayley and Leanne. As this post was getting rather long, I've posted it here on my blog rather than clutter up the other one and linked back to it.

I do think in many cases when an actor returns from an absence, be it health related or maternity leave or when the character is written out but returns down the road, that the producers and writers have to have a clear idea of what they're going to do with the character. Sometimes, I agree, things do fall flat. It's taken over a year for Hayley to get back into the forefront with the fall of Tony Gordon and having her back in the factory (where she belongs!) It seemed like her last storyline before her exit, the revelation of her long lost son (an unfortunate rewrite of history), was a stumbling block for the character. She and Roy are such a wonderful, supportive couple and she deserved to be slotted back into the canvas rather than spend a year being a spare part. I'm hoping we'll see a lot more of Hayley from here on in.

Carla's character always seemed to me to be un-Corrielike. A lot of people have commented in a similar vein that they didn't think she fit in the show. After her long maternity leave, it seems a jolt to have her back for a lot of people that didn't like her anyway. She's only just back but has returned in the thick of a major story, the downfall of Tony and it remains to be seen if she'll continue to fit in. Now that she doesn't have Tony, with Leanne her only mate, will she be with us long term? She'll have to make a few more connections to have a reason to stick, I think.

Leanne has been on the canvas since 1997 and has been away from Corrie several times over the years in addition to two maternity leaves. I have found that she always seems to fit in and they always seem to be able to find a return storyline that features her that re-acclimatizes us to Leanne.

When a long time favourite has been gone a long time, people still like to think they could come back but most of them really wouldn't fit in well. Things move on without them and they lose their connections on the Street. Curly is a case in point. I loved Curly, he was always one of my favourites and yes, I'd like to see him back but only for a visit. Say, for a wedding or funeral. It always rubbed me the wrong way that he didn't return for Vera's funeral but it's down to the availability of the actor or whether ITV wants to pay for various and sundry to return for guest visits, as well, I suppose. Other than a visit, though, there really isn't anything there for Curly anymore aside from one or two friends.

Look what happened when they tried to bring Bet Lynch back! As much as I also liked her, I really don't know as she fit in either. Unfortunately, we didn't get the chance to find out because the actress found the new shooting schedule too difficult. It was still good to see her, though, for a short visit.

It isn't always the case, though. If the writers have a good storyline in mind to feature the returnee, it can work. Leanne is a case in point and upcoming, we will be seeing Sunita return. I don't know if it's for a long term or short term but I'm looking forward to it. She only has Dev as a connection, really, since her best mate, Shelley is gone, but she was a fixture on the Street for a long time and should slot back in nicely. They're also bringing back Ciaran who has a history with her as well as a history with Peter. Do you think he'll hit on Leanne like he did Shelley or has he learned that lesson? Nick Tilsley is also coming back with a new face. It will be interesting to see how that works.

So what is your opinion on returning characters after either short or long absences? Do they fit in again? Do the writers really need to know what they're going to do with them before they bring them back? (Especially characters who have been away more than a year)