Here's how it should go down

Tracy is holding Carla hostage and it just isn't right. Carla is nobody's bitch and there's no way the Carla we all know and love would put up with Tracy's blackmail. The funny thing is, I think if Nick had found out about Carla and Robert's one night stand, he'd have understood. He knew that Carla was in a bad way and he knows that she lashes out and gets self destructive when she's in a state. I don't think he'd have dumped her for the infidelity though he might have sacked Robert.

Now, it's gone on too long and Carla is manipulating Nick at Tracy's command. Tracy wants to be the Lady of the Manor, ruling the Bistro with an iron fist like she had hoped to do with the Rovers. That fell through and I sincerely believe that the powers that be will not allow Tracy to "win" and be the pseudo-owner of the Bistro. So, something has to happen to blow her out of the water. I think Nick will ignore Carla's nudging and will sell to Leanne in the end. He may accept Robert's bid in theory but for once, maybe real estate transactions won't be pushed through unrealistically fast as is the norm in Weatherfield.

I would like to see Carla get a grip. Barring that, I would like to see Nick overhear something or otherwise find out about Carla and Robert but not from Tracy. A miss-sent text from Michelle, perhaps? I want him to be the one to confront Tracy and Robert, or just Robert, tell him what his beloved has been up to. Have it out with Carla. I'd like to see him want to marry her anyway, give her a happy-ever-after but it probably won't go down that way. He'll probably finish with her, with a great puppy-dog sad face and she'll do what she always does and skip town.

If there's any justice, Robert will finish with Tracy once he finds out what she's been up to, and he and Leanne will get together. I think they're a much better fit.

How do you think this *should* play out? Do you think Robert and Tracy will end up owning the Bistro? How will Nick find out about Robert and Carla (because it's going to happen, it's soap law!)


Tvor (Twitter @tvordlj)

Rob Vs Robert, who's the best match for Tracy Barlow?

Spoiler alert!

Rob Donovan will be back on our screens later this year, pulling strings and yanking chains from inside the prison walls. Not sure if it means he's getting out and will be a regular again or if it's a temporary return. In any case, I'm excited! I grew to really like the character. I thought he was probably the best match for Tracy ever and I thought his chemistry as Carla's brother really worked. There's no further news on exactly what his storyline is going to be other than he knows a big Connor secret and is going to be using it to his advantage.

But it's bound to throw Tracy into a confused hot mess, isn't it? She's just getting back together with her ex-husband Robert. She says Robert knows her better than anyone. I would argue that point. I think, for the woman she is now, that trophe goes to Rob Donovan. Robert knew her in her early 20s and the worst thing she ever did to him, that we know of, is cheat on him with his best friend and lealve him. Not a nice thing to do to someone but he would have taken her back. She must have been bored with him to do it, she certainly seemed so when she first returned to Weatherfield.

Since then, let's see what Tracy has done:

Affair with Dev, who had previously slept with her mother, though she didn't know it at the time. She then destroyed Dev's clothes when he ditched her.

Had a one night stand with Steve, got pregnant, pretended Roy Cropper was the father after making a bet that she could bed him. She drugged Roy, lied that they had sex and the very thought of it, plus the pregnancy presented to him, had Roy on the verge of suicide. Did Tracy care? Did she heck. She offered to sell Roy and Hayley her baby for cold hard cash. She did take Amy back after having a flicker of maternal instinct. We're still not altogether sure how strong that is!

She tried to sabotage Steve's second wedding to Karen. She was obsessed with Steve and that lasted nearly 10 years. She even finally managed to get him to marry her after he split from Becky but she miscarried twins and blamed Becky for it after she'd fallen down a staircase during an argument with Becky. Her lies were exposed on her wedding day and she lost Steve for good.

She pretended she was physically abused by Charlie Stubbs and then killed him in cold blood because he'd had an affair and was tiring of her. She lied in court, persuaded her mother to lie as a witness but got sent down anyway. She nearly was responsible for Gail getting convicted of Joe's murder by lying to the authorities that Gail had confessed. She only got released on a technicality.

She tried to steal her grandmother's boyfriend because she thought he was rich. He wasn't.


She accidentally caused a fire in Carla's flat when she nearly committed murder a second time. She put a candle down under a lampshade to pick up a weapon and she almost bashed Carla over the head but heard someone else in the flat first and she fled. The candle caught the lampshade and the flat on fire and though Carla and the other occupant, who turned out to be Tracy's daughter, got out safely in the end, Kal Nazir was killed as was Maddie Heath. She might not have done it on purpose but she was responsible.

The list goes on but those are the worst things she's done. Rob knew about a lot of them and he loved her and her sharp, nasty tongue anyway. He was a bit of a scallywag himself and I think he knew her, accepted her, and loved her though even she went a bit far for his taste now and then and he was always able to rein her back. He got on great with Amy and eventually, Deirdre. We have yet to see Robert interact much with Amy though Ken thinks the sun shines out of his backside in spite of the disappointment that he lied about being married. That's not an issue now because he and his wife are finished.

Robert may end up being Tracy's conscience about the fire but Rob still has her heart, I think. Robert came back while Tracy was in shock and grieving over her mother's death. I think he's about the past for her, someone to comfort her. He held a torch for her all these years but never had the gumption to come back and try to win her back. Now she's vulnerable so I think he took advantage of that, not in a manipulative way because I don't think he's that sort. I think he saw the opportunity and took it, unable to resist his heart on his sleeve. But I still think, between the two, that Rob is a better match for Tracy.

Having said that, Rob may have other ideas. Tracy was the one that dobbed him in to the police, mainly to save her own skin over the stolen goods though she said it was for Amy, too, and that might have factored into it a bit. He won't be so inclined to pine for her but who knows? Prison is lonely. He may have forgiven her and won't be very happy if he finds out about Robert.

If Marc Baylis isn't returning for the long term, it may all be a non-issue. If he doesn't get out of prison, which will be tricky since he did confess, then I suppose Tracy won't wait for him and stick with Robert but I think Robert would be better off with someone else.

Hey... Leanne's single.....

Be afraid, Tony, be very afraid

Did you see the way Tracy took that yob out the other night? He sold off stolen goods, fancy countertop mixers, and when Tony told her they were stolen, somehow she got hold of the seller and told him she wanted her money back. He wasn't about to and she provoked him into roughing her up. If that had been Todd, he'd have given the man the keys to the kingdom and run away screaming but not our Tracy.

It pains me to admit it, but I had to admire her. She's not afraid of anyone much less a posturing little toerag like this guy. She's brought down bigger and badder men that that with a blunt instrument and she used another one, her knee, to reduce this one to a snivelling muppet. Tony set the whole thing up. as we discovered, and his plan was to be the hero, saving Tracy from a dire fate worse than death. But there she was, all red lippy and defiance flashing in her eye and his plan went south. You can't really rescue a dame that can hold her own in the ring and yours in her handbag.

Tony's just going to have to get his hands on her business some other way but if I was him, I'd rethink that plan. He might think he's not stupid enough to fall for any of her tricks but he doesn't know Tracy Barlow like we do. She may end up allowing him to own part of the business so that she doesn't go bankrupt and she may end up coercing him into her bed so that she's not cold at night, but I reckon Tracy will get the upper hand in the end, don't you?

The latest wedding fail

Tracy and Rob's wedding was doomed from the night Rob took that crowbar in his hand and bashed Tina over the head. We've seen him looking shifty, guilty, and troubled ever since and it's all come out in the wash in true soap fashion, on the wedding day.

Carla started to be suspicious of Rob's over the top reaction to Peter being convicted, and little things chipped away at her sense of logic, like finding out Peter was in prison because he thought Carla killed Tina and was taking the blame. Tracy and Rob's stories for the night of the murder (also their engagement party) didn't match and she came to the conclusion that Tracy was the killer. After all, it's not the first time she's been heavy handed with a blunt object, is it?

She pushed and she cajoled and finally Rob admitted he killed Tina. Then it was down to Carla. Would she turn him in or not? Would she be able to live with the fact that the man that hurt her so badly was in prison for something he didn't do? In there for life? Would she let Rob marry Tracy knowing what he had done?

The day of the wedding dawns clear and sunny. Tracy is oblivious to the storm that's going to rain down on her horse drawn parade. She's self centered, obnoxious, unbearably rude to Emily and happy as a pig in much. The happier she became, the more compliments thrown her way (mainly from her father), the more you knew her crash was truly going to be spectacular and we all waited in anticipation for Karma to kick her lace-covered backside. (Ok, it was a lovely dress, I'll give her that)

It looked as if Carla really didn't know what to do but both Carla and Rob had a chance to level a knowing glance at the memorial outside the builder's yard. I think Carla's conversation with Ken outside the wedding venue probably turned the corner for her decision. She turned Rob in for the sake of Ken, Deirdre and Simon's sake. She did the right thing. She might not be able to forgive Peter for what he'd done to her, but she couldn't see him spending most of the rest of his life being punished for something her brother did.

Problem is, she confronted Rob, as if to tell him what she'd done and it gave Rob a chance to make a run for it. She should have stayed outside until the police came. I'm sure he'll get caught and it will happen sooner than later. Tracy got jilted and her life turned upside down. Viewers all over stood up and punched the air with glee.

Tracy, of course, blames Carla rather than the murderer she almost married and she's collapsed, mascara streaked cheeks, into her father's arms. Ken did a impressive job of not saying "I told you so", considering he never liked Rob from the start. The police definitely blame Carla for tipping off Rob. Carla must have been pretty convincing on the phone for them to take it so seriously rather than having her come in, make a statement and questioning Rob later.

In the end, just to add insult to injury, with the added cliche of rubbing salt in the wound, the bride was arrested for perverting the course of justice (false alibi or possibly, they think, covering for Rob). Couldn't have happened to a nicer gal!

Fashions:
As I said, her wedding dress was quite nice though when anyone wears one that tight I always wonder how comfortable it could possibly be. I'd have gone with an updo for my hair, mind you, showing off her long neck with that lacy deep V-Neckline. Amy looked like a little princess in her fluffy dress. Too bad Tracy barely gave her a nod most of the time except when she kicked off about her flowers.

I loved Emily's and Rita's hats! Mary's fascinator was much more subdued than usual. Did you notice that Tim and Sally coordinated, with her dress containing the same shade of pink he wore for a tie? Beth wore a particularly lovely shade of pink but the earrings were definitely less than classy and really mismatched with the necklace and it was all Totally Beth!

Carla wore a suit that was her version of a tux but much more stylish and chic which is Carla all over. She looked great! Ken, of course, as father of the bride, looked very natty and Rob looked smart in his tailed tux as well!

A few side comments:
Michelle might have been the wedding planner but when did one of those get to direct the photographer in which photos and portraits to take? Shut up, woman. Tracy made Michelle run after the carraige to retrieve Amy's flowers. Well, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it!

Oh, and the manor house is well outside of Manchester city centre. Did those poor horses have to drag that carriage all that way on the motorways and through traffic?

I did think it was a bit strange that Gail, who'd popped over to borrow Ken's kimono (and let's not go into how wrong that was!), was all chirpy and cheerful and full of best wishes for the woman that conspired to keep her in prison on a murder charge. She hates Tracy! The Gail we all know and love might have wished her good luck but it would have been with a snarky remark about Rob needing all the luck he could get.

I can't blame Peter for being afraid to hope. He probably does think it's Carla's word against Rob's and what if the canal has washed all the evidence clean off the murder weapon? And now that it was Carla that threw him a lifeline, he's going to  think she'll have him back if he does get released. Ain't gonna happen, dude.

Time after time, Tracy is rude to Emily yet she continues to be nothing but kind to her. That's what Emily is all about but you'd think she'd get tired of it after all these years. I did think it was odd she delivered the wedding card to Tracy in the pub at her hen party rather than give it to her with the cameo on the wedding day. Sometimes, a set up for the sake of a writer's whim or a more dramatic or funnier scene just feels very contrived and it doesn't work. At all. That was one of those times.

Laughed at Beth trying to set up Sean with the waiter but Kirk getting it all wrong and the waiter thought Kirk was chatting him up! Loved Mary being so sweet with Amy. Tracy was annoying but then she always is.  Still wonder how Tracy found enough people to put all those bums on seats. Tim, Sally and Kevin are  hanging out together like the Three Amigos more and more and Sally is getting annoyed that Kevin and Tim are getting to be mates. 

There you have it. Weddings on Coronation Street rarely run smoothly.  I enjoyed the three episodes. Our next one up to the altar will be Beth and Kirk and I think I heard her mention something about Christmas. I canNOT wait to see that one!

What's next for Steve and Tracy?

 Tracy Barlow is not my favourite character. I would imagine that most people feel the same way though there may be a few people that "love to hate" Tracy. I just flat out hate her and I wouldn't be upset in the least if she were to disappear again. I don't like dumping on actors but I never found Kate Ford's acting skills to be much more than two dimensional. There isn't a lot of depth but I will also admit, in the last few months, she's not been as difficult to watch as she used to be.

This is not to say that Tracy is any more sympathetic. No matter how much they may try to show a vulnerable side to her, she's a detestable person. She may love her child but she's too selfish to be a good parent. She uses her child for whatever means necessary, usually to try to interfere in Steve's life or as emotional blackmail to get one or both of her parents to do something. We never see her hugging Amy, or being tender to her either, do we? A few people felt bad for her when she lost the twins but she was more upset because she thought it meant she'd lose Steve and she showed that she hasn't really changed at all by accusing Becky of pushing her down the stairs.

As the Chinese proverb goes, be careful what you wish for, you might get it. She wanted Steve McDonald most of her adult life. She got him finally and it blew up in her face because her scheming and lying came back to bite her. Leaving them married might have been Becky's spiteful revenge but where does it leave them now? Steve can't get an annullment because she refuses and he'll have to wait a year to apply for divorce. Surely you can get a divorce quicker with cause but I suppose he can't afford that and to be sure, Tracy would take everything she could.

Steve has had the blinders pulled off brutally and is back to hating Tracy. Tracy seems to be biding her time,  still hoping she can win Steve around. Please, powers that be, don't let him knuckle under to her!!! He only deluded himself when she was pregnant, wanting a family and the new babies. He's already proven he can be a good father on his own. Tracy will never give Amy back to him as long as it means she's got a hold over him. So what's next?

I'd really like to see Tracy find a new man, someone to really sweep her off her feet but I really can't see that happening because even if she puts on a good first impression, her real personality is bound to come crashing through eventually. She's destined not to have a happy ending but we could see the back of her if she rides off into the sunset in a black cab with some bloke, leaving Amy behind with Steve. In an ideal world. It's more likely she'll do something that will land her back in jail which would be more fitting. If that happens, this time the conviction has got to be rock solid.

And as for Steve? I think he needs to give up weddings. Seriously. Six weddings to four different women. (Two to Becky, one that didn't actually go through and two to Karen) That's a Coronation Street record. Gail's second up with five weddings to four men and Deirdre has had four weddings to three men (with Ken having four weddings to three women). Steve either has to find the right woman or give it up, become a single dad and a monk. Yes, I know, that'll never happen. His problem is that he keeps getting involved with women who are very similar to his mother, hot tempered, stubborn and volatile. He's very much like Liz in that he likes his partners to offer a bit of danger, and excitement. Someone like Michelle was too boring for him even though her life was a depressing nightmare while they were together (children mixed up at birth which seems to have been forgotten thankfully, siblings dying, you name it.).

Smackdown!

With Tracy Barlow's imminent arrival, and the obvious threat to Steve and Becky's marraige, you just know there's going to be more than one confrontation between the two women.

Think back to Tracy's ongoing feud with the last Mrs. McDonald, Karen. Karen was pretty gobby and tough but Tracy still got the best of her and was the last woman standing. Steve couldn't take Karen's off the wall choices when it came to fighting back and finally just had enough. Karen walked away and we've not seen her since.

Becky might be just as likely to go off on one as Karen did and Becky, though she's softened over the years, is not mellowed so much that she won't fight dirty if she has to. Tracy was mainly all about mind games and provoking and unfortunately, Becky tends to rise to provokation like an angry bear poked with a stick. Tracy is just as determined to do what is necessary to get her daughter back and cause as much trouble between Steve and Becky as possible. Even better if she can manage to break them up!

It may or may not happen, depending on whether Katherine Kelly decides to leave at the end of 2011 or renew her contract.

In a physical fight, I think Becky would have the upper hand. Tracy may have spent several years in prison and might have hardened up a bit but I think Becky still has the advantage here. In mind games, though, Tracy is the expert. Becky is full out, in your face and doesn't think and plan things out. Tracy is about cause and effect. Becky is about impulse.

I really don't want a replay of the Tracy/Karen scenario. I would prefer to see Steve and Becky up against Tracy and having each other's backs but I doubt that's what's going to happen since Steve isn't all that strong and will inevitably get caught in the middle, trying to keep Amy's welfare a priority. Unfortunately, with all this upheaval, Amy's going to be the real loser and if Corrie is around long enough, I think the odds are increasing that she's going to turn out just like Tracy at this rate.