May 5th, 2015- On To Liverpool

After a game of hide and seek with Amelia, Ali and Ruby are off to Liverpool in the quickest pack and go I've ever witness. Since I just moved and it took weeks to pack, I'm envious of their move. Did they hire somebody? I could've used that contact. So the main question in this is if Dan is going to follow as he promised Amelia? Or will he hold his ground in Emmerdale with Kerry? I'm hoping the latter because I like Dan and Kerry's relationship, but am truly not mad if he decides to go. That clan has played out their potential as is. It only makes sense for me if Sean does indeed recover and returns. He has the making of a classic good guy this village so desperately needs.

As long as they play this Bernice/Jimmy/Tracy version of 'Three's Company' for idiot laughs, the more I don't care about them- which is ashamed because all three characters used to involved in dramatic arcs until 6 months ago. Now, they're all just jokers.

So what's the deal with Laurel? Her alcoholism is taking a more manipulative turn. It makes sense since it's the next gradual step in the story of recovery. But you can pretty much kiss this "marriage" between Marlon and her goodbye, not that it was much of a marriage to begin with. He spent have the time mourning over an ex-lover and she spent the other half drinking herself to vomit. Hiding wine in her boots will surely result in someone finding it. Let's just hope it's Doug and not April.

What's the female equivalent of a manchild? Whatever it's called, Carly is that. This story has not progressed at all since her arrival. It's been months. Are we seriously going to periodically check in on Carly behaving badly towards Brenda for the rest of the year? It's all so vile and childish, even for the little known about Carly.

May 1st, 2015- The World's Worst Hangover

Disclaimer: Someone asked me if I read spoilers for the show, so I want to clear it up. I try to avoid them. It works 90% of the time so I usually do not know what's happening next or cast changes.

Today, we see how Laurel's drinking problem has affected everyone around her. From Bernice to Bob, Rhona to Doug, we're beginning to see how everyone is affected by it- most of all, Marlon. After being reminded by Doug that Laurel is his wife and he needs to treat her so, Marlon finally draws a line- one more slip up and he's giving up. It's fair considering he's finally learn about the time April had a sip of Laurel's mimosa and had to go to the ER.

In a quicky, Belle finds out that Lisa has been paying her off books for her work at Sharma & Sharma. I'm so glad Priya didn't spill the beans and let the family deal with it. She's smart. Don't let Dingles handle their mess themselves. It's nice to see Belle asking about Sean.

So are Ali and Ruby on their way out of Emmerdale? Is Ali serious in telling Dan he has to move too? Ali has always been a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She simply does not handle any kind of stress well and given this is her son that's in jeopardy, her thinking thermometer is almost non-existent. Dragging your ex-husband into moving after asking his girlfriend for money is almost insane and shameful. Someone should tell her... perhaps her wife?

A potential exit for Ali, Ruby and Dan makes a lot of sense and this show needs a massive exodus of players since it has a tendency to only use new characters for a few months before back burning them. I just hope Kerry doesn't go since she's my spirit animal.

Other end of the week quick notes:
- I almost expected Darren, or worse- Emma, to show up and be Laurel's nurse. Can you imagine integrating Emma into this mess?
- A whole week without Carly and I didn't miss her one bit.
- Vanessa and Kirin hiding the pregnancy from Rakesh. Good luck.

April 30th, 2015- The Fat Sister and The Curmudgeon

Has Ali always been this irrational in her thinking? Not that she's been one of my favorites or anything, but she's a rather irritating person. Nothing is ever her fault. God bless Ruby for putting up with that for so long. For as little I care about this storyline, I hope they don't kill Sean offscreen. That'd be a shame. He's a pretty valuable character in the teen canvas that's already connected to the rest of the characters in Emmerdale. A young adult vet would be refreshing for this show.

So Vanessa finally told Kirin and his reaction is so convenient for the father to not be his. I don't like where this is going just because it's so cliche. Imagine that... the not cliche thing in soaps is when the father is NOT the other guy. Ha. Adam is growing Dingle characteristics when he's blaming Vanessa for telling Rhona about the one night stand when he did the exact same thing with Aaron. I do like how Aaron doesn't seem concerned about the actual affair considering what he's been upto. I hope Victoria dumps him when she finds out about the liaison.

I do not know why I'm rooting for Tracy to have character development. I'm actually ashamed to admit it. She's a rather useless character who never contributed much to the landscape but here I am, wishing the show would give her actual character growth. Perhaps it's due to the amount the time I had to watch her being so one-note (again, other then the brief time with Andy). Having her in the same household as Jimmy and Bernice will continue to test her chemistry with different cast members on the show. Perhaps it's show runner Kate Oates' way of shopping her around? Who knows. There was a brief moment of humanity in her scene with Val and Eric when she finally decided to go. Let's see where that takes her.

Where Tracy's hiring took Laurel was a very dark place. It was violent, it was disgusting and it was tragic. A relapse. Bringing the kids to find Laurel took the icing on the cake. This was worse than anything she's done prior to her trip away and it appears that Marlon might not have enough strength to see it through. Charlotte Bellamy has been knocking her drunk scenes out of the park and I have no doubt she'll be able to elevated this arc than being a typical alcoholism storyline.