The second Lockdown Episode from Emmerdale was another brilliant two-hander, this time featuring Cain and Aaron, the two grumpiest characters on the show so you can imagine it was full of tension from the get-go! It was a really intense, intricate episode, full of high emotion, despite Cain setting down rules about no emotions and feelings. As Aaron pointed out – anger is an emotion!
As with the previous episode, this covered several weeks of Lockdown as Cain and Aaron battled their own personal demons and Liv remained invisible upstairs. Cain was still running the garage and Aaron was stuck at home. Both of them had rather fetching new haircuts. There were some moments of light relief, including one fabulous moment with the boys enjoying a face mask. Cain Dingle in a face mask. I mean, the episode is worth it just for that!
Cain is still in love with Moira… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
But while Cain was struggling to deal with his feelings for Moira and how he can possibly reconcile his love for her and his grief over her infidelity, not to mention how he feels about Nate, a letter came from the prison for Aaron. Concerned about contact from Robert just as Aaron has started to put things behind him, Cain mistakenly hid the letter but it all came tumbling out one drunken night. Needless to say, Aaron was not a happy boy, especially when Cain couldn’t quite remember where he hid the letter!
Aaron still misses Robert… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
I think these episodes so far have been really good. They are filmed very cleverly so you don’t even really notice that the cast are social distancing. It’s nice to see the show tackling the subject of Covid-19 head on rather than pretending it hasn’t happened. It’s a good documentation. It would feel kind of strange for our soaps to pretend that one of the biggest things to happen to us all, never happened and it will be interesting to see what each soap does now. Emmerdale and Doctors have both tacked the subject and I wonder what the others will do. I know Home and Away are going to skip it, as they want to keep Summer Bay as a place to escape to. But anyway, Emmerdale have been very creative with filming and with the script and slotting these episodes into their timeframe. I think they should be very proud of what they’re achieving.
Emmerdale has resumed filming and is showing special lockdown episodes
Ben attempts to navigate his way through life without his hearing… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
On Monday 1st June, Eastenders aired a fantastic, somewhat ground breaking episode, all told from Ben’s perspective, with very limited sound and snatched subtitles. It really is a tough challenge to navigate our way through his day, as people try to talk to him and he (and we) struggle to understand what they’re saying. It gave a huge insight to those of us who have no idea what it must be like to experience a world with no/little sound.
Through the day, Ben unearthed Lola’s one night stand with Peter and was of course, absolutely livid. He was also upset to realise that she had had an abortion largely due to her devotion to him and her role in his life.
He was determined to carry out the warehouse job with his Dad and dodgy Danny Hardcastle, although Phil warned him off. When Phil charged off on his own, Ben was convinced that he was going to be done over and followed him. And for once, Ben was actually right! He found his Dad in a very tight spot and sort of managed to save the day, although in the process, Danny deliberately shot off a gun right by Ben’s ear.
Phil and Ben escaped with the cash and managed to lose the police car that chased them but in the morning, Callum was shocked to find that Ben’s pillow was covered in blood. Ben’s hearing also seemed to have been lost completely, although he didn’t let on. Callum then became very suspicious when Jack mentioned the warehouse job (thanks to the conversation he and Ben had had at the hospital) but Ben had created a false alibi with Lexi. What a great Dad.
Unable to cope with everything that had happened to him recently, Keegan told Tiffany he was moving to Croydon (which appeared to be on the other side the world according to this family) with his mother. In fact, he didn’t look like he was even going to tell her. She caught him about to leave. But then suddenly, it was all off, as Sharon changed her mind. She wanted Kayden back! And then Keegan didn’t bother to tell his wife he was staying. This poor kid is all of the place right now. And subsequently, so is his poor wife. I am very sad about this. They are a very sweet couple. But I did say at the time, they got married too young… Still, I hope they pull through.
Now she is staying in The Square, Karen decided to give Billy a drawer in the flat for when he stays over. However, the battles lines seem to be drawn between Billy and Mitch with both men starting to vie for her affection – starting with Mitch flattering Karen with attention and playing a trick on Billy. I love that Karen, who started as quite a harsh character and at best a figure of fun, has men fighting over her and is part of the beating heart of The Square. She is absolutely one of my favourite characters on Eastenders. She is so funny but more than that, she is so kind. She would do anything for those she loves.
As for Sharon, she told Phil that she needed to be a mother to Kayden. Unfortunately, although he tried for about ten minutes, he decided that he could not be a father to him and threw her out, informing her that he was buying The Vic without her and she was dead to him. Charming! Just as I was starting to like him…
Is it really the end for Sharon and Phil…? (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Former ladies’ man, Max, made yet more blunders with Ruby before agreeing to an open relationship. It’s weird to see him like this. He has always been so in control of all his relationships and yet with Ruby, he’s a mess. Also, as a serial cheater, you’d think an open relationship would suit him down to the ground! But suddenly, all he wants is monogamy. Maybe it’s not as fun if you have permission. Anyway, he requested that she just didn’t sleep with Martin. She refused and broke up with him! So, I think we can all guess what will happen next! And hopefully that will prepare the way for Stacey to return. Jean certainly needs her to!
Chantelle and Gray showed great kindness to Whitney as Gray supported her through her case. They even took her in for a night or two, fed her up and welcomed her in as part of their family. And they kept up their pretence of being happy despite him threatening Chantelle quietly and putting a tracker in her car. He was furious when she had to take the car for work and had to do more errands than she initially told him. Then he discovered that the car had been taken out the previous Thursday, which she denied, as it was at the garage. Now, I assume this was the car that Ben took out for the warehouse job. But with the way the episodes are stacked at the moment, I can’t say 100%. And I’m not someone who would recognise a car by sight! I hardly recognise my own!
Alongside this, Gray walked Whitney through the exact scene of Leo’s death. When it all got a bit emotional and stressful, he plied her with kindness. Overwhelmed and confused, Whitney kissed him. Really unhelpful! And very disrespectful to Chantelle, one of her biggest champions and closest friends during this whole thing. For now, Gray has done the right thing and backed off, making it clear that there was nothing but a professional relationship between them. Whitney was embarrassed and apologetic in equal measure. As she should be. But I mean, how much Gray manipulated the situation or how much he will manipulate the situation…
Emotional Whitney kissed Gray… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Peter and Dotty shared a kiss but she panicked and rejected him. After a bit of faffing about and crossed wires, they finally got it together, just in time for Ian to walk in. I am sure he will be pleased that the one person who knows he is responsible for Denny’s death is now dating his son. Excellent!
Eastenders is due to resume filming shortly, however, it will go off air before this
For now, let’s enjoy episodes airing on Mondays 8pm and Tuesdays 7:30pm, BBC1
Alya really worked hard this week, making one last effort to persuade Yasmeen to plead not guilty to attempted murder. In some really powerful scenes, Yasmeen finally told the truth about what had been happening behind closed doors, including that Geoff killed Charlotte the Chicken and fed her to her. Although she continued to defend Geoff, Alya clearly got to her and by the time she reached court, despite some hesitation, she changed her plea to not guilty. I am so relieved! Now, at least the poor woman has a fighting chance! And it was nice to see Eileen and Cathy in the gallery supporting her. Better late than never.
Yasmeen pleads not guilty! (photo credit: Digital Spy)
With Yasmeen now pleading not guilty, Sally finally made her position clear to Tim – she isn’t comfortable with Geoff and he can’t stay with them anymore. Tim was horrified and the situation is clearly going to cause a rift between them, especially when she told him that he had to be the one to ask his Dad to leave. He was very diplomatic about it but Geoff wasn’t happy. Sally’s card is clearly marked with him. Well, he doesn’t like women calling the shots, does he? But I am so proud of Sally for standing up for what she believes in, for standing up for Yasmeen. She knows what it’s like to be in an abusive relationship and she knows what it’s like to be in prison for something you haven’t done. And I was reminded the other day that Yasmeen came to visit her during that time to pledge her support so their bond is long standing.
Tim has no option but to ask his Dad to leave… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Dev was relieved to see Asha beginning to settle into her new school and looking to the future. My concern here, aside from how on earth he is going to afford everything he is throwing at his daughter’s well being, is that he is quite clearly favouring Asha. Aadi needs love and attention too and I think things are going to sour very quickly. Dev is criticising him, if only in a joke and heaping praise and compliments on Asha, trying to make her feel better about what happened. Aadi is already a very angry young man, as we’ve witnessed in fights with Corey and other boys. I think we have a storyline with Aadi bubbling away under the surface (presumably because they have recently changed the actor) so Dev needs to be careful!
Gary took matters into her own hands regarding Kelly and tracked down her mother, demanding that she took her back into her care. Now, this woman is clearly not fit to look after a child. I’m not a Kelly fan. She was hideous to Asha. But she also has problems and you can see a very vulnerable side to her. So, it was sad to see her being manhandled into the car by her mother when she just wanted to stay safely with Billy and Paul. And anytime Gary gets a win makes me unhappy anyway!
A stranger turns up at the newsagent’s, spinning a line about needing cash to pick her son up. Despite knowing she’s lying, Cathy and Toyah both put their hands in their pockets, only for Brian and Cathy to find her in the pub later. Of course, Brian caused a scene, much to Cathy’s mortification. Now, the reason she was in the pub, was to watch Carla, who is running the pub while Johnny and Jenny are away. After closing, the woman tracked Carla down in the toilets, demanding to talk. The only problem is that while the woman clearly knew Carla, poor Carla had no idea who she was…
New girl, Chelsey has some unexplained history with Carla… (photo credit: Digital Spy)
Coronation Street has now resumed filming
It still airs on ITV on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays @ 7:30pm
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