Langford on Soaps: Chris Attacked on "Neighbours"

LANGFORD'S PICKS AND PANS

Days of Our Lives

The highlight of this past week were the breakup scenes with between Gabi and Will. Both Chandler Massey and Camila Banus delivered excellent performances and the writing was about as realistic as this show is able to muster. I loved that Gabi stood up for herself and let Will know she couldn’t be in a relationship devoid of intimacy and that Will’s excuses that he wanted to show her 'respect' were weak at best. And I liked that she told Will in no uncertain terms that he had issues he needed to deal with, and she wasn’t going to let him hide behind her anymore.

Will was very upset at losing his beard.

But, there is no way that no one in this storyline wouldn't at least suggest that Will might be gay. It’s simply implausible. Gabi said she’s read books on dating and we’ve see the scenes where she confides in Abigail and Melanie. But no one suggests the obvious: that Will might be gay, especially since one of their closest pals is gay? Any credulity these scenes might have is lost with that big pink elephant in the room.

My favorite scene, however, might be the cute and funny banter between Chad and Sonny. I love their friendship and enjoy seeing them together. Those scenes show us that Chad has more chemistry with Sonny than either of his female love interests. Ah well. I guess we’ll just have to enjoy it for what it’s worth.

Hollyoaks

It was sad to see Jason go, but I'm glad the show gave him a relatively happy ending after all he's been through. I liked his goodbye with Bart, and it showed that these two still loved each other, even if being together was not meant to be. Meaningful scenes like this only make it obvious how shallow and empty Bart's relationship with Sioned is. I hope that pairing ends sooner rather than later. I also enjoyed the Costello family making peace and trying to heal the wounds the past year has inflicted upon them. Those were emotional, poignant and well done moments.

However, I didn't buy that Sioned was sorry to see Jason go. She'd never liked him and only saw him as a threat to her relationship with Bart. And when did Jason and Tilly become such good friends? Must have been off screen since these two might have had a couple of conversations over the past year. The truth is Jason really had no friends and mostly associated with his family or Bart. Given that, Jason' s goodbyes should have been kept to those people, as they were who really mattered in his life.

As for the other big story from last week, it’s great to have Brendan back, and the chemistry between him and Warren is as strong as ever. I’m looking forward to seeing this final arc between these two characters play out, even if we know how it’s going to end. (Jamie Lomas, the actor who plays Warren, is leaving the show.) However, I have a problem with an aspect of this storyline.

Warren’s blackmailing of Ethan doesn’t hold water for me. Yes, Ethan was involved in a hit and run, but it’s highly unlikely he’d ever go to jail for it, especially since the victim is on the road to recovery. At worst he might lose his badge, but even that probably wouldn’t happen. It makes little sense to me that he’d rather aid and abet a murder, a far more serious crime, rather than come forward with the truth about the accident.