The Archers Thread September 2015 - The One Where Helen Kicks Rob In The Balls?

[PseudoBadger]

Wishful thinking. I think she's in it for the long haul

Does that itch Gruach?

Hellin is clearly putting a fence round her relationship with Henry; and she's very unhappy; but until a week ago she believed everything was perfect and with her general lack of self belief and Rob perpetually dripping poison, I can't see that she would have reached absolute clarity about Rob's true nature. If she had she would already have taken Henry and LTB. He has to have time to wreck the Bridge Farm shop yet, and for all the other storylines (culvert, hunt sab etc) to play out (assuming they are not simply to be abandoned) during which he may talk her round again

The sofa thing is interesting.
She probably doesn't want to be cuddled by him any more because she's scared it will be a prelude to another round of rough sex. So she no longer feels 'protected' by him and therefore no longer trusts him.
But she gave in and sat by him because she's afraid of irritating him.

He may have made a mistake in cutting her off from work so much because while she has so little to do all day she has plenty of time to think about the new situation and ways to avoid a repeat of the violence.

I agree that she s beginning to regret handing him a controlling interest in Henry and wanted to do first day at school without him.

It's early days yet but the fight-back is beginning. In a battle of wills they are probably evenly matched but he has physical violence in his arsenal.

Yes, the list of things Rob thinks he's got away with but will hopefully come home to roost include:

Shipping Tom off to Canadia
The non-organic pig swill
Shagging Jess when he was with Helen (oh the irony)
The deliberate bungling of Ambridge Organics (when oh when will someone ask why Rob is being put in charge of so much Bridge Farm business?!)
The culvert
Disposal of Stefan (do we think he's shredded his file?)
Fiddling the Berrow figures
Duffing up the hunt sab
Generally being a nasty fucker
Raping Helen

Have I forgotten anything? He's on a real power trip because he's got away with so much. And of course he's a nasty fucker. Jonny seems a wise young chap, I wonder if he'll talk to Tom.

Completely agree Gruach. I think the scales have fallen but she doesn't know how best to play it because she realises how manipulative Knob is. She'd taken herself off yesterday so she could think - she doesn't want Johnny to say anything because she doesn't want to alert Knob. Her questioning him over the builder reminded me of other instances where she's appeared to have a wobble (the non-appearance of his parents at the dinner for instance - I'm sure others will remember other occasions) but he's always talked her round in the end - because essentially she wanted to be talked round. Thursday is not something he can talk his way out of - though she's let him think he has. I have to ask the question again - how can the team who came up with this subtle, well-executed plot be the same one who's came up with the shambles that is the plots around Brookfield at the moment? It's like two different programmes.

It's like two different programmes. -Totally!

Some as-of-now sworn enemy of mine phoned me at 2.01pm so I missed a second hearing of Rob annoyed. But I've realised that Helen's sleight of hand involved the afternoon (not morning as I mistakenly said upthread).

Unfortunately the likely outcome might be that Rob now insists all Ambridge Organics mail concerning the new shop be addressed to him.

Dylan, I'd add:
The attempt to buy the wrong kind of cattle that Tom thwarted: OK, he didn't get away with it, but I don't think Pat'n'Tony know about it, do they?
The lies about the planned meal with his parents

And...Tom's stag night.

And trying to blame jonny for ordering too much of something or other. I cannot believe that at best people don't think he's a bit crap.

I shall pass on the boop and star to my dad! He loves a bit of praise. He is not a horrible old dinosaur honestly. He just cannot see anyone's dark side!

Isn't it odd that Brookfield SLs are sooooo bad. The thing with pip's job was just such a flop!

It'll be jonny, Emma or Ian that dethrones him!

Oh yes! He was a dick to Johnny!

Oh yes, good points all. God he's awful isn't he?

And his horrible rudeness to Jim (not the recent time, the time before that).

There was also his awfulness when the flood struck, interested only in making sure he and Helen were ok. And being foul to Christine when Shula et al were trying to rescue her. Falling over in the boat and being injured meant he was regarded as an injured hero rather than a knob. Harrison was on to his dreadfulness but the accident put paid to that.

And the Ian and the bike race incident.

Agree, stillearnin, how is it when you list it all out that people DON'T think he's a bit crap?

That's what I can't understand. You'd think a couple of those people would have got together and discussed his general crapness - eg Jim, Shula and Christine or Johnny and Tom. It's like the Emperor's New Clothes - I think Henry's going to witness something and he'll be the one to blow the whistle.

I think the lack of gossip about him is the most implausible part of the whole SL.

Yes - particularly with Jim, who is quite a gossipy soul.

I don't quite buy it that everyone in Borsetshire is thinking well, gosh, everyone else seems to like him so I must be wrong.

There's also his nastiness to Henry when Helen isn't there. He gives the boy mixed messages all the time, I think, and has appeared V impatient on many occasions.

I hope some of the others will talk soon. Partly explained by all the flood chaos and other stuff going on. They don't all meet up that often really. Though Jim and Shula are in the same house, I suppose the moment has to be right - and some sort of trigger there for them to discuss Rob. Shula is very absorbed in her twin's tantrums, worries about her mother, her marriage, her soldier boy. I can quite see why they might not have Rob at the top of their list so far. Even at meal times they'll have Auntie and Alistair moaning about something or other, I imagine Ditto for JD and Brine. I think as JD was close to Jess on her brief time in Ambridge she might be a bit suspicious of Knob, but she is distracted too - the stuff between B and Adam, and the farm, having Lillian & Phoebe in residence, Kate (who is remarkably quite this week).

I was just thinking too - HWCNBN (if he has indeed retrieved his tool box )- would have lots of work around Ambridge in the post-apocalypse. Assuming he IS still in the caravan and hasn't gone the way of Scruff.

Maybe it's just that by some miracle, his nastiness hasn't been seen by two people at once, or at least by two people where after Rob goes, one of them turns to the other and remarks that he's been foul to them too.

Did anyone just hear Deadringers do the Archers?

Moo!

Lynda was being self-obsessed at the concert when Rob was so rude to Jim. I can't believe she wouldn't notice and comment afterwards though.
I was astonished that Pat thought his put-down of Jim was somehow praiseworthy.

I told you that Dylan would be frank but fair.

Well one likes to be even-handed!

I reckon a murder is on the cards, probably during the Xmas special.

I bet Rob will try and attack Helen, there will be a big struggle and she'll whack him over the head with a hefty cheese-shaped doorstop. Rob will be killed instantly, Helen will go to prison and Henry will be adopted by Fallon and PC Burns (let's just pretend he is firing blanks, and I'm not talking about on the police shooting range ).

What do you all think?

....Oh, and whilst Helen is banged up, she will have a lesbian relationship with "Big Tanya," who is the Top Dog of G Wing

You forgot the bit where Henry sets up his GoPro to secretly film the Christmas meal - having first replaced the celebratory cheese with a foam replica. Not realising that Rob is allergic to foam.

So Helen goes to prison and has the time of her life. The following Christmas George (who's allowed to play with Henry now Rob's dead) discovers the forgotten film which shows a shadowy figure looming over Rob with a syringe while Helen was outside waiting for the ambulance. The figure looks like Jess. Or Kirsty. Or Lily ...

"she'll whack him over the head with a hefty cheese-shaped doorstop"

Or just a chunk of Sterling Gold