Long-time lurker here; love this thread.
Fwiw I was a wee bit disappointed in the 65th anniv episode. Agree with Coldteaagain and R4.
Apologies if I'm repeating what others have said.
I'm all for realism, and rejecting cheap soap-opera-y type tricks and thrills, and for long-sustained stories and for referencing past and future etc etc, but it felt like the scriptwriters had had a meeting deciding on all of those bullet points and were determined to include them all , instead of allowing the narrative to be character led, which is why the writing doesn't seem credible atm.
As JessieMcJ says down thread, it all seems v haphazard.
It's like the script writing team are listening to everyone's differing povs and are trying to accommodate all of them, without having firm convictions and a strong direction themselves.
I simply don't buy that all of Ruth's concerns about not being on the outside of the Archer family, about not being given a say, and her ambivalence about her future, are suddenly all ignored in favour of making the decision that the farm should switch to grass feeding (or whatever the technical term is); which in itself, isn't particular interesting (although the many posts on the subject here might suggest otherwise!!).
Nor, as others have pointed out, does her relationship with her dc seem remotely credible (although to be fair, all soap operas are woeful when it comes to children).
The rest of it was enjoyable though; Rob and Helen story perhaps heading towards some sort of anorexia-in-pregnancy related health crisis?
Wonderful that Lynda and Scruff have been reunited!
Not sure why they brought the doctor back; he seems so leaden.
What has happened to the relationship "ishews" between Alistair and Shula?
And why so little of Lillian? Apart from the tiniest of references at Christmas you would hardly know she was still resident at Home Farm.
Harrumph.