Thefts, arson and abuse: The Archers - it's an everyday story of cuntery, folks.

[PseudoBadger]

Thanks to Lancelottie for the title

Crumbs, I thought now we've had confirmation in the story itself that Ethan's father is not Rob* I thought the DNA fix theory would finally lie down and die! .

*through a rather too neat bit of script-writing, but there you go.

HA ! told you we'd not seen the back of Jess.....take care Helen, leaving is the most dangerous time.

i have to say that even with years of experience dealiing with victims of DV both face to face as a police officer and now as a 999 operator, i now think about this storyline when people are telling me about their controlling partners. i think about episodes and it has had a big impact.

i think it has been extremely well scripted and acted apart from the peculiar Ursula Wicked Stepmother part

trufflehunter - How will the editorial team have been advised to resolve the story?

simbobs one of the saddest things (imo) is that H doesn't have a 'confidante'.
She has Kirsty who cares and worries but who also tends to take charge and provide possible active solutions. No good as H cannot see herself from a detached position.
H also has Tom - but though he cares I can't see him as a confidante.
What H needs is someone close who will not criticise her or Rob or Henry yet is able to to be aware (without voicing it) of what is happening. Someone she can complain to, can open her heart to, relate all details of her difficult relationship to
without fear, without judgement. She is not waving, she is drowning.

Yes stickerrocks I think you should dare to tell. You'll probably find some with the same addiction

I did actually consider for the lady thread "run Helen run Helen, run run run, here comes Rob with his mum, mum, mum"

For those doubting whether it's credible that Jess would leap on a train, I have a now very elderly family member who married a man scarily like Rob. She was the first in a long line of Jesses and Helens and has offered help to every one of them.

*last thread

I can't bear to listen anymore :(

Finally delurking - so happy I can! I'm usually way behind, listening to the omnibus (I mean the film ...) and hating spoilers, so reading these threads miles behind current posts, but so gripped by this storyline that I'm listening every day.

Anyway, my theory is that Knob is just going to bugger off. Helen will get the strength soon to make a break for it and Pat/Tony/Tom and maybe most of the village (via the village whispers) will find out what's been going on. After that, his position becomes totally untenable. He wants to be the golden boy - at the heart of the Archer family, manfully taking care of his troublesome wife and step-child, the big man in the shop, palling up with Justin and Brian. After it comes out (even if just to her family), this will become totally impossible - everyone will despise him and think he is shit and he really wouldn't be able to tolerate that. He would rather just bugger off to find a new victim.

I think (and really hope) it's not going to have a melodramatic EE style denouement - they have done the story really sensitively and realistically (except poss Arsula, though I find that more plausible than a lot of people) and make a big thing about how this is helping people across the country. I don't think they will want to jeopardise that.

By the way, I don't see Helen's break being smooth and I do think that Patbot may try to push her back into Knob's arms, but I think Helen will not allow that and tell Pat the full truth, and after that she will be totally on H's side and overcome with remorse for her blindness. I think the emotional fallout for this is going to be really tough longterm on Pat as well as Helen - as if their relationship isn't difficult enough already.

I don't think Jess actually said anything conclusive about Rob not being the father - I got the impression that she wanted to believe that her uni friend was E's father as the timing could explain it. Maybe it's another one of those SWs blips, but something really doesn't add up here.
-when E was born, Jess confronted Knob as though she was certain he was the father. Surely if she had doubts, she would have done a DNA test with uni friend first?
-Uni friend does not appear to be in E's life either. Does he know that he possibly has fathered a child with Jess?

Maybe Jess decided not to open her letter with Knob's paternity test results as she didn't want it to be true. Did Helen actually see Rob's copy of the letter? There was also that weird moment months ago when Dr Locke and Rob recognised each other.

Maybe Dr Locke knows Knob is the father and will accidentally spill the beans, ideally to Susan in the shop.

Susan: Isn't it nice that that lovely Rob is going to be a father soon. I know he's sort of a father already, but it's not the same given Henry's er background if you know what I mean. This'll be his first real son.
Dr Locke: With Helen, yes.
Susan: What do you mean "with Helen"?
Dr Locke: Oh nothing. Forget I said anything.

Dum de dum....

Clings onto a teeny fragment of hope that Rob will turn out to be E's father...

I just want her to stand up to him. I think that he will collapse like a house of cards once he has been denounced.

Hello

I thought Jess was quite direct about Rob not being the father? She and Helen spoke very openly about it?

Simbobs, completely agree. He's such a coward under all that bravado and Helen's gained so much strength in just the last couple of days that I think he'll crumble quite easily.

I think at one point, the SW were building up to Rob being Ethan's father, but they went in a different direction, and a tweet from a SW, and the spelling out of an explanation by Jess tonight are their (slightly clunky) way of really trying to end any speculation - I really don't think they are trying some kind of misdirection to make us think Rob is not E's father only to reveal he is at some later date. But, it's the zombie theory that will not die!

That was good. And a very neat bit of tidying up the DNA story.

But dear scriptwriters, as much as we needed some contrast and have been wanting some light relief for weeks - there is absolutely NO excuse for what you made us sit through with Bert, Rex and Ruth. It was abysmal. No excuse at all. I was driving, for goodness sake!

My biggest concern in many ways is the baby. I don't want him to die because frankly that would be awful to do that for the sake of dramatic expediency. At the same time, how will Helen deal with a baby that she not only didn't want but that was in all likelihood conceived through rape?

Gruach, i really have no clue.

There are as many realistic endings to this story as there are survivors. Some women leave for good at the first sign of trouble. some draw the line when abuse gets physical. a huge percentage will call police but be drawn back to the offender and retract; they will need years of support to escape. some will leave and form serial relationships with abusers. very many will stay, walking on eggshells, managing their partners temper, identifying the triggers and avoiding them and as Jess so eloquently put becoming a shell of their former selves. and sadly all too many will end up dead at their partner's hands.

How do you actually get a stockcube into a showerhead? And how the heck do you get all the bits out so people can shower stockcube-free again?

My X-MIL rang me up one evening and peremptorily demanded to know the name of David Archer's wife. Pub quiz.

That's cheating! In pub quizzes I've taken part in, people have been required to put their mobiles in plain sight on the table, and threatened with having all their marks taken away if they're discovered using mobiles to check the answers to questions. I hope you virtuously refused to co-operate, Jean?

I think the whole Rob/Henwee skit is really interesting, we know she'll put up with him making her miserable but part of that is because she thinks Henry deserves a 'father'.

Now he's treating Henwee awfully I believe she'll start fighting back, he's essentially given her nothing to lose. He's taken her general respect around the village by making her seem incapable, her livelihood, her independence and happiness. They're bearable but her baby? Her baby that she worked so hard to bring into the world?

Henwee will be the catalyst mark my words.

LowDungeon I love that short story! Think that anthology is something all children should read when they start exploring adult fiction.

Derailing over folks

That's good pseudo. goes off singing