Out, damned SOC! Out I say! When will Ambridge be free? Discuss The Archers here

[PseudoBadger]

A once-great soap is going down the Beverley drain.

grrrr.... I'm glad at least Helen is talking (sort of, finally!) but why do they need to make her out to be so pathetic re Jack - she's been a single mother of a baby before and was not incompetent before Rob came on the scene. I get that she's confused and still 'broken' by him, but why can't they make her out to be a good competent mother able to cope with Jack without someone else constantly stepping in to settle him.

sorry just annoys me - maybe I'm being too harsh

I seem to recall that when Henry was a baby, Helen actually found it pretty tough. Her plan had been to live in the flat above the shop but she very soon caved in and moved back to Bridge Farm permanently, so she had a huge amount of help from the family. She wasn't a typical single mother.

I vaguely recall a conversation with Emma, who had Keira around the same time, but of course had already had George. Emma was much more relaxed about things than Helen, which was a nice touch that rang true from my experience many years ago.

But why are the scales slowly falling from Hell's eyes now? Didn't they do that earlier, when she had the He's A Monster conversation with Jess?

Do eye scales grow back under conditions of extreme stress and stabbiness?

Do eye scales grow back under conditions of extreme stress and stabbiness?

snurk. I did wonder, when Helen told Kaz "he's not my ex, he's my husband", that she had forgotten that custardgate only happened because she was leaving BHC that night.

Perhaps eye scales grow back under conditions of extreme editorial control and determination to string out one stage of a story for as long as possible?

Yes I remember that too Gaspode From stipulating to anyone who doubted the wisdom of going it alone with Henry ( before it actually happened),that she was going to be fine as a single mum. She wasn't ever a competent single mum actually.

She quickly moved back in with Mum and Dad when he was born

IMO the reason she settled with knob so fast was because she knew she couldn't cope on her own (subconsciously of course).

Talking of ridiculous storylines, where is Usha? Is she not at all concerned that her tenant has been un-/under-employed/off sick for about a year. That her single tenant first moved in his wife and DSS, and then his DM?
some more.

Ach I think you're being unfair to Helen.

Going it alone is a brave choice, especially when you know that's what you're getting into before you even get pregnant.

She's got a big, close family and lots of support. Turning that down on a point of principle would have been silly.

I don't blame her for moving in with mum and dad. I'd have done the same in her circumstances. Plus it's not like they didn't want her there, they all got along fine and it suited everybody.

Hello and thanks for the new thread

downright, yes to all of that in normal circumstances, but Helen was absolutely adamant all the way through her pregnancy that she would go it alone and wouldn't need any help from anybody. She was absolutely horrible to Tony because he was clearly not wildly enthusiastic about her decision to go for pregnancy by donor. She made no acknowledgement at all that her decision to have a baby was going to impact on the family business because of her maternity leave. It was me, me, me, as it always has been with Helen.

Her family have always just rolled over and accepted her many poor choices and made excuses for her. Tom agreeing to say that he was driving when she knocked Mike over (after drinking) was just one. She infuriates me (as may be apparent!). Obviously nobody deserves to be treated as she was by Rob, but by gum she really didn't help herself in the early stages, did she? Just one example - she threatened to stop Pat and Tony seeing Henry because they were a bit bothered that she was moving in with Rob so soon.

On the old BBC messageboard, we were astounded when the TA website described Helen as doggedly independent. She's never been independent and for 'dogged' read 'thrawn'.

Totally agree GaspOde she isn't independent. In Ambridge they seem to have a habit of treating their adult children with kid gloves.

Does anyone else find the friendship with Kaz unsettling? Helen had an unhealthy relationship with Rob where she prioritised him above everything else - including family - which allowed him to control and manipulate her. Helen doesn't seem to have learned anything and Kaz could easily become Rob 2.0.
I think the SW are writing her as a good 'un but Helen is leaving herself wide open to manipulation again.

downright Gaspode is right. Tony didn't support her going for donor pregnancy. He didn't say "I told you so" when she crawled back to live at home but he should've

Many thanks, Pseudo. Appreciate you sticking with us. We need each other in these grim times….

Oh yes you're right about her and Tony, I have the memory of a goldfish.

Yes she was horrible to him

why is tony being so incredibly THICK? I'm new to TA; is this in character for him?

Tony? I would say not on the whole. He's no intellectual but he was, decades ago, the driving force in Bridge Farm's move into organic production. He's managed to keep the business going with Pat - and ensure a BF future for his children by bringing them up to utilise their own brains in finding new markets for their produce. He's respected by his friends and peers ... He's by no means lacking in sense.

And his heart attack didn't seem to cause any long term mental incapacity either. It's hard to tell if there's been any adverse result of Otto's dancing on him - both Tony and Tom were taken over by new actors around that time.

Thank you for the new thread!

Question: if it's proven that Helen was feeling anxious and unhappy, because Rob was definitely a wrong 'un and putting tracking software on her phone (which I hope to CHRIST she has the wit to remember and mention) - does that make any difference to her case? You're still not allowed to stab someone just for being a cunt over a period of months, are you? It doesn't make the idea of self-defence in that moment necessarily any more believable?

Indeed, couldn't proving that Rob is awful work against here - 'we've established that you must have hated Rob because he is awful - and so, you carefully planned to stab him, didn't you?'

gasp0de ooh "thrawn"'s a good word (had to google it).

Helen has a history of unhealthy relationships ; her obsession with Annette when Annette was supposed be pregnant was a bit grim to listen to.

Assuming this all goes down the route of both children being returned to Helen and being brought up by her, there are bound to be lots of traumatic storylines over the next few years as they grow up and dare to start asserting their independence, and don't see their function in life as providing a prop for Mum.

Where are they going with Helen asserting her still-married state (as mentioned above)? Is this her coming to the realisation that her relationship is over and she will soon be divorced? Surely she's not thinking that after this clearing of the air Rob can be persuaded to become a properly perfect husband?

Think I mentioned on the previous thread that there's a very brief section of Caryl Churchill's Escaped Alone that shows the devastating destruction of a mother/son relationship after the mother kills the father - in the kitchen with a knife.

Oh, oh! I've just remembered HalsallRedux(?) said something really interesting about the origins of the DrainDead story. I think I may have fallen asleep while tapping out a stupendously witty reply. Which I've now forgotten ...

She got married last July, didn't she? Let's hope she celebrates her anniversary by starting off the divorce.

Thank you for new thread Pseudo,

Trying to find motivation to listen to yesterday's episode but still pissed off at Rob being such a cock on Sunday, not sure I can handle another Knob episode!