Dr Foster, the final episode, can't wait..

[ellenanora5]

First thread nearly full so starting this one for tomorrow night

that should have read than that adultery is incredibly corrosive

cleo

I agree that that was what made it most uncomfortable. She did not get much support from anyone

"Is it just me that enjoyed it for what it was - a fictional Drama - without feeling the need to pull it to pieces ?"

No, I really enjoyed it too. The fact that Gemma was a flawed character does not make the writer a misogynist. Making her too perfect, wouldn't have made a good story, or at least, it would have been too similar to The Politician's Wife, where a wronged wife gets revenge on her politician husband.

me three

Sorry Zucker, but you specifically wrote:

think the scene with Gemma sitting with her son and coffee while people watching was supposed to show us that families exist in many different forms. But I just felt sad looking at her and the boy together. They looked lonely sitting there.

Your thought had nothing to do with the script.

Why did Gemma treat accountant neighbour's wife so badly and how did she guess that it was her writing the troll messages about her.
Carly came over as being on Gemma's side then going back to her boyfriend and then minding Tom. Very inconsistent.
Why was Ros taking Simon's side?
Simon's PA babysitting and nit telling him that Gemma was around and knew.
The old doctor ( I think)What was that about?

And Zucker, you obviously think that people who spend time together as a family, do so so that people can watch them.

Elendon

She meant Gemma and Tom were people-watching. Not that people were watching them. I think

Yep people-watching not people watching them! I don't think for a second people who spend time together do so so people can watch them, how odd.

Anyhoo my jury is still out on the last episode.

I didn't like it.

I really loathed the way Simon prefaced his every interaction with his son with "Mate...", while effectively putting a bomb under his family life. Urgh.

I was gripped by the 1st episode- utterly compelling. Sadly with each episode it went downhill - crazy, inconsistent, - silly really. So disappointing as I was so excited by the introduction.

Yeah Narp, absolutely

Why did Gemma treat accountant neighbour's wife so badly and how did she guess that it was her writing the troll messages about her.

(a) Because Anna and Neil (the accountant/her husband) were in the holiday photograph with Simon and Kate - so clearly knew about the affair but didn't tell her; rather they condoned it.

(b) The Fosters and the Bakers regularly had dinner together (really quite friendly) so Gemma considered all the times the 4 of them had dined together with 3 of them knowing, and Gemma NOT.

(c) Gemma didn't realise it was Anna who had posted the reviews until the final confrontation scene when Gemma suddenly realised that the bad reviews started on the night that she met up with Neil and slept with him.

Is anyone going to watch UNFORGOTTEN tonight (ITV - 9pm)?

I have started a thread here:

Discussion thread for following UNFORGOTTEN

It isn't that Gemma was a flawed character that was misogynistic. In real life no one is all good or all bad. But it was misogynistic because it was totally unrealistic. A women who has made partner as a GP, is simply not going to behave that way with her patients. In real life most women have at least one female friend who would support them. With Gemma the female friends she had did not support her at all.

True - it implies women professionals aren't professional. In my divorce I was utterly professional to all my clients whatever was happening at home. You know your children depend on your income and you get your priorities right.
It was pretty accurate though in showing men leaving one family behind to concentrate on the next.

Yes I really didn't like how no-one supported her.. Everyones acting like she's a loon for being so angry/upset about adultery and no-ones directing the venom at Simon. Even the women didn't seem to think it was a big deal.

And that is not like real life. But maybe lots of male writers don't understand how female friendship actually works?

The hatred of Gemma made no sense at all, given all of the others were pretty flawed.

Exactly. She would have been supported by at least one female friend. And the OW Kate seemed to have no female friends either to support her.

Yes, it had an unusual acceptance almost of adultery. I do wonder if it is becoming more accepted which is not nice for those cheated upon.

Him saying that it happened all the time and people just carried on was depressing.

Just caught up with the final episode.

I think the point about Gemma was that she broke rules all the time but basically to help people - she got the alcoholic doctor sacked because she had to but then she sorted him out. She also sorted out Carly's abusive boyfriend. In a sense, she sorted them all out by exposing the cracks in their lovely lives, which they had all been happy to paper over. Most of the marriages stayed intact because underneath it all they were prepared to live with the lies and dishonesty.

I felt sad that she had to get her hands dirty but in the end she did it for her freedom and to break the cycle for Tom. However, I thought that the picture of the barely dressed woman in the magazine Tom was reading was a hint that Tom will grow up to be like his dad and most of the other men in the story, whatever she does. The only decent men seemed to be the lawyer and the male GP.

It did bend credibility a bit that a doctor would do those things. Most would not because as soon as you start breaking rules there is no end of it. However it made for good drama.

You could easily have reversed the sexes in this of course. As many women have affairs as men do.