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The Replacement - BBC1

999 replies

southeastdweller · 28/02/2017 18:20

Anyone else planning on watching this three-parter that starts tonight at 9?

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08h625c

OP posts:
ZuzuMyLittleGingersnap · 09/03/2017 09:13

Ooh, Agent, how exciting.

Let us know if the ghostly, window-peering face of your DH does manifest in ep. 3...he could also then recoup the non-existent Residents' Association 'donation' (hmm) by negotiating a fee for his unpaid work as an extra?

Love mews cottages down a cobbled lane

Agree with PPs that Ian's somehow involved in a far darker way.

absolutelynotfabulous · 09/03/2017 09:13

agent thanks to this programme I spent a happy few hours minutes googling Glasgow properties.

Perhaps you should start doing "Replacement" tours?

I was thinking about the skylight/lack thereof too. I could not sleep last night wondering why Kay asked Ellen to the site, having told her to stay away on health and safety grounds previously.

I can't help thinking there's something going on between Ellen and David. Or else Ellen is imagining something. They are very huggy. Too huggy, methinks. Why did David turn on Ellen so suddenly when she turned up at the house?

I think the lipstick is a red herring too; Paula wore pinkish lipstick and the lippy in the bathroom was red.

And another thing; was the site shut down following Kay's death? Surely it would have been, pending an investigation?

Deux · 09/03/2017 09:34

We are of course assuming that the social workers were real. What if they were fake? Given that we are being lead to believe that much is not what it seems, it could be an attempt to push Ellen over the edge

Merrylegs · 09/03/2017 09:37

Yes, I'm enjoying the building theme - architects living in amazing houses. It's a v good looking show but I'd like them to bring it back to the main build in the third episode - ie the library site and skylight.

SoupDragon · 09/03/2017 09:39

I think the lipstick is a red herring too; Paula wore pinkish lipstick and the lippy in the bathroom was red.

I noticed that too. Which is unusual for me!

monkeymamma · 09/03/2017 09:50

I've been drawn into this in spite of myself. The acting is fantastic and the locations/clothes/decor is out and out eye candy. However it is so so slow! I'm more used to HBO dramas which could pack an hour of this show into 15 minutes, just not much really happens. There are only so many 'mildly malicious' looks across the office floor I'm interested in seeing.

I also feel like it has the potential to be really thrilling and interesting (yy to pp's Sophie Hannah comparisons) but also it could just go down the exact route we expect (e.g. Paula is boffing Kay's DH and wants Ellen's job/life/whatever). Like Doctor Foster did - no twist!!

If there is a clever twist, at the current pace I'm not sure they'll manage to resolve it in one more episode.

A few more theories: Paula's house isn't really hers, they're just squatting (hence they've hardly managed any renovations); Paula knows David/Kay/Ellen from university days (which, crucially, pre-date Ellen's mental breakdown?) and has a much older vendetta than we realise. Or maybe she isn't actually a qualified architect at all! Maybe she is actually Georgia. Or something. I think Georgia definitely thought that Ellen WAS Paula - hence being so afraid of her and telling her she couldn't call her 'again' - she definitely seemed to be referring to something we haven't seen ourselves.

I'd love it if there was a MASSIVE twist, like someone is pretending to be someone else 100% (maybe the Facebook thing was a clue). Maybe Georgia took over Paula's life or something else.

Also think the PP saying Ellen's husband is dodgy are onto something. He's so lovely though!

Kay's husband seems MASSIVELY dodgy.

The thing about Kay's final phone call to Ellen seems to me that if it was about Paula, there wasn't a massive basis for that as all we saw was her looking across the office at her, like once. Whereas the Ellen-Kay-Kay's husband triangle seems a little weird and toxic and also as far as we know is much older/more long term. The 'I've finally realised what's been going on' thing sounds more likely to refer to that than to the more recent Paula thing (which hardly seemed to concern Kay in the bits we've seen).

absolutelynotfabulous · 09/03/2017 09:52

Great minds, soupGrin.

Where the jeff do you park in that mews?

Interesting point about the social workers. They came waaay too quickly.

Was the café Ellen went to meet Georgia at on the same site as the Architect's that closed?

And why has Vernon not said much? He's doing lots of disapproving gurning, but doesn't seem to be contributing much else.

rainbowdash888 · 09/03/2017 10:05

Ooh I hadn't really considered fake social workers. Maybe it's all part of a gaslighting Ellen plot

PrivatePike · 09/03/2017 10:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

T00much · 09/03/2017 10:14

Glad I found this thread! DH isn't watching it so I can't discuss it with him !

So, here are my thoughts:-

  1. Caris is Paula's step daughter who mainly lives with her mother. Caris probably isn't her name though. Caris is the name of Paula's daughter who died. Paula's DH talking about someone not facing up to reality is the fact that Paula still talks about Caris as though she's alive. She moves from job to job because people eventually find out
  2. Paula is not evil and didn't kill Kaye
  3. Paula is perhaps employed by Ellen's husband to keep an eye on her...?
  4. David is/was having an affair. Perhaps with the secretary? Or maybe not at all Confused
  5. Kay was pushed by someone (not Paula, maybe David) because she found out about dodgy dealings

So in summary, David is evil, Paula is not

Not sure where Georgia comes into it...

Ferrisday · 09/03/2017 10:32

The problem now is because of the far fetched incidents (car seat, ss) I don't know what the important points are.
I was going to say that it had to be something about the library because Kay was there, she asked Ellen to come there.
You wouldn't ask a ready to drop pg woman to a building site unless you had to show her something then and there.
Otherwise you'd just say come to the office tomorrow, or I'll meet you at your house.
But with this show, you can't trust reason.

AgentCooper · 09/03/2017 10:42

Zuzu, DH loves a bit of compo (he's a very effective complainer as John Lewis and Dreams Beds well know) Grin I keep hoping we'll see our flat but the camera keeps swooshing by it quickly.

absolutely, we'd only get another couple of months out of our unauthorised Replacement tours as we've just sold our flat! We love it there but I'm pregnant with our first (only 8 weeks) and we wanted a garden and more space. And if this show is anything to go by, pregnancy and early motherhood are not exactly harmonious in that street Grin

Clawdy · 09/03/2017 10:59

The Carys thing is odd, though. If that isn't the girl's real name, surely Paula would be desperately trying to keep her husband away from Ellen, in case the name was mentioned - which I'm sure it was, on that evening get-together?

rainbowdash888 · 09/03/2017 11:03

About whether Caris is Paula's though, remember when she bought her into the office and said 'when are you bringing in Lia, I never thought you'd meet mine before I met yours!' So she referred to her as 'mine' and the girl never said anything

AgentCooper · 09/03/2017 11:27

Where the jeff do you park in that mews?

absolutely, there is car parking available on Park Gate, with a permit from Glasgow City Council, or free at weekends Grin

neveradullmoment99 · 09/03/2017 11:37

I think Kay and Ellen's mother in law look very alike.

Me too!!!! I remember thinking that. I thought is that not Kay??? I thought she was dead! Maybe Kay is Ellens mum!!!! They look so alike.

TinfoilHattie · 09/03/2017 12:19

Just saw another trailer on BBC for last episode.

-Ellen looking in through window and seeing her husband and Paula with the baby and saying "She doesn't want him, she wants Leah"

  • Ellen's husband saying "you can still see her, but it has to be supervised".

-woman on phone saying to Paula "she thought it was you I was afraid of"

  • two police officers speaking to blonde woman (can't work out if it's Georgia, or the woman in the architect's office)
  • Ellen saying "now it's happened, not only have I nothing to lose, I have no choice. You have just forced me to dedicate every waking moment to you".
  • Paula looking menacing.

Seems clear that something happens with Leah and Ellen is only allowed supervised access to her. Husband appears even more dodgy.

Ferrisday · 09/03/2017 12:23

Does anyone else think the client might be a bit dodgy?
He was off with Ellen even early on when she took him that gift. Might just be bad acting!

absolutelynotfabulous · 09/03/2017 12:35

I'd forgotten about that gift. I thought that it was an odd thing for Ellen to do-she would've know it was not the done thing professionally.

agent I want to come to live in Glasgow! Can you put me up at yours?Grin.

What do you think was meant when Paula said "you win" at the end of Ep 2?.

hippyhippyshake · 09/03/2017 12:38

How are they going to resolve all that in one episode? I bet there will be a follow-up series. Gah!

PrizePrawn · 09/03/2017 12:42

Another thing I keep thinking of is that Ellen and her husband met when he was her therapist. Isn't that really, really unethical to form a relationship with a patient who is vulnerable? It rings massive alarm bells about his scruples.

TinfoilHattie · 09/03/2017 12:50

which raises even more questions - Paula doing throw myself down the stairs and blame Ellen routine.;

Ferrisday · 09/03/2017 12:55

Oohhh!

SoupDragon · 09/03/2017 12:57

Is that a spoiler??

Whathaveilost · 09/03/2017 12:58

It's a shame that the characters aren't likeable but I guess that's to do with great acting.

'Paula' looks a lot older than the actors real age in this IMO. She's also great at switching from one emotion to another in less than a blink of an eye.
Pity these been so many implausible niggles.