BBC's The Replacement, continuation thread.

[ThaliaLuxurySpa]

Hope OP of Thread 1, southeastdweller, doesn't mind me starting this, but MNers are enjoying it too much to abandon the analysis just yet

On you go, people...

[hollyisalovelyname]

Arcadia That's a great idea

[SapphireStrange]

FFS why are people still on about Ellen seeing the error of her ways and giving up work? She said to Vernon she was considering three offers. HE was the one who made the assumption that having a child was her 'full-time job'.

I agree about all the plot holes and moments. I enjoyed it though; I like Morvern Christie (she's great in Grantchester) and Vicky McClure was terrifying. What a performance.

Nice threads, good houses and Glasgow looked gorgeous. I love it anyway but this made me really want to go back (used to live there.)

Best line: 'Fuck off Ian.'

[Arcadia]

We should contact the BBC and ask to do The Replacement final episode - The Mumsnet Cut! Could have been so good!

[SpringerS]

And what was the deal with Ian's mother. There was a scene with her and Ellen where she is sort of on her side and agrees that Paula is crazy and she wants to get her away from Leah and Ian. And then that's it, no further effect on the storyline. If the story had been cut from 4 hours to 3 it would have made sense to remove Ian's mother more or less entirely and have given that time over to something that would actually advance the plot.

[Arcadia]

Just found this on YouTube. Awful robotic voice! But This says that in an early version of the script/storyline it was Paula's daughter who pushed Kay. wTF?!

[Delatron]

Exactly, Ellen was shouting 'hello' to Kay when she arrived at the building site. Unless Paula had a gun to her head she would have responded. We need the writer on mumsnet to explain this! I am so cross,

[Arcadia]

How would Paula even know she was there?

[Arcadia]

The last episode did get ridiculous but that aside I still don't get the Kay falling from the roof thing. It was never properly explained. Why was she up on the roof on the first place? Would it even be accessible? She would have been waiting for Ellen in the building, where she was shown calling from. Are we supposed to believe that whilst Ellen was on her way there, Paula turned up and lured her onto the roof? I watched it back and It was completely silent prior to the fall other than a clanking noise so there was no argument happening. And if it was a sudden unexpected push from behind why didn't she call hello back to Ellen when she arrived? Just made no sense.

[jammyjay]

I am loving this thread! Much more than The Replacement actually.
That's all I've come to say.

[TittyGolightly]

When, as a scriptwriter, you have to explain all the plot holes in the Radio Times, you should realise that you've fallen down on your job.

That's what I came to say. It's like a stand up having to explain a joke.

[NotYoda]

I think that the point was, that Paula was "a psycho" and that therefore all plot holes could be whitewashed because of that. Not really satisfactory.

TheCrow

Yes! The continous buffing of glass that would be required. You'd need a full-time cleaner with shammy in hand.

[ThaliaLuxurySpa]

Ooh, just realised (I think) thanks to PPs, that the incriminating number plate details were on Kay's phone (which Ellen looked at in Kay's bedroom), not Paula's computer.

So maybe Kay realised (at long last) that Paula was Up To Devious Things, and storing them on her mobile was a last-ditch attempt at leaving 'evidence' for others to find after her suicide/ Paula losing it and killing her (whichever prevailing theory we're now most convinced by).

[ThaliaLuxurySpa]

Rollergirl11,

I'm quite possibly being really dim (!), but how did Paula discover that Georgia was responsible for the accident, where the investigating police/ forensics team didn't?

Or do you mean that, as they were work colleagues at same firm, Georgia tried and failed to carry on as normal, but finally broke down, confessed to Paula, who chose not to report her to the police and instead keep her identity secret (though stupidly keeping all the car/ numberplate details on her own computer?).

Maybe because of her Mother-idolising, skewed logic which I theorised in my previous post (page 6), I suppose??

Aaargh...my addled brain just doesn't seem able to grasp it, does it?

[DaffodilTime]

Thank you thecrowfrombelow, I forgot Paula spotted the police investigating her.

[Rollergirl11]

I got the impression that the police never knew of Georgia's involvement in the accident, hence it being classed as a Hit and Run. But for some bizarre reason Paula took pity on Georgia and decided to help her. So Paula took the car and hid it away and the police never found it.

When Ellen found out she called Georgia and told her to give herself in to the police which is when they all all of a sudden had the measure of Paula.

[MistyMeena]

Just watched Ep 3.

Pffft.

[Februaryrat]

How did Kay have the registration number of the car in her phone and why did that upset her so much?

[TheCrowFromBelow]

It must have been meant to be 4 or more episodes.
Paula was handcuffed as her alibi was finally broken - the police were in her office going through her online and paper diary which is why she stole Leah. Cant remember why this happened though...
I thought the rubbish fall down the stairs worked as Paula wouldnt want to hurt herself.
I did worry unduly about finger marks all over the glass partitions and the corridors were a bit narrow.
The whole escape from the car was a right load of disapppinting bollocks, and Paula having Georgia's car made no sense at all.
The rest of it was fantastic, such a shame.

[hollyisalovelyname]

I think a BBC spokesman should come out and explain why they allowed an ending as atrocious as that.
Or else film another episode tying up the very loose ends.
It was like ( very untalented) film students were put in charge of ending a series as an exercise in their film studies programme.

[DaffodilTime]

I've read most of the thread at speed but has anyone worked out why Paula is being handcuffed by the police as I thought it was going to be Ellen given her husband thought she'd taken their child?

I found the acting really good as Paula was so creepy and I mostly empathised with Ellen so was surprised lots of people hated her too!

[TheHiphopopotamus]

Ignore most of my last post, I see it's been answered. I think I lost interest when all the stupidness was happening and I didn't hear Paula confess to Kay. My brain wouldn't accept the ridiculous.

[TheHiphopopotamus]

and if Paula gave herself up to the police for child abduction and just wanted Ellen to see the error of her ways why did she attempt to murder her

And why did she kill Kay? She handed herself in for child abduction but murdering someone apparently doesn't register with her. Did Paula even kill Kay?

I'm a bit pissed off that I was quite invested in this but the resolution was so shit I'm still thinking about how shit it was.

[41coffeeslater]

In no particular order..,
Why did the police take Paula to the library? And why put handcuffs on then, not before?
What did Paula tell her niece before taking her to work?
How/why did Ellen take the baby to work in a quiet office?
Annoyed that they didn't show proper feet to foot position in cot for baby.

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Everyone knows how to do jump start a car 😂😂 Don't you 😛

Agree ending seems rushed. Think read somewhere it was meant to be 4hrs and got cut to 3

Seemed we were all right about caris and Paula - Ellen's husbands a knob for taking her side and don't Believe that KAY went on and on about caris hence Paula shoving her

So why did she shove her ? Or did she jump thinking her hubby was having an affair with Ellen?

Also Kay's hubby didn't help things by saying what he did to KAY