The police don't think she'll get the money back and she won't have a place to live once Eva sells the flat and she's already had an offer. They get another one. Toyah invites them all to move into the pub! Again, a building on the Street has grown elastic walls although a loft conversion was mentioned a couple of times.
Steve is still trying to find the love of his life through dating apps. I hope he's more successful at it than Leanne was! Tracy overhears his woes and drags him off to a school Christmas concert but she's got a way to make it bearable. She has booze in a flask. That's not going to be a good thing, I expect. The two of them are like naughty schoolkids giggling at the back of assembly. But Amy! She's been practising and taking violin lessons for a couple of years. Why isn't she any better at all and why would the instructor give her a solo if she's terrible, which she is?
Anyway, Tracy spied that image from the app of Steve's "ideal" woman who looks a lot like her. She has a great time teasing him. Later, she decides to snog him. Maybe she's bored and lonely or maybe she really wants to. Steve is Steve. Hand it to him on a platter and he'll take it and so he does. He follows her inside and up them stairs!
Phelan went to see Anna in prison to gloat and to threaten her and her family. In typical Anna style, she thumps him across the face. Sucker punch. She's shooting herself in the foot, isn't she? Not that he didn't have that coming and she certainly enjoyed doing it! I don't condone it but this is a soap, it's not reality. So fill yer boots, luv!
You know what made me angry? Kevin telling Jack that Faye's living elsewhere and they just have to get used to it. He's the one that broke up with Anna. Faye isn't going to live there after that. Felt like he was shoveling it all away from himself as per usual.
Eileen didn't stay in hospital too long and Phelan had to tell her it was Anna that bruised his face. Eileen insists he leave it alone and not press charges.
Aidan tried again to talk to Johnny about buying the factory instead of him selling to Matthew but he can't meet the price and he has to wait for a potential flat and car sale before he even gets that. Johnny is less than impressed. But Jenny can see Aidan's side of things. She figures Johnny should accept Aidan's offer if it could be put through quicker. She wants the cash so they could go to Spain and a quick sale would help, right? Johnny agreed and told Aidan he'd consider an offer. He's having trouble raising the money because his credit rating is in the toilet. He's got an idea. Go into partnership with Matthew!
Now he and Alya have to convince Matthew. Interrupting his lunch is going to get them off to a bad start. Matthew allows them to pitch their deal to him, reluctantly. Problem is, Matthew doesn't think he respects Aidan very much, from what he said. Aidan challenges Alya to see if she can talk him round on her own like she reckoned she could do. I'm not very hopeful especially with Adam as his lawywer. Alya gave it a try, though. She showed him the postential deal with the other people she and Aidan were working with. Matthew was impressed and it looks like they are going to partner up and buy the factory with him.
Johnny was shocked at the potential partnership. There's an Underworld party as a thank you. But Alya spots Matthew's factory manager at the factory and finds out he's going to use his own people and the old workers still won't have a job. Alya is positive Matthew is only using them and will steal their designs and cut them out. Aidan has to find some other way and he's got an idea. The next time we see him, he's in a busy pub waiting. High black boots and an animal print coat stride up. It's Carla!!!!
Aidan wants Carla to come back and run the factory with him. She's determined to live her own life even though he reminds her of the responsibilities to the ones she loves and that love her. Back in Weatherfield, the factory party has started and they're all celebrating the reopening of the factory. They don't know what Alya knows and she's not saying. Aidan is cheered as the hero when he gets back to Weatherfield though he must have met Carla half way because it's way to far to get there and back from the afternoon to early evening.
Eva has been wanting to tell him about her moving on but she overheard him on the phone to Carla and took it the wrong way, as in, he had already found someone else. She decided if that was the case, she won't feel guilty about Adam and left with him. Aidan saw that and it hurt. He told Alya about Carla, presumably, and told the workers he's pulling out of the deal and Matthew has his own people. No jobs after all.
Summer made a Christmas ornament with photos of her and her two new dads on it. Awwww! We forget that there's an assault charge hanging over Billy (because of the set-to with Peter, I think, after Simon gave Summer that joint). Billy's got his hearing and Todd is trying to be optimistic. Billy is not. Billy wants to confess his involvement in Susan's death to the Barlows. He's having trouble living with himself over it. Todd can't make him see reason.
Summer wants to come to court but Billy doesn't want her to and he doesn't want Todd to go either. He promises not to say anything about the accident in court. Peter spoke well in court and defended Billy as an honest man and there were extreme circumstances. It worked. Billy will have to do community service but he is a free man. Only he and Peter had a tussle with someone outside the court, someone that was actually have a to-do with someone else. Turns out,that tussle ended up in Billy getting stabbed in the leg from that metal four leaf clover Summer gave him. Bad luck there!
Quite a bad injury, too. Peter stayed cool, kept pressure on the wound which was surprisingly deep, and called 999. He really lost a lot of blood, too and it loosened his tongue. He has to confess and was determined to do it. Peter thought he was ranting but he told Peter the truth. He killed Peter's sister. He told Peter what happened and that he told the driver not to stop though I'm pretty sure when he told Todd the story, he said he tried to convince the driver to stop. Maybe that was a little lie. Peter looked like he was kicked in the gut. Respect for Peter who took his hand off the wound but put it back again just as the ambulance arrived. Billy wouldn't have bled to death in that short a time anyway.
Summer felt terrible it was the charm she made that injured Billy who has lost a lot of blood. He's in pretty precarious shape. Peter didn't stay, he went to the cemetery to his sister's grave. But in the cold light of day, clearly it's still on his mind, as it would be!
Billy will pull through but now that he's eased his guilt on one front, he's found something else to feel guilty about, the probability of losing Summer and Todd. Todd has gone to see Peter to ask him to let it go. For Summer if nobody else. He gets no answer and Peter comes as close as he ever has to drinking but he finds the strength to walk away with Leanne's help, off to a meeting. While there, he has realized that his twin's death is what started him drinking in the first place.
Geraldine contacts Summer. Nobody knows where Todd got to. But later, while Summer was waiting for her grandmother, Todd shows up in a car and whisks her off. Or it sounded like Todd. In reality, boys and girls, the actor was fired (google Bruno Langley) and this episode contained his last scenes.
Brian come back from his walking holiday but Roy stayed on. He brings a bag of freshly picked mushrooms for Cathy and he tells her he missed her. Only it turns out the mushrooms he found are of the hallucinogenic type and she's eaten them. Apparently the effect lingers. There's no way she can be "Mother Christmas" so Brian is roped in again. Well, if he has to perform, he's going to make it a production. But he's chaffing under the bit after awhile. Yasmeen manages to keep him in the Santa chair far past his patience limit which cracks when Asha has her turn. apparently, Santa can't find any forgiveness in his bag for naughty children (from the tricks she and Amy played on him a few months ago).
Christmas morning and it doesn't look like it's going to be a very merry Barlow Christmas for some people.
Carla's in town. I got the impression that Aidan had driven some distance to meet with her on Friday. All the way to Devon? Realistically, probably not since it's a very long drive and back but in a soap timeline? probably. Anyway, she's come up to Weatherfield to surprise people for Christmas but she's still decided not to help Aidan buy the factory. That puts him in a mood, not helped by seeing Eva draped all over Adam throughout the day.
In the pub later, Aidan still has a knot in his face. Michelle apologizes to Carla for being short with her and hands over a bottle of wine but again, Carla avoids drinking. She's had a chat with Johnny and by the end of the day she's told Aidan she'll back him financially. He's pleased but not quite as much when he finds out Johnny was the one that persuaded her. You just can't please some people!
Peter's looking thoughtful and well he should considering he's left poor Billy in the boot of a taxi overnight. Eileen is frantic. Todd drove off with Summer and Billy's unreachable as well. Billy has survived and the first we see of him, he's praying in the dark.
Where he's really going is to Billy. He gets in the car and drives to what looks like an old quarry with very high cliffs. He pulls Billy half out of the trunk and starts talking about Susan and Christmas and his relationship with her. Billy pleads for his life.
Eileen is talking to Jason to find out if Todd called him for Christmas. He didn't. Later, she and Pat go to the church to see if Billy is there but he hasn't shown up and now she's really worried. But Summer's grandmother is there and if you recall she was supposed to meet Summer the night before but Todd whisked the girl away first so she's also worried and Geraldine lets slip that someone informed her that Billy was unfit to be a father but she won't say who. Eileen thinks she's lying but is told it was someone related to Todd's business partner
Peter tells Billy he's going to let the car reverse over the cliff but he actually pulls away from it a bit. He pulls Billy out of the trunk, untying his hands and leaving him on the ground. He takes Billy's wallet or his phone, I think, and tosses it over the cliff so he has to find his own way back. Peter turns to get in the car but as Billy tries to get up, he's clearly wobbly and cramped and slides over the cliff. He calls to Peter, clinging onto a bush and Peter does rush to try to help, never having any intention of actually killing Billy but Billy's hand slips through his desperate grasp and he goes sailing down the side of the quarry pit, landing hard at the bottom. Peter looks over and sees Billy's still body at the bottom and looks terrified. What to do? He does think to call for help but he puts his phone back in his pocket and drives off. (no signal or an attack of nerves?)
Peter has gone back to the pub in a high panic, searching for his passport to go on the run but Ken sees him run inside and follows him. He tells his father everything, what he's done and why and he's freaked out because he didn't mean to kill Billy. He tells Ken where he had taken Billy off screen because we later see Ken at the clifftop. Down below, a rescue crew is attending to Billy and a passerby tells Ken that the man is still alive. Ken brings that news back to Peter who is still in the pub back room being guarded by a mystified Daniel. Peter collapses in tears of relief when he finds out Billy's alive.
At Number 1, Amy is sent to Steve's and the adults then get down to business. Ken tells them Billy's involvement in Susan's death and what Peter has done and orders them all to close ranks. Adam is shocked to his core and feels murderous but Peter tells him it's not going to make him feel better, and he should know. Eileen has been troubled all day about Geraldine's remark about someone related to Adam calling her about Billy not fit to be a father and confronts them but they are a united front and she leaves, threatening to get to the bottom of it all. She's in Todd and Billy's flat later trying to find clues when the hospital calls about Billy and she spends the rest of the day there while he is operated on.
There was one scene earlier where Sarah toddles down the street and starts screeching to Eileen about feeding Gary his Christmas dinner until Gail drags her inside. Turns out Eileen still thinks Nicola is in Australia, Gail hollers over that she isn't so I think Sarah must have found out that Nicola was the baby-mama. Did I miss something? I didn't think she knew specifically who it was. She seems to now, any road.
In what is apparently supposed to be the comedy storyline for the day, Dev and Gina discover Brian in their house crashing around and making a nuisance of himself. They call the police even though all he was trying to do was leave a gift for Asha to apologize for being rude to her the other day in Santa's grotto. He waits all day to be interviewed during which time Cathy tries to get Dev and Gina to drop the charges though they aren't inclined to do so. We later see Brian talking to the police and really, he's just pathetic and ends up getting off with a caution but when a drunken lout insults Cathy's looks, he punches him and gets re-arrested for assault and it looks like he's spending the night in a cell.
Over at the Platt house, we are reminded, as we are every year, that it's also David's birthday. Shona did have a gift but bins it when she bottles it. (loses her nerve). What actually did turn out to be kind of funny was the noise cancelling headphones Gail's family gave her. Most of the day we see her singing badly to her "retro top 40" music which kind of negates the noise cancelling effect but in the end it turns out she's done it on purpose so she didn't have to hear Sarah moan all day and because she thinks they gave her the headset to keep her quiet!
Gary tries to bring a gift for Harry but Sarah's having none of it and leaves him standing on the street, taking everyone back inside. Lily totally stole the scene by then doing that thing where you point to your eyes with your first and second fingers then point to the person you're watching as a warning, the "I'm watching you!" look! Superb!
In the evening, Shona goes up on the factory balcony and calls David up when he returns from walking the dog. She did have a gift for him. It's an umbrella with stars painted on it, reminiscent of the star gazing trip they were supposed to have in the Peak District but which got cancelled. He's charmed.
Tracy thinks Daniel used her phone to text Steve but Daniel swears he didn't. It turns out to be Amy who thinks it would be a disaster if her mother reunited with her father.
In the obligatory pub scene topping off Christmas Day, we touch base with a few of the characters to round off their storylines. Peter tells Ken he's going to a meeting. Cathy wants a sad Christmas song and Eva reckons I'll Be Home for Christmas might do the trick. Rita knows it, of course. She decides to make a speech first, raising a glass to a tough year and absent friends. Eva starts the song off, joined by Rita, and we all know Eva can belt out a tune as well as Rita ever could. We get a montage from here. Carla in the ladies' room pouring wine down the sink, Brian scarfing down pasta in a cell, David and Shona kissing, Sarah and Gail on the sofa, Eileen at Billy's bedside, texting Todd, Peter on the stairs at Number 1 alone, Adam looking at a photo of his mother.
That's Christmas over with. Onward and upward to Boxing Day:
Carla is staying on for a little while, probably to get the business talks underway and touch base with mates. But Roy isn't back from his hiking trip yet so she's disappointed there. She does see Peter and it's all very civil but a bit awkward. Yasmeen happens to talk to Roy shortly after seeing Carla and passes on the news and it turns out he's going to cut his holiday short to come back to Weatherfield to see Carla. Cathy seems a bit thrilled that Brian has a bad boy side to him! Carla rents the kebab shop flat for Aidan so Eva must have already moved out. I'm a bit confused. She had an offer on the flat to sell it so Carla must be renting it from the new owner. Michelle tells Carla about Kate and Rana.
Carla tries to get some chat time with Kate but Kate avoids it. Maria has joined her and Michelle and noticed that Carla isn't drinking and they speculate that Carla's pregnant. Carla later tells Kate she knows about Rana and Kate can finally have someone to talk to about it. In return, Kate tells Carla that Michelle robbed the Bistro. Carla sidetracks Michelle's questions and asks her about the robbery. Later, Carla is very glad to see Roy when he returns. In the pub, Toyah finds out that Carla's back and she looks a bit intimidated.
Roy and Carla have been catching up but it seems like they've kept in close contact prior to her arrival because whatever is going on in her life, he knows about it but she isn't saying what it is out loud yet.
Aidan and Alya are now full of plans for the factory. They contact Phelan to refit the roof on the factory which he can start in the New Year. Aidan tells Alya he has another meeting with the Parkers but only him, not with her. Eva is happy that Aidan is going to be living in their flat. Luke confronts Aidan about not backing up Alya with the sexist company they're working with. Aidan comes back later and tells Alya he insisted on her coming to the meeting tomorrow.
In the cold light of day, Adam is furious, Peter is determined to keep it in the family but Adam seems like a loose cannon at the moment. Toyah returns from Janice's and we find out that Peter is clearing out the loft for a conversion.
Billy is hooked up to machines and tubes and wires and Eileen hasn't left his side. The head injury is the most worriesome. She tells Liz the Barlows know more than they're saying. BAck on the Street, it turns out Todd gave Rosie a letter to deliver to Billy before he left. Adam promises to deliver it so that Rosie can go to the Boxing Day sales. Of course he opens it and it's clear Todd knew about Susan's accident, too, though it isn't said specifically, only that Todd was taking Summer away until things died down, because he was afraid they'd lose Summer to Geraldine. Adam is feeling very much like his family isn't considering his feelings, being more concerned with Peter's but Ken tries to assure him he loves *all* his family.
Billy comes around. The signs look good, no brain damage in evidence. Eileen leaves him to get coffee while Ken skulks around the hallway waiting his chance to talk to Billy. He comes over all Don Barlow Corleone and tells Billy he's calling in a debt. Billy owes Susan's family. Ken insists Billy not say anything about what Peter did or he'll tell about Billy's involvement in Susan's death. Eileen presses Billy for information but Billy goes into another crisis bringing doctors and nurses to the alarms now going off. Billy has to have another operation for more internal bleeding.
Adam's finding it difficult to keep it together and burns Todd's letter. Ken tells the family what he told Billy. Adam resents Ken for protecting Peter. Adam reluctantly agrees to say nothing but it doesn't sit well. Eileen appeals to Peter in the pub later but he repeats the party line. Meanwhile, Adam is drinking heavily and breaks open a bottle of pills to start in on another bottle until he passes out. Daniel comes back and has to push the door open because Adam's body is blocking it. He sees the pill bottle and realizes what he's done but Adam does wake up and get sick. Daniel calls the ambulance but Adam wakes enough to refuse.
Adam is going to be ok but Daniel has called in Ken and Peter. Ken vows to look after him and stays with Adam while he sleeps. They talk about how he felt when he lost his mother and Ken reminds him that he'd be putting his mother's twin brother in jail if he reports what Billy did. Peter goes to Adam later and recalls telling Ken that Susan was dead and later, Adam goes to the hospital and sits by Billy's bed until he wakes. Billy tells Adam he was on the cliff alone and slipped over the edge. Adam doesn't let on he knows and promises to help Billy since Todd isn't around.
Amy tries to get Ken to go ice skating with her but he's distracted. Amy is not best pleased when it seems like Steve and Tracy are getting on really well, either. Later, Eccles goes missing after Steve apparently left the door open but Amy's smug look at Tracy getting annoyed at him tells a different tale. But while looking for the dog, Tracy and Steve end up snogging in the ginnel. Turns out Amy had taken Eccles to the pub and hid her there but isn't best pleased when her parents defend their feelings. Simon doesn't look any happier, either.
Craig's mentor brings him an application form for him to officially join the police, telling him he's well thought of and will make a good cop. He's well chuffed. Even more when he receives Bethany's gift of a bluetooth headset. She lets him kiss her but when he touches her arm she jumps back again. She does say it isn't him, but she tells him it won't be forever.
Tvor @tvordlj on Twitter
1 comment:
Theft, kidnapping, assault & battery, threats, getting away with murder. Why must the show be saturated with so many criminal story lines all at once? One at a time would be enough to add some drama to the Street.
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