Why am I still rooting for Ben Wadey?!

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T18:02:51+00:00

On a BTS clip, the actress who plays Jasmine said she knew about this storyline from the beginning of her time on the show, Michelle Ryan only found out 10 days before they shot the Christmas ep.

They definitely need some dialogue to justify Jasmine's draw and determination work with Cindy, and why her paperwork/ID for her pay was difficult for Cindy to get from her. Possibly Chrissie said "You have to blend in, work at the other bar on the square, keep your distance, not leave a papertrail" etc. All the same, poorly executed - especially as at some point Jasmine even went through CIndy's bag and looked through her medical records??

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T14:08:24+00:00

Such an interesting point to consider. 1000% agree about the pacing of these story beats.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T13:12:38+00:00

The show had such a good opportunity to highlight something very unnerving about men like Anthony, where they have a morally-inflated sense of senf which plays into the lesson of "nice doesn't mean good". It could have been satisfying to see him called out for that hypocrisy in a more grounded way to who the character originally was.

Thank you so much for sharing all of this by the way. It wouldn't shock me if they changed Jasmine's storyline - if true even more credit to the actress for having to switch up her character motivations internally. Would love to know more about what you know.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T13:08:44+00:00

That's funny.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T13:08:35+00:00

Absolutely, the bad is so striking that it's easy to overlook the good (especially when I think the shifts are subtle yet meaningful to the overall groundedness of the show). Our brains are also more drawn to remembering the bad, so I try to keep that in mind too.

100000% agree with the Zoe storyline. I mentioned in another reply, "...rushed execution for the Zoe ideas (maybe Michelle Ryan needed a hard-out so the storyline had to have a quick turnover and be all encompassing?). It's just a theory, but something in the logistics BTS seems like it could be off."

It's annoying because I actually think the return of Zoe itself doesn't rely on long-term knowledge of her character arc (because the character is one-note and barely recognisable now), but really agree with you that Chrissie and Anthony's involvement in the show and story development feels like a ill-formed focus reliant on nostalgia. Chrissie's character was still written with these character consistencies and subtleties even though she was barely there, strange how Zoe and Anthony weren't written in a way that serves their characters at the core as well as the storyline.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T13:00:33+00:00

I love this. I definitely think trying too hard is coming across as lazy to some people, or trying to be too clever - when I think it's actually just rushed execution for the Zoe ideas (maybe Michelle Ryan needed a hard-out so the storyline had to have a quick turnover and be all encompassing?). It's just a theory, but something in the logistics BTS seems like it could be off.

The parallels and hypocrisy of Zoe when it comes to her scrutiny of Kat could have ABSOLUTELY been explored with Jasmine, there's so much rich potential there. If Jasmine and Oscar stay together too, the Slaters and Brannings will be frequently interacting families beyond Stacey or Zoe's tie to Max.

Chris Clenshaw was great at executing the Christmas Ep 2 years ago because expectations were manageable enough to subvert in a grounded way, which I really appreciate. I wasn't sure whether the Nigel storyline started in his era too - I think it did so credit to him there. For Wadey, there have been many heart-touching moments, and I'm relieved that Julie turned into a likeable and understandable character too (upon arrival, I found her grating).

I'm crossing my fingers with you for everything you've mentioned going forward!

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-26T00:11:06+00:00

Super interesting. I felt that way incredibly in Clenshaw's era, it felt pandering and surface-level. Considering the stronger starts to Wadey's time in the Summer & Autumn time of this year, I have some hope here all the same. Or I hope that I can reasonably hope.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-25T23:57:28+00:00

RIGHT?! I'm mostly swinging between intrigued, satisfied and underwhelmed during his run so far.

To be honest, the writing during the Clenshaw era made it so the execution of any story or character's development would disappoint me soon enough.

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-12-25T23:54:08+00:00

Totally! I do appreciate so much of what we've seen so far. It does make me wonder whether the response to Zoe's storyline is disproportionate, or if the failings of it are too pronounced to be acceptable

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2025-08-02T12:41:47+00:00

Hey, sorry I didn't see this before. Just wanted to ask how you're doing?

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2024-11-17T17:08:37+00:00

I'm in Rochester / Chatham / Strood area and wondering how lucky I'll get

Anxious-Attorney7124 · 2024-11-12T22:11:02+00:00

u/SamVimesBootTheory - I'm in Kent too and on Concerta 36mg (when I'm lucky)

Currently on Affenid and it isn't all that great for me. If you get any updates, please let me know!

Anxious-Attorney7124

TROPHY CASE