#swarla

Ooooh ... I actually like that!

I stuffed half that cake in my face. No fork, only hands.

I feel similarly about the Swarla/Connor-Swain scenes this week.

I am blessed with abundance of delectable delights. That may or may not cause me pain.

Seriously though, the scenes of Lisa Swain-focused stories take Corrie to another level. I don’t get to watch all eps with my mum, but I had wanted to watch Wednesday’s with her. She watched it without me, just the Lisa/Betsy scenes, and texted me that she couldn’t watch the rest of the episode. Later she told me she cried. Lisa recounting the climbing wall story made my mother cry and she does NOT cry. My sister and I would always cry at movies and mum famously would be stone faced. It’s the running joke of the family.

Yet Vicky Myers made my mother cry so much so she won’t watch the rest of this week’s eps with me.

I’m going to have more cake now.

@swarlasummer BINGO!

It took me a minute to remember that Lauren wasn't just upset about Betsy - this has to be bringing back memories of Joel. No, it's not *quite* the same but ... yeah, I have no doubt it's stirring some stuff up.

Her telling Dylan to get lost at the hospital was BEFORE she shouted at him at the pub so ... she didn't tell him to get lost/he hadn't been round to see her because of him blaming Brody and accusing him of cheating. That's when it hit me - when she said it's never the man's fault - that she's probably struggling right now.

That said - WTF, man. Lisa at the cafe, Lauren at the pub, and now everyone knows what happened. Betsy would be/will be mortified. Of course ... by the time Betsy is anywhere near well enough to go to the cafe or pub, the story will be old news and the gossips will be onto something/someone else.

Sean ... I had high hopes for him being on the right side of things - that went out the window when he gave Dylan the idea that Betsy MUST have cheated. The misinformation is part of the story ... Dylan not realizing/understanding it wouldn't necessarily happen right away. That it was his action that caused the clot to form but it took time for the clot to travel to Betsy's brain and cause the stroke. So, of course, it wasn't his fault.

Dylan *believing* Betsy must have been with Brody? That ... really pissed me off. Instead of defending the woman he "loves" ... he grabs hold of the first convenient excuse to make himself feel better and avoid responsibility.

Lauren throwing it in his face about Mason ... cruel, but fair. It's never Dylan's fault - I provided the knife but I didn't stab him. I choked her but it wasn't that hard. He's a coward. I get that he's an 18-year-old kid but ... damn.

I am really looking forward to Ryan hammering home some hard truths to Dylan. I know I've seen stills of Dylan and Betsy that have Betsy in a chair so that must be upcoming ... I will not be surprised if Betsy tells him to get lost - partly because he believed she cheated and partly because she doesn't want to be a burden.

I actually liked Brody in this episode. Talking to Betsy about DN - do normal ... he knew what Betsy needed because that's what Lou had needed. To be "normal". He understood. I loved that - it gave him a little more depth (for me, anyway). And the plastic sunflower was sweet.

Lauren telling Betsy what Dylan was saying at the pub was such a best friend moment. No, really, telling Betsy she couldn't lie to her and telling her what Dylan was saying - only your best friends will do that. And, yeah, Lauren shouting about him choking her was OTT but, Dylan and Sean coming in giving her crap about reporting him to the police ... they were the ones who opened the door. Lauren telling them Lisa had told the police and Lauren only wished she had led to the revelation. And, honestly, the shame SHOULD be Dylan's, not Betsy's.

Lisa telling Betsy that she'd reported Dylan - I do love that Lisa is that honest. She didn't let Betsy find out when the police came to question her. It wasn't some vague "we've had a complaint and we need a statement" ... nobody would have told her Lisa had made the complaint. "We can't tell you that" would have been their answer - so maybe Lisa did learn something about keeping stuff from Betsy? I'm glad Lisa told her even though she knew it would upset Betsy.

The bunny is not only sweet - it's consistent. Carla bringing it to her was sweet. It was her comfort when she got shot. She plays with that ear ... I know it's a small thing but I like that it's consistent. Well done, Corrie.

Fiz saying the money'll buy her a nice bouquet of flowers ... um ... as Lauren pointed out - flowers aren't allowed? Unless they're waiting until she's out of the hospital?

Lisa comforting Lauren was a sweet moment. I am truly enjoying the fact that Carla and Lisa have, more or less, adopted Lauren and Frankie. They're so good to her. And they trust her to stay with Betsy while Lisa goes to get some actual rest with Carla ... Carla making sure that Lisa actually gets some rest.

The return of the leather jacket. That is all.

Carla telling her it's going to be a long road and they don't want to burn out ... smart woman. Takeaway, a bath, as decent a night's rest as possible. There wasn't much of Swarla but what there was was very Swarla (I have typed that sentence three times and still can't get the wording right).

Still not sure what to make of Mac BUT ... shout out to the reappearance of my guy DC Waghorn! Glad to see he's still around.

Mac bringing Lisa the Theo Silverton file in person was a nice touch. It served the purpose of letting US know how/why Lisa was back at work. Instead of just, all of a sudden, next week she's arresting Sarah. The reason Mac gave made sense - not sure you're up for checking e-mails. Old school, put it directly in her hands.

We know that Lisa is going to arrest Sarah but her watching Gary like that was an interesting red herring (if you don't know the spoilers).

Brody going off to "kill" Dylan ... less mature that the way he talked to Betsy but more in keeping with the fact that he's a 17 year old boy (I presume he's 17 - we know he's younger than Betsy and I don't think he's 16). He doesn't want to end up like Mick but ... he's defending Betsy more than himself ... which makes him NOTHING like Mick.

I don't think I missed anything but, if I did, let me know and I'll (happily) expound on it.

Other stuff happened that I don't care about:

Ross is still a douche. I don't like/don't think much of Tracy but she didn't deserve that. Of course, had she simply ASKED him instead of accusing him ... that conversation probably would have gone better for her.

I knew Dev was the one who'd put up the money for Joseph. I'm glad they confirmed it to the audience. Gemma and Chesney banging on about Linda ... oi. I get that they didn't know (and Dev and Bernie were absolutely sweet - wine and crisps for their picky tea) but Dev *did* offer so ... I can't find the words I'm looking for here. Urgh. Hopefully if you're reading this you'll know what I mean.

I'm sure I missed something I didn't care about. I may have missed something I do care about. Ah, well, it's late and I've got a migraine hangover.

OH! Side note ... Vicky posted on her instagram about what a joy Liam's been. (My words, hers were more eloquent) ... and I gotta say ... Vicky is a damned good actress because it took me a moment to separate reality from fiction; I couldn't wrap my head around Vicky liking Liam when Lisa is ready to kill Dylan. So, yeah ... she managed to blur that line well enough that I actually FORGOT it wasn't real.

my thoughts/opinions - worth about what you think they are.