By 
That Girl is Poison
Pictured (L-R): Nicol and Sienna; Credit: Lime Pictures
Nico Blake was a controversial character from her inception in 2014. She arrived in the village as the then unknown long-lost daughter of Sienna Blake, town psychopathic nanny. Nico’s grandfather Patrick Blake had peddled her off after her birth, telling Sienna the baby had died after birth though eventually Sienna learned the truth. Not only had Nico survived but the reason behind Patrick spiriting her away was because Nico was a product of incest. No, Nico not a lovechild of Patrick and Sienna but of Sienna and her twin brother, Mark “Dodger” Savage. The twins that were separated at birth were reunited by chance as teens only to sleep together and conceive a child, the aforementioned Nico. An outcast in town simply for her conception (and mother’s mental instability), Nico withdrew from the norm by becoming the soap’s youngest serial killer.
Much like her mother Sienna, Nico tends to develop a sick attachment to people she cares about. Peri Lomax is Nico’s latest target, though best friends initially, Nico began to feel much more for the other girl over time. The two teens actually showed up to the village at similar times and were each other’s first real friends in Hollyoaks. Even through the bullying, Peri stuck by Nico and vice versa when Peri fell pregnant with daughter Steph by Tom Cunningham. When the relationship went sour after the baby’s birth, Nico became overly protective of Peri, especially toward Tom. Last week, Tom revealed his intentions to go away to London to study and raise baby Steph – without Peri’s participation which crushed her. No matter how hard Nico and Peri tried to convince Tom that the baby needed a mother in her life, he refused as he learned the duo were particularly awful to his one-time crush and foster sister, Jade Albright.
But see, what no one knew was just how far Nico was willing to go to please and ultimately keep those she loved close to her. Peri wanted her baby close which meant Tom could not leave Hollyoaks. Using her knowledge of plant life, Nico concocted a liquid of poisonous plants which she then stored in a cologne bottle. The evil teen advised her friend Peri to give the cologne as a gift to Tom in an attempt to bury the hatchet; he accepted it in good faith only to fall extremely sick after using it just once on himself. The trip to London was pushed off for the time being so he could heal and Peri had time to spend with her daughter! To say the least, Nico was ecstatic seeing her crush on top of the world, giving her a real confidence boost for finally having done what she thought was a good deed. Because all good deeds involve a good poison, right? On a walk through the woods, Nico finally made the attempt to show her feelings, leaning in for a kiss only to get rejected by Peri in disgust. The scene was somehow both heartbreaking on Nico’s behalf but terrifying on Peri’s because who knew how the former would react to rejection? She’d been building up to this moment for some time now only to get shot down.
Peri stormed off in disbelief, feeling betrayed by her best friend, stomping through the woods until she came across something peculiar half unearthed. The discovery was almost immediately recognized as a partially buried body. The two girls are shaken but for very, very different reasons. See, as Peri called the authorities to report the body, terrified over what she’d just found, Nico was terrified of being found out. That corpse was Nico’s doing. Before any forensic report was even completed Nico knew the body belonged to her grandfather, the man she murdered for blackmailing her over the accidental killing of her friend last year that she got away with.
The walls are closing on Nico now and she’s feeling more alone than ever, but which one will finally do her in if that even happens at all? Tom’s health is declining, Peri no longer trusts her the same way and her murder victim has resurfaced. I cannot wait to see just what comes of this twisted little girl.
In The End
Pictured (l-r): Sienna, Warren and Maxine; Photo Credit: Lime Pictures
Patrick Blake was abusive in every way imaginable and he spared no one, he was never picky with who felt that abuse. There was the sweet Patrick that one might get when he needed something then the evil Patrick when he was ready to move on, to use up whoever else came along that seemed worthy at the time. It was no surprise that he wound up murdered, though the shock that his own granddaughter was the culprit was; but at this time only the viewers know the truth and with his corpse turning up this last week, five suspects are on the edge of the seats!
Nancy and Darren Osborne often provide a bit of comic relief to Hollyoaks. They’re a sweet couple, not immune to the crazy drama the village can bring but they’ve made it through with laughter so the fact that they’re accomplices to a murder is a shocker. For months the couple, along with friend Maxine Minniver ex-wife of Patrick, have been playing innocent though they were responsible for moving the body of the former school principal and burying it. Maxine suffered great emotional and physical abuse while married to Patrick, even while carrying his child and after giving birth she couldn’t escape him. After his disappearance, fingers were initially pointed to her though she only found his body after Nico had already slain him. The trio attempted to pass on the story that Patrick had killed himself, depressed and suffering from rapidly worsening ALS. Everyone bought it but Sienna who championed for justice for her father, unknowing of her daughter’s role in the crime.
The unraveling of the suspects began when Nancy realized her favorite brooch was missing, a piece she wore always with a certain top. Said top was worn at a ceremony the same day Patrick’s body was hidden so there’d be photo evidence of her wearing the jewelry, tying the crime right back to them should it have gone missing near the scene. The frantic couple retraced their steps in the woods only to be pursued by someone unseen. Nancy and Darren then sought out shelter in an abandoned bunker that their chaser promptly locks behind them, revealing himself to be Warren Fox, town pariah and current boyfriend of Sienna. Tensions kicked up high as this story lead out toward the end of the week. With the brooch still out there missing — with Nancy and Darren locked up and Warren and Sienna conspiring, it was hard to say just what would happen next? Surprisingly, Sienna sympathized with the trapped couple upon hearing the developments from Warren. She did not want the police to be able to hold them accountable for anything so she went to confront them herself. Bad idea.
Two years ago Sienna was Nancy and Darren’s nanny, she grew obsessed with Darren, drugged and defamed Nancy, faked a pregnancy and almost killed Nancy’s kids with carbon monoxide poisoning. To say the least, the three of them had a history. An emotional Sienna demanded to answers from there or else she’d leave them locked down there forever. Begging, pleading and trying to appeal as fellow parents did Nancy and Darren absolutely no good. It wasn’t until Darren had an angina attack that finally they were freed only after promising to not file a police report. The climax of the week and the beginning of the unraveling of this mystery begins when the police wrangle together every suspect into one room. A single hair had been found in Patrick’s hand, tests were being run on the DNA but the police believe it to belong to the killer. In a newly revealed flashback we see Nancy and Darren taking hair from what they think is Sienna’s brush to plant on Patrick’s body, hoping to throw the scent off of them if necessary in the future. Bad move on their part! Viewers then come to learn that the brush actually belong to Maxine, the ex-wife and their co-conspirator!
I definitely did not see that moment coming! The three friends will most likely be pit against each other after this accidental framing, leaving everyone to fend for themselves as investigations heat up next week. The Channel 4 soap has been promoting the mess out of this week, titling it “The POV Week” with five different perspectives for each episode. The concept is genius, something akin to a noir murder mystery film of the past but with that modern soapy twist of incest, angst and domestic abuse. But as Hollyoaks rarely doles out immediate justice, I doubt any of the culpable parties will be going down for this crime next week. My bet is on career criminal Warren as the entire town is out to get him, setting up a frame job would be simple – and well-staffed too!
This has been my ploy to get you to watch Hollyoaks! Hopefully I made it sound as fun in writing as it was to watch, and I hope you join me in watching too! Please comment below with any questions or tweet me, let’s chat!
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