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Gays of Our Lives: The Verdict

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Welcome to an all new edition of Gays of Our Lives. Aaron’s rape trial begins — and it’s full of drama and romance. Will Aaron get justice? Is it a new start for Aaron and Robert? Find out on Emmerdale.

Plus, it’s the season finale of Shadowhunters and we’ll see if Magnus and Alec find themselves in a happy place or in jeopardy.  Also, Ben finally finds out about Abi’s lies and Johnny Carter returns to EastEnders And we take our first look at the teen gay romance in Dutch drama Spangas.

All this – and more!

PICKS AND PANS

EastEnders (U.K.)

Screen Shot 2016-04-10 at 4.06.33 PMIt was a lot of fun watching Abi and Louise scrap, even if it was strange having these two teenage girls go after each other like a couple of old school soap divas. That was much more entertaining than Ben and Louise fawning all over Phil after all the horrible things he did to them just last week.

I think this could be an terrific ongoing rivalry. Abi is always more interesting when she’s playing the bitch. I suspect when Abi and Ben are done, Louise and Abi are going to be romantic rivals over the new guy in town.

I also love the sibling war between Ben and Louise, even if Phil isn’t deserving of the competition for his affection. I do agree with Louise, however, that Phil and Ben truly don’t like each other very much, but cling to a wholly unhealthy and dysfunctional relationship.

For that reason, I have a hard time believing that Ben would up and leave town. He just forgave his father for ‘killing’ his unborn child, I just don’t see him going away now that Phil is, for the moment, getting help. It just seems awfully contrived to fit the plot.

Meanwhile, I see the show is building up for Johnny’s return. He should have been recast a long time ago.


Emmerdale (U.K.)

I don’t know about a lot of folks, but I’m glad that evil Robert is still out there. I haven’t been a fan of the soppy, lovestruck guy who has been tagging after Aaron for the past few months. I never want to lose the character’s darkness. That should always be there, a source of conflict between he and Aaron.

gallery-1458831973-07-04-emmerdale-1st-ep-07-2As for Robert’s reaction to finding out about Chrissie and Andy, I don’t think Robert is interested in her or wants her back. Robert didn’t want Chrissie when he was with her, he certainly wouldn’t now. I just think it was more about his rivalry with his brother. I do want to see Robert back in a position of power so I hope he gets back in the business world again. He can’t sit around and hold Aaron’s hand and stay interesting.

In regards to those letters that Lawrence found I know the show wants us to believe that they are love letters from his wife’s secret beau and he’s actually Chrissie’s dad, but that’s too obvious. There’s no reason for Lawrence to keep those letters from another man to his wife. And given Lawrence’s reaction to them, I’m guessing this man is a secret ex of Lawrence’s. Or let’s hope so. The show needs to deal with Lawrence being gay after all this time.

As for the rest of the week, I’m anxious for the rape trial to be done and over with. It seems like this story has been dragging on forever. Furthermore, Aaron’s attachment to his sister and how she makes him oh so happy seems like a bit much and way too soon for that kind of bond, but I do like their relationship. I’m sure they’ll work it out when it’s all said and done.

I’m becoming more convinced the show is going to hook up Chas and the cop investigating Aaron’s case. There’s definitely something there.

ADDITIONAL SCENES

(495) Aaron & Robert 4th April 2016 Part 3 of 3 Aaron Only

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Anthony D. Langford
I watch a lot of television, probably too much. But can you really watch too much TV? I've yet to find out. Anyway, I especially love TV when they give us positive portrayals of gays, something that has gotten better but we're still fighting for. I've written about gays in television for many years first at the much missed After Elton, then New Now Next and now at TV Source. It's kind of a passion of mine and I look forward to sharing it with you.

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6 Comments

  1. The Aaron crap was simply one of the most ridiculously dumb storylines ever. A guy with cancer comes back to reconcile with his mental son and terrible ex-wife only to be railroaded by his self-loathing, manipulative, spiteful, insecure, whiny, rat-faced, putrid children with no evidence of the crime but plenty of shenanigans on the part of the accuser, his podunk family and his murderous sleazeball “boyfriend”. No wonder the rosy resolution was him becoming a full-blown Dingle. Yeah because that’s a badge of honor.

    And just as I called it, Aaron fully admitted after the verdict that he won’t ever be forgetting these long-repressed “memories” of this
    supposed abuse because IT IS NOT AND NEVER WAS THE TRUE CAUSE OF HIS CHARACTER’S PROBLEMS. So yes, Miller yet again gets his way about being a non-practicing messed-up “gay” – now with a brand new perpetual fear of intimacy! Anyone who praises this character in any way is out of their medicine. I really hope they kill him off or recast the role.

  2. The Magicians on Syfy is over for season one but may be of interest to you, Anthony.

  3. Shadowhunters will always be hampered to varying degrees by the source materials. In my opinion, the further the show strays from the books the better it gets. The whole Malec arc was completely reshaped by the show producer and writers (to the horror of the purist book fans). They were supposed to be dating on the down low (and barely mentioned) in the earlier books. Also, Alec weren’t supposed to come out by kissing Malec in public until much later (no wedding involved) and the father was homophobic in the books. The show has updated the materials to be more poignant and refreshing for the fans. While the rest of the show often lacked finesse, the way it handled the same-sex relationship as a front-burner story deserves praise.

  4. Thanks for sharing my interest in Lawrence. I find him one of the more interesting characters in Emmerdale, especially with his backstory. He has so much potential that the writers either can’t see or don’t want to acknowledge. I hope these letters are the start of a prominent story line for him. Apparently there is a funeral planned for Edna in the near future (the actress who played her passed away recently), and this could be a catalyst for more Lawrence development.
    Add me to the list of viewers excited to see Johnny return to EastEnders. He could pair nicely with Paul as they have a similar temperament and are both out, leading to a nice soapy love triangle with Ben.

  5. I enjoyed the Abi and Louise fight. Abi’s more interesting when she drops the self-pity and acknowledges what she wants. I’m also glad that the baby drama is almost done. I’m glad to see Johnny come back. It’s no surprise that his relationship with Luca lasted as long as Aaron and Ed’s. It will be interesting seeing him react to the drama that has happened since he left. Finally, do you mean a public relationship rather than open relationship?

    I didn’t have a problem with a softer Robert showing up for a while. He doesn’t need to twirl his moustache 24/7. However, I was glad to see his ruthless side show up again. Anyone who thought that he had changed was fooling themselves. I’m looking forward to seeing the trial. I expect a lot of good acting.

    I’m not sure whether Shadowhunters can fix its Clary problem because a lot of the problem is in the writing. The show doesn’t seem to see Clary’s self-absorbed recklessness as a bad thing. Without that, they can’t fix her character either by pushing her to the side as a character who messes up the rest of the main’s plans or by having her character develop and learn that she needs to consider the needs and desires of others.

  6. I hadn’t realized you continued here. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and spoilers for the gays in soaps!

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