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Hollyoaks just ended an emotional week full of tears and lost love. Some of the ladies in the small village were subject to some major heartbreak though in many different forms. Outside of that theme of heartbreak, there also seemed to be a little study on perspective and how differently each story could spin because of it. Because the viewer got to see so many sides to the characters and the stories that are their lives this last week, it made for a very enjoyable and solid few days. Let’s get into the highlights of this last week in Hollyoaks!
Week in Review for Hollyoaks episodes airing September 26th – October 1st.
When Enough is Enough
It’s a sad state of the world when sexual consent has to become an issue or a topic of debate. In reality, there should be no question that both parties engaging and sex should want to. Ellie Nightingale was only looking for some fun to take her mind off of her troubles but what she got was a trouble of a new kind. While I don’t think newbie Nick Savage is a predator by nature, there’s no denying that his actions were questionable. But again, it’s all up to interpretation and perspective and we’ve only seen just a glimpse of Nick. Let’s see who you side with.
Freddie Roscoe had been caught cheating by yet another girlfriend, Ellie and she promptly tossed him to the side. He lied about not having slept with her mother and lied again about having slept with his older brother’s fling to protect him but Ellie had heard it all and it was enough for her. Best friend Lisa Loveday was on the case then, rescuing her boyfriend’s sister from her misery with the promise of a night out on the town. They’d dance, they’d drink and they’d forget about these bad boy troubles that kept Ellie locked in her room crying. It’s the perfect time for the girls to hit the town as it’s Fresher’s Week or student orientation so the village is full of university freshman living it up before school kicks into gear. One of those freshman is Nick Savage, the nephew of local junk shop owner Dirk Savage who unceremoniously showed up ready to attend university in Hollyoaks. He was cute but the most important part was that he was new, so all of the girls flocked to Nick like bees to honey.
At The Loft he caught the eye of Holly Cunningham (his cousin by marriage?), Tegan Lomax and ultimately Ellie who needed comforting after getting into it with Freddie. She’d been downing drinks all night and her ex noticed it, even offered to take her home but she wanted nothing to do with him. Because of the run in, Ellie acted out even further to rile Freddie up. She danced, she drank, she flirted and danced some more. All of the wild fun she had ended with Ellie in bed with Nick but the next morning, she had no recollection of even walking home let alone why her panties were half way across the room. Nick too had been drunk the night before but not at all at Ellie’s level so for him, it was just a normal one night stand; a hookup that he thought had gone well until Ellie pushed him away. He made every attempt to connect with her but Ellie was shaken. Confiding in Lisa was of no use as her friend either doesn’t know how to handle the situation or she just really didn’t understand what Ellie was trying to tell her. This left Ellie feeling utterly alone, wanting to retreat more into herself than she did before that fateful night.
What we see happen next is the complicated issue of rape culture begin to unfurl, presenting itself in multiple ways through different characters. The victim blaming was teased first by Freddie calling Ellie a slapper for her party girl antics at The Loft, then later when Tegan spotted Ellie trying to have a heart to heart with Lisa, she alludes to her having STDs, then there’s Lisa who couldn’t comprehend what the issue with waking up naked after being black out drunk could be and finally Holly who after Ellie expressed her concern over her crush on Nick, assumed that Ellie was just jealous. Once the truth is revealed on what happened that night after the Fresher’s Week party, this handful of people will play a key role in how Ellie is perceived and ultimately how she’ll handle herself. I don’t foresee it being very good.
A tearful Ellie made a plea to reconnect with Freddie, in desperate need of comfort after what happened to her but will he be by her side when she tells him what happened? Only time will tell as producer Bryan Kirkwood teased that this story will run for a while, building into something bigger bit by bit. Even the introductory episode was well-crafted; already presenting so many different ways the story could evolve and what could off-shoot from it so I cannot wait to see where it goes. Hollyoaks holds no qualms about tackling tough subject matter and more often than not, it’s executed extremely well.
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