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Hollyoaks let its not so nice character thrive this last week. Whether or not they were setting up an innocent for a crime or trying to hide a previous one, it was a good few days for those characters who were up to now good. The interesting part was that they were mainly small victories, all of it setting the stage for probably even more bad behavior. Let’s check out a few of the highlights of this last week in Hollyoaks!
Week in Review for Hollyoaks episodes airing October 3rd – 7th.
Stage Dad
Ste Hay may not be the world’s best dad, but he’s doing his best for once. After another slip into drug abuse and an HIV scare, Ste is back on track and ready to be present in his little Leah and Lucas’ lives. But ex-girlfriend Amy Barnes has moved back to the village and understandably has some reservations about that. And it doesn’t help that her fiancé is in her ear either. This last week showed that the proverbial pot had finally begun its uphill climb toward its boiling point, but just what’ll tip it over that edge?
When we first see Ste it’s right before the Hollyoaks Little Starz Talent Show. Little Leah Hay has just had a professional spray tan done by her entrepreneur father and being fit for a fluffy pink princess dress that she clearly hated. She couldn’t believe that between her two gay dads, there wasn’t an ounce of style between them. The ever level headed one, boyfriend Harry Thompson was cautious as they gave Leah this makeover knowing that it could very easily upset Amy considering she had no idea her daughter had even entered the show. That only meant it was a matter of time before Amy found out which meant it was just a matter of time before Ste got himself into trouble.
The ever opinionated Leah decided to go her own way style-wise and surprised her dads on stage in a Pokerface era Lady Gaga ensemble, just as her mother happened to pass by. Horror, shock and anger became Amy and Ste had to weather her wrath. Back at his apartment, Amy tore into him about being a responsible parent while Ste argued that he was simply doing what his daughter wants so she could have a little fun. Both parents have their daughter’s best interest at heart but Amy is ultimately right in my book, a parent is not meant to be the child’s best friend, that only leads to trouble later in life. You know, a little thing called entitlement. Leah’s already got a sassy mouth on her which could very much be traced back to her lengthy stays running free at her dad’s place. Very easily it could get worse. But where Amy’s wrong is that Ste does in fact take his job as a dad extremely seriously, he’s just not so good at controlling the other parts of his life. Ste’s a big kid himself and after surviving constant drug addictions, being abused and being the abuser himself, he’s seen some really dark things that have broken his impulse control down to very little. Sometimes he just can’t help but to sabotage himself, but not when it comes to Leah and Lucas.
But touching back on abuse, there was a time in their youth where Ste was very violent with Amy. She continued to go back to him much to the dismay of her family because she loved him. Though she has grown up since then, asserted herself and become stronger because of that experience, I can’t help but wonder if she’s still prone to another kind of abuse. Ryan Knight is Amy’s mysterious new fiancé. He’s a man that her kids love and that she loves and he’s stable, that’s probably more than enough for her. But when Ste approached the family unit about an audition opportunity for Leah, it was Ryan that stepped in to dictate the plans. Yes, Ryan is set to join the family officially but the fact that he felt he should have so much say in what Amy and Ste did with their children was odd to me. And at times, it almost seemed as if Amy was just a puppet on his knee, agreeing with his every word or shying away to let him take the lead. There isn’t much the viewers know about this Ryan but it could be very possible that he’s manipulating Amy, abusing her with his slick words instead of his hands like Ste once had.
When the audition actually went well and the family seemed to be riding on a high, Ryan made it a point to pull Ste to the side to let him know that he doesn’t trust him just yet. It’s a calculated move, one that he obviously felt very proud about making but it didn’t shake Ste one bit. He’d started his own business, his kids were happy and Ste was getting his life back on track – until one day when in an odd disoriented fit, he literally kidnapped the kids from school. Panicked, Amy nearly broke down Ste’s door to get in with Ryan hot on her heels to reprimand her ex.
With Ste’s colorful history of drug abuse, he thought it wise not to mention he’d picked the kids up in the middle of a mental black out. Instead Harry took the blame for the miscommunication to save his boyfriend’s skin. After Amy’s left, Harry too tore into Ste, accusing him of using meth again and endangering his children with his reckless behavior. But unfortunately the issue is not so cut and dry. With his deep meth habit, there’s almost no doubt in my mind that Ste did something to ruin his mind. A period of lost time with tremors and blurred vision leading up to it? Not a good sign! There’s something not right in Ste’s head and he knows it too. Let’s just hope he goes to get help before the problem grows to involve more than just his health, but the custody and safety of his children as well with Ryan working against him.
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