And breathe …
It’s over, and the #Corrie #Coronation Street timelines on Twitter prior to last night’s epsiodes were basically saying either: ‘I don’t want to watch’, or ‘I’m going to cry my eyes out’.
It was clear that we’d have to wait until the end of the second episode for the actual suicide, and it seems that there’s some disagreement (and a lot of disappointment) this morning about what we saw.
Many people were surprised that the second episode wasn’t done as a ‘two-hander’ (so favoured by EastEnders when covering important issues), and I’ve read some comments which said that there shouldn’t have been the normal mix of drama and humour as it detracted from the storyline.
That thought DID flash through my mind at one point, but – remember – this is what Corrie excels at, and why it’s consistently voted the UK’s favourite soap. Coronation Street is always careful never to take itself too seriously, and it’s a relief NOT to have scenes which you feel have been written with the specific aim of dragging every last little bit of emotion out of you – and then some.
The Final Scene:
It’s that thought which I’m trying to keep in my mind as I think about the very last scene, where Carla (like a spoiled child) demanded to be let into the Cropper’s flat, and subsequently ruined the episode for a number of people (according to much of the feedback I’ve read since).
I felt as if the last scene should perhaps have just been a shot of either Roy and Hayley lying together, or of Anna sat downstairs in the darkness (with the theme tune fading-in quietly in the background), but what we haven’t seen yet – of course – is what’s going to happen NEXT.
Carla and Anna witnessing the aftermath of the act will probably be very pivotal to the storyline going forward, and for everyone who felt as if it ruined the whole thing for them: maybe it was better to feel anger after watching that last scene than to have been reduced to a complete, blubbering wreck?
As for the actors: Roy and Hayley have played the whole thing perfectly from beginning to end. Neither of them ever ‘milked’ it or acted in a way that felt ‘out of character’. People who deride soaps don’t normally watch soaps, so are unaware of the incredible standard and quality of acting that cast members produce week-in, week-out.
I think we all feel relieved that last night is over though (although the humour helped it from being as traumatic as we’d feared – thankfully), but I suspect that what’s to come is going to be equally heartbreaking as we see Roy attempt to come to terms with both the loss of his wife and the legal minefield ahead.
This is why we need a law on Assisted Suicide …
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