Langford’s Picks and Pans

6Degrees (Ireland)

Oh that Liam is gonna be trouble. I wonder, though, if he’s bisexual or was he just making out with that girl for 'fun'? I have a feeling Liam is the kind of guy who just goes with the flow with whoever and whatever happens to be in front of him.

I did like Conor’s teacher making Conor face up to why he really wants to move to New York. I’m still not sure if he actually is going because it’s a good chance at a career or if it’s just because Justin lives there. To be honest though, I’m not sure if that’s a bad reason. I mean, Conor has opportunities in New York that he doesn’t have in Belfast, regardless of Justin. He’s young. Why not try it and see what happens? Belfast will be there if it doesn't work out.

So neither Sandie or Eva have learned it’s not a good idea to sleep with your boss, huh?

Coronation Street (U.K.)

Billy and Sean’s romance might not be the best gay romance I’ve ever seen, but it’s entertaining enough. I wondered why they simply didn’t go to another B&B after leaving the first one. That can’t have been the only one. I wish I could say it was shocking that the owner refused their business because they were gay, but all you have to do is open the local papers to see stuff like that happening every day.

As for Todd, his petty, childish schemes to ruin his mother’s internet romance is not much of a plot, and what there is of it is really dumb. I don’t mind a gay character who does naughty things, but it should at least be entertaining. This certainly isn't. Not yet anyway. I was really looking forward to Todd coming back, but so far it's been a bust.

Days of Our Lives (U.S.)

Tori fainting from shock is such old school soap. I haven’t seen that trope in years.

Sonny really needs to let all this anger out. He should find someone to talk to that isn’t related to him-- and who doesn’t have an agenda. That’s why it’s a shame he doesn’t have any real friends. There’s his 'best friend' Chad, but he always has an agenda.

Speaking of which, I liked those scenes with Chad and Zoe. There was some chemistry there. I just wish this plot wasn’t about that drip Abigail and her plastic boyfriend Ben or whatever the hell his name is. I do hope the DiMera’s buying Sonix means we’ll see more of her. She’s a fun character.

I found it amusing that Will talked about how Sami went after what she wanted, damn the consequences when that is what had them at odds for years. It’s pretty clear that like his mother Will isn’t going to listen to anyone and is going to do what he wants. Marlena’s warnings that Will is only going to wind up destroying his marriage (and driving Sonny and Paul together) will prove to be accurate very soon.

I still don’t believe for a second that Marlena wouldn’t have told John the truth about Paul being his kid. And her excuse that ‘it was Tori’s secret to tell’ is weak. I know the show did it to create conflict between John and Marlena, but they did it at the expense of Marlena’s character.

So I was enjoying Xander as the show’s new bad boy, despite the dumb changes to the show’s history, until he started attacking and throwing Serena around her hotel room. I don’t need to see men abusing women like that. There was no need for Days to go there.

Emmerdale (U.K.)

This was a fun week in the village. The events that led up to Emma and James’ ONS and the juicy fallout afterwards was good soap. There were so many ripple effects and it affected a number of people on the canvas, which is how it should be. But while I understand why James would refuse to name Aaron as his attacker, I don’t see how Aaron could get away with it. Aaron attacked James in a bar full of people. If the police did a tiny bit of investigation, they’d have a case.

Emma is totally delusional though, scarily so. She’s not going to give up on James. I bet that Chas and James will get back together despite his cheating. Emma is not going to take that well at all. Look out, Chas!

I loved Aaron’s reaction to the idea of Paddy and Chas having a secret affair. He knows the idea is ludicrous and James should have as well.

You know, I don’t remember this homophobic side of Ross, so his most recent comments were a surprise. Maybe I just didn’t notice before. But I’m glad Finn has no patience for it. He shouldn’t because it’s stupid, gross and disgusting. And really puts me off a character I’ve always liked a lot.

Lawrence’s outrage at Jacob only getting a caution for trashing Home Farm was ridiculous in light of Lachlan getting away with sexual assault with pretty much the same punishment. At least Chrissie pointed that out to him.

Was Robert jealous of Donny and Chrissie or worried that he might lose Chrissie’s money if she went back to her ex? I think it’s the latter. Robert has never given any indication he really cared about Chrissie at all. But having sex with both Aaron and Chrissie within minutes of each other? Ew. And it’s never a good thing to complain to your secret gay lover about your wife’s ex being in town. Just tacky.

Those blink and you miss them scenes with Finn and Darren were cute and it just makes me wish we were seeing this relationship on screen for more than a few minutes at a time. Interesting that Finn has been lying to Darren, that seems to be a habit. Finn did the same with Simon and that blew up in his face. Apparently he hasn’t learned.

Are the lesbians leaving town? Yay! Never liked them. And no, it’s not because they’re lesbians. They’re boring. They can take Rachel with them.

Hollyoaks (U.K.)

So John Paul didn’t confront Ste about the terrible things Ste said or Ste’s lingering feelings about Brendan? JP just moved in like it never happened. I do hope this is a setup for something and JP is biding his time because his just moving in after overhearing that conversation really makes no sense. And it makes JP seem awfully weak and spineless -- well more than he already is.

I liked JP’s Easter surprise for Ste, but it’s realistic that Ste would be reluctant to have sex with JP for fears of passing on the virus. That was a nice talk that JP and Ste had about a problem between them that comes out of story -- not the endless series of plot devices used to create fight after fight.

So why is Cleo so desperate to hold on to Harry-- even to the point of offering to sleep with him when he’s clearly said no? My guess, it involves the upcoming sexual abuse storyline involving all the McQueen girls and she was a victim when she was much younger. But Harry didn’t have to be so mean to her when she proposed it to him. Then again, why would she ask him to have sex with her and whip out a box of condoms when Zack and Holly were only standing a few feet away?

I’m glad that Harry figured out Sinead’s real motives in wanting Ste to find out about the kiss. But why would Harry even bother letting Sinead talk him into telling Ste anything? He doesn’t want anyone to find out, so why would he tell Ste to begin with? But it was nice of Sinead to point out that Tony wouldn’t be upset at having a gay son and that Harry wouldn’t be really happy until he told the truth.

But Harry’s fear of losing his father after not growing up with him makes sense. And it didn’t help that Tony went on about Harry getting married to a woman and having kids, leading to Harry going back to Cleo. This is not going to end well at all, is it? Harry’s mentioning a past fling in boarding school makes me wonder if we’ll be seeing him soon. Though rumor has it that Harry’s eventual love interest is a guy already on the current canvas.

The show made a point of showing a close-up of that EpiPen after Harry’s allergic reaction to the kiwi. Methinks that’s going to be important later.

That scene of Porsche telling Phoebe why she hates her mother and about her sexual abuse was nicely done. And we could see that Phoebe was reliving her own sexual abuse during those scenes.

Diane continues to be an awful person. She’s still not as bad as Frankie though! And then there’s Sinead.....

Nashville (U.S.) -

Aw! Kevin and Will’s first kiss was really sweet. And I loved Will’s clumsy efforts to ask Kevin out. Will's look of exasperation and being annoyed with himself was hilarious in the scene where he left Kevin’s house after inviting him to the party. However, I wish we’d actually seen Kevin and Will’s growing attraction. They had the scene where Will asked Kevin to keep working with him, then they were off the show totally for a week and when they came back Will was all into Kevin.

Why not a few scenes of them falling for each other so we can see their bond develop and have it mean more to the viewers? At any rate, they do have chemistry and it gives me hope that the story will finally bring Will out of the closet and into a new arc for his story. Still though, Gunnar and Will is where it’s at. They really are made for each other. And well, anything is better than Gunnar and Scarlett.

Secret Lives (Finland)

Poor Lari. I know how he feels just wanting some peace and quiet in his own place. He should have just told Kalle straight up that he wanted to be alone. Kalle gave him plenty of chances to be honest with him. But I’m glad they resolved it and it didn’t affect their relationship. But what Kalle really needs is his own place (and not with Lari). I’m baffled as why a successful doctor is still living at home, especially when it's a situation he often wants to escape from.

For those who watch the full show, why has Sanni decided to let Tale, who isn’t even the father, raise her baby? And why isn’t Janne stepping up and taking care of his child? Just curious.

This Week in Spoilers

What does Conor have to say to Leech?

6Degrees: The entire house is in upheaval after the gang deals with a father upset about his daughter overdosing thanks to Liam. While the kids handle the irate dad, Eva threatens to call the police unless Liam leaves for good. But when faced with losing him, is Conor ready to let Liam go?

Coronation Street: Sean and Billy are closer than ever after having spent the night together. After Sean comforts an upset Billy about the death of a child in his parish, Billy confesses to Sean that he’s falling in love with him. But is Sean ready for that serious declaration? Meanwhile, Todd continues to plot to ruin Eileen’s chance at romance with Adrian. When Sean inadvertently interferes with Todd’s plans, Todd is furious.

Days of Our Lives: When Will begins to suspect that Victor is trying to destroy his marriage, Will goes to Marlena for help. Meanwhile, Justin contacts Sonny and Sonny has a few words about Justin’s cheating on Adrienne. Later, Adrienne and Justin have a showdown about the problems in their marriage.

Aaron gives Robert the dish on Donny...

Emmerdale: Robert suspects that Donny’s claims that he got beaten up by people angry about Lachlan’s sexual assault on Alicia are a lie, but Lachlan supports Donny. Donny plots to find a way to get the money he owes to his attackers. He offers to take Lachlan back to Scotland with him and when Lawrence says he’ll pay for their expenses, Donny believes his problems are solved. However Aaron finds out that Donny is in debt to a man named Charlie and tells Robert.

Chrissie soon learns the truth and wants Donny out of town, but Donny says if he’s going he’ll take Lachlan with him, unless Chrissie pays him what he wants. With Lachlan planning to leave with his dad at the end of the week, Chrissie realizes she has to get rid of Donny. She goes to Ross, who she knows was involved in the staged robbery at Home Farm, with a plan to help accomplish just that.

Robert needs Ross to keep his mouth shut...

When Robert finds out, he isn’t happy about Chrissie has involved Ross. While complicated, Chrissie and Ross’s plan works. However, Chrissie refuses to pay Ross the full amount they agreed upon. Robert fears that a betrayed Ross could be dangerous and that turns out to be accurate when Ross tells Chrissie that Robert was behind the staged robbery. Naturally, Chrissie is furious.

What does Finn really want from Darren?

Meanwhile, Finn’s feelings for Darren begin to wane, but instead of being honest with Darren, Finn runs hot and cold with Darren’s feelings. When Finn becomes convinced, thanks to Val, that the guy he’s only been dating a few weeks is going propose marriage, Finn winds up making a fool of himself and Darren ends their relationship for good. Finn is upset and decides he now wants Darren back. But Ross asks Finn if what he has with Darren is worth fighting for, giving Finn food for thought.

Nate faces his past....

Neighbours: A war remembrance in Erinsborough has Nate fearful the event will trigger his PTSD...

River City: Patrick is offered his old job back at Chrome, but given that the gig led to his assault, Patrick refuses to work there. Wanting to help her brother, Kelly-Marie talks Alex into giving Patrick a job at the cafe. Patrick agrees to take the job, but circumstances could lead to his first day being his last.

Will Jack’s plans backfire?

Shortland Street: Desperate to help his financially strapped family, Jack resorts to stealing...

Teasers For Next Week

6Degrees: Conor prepares to move to New York to be with Justin, but Liam makes him a shocking offer...

Days of Our Lives: Paul gets another unexpected visitor in San Francisco....

EastEnders: Ben tries to help Phil get his business back...

Emmerdale: Robert faces losing both Chrissie and Aaron....

Scott is dressed for success... and looking to cause trouble...

Hollyoaks: Sinead’s gay pal Scott causes trouble for Ste and JP; Harry comes to cross-dressing Dylan’s defense...

People of the Valley: Iolo and William’s evening together is ruined by Gethin....

River City: A old cellmate of Patrick’s has a deadly proposition; Will and Robbie grow further apart...

Newsbeat

There’s a new young hottie coming to EastEnders and he just could be the fella that gets gay teen Ben Mitchell out of the closet he’s locked himself in. Jonny Labey is joining the cast in June as Paul Coker, grandson of Albert Square residents Les and Pam Coker. Paul comes to visit his grandparents after a couple of years working on the club scene. And of course, he has a secret. But will he be a beau for Ben? That is something the show is keeping mum about.

EastEnders producers describe Paul as "fun, honest, and always the centre of attention. His natural confidence is born of knowing and being comfortable with exactly who he is." They add that Paul will quickly find romance when he “sets one heart in particular racing…” Using coded, gender neutral language like that, speculation is high that Paul and Ben will be paired.

Guess we’ll know soon enough.

That’s it for this edition of Langford On Soaps. Please share your comments below and see you next week!