Hens’ Revenge
The stars of the 60th anniversary episodes for me were Yasmeen’s hens. Especially the overhead shot of them pecking around Geoff laying splat out on the ground. They were alive and he was not: proper hens’ revenge for everything he had done to them and Yasmeen, and threatened to do.
I was horrified to hear Yasmeen testify that Geoff had cooked her favourite hen and served her up for dinner. Lock him up! Back on the street after she had been released from prison, he taunted Yasmeen by threatening the life of hen Emily. He’d barbecue her, he said. Lock him up!
Geoff gave Yasmeen one hour to go to her house and collect her stuff. When there, she went to the back yard to say hello to the chickens. But when she left them, she didn’t latch their coop door properly.
Yes, the whole time that she was in the house was dramatic. The power went out so she was in the dark, alone with no one knowing where she was. Would she manage to get her photos and whatever and get back out safely? Would Geoff sneak in and hurt her. But mainly, for me, would the hens stray and get hurt?
But they didn’t. Emily came into the house. Yasmeen saw her. She must have twigged that was odd, and therefore the coop must be open. But I guess she was distracted by the imminent danger posed by Geoff. By her not immediately going out and putting Emily back in and latching the coop, the chickens had freedom to go around the back yard. And witness Geoff’s demise.
Character or Plot
Plot-driven or character-driven? Chickens would simply stay on their roost and sleep after dark, open coop door or not. So plot-driven. But an upset in their routine, like someone opening the coop after they’ve gone to bed, can cause them to get up and see what’s going on. So it’s in character that they might wander out to look around. Or get up to check out the situation when someone thumps down on the ground right beside them.
Last mention of the hens was Sally saying she’d see to them. Sally? Wow, she and Yasmeen must have patched up their differences!
A visit home
It’s been two and a half years since I watched an entire week of Coronation Street. It was nice to see familiar faces and places. See new people, see changes made in living quarters. Catching up on stories, many of which hit their dramatic high point. Yasmeen and the story of Geoff’s abuse, of course. But also others involving individuals and the street itself.
The bulldozer threatening the buildings and the people in front of it. Ken’s Tiananmen moment, stopping the bulldozer by talking about his 81 years on the street and all the history in those cobbles. Abi, in a style reminiscent of Becky, taking over a digger and smashing everything it could reach (hence the power outage). Mary bringing her vuvuzela to the protest! Roy’s research abilities finding legal room to manoeuvre by getting the old brewery listed as a historic property. Rita giving developer Ray Crosby a dressing down about the Kabin and her years behind its counter – long before him and long after as well, laddie.
Yes, nice to see old friends and visit familiar places. And I looked for my own high point – my scene of the week – in their dramatic moments. But, at the end, I had to go back to what had made me catch my breath and think ‘Yes!’ And that was the Nazir hens’ revenge. Maybe I’ll come back sometime to check on them. When, I don’t know.