(Series 21, ep. 24 ‘Over My Dead Body’ by Joe Ainsworth 11.6.19) For my rather long review of this episode pop yourself over to Metro (best make a cup of tea – and read this bit – first).
– ‘I was desperate for you to see how much I’d changed,’ said the man who hasn’t changed at all. Including that when he resorts to violence, as he did here, it’s still as shocking as when we first saw him hit Dominic all that time ago. I think it’s because Marc Elliott’s portrayal of Isaac is of a monster who works primarily on the psychological and emotional level, always with a veneer of charm and reasonableness. His violent outbursts come apparently out of nowhere and are more disturbing for being unexpected.
– His callous attitude to his father was stomach-turning too.
– Talking of stomach turning, that remark by Chloe to Dom about his ‘receptionist mother’ was really nasty, particularly because we all love Carole so much. So does Dominic, as you could see on his face. He was wounded on her behalf, and also perhaps a part of him felt the truth of what Chloe was saying – that he’d been as willing to drop his receptionist mother as he’d been to change his name from Darren to Dominic.
– Hanssen and Oskar – adorable. Holby are so good at casting child actors, and it was a brilliant idea to bring Hanssen and his grandson together like this.
– I guessed straight away that Oskar’s problem was that Hanssen was wearing scrubs. I find Hanssen in anything other than a suit quite odd, too.
– They really do need a neurosurgeon at Holby, don’t they? The number of times no neuro person has been available, because they’re all either dead or at home watching Blue Planet with Oliver Valentine.
– Quote of the week – Essie: ‘Has [Oskar] moved into the office?’ Hanssen: ‘He has made a little land-grab there.’
(Series 21 ep. 22 ‘Bloodline’ by Patrick Cash and Ed Sellek 28.5.19) For my full review of this episode head over to 
(Series 21, ep. 21 ‘Unredeemed’ by Andy Bayliss 21.5.19) Pop over to 
(Series 19, ep. 27) I always felt that the only possible satisfying conclusion of the Dominic/Isaac storyline would be for Dominic to find the strength to be the one to finally end it. I know that’s a very big ask for someone in an abusive relationship – Isaac has systematically undermined and isolated Dominic, making him doubt the reality of events and overlaying them with a twisted version (“That’s what grown-up love is… It’s scary”). Help was always going to be needed, and powerful help arrived this week in the form of Zosia, Essie, Sacha, Hanssen and Dominic’s old flame, Kyle (Alan Morrissey). With his gentle, loving, no-bullshit personality, Kyle was the perfect person to once again see through the fictions that Dominic creates. Hanssen said at the end that he regretted not acting sooner and more decisively, but actually his intervention was well-judged – he’d worked the situation out for himself but tried to empower Dominic to get help for himself. 
(Series 19, ep. 26) It was one of those starts-at-(almost)-the-end episodes, and the start showed a panicking Bernie, flanked by Fletch and Jasmine, busting down the door to the roof (which was locked for the first time in its history)… 
Flashback twelve hours, which luckily for us had been condensed to just one hour. We found Serena “stuck on some hideous merry-go-round of blame and regret.” This could be construed as a general description of AAU on a good day, but it was all about Elinor’s death and Serena’s reaction to it, particularly in her treatment of Jasmine. It was also affecting her family – she said that even loving Bernie didn’t make her feel better, and she was so horrible to and around Jason that he wanted to move back in with his old carer, Alan. “I’m officially an out-of-control monster,” Serena said. She was still unable to address any of this properly until she almost hit Jasmine and Jac was there to (magnificently) intervene. Serena was summoned to see Hanssen, who was infinitely kind and understanding and said there was almost nothing he wouldn’t do to help her. 
(Series 19, ep. 25) Thank goodness for Ollie and Zosia and their little misunderstanding (did he sleep with Jasmine? Of course not. They didn’t even cuddle). It was soon sorted out, and he proposed to her in the grey area between the car park and the Linden Cullen Memorial Shrubbery, with a Haribo ring. Sweets for the sweet! It was adorable and happy. 
Earlier Matteo, speaking of a patient but also speaking Ollie’s brains, said that “Every egg has their egg cup.” Ollie might have found his egg cup, but Dominic sooo hasn’t found his. Isaac’s nastiness has escalated through low-level bullying to more sophisticated bullying, via infidelity and cruel/immoral/unethical behaviour with a man who became a patient – and has now turned into outright violence. The beating that he gave Dominic at the end of the episode was horrible to watch. Once again Marc Elliott played the iron fist in the velvet glove role of Isaac perfectly. 
(Series 19, ep. 24) If you’ve been knitting ickle baby things since last week, put away your knitting needles right now. Baby Zollie isn’t going to be happening any time in the near future, it seems. Being cautious about knitting was only the second lesson to be learned from the Darwin story line, though. Lesson one was to never leave your handbag carelessly stowed behind the nurses’ station (particularly as Darwin has no nurses to keep an eye on it).
HOLBY CITY BEHIND THE SCREEN
