Fair City [News, Spoilers and Discussion v8] Read Post #1 Before Contributing

MsWesterosi wrote: »

Re: Fair City and its Incoherent Storylines, Which Should Have Been Straightforward but Never Were:

1: Katy's Kidnapping: Katy vanishes after saying goodbye to her dad at the Station; she's supposed to be getting a bus to Galway to stay with a friend, as she's just found out the truth about her mam's affair with Tommy, yet doesn't tell her dad what she's discovered. When it becomes clear that she never got on that bus, and with no word, or response when they try to contact her, her family become worried, and she's eventually reported missing. Initially Stella - a girl with a violent past with whom Katy has recently become involved is suspected, but is eventually ruled out.
A newcomer, Ciaran Holloway, who's never really had dealings with the O'Briens before, is suddenly everywhere, offering his help; putting up missing posters, etc. Everyone at home watching the show is screaming at the telly: ''He has Katy'', but the writers/producers are still acting like we're all in the dark (like Katy in her box) and it's a big suspense filled story. Eventually, Ciaran is (quelle surprise) revealed as Katy's kidnapper, and she has had quite a few chances of escape, he even talks about letting her go, as the pair develop something of a weird friendship over time, but it doesn't happen until the night (almost a year later) when she puts on a very bad looking wig, he gets injured, falls into the sea, she jumps in after him to save him, then makes her back to Carrigstown, sans wig and starts ripping down her own missing posters, and soon thereafter moves into his flat...... I'd be here forever if I mentioned the whole Emmet, Heather, Farrah and Ellie side to it.....
2: THE PLAN: Despite the fact that she's the greatest hypocrite to ever stand up on two feet - she did cheat on Paul and leave him for a younger man, and and stayed gone for almost or over a year - Niamh decides she wants revenge on him for his affair with Hayley. She's going to fleece him of all his money. Grand; sounds straightforward enough - though very hypocritical so far - enlists the help of their ''terminally ill'' accountant, Dermot Fahy, who rumbles her plot, but decides to keep schtum provided she gives him a cut of the money in return for his help so as that he might have something to leave his kids for their future security when he goes to his reward. Still straightforward, that is, until almost everyone in Carrigstown, bar Paul, himself knows about the plot and are all promised a slice of the metaphorical pie in exchange for their silence, leaving us wondering exactly how much will be left in the kitty for Niamh herself. then in a twist, Dermot takes ill on Christmas Day, is hospitalised and is soon given a new liver (yay! he's not terminally ill anymore!). He decides to keep the money for himself, and Jane and Robbie help him hide out after he discharges himself from hospital. He goes on the run after being bundled into the back of a van, then realises he's left the money behind, which Junior finds in a gym bag.... It gets worse after that, so I won't go into it... And there was more convoluted tripe in the run up to Dermot's getaway, but again, it would take forever to type; but that's yet another example of something that should have been a straightforward case of spousal revenge gone crazy.
3: The ''Cult'': Eoghan accidentally bumps into a woman outside spar/ the Hungry Pig (can't remember which) when he's trying to pull himself together by going for a job interview during the whole Katy fiasco. She accidentally spills tea/coffee on him then gives him her number, after she apologises profusely, so as that she can pay for the dry cleaning bill. It later turns out that her name is Miriam O'Reilly and she's his potential new boss at the Arcade she runs. He ends up getting a job selling mobile phone accessories at rip off prices in a little stall there. Meanwhile Jake and Cristiano, the Chilean brothers open a coffee shop/eatery there and Pete makes some comments which could be taken as racist towards them... Meanwhile, Eoghan and Miriam are hanging out together a lot and she mentions a self help group in which she has involvement that could be of help to him. So, for a fairly long while we have this are they together or are they not relationship going on between Miriam and Eoghan.... He's encouraged by his mother, Rose, who quite likes Miriam. Eventually, Miriam quits her Arcade management job to concentrate on her self help group called the Phoenix Way. Nothing dodgy so far. Even the likes of Bob, Charlotte and Oisin give it a go for a while, until they realise it's not their thing, and Renee starts working there (no mention of that in later episodes, did she quit the group? Why isn't she one of the hostages in the latest episodes?) Then the funds are running low, and Miriam, who needs more members gets Emmet - her new right hand man, whom she has also ''healed'' - to go on a cold calling spree. Hannah, a long time member, tells him that the method of cold calling goes against the whole ethos of the Phoenix Way, but when she questions Miriam on it, she fobs her off with an excuse. Eventually, it's Doug, who also joined the group who spills the beans to head office, when Hannah, who it seems will turn whistleblower is kept in the holistic centre and broken down over the space of what? A day and a night? A couple of days? Miriam gives her some form of sedative, then the branch manager, Dr Oakley shows up and gives Hannah a second round of sedatives which nearly kills her. At this stage it's looking fairly okay - though still on the unbelievable side - Miriam is clearly the baddie, Oakley the good guy, who chastises her, packs her off to Warsaw and head office where she receives a 20,000 Euro pay off. As he's trying to stabilise the group - he seems more of a money man, concerned with the finances than he does with any of the ''healing'' BS and seems perfectly sane, apart from his fears for himself and his own career after administering Hannah with the sedatives which nearly killed her. The group now hate Miriam. Miriam returns to a hostile reception, but soon the group return to her, even Emmet, who seemed to hate her most of all, and Eoghan offers the group his front room - not his house, mind, his front room, but they all end up moving in regardless. Miriam goes way up in their estimation when they discover she never cashed the cheque. Then, (can't remember if it was before or after the love in), both Doug and Emmet meet with Oakley and tell them of their concerns about Miriam.... Oakley works on Damo in order to infiltrate the group, and at that stage,you think he's the good guy - he's trying to save those people; he's a bloody surgeon after all - and Miriam is the looper..... I won't go into too much more, except it turns out that Miriam is not the bad guy at all, that it's actually Oakley, who poisons people, frames and threatens Charlotte, won't let her leave the group, asks for a ''favour''... Not a threat, a demand, a ''favour'' is how he terms it, she cops to the poisoning, and the next thing you know, she's singing and dancing away to karaoke on Christmas Day with her own family, seemingly over the ordeal, which would make you think that she and Oakley struck some sort of deal, because how else would, or could, she have been released that easily.... The storyline involving Charlotte goes nowhere and, despite her former terror of exposition in the case of Paddy Bishop's manslaughter, bad mouths Oakley all around Carrigstown, so much so that Debbie and Katy (whom you'd imagine would be, considering her ordeal, the most brainwashed of all) take her seriously and begin to have concerns about Emmet, the group, Oakley, Miriam, etc... Now it's descended into pure farce and this ridiculous siege, which has already resulted in one death, initiated by a deranged Oakley and his mini me, Emmet....

Not going to say anymore (sorry for the longwinded post, but I needed to say it) because I'd need to write a full sized novel in order to fit all the madness and incredulity in there, but suffice it to say, this whole ''cult'' thing is yet another FC storyline gone to the dogs, but we shouldn't really be surprised, now,, should we..... :