Mum's Monday: Kat and Alfie: Redwater

Warning spoilers

Kat (Jessie Wallace) and Alfie Moon (Shane Richie) meet in the Soap EastEnders. Kat knows she has a daughter Zoe (Michelle Ryan). Stemming from one the most memorable moments in EastEnders, where Kat and Zoe were having an argument in the middle of the square and Zoe proclaims ‘You’re not my mother’ Kat yells back ‘Yes I am!’ Kat was an abused child by her uncle, who was bought up by Kat’s Parents, but what she didn’t know was that she had actually had twins. There is her son, who was taken away from her while she was unconscious, after having them.

Kat finds out that the baby boy was taken to an Irish village called Redwater, and after she and Alfie win some lottery money, they make their way there. The series works as a spin off and as a standalone but just a few things need to be explained a bit more if someone is watching it as one off series. Like Alfie’s condition and that Kat and Alfie has had a set of twins and they are being looked after in Spain. The fact that Kat has since had twins makes it believable that she had had the twins when she was a child herself.

I had high hopes for this series and the quality didn’t disappoint and it is done so well that Kat and Alfie are not actually the main characters. They arrive in Redwater with Tommy (Henry Proctor) Kat’s son, Alfie’s step son. Throughout the series, Kat and Alfie stay in character as they were in Albert Square, slotting in with the residents of Redwater.

We are all led to believe one thing, but I guessed who was her actual son. The end of the first episode was surprising and not in a good way. I felt it had let the episode down, but I gave it a chance and watched all 6 episodes and could see where it led. I can now see where the death of Lance (Ian McElhinney) had to happen, for where the story leads to.

The second episode again was realistic with ‘out of the mouths of children’ moment, when Tommy said he was digging a grave when digging in the sand.

We also have disagreements in families even small things like keeping a window open so the ‘spirit can rise’. How families humouring one another’s ways. Eileen (Angeline Ball) arrives from America for the funeral and shows when you have been out in the world, to come back is a strange experience. The script is written brilliantly. It shows how travel can broaden the mind and the down side, that they think they are better than everyone they left behind.

At the wake the quality of the singing performed by Adeen (Ebony O’Toole-Acheampong) with the ghost of Lance was a lovely touch. Despite the beautiful scenery it is not far different from Albert Square. An inter-connected community and how one person, Eileen can impact on it. I thought the ending of the second episode was a bit quick but with 4 more episodes to come we see that they had a lot to fit in.

The 3^rd episode starts off brilliantly, with Kat questioning whether she should protect her newly found son, Dermott (Oisin Stack) and not telling him about his father being a predator or tell him the truth. This is done by Kat talking over a scene where a bird catches a fish. This is a fantastic idea and adds to the quality of the series.

With quality comes normal behaviour, which is well done. We have Adeen who is a vegetarian at a barbeque, where they don’t understand so only have meat and nothing for her. The genius comes when she orders herself a pizza. It shows what we can achieve nowadays with a smart phone. Another piece of normal attitude Bernie (Susan Ateh) one of the local police officers is pregnant again so her husband Andrew (Peter Campion) instead of being as supportive as he should be just saying that she has done it before, basically she is fine. Unfortunately, this in some cases, is realistic behaviour.

We also see family dynamics go awry when Eileen announces she wants to stay and not go back to America. the up side they don’t have to sell an old family house.

In the 4^th episode we see Roisin (Maria Doyle Kennedy), Eileen’s sister who has kept the farm running and done most of the work on it over the years clash with Eileen, who has fresh ideas for the old wreak of the old farm house. I didn’t like the comment “Some of us have actual work to do” from Eileen, that was a bit unfair but if you have had no money, then taking a risk, to Roisin, can seem daunting.

In this episode we see growing suspense and when Bernie goes into labour, we see her put her faith in the wrong person, Dermott. One of the things this highlights is, if you say you have tried to call someone, there would be a missed call text, and there wasn’t. He does however, find the time to delete evidence or has he completely?

We see a twist in this episode where someone else turns up and not who we think. Peter (Stanley Townsend) is seeing someone, an affair, but not who we first thought. These episodes set up more and more so you want to watch the next to see what happens.

Before I move on to the next episode, there was another good line ‘Only person stopping you is yourself’. I can relate to that: how many times have I or anyone else talked your/our way out of something?

In the 5^th episode we see some more excellent script writing with the line “Hostile takeover by an American company” meaning Eileen and her ideas. I thought this was the best line of the series. Very relevant and amusing. In this episode we see Agnes (Fionnula Flanagan) being spiteful and evil, calling Bernie who has just had her baby fat. Sadly, there are people who are like that, but it is not very nice to watch.

Bernie and Andrew have asked Eileen and not Roisin to be one of the God-parents to their new baby. This I feel is unfair, Roisin has worked hard over the years on the farm and like many in her situation they unfortunately get over-looked.

Agnes is her usual self, when she hears that the lady who is making the christening cake has just lost her husband, it makes no difference she still sends people to get the cake. Bernie does try and stand up for herself against Agnes but fails. How far do you push it in life, a woman has lost her husband but a christening still needs a cake? I suppose it depends on the people involved, because when Andrew and Kieran (Ian Toner) arrive to collect the cake, the lady guessed it was Agnes’s doing. I didn’t feel so bad then, watching it. If it is set up so a person knows what another person is like, although they get away with it, it is seemingly to be expected.

In this episode Peter finds out that when his late wife went to London to have her baby, she lost it and then bought back Dermott, one of Kats twins. He was kept in the dark until Dermott tells him. Proving you can’t keep secrets forever.

Bernie is on maternity leave but this doesn’t mean she is inactive. She senses there is something wrong about how Lance died. This is realistic, once a police officer always a police officer. Luckily when you delete something it is not completely deleted it goes into a deleted folder and this is where vital evidence was found, after Dermott thought it was gone for good.

Agnes is still horrible and controlling, but so often can happen. Someone only has to say something or in this case Dermott preaching his sermon, and this is enough to make Agnes feel uncomfortable. It seems we all have a weak spot.

Another surprise twist shows up in this episode. We have Andrew and Kieran, they are cousins. They kiss, now Andrew says he was tricked or was he? I felt sad for them especially Andrew and his family. As so often happens people go along with what is expected of them, marriage and kids. If he is truly Gay, then it is his family that stand to get hurt the most. It is sad to think people’s principals come before people’s true feelings.

Alfie’s condition is more explained in this episode how his growth in his brain is affecting him. How the episode’s work is the story lines all slot in and others need to bide their time before they are revealed more. This system works well and adds to the quality.

Another issue that comes to light in this episode is Roisin and Padraig (Stephan Hogan) are having marital problems. Eileen tries to give Roisin advice, but we have to remember no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. How well meaning the advice is?

The 6^th and final episode of the first series. Bernie is getting close to solving what happened to Lance. Yet again Roisin is overlooked but she is clearly local so more knowledgeable. Someone always sees something or heard something. The truth comes out with Peter and Agnes is milking it. She is angry and bitter. Kieran says he is going back to America, that is for the best. Alfie is in hospital having an operation on his growth in the brain. Kat is with Dermott after a boat accident. We see the suspense build and build…and then it ends.

Some excellent cliff-hangers I hope there is another series and many more.

The characters are believable. The situations they find themselves are real and the quality hardly dipped throughout. Well done on this Eastenders spin off.