Was James in tonight's episode?

yes mostly looking annoyed

Thanks!! Not that I can watch it.. sigh

I'm randomly rewatching some Stendan instead. I just felt like it hahaha and I stumbled upon the clips with JP sleeping with Brendan.... so unnecessary, and so surreal too.

It was just so unrealistic that they randomly bumped into each other in Ireland. Also, yeah totally unneccassary.

I can't wait to see John Paul and James on screen together again. I know it's only been a week but if feels like ages. I think that's probably because it was last weeks episodes that really hit a chord with the viewers and because of the emotional investment that fans have now, we're more eager to see them develop.

Oh yes JPs return, not sure why he did that, odd boy

Just another way (of the many Birkwood came up with) to piss on McDean!!!

Or to upset Ste, who gets upset and back on drugs because someone sneezed near him,

I love how every so often there is a story thats never been done before on soaps, and its always Ste is addicted to a different drug

LOL!!!

In all fairness, though, Ste wasn't on drugs back then!

but since every year
Kieran "Im so excited this year we are doing a story thats never been done before"
Story is announced Ste is addicted to ......

Well to be fair, Brendan is smokin hot!

I was wondering about James' comment to Marnie about being her co conspirator as a child. I wonder what she made him do. I am sure Marnie's m.ums appearance for just a week is a device shine a light on the backstory.

I find it interesting that she doesnt want him to find love, but wants Mac back, its like she must control everything

I wonder if seeing Joanne lose her mum, her best friend, and see her lonely and creepy has panicked him a bit

Sometimes I think the writers are a bit lazy when it comes to continuity of feelings. James shouting after Diego that messing with the Mcqueens will burn you and Joanne saying that although he had messed up with John Paul don't take it out on the rest of us.

Diego is having a child with Myra so would want to do everything for her family. He didn't really act upset about what he had done to JP. He shouldn't be the one to feel hard done by at all.

I think no matter what James feels hes not going to show anyone that, he told his mum he cared for JP and she mocked him he wont tell Joanne (I still dont know what hes getting from the friendship)

How far along is Myra? she must be near 4 months Im confused by this story line, assumed it would look at the risks of pregnancy in older women, so tests for genetic problems and health problems to her, but no it was all to make JP homeless and stuck with Orange

I've been watching some early days James and again seen the scene when Marnie chastises James for not going to Rachel's funeral. James said 'you know I don't do funerals', which seemed to end that conversation.

I am convinced 100% that James lost someone he cared about, properly the same person who gave James those Japanese vases. Who ever it was, what ever it was, Marine knows all about it and I do think she uses this particular incident to manipulate James. This is what stops him from moving forward and allowing himself to be happy.

I have a feeling the week where Marnie's mum comes in, will be the week where the viewers find out. I hope so anyway. Gregory has shown himself to be a very capable actor and the writers are only scratching the surface with him. If they got full throttle and real delve into his background, we could be in for some great scenes.

I must admit I didn't watch HO for a long time so only started watching after the James/JP encounter in the shop. I still fast forward alot so miss what is going on in the storylines.

Sounds as though you are right about the vases. James seems tied to his mum in such an unhealthy way. He doesn't know about what she did re Carter so I bet she had something to do with the Japanese experience. It will be great to see him react when he finds out. I hope JP uses whatever he learns to find out more and expose Marnie and set James free.

I'm not sure if Marnie had anything to do with the japeense incident per we (though it certainly wouldn't surprise me) but i do think she uses what happened to control James. When she said to James about JP 'end it now before you ruin his life completely' was her way of saying evening you touch you destroy. James's past is her ace card it works everytime she feels she is loosing her grip.

I think what ever happened, James has never really gotten over. However it would not shock me if James is not privy to everything.

There was talk of Morticia having a break down, and Carter said to ask Morticia what happened

I would assume shes been controlling him his whole life, she even seemed interested in his relationship with bunny boiler

I've been rewatching McHay (yeah, I know... what a stupid and inexplicable thing to do), and Scott has just arrived. Good God, seeing him flirt with JP as part of his scheming to break JP and Ste up for Sinead was bad enough... who would have imagined back then that they would have actually paired up JP with that orange nightmare.

Tragic.

JP has been humiliated over and over again since he came back...rejected by Doug (after telling him he loved him..after a couple of dates), raped, stripped of all his confidence, depicted as a violent teacher who abused his position to prey on schoolboys, publicly vilified, sent to prison, made a pathetic doormat in a toxic and borderline emotionally abusive relationship with Ste, then paired up with the town clown.... there has been literally NOTHING good.

James, please, save him.

I wish they'd given JP's relationship with Doug a proper go, they were fantastic together. Ste didn't deserve Doug the angel!

I thought they were rather lacklustre myself. I liked Doug but thier relationship just did not fuel my interest, primarily because I found them cut from the same cloth.

Im a ying and yang kind of viewer.. I like my couples polar opposites or at the very least conflicted character traits. I think they make for a much more interesting dynamic. This is why John Paul worked so well with Craig and now James...because his partners had sides to thier personality that would counter act a grounded and humble guy like John Paul. James keeps JP on his toes. He sustains his interest and James's inability to be on the straight and narrow, is why JP is so drawn to him. It creates s special kind of buzz.

I genuinely think all of John Paul's partners since his return have been all wrong for him. It was a case of the writers putting him together with the available gay men in the villiage thinking it would be ok. With James, he has a kind of persona that would work along side someone like JP. He's older, intelligent, loaded, manipulative, arrogant and seductive. JP, I could see being drawn to that kind of power and falling in love. Likewise I can see James dropping his guard around John Paul. Doug I found as s parter too sappy and Ste too whiney ( though he worked great with Brendan).

I have to say I don't agree with our there. At this time no thought seemed to go into relationships. Mcdean was successful because they worked at it. I still remember the episode when they said JP would go round to his true love nd we had knocks at the door at Hannah and Craig and he turned up at Craigs.

This was the time they were just using gay characters as a merry go round. Doug was hugged gay to get between Stendan and they put him back with Ste so they could dramatically kill him off. I still remember everyone thinking his story about when he knew he was gay being laughed at. It was something to do with wearing his best friends hat.

He was so much better when he was a drug dealer and it said on the website the ' Jenny' character was the love of his life.

At least with James there is no need to suddenly make him gay and they seem to have given him a backstory which gives the character depth. Plus he is equal to JP intellectually. It was nice to have him refer to Hamlet and JP is an English teacher. No one since Craig and perhaps Father Kieran have had anything in common with him.

Yeah I agree. With James I get the impression that the writers took more thought in a possible love interest with JP. While they are different in a lot of ways there are things that bind the together which is why thier relationship is believable.

What's also interesting here is that while this may turn out to be a love story, this story at its core, is James's. I'm not trying to take a thing away from John Paul who clearly serves a purpose but the character has been in the show on and off for ten years and we know all there is to know about him. Where as with James we are just scratching at the surface. It's who he is as a person, and who the viewers are getting to know, that makes the dynamic with JP interesting to watch. JP is breaking down James's walls, getting us to see that human and compassionate side. That's a development we never got with Ste or Doug because just like JP they were fully developed characters. There was little room for progression, making them just as plain as every couple. Not neccassarily awful but nothing stand out either. It was very much prodding along.

With James, it's exciting. There's danger, there's a rush and yeah it's going to a bit of a rollocoaster but you enjoy the ride anyway.

when was Orange flirting with JP ?