It's been a week! Thursday's episode was basically Ben self harming by way of provocation, and admitting to his parents that he feels he deserves all of it, he's a bad person who doesn't deserve to even be alive. While Phil and Kathy head out together to try and find Ben, Kheerat's struggling to process… Continue reading 21st July, textbook

Oh Ben, it just doesn't get any easier for him. Last night had some lovely moments with Kheerat and important conversations about HIV, and then his guilt caused him to dope up, lash out and break down. The morning after Ben's drug taking, he's waking up inside a car at the Arches, similar to where… Continue reading 20th July, all clear

Last night's episode was full of knockbacks for Ben, his struggle with his emotions pushing everyone away and then finally finding something that means he doesn't have to feel anything at all. I also have some thoughts on where Callum's head is at. Ben wakes up in a sleeping bag on Jay's sofa, with Honey… Continue reading 19th July, on holiday

Last night's episode was the start of a particularly bad week for Ben. Rocky kicks things off with his protectiveness over Kathy and things escalate. It looks like as soon as Ben hears that Peter's scarpered, he's back over at Kathy's with his holdall. Seems to me like he didn't want to stay at Phil's… Continue reading 18th July, disgrace

Ben's off the deep end now, and what better metaphor to symbolise that than having him back at Mitchell Manor? We first see Ben as the episode opens, still in custody as he waits for news. The door opens and the solicitor queen herself, Ritchie Scott, bustles in towards Ben. He takes that as a… Continue reading 14th July, daddy’s shadow

Ben's big setback with Callum continued to affect him in last night's episode, and we also see his resentment and frustration for his parents' ideas of dealing with problems. It's Rocky's birthday, and after a thoughtful gift from Bobby and an Ian-style 'drinks not included' restaurant offer from Peter, Ben emerges from upstairs and after… Continue reading 13th July, secrets

We got Ballum back! It was brief and it did end in tears, but for a few minutes we had some tenderness, and also some protectiveness. And hope, from both of them. Oh boys. In the cafe, Ben's looking downcast at the table, not eating the food in front of him, when who should walk… Continue reading 12th July, hope

Monday's episode saw a continuation of last Thursday, with Phil out of prison alive, and because of that we saw a bit of Ben reacting to that, and a reminder of the kind of person Phil is with Ben. We technically also got Callum in this episode, as he's present in the bar when Phil… Continue reading 11th July, legal loophole

In our last episode of the week, Ben is thankfully just about spared from the 'Phil is dead' saga, though is unfortunately distracted by some Peter-related drama instead. We also get a glimpse of Callum struggling to commit to his 'lad's holiday' suggestion to Stuart, and an insightful observation from Ben about his dad. The… Continue reading 7th July, self preservation

It's Phil week this week, with a lot of focus on his prison life which gets increasingly perilous as the week goes on and he makes some dangerous enemies. Ben is drawn into things in the first episode of the week, but not too much as he winds up deciding not to betray Kheerat, against… Continue reading 4th July, little job