Wednesday, 27 February 2019

Whose side are you on - Roy or Carla?

Our blogger Ruth wrote a truly beautiful piece yesterday all about Roy and Carla's relationship.  You can read it here.

In it, Ruth says that she is on Carla's side and in her corner, and that she thought Roy was unusually harsh.

I disagree.

I'm firmly in Roy's corner here and think he did the right thing, the only thing, the Roy thing when he chucked Carla out. I think Carla has misjudged him terribly. She doesn't know him as well as she thinks.

Where do your loyalties lie - with Roy or with Carla?


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Anonymous said...

Jeanie (anon):Roy's. She destroyed evidence that showed it was an accident, leaving innocent people open to suspicion and criminal charges. He might understand her--because he sees people objectively--but I don't think Carla really knows him at all or understands what makes him tick. She's been surrounded by and surrounds herself with people who bend or deny the truth whenever it suits them. I truly don't think she can understand why someone might tell the truth if it will harm them or someone they love; why not just tell a lie? And she doesn't value or understand the idea of being honorable--that's why she has loved so many dishonorable men.

That said, I think it unfair to imply she did it hoping Abi might be suspected. She acted to protect Roy without thinking of anyone but him and herself. And throwing her out is a bit sudden and harsh--she is still the same person he befriended. But that's clearly a plot device on the part of the writers.

Christie said...

I don't believe there is really a side to take here. I think Roy was right to be angry with her about deleting the evidence as he truly believed it could have put an innocent woman in the frame. However, I think his being cold to her and kicking her out was superficially very harsh and un-Roy like. He keeps focusing on Carla's role in Abi being put in the frame, but Abi was suspected by Peter, publicly accused by Peter, and then publicly cleared by Cathy all within 24 hours. Peter then suspected Carla, then publicly accused Carla, and that went on for over a week and she was willing to take the blame to protect Roy.

I think the beauty and tragedy of their friendship is that they both feel this overwhelming need to help others (however good intended, but sometimes misguided) without every helping themselves. Carla never dealt with Aidan's death and she keeps bottling it, and Roy never dealt with his mother's death (in much the same way he tried to not deal with Hayley's). Carla has consistently asked Roy to speak to someone about his mom's death, and he didn't. I believe both of them are projecting their own grief onto each other in different ways: Carla is overly worried about Roy dealing or not dealing with his grief, because she still blames herself for not recognizing the signs leading to Aidan's suicide; and Roy perhaps knows subconsciously that had he dealt with the death of his mother instead of pushing it aside, that he may not have sleepwalked that night, and set the whole series of events in motion.

I think Roy kicking Carla out seems harsh, but perhaps it's deeper than it looks on the surface. Perhaps he's doing it because he realizes that she's stressed out worrying about him? (i.e. not sleeping, not eating, making careless mistakes...)

Ann said...

I have to disagree this time. I find it impossible to be on Roy's side here because Carla was only trying to protect him. She wasn't thinking of anyone but Roy.

That doesn't justify her actions but I think throwing her out of the flat and being so cold when she was just trying to apologise, and ask for his forgiveness, was exceptionally cruel of Roy. It was very evident how much his words hurt her.

Roy has been my favourite character for a very long time but I can't help feeling disappointed in him over the way he's treating Carla.
She is a flawed character and I often find the writing of her character to be inconsistent but never her love for Roy. He doesn't deserve it at the moment.

Brilliant acting from the two of them, I must say.

Humpty Dumpty said...

Throwing Carla out is, as Jeannie says, a plot device.The loss of Roy's support is what sends Carla into a downward spiral. She's not used to being challenged. Family and friends try but they soon cave in over a drink. Everyone else is Carla's subordinate. Shame that Carla has never had that 'Listen, lady' older female in her life. I think what disappointed Roy was that Carla hid behind her friendship with him to stir up trouble for Abi and Peter. Let's face it, Carla's a wealthy woman. She sees the CCTV and realises Roy innocently started the fire. She employs the best solicitor in the North West to get Roy off the charge of arson.

Anonymous said...

I understand why Roy has reacted the way he has but I don't agree that Carla wanted to stir up trouble for Abi and Peter. If that's what I'm supposed to believe, then, they should've shown it. At no point did I see Carla remotely interested in stirring trouble for them. Firstly, they were already dead in the water before the fire, and secondly, Abi was given an alibi by Cathy.

It's Carla who was being blamed for the fire.

C in Canada said...

That's a really hard call, but I'd say Roy's got it right.
Carla did what she did out of the best intentions, but in Roy's 'black and white' world, destroying evidence and letting an innocent person take blame are two big no no's in his book.
Yes he was harsh, but let's remember he's also grieving, and suffering from sleepwalking.
Carla was protecting him when he was vulnerable, and did try to get him to talk to someone, to get more sleep etc, but she crossed a big red line and should have known that.
That being said, I don't think their relationship is irreparable...and I certainly hope I'm right, since I love the relationship between these two!

Christine K said...

Roy has accepted a lot of things Carla has done over the years - going with married men, being accused of the fire that killed Kal, on and on. Why this and why now? He should know what she's like. I guess this is one of reasons she suffers a breakdown? Being rejected by a father-figure?

Anonymous said...

I think Roy believes that Carla hid behind her friendship with him to stir up trouble for Peter and Abi. But even Alison King herself stated that Carla’s actions were out of protecting Roy and not anything about Peter and Abi. I think Roy is thinking the absolute worst of Carla right now, because he is disappointed in her actions and what ‘could have’ happened.

Also, I think Carla deleting the CCTV is based on the careless mistakes she makes because of the workaholic storyline: she is overtired, stressed and concerned about Roy and is not thinking clearly. Clear thinking, logical Carla might have reacted different, (or not, it is soapland after all)

That being said, proving someone is sleepwalking at 10pm at night without a medical history or documented history of this is difficult to prove. Anyone can say they were ‘sleepwalking’.

And when it comes to the Weatherfield police, do you really trust them to get it right? ;)

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