upsticks | timing

FAIL!

YEAH. TOTAL FAIL. I was gutted. But at least I didn't get to watch that death scene again. That *killed* me.

I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't watch Hollyoaks so I don't really know who died. It better not be anyone cute.

Well. That depends. Hollyoaks has lot of pretty people on it. I'm undecided whether he was. Whatever it was, it was heartwrenching. If it doesn't win a ton of awards, I'll be devastated. I totes pwned any other soap ever.

Hee, I think Kieron was cute and very prettyful. Jake Hendriks did seem to put on a little bit of weight during his time in the show - and he had to keep eating in most of the scenes: cereal, pizza, chocolate, so it's no wonder! - but he had a bit of a big body to start with anyway. But hey, I love a cuddly guy, so it makes no difference to me. He had a lovely smile, beautiful eyes and a gorgeous voice.

And yes, watching that death-scene kills me; I saw it again today on Youtube and I had to go and find his first episodes again to cheer myself up!

I did think he put a bit of weight on, but he's still attractive. Not someone I'd exactly go for, but nice-looking all the same. And I bet he gives really great hugs. And you're so right, really nice voice.

Death scene what what. SHHHHHHHHHH. Don't talk about the death scene.

I think his 'flat' hairstyle, when he was all done up in his priest clobber, let him down a bit so I very much prefer him in his civvies (or his jammies!). I love love love his bed-hair!

I just love how 'natural' he looked, in the body and in the face. But his EYES! Strike me down, such lovely EYES! And of course, the voice. :)

I know some people didn't like Kieron but he had a reserved nature about him. He recognised his flaws, his temptations, and didn't like being judged for them simply because he wouldn't judge anyone himself.

And what death-scene?

The priest stuff really did stuff for me: I couldn't get past it at all. And thinking of JPK anywhere near the way I think of JPC (*ahem*) just makes me cringe... that's if I can see it. I liked Kieron, I like Jake, but I don't think JPK had any chemistry at all.

I think that reserved-ness works really well though. That... keeping things away, not showing everything... it's what made him feel like a priest. And so I guess what made the story.

The thing I didn't like, was how he was so easily mislead by JP. How he so easily said, "forget about it all - we both need someone, let's get together." (I'm paraphrasing, but that's the jist.) In the context, when he has so little, I guess it sort of makes sense, but still, he's chosen that as a vocation, and he needs to follow it through. Still feel sorry for him though.

death scene? There was that time when everyone was perfectly happy and they all got what they wanted, but death scene? What death scene?

I remember thinking last year, in wake of everything, that Kieron was just an excuse for more boykissing, to pass the time until Craig came back. I wasn't always able to watch each episode, you see; I had my A-Levels and used the soap-mags instead.

But really, after seeing more of JPK on Youtube, after falling in love with JPC, I do quite like Kieron. I think it would have been better if he'd been introduced a little earlier, say just before Christmas, same time as Niall. The JPK did move extremely fast; I really couldn't understand how they shared a kiss, agreed to forget about it and then started to fancy each other just two weeks later. The official website episode recaps were talking about something there that just 'wasn't'; calling their friendship in late Feb/early March an 'affair' when they were just good mates.

Fact is, after Craig left, JP drifted a little bit and befriended a lot of different people, but didn't stay with any of them as much as he did Craig. Craig was 'his' as a best friend and they were meant to be together, but just weren't ready whereas it felt like he was borrowing Elliot, Kris and Zak - which is kind of weird to say. I know he got on well with them, they were his mates and they looked out for each other. I'm glad he had Hannah though, because I feel he 'belonged' with her as a friend. But out of all that bunch, JP and C fit best.

Having said that, I think he and Kieron had a different sort of bond. Not best friends, but they were good mates all the same. But everything moved so fast in such a short space of time and things seemed to be in the wrong order - first they agreed to forget about it, then Kieron wanted a relationship but JP wasn't comfortable and then he decided he wanted a relationship after all and then he said no again, claiming he didn't love him as much as Craig even though he could've realised this while he was with Robin.

I think Kieron's battle of temptation was nicely done, but rounded off too quickly; he's praying for God to help him out and then he's thinking 'What's the point?' and asking JP if he's interested.

So yeah. I think HO could've handled it better. It wasn't as bad as some storylines I've seen and I think they gave it their best shot, but in some places they fell a bit short. I think it becomes easier when you accept that they were never going to work long-term.

Hmmm. I'm in two minds sometimes. I like that John Paul having a story wasn't just a one off, even if the big picture showed it was just one uber long story :P I wish they would have done more about Kieron and his priesthood, and his temptations, rather than just making him pray and then going, "Oh, sod it!" I still haven't seen all of JPK myself - I was watching it on YouTube. Then exams got in the way :P

And JPK moved *extremely* fast. One minute they were spending too long looking at eachother, the next they were in a sort of love. And talk about hasty engagement! :O Did you find JPK first? Why did you like JPC more? Around September 2008, we were told there were skeletons in Kieron's closet and that never came to anything. I also hated how it was just JP being a kept man again, being someone's secret; but that was all part of the long-term plan, I s'pose. I do know the original plan was to have JPK outed at Steph's wedding, which Craig had come back for. And that would have cheapened the whole thing :(

Fact is, after Craig left, JP drifted a little bit and befriended a lot of different people, but didn't stay with any of them as much as he did Craig. Craig was 'his' as a best friend and they were meant to be together, but just weren't ready whereas it felt like he was borrowing Elliot, Kris and Zak - which is kind of weird to say.

I think you're very right. JP just floated around after that. Partly because him and Craig... well, for one, they never actually broke up did they? As usual, nothing was ever defined. They split as more than friends, but where did that leave them? Where was the closure? And obviously by Christmas, JP just wanted it left alone. It's also another reason why I think I liked JP and Hannah's friendship so much :) When Hannah and Sarah leave it's going to be (feel like) the end of an era :'(

But out of all that bunch, JP and C fit best.

"You and John Paul, you're made for eachother" :P

I always liked how that was actually kind of true. JP was made for Craig.

Having said that, I think he and Kieron had a different sort of bond.

Yeah, I saw that too. Again, they were mates first. I like them as mates. I think they work better like that, and I would have preferred they'd neer started anything. Some AU fics have Kieron just having a bit of a crush on JP. And still being alive. The thing that puts it all into perspective for me though, is when Kieron said something like, "Let's just do it. We both need someone now." That to me, seemed to show Kieron just wanting somebody, and John Paul happened to be there. I s'pose it's a sort of loneliness. Which now I think about it, makes it sound even worse. And as for JP realising he still loved Craig, well, that was about hoping he would move on, hoping it would get better. And yet that never happening. Robin didn't mean much at all; it was Kieron who was the first real date after Craig. And IMO JP wasn't ready. And never was. Or will be. *diehard McDeaner* :P

I'm so proud of it, in some ways. They made a gay character a normal guy, and gave him as much screentime as other characters. OK, so his stories - proper stories - often involved his love life, but it was a step in the right direction. There's a whole load more reasons, but that goes into WHY I LOVE MCDEAN, and we'd (I'd) be here all night if that happened.
I hated that Kieron died, but I loved that it changed the decision JP had to make - not to love Craig or not, but to go with him or not. I love the ambiguity in some of the stuff that can be seen from different perspectives. And I love love love the way Craig turned out, like he's my own little fairy cake.

Regarding JPK, I liked them as friends, but they didn't work as more than that, and everyone knew their marriage wouldn't work either. And I think that was how it was meant to look. It just got messy :(

*phew* sorry 'bout all those words.

Oh no, I love a good healthy debate! It's nice to find someone who can understand my opinion but won't shoot it down!

Yes, when Sarah and Hannah leave, Nancy will be the only one left from that 'era.' It'll probably feel weird for Jessica Fox, who plays her!

And yes, JP and Craig are made for each other; they just fit! They became so strong after all the crap they went through, seperately and together and Kieron and JP was just fragile. They made each other happy and their's was quite 'natural' in its way but then two things got in the way: JP stupidly proposing when he wasn't ready and Craig. These two things together were purely coincidental and just made for one big breakup. I find those episodes a little painful to watch really; it's kind of cool but at the same time kind of awful to see the three of them colliding and while two of them have their happy ending, which is lovely, the third one doesn't, which is sad.

I wonder if JPK could have just been friends. What if Kieron was just a mentor for JP, an older friend to advise and guide him? It would have made their link with Niall all the more ironic; Kieron wasn't a member of the family but could be trusted, whereas Niall was the complete opposite.

LOL at fairy-cake Craig! You ought to make an icon on that! I think his character is so beautiful, so delicate, so fragile; one of those that just turns out right. He's wonderful to look at (I HEART his eyes and the little mole on his lip!) and then when he came back he was even better!

I think Kieron was a good priest - he didn't just do his work, but he was good at relating to people, at getting them to open up. He did actually tell JP at one point that he did get lonely and he was very young himself; he was under thirty and Jake Hendriks himself was around 27 while filming, so they weren't too many years between them. So yeah, I think he just had a lot of love to give.

Did you find JPK first? Why did you like JPC more?

I fell for McDean first, and then didn't know what to make of McPriest. I thought I'd try it and I just... fell for Kieron. I wish he'd had a few more stories outside JPK, but Jake Hendriks was told that his would only be a short contract and that he would be out by the end of the year. So for whatever reason, HO wanted to rush him through it, but then again, they wanted to coincide with Niall's revenge; if Kieron had found out and then blabbed, the whole storyline would have been ruined. I do feel sad that Niall just wasted his life, when he was determined to pick up the pieces after his split with JP. I mean, I have to admire the guy. He realises they're over, spends a bit of time mourning and then it's "up and at 'em, let's go find Myra's son."

I like how JP was so angry when he found out Niall killed Kieron; shows how much he cared about him and he did care but what he and Craig had... they just went through so much together and kept going back to each other, sticking together until that first scene in the airport. And really, it wasn't the right time for their happy ending; Guy wanted to leave, James didn't and Craig wasn't ready to admit his love. So really, it did them good to spend time apart. And it made for a passionate rant on Craig's part; it wasn't just "I can't stop thinking about you" it was "You're haunting my head!" Gah, he just kills me there!

There is a fanfiction where Craig does return for Steph's wedding and Kieron gives JP time to figure out how he feels; and JP decides he wants to be with Craig. It was brilliantly written and I can't help wishing that it could have actually happened. *wistful sigh* Ah well. If Kieron had lived (although I'm starting to think it's a good job they killed him, given the state Hollyoaks is in at the moment) he might have realised they belonged together and if he was able to hear what JP said at his graveside (that scene gets me bawling every time) he'd realise what was going on in JP's head and he was able to understand where he was coming from.

Gah, big post! Sorry, I've got a little carried away!

timing

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