Welcome to part three of my dumping ground blog.
Moving on up to later characters within the dumping ground. I have gone through this character by character as whilst writing the last blog it all got a bit confusing. They also all arrived within around not very long time periods of each other so I feel it works better this way.
First up Sasha: Sasha is the most feisty dumping ground resident but she also has a softer side that comes out every now and again.
before getting put into care Sasha lived with her mother. Who was mostly absent leaving her to care for her brother's Dexter & Murphy
Having little food turns Sasha down the wrong path. Turning to crime
in order to feed her family & keep a roof over their heads.
Being caught by the police numerous times meant her being taken into care.
Where she mixed in with the wrong crowd resulting in her committing more crime. Her last chance before getting sent to a secure facility was a trial run at the DG.
Having obvious anger issues, presumably partly due to raising her brothers alone. Sasha becomes calmer as each series goes on she still has her outbursts every now and then.
In the episode "Perfect Match" having realised her mum does not want her home, Sasha puts herself up for fostering. She gets a callback pretty quickly from a couple named Lou & Anj who also have dwarfism.
I think I mentioned this previously but I always find it humbling when the characters get matched up with couples who share the same medical conditions. If this was real life this would mean a better understanding between them all, making for an easier more peaceful life for them all.
Initially, Sasha isn't sure about Lou & Anj as she was unaware they had dwarfism.
But decides to give them a chance, a comment is later made by a stranger about them being a "Lovely little family" making her realise she's not yet let go of the hope that one day she will be back with her own family Who she brings up multiple times throughout the day.
This random comment prompts her to steal from a village shop, hiding the contents in Anj's bag.
Lou and Anj later go on to adopt Harry while Sasha awaits for a time where she can go back to her family.
A while after Sasha's half-sister is born Dexter comes to live at Ashdeen Ridge. From years of playing the mother role, Sasha is very protective of her little brother which causes friction between the other housemates and the two siblings.
Having stayed a while Dexter leaves. Going back to live back with his mum.
struggling with her own emotions, turning every pain into anger rather than actually finding someone to talk to upon planning to leave, rather of saying her proper goodbyes she ends up insulting everyone.
This seems to be her way of trying to prove to herself what she is doing is right even though she knows deep down how much she wishes to stay where she is. By now she has friends who she deeply cares about. In the end, Sasha makes the decision to complete her education whilst under the dg roof.
A few series later Sasha's old friend Freya turns up, still feeling angry about the past Fraya begins to purposely set out to frame Sasha in a series of events Making it look to be Sashas' fault every time.
Anger begins to boil more and more as it builds up Sasha begins to lash out inviting a bunch of people to a party at the DG then eventually smashing up a car in her rage.
Now insecure but innocent, Jody enlists the help of her friends to uncover the truth. They soon discover that Freya has taken photos of all the resident's files and plans to upload them if anyone comes clean about what is really going on. Meaning everyone could be in serious danger if Fraya's plan is exposed.
This is by far one of the greatest Sasha episodes because it shows how far she has come as a person after being given a second chance. It also shows how far she is willing to go for her friends.
Chloe: I was really excited at the addition of Chloe because her storyline was so well thought out and portrayed. The whole idea of having her fall from a window as a baby and her mum blaming her brother (Ryan) felt & still does feel so clever to me. Doing it this way also allowed for an emotional side. Much hurt is able to be demonstrated through it, hurt that's been bottling up for years until they are finally ready for a reunion.
Another reason Chloe's first episode "hold the front page" is so clever is because Ryan's character at this point has been on our screens for a while. Yet we have been given hardly any back story. He's grumpy, moody and clearly angry at someone\ something. Ryan's character, especially in the younger years, really reminded me of Crash from TSOTB.
In them both, you can see they have clearly been mistreated. A really great Crash line that sticks with me is in a scene from "Spare Dad" when he is talking about why the nickname Crash has stuck. He says something like "because I'm angry with the world, you made me angry" (not sure if that's completely accurate but it's something similar) Ryan is also clearly angry with the world.
What's fascinating is why. You don't just become angry something has to make you angry, another thing this show is good at showcasing angry characters but penning them such incredibly heartbreaking backstories allowing you to really feel for them. I really hoped that with Ryan they would have taken this deep manifesting trauma further, I know a lot of people feel the same way.
Possibly done in the right way it could have worked, but may have been too deep for a children's show.
Hold the front page shows the start of Tyler's journalism journey when he is able to expose the truth of what really happened on the day of Chloe's fall. Ryan has carried around the knowledge that he is to blame, but a simple conversation with the shop keeper from the downstairs building says otherwise. It does make you wonder why he never spoke up before despite having to know the truth for a number of years.
It also makes you wonder how no one else figured out what really happened when all Tyler conducted was a simple investigation which uncovered it all. Although having it this way mad for a really promising plot to be then taken so much further.
Even after the truth comes out Chloe and Ryan's relationship remains quite rocky. Ryan hadn't been reading Chloe's letters beforehand so knows very little about her, she knows little of him so of course, it takes them a while to truly get to know each other and form a connection.
Ryan's last episode "A million ways to say goodbye" makes it clear that even though having now properly known Chloe for a number of years they still disagree on a lot of things especially when it comes to forgiving thier mum. Ryan still feels all the hurt but it's a different matter for Chloe who for having spent many of her early years with her, has many good memories of time spent together and still believes her to have their best interests at heart.
Ryan's next step in this episode proves how strong of a bond they both now have. For the uses Chloe's phone to text their mum. Arranging to meet her outside their old block of flats. Taking her into the building of Chloe's accident he then goes on to confront her. Ending in her confessing to the truth.
After learning how to stand up for himself Ryan decides it is time for him to leave the DG to go and live out his passion for horse care. Leaving Chloe to continue life at Asdeen Ridge alone.
Chloe's other main episodes focus more around her thoughts, feelings and emotions. she is a very thoughtful person which we have seen many times since her arrival.
Most recently in the episode "the last dance" where she helps Mike come to the decision to go and be with his newfound family.
Where in "The fairytale Princess" "snake" and "Another Planet" the storylines all focus on Chloe's wish to feel liked, seen and appreciated by others. There are many times where she feels left out or overlooked, for various reasons including disability.
Very much like Sasha Chloe also seems to struggle with being able to let out her emotions. Meaning she turns to find new friends in unlikely places to help her cope rather than confiding in anyone how she really feels.
Much of this tactic is probably down to her early years of feeling left out or having a lack of understanding around why her brother was sent away aa well as why she ended up in a wheelchair.
Towards the end of series seven, we see Chloe become addicted to an online roleplaying game, again this shows an element of Chloe's loneliness. Many online friendships are made because people are lonely or turn to the internet as a support network.
Much like Chloe, people who feel as if she has very few friends who she can really trust tend to turn to the internet. Of course, at this point, she is also most likely missing Ryan.
I think the main of this episode was to show how you shouldn't meet up with strangers and despite Chloe's newfound friend turning out to be May Li's son the adults still put a stop to their meeting. But not their friendship for they both attend Mike's charity prom together as a couple.
Something that the Tracyverse has done incredibly well at since the start of it all is inclusion, their way of subtlety mixing disabled people with abled people without it being a massive deal and without it causing drama. Which is the way it should be but mostly isn't presumably when meets Chloe he
doesn't know she's disabled, but he doesn't mention it or ask questions which is really refreshing. It seems ingrained into a lot of peoples heads that disabled people only date other disabled people or should only date other disabled people. I suppose in a way that theory or way of thinking does make sense in terms of understanding that person. but it doesn't necessarily show the real world. Despite shows like "The "undatables" claiming that is how it is.
The same goes for Sasha and ex Josh even though it was short-lived.
Having said all this Finn's relationship with Ivy is really sweet and I do really hope that in series eight they are given more screen time, as they both have down syndrome it would be nice to have an episode where they do talk about it but in a positive way.
Finn: We first meet Finn in series three episode nine "Long way home" When
after getting a strange text Ryan decides to check up on Harry in his new foster home, he soon discovers that Harry's foster family are not all they seem. Ryan rescues Harry & Finn & brings them back to the dumping ground where they explain to Mike & May li, that neither of them get on with the family, as they argue all the time & blame the two boys.
Finn has many hobbies including swimming. And despite having confidence issues has managed to achieve a lot within his time at the dumping ground such as becoming a young person's representative and winning a swimming competition.
for Aaron Staffman's electoral campaign. For more on Finn and his actor Ruben please check out my previous blog
Other things that I feel are worth a mention is the episode "Where is love" wIn this episode Mo discovers that the adults who raised him are not, in fact, his parents and are indeed his grandparents, who legally adopted him as a baby because they felt his real parents would not be able to care for him properly as they both have cerebral palsy.
This is a massively important storyline to cover because as sad as it is, this does happen to people.
Nevertheless, there are disabled parents out there who do a tremendous job at raising their children and who have worked out ways around any issues they may encounter.
I follow young disabled people who have been quite open about this and plainly said things like "I won't ever have children because I feel I wouldn't be able to look after them properly." Others have spoken of fostering or possibly adoption from fear of passing down an illness.
But I've seen situations of people speaking of becoming ill and then not long after divorced. however, still do a remarkable job of raising children in ways adapted to suit their needs.
So it's not impossible just harder than it would be for the average person.
Other random things I have picked up on are the added addition of Chloe's ramp and later lift. The scene in which they open Chloe's lift shows just how significant accessibility is. The pure joy captured on her face at being able to go upstairs is the purest thing.
Access is a big issue for many disabled people and having access demonstrated throughout television, shows people what can be done in order to help disabled people live normal lives.
There's also been quite a few added characters lately with disabilities like the addition of Ivy & Amy Hill. Ivy is Finn's new girlfriend who works at the leisure centre where he practices swimming She also supported him throughout his competition. Amy Hill was an ex care kid who Mike had looked after as a child.
It was really nice to see a successful adult with a disability on screen because you don't see that enough.
I'm not sure if they went out purposefully to look for a disabled actor or not but the fact it was there meant a lot to me. For a disabled child to be able to see a very successful person with a disability gives them the confidence to prove to themselves that despite everything, they can be successful in whatever path they choose to take.
That concludes my dumping ground blogs. I really enjoyed going back through all the episodes, choosing the ones I felt most important. There were a lot of things I forgot about that were a joy to rediscover.
Doing this has also given me so much joy so I really hope you have all enjoyed my findings.
Thank you so much for reading.
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