Let's begin with an old song:
Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted sisters
When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome
One wore the dress and one stayed home
LORD HELP THE MISTER
WHO COMES BETWEEN ME AND MY SISTER
AND LORD HELP THE SISTER
WHO COMES BETWEEN ME AND MY MAN
Sound familiar? Well, imagine the ditty being sung with Scouser accents and you've got Katie and Jacqui, which is what this episode was all about. A lot of people posting on another website didn't seem to like this episode, but I felt it did a lot to explain the true and exact nature of the Jacqui-Katie relationship - basically how one-sided and unnecessary it is. But really, it's a revelation in how friendship is a masquerade for basic jealousy, guilt and betrayal. If you miss it on Brookside, tune into Eastenders - where it's brilliantly played out by Mel and Lisa (thirtysomething Jacqui and Katie) and Pat and Peggy (fiftysomething Jacqui and Katie). Hopefully, Brookside will end this charade before either of the two turn into either Mel and Lisa (although Katie, like Mel, could use some Immac on her upper lip) or Peggy and Pat (those earrings could be lethal weapons).
Anyway, this episode begins where the other ends. Katie has just been handed a box containing an engagement ring. Apparently, Ma Moffatt found it in the pocket of the clothing Flint was wearing on the night he was killed. The police brought it around to the flat and Jacqui has given it to Katie. Katie is gob-smacked. When she manages to find her voice, she remarks that she doesn't know whether she feels better or worse for having received this. Jacqui tries to be helpful and points out that it means that Flint loved her, so she should be glad.
Katie glances at Jacqui suspiciously and asks the whereabouts of Victoria. Jacqui says Vic had to go out, possibly to see a client, but Katie doesn't believe her. Katie tries on the ring and finds that it fits perfectly. Jacqui tells her that Flint was uncertain whether or not she would accept it, but Jacqui had told him that Katie would snatch his hand off for it. Katie is amazed. How long had Jacqui known that?
Jacqui says that Flint had spoken to her ages ago about his hope to marry Katie. Jacqui would have said something, but things began to get out of hand - especially with Gobby proposing - some coincidence. Katie is left wondering how Flint knew her ring size, but Jacqui can't imagine how he found out.
'We had the one conversation,' she says, 'And he sorted the rest.'
Katie says that the blow of Flint's death has been like a severe physical blow to her. Every morning she awakes and for a moment, she expects Flint to come back into the room in his 'boxies', with a cup of tea and climb back into bed.
Jacqui offers to make Katie some tea, but Katie refuses. Jacqui then suggests that Katie see Darren about prescribing something for her, but again Katie refuses and reiterates that she won't be going on the ale either.
Jacqui speculates on what would have happened if Flint had lived. Would Katie have married him? She tries out the name for size ... Katie Moffatt. But Katie thinks it sounds awful. Jacqui asks if Katie thinks she would have married Flint in Spain. Katie muses about getting married in a bikini on the beach, but then says she isnt sure she would have married him. However, they would have had kids, though, she was sure of that, even had Jacqui pegged as the godmother.
Jacqui tells Katie that one day she WILL have children. Katie replies that Jacqui will never be the godmother. Jacqui looks hurt at that remark. Katie continues saying that something happened between the two of them the night Flint was killed and it could never be the same again. All that 'sister's stuff meant nothing now. Jacqui refuses to believe that. Nothing changed that night between the two of them, nothing ever would. They could no longer be friends with that even between them. She couldn't ever be able to visit the Dixon home again, knowing what had happened there. Jacqui says she wouldn't make Katie do that and says that she, Jacqui, is too sensible to expect that and too sensitive as well.
Katie disagrees and utters the first words of truth about her friendship with Jacqui, or at least how she perceives Jacqui - and the words are filled with bitter jealousy. Katie says Jacqui always has to have life go her way and the minute it doesn't, she throws money at it to get what she wants. Jacqui is baffled. Katie continues with her version of Jacqui:-
Katie's mum still kept her in polo-neck jumpers while Jacqui swanned around in designer shell suits.
Jacqui went scuba diving with the son of a baronet while Katie 'made do' with a rapist.
Jacqui had loads of money and glamourous work while Katie 'made do' with scuzza jobs.
Jacqui is dumbfounded and quite correctly puts Katie right. Jacqui points out that Katie is forgetting the fact that it's only been in the past few years that Jacqui has been successful enough in business to afford a good lifestyle. Jacqui says she was ferried to school in a mobile shop and took all sorts of stick from other kids because of that; the designer shells were knock-downs bought at Kirkby market and as for her lovelife, Jacqui has had as many disasters as Katie with men. Jacqui asks Katie if she remembers Shane?
Katie callously throws that remark aside. OK, so Jacqui's got a dead boyfriend too, does that make them quits? No, says Jacqui, it makes them equal.
Katie sits on the couch and Jacqui sits beside her, Katie remarking that the last time they sat on that couch, they were bladdered. Katie kept trying to ring Flint's mobile that evening - but he must have been dead already. Jacqui asks Katie if her mum minded Katie spending so much time at the Dixons when she was younger. Katie shrugs and says it got her out of her mother's hair.
'What about Sammy?' Asks Jacqui.
'Our Sammy was too busy keeping her head up her backside,' says Katie, but warns that she can say that because Sammy is her sister. Jacqui is not allowed to make such slag-offs about Katie's family. (Wait until later!)
Again, Jacqui reiterates that they are sisters, they are like sisters, but Katie won't have it. In fact, it seems that Katie is wallowing more in self-pity here than grief, musing on the fact that formerly she was spoiled for choice for families - the Dixons and the Moffatts. In fact, she would have her dinner at the Dixons and her tea at the Moffatts. (Brookside did a good job on NOT showing us how CLOSE either Jacqui or Katie had become to the Moffatts by NOT showing any interaction with the yobs' (opposite of 'boys', eh?) Sainted mother. Now, however, poor pitiful Katie has neither.
Jacqui insists that Katie is wrong. She could still have both families if she wanted. After all, she sat with the Moffatts in court. Katie says they would include her now while it suited them, but after the trial, they would drift apart - only exchanging Christmas cards and bumping into each other by chance. (Sounds more and more like Rkatie is feeling sorry for herself rather than grieving for Flint). Jacqui says that Katie will always have a place with the Dixons - she was her friend, so was Rachel and Anthea was fond of her. And of course, Ron had a soft spot for her.
But, Katie points out, Jacqui's dad isn't the harmless, cuddly old dad in a cardy anymore; he killed her fiancé. How could she sit in the Dixon front room normally and say, 'Ooh, is that the spot where me fiancé copped it, and I'll have another biscuit, ta, Anthea.' No, she, Katie, is all on her tod now. And she bursts from the flat in tears.
Jacqui isn't to be put off and follows her onto The Parade below. Katie scurries along aimlessly, calling and re-calling Flints mobile number, just to hear his voice on the voice-mail tape. As Jacqui catches up to her, she tosses the phone to Jacqui. Jacqui listens to the tape. Katie remarks that it shouldn't be long before Flint's network cancels the message, but at the moment it still seems that bits of him are left about. Yet one by one these bits are disappearing until there'll be nothing left soon.
Jacqui pleads with Katie, saying she wants to help her, asking if there's anything she can do. Of course there is. Katie wants to go to the Dixon home. She wants to see where Flint was de-Flinted. Jacqui doesn't think it's a good idea. There's really nothing to see, because the police have (she starts to say 'cleaned', but thinks better) finished all their searches and investigation of the area. But Katie is adamant. It would be like closing a final chapter.
At first Jacqui is reluctant, but then she suggests that Katie go back to the flat. She hasn't had a moment's peace since she got the ring and maybe she should just have a bath and chill out before she went to the Dixons. Besides, it would give Jacqui a chance to ring the house.
'To warn them?' Asks Katie.
'No,' replies Jacqui. 'But they might be doing something like putting the baby to bed.'
'So I'll be in the way,' remarks Katie sarcastically.
'Not at all,' insists Jacqui. 'But you want it to be right, don't you? You want a bit of quiet and peace, not a lot of distraction.'
Katie agrees to have the bath and smarten herself up, while Jacqui rings the Dixon house, only to get the answerphone.
Later, as they approach the house, they hear a radio. Katie thinks someone is in, but Jacqui tells her no one answered the telephone. Of course, someone could be in the bath, but it's likely that the radio playing was just a precaution of Ron's. Since the burglaries, he'd been a stickler for leaving the radio or the lights on when the family were out, giving the impression that someone was in.
The enter the house and Jacqui de-activates the alarm. Katie remarks that Gobby and Flint installed the alarm for Anthea. The girls notice that there are messages on the Dixons' phone, but Katie is drawn to a mat covering an area of rug in the Dixon kitchen. She removes the mat to find a large hole cut into the carpet. This reinforces her theory of visiting the Dixons and having to be forced to face the place where Flint was de-flinted.
She looks at the hole and wonders how the Dixons can eat their morning cornflakes just inches from where a man lost his life. Jacqui tells her that it isn't easy and that the family aren't taking it lightly.
She remarks on the size of the hole, equating it with the amount of blood lost, saying with so much blood, he must have been killed instantly. Jacqui reassures her that Flint didn't suffer. Then she wonders aloud if Flint knew he was going to be shot. Jacqui tries to convince her that Flint would never have known a thing, but Katie is adamant. There must have been four or five seconds between the time Ron shouted a warning and the shot was issued; that was surely time enough for someone's life to pass before their eyes.
Jacqui reiterates that Flint would have felt no pain. She'd checked with Darren. Suddenly, Katie has a funny turn and goes pale. Jacqui suggests she sit down and have a strong drink. She pours the two of them brandy. Katie examines a framed photo of Ron, remarking that the whole ordeal is like something out of the X-Files - Flint being dead and life going on as normal and people living their lives as normal, as if nothing had happened, just carrying on.
Jacqui then decides to take the bull by the horns and confront Katie with her grief. She says that that's exactly what Katie has to do. She's sorry if it sounds insulting, but that's how people do cope with their grief, by carrying on. And soon the hurt diminishes. But they do what they have to do in order to deal with the grief. Katie interposes to muse about the fact that Beth must toddle over that spot daily.
Jacqui continues her pep talk. Katie has to come to terms with this, the way her family is doing - by carrying on. She tells Katie that the Dixons aren't treating this trivially, but they have to carry on as normal for the benefit of Beth. And Katie owes that to herself as well, and if Katie feels that she can best cope with this by going back to work, then she should do this, no matter if people stare at her and think it's weird.
Katie mutters something about no shooting happening at the Walk-in Centre and Jacqui reiterates that Katie has a choice about whether or not to return to work; but Anthea and co had no choice about returning home. They couldn't exactly remain in a hotel indefinitely.
Katie goes petulant. The Dixons could move, she insists. Jacqui is flabbergasted. Well, she admits, maybe they will, but that takes time. And at the moment that depends on what happens with Ron. She then reminds Katie that Katie really doesn't know what the family has been through. She tells Katie how she helped to clean and bleach the skirting boards of Flint's blood. The police say that they'll clean a murder site, but they only do the basics. It was the second hardest thing she'd ever done in her life, after burying Tony Dixon.
Again, Jacqui reinforces for Katie the trauma the Dixons are suffering. She says that if Katie can't sleep for grief, then Ron couldn't sleep for guilt. Katie then remarks that he should feel guilty, because he had no right to kill Flint. Jacqui says the killing was a tragic accident, that Ron was driven to despair by the happenings of the past few months and was only trying to defend his family. He was frightened and stressed out.
Katie dismisses that. In her opinion, Ron Dixon was a cold-blooded killer. She was just waiting for the papers to come round and interview the neighbours, so he could be depicted as the pillar of society. Jacqui reminds her that the press aren't allowed to print anything until the trial begins, but Katie poo-poos that. Ron should rot in prison. Jacqui reminds Katie that Ron is Jacqui's father. If Katie slags him off, she slags Jacqui off too. Katie says that's different (how is it so different from Jacqui not being able to slag off Katie's family?)
Jacqui disagrees, explaining that the killing, for the umpteenth time, was a tragic accident. Ron was stressed out, worried about repeated robberies, about Gobby hitting her. Again, Katie won't see reason. People with stress get happy pills, kick the cat etc, they don't go on killing sprees with guns bought on the sly from unknown men in pubs; they don't go looking for weapons with which to kill. In fact, if Ron Dixon were so deranged, she's surprised he didn't gun down half the Close. Jacqui points out that if Ron were, indeed, deranged, what stopped him from killing Jimmy Corkhill, after he was responsible for Tony Dixon's death? Because, she reminds Katie, Ron was basically an ordinary person, who'd come to the end of his tether with the events of recent weeks.
Now Katie wants to know how close Ron was standing to Flint when he shot him, but Jacqui decides that it's time to go. Katie, however, wants to finish her drink; but Jacqui removes the drink from her hand and pours it down the drain, remarking that coming here was a bad idea.
Then Katie accuses Jacqui of wanting her own way again, of defending her father's actions. Jacqui then snaps. She says that she didn't condone what her father did, but she had to stand by him, because she understood why he was forced to act in such a way. But Katie needed to be reminded of the fact that Flint was NO saint.
Katie is baffled.
Jacqui continues. What, exactly, was Flint doing in their house at that hour and entering the house the way he did. She explains that the police confirmed there had been a break-in, and Flint didn't exactly ring the doorbell.
Katie refuses to believe this. Why would Flint want to break into the Dixons house? He had money. Jacqui reiterated the fact that there had been a break-in. Someone had used glass-cutters to cut the pain and opened the door from the inside. Katie is adamant that Flint wouldn't need to break in. He had money. Jacqui tries to reason with her, saying that the pair of them were about to emigrate to another country, with no immediate jobs. That wasn't cheap. Katie insists that Flint had money saved for that. Jacqui remarks that maybe Katie is wearing most of that money. Maybe Flint spent most of his savings on her ring and needed some more dosh.
Besides, Flint was Gobby's brother. Surely Katie realised that Flint wasn't exactly forthcoming with her about the real reason the brothers had to leave Liverpool at first. And he certainly didn't let on about Gobby being behind the initial break-in at the Dixons. Maybe he didn't know about everything Gobby got up to, but maybe he did. All Jacqui's saying is simply that maybe Flint was better at deception than his brother.
She ends by saying that she's sorry if this turns out to be true for Katie, but all was revealed to Jacqui when Gobby slapped her, and she sincerely wishes that Flint had lived and he and Katie had jetted off to Spain and Katie never found out what he was really like.
Katie grabs her coat and runs out, shouting to Jacqui how despicable and cruel she was to say those things. Even a hopeless sister like Sammy wouldn't dream of saying that.
Jacqui resets the alarm and follows close behind her, trying to apologise. She tries to reason saying that seven years ago, she would never have dreamed her dad and Jimmy Corkhill would live in the same city, let alone on the same street after Tony Dixon's death; and Tony was innocent...
And didn't deserve to die, questions Katie. She then tells Jacqui to grow up, that their friendship is finished ... And storms off towards the Parade, leaving a visibly upset Jacqui in her trail.
Observations: I am surprised no mention was made of the bloke who was interested in Katie, but with whom Jacqui slept for money, in order to finance the beginning of her empire.
I think this character was and is possibly the vital lychpin to the Katie-Jacqui relationship. Why? One regular contributor to many Brookside forums, PaulM, has said that the Katie-Jacqui friendship is one based on jealousy, betrayal and guilt.
Nothing new here - Eastenders thrives on female friendship involving those traits - from Sharon and Michelle to Mel and Lisa to Peggy and Pat. Crikey, look at the first - Michelle slept with both Sharon's father and her ex-husband and had kids by both, and no doubt, sometime in the near future, Lisa will bed Steve Owen and Peggy will more than snog Roy.
But with Jacqui and Katie, face it - Katie has ALWAYS been jealous of Jacqui, to the point that Jacqui became some sort of cool image to which Katie has always aspired but never quite attained. The fact that Jacqui slept with the tosser who was interested in Katie has been the lever by which Katie has controlled this friendship since that escapade happened about six years ago. She's kept it as her secret weapon, while Jacqui has assumed all sorts of responsablity for Katie since then, out of what? A sense of GUILT. How many times has Jacqui been the only member of the triumvirate of Jacqui, Katie and Rachel, who's had a wage and thereby subsidised the other pair? More times than can be remembered with Katie.
Katie depends on Jacqui's subsidy for everything and when Jacqui doesn't come forth with the answer Katie expects, she slags Jacqui off - we saw two cases of this last year, firstly in the way she repaid Nathan Cuddington by compromising his position in the legal community (by committing an act that is a crime and punishable by imprisonment) and then expected Jacqui to bail her out of that situation and regain her the job that she hated at best of times. Then she expected free use of the Health Club for her Slimming Club, as Jacqui's friend. So now she asks Jacqui to turn her back on her father to help Katie mourn the brother of the man who smacked Jacqui around and terrorised her family.
Brookside must rid the show of Katie Rogers soon. Jacqui has grown and matured as a character. Katie is still a latent adolescent and a passive-aggressive bully. If she and Jacqui are allowed to resume a friendship, there will be yet another guilt lever by which to control Jacqui. Katie will worm her way into the Farnham household and it won't be long before she's demanding Jacqui choose between her or Max. If they do not resume her friendship and she is allowed to stay, we'll see mad, sad Katie standing around Bev's Bar along with Lance and Leanne, participating in a slagfest at Jacqui's expense.
That storyline is old too. It's time someone, preferably, Max, picked Lance up by his skinny arse and told him exactly what happened the night Leanne 'accidentally' blinded Jacqui. After all, it was Max she was trying to proposition. And if Lance still refuses to believe that, then Max should punch him roundly.
Summary © 2001 Marion Watts
Brookside and all related materials are © Mersey Television 1982-2001