The Archers – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Martyn comes into The Bull again, suggesting it might become his regular drinking venue. He starts expounding on the virtues of flirting in a marriage, before admitting to Jazzer that there is a new woman in his life. The more Martin talks about the qualities of his new woman, the more Jazzer encourages him to go for it, like he did with Tracy. Martyn would prefer her identity to remain secret though. But later on, when Jazzer tells Tracy about their conversation, the clues Martyn was dropping and the flirtatious talk about his horse riding lesson, it suddenly clicks. Martyn’s heart wants Lilian!

Amber is visiting George in prison and tells him she thinks Brad is a bit weird, staring at her and asking about school. When George defends Brad as a loyal friend Amber quickly changes her tune. George then asks about dinner with Ed and Emma, so Amber explains what happened with Clarrie and reducing Neil to silence by telling the truth about what Neil and Susan did to George. George loves her loyalty, no one else gets him like she does. Amber hasn’t talked to her parents about him yet, but when George suggests writing to them Amber says it's not worth it. Soon they’ll be living in the flat above her parents’ garage and her parents can make their minds up about him then. Before the visit ends Amber talks about them being together forever, prompting George to get down on one knee and propose. Amber says yes, to applause from other visitors and prisoners – they’re getting married!

Neil finds Lilian in search of a few moments’ peace by Peggy’s grave. He hopes he’s not disturbing Lilian. She assures him he’s not; she could actually do with some advice. This will be her first birthday without her mum and her sister. With their families at the centre of their lives they never seemed to have any self-doubt. She’s not like them – she’s always had an escape plan. Now, with Jenny’s children, is the first time she’s felt needed. It scares her to be relied on, and she can’t be a replacement. Neil asserts she doesn’t need to be. She just needs to be herself. He shares his struggles with trying to do the right thing by George. Lilian declares he and Susan saved George, and he’ll see that, eventually.

Kenton thanks Joy for her recent advice; it’s down to her and Usha that he felt able to go to the police and identify Markie’s accomplice. Joy thinks Kenton’s brave.

Joy tells Susan she hasn’t got time for the fete this year. She suggests Susan volunteers, but Susan hastily squashes this.

Susan can’t believe George is engaged. Emma declares Amber’s as excited as he is. Susan hopes it’s a flash in the pan. Emma agrees, though she’s reluctant to burst their bubble. She comments that Brad can see the strength of their feelings too. Susan reckons Amber might change her mind once the excitement wears off and the reality of a prison wedding hits home. Emma says she’ll just have to make sure it’s a very long engagement.

Kenton proposes a ‘phones off’ event at the Bull. He reckons mobiles are eroding people’s desire to socialise. Jolene’s really not convinced, but Kenton spots Alistair as a perfect test candidate, demanding his phone and insisting he talks to someone. Alistair protests he’s just here for a quiet drink, but reluctantly capitulates. Later he reports his conversation companion wouldn’t stop talking; it was hard to get away. Nevertheless Kenton declares the experiment a success. Eddie complains his beer tastes funny. Surprised Kenton gets him another. Eddie accepts it but still keeps his original pint. Later he maintains he’s been given the wrong flavour crisps. Suspicious Kenton knows this isn’t true but Jolene replaces them without a quibble. Eddie declares her a star, again keeping his original offending packet. Emma’s cleaning frantically. She’s invited Amber round in the hope of generating some wedding talk. Amber arrives, happy to be able to share her excitement with someone other than George. She admits her parents don’t know about the wedding. They don’t really understand her, and probably don’t care much. Emma suggests starting her marriage openly with a clean slate might be better. She reminisces about her own wedding. Amber’s astounded when she discovers Will was Ed’s best man. Emma points out it’s proof that people can reach an understanding. Amber’s parents will too, but they’ll need time. A wedding day should be special. Later Ed reckons Emma’s worked her magic. However Amber returns with her cases. Her parents were mean about George and she’s left. Can she stay at Little Grange?

Martyn and Annabelle are in agreement about Justin’s rewilding proposal. Annabelle confirms others on the BL board are too. It’s inviting risk, and they need to threaten resignations. As Chair Martyn’s not happy to have multiple resignations on his hands. He’s keen to discuss it over dinner but Annabelle declines. Eventually they agree on a plan to work on various board members. Martyn’s keen to establish they’re on the same page on a personal level, but Annabelle retorts he was just a bit of fun and nothing more. She ends the call, but not before Jazzer appears in the doorway. Martyn wonders what he heard. Later Jazzer questions the wisdom of getting involved with a married woman. Confusion ensues until Jazzer names Lilian as Martyn’s love interest. Martyn’s aghast – he’s not in the least attracted to Lilian! He’s just been dumped over the phone and feels humiliated. Jazzer reckons it won’t feel so bad after a few days. Amber’s a high maintenance house guest. Ed asserts the arrangement isn’t going to work. They discover Amber’s gone over to Grange Farm. Unfazed Clarrie has her in line. Emma approves; they can’t pussyfoot round Amber just because of George. To their surprise it’s Amber who informs them it’s not working. She intends to stay at Grange Farm instead. Clarrie agrees to check with Oliver. Amber declares her the best Grandma-in-law-to-be ever. Clarrie tells Ed and Emma she wants to get to know the real Amber. She tells Amber there’s a condition – if she wants to stay she needs to apologise to Neil.

Clarrie tells Susan and Neil that Henry’s advice to disregard all the challenging comments at school is working – she simply reports trouble makers for a detention. Susan switches the topic to Amber, who she hasn’t met yet. She wants to know everything. Clarrie reports how hard Amber worked at the haymaking. Susan doesn’t know what to make of Amber in light of all she’s heard – Emma and Ed think she’s always putting her foot in it and doesn’t seem to care. Does Clarrie like her? Clarrie carefully admits that she does. Susan’s keen to meet her, but Clarrie thinks this might not be a good idea after Amber and Neil’s encounter last week. Mystified Susan gets the truth out of Neil. How dare Amber have a go at him! Now they have to face George getting more angry with them instead of less. It’s unfair; never a good deed goes unpunished. Alistair congratulates Jolene and Kenton on their award nomination. Kenton observes Tortoise isn’t eating her food, hoping she’s not full of leftovers. Alistair acknowledges overfeeding pets is a big problem. Jolene admits Kenton loves spoiling Tortoise. However they soon spot she’s really not well, and from the symptoms Alistair suspects she’s been poisoned. It’s hard to know what’s caused it, but his treatment should mean she’ll be fine. Later Kenton finds tablets on the floor. Alistair confirms they could have caused Tortoise’s symptoms. Jolene wonders if they could have been embedded in a treat. It dawns on horrified Kenton that one of Markie’s gang could have done this.

Eddie puts the finishing touches to his nomination of the Bull for an award. Amber comes downstairs all ready for a day’s haymaking. Eddie questions her clothes choice; it can get grubby helping with the hay. Amber assures him she sees farmers all the time at work. When he realises she works at Farm Supplies he cheekily hopes for a discount. Clarrie scolds him fondly, but Amber’s preoccupied with her socials. When Clarrie arrives at the hay field she’s surprised to find Amber driving the tractor. Will asks how long she’ll be staying at Grange Farm. Clarrie isn’t sure – though she feels things aren’t right between Amber and her parents. Amber comments that George misses all this, and the farm. She remembers his posts from last year and how cute and tanned he looked. That’s probably when she fell for him. Eddie recalls George’s last night of freedom at the farm, and is touched to hear that George recounted an anecdote to Amber about the escaped turkeys last year. Eddie can’t wait for George to get home. Amber assures him that George cares about him and Clarrie a lot. As rain threatens Amber steps up, letting Eddie drive while she and Will lug the bales. Will praises Amber’s work ethic. Clarrie thinks there’s more to her than she lets on. Amber’s delighted Oliver’s said she can stay on at Grange Farm. Eddie reminds her about her apology to Neil – Clarrie won’t forget the condition. Amber wonders if she can duck it, but Eddie’s not sure it’s a risk worth taking.

In a break from band auditions Jazzer joins Tracy in the beer garden, where Tortoise the cat is happy to be fed a morsel of chicken as a treat. Tracy can’t believe Jazzer thought Martyn was having an affair with Lilian. They agree Martyn needs cheering up; a new girlfriend might help. Ed and Fallon mull over the band members they’ve seen so far. None of them seem right and Ed comments they’re making him feel old. He wonders ruefully if they’re past the ‘band’ stage. Later with their last prospect a no-show they admit defeat. They wish they could locate their original member, Ash. Jazzer produces an old publicity photo they reminisce. When he plays a cassette of their music as well, it proves too much and Fallon begs him to turn it off. She and Ed agree they were awful, but Jazzer insists they had raw talent. When their only half suitable auditionee turns them down due to ‘musical differences’, they see the funny side and decide to have a jam for old times’ sake. Eddie’s still complaining about the Bull food. Jolene wonders if something’s upset him, but Ed backs his dad up. The customer has to have what they want. Jolene grits her teeth and changes Eddie’s meal. When he finds a chair too wobbly, Jolene’s had enough, and Ed tells his dad to come clean. They admit Eddie’s been testing the level of service – there’s a pub award up for grabs and he’s nominated the Bull! And they’ve passed all his tests with flying colours.

Kenton and Tracy are shaken after the poisoning of the pub cat, Tortoise. Though the police can’t act without concrete evidence, Kenton suspects Markie or one of his crew. Tracy urges him to tell Joy so she’s got the full picture. He does so, and Joy’s relieved her titbits weren’t responsible for Tortoise getting ill. Kenton recommends she and Tracy take time away from work in case things turn nasty, but Joy’s determined not to be intimidated. Both she and Tracy refuse to be driven out of The Bull, standing firm behind Kenton’s decision to report the gang. Justin and Martyn take to the golf course to discuss Justin’s plans for BL. Martyn is sceptical, calling them ludicrous, impractical and expensive. Justin’s curious to know if there’s anything going on between Martyn and Annabelle. He’s heard they’re meeting frequently. Martyn assures him there’s nothing to report, agreeing that she’s a difficult woman and he’ll be steering well clear in future. When Justin reveals new ideas – vertical farming, eco-tourism, eco-offices – Martyn warms to the concept. He confirms Borsetshire Water has released money from their community fund for the beaver enclosure. Justin’s impressed; there’s obviously common ground between the two of them. Martyn suggests adding food storage to the plan. Justin agrees it has potential, and after some persuasion Martyn promises his backing. They agree it’s wiser not to mention this to anyone else yet, especially Annabelle Schrivener.

Susan is still reeling from Amber’s harsh words about Neil. She’s frustrated Neil didn’t tell her sooner. He declares he didn’t want her hurt, but she counters she’d rather have known and not had to depend on Clarrie to tell her. She wants to talk about it, and if Neil won’t talk, she’ll go and see Emma. Neil admits he hasn’t told Emma either. He feels he needs to put it out of his head or it won’t end in peace. He fears telling Emma could damage her fragile relationship with George. He would rather let things blow over. Susan disagrees. Emma has a right to know, and from them rather than anyone else. Neil reluctantly accepts her decision. He wonders if they’re the ones who need forgiving. Susan confesses she worries about things getting worse when George is released, feeling selfish and unkind for having such thoughts. Lynda tries to recruit Azra to help run the village fete. Azra’s adamant she doesn’t want to do it, and resists despite Lynda’s persistence. Lynda runs into Akram, who to her surprise offers his help without being asked. He feels he owes her for her previous kindness in housing his family in their time of need. Azra is stunned when she learns Akram’s become Lynda’s “trusty lieutenant.” She warns him he’s in for a demanding ride as her unpaid servant – his every waking hour will be filled with a great list of jobs. Akram’s optimism begins to waver; what has he done?

At Berrow, Jazzer and Neil talk about Tracy’s fiftieth birthday party. Jazzer wonders whether Neil and Susan might want to join them. Neil equivocates, suggesting instead that they have Bert at Ambridge View for the evening. Jazzer’s grateful. Too late, he warns against mentioning the party to Martyn. Martyn overhears and invites himself – it’s a while since he’s been to a party. Neil predicts to mortified Jazzer that Martyn will back out, claiming a double booking. He’s proved right when to Jazzer’s immense relief Martyn bows out, saying his brother’s coming over. Jazzer feigns disappointment, declaring Martyn will be very welcome if things change. George meets with the prison chaplain to discuss his plans to marry Amber. He insists on a ceremony inside the prison, unwilling to wait until his release. The chaplain questions his urgency; he can’t pull the strings George thinks he can to get things moving. George eventually admits he fears Amber will leave him. He worries she’ll realise he’s not good enough. Her mum and dad think that and he feels they’ve got a point. George opens up further. He feels misunderstood by his family and worries that he’s basically bad, and doesn’t belong. The chaplain disagrees. Amber clearly loves him and has chosen him. He’s not ‘basically bad’ but potentially good, same as everyone else. He urges George to find a way to show the world he loves Amber. George promises to give it some thought. He’ll think of something.