Saturday 9 January 2016

Whatever Happened to Tracy's redemption?


(This post was originally posted by Ruth Owen on the Coronation Street Blog in November 2015.)

Even more difficult times are ahead for Tracy, who, obnoxious though she is, is having a rough time at the moment.


She is still grieving for her mother, her father has taken up with Nessa, Tony has cleared out the money from the Barlow’s Buys account and, presumably, she is still experiencing great guilt at her causing the death of two completely innocent people.

A while ago, Robert seemed to be on her case. He was trying to encourage her to admit her guilt and she seemed on the very point of doing so. Viewers will recall that Tracy was arrested and there was great jubilation on the cobbles as a result. Carla, in particular, was transformed when it was revealed that she was not guilty of causing the fire and therefore not guilty of the deaths of Kal and Maddie. The drinking, the gambling, the drunkenness were all kicked into touch and now, she is experiencing one of her happiest times on the cobbles. The factory is picking up, the relationship with Nick seems to be going very well and Carla seems the least tortured she has been for some time.  

 But then, for some reason, Tracy was released and since that time, the strange thing is, that there has been barely any mention of the fire. So what is happening? Has the storyline been abandoned? There are references to Maddie, usually by Sophie, and Kal’s memory is invoked frequently when we see how devastated Alya and Zeedan are, and their grandparents too.

It also seemed for a while that Robert might have succeeded in persuading Tracy to move towards some kind of redemption, the first stage of which would have been her confession. Yet it all seems to have dwindled away.

Things are going to get even worse for Tracy. Robert will take a shine to Leanne. Soap magazines are even suggesting that Robert will leave Tracy for Leanne. But hang on a minute. Wasn’t Robert supposed to be devoted to Tracy? All through his marriage to someone else, wasn’t it the case that he couldn’t get Tracy out of his mind? At least, that was what he claimed.

Though this may be a contentious view, I like the fact that Corrie has a female villain. Many say she is surplus to requirements, unconvincing, even ridiculous, but I for one would miss her. Why? I would miss her directness, her snarkiness, her rudeness, her viciousness. the relationships she has with Amy, Ken, Liz, Michelle and the other residents.

If Tracy was redeemed she wouldn’t be Tracy any more, so maybe the whole redemption idea was shelved. In Tracy’s favour, her grief over her mother’s death was real as were her attempts to be nice to Ken and help him recover, though it has to be said that Nessa seems to have been more effective at that.



Deirdre: A Life on Coronation Street - official ITV tribute to a soap icon. Available here.


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