It was fairly evident in S6 that these two dont belong together. and while people seem to sympathize with Louisa I find her grating. She knew who Martin was and her belief that its always difficult with him just irritate me now (in S7; Ep7).
If the show goes into S8, let it NOT be a continual retreading of this couple, let them grow and move on. They can still parent without being together.
I think the problem with Louisa's relationship with Martin is that she assumed somehow she could change him and mould him into something in keeping with the village's type. She dislikes who he is but she loves the ideal of who he CAN be and how she would make him that way. I think she's read far too many romantic novels and is full of idealism...Martin is her Mr. Rochester, her Mr. Darcy...she has it in her head that although he is not particularly a 'kind' person that he 'could be', and that she could 'make him that way' by trying to show him how to behave.
Martin isn't the only aspect of her life she's done this with. I think the longer things have gone on, the more she's tried to present herself to everyone as what she wants to be (the perfect woman) rather than who she is. She was desperate to have a child but she run off to work the first chance she got, she dresses like a woman in the 1950s to try and present herself as 'the perfect woman' and has an ideal of how her, Martin and James should look Picnicking on the beach and going on holidays and being together. At the same time she's trying to present herself as the modern ideal woman by keeping a good position at the school, having a nanny watch her child as opposed to taking a year or two of leave and raising the child she brought into the world (I mean, the baby seemed barely a month or so old and she was off like a shot back to work).
Her baby is a year old and what does she do? She throws a massive somewhat unnecessary party (despite Martin's advice) that he will NEVER remember or probably be capable of enjoying properly. This isn't so much for her son, but for the village, so she can show how ideal her situation is, she has a good job, a husband with a high paying job, she has a perfect child and wants an exceptional party to show how "perfect" she has everything.
Louisa just lives in her head and has visions of what she wants rather than what she has, her version of what she wants from Martin is vastly different from the version of Martin she has already. It's difficult to sympathise with a woman who grows frustrated with the way the man she is married to is when she knew full well to begin with WHO exactly he was.
I don't think she's even attracted to Martin as when he hugs her she looks uncomfortable. Part of me thinks she really didn't want to get back together with him but she's doing it, not for the child, but for what the village perceives her as. Something tells me she met someone in Spain but she doesn't want to be 'that woman who run out on her husband and met someone barely a year into their marriage'.
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We've become a race of peeping toms.
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I think the longer things have gone on, the more she's tried to present herself to everyone as what she wants to be (the perfect woman) rather than who she is. She was desperate to have a child but she run off to work the first chance she got, she dresses like a woman in the 1950s to try and present herself as 'the perfect woman' and has an ideal of how her, Martin and James should look Picnicking on the beach and going on holidays and being together. At the same time she's trying to present herself as the modern ideal woman by keeping a good position at the school, having a nanny watch her child as opposed to taking a year or two of leave and raising the child she brought into the world (I mean, the baby seemed barely a month or so old and she was off like a shot back to work).
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ETA Also the woman with the pedigree with the hotel, the widow is well off. And lovely by the way. *She needs to be on our 'beautiful people' list, but her personality/character alters that, funny how that happens isn't it? I mean, innit? 😜
You Say... Something tells me she met someone in Spain but she doesn't want to be 'that woman who run out on her husband and met someone barely a year into their marriage'.
I thought I was the only one whom this occurred to...I got the feeling she went so far with him [Martin]that she could not pull back. I not saying she did not love him but as far as being his wife forever, I think she was hesitant. On her meeting someone else in Spain, I just thought they chickened out on making her that type of a woman. It would have ruined the series.
As I have said before Louisa is immature, heating and " she blames Martin for everything without accepting any for herself. As in real life men and women enter marriage with 2 different outlooks, she thinks she can change him and he thinks she will not change and both are wrong. Both of my ex wives changed drastically the day after our weddings, I was 34 the first time and 47 the second and I refused to change for anyone, especially when you realize the sex stops after the ceremony.
share@morn:
Perhaps it's better for everyone if you remain single.
If there aren't any skeletons in a man's closet, there's probably a Bertha in his attic.
@morn1960: I agree that there are women who think that they can "mould" their man to their requirements, but as for the sex part - maybe you just weren't doing it right.
No tears please, it's a waste of good suffering.share
I think the Doc should have hooked up with his psychiatrist Dr. Timoney. She was kinda hot in a British way.
shareI think the Doc should have hooked up with his psychiatrist Dr. Timoney.
I agree (though you didn't say why you think she'd have no interest. She is pretty and fairly vain (it seems), so she might think she can do better than a repressed, unattractive guy pushing 65!
But Martin would never be able to handle a woman who could analyse him and tell him (as bluntly as he tells others!) what his neuroses are and what to do about them. To Martin, he would never change for this woman or anyone else; he can barely change for Louisa, even though he seems to want to.
I followed all the rules...and you followed none of them. And they all loved you more.
Martin Clunes will be 55 in November. caroline Catz is 45. so that's only an age difference of ten years. And there don't seem to be that many appealing mature single men about.
shareI don't get the writers making Louisa into such a b**** in the episode about her going to the therapist. There was no reason (that I recall) for that. I truly did not like her at all in that episode.
I am unfamiliar with people who are as antisocial as the Doc is, so I don't know how plausible it is that he would be able to declare his true feelings at the Castle after the kidnapping and then revert to his old stoical self. He knows what he has to do to repair the marriage, yet he fails to do so.
I guess the writers want us to believe that the two of them love each. I feel that Louisa's love is more a reaction to her semi-idolatry of the doctor-savior side of Martin. His love of her is primarily for her beauty and the fact that she is the only available attractive single female within 100 miles -- even if she apparently is a great deal younger than himself. I would like to shake him silly, "un-correct" his posture, and get him into intense therapy for about a year (perhaps if there is an eighth series, the writers will have had him do that during hiatus).
It sounds like I don't love this show, but I do. I guess, like many others, I hope against hope that Martin will wake up and smell his own good fortune. I enjoy the other characters more each time I watch all of the episodes; and the stories are acceptable, if totally frustrating. We all gained a lot with the addition of Ruth, who, also hopefully, will continue to "counsel" the good folks of Port Wenn in Season 8. (Note to the writers: fewer dead animals and more face-time for the little dog, who had a name, I believe, in one episode with Joan.)
I never thought they should have been together since day one really. I always thought there was something wrong or off with her. I just simply don't like her character all. He should either find someone else more suitable for him or just be alone.
shareI thought Edith was a better match.
shareEdith?! She was a complete b!tch who was manipulating Martin to elevate her career. Just because they're both aloof doctors, doesn't mean she was a good romantic prospect for him.
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I see that but she also directly acknowledged his problems helped with them. Instead of accepting his problems, Louisa just gets passive aggressive and constantly expects him to be different. Edith on the other hand always addressed the elephant in the room.
shareWell, it seemed pretty obvious Edith wanted him to get over his blood phobia because she wanted a high-status doctor boyfriend, not because she actually cared about Martin. And she was always really annoyed with him about his lack of progress, not concerned. Definitely not relationship material for Martin.
shareI had the same reaction to the idea of Edith. Yes, she addresses Martin's problems, is aloof, a doctor and even more pompous and snobby than he is, but in this case, common traits don't make for a good match.
She would basically do what Louisa has been doing all all along (nagging and urging him to change) but Edith would just put in more "elevated" terms, with some psychological studies and medical terms thrown in. If anything, I think this approach would annoy Martin even more! Remember that he loves feeling superior, which is easy with Louisa, no matter how much he loves her.
I followed all the rules...and you followed none of them. And they all loved you more.
Yeah. You have to be the same deep inside, not the same in your outward persona. Personality is just how we interact with the world - it's only a small part of who we are, and, in some cases, can even be in direct contrast to who we really are deep down.
And in other cases, two different people can have a similar personality, but still be totally different at their cores, as I feel is the case with Martin and Edith. She's pompous and aloof because she really does appear to just think she's better than others (like with how she treated Joan's friend who had the "cyst" that turned out to be diverticulitis, and her clear desire to rise through the social ranks); doc is confident in his intelligence, yes, but it appears his terrible parents and his passion for medicine (getting irked at ignorant behavior) are what sometimes make him come off as not-so-nice, not a genuine callousness like with Edith.
She would basically do what Louisa has been doing all all along (nagging and urging him to change) but Edith would just put in more "elevated" terms, with some psychological studies and medical terms thrown in. If anything, I think this approach would annoy Martin even more! Remember that he loves feeling superior, which is easy with Louisa, no matter how much he loves her.
You can't help who you fall in love with.
No, I don't think she realized the depth of his mental and social issues. She thought he was merely rude and not friendly.
I think they should have gone through with the wedding, and plowed ahead, like their instincts originally told them to. The separation did some damage, IMO. If they had been married, they would have had to work at things harder, and the pregnancy would have been shared.
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I think that Martin and Louisa are perfect together. They obviously love each other and work very hard to make their relationship work. It is difficult, but that is the main plot of the series.
If you watch the specials on the DVD's Phillipa Braithwaite, the Executive Producer and Martin Clune's wife explains that when they write each series the relationship and conflicts between Martin and Louisa are the main part of the story. They work that part out first and then write the rest of the stories around that. Phillipa, Martin and Caroline Catz and the rest of the cast and crew feel this is the meat of the series. The fan mail they get bears this out. Martin and Caroline say they adore filming these scenes. They enjoy it when everything seems to be going well and then there is a twist and it all seems to fall apart. They love it when there are breakthroughs and it all comes together, too.
I like that too, like the time, Mrs. Tishall kidnapped Baby James and Martin talked her down by saying all of the things he really wanted to say to Louisa. And he really was saying them to Louisa. They really connected, too.
As a psychologist I work with many couples who live with at least this much conflict. The communication is just this poor. They truly love each other, but they do not know how to work it through. Many people rush straight to divorce, today. That will never make them happy because they will just get into another relationship and do the same thing. The only way to avoid this is to learn how to build a relationship and communicate or be content with a very superficial relationship, and never find true happiness.
Dr. Erlich
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Ignorance is the enemy of civilization