Yahoo News Hollyoaks has failed the Chen-Williams family as another exit is confirmed
Hollyoaks spoilers follow from Thursday's first-look episode (April 13).
Hollyoaks' Chen-Williams family seem to be falling apart at the seams, with another exit confirmed in the show's latest episode.
Thursday's first-look edition saw Honour Chen-Williams wave goodbye to the village following the breakdown of her marriage to husband Dave. The emotional scenes marked the end of Vera Chok's 16-month stint in the role.
Honour was following another family member out of the door, as her daughter Serena made a surprise departure of her own in January. So what next for the family, who joined with such promise just over a year ago?
Hopes were high for Hollyoaks' newest clan when they arrived at the end of 2021. The show took a refreshing approach to their early episodes, introducing the characters in separate and seemingly unconnected storylines ahead of the big reveal at Christmas that they were all related.
There was plenty of storyline potential for the individual characters. Honour had a link to Warren Fox due to her job as a prison psychologist, Ethan was involved in the criminal underworld, Dave was revealed as Maxine Minniver's long-lost father, while Lizzie and Serena were involved in a love triangle with Sid Sumner.
Off screen, cast members like Vera Chok and Emma Lau (Serena) spoke passionately about being part of the first East Asian family in a British soap.
This provided opportunities for more diverse storytelling, such as Lunar New Year being celebrated on screen in 2022. The show also explored how Sinophobia was on the rise following the COVID pandemic, in powerful scenes for Honour and Serena.
Sadly, somewhere along the way, the show's commitment to the Chen-Williams family seemed to wane. Serena was a breath of fresh air when she was brought in as her fun-loving alter ego Galaxy in September 2021, but she lacked any real screen time or storylines once she was brought back as a regular.
Elsewhere, Honour's link to Warren was abandoned early in her time on the show. While she was often then shown playing a supporting role in other people's storylines, she has now left the village feeling largely unexplored as a character in her own right.
The male family members haven't fared much better, either. Dave feels like a character we still know nothing about, despite being in the show for over a year, and he has only appeared in a handful of scenes with Maxine since their father-daughter reveal.
Sam's relationship with Zoe Anderson is also oddly portrayed, with the pair hardly ever sharing romantic scenes (or any screen time at all, for that matter) when they're supposed to be a couple.
It'd be wrong not to point out the highlights that we've seen along the way. Mason being drawn into radicalised misogyny was a brave and well-played storyline, which was given the screen time and strong aftermath that it deserved.
Once the truth about Mason's behaviour was exposed in January, the Chen-Williams family were involved in electrifying scenes as they dealt with the fallout. The actors clearly relished the opportunity they'd been given, as the family came to life on screen again in a barnstorming episode.
Other revelations weren't so successful, such as the recent storyline where Honour discovered that Dave had committed bigamy when they tied the knot.
In a major problem which haunts Hollyoaks in general at the moment, the plot was explored with frustrating stop-start storytelling – appearing prominently on screen for a week, then disappearing for three.
This approach made the story difficult to follow, with audiences in danger of forgetting what had happened by the time the characters returned to screens to pick up where they left off.
Hollyoaks has talented performers playing the Chen-Williams family members, and the problems with the storytelling aren't the fault of the actors, so there's still plenty of opportunities for the clan's future.
There's no denying that Ethan has been the standout character from the clan so far, with Matthew James-Bailey having excellent chemistry with his co-stars. We hope the show now commits to Ethan and Sienna as a couple, rather than repeatedly reverting to tired old scenarios with Warren and Sienna.
Recent hints of a darker side to Dave also provide intrigue for the future – and Emmerdale fans know that Dominic Power plays a villain very well.
Izzie Yip has also made a strong start as Honour's niece Shing Lin, but fans will be hoping that the recent long gaps between her appearances in the show aren't a sign of the show repeating the mistakes they made with Serena.
Seeing more of Lizzie on screen recently has also been a welcome change, while it'll also be interesting to see how Mason's future pans out as his redemption plot continues.
With the family now entering a transition period following recent cast exits, let's hope Hollyoaks finally addresses the untapped potential.
Hollyoaks streams first on All 4, with new episodes dropping each weekday morning. The show airs Mondays to Fridays at 6.30pm on Channel 4, and at 7pm on E4.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
Read more Hollyoaks spoilers on our dedicated homepage
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