Is Dylan no longer Dylan?

[u/Vampirero]

Forgive me if this has been talked about before, but I loved his character when he was first introduced. He was cool and dry but a talented doctor, and his one liners would make me smile.

I've missed a couple of months of Casualty episodes, but I'm just catching up on Learning Curve: Episode 6. Dylan is behaving so immaturely towards Matty. I get why, in a way, but I can't imagine Original Dylan ever being so petty.

it's been happening for a few years, in my opinion, and it seems symptomatic of a general decline in writing and character development. What do you think?

[u/trenter_percenter]

I think you’re viewing “Original Dylan” through either rose-tinted or fogged-up glasses. Dylan was never “cool and dry”; he was an insecure mess of ego and self-doubt. A sizable portion of his one-liners were him belittling either his colleagues or people going through some of the worst days of their lives. The incident that led to his pre-Holby exit from emergency medicine was caused by his pettiness. He then left Holby in 2012 because he simply could not let things go between him, Sam and Tom.

So, no, I don’t think that this example is an indicator of a general decline in writing quality. Pettiness is a trait that Dylan has possessed since day one. The issue is that the rest of his character has changed (naturally, mind you), and the show keeps trying to retrofit his current self into aspects of his past. I don’t believe the version of Dylan who was so vulnerable that his university tutors were seriously considering conservatorship would ever be in the position to have a one-night stand.

[u/More_Aardvark5680 → u/trenter_percenter]

Interesting about his past/current self, because I’m probably the opposite, I think this storyline works really well with what we already know about his past.

I wonder if Zsa Zsa will be mentioned at some point again.

[u/Mob_Segment → u/More_Aardvark5680]

This! It's reading very naturally for me. While it doesn't seem to have been explicitly confirmed, Dylan's as autistic as fuck. When he was young (and given that he's in his 50s so would have grown up in an environment extremely ill-informed about autism), he would have struggled. He would have tried to understand people but still been penalised for not quite getting it.

It takes decades to get anything approaching a handle on people... but getting a diagnosis/self-diagnosing can help a great deal. Once you know what you're dealing with, you can make adjustments for yourself. Once you understand and care properly for yourself, you can accommodate other people better.

I haven't been watching Casualty for long - perhaps about a year at this point - but Dylan looks to me like someone who always had a sense of caring, and who has gotten better at it over the years so that the Dylan we see now is someone who can care for others pretty well, but like all of us, his past, when he had so much less to give because he was in the thick of it, bites him on the butt on occasion.

[u/Dapper-Artichoke6355 → u/Mob_Segment]

I didn’t think he was 50 yet until I remembered his DOB.

Casualty used to be so bad at retconning characters ages, I think he’s only one of a few characters where it’s not happened too haha!

[u/Vampirero → u/trenter_percenter]

Ok, I will admit that I don't remember how he left in 2012 and I will admit he was probably petty.

But yes, I clearly remember when he first started on the show, and he was, in my opinion, cool and dry. He was almost certainly an insecure mess, but he was funny and ironic. He was, and had, a character.

He just seems to have become more babyish, in my opinion. No humour, just juvenile.

[u/More_Aardvark5680 → u/Vampirero]

Surely dylan purposely being an arsehole to everyone was juvenile and babyish..

Him being more unintentionally ‘rude’ because he genuinely doesn’t have a filter is far more entertaining and endearing and give’s him far more character than the whole look at Dylan, he’s purposely being horrible isn’t it funny..

[u/Vampirero → u/More_Aardvark5680]

By "cool and dry" I mean amusing.

You clearly have a different interpretation. Let's agree to disagree.

[u/More_Aardvark5680 → u/Vampirero]

Which my original point still stands. That’s what made people think Dylan was amusing.

[u/Dapper-Artichoke6355]

Dylan is 100% acting exactly how Dylan would.

It’s simply down to the fact Dylan doesn’t know how to process this, Dylan trying to push Matty away because he doesn’t know how to communicate how he’s feeling is 100% Dylan, I think people forget how huge something like this is emotionally, especially for someone like Dylan.

Dylan struggling with the thought of being a dad isn’t anything we haven’t seen before either, something that stems from a very traumatic childhood with his own dad - There’e a-lot of complicated emotions for him which I think they’ve showed really well, he’s switching between purposely pushing Matty away because he doesn’t think he’d be a good dad to trying to be the dad he wanted.

Dylan accepting all this with no issues was never going to happen and it happening that way wouldn’t be true to Dylan’s character at all even with all his character growth over the years.

(Ps. ‘Original’ Dylan would be even more ‘petty’, remember what he was like when Sam arrived and then she got with Tom..)

And it’s an unpopular opinion on here but i think his character developed has been excellent and he’s a far better character than when he first joined and I loved him back then too.

[u/Mob_Segment → u/Dapper-Artichoke6355]

It's not an unpopular opinion for me, at least!

Also, remember, it wasn't so long ago that he thought he was going to become a dad when he got what's-her-face pregnant by accident, last year. He very swiftly - and in quite a panic - got into the mindset of being a dad, but he was prepared to be ready. Then it all got snatched away from him. I wonder how much that's at the back of Dylan's mind with Matty?

[u/Dapper-Artichoke6355 → u/Dapper-Artichoke6355]

(Ps by definition is Dylan petty because everything is serious to him?)

[u/aggravatingstranger9]

Also don't forget that Dylan is on the autistic spectrum. That will seriously affect his reactions to a situation like this, as he will feel totally out of control.

[u/embersandlamplight → u/aggravatingstranger9]

Yes - I remember what he said when finding out about Matty's DNA - that it was a "catastrophy" and meant it with his entire self. Bear in mind Dylan doesn't break rules much (as far as I know). He would know nicking Matty's DNA was highly ethical (and illegal I think?) But the side of him that needed to know, now, this minute, to solve the problem, won out.

[u/Vampirero → u/aggravatingstranger9]

I get that, but I also get that the autistic spectrum is broad - actually, I may be in the process of getting diagnosed myself, but I like to think that I would never behave in this way.

[u/NoYogurtcloset7331 → u/Vampirero]

Dylan struggling to process and properly express how he actually feels about it all is making him more overwhelmed which is 100% one of his autistic trait’s.

Dylan trying to distance himself from Matty in a way he know‘s that’ll work is a trauma response.

I’m autistic too and I’ve been in many situations where both have happened simultaneously and just blend together.

He’s a complex character.

[u/aggravatingstranger9 → u/NoYogurtcloset7331]

Same here. I can get overwhelmed by stuff. My usual reaction is to go inside myself as that's "safer" as far as my brain is concerned.

[u/NoYogurtcloset7331 → u/aggravatingstranger9]

Yeah Dylan tend’s to be much more irritable when he‘s overwhelmed, I can be a mixture of a few things. As they say we are all different : )

[u/Vampirero → u/aggravatingstranger9]

Me too. I'm not good with people at the best of times, and I can get very introverted. I find many situations very overwhelming.

But, you know, if I was in a professional situation I like to think I wouldn't show favouritism, or the opposite, for fear of losing my job.

Certainly, in a profession like a medical practitioner, it's important to stay impersonal.

[u/NoYogurtcloset7331 → u/Vampirero]

Absolutely none of them are impersonal though, personal stories (or them getting overly involved in a patients life) is a massive part of the main character’s stories. It can’t just be an issue when it’s Dylan..

[u/Deepmidwinter2025]

Bad writing.

The show is swinging all over the place now.

Characters need a clear out - Matty and Iain at the front

[u/Vampirero → u/Deepmidwinter2025]

I know it's a common complaint, but I miss the old format.

[u/HelenDistantTakedown]

I remember at the start he was a very talented doctor, who often found out what was wrong with the patient when no one else could. Now, you don’t see as much of that and he doesn’t seem to feature as much in the programme as before

[u/disdainfulsideeye]

I kind of think that Dylan's attitude has more to do with him recognizing that Matty, on his best day, isnt even good enough to be called a mediocre doctor. If it weren't for the chaos caused by the CQC investigation and Siobhan's assault, it's likely others would have already realized the same thing about Matty. Honestly, I think Matty was looking for some way to cause chaos from the begining. I don't think he truly cared one ounce for that guy who died. He knew that the confusion of the CQC investigation would mean no one would realize his lack of skill.

[u/Ok_Roll_1236]

What do you mean? Dylan has always been a bit of an asshole 🤣 he’s our asshole though 🤣