EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[All My Shadows]

This is cute.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv_o6MRDsiY

[Bright Eyes]

That was brilliant.

[NothinButAttitude]

Y'all called it. Kathy is alive.

[BetterForgotten]

Gillian kind of looks disturbed here....

[ReddFoxx]

That I did not see coming. Another killer kid on a soap this week, but unlike the one on Days, this kid did it on purpose.

[BetterForgotten]

What a clusterfuck this whole things turned out to be. I mean, I expected it, but this just got seriously lame.

DTC needs to be on his way out by the end of the year.

[NothinButAttitude]

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So the Square is filled with a bunch of killer children. Ben, Bobby.... who's next? And shockingly, they are all related to the Beales.

This whole murder mystery was stupid and could've been something special. Total waste. Bobby being the killer was a copout. I'm sure his crimes will be whitewashed when he needs to be sent off for life.

[BetterForgotten]

Such bad camp.

[All My Shadows]

Damn, even I can see how stupid this is. They spent most of a year building up motives and means only to squander it on having the killer be a kid? In a few years, he'll be a "hardened bloke" who can't act for sh!t. Stupid.

[TimWil]

Yep. Kathy's back. I'm happy.

I do think that Bobby (or Sandy, as he's known by Tanya) being the killer is lame, though.

Edited February 19, 2015 by TimWil

[DRW50]

Apparently they originally planned to make Cindy the killer, but then went with Bobby instead.

I keep hearing people talk about how shocking and wild this is, but hadn't everyone predicted parts of this ages ago?

I'm going through the flashback episode and my goodness Jamie Lomas is even more hilariously bad than he was on Hollyoaks. No wonder DTC canned him - even by EE standards he was just abysmal. I am laughing my head off in every scene he has.

[NothinButAttitude]

Well they should've stuck with Cindy. It would've been plausible seeing as she was the stray of the Beale family. She could've easily killed Lucy because she was jealous of her position within the family and wanted to remove her. Especially after that final scene between Lucy and Ian where Ian forgave Lucy for all her past transgressions.

But Bobby? Like why? Lucy should be the last person he wants to kill seeing as she cared for him when Ian went MIA. Lucy loved him dearly. This just ...

And I like Jamie Lomas. Maybe I have a soft spot for him seeing as all the sh*t he had to endure while being married [and eventually divorcing] that vile Kym Marsh.

It's like they are doing a knockoff of The Omen like Guiding Light did. His line delivery clearly let us know what to expect from Bobby. He'll follow suit of his uncle, Ben, and adoptive brother, Steven, by becoming the homicidal maniac that Ian has to cover for once again.

Is that all they have to give Ian story wise? When he's not sleeping around, he's dealing with psycho children. It's been his same story for the past 7+ years. And I am praying that Ian doesn't have a breakdown again and becomes a bum. I can't handle it.

[DRW50]

I wouldn't be surprised if they just drop the story long-term, as he obviously didn't know what he did. The whole thing feels silly to me.

Lomas is OK; he has charisma to burn, and a way with comedy, it's just he isn't suited to major dramatic material of any kind, IMO. I'm not sure who decided he should play drunk.

I will say I thought most of the flashback episode was decent. It was clumsily thrown together, but the use of music and atmosphere was effective. Lucy's long final conversation with Jane got to me. Hetti Bywater believably played a broken little girl - the first time I ever cared about Lucy...and sadly, the last.

Edited February 20, 2015 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

I'm glad that people are finally starting to give Hetti her props. She didn't have me at first but I blame writing. She did win me over when she stepped up as the head of household when Ian went MIA, and she's had me since. I hate that they killed Lucy. That character had too much potential to be killed. It's like killing Pat or Pauline once again--both too soon and for no real reason or payoff.

And I agree that Lomas is not the best dramatic actor. But EE squandered the role with him. He should've been a simple playboy instead of a drunken mess. I actually liked his chemistry with Lauren because he pulled her out that dreadful and nasty romance with her cousin, Joey.

[DRW50]

Before I forget it all I should give my comments on the main episode. I was a little disappointed, but my expectations were low enough that I'd say it worked. It was a very ambitious episode, far more than the 25th, and those ambitions succeeded.

The good:

- The gorgeous night shots of London. Absolutely stunning. They took my breath away.

- Even if it felt padded out, I liked everything with one person after another finding out about Dot letting Nick die. Clumsy or not, linking this to Ian realizing who killed Lucy made a great deal of sense. I liked that a few people in the room didn't want to go along with the coverup. I knew no matter how much they tried to protect her, Dot would make sure she paid the price - it's nice to see consistent characterization. I saw someone saying how bad June Brown was in the live scene in the squad car - it was pure ham, but also pure pathos - exactly what the scene called for. My favorite moment of the entire episode.

- Kat shoving that smug, passive-aggressive cow's face in the cake.

- Even if I am mostly going to complain about Phil in this episode, I'm still very happy they brought Kathy back. And she felt like Kathy to me, not Gillian Taylforth, which was a relief. God I got tired of Kathy after a while, but she never should have been killed off. It was, up to that point, the dumbest decision in the history of EE. EE is lucky as hell that unlike Pat and Pauline, this could be rectified. If they write this properly, instead of focusing on camp and posturing, then it could be wonderful. Harry Reid is a more than decent young actor, and Adam Woodyatt has recently given some of the best performances that I've seen from him in a very long time, so if the writing makes an effort, it can deliver. Don't screw this up, DTC!!!

- I thought the Who Killed Lucy stuff in this episode worked well enough, even if the ultimate resolution was silly and clear shock value. I didn't care who killed her, I still don't, but I do care about Ian, so the focus on him and his latest existential crisis lured me. Seeing them give Adam a chance to actually act was a nice surprise. I even liked that endless scene with Ian and constipated Mick. And Laurie Brett and Ben Hardy were also very good.

What was OK

- Stacey and Martin. I just don't see the chemistry, and it reminds me too much of Stacey/Bradley. I'm willing to give it a try, especially since they are taking the relationship slow and allowing Stacey to be uneasy about him.

- Kim giving birth. I like Kim, and Tameka and Diane were all too believable in playing the nasty things Denise said and Kim's refusal to forget or forgive, but I just didn't care about scenes of endless screaming. I realize the woman who plays Mo is rarely around, but I wish she'd been in the delivery scene with Sonia. I love Denise, but I will say that it's impossible for me to watch her in scenes with Patrick and watch Patrick trying to deal with her and not forget that she abused him. He does not have a believable reaction to someone he has every reason to fear hurting him again. More shock value writing, more lack of fallout.

- Sharon and Phil. It's obviously leading up to yet another vomiting up of the silly, silly idea that Sharon sees a fantasy Phil and Shirley sees the "real" Phil, but the scene still worked for Sharon's character and story. I just wish this relationship would end. Anyway, Letitia Dean has worked very hard to improve her acting after a poor return, and to me she's done a nice job of it in recent months.

The bad:

- Tanya and Max redux. Sniping in the cafe and grinding the episode to a halt. I guess their fans probably enjoyed this. Personally I thought it was totally pointless and felt like DTC patting himself on the back, even though he's the one who destroyed the relationship beyond repair for me in the first place (buried alive). I expect Max to be a bad father, but I often feel we're supposed to feel Tanya is a decent mother (why, I don't know). She's as self-absorbed and deluded as ever, gliding over the obvious mental illness of her daughter in favor of moping about how she thought she might have had a chance with Max or that he had changed (why would she think that...? The man would probably climb on top of Dot if she agreed). I'm glad she's gone again and I hope she doesn't come back.

- The Carters continuing to be the most isolated, sour, irrelevant family in Eastenders history. Say what you will about the likes of the Ferrias, but even they had more links to the Square.

Let's break it down:

- Dean returns to set fire to the pub with dozens of people inside

- Mick and Mick alone sees him (even though dozens of people could have) and wanders around looking for him while not groping a stranger or having a lengthy, constipated-looking chat with Ian about killing in the name of love.

- Dean takes Nancy hostage - only Mick reacts, as dozens of people continue to obliviously booze it up and listen to Kim wailing in the toilet

What is this? What If You Took A Hostage And Nobody Came? Why is DTC so terrified of blending his pet family into the canvas as a whole?

And how lame was that scene anyway? Did they have three minutes to go before filming shut down? Did they really have him return after 6 years away for that? This story has been a consistent failure in writing, acting, and most of all, message - yet another soap story that tells women if they are raped, coming forward will bring nothing but misery, and the law will never be on their side. Remember Kathy's rape story, when Eastenders actually cared about showing a woman bring her attacker to justice?

While I'm at it, why were Nancy and Linda meanmugging and sneering throughout everything with Sonia/Kat and Denise/Kim? None of those arguments were serious enough to warrant the involvement of the pub owners. I have no idea why this family consistently thinks they are so vastly superior to everyone around them.

And finally...last and least...

Phil and Shirley. There's a thing called "NOTP" which describes a pairing you absolutely hate. This one is high on my list. Once upon a time, I think Steve McFadden and Linda Henry had chemistry. I don't anymore. I haven't seen it in ages. The fallacy of Shirley knowing the "real" Phil and a few words in his ear from her forked tongue causing him to be a bad boy is just arrogant writing that is not backed up onscreen. Linda is a talented actress, but Shirley is a loser, and not the type like Pat was in her first few years on the Square, who knew what she was. Shirley thinks she's a victim, and worst of all, so does the writing. There's nothing worse than an unpleasant, unsympathetic character who is treated as a hero. They already have Phil for that. They don't need Phil in a frightwig.

Edited February 20, 2015 by DRW50