EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

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[NothinButAttitude]

How did you all feel about Peggy's exit tonight?

 

It was cute that they brought back Pat to lead her into the afterlife. I personally found the rest of the episode to be rather disappointing. 

[DRW50]

I was genuinely surprised at how clumsily this episode was written. This was supposed to be what DTC had worked on and devoted himself to exclusively. I feel like the soaps in general have in recent years assumed their viewers are stupid, and I was saddened that a script that did try to paint a balanced portrait of suicide and letting go still had that trait. Of all episodes, this one should have had finesse and style even with the cracks underneath, but...it didn't. 

 

I'll start with what worked for me: 

 

- Ross Kemp. For all the talk of his limited acting range (and yes, he isn't the best actor around), I actually thought he was better than his material here. Grant still felt like Grant, just like Grant at his peak 20 years ago. 

 

- Grant and Sharon. Ross and Letitia still have electric chemistry. In one moment they reminded me of what I have never seen with Sharon and Phil. 

 

- Barbara Windsor. There were a few poor moments, but for the most part she carried off the script with grace, grit, and dignity. The final scenes were what they were because of her.

 

- Pat. I'm glad the show made it clear that this was not Pat, as otherwise I would have had a problem with her presence. Even then, I still had a problem with the self-parody "greatest hits" DTC back-patting of moments that were already played out long ago ("you bitch"/"you cow"), but most of this was minor compared to the reality of a dying, frightened woman clinging to an ideal. Pam St. Clement did herself proud, and it was nice to see her, even if it wasn't Pat. 

 

- The honesty of Peggy's choice. Yes, it's going to hurt those left behind. Yes, it's selfish. Yet, in the end she felt this was her only choice. And it was her choice. It was an honest depiction of the question of suicide, and was one of those moments that reminded me of what Eastenders was created to be. 

 

- Sharon and Peggy. Letitia and Barbara were at their best here. I could do without the looking after Phil part, because he's a middle-aged man, and she's done absolutely nothing to help him as it is so why is she still pretending she can, but otherwise the scene was nice.

 

- Martin in those jeans and top. A+ entertainment value. 

 

Now, what did not work for me:

 

- Padding. I went into this episode thinking 35 minutes couldn't be enough. Instead, due to how isolated Peggy was, it actually began to drag. The end of the karoake scenes and the start of the scene where she was wandering around an empty house and street like one of those religious movies about the Rapture were the point where I had to pause for a moment so that I could maintain interest and not just frown through the end credits. 

 

- Sh!t show. It wasn't awful, but it felt pointless and strange. And my fears of Belinda appearing more often continue to manifest - I thought she was annoying, stupid, and completely pointless tonight. I'm actually beginning to cringe when I see her. Carli Norris is a good actress, but Belinda is a caricature, and not an especially interesting one. 

 

- Repetitive clumsiness. One, even two scenes of Peggy smelling smoke would have sufficed. Instead, at one point Barbara Windsor was doing an impression of that Roxanne scene where Steve Martin sniffed his way down the street when he smelled a fire. The scenes of her clutching herself in pain were also two or three too many, when viewers already knew she was ill and dying. This all felt cheap and disappointed me more than anything else in the episode. 

 

- Vic histrionics. I guess we were supposed to see it from Peggy's POV - noisy and full of life just the way she liked - but by the end, I wondered if she was going to kill herself just to get away from all the shouty karaoke. 

 

- Grant and Phil. There's no reason why this material couldn't have been spliced into another episode. Not only did it detract from Peggy's final episode, it was also terribly written. I actually laughed out loud when Grant said they were "going to war." Given that everyone knows Ross Kemp can't be back for long, this is the Mitchell equivalent of EE promoting Wellard II only for him to appear in one scene for about 10 seconds. 

 

One thing DTC has always been good at is hype. He and Santer were expert at it. But somewhere along the way, he, unlike Santer, became so used to hyping himself and those he loved that he lost complete sight of what worked for the show. And I really felt that tonight, because a strong, caring producer could have made this so much more than it was.

Edited May 17, 2016 by DRW50

[NothinButAttitude]

^

I agree. DTC and Santer are good at hyping up shows, but rarely do they deliver. 

 

I agree with all the points you made, but I gotta add a few moments I didn't care for either: 

 

- Peggy 'passing' the torch to Linda. I just didn't care for that scene. I feel like DTC (before leaving) is doing his best to ensure Linda is the next Angie or Peggy--that legendary landlady when I don't see it. Much like Stacey's scene with Peggy yesterday, it felt like DTC was slapping yet another irrelevant character in Peggy's exit. I don't care about Peggy passing on the torch with Linda. She had no ties to her. As I've said previously, I wanted to see Peggy be surrounded by people she loved and hated. People she had relationships, history with. Her scene with Sharon was practically a throwaway scene (to me). We should've gotten more with Sharon and Peggy. More of Peggy with her grandkids too. 

 

- Mick and Grant sizing each other up. So cheesy and stupid. I felt like that short scene was tossed in there so that DTC could have yet another wet dream. His creation (Mick) facing off with the legendary Grant. A macho fantasy. I'm sure Dyer wanted this too. Honestly, I didn't give a damn about the Carters this week. Shirley was the only one I didn't mind (for once) being involved as she did have history with Peggy. 

 

Overall, I just hate how Peggy was isolated. Her scenes with Pat saved the episode for me. I thought her suicide scenes were done beautifully (if that's even possible), but so much occurred in the episode that I couldn't enjoy it or be moved by it. 

[Vee]

As someone who used to watch EE on the PBS omnibus reruns in the States and has a lot of memories of Peggy and Pat - two women of a certain age you'd almost never see headlining major story on American soaps, and who had some heartbreaking drama in those years - I took a look at this. I do think some of it was overwrought in a way that was trying a little too hard to be contemporary American soap, referencing back to itself too much stylistically in lieu of better content. That being said, it was lovely to see Barbara Windsor and Pam St. Clement again.

And yeah, that new Martin is hot, though he's not James Alexandrou.

[NothinButAttitude]

That line describes DTC's entire time at EE. I've said on here before that it feels like someone on that staff has been watching American soaps and not the good years. So many stories EE has told recently had the stench of American soaps--the last ten years. 

[DaytimeFan]

I loved Peggy's last scene. Back straight, head held high...like a queen. 

[BetterForgotten]

To be honest, all I cared about was Sharon and Grant. Ross and Letitia always had great chemistry and it's nice to see that hasn't changed with the years that have gone by. I can still buy Sharon as the ultimate love of Grant's life. 

[TimWil]

Nothin'ButAttitude, I actually wrote DTC to tell him how amused I was that he used the wedding processional music in the Moldavian Massacre episode on Dynasty for Jean's wedding on EE last summer. He didn't respond, of course. He absolutely was trying to emulate Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing from time to time. 

 

I was quite underwhelmed by last night's episode. I love Sarah Phelps but the whole episode just didn't work. It should have been a monologue. In my opinion the finest, most moving moments of Peggy's four episodes have been the scene in the doctor's office and the scene with Dot. Nothing else. 

Edited May 18, 2016 by TimWil

[DRW50]

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[NothinButAttitude]

Of course he wouldn't respond b/c he knows you're telling he truth. 

 

I thought Peggy's first couple of episodes were strong. Peggy's death episode dreadful. Out this short arc, I enjoyed the scenes when Phil took her down the Thames River, when they went back to their old flat, & Pat popping up. All those scenes were touching. 

 

I felt like none of Peggy's history was utilized at all. Nor Grant, Sharon, or Phil's. We saw more of Stacey/Martin toilet-gate and the Carters than we did the Mitchells. I didn't care about any other story but Peggy's the other day. 

[BetterForgotten]

I kind of hate that they gave Peggy a "Last Orders" special when Barbara really left the show a long time ago (and they did give Peggy a Revealed special during that last exit).

 

I hate even it even more than we never got anything like this for Pat/Pam St. Clement, who was the show much longer. 

[NothinButAttitude]

I agree, but at least Pam St. Clement can be proud that she got a better written exit than Peggy has. 

[DRW50]

I felt like it was more about Barbara Windsor than Peggy anyway. 

 

Overall I enjoyed it, but those twee, up-his-own-ass comments from DTC were an embarrassment. I've cringed at him from the first time he opened his mouth talking about how Tanya burying Max alive was "Greek tragedy."

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