EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Exactly. We've seen tons of scenes of Ben caring for Phil, which boggles me but I digress. However, we don't the shoe on the other foot. 

 

When it comes to Sharon, I blame Letitia and the writers. Letitia has enough clout at EE/BBC that she out to file a complaint and demand Sharon gets her backbone back. I miss the old Sharon that was vampish, combative, and vengeful at times. Now she's a damn drip. I FF through her scenes as of late b/c I cannot stand to watch it. 

 

Phil becoming involved with this child is farce. He'll do this 'good deed' to get a clean conscious but in six months flat, he'll be back to the same old shenanigans. I feel like Phil should've been hit and killed by the bus if the writers had any sense. 

[Vee]

I saw EE was trending and had to post this gem:

 

 

[DRW50]

 

It's a good joke but that isn't actually what the show was like back then. 

[NothinButAttitude]

In my Carmel voice: "Kushy! Kushy! Shaki! Shaki!" 

 

Please register in order to view this content

 

What grown ass men would even answer to that? If I were Kush, I would've stayed hidden under the rubble until she shot up, or if I were Shaki, I would've stayed on the bus. Carmel is a f-cking embarrassment.

 

I'm sorry but some of these actors reactions were over the top tonight. Especially, Bonnie Langford. Boy did she chew the f-ck out of the scenery alongside Lacey Turner, Emma Barton, and a few others. I get people are supposed to be hysterical but they took it to the max. You would've thought that a bomb was dropped on them. 

 

Diane Parrish was the jewel tonight for me. She didn't take it overboard with her reaction. She was restrained enough for me that I believe she was shaken by the experience. So glad that Denise recoiled when Kim came around and reminded her just what she said. 

 

Not surprised that Martin's meathead ass was trapped under the bus. I bet he'll be in favor of the stalls being moved now. 

 

I don't believe that Whitney is under the bus at all. It is an obvious red herring. It'll be Lee, which is a stupid and cheap way to send the character off. Basically, if you are a depressed young man, you're weak and will get killed by a bus is what I took from the whole ordeal. Once again, I hate how the episode ending up being about Mick instead of the others. I'm mentally prepping for the next few months to be all about Mick. 

 

Lauren & Steven ... why?! They should've brought Steven back as gay, which is what he was originally, and had him chasing after Ben or Johnny. 

 

So not only is Keegan a bully but he is a thief too? Thanks, EastEnders for further perpetuating that young Black men are nothing but hostile, crass thugs that steal and assault people.  I'd've preferred Keegan be blown up in the bus instead of continuing to watch this crud. 

Edited January 24, 2017 by Nothin'ButAttitude

[DRW50]

I liked the opening, which was less like a soap than a video game cut scene - Carmel slowly waking up and reacting to the horror around her. 

This episode was so well-directed and tightly made - it never really stopped. A few times I lost interest thanks to poor acting or clumsy writing, but most of it held my interest and felt like a genuine snapshot into the reactions of emotions of people who have been essentially put under siege. 

Using this Keegan character to ghoulishly document the carnage (with a grin on his face the whole time) was unsettling, and a good look into how many people today do see disasters - with voyeurism. Too bad they also had to include the scene of him stealing, with SOC once again overegging the pudding just in case we don't get that he's a bad person.

The scenes on the train with Sylvie/Shirley/Tina were the perfect contrast to everything going on in Walford. They could have seemed like time-fillers or like deterrents to the main drama, but they didn't. It was especially nice to see Shirley, who has so many understandable issues with a mother who treated her like garbage, slowly warming to her over the course of the stop. And as often happens when she gets the right material, LBW gave a lovely performance. 

Lauren and Steven arguing over the crash and over Peter after they have been bit players for eons was an odd writing choice, and it just made Lauren look like a complete dumbass (as many people react to events in different ways at first - surely she would know this given the disasters she's seen in Walford) and also made it look like she was using a horrible incident to score points. Bad writing. 

This was another of those episodes where Babe was fascinating rather than a tired self-parody - we saw that side of her again where she was clearly doing her best to foment chaos and fear (with Honey and Donna). It was genuinely so gripping to watch - she is just a monster. She feeds on pain and paranoia. I guess Keegan is now taking her place in that department, but I'm not sure it will have the same effect. 

Of everyone trying to do "shocked" or "hysterical" acting, I was most impressed with Lacey Turner and Emma Barton, with Emma even making a panic attack (which is so difficult to play) feel natural. Jake Wood was also good. 

The hamming from Tilly Keeper and Bonnie Langford spoilt some of the key scenes early on, so I was glad to see them take a backseat in later scenes. 

If I was supposed to feel sorry for Kim, I can't yet. It's easy to feel something for a person who almost died, but she wasn't there for Denise when Denise needed her most. I hope Denise keeps her distance for quite a while. 

I liked the moments where they were looking for Donna, where Vincent found her but she couldn't move because of her injuries and disability, then her comforting Honey in the Vic. Whoever thought when DTC introduced a character that could easily be dismissed as another Adam Best (a disabled character there to berate other characters), she would become such a likeable and integral part of the markets? 

The ending was a bit cheesy but it actually would have worked for me if not for the endless loop of callous behavior from Mick to Lee and thoughtless, selfish behavior from Whitney. Thanks to that I can't bring myself to care about how Mick feels, or if Whitney is dead. If Lee's dead my only reaction will be one last shrug of disappointment at how poorly his story has been handled. 

[Adamski]

 

Oh, I thought the scene directly after the bus crash - where Louise was just screaming on the top deck - was really affecting, it made me feel quite panicked. 

 

[DRW50]

 

I mostly saw an actress giving a performance, but more fans agreed with you.

[Vee]

I thought the Trainspotting-esque POV shots were a bit silly. Haven't seen the last one post-crash yet. Are we supposed to think the bus driver was one of Babe's customers? (I know people hate this scheming character but I still love Annette Badland from Doctor Who and I think she plays this petty evil to the hilt)

 

They've really leaned on the actress playing Denise recently much more than I can remember EE doing with a black character in a long time, but then I haven't watched regularly in years. She's carrying a lot well, but I imagine when the issue of Phil's baby is less prevalent she'll be shifted to the sidelines again.

 

I don't know why NuMichelle is basically around to play matronly, placid, slightly goggle-eyed (and now apparently sexually predatory) talk-to to everyone and anyone, from people she doesn't know to nemesis Phil. That's not Michelle IMO. They need to work on her, a lot. I understand there's some tragic domestic malaise there (there always is on this show) but I really like the new Martin with Stacey. She fits there like a glove IMO, even when she seems long-suffering. She's incredibly compelling in just day-to-day family stuff.

 

The actress playing Glenda Mitchell is excellent but the character has quite a history and on this show leopards, to paraphrase Babe and Whitney, almost never change spots. EE is too often about letting the least of human nature win out, and its treatment of vulnerability vs. masculine energy or personal reformation is regularly schizophrenic. I don't anticipate her having a good end, though it would be refreshing for this show.

 

That kid playing the son of Phil's transplant was awful. They're really going to bring him back?

Edited January 25, 2017 by Vee

[DRW50]

I tend to prefer Michelle more with Sharon and the Mitchells than with Martin and Stacey. 

 

Some think that Glenda will end up sleeping with Jack. I don't think that will happen, although I wonder. I figure she may be running a long con.

 

Annette Badland has been better in her last months in the role. You may have missed some really bad stuff last year when she was the panto villain blackmailing nonstop. 

 

They haven't said yet about the driver, but I wouldn't be surprised. 

[Vee]

 

I've seen some of Babe before. She is definitely a moustache twirler but I think Badland plays it with great gusto. I don't understand her motivation though, unless all her misdeeds are about ingratiating herself to the family.

 

I am 50/50 on either of those options with Glenda and I think it will be one or the other, which I find tiresome. I don't know why EE always has to go the grim route.

 

I like the new Michelle when they frame her in shots with Sharon because it reminds me of the past, but that's about it. Her trying to play Meredith Vieira to Phil and whoever else just doesn't make sense to me. I prefer her with the people Michelle used to know because then I can pretend there is a plan for this character beyond strange, middle-aged pervy housewife wandering through the streets in search of dignity. Stacey alternately chafing around Michelle and sympathizing with her is relatable material for the both of them, even if I don't buy Michelle going all Martha Stewart on the household.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Vee

[Skylover]

They're taking this experimental use of filming way way too far. This is a soap for God's sake.

[NothinButAttitude]

Please let it be true:

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/eastenders/news/a819847/eastenders-stars-real-danger-carters-could-lose-the-queen-vic/

[DRW50]

Most likely according to speculation, Sharon will take over the license and Mick will run it. 

[NothinButAttitude]

 

Eww. How disgusting. 

[DRW50]

 

I'd take that over Phil back in there, to be honest. 

 

I don't mind the Carters too much in the Vic, I just hate how abusive Mick is to his children. And I'm tired of Whitney humping his leg. I can't even watch her at this point.