EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[Liberty City]

I don't think they are.

But, Chris Clenshaw revealed the attacker would be revealed in February, for the 40th anniversary.

[AMCOLTLLover]

Ugh So this is like a Lucy Beale Lite Version for this anniversary! How dissapointing! I expected much more. 

[Skylover]

I'd rather not have another murder though to be honest, in fact EE has been far too reliant on murder storylines since Archie's murder in 2010. I could possibly even do without the attack on Cindy. I wish they'd go back to exploring other types of dramatic storytelling, but I accept this is the direction they've gone in now. I quite like Phil's mental health storyline, and Nigel's return.

[DRW50]

Having Cindy attacked shows they have no faith in the story itself (with good reason). The laughable choice to literally recreate a scene from 1986 shows how little faith the show has in its own future.

[NothinButAttitude]

I got vibes that they were trying to recreate Pauline's murder with her falling out in the Square from head injuries, and it sparks into a sh*tty whodunnit. We all know the guilty party will conceal the secret up until next Christmas where they'll "crash out" and die. It'll cause a short-term ripple effect but nothing long lasting. 

While I have not been watching UK soaps lately, I do keep abreast of them, and the doom and gloom has to stop. EE's biggest X-Mas "duff-duff" moments were human moments like Angie/Den divorce or Peggy getting forgiveness from Mark or Den sitting in prison. Not every Christmas has to result in a murder. Hell, at this point, the characters should board themselves up for the month of December and come out after New Years. 

I'd love to see a simple X-Mas where there was simplistic family drama, but there was peace amongst the Square. 

[Manny]

Actually Clenshaw said somewhere that Cindy's attacker will be revealed for the 40th. So in a month and a half. So luckily we don't have to wait long for this story to finish. 

EDIT: Oh and regarding the familiar moments, I think someone told me that it was also Clenshaw that said that they wanted to recreate the familiar moments as an homage to 40 years (hence why we had Ian recreating Arthur's scene by having a breakdown in the living room; Cindy falling into the snow like Pauline and even the affair revealed via a recording a la Sharongate/Stax). 

For me, that's nice, but I didn't need that to be the centerpiece. When you do homage like that, you do it in small scenes, sort of like crumbs that fans notice. It shouldn't be a copy/paste for your main storyline of the Christmas season.

Edited December 28, 2024 by Manny

[Vee]

It's gonna be a kid. It so often is on this show.

[Vee]

So true lol. And yes, it would be kind of revolutionary for things not go dreadfully at an EE holiday at this point. You know the long cycle of Walford holiday carnage has reached diminishing returns when I see Cindy getting battered for Christmas and it feels low-stakes!

I kind of started tuning out on these big moments when they killed Pauline in the snow. I thought that was awful and heartless and I never quite got over it, and then watching both Pat and Peggy suffer grim fates - I thought it was unnecessary for all three. You just come to expect it at this point and it becomes numbing and rote. Or Sharon's love child with Dennis gets the same, killing off more of the Watts family. Or Ian's the fool yet again for another cheating spouse, this one back from the dead. What's the point?

The show is still well-made, often beautifully shot and cut and well-acted with solid scriptwriters. It's just in a sort of grinding nihilistic, repetitive cycle I haven't been able to invest in in a long time despite coming back off and on.

I will say Denise looks great. I don't know the status of her relationship with Jack these days but her other boytoy looks hot too. And it seems like Cindy's return has worked out despite my extreme disinterest in another British soap resurrection, which used to be anathema to them - I remember when bringing back Dirty Den was seen as unheard of and highly controversial in the UK. I am glad Kathy came back at least, and I am always pleased Colin Salmon has work.

What does Lauren have against all these people? I don't keep up on her at all. I have no idea who this camp, Coronation Street-looking big-haired drag show chick hounding Cindy is. Is Kat's kid still beating her? What a cheery storyline. Is poor Alfie still pining for her?

Edited December 28, 2024 by Vee

[DRW50]

Cindy's return has been pretty rough as they don't even bother to write for her relationships with anyone, even her kids. Just repeats and "shocking" moments. They left so much on the table. She could be anyone. 

EE has been stuck in repeat and meta hell for years. I still wince at the attempts to make Sonia into Dot and the endless trumpet jokes.

Edited December 28, 2024 by DRW50

[Manny]

Well Lauren found out that Cindy had a secret (the affair), but didn't know what it was and she learned that Cindy was somehow involved with Kojo's accident. At the same time, Cindy learned that Lauren was addicted to painkillers. So they both blackmailed each other with the information and Cindy even provided Lauren more painkillers. When Lauren burnt down the house due to the drugs, she confessed everything to Peter and Ian, but Cindy convinced them Lauren was lying, so Peter and everyone turned their backs on Lauren.

So when Lauren overheard Cindy speak about the affair, she revealed it all on Christmas via the recording. But for some reason everyone blamed Lauren for revealing it in such a manner.

Tommy is not beating Kat anymore, we haven't actually seen him in a while now. We saw a glimpse on Christmas and they all seemed happy and laughing, so Tommy is "cured"? That would be a disappointing ending to that storyline, since all of Tommy's "recovery" would have happened off screen.

Alfie and Kat are back together.

Oh and the campy lady is Elaine, Linda's mother and George's wife. I actually enjoy her and she had some great moments this year. A nice character journey.  

That's true. This is what was lacking from the reveal, the fact that we haven't seen Cindy with her daughters at all. Junior was also severely underdeveloped. All of this was lacking in this storyline.

[Liberty City]

Finally, catching up on the past two-weeks of EastEnders. And loving the returns for the Linda Carter episode. Makes me wish both Lee & Nancy would return in 2025 after the 40th celebrations. They just felt at-home.

[Manny]

This was the first time really seeing Lee and Nancy and I really liked both actors. I would like if they came back full time too. 

[Liberty City]

Same; it was nice seeing them, even for the Christmas Story-type of episode. Lee, especially, I liked.

[Manny]

I have to say, I'm not a fan of these special episodes, even though it was well done and great acting here. 

I really liked both. I was a bit more familiar with Nancy, because I've seen some videos previously when I am watching random scenes from the past. But I must say, I don't think I've seen Lee before and I really liked him.

[Liberty City]

Oh see, I like those type of episodes. And the sike-out was so well done, as I hadn't called it.

But yes, Lee needs to return in 2025! It's time.