I was wondering if they were going to deal with the racism angle. I do remember Jim referring to Billie as "that black kid of Carol's" or something to that effect when he was introduced and Carol saying that her father and all her brothers (even though Max and Jack hadn't been invented yet then) were all racist, a point which seems to have been quietly brushed under the carpet (aside from when Jim and Patrick first became friends). So while Jim, Max and Jack aren't racist anymore, its good to see Carol still remembers how she was treated when she got together with Billie's father (mostly by Jim and the other Branning brother not on canvas as Jack and Max would have still been a bit too young).

The show got over 9 million last night.

It sounds like the story with Carol and Billie's death is going to be very tough stuff. Apparently Carol is going to rage at Jim for being a racist and then forbid Jim, Max, and Jack from attending the funeral, saying they are all racists.

Wow that sounds like some truly intense stuff.

Maybe I should be keeping some sort of doctor on call, I'm going to be a mess during this stuff.

On the one hand this will just be more fodder for people who say Carol is miserable and awful and why did she come back, but at least it should be strong material for Lindsey Coulson, which is what she deserves. I do wish they could have woven Derek into this story.

I think the revised history says Max was one of the brothers who ran David Wicks off, but I can't remember.

Max can't be racist, he shagged Becca earlier in the year!

Spoilers for the week of October 25th:

Mon 25th Oct

Billie's funeral has heartbreaking consequences as an isolated Carol struggles to cope with her grief, in tonight's visit to Walford.

Bianca is horrified when old enemies return to the Square and Vanessa has a bombshell of her own.

Elsewhere, Kat is thrilled when the Vic's newest barmaid is revealed.

Tues 26th Oct

A devastated Carol finds comfort in an unlikely source – with a shocking outcome – in today's visit to the Square.

Meanwhile, Max accidentally reveals a dangerous truth to Lauren. And Bianca makes a sickening discovery.

Thurs 28th Oct

Janine's Machiavellian side rears its ugly head when Ryan betrays her on her birthday, in today's visit to the Square.

Elsewhere, it's the Vic's grand reopening but Alfie's lavish plans suffer a setback and Jay offers Billy some dating advice.

Fri 29th Oct

Ryan finds himself out of his depth as Janine's behaviour spirals out of control, in the week's final visit to Albert Square.

Elsewhere, Pat offers gentle words of wisdom to a fragile Carol and Fatboy experiences a severe case of withdrawal from Leon.

So I guess Max tells Lauren that Stacey killed Archie. I wonder who Carol gets comfort from?

I'm surprised that Jay and Billy are still close after Billy hits him.

Bianca`s Old Enemies...Dan Sullivan ?

It's probably the "yoof" gang from earlier this year.

And Alfie gets the cliffhanger again, seriously? It should have went to Billy. I will say, it is very easy to tell that Jake Roche is Shane Ritchie's son. And Stacey needed to simmer down, stupid cow. Oh no, Dot is leaving for bit. I love that woman to bits, even two weeks or so is too much.

Does Billie die this week or next?

Billie dies next Monday.

Hooray i guess.

I finally watched all of Thursday's episode.

This episode got a negative response at DS, but I enjoyed most of it. I really liked seeing Carol and Alfie interact, which was something that didn't add to a story but was nice character interaction (and also a nice blend of the eras). I think that Jessie Wallace and even Shane Richie are doing a good acting job in their story but I think it's all going a bit too fast and is suddenly so dramatic. I liked the scene at the cafe when Kat and Michael were in the booth (the lighting was so beautiful) and the scene with Alfie and the lamp switching on and off.

The scenes with Dot and Grace were nice, as they are both lonely women trying to open up to each other. Was Carol also fired for hitting a pupil? She could interact with Grace.

I thought Perry Fenwick did a great job in the scene where he hit Jay. He's such an underrated actor.

Today's episode:

I'm glad they didn't stretch out Kat potentially leaving with Michael to Spain, and that she stayed and reconciled with Alfie. I don't think I could stand another will they/won't they storyline for the couples on the show. I guess Michael will be back though, since we saw him drive off and we know he can't be staying away for too long. It will be interesting to see Michael explored more in depth once he returns. Kat and Alfie won't be on much, if at all, next week, so they're done with dominating the duff duffs for now. I did enjoy the scenes between Kat and Charlie too.

I wonder if that scene where Alfie assembled pictures of the Slater's, Kat with Zoe, and a random Nana Moon pic was for me. Do you find it strange that Kat hasn't mentioned Zoe yet? I would have thought they'd meet up when neither was in Walford over the past 5 years.

The Billy storyline is off to a promising start, especially him mentioning Julie in that one scene where the officer comes in to investigate Billy's time at the orphanage.

Poor Carol is gonna be crushed like hell next week once that useless son of her dies. Carol can't lie and say that she doesn't favour Billie more than her other children. She's been never treasured or been as blind to the faults of Bianca, Robbie, or even Sonia as she is with Billie. They tried to explain this in today's episode when she gave that speech about making up for her faults as a mother with her other children and sometimes going too far in the process with her protectiveness of Billie.

Phil is really reminding me of his early 90's incarnation these days, and he's merely a supporting character right now. I'm sure he'll get more story once Ben returns though.

Edited October 8, 201015 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Preview scene with Carol from next Monday's episode:

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