EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[NothinButAttitude]

I'm glad Sharon is getting a little better too but I feel like she is nowhere near where she needs to be. Sharon should've clobbered Phil for having a part in Dennis' death. Instead, she overlooked it and married him. IDK how she's going to explain this to Denny when he learns the truth later on in life. But it would be pure poetic justice if Denny was the one to murder Phil in later years.

[BetterForgotten]

Natalie should have been on the underrated character list! Sorry, I've always had a soft spot for Lucy Speed.

But happy to see Matthew Rose, Sanjay and Gita, Nigel, and Alan Jackson on there.

[DRW50]

I liked Natalie too, even if she got lost at the end.

I might be tempted to put Annie Palmer on there too - Nadia Sawahala making a fool of herself on CBB reminded me of when Annie was strutting around various seedy Walford underworlds.

[NothinButAttitude]

Napping on it, you guys know who else should've been on this list? The Ferreiras. That whole family was so underrated.

[TimWil]

I agree about Natalie. Lucy Speed was terrific and still looks great. She's married to a gorgeous actor named Spencer Austin and they have an adorable little girl. I could see her returning to EE someday. I could actually see Natalie with Mick.

[DRW50]

In the runup to the anniversary, I watched Thursday's full show.

DTC has never been good at day-to-day episodes, but I was still surprised at just how lethargic and disjointed the whole thing was for the setup to an endlessly hyped week that is supposed to celebrate 30 years on the air.

Anyway, worst to best...

- Roxy/Charlie nonsense. What a lazy mess. I couldn't help noticing that Charlie never expressed one hint of regret for sleeping with his sister-in-law (instead just saying he'd needed a piece of her because he was so upset about Ronnie - classy guy blaming your wife for your whoring ways), nor did he say he wouldn't do it again, even when Roxy all but begged him to say it. They'll be [!@#$%^&*] again by springtime. I hear talk about how it's OK because Roxy and Charlie have such "chemistry," but I struggle to find it. All I see is Jack 2.0 - a passive, gormless loser who sticks it in the sisters at random intervals like his own personal porn movie. If Daniella Westbrook comes back one last time I think we can guess what her story will be. And how utterly pathetic he was to sit there silent as Roxy harangued his grandmother (please writers, don't make Rita Symons try to say the word "deliberately" ever again) only to then go back to Dot later on and say he was wrong. I hope Dot gives him a motorbike for his birthday.

While I'm at it - this idiocy pissed all over what should have been a great soap moment in Ronnie waking up from her coma. Now the focus won't be on her recovery, but instead on her husband's penis and her slut of a sister. Awful awful writing. DTC does not get drama. This is parodies of soap trash. It's not drama.

- Ian/Jane wedding. I don't give a damn. I haven't given a damn since 2007. I get the idea - Ian is trying to lull himself into happiness and Jane is trying to support him because she feels bad for him and/or she was involved in Lucy's murder. And we need them to get married yet again for a big anniversary week, so his world will come crashing down. It's just so washed-out. Ian has a hissy and various people react and Jane does his bidding. I'm sure if they stay together, we'll get more passive-aggressive Jane blankface sourness, more prossie visits, and more of Jane practically cutting open the bellies of random pregnant women. Thrilling stuff. I was never a Jane/Masood fan but she had more life with him in their brief conversation than she's had with Ian in a decade.

- Alfie/Kat. Woo-eee. A man burns down a flat while his wife is sleeping inside, leaving her with significant burns and intense pain. What do we get? Of course, she has to shape up and go get her man. Whatever. I don't care how big a bulge he has in his jeans, he's not worth it. And I'm sure Kat has had much bigger anyway. This whole thing smells of rewritten/dropped storylines.

- Donna the token disabled character needs a man. I guess Pam Coker is supposed to be "quirky" and "endearing," but if I were Donna I would have given her a slap. What a horribly patronizing person she is. This was pointless filler but was OK for what it was. I liked that she found a guy for some fun on her own, instead of going after Alfie.

- Dot and the drug den. The dialogue was lousy ("Ma gimme a fix!" "Give me my fix!" - I think we get it, Jack Webb) and the whole thing is a rehash of a rehash, but June Brown was at her best, and John Altman was subdued by John Altman standards. We all know how this goes, but unlike other stories on repeat, the history makes sense and it doesn't just feel like a regurgitation.

The scene of Dot wandering back into the place after being sure she'd driven Nick away were very very good - great camera work. It looked like she was wandering into Hell, which she was, given that Nick has always been her true punishment and Hell.

- Lauren's secrets. Jacqueline Jossa and Lacey Turner have always worked well together, and that comes in handy here. Jossa makes the weight of the whole thing believable, instead of seeming like a stalling tactic. Stacey's very damaged past with lies and murder also makes her the right person to put opposite Lauren here. Points to the Ian/Max scene where Ian tells them not to come to the wedding, and instead of "right, get orra ma house!" and chest-thumping, Max just said, "Fine," and a confused Ian shuffled out the door.

Edited February 13, 2015 by DRW50

[TimWil]

I enjoyed that, Carl. All I can add to that is thank God that Dot/Nick's final few episodes have proved to be memorable because everything leading up to them since Halloween have been utter shite.

Edited February 13, 2015 by TimWil

[NothinButAttitude]

This post gave me life! So true to everything. And you know you're wrong for that motorbike shade.

[DRW50]

I was wrong, and Dot heard me and mentioned Ashley the next day. Sorry Dot...

Anyway, Friday's episode. This time, best to worst:

- Nick's death. Overall, very strong scenes. I could have done without the history lessons, as it felt too expository, but Daran Little switched it up somewhat by having them talk about their feelings at the time. I especially liked Dot's line about how after he'd started taking heroin as a teen, his eyes had scared her. For all the talk of these supposedly exciting, thrilling new characters, the most genuine heart and drama on the canvas comes from Dot and her painful past. Strong praise for June Brown, and yes, to John Altman, who let the scenes be about Dot even though they were his last on the show, and who gave a credible performance.

- Lauren's eye exercises. You could believe the walls were closing in on her, and while having her bug her eyes out at anyone or everyone who walked into a room with her was ridiculous, I think having Lauren, with her very traumatic, self-destructive past, struggle with this burden is very strong drama. I also liked her bitter words to Stacey and Max, which were true to the characters and relationships. The cop was annoying - if they are going to always write cops this way (sour and full of harsh quips), they need to find better actors.

- Denise with Kim and Patrick. It was nice to see them at home, just having a normal day. Rudolph Walker is such an underrated actor.

- Denise's home truths. Yes, she shouldn't have gone to the party, but she was right about Ian, and it's obvious that Jane didn't even disagree, only covering her true feelings because of whatever lies or plans she has going on. This would have nearly topped the Dot/Nick scenes for me if Denise had knocked some teeth out of Sonia's mouth for smirking at her that way. Sonia always looks like she doesn't have teeth anyway.

- Catty cows grazing around the Beale home. Sharon didn't really say much of anything, but Linda and Sonia said more than enough. How rude to go into someone's home to celebrate their wedding and eat their food and drink their booze, and talk crap about them, bring up instances involving their murdered daughter, etc. I have no idea why Sonia was even there. And Linda continues to be utterly vacuous as a character when she isn't frowning the day away. Waste of airtime through and through.

- Stan's shaming sessions. If they'd had Mick tell Shirley he still doesn't forgive her and is pretending for Stan, I could have bought it, but otherwise, this wrapup (Mick forgiving Shirley trying to kill him at birth, lying to him for decades, supporting his wife's rapist, moving said rapist into their home) is absurd. And it makes the stalling of last year even more absurd. All that, and the ruination of Dean as a character, for this and a shitty Christmas cliffhanger? Yet again DTC lives for hype and flunks at followthrough. And how is it that Shirley became the victim in all of this? This family is so drab and miserable and toxic. Why am I supposed to care about any of these people? They're terrible for each other and a huge drain on the show as a whole.

[TimWil]

I just hated it that Nick's last words were "I'm sorry, Ma. Forgive me." I think he should have been unrepentant to the bitter end. He was responsible for the deaths of three people, including his teenage son. It was a sentimental, unrealistic ending. He should have ended up dying alone in Reg Cox' flat.

I'm positive the killer is Max. I have been for a few months and I won't be changing my opinion.

[DRW50]

I think it's more about letting Dot down than about feeling any regret for his actions. I think that would have been a strong death, but I'm also glad that it had to end with Dot there because his story was always Dot's story (aside from that disastrous 2009 return).

I think it's going to be Peter or Jane or Cindy.

I know some fans think Lauren is remembering herself doing it, which would be interesting, but doesn't seem likely.

[BetterForgotten]

Previews from the Graham Norton special:

Please register in order to view this content

The new trailer for the 30th:

[Bright Eyes]

I think it's one of those three as well. I would be most devastated if it were Peter, and this show desperately needs Cindy on the canvas. I want it to be Abi or Jane. I just hope whoever it is isn't killed off.

[BetterForgotten]

I love when Pam St. Clement speaks in her real posh accent...

[DRW50]

I saw some fans saying Barbara Windsor seemed "off" in her BTO special with Pam. Did any of you see it?

I kind of hope Whitney is the killer just so we can be rid of her.