EastEnders: Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

[NothinButAttitude]

Christmas episode for those who cannot find it online:

 

EastEnders 25th December 2015 by onneega Edited December 26, 2015 by Nothin'ButAttitude

[BetterForgotten]

This is show is overrun with murderers and rapists and those who willingly overlook their crimes. Ugh, DTC and his minions really need to go. 

 

And Sharon, just go the f.ucking police already. 

Edited December 26, 2015 by BetterForgotten

[NothinButAttitude]

This is the worst Christmas episode of EE ever. I've never seen so many characters regress and be destroyed beyond repair in one episode. 

 

Ian, Kathy, and Jane willing to lie and carry one when they thought that Bobby might've harmed Denny was gross. IDC how much a parent loves their child, a sane parent would've nipped this in the bud long ago. Kathy, being a upright character in the past, allowing this mess to go down is gross. So OOC for her. I get Ian has always been a weasel but even he had boundaries. What makes this story so gross is that Ian tried turning in one child for his heinous act (Steven) but doesn't wanna do the same for Bobby. Hell, they were grossed out by Ben and his acts but this story takes the cake and destroys them beyond repair. Just gross. What's even more gross is that Jane was the main one, who demonized and called out others horrid acts but can't see Bobby has done the exact same if not worse. Just watching these two makes me wanna vomit. The Beales have officially been decimated to nothingness. 

 

Stacey/Kush/Martin/Shabnam is ridiculous. Stacey is once again reduced to being the slut of the Square but when the truth comes out, everyone but Stacey will be scolded, tarred, and feathered; meanwhile, Stacey will continue to be made the martyr that she is. 

 

I hate how DTC has made Sharon into some limp noodle for Phil and Ian. Sharon would've never allowed Bobby to go on this long and would've told the police by now. Especially, since Bobby is in close interaction with her own child. DTC has no direction for Sharon whatsoever and it shows. She's a former shell of the feisty Sharon we used to love. 

 

Ronnie being responsible for someone's murder (again) is ridiculous. Sad part is that we all know that she won't get punished in the long-term and will continue on with her heinous acts. It was obvious that Vincent wasn't in the trunk. It's Fatboy. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out seeing as Ricky Norwood's last day of shoot was yesterday's episode and the character was heavily involved in this story. I can plot this story a mile away that Jack will figure out what Ronnie did and will be conflicted between keeping his dear love, Ronnie's secret or telling Dot the truth. Of course, he'll pick Ronnie and put the blame on Vincent. This'll be DTC's big plot for next Christmas--everyone comes after big, bad Vincent.  @BetterForgotten, you are right that this show is too heavily filled with murderers and thugs. 

 

The Carters were effing boring and I felt no warmth to them at all. I don't care about Linda and Mick renewing their vows as it'll mean nothing in a few days. It's already been let out the bag that Mick and Whitney kiss, which we all know will lead to another affair on the Square. 

 

Last but not least, Phil. He is yet another character that won't pay for his sins. He'll get off scots-free even though he's possibly killed a child. Sharon will break up with him, he will wallow for awhile, but we get rewarded with the 'love' of Kathy. That's another plot I can see a mile away. Phil is like EE's version of Nikki Newman. He kills and injures who he wants, never pays for his actions, and 'numbs' his pain in the bottle for the 100th time. It's tired and old. I'm over Phil and his addiction stories. What would be epic is if his ass dropped dead from cirrhosis. 

 

This show is becoming so unrecognizable that it's sad. I don't see how it is getting all this recognition and praise. EE is nothing more than a stunt show. Each story delivers nothing until the climax with a stunt and denouement flatlines too.

[DRW50]

Thanks for the link.

 

This is what I wrote at Walford Web.

 

I had a lot of difficulty caring about anything involved, minus Shabnam wanting to know about the baby, maybe one or two of the present-opening scenes at the Carters, and then Dot talking with Jack. 

Jack looking at Ronnie from far away while at his father's memorial says it all about the show's priorities. The whole car nonsense (car boot and the car crash - I rolled my eyes at the car crash), "killer Bobby" (I just don't think this story has the weight it should have for me to genuinely be gripped or worried - again my main reaction to Bobby is an eye roll), Jane's nightmare which felt more like a very belated attempt to generate pity for her...not for me.

My biggest complaints are with the Phil material, which to me just feels insulting at this point

- Phil was clearly very drunk at the table. He wasn't "tipsy," or just a little stunted...he was clearly, clearly drunk. So why in the world did no one stop him? Ian tried and Phil obviously lied, and Ian was dumb enough to believe this? If they had to have Phil driving the car, they should have come up with a better way to show his being impaired. 

- When Phil was making a fool of himself at the table, Kathy essentially just said, "Oh stop it, Phil," like Peggy would have said. That's not Kathy. 

- Phil's liver damage. So what? Nothing about Phil ever changes. It just feels like they whipped this up because they want to acknowledge the repetition but they don't want to ever truly move on.

I was also disgusted by Mick's neediness for Shirley. I will never care about them as mother and son. I don't buy it and it makes me very uncomfortable as a viewer.

I know Eastenders has never been about likeable characters. I have loved a lot of not very likeable people on the show over the years. But too many characters in this episode weren't just unlikeable - they were beyond subhuman.

[NothinButAttitude]

Matt Di Angelo claims that his stories on EE drain him from time to time:

 

http://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/news/a778234/matt-di-angelo-im-feeling-drained-by-dramatic-eastenders-storylines/

 

Don't blame him. Doesn't help that his character has gotten nothing but doom and gloom since he's returned.

[BetterForgotten]

Or that his character is a rapist that needs to die (alongside Ronnie).

[NothinButAttitude]

Well knowing DTC, Deano might die soon but I still hate that they made a rapist. They should've brought back Chelsea for him or focus on his ties to Shabnam instead of tossing him in Linda's drab ass orbit.

[DRW50]

Fatboy's death was disgusting, desperate shock value. I have a feeling DTC and Alex Lamb and whoever else were having a circle jerk over how edgy this all is. I also tend to wonder if they disliked Ricky Norwood, as they supposedly did with the woman who played Lola, and this influenced their choice. 

 

I've already seen people saying things like, "Fatboy didn't mean anything as a character and he got an awesome exit. You should like it!!!" No, it was a stupid, confusing exit that had absolutely nothing to do with him as a character and is just another example of the amorality and toxicity that is drowning the show.

 

But I guess it will get a viewer spike and that's all they really want now anyway.

[NothinButAttitude]

Wouldn't put it past them if DTC or someone in power didn't care for Norwood. Didn't they suspend him awhile back? 

 

Fatboy's death was unnecessary. He just serves as some plot point to further cause tension between Vincent/Ronnie and to somehow add Jack into the drama. I'm one of the few, who saw potential in Fatboy and I hate the ending he got. Once again, poor Dot will be grieving the loss of someone near and dear to her. 

 

Sucky part is that I feel that this is one of many deaths to come heading into 2016....

[Bright Eyes]

Up until last night, I was actually enjoying Vincent, despite Blackwood's bad acting, but the show playing Ronnie as a sympathetic murderer, while Vincent remains the villain because he "made" her do it, grates me. And this is coming from someone who fell in love with Ronnie because of the baby switch story. The murder of Fatboy in itself didn't bother me, but I agree it was unnecessary. 

 

However, it was the Bobby plot that disgusted me more. The banal writing for this haphazard story is embarrassing. After almost two years, the end of the story is ... nothing. No one has to pay any consequences for their horrible actions. And Phil/Ian's lame lie was infuriating to watch unfold. Poor Letitia Dean always tries her damnedest with the shoddy material, bless her.

[NothinButAttitude]

Phil/Ian's lie was just another way for DTC to keep the story going by adding yet another pointless lie on top of a mountain of lies. By the time all the truths are unraveled, everyone on the Square is gonna be a fugitive so this story can keep going. I feel like Bobby needs to be written off. Send his little ass to juvie or an asylum for about 5 years real time then he can return. We just don't need his murderous ass on the show right now. Not when we have Vince/Ronnie killing people and Dean raping people. It's too much. 

 

Like I said yesterday, Ronnie will probably get off and Vincent will take the fall even though he did cause Fatboy's death. DTC is building up to next Christmas' stunt story when Vince becomes the victim. 

 

Eastenders has become so predictable that it's sad. It's an equation that everyone has figured out. No one even has to watch for majority of the year. All they have to do is read articles online and then tune in for the weeks of Christmas and New Years. 

 

[BetterForgotten]

Due to DTC's devotion to Ronnie and Samantha Janus/Womanck, Ronnie will likely never pay for her crimes under his tenure (and probably not as long as his goons Alex Lamb and Sharon Batten are still there as well). Notice how Ronnie and Stacey are the only two characters they try to make excuses for, no matter how wrong both are - they always try to write an "out" for both. It's disgusting writing that's ruining both characters more than they already are. 

 

Watch Dot forgive this bitch 5 mins after finding out about the Fatboy situation. Ronnie deserves an epic death that's akin to Steve Owen's from 2001. 

Edited December 28, 2015 by BetterForgotten

[NothinButAttitude]

She won't get it though. Instead, they'll allow Ronnie to run off into the sunset instead of paying for her crimes. 

 

I miss the days when characters who did heinous acts truly paid for their actions. Either death or prison for YEARS (in real time). 

[NothinButAttitude]

EastEnders 28th December 2015 by hotdailyvedios--

I'm trying but I can't. I just don't care for the Carter clan at all. None of them. The scenes of Mick's stag were stupid and pointless. Mick and Jack, two, dumb brutes, bonding made my stomach churn. It's apparent that DTC are gonna make these two butt buddies and I am not here for it at all. Lee's depression story is not grabbing my attention at all even though I do think that Danny-Boy Hatchard is becoming better. To make things worse, it's blatantly obvious that Mick is gonna engage in an affair with Whitney's gutter butt ass. Much like Kat and Stacey, these writers can't devise a story around her unless it consists of her lying on her back (or on her knees if she's into that too). 

 

DTC's writing (as much he tries not to) makes me root for Dean. A freaking rapist!!! That says something about the entire canvas when I feel sympathetic for someone who has done the most heinous acts ever. I just hate that DTC shat on Dean once again by forcing him to attempt to rape Roxy before Shirley busted in to stop him. 

 

Phil's cirrhosis story is stupid. His liver will be removed and he'll clean himself for the time being, but down the road, he'll turn to the bottle or a line of coke yet again. It's all they have for Phil to do outside of him screwing women and being an old ass brute. 

 

Jack hasn't even got back on the Square yet and he's back to throwing his weight around. I'm already ready for him to go. I refuse to endure another run of Jack's lame ass too. I'd prefer Scott Maslen to beg for his role on The Royals to be full-time. I actually enjoy him on that show. 

 

Is is just me or does Billy seem like he was pressured into proposing to Honey? He didn't seem all that enthusiastic leading up to it? Did I miss something involving them all the weeks I haven't been watching?