A gorgeous episode today, heartbreaking, and most importantly, very true to EE's spirit. One of the best episodes of recent years. I don't think the show is as bad as some claim, but I can't claim it's good either. Most of Nigel's story, however, has been excellent.

Edited March 5Mar 5 by DRW50

24 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

I don't think the show is as bad as some claim

It really is not. Sure, is it as great as it has been in the past? No. But is it the horror show people want to keep claiming it is? Hell no.

Just now, Liberty City said:

It really is not. Sure, is it as great as it has been in the past? No. But is it the horror show people want to keep claiming it is? Hell no.

It's very frustrating as some fans offer constructive criticism and others are much louder because they are upset over Ben or they want social media engagement. I just hope those who offer constructive criticism are the ones who are heard.

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

It's very frustrating as some fans offer constructive criticism and others are much louder because they are upset over Ben or they want social media engagement. I just hope those who offer constructive criticism are the ones who are heard.

I agree. I hope those who are looking (if they are) can see through the BS of those on social media and see the genuine constructive criticism for what it is. Is the soap perfect? No. But surely it's enjoyable.

Aweee Josh and Oscar are cute 😍

Which means the show is somehow going to find a way to eventually ruin them down the road; but I’m going to be blindly optimistic going into this.

Edited March 23Mar 23 by MichaelGL

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/eastenders-paul-bradley-nigel-bates-final-scenes-dementia-storyline

I know people find fault in EastEnders since Ben Wadey began his tenure as series producer, but it is still my most beloved UK soap. Still keeps me entertained and tuning in. Hope they continue to kepe up the solid work. A must-watch soap opera. Truly.

Per BBC iPlayer:

Grant and Sam Mitchell exit Walford, but Sharon Watts is back!

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders/a71628872/eastenders-emaa-hussen-arrested-charged-sydney/

Given the fact some viewers had been calling for Zoe’s return (particularly with Michelle Ryan in role) for 20 years, I think this will go down very badly with some of the fan base, irrespective of how she appears to have been written.

I should be both more and less surprised tbh.

On the one hand they made such massive fanfare of finally getting Michelle Ryan back whereas I was surprised it had taken so long since her international career fizzled, and I was never terribly enthused about Zoe in general. On the other EE often squanders these big returns that very often flame out quickly and then they have no clue what to do (see: the utterly needless return of Mel Owen).

It does surprise me they're killing her. Another needless shock death, but it sounds like there's some bad blood (Ryan posting on Insta burning her scripts, etc). All this over her asking for a break, or is it more?

This is so disappointing. I initially loved Zoe's return and felt like I was in the minority enjoying Wadey's work. Since Christmas I feel like the show has gone off the rails and Zoe's story in particular became a joke. I still love Eastenders and there are episodes and things I like but overall his tenure has been dreadful. I hate they did that flash-forward which locks him in despite the stories being so bad.

The worst part of this Zoe exit is the apparent death. She just found her kids and reunited with her family and their father is dead. Why kill two parents in one year? They could've easily just written her off so a hopefully better writer could fix this later on. I feel like the reason they're killing her off is because they know how poorly the story was received and don't want to give someone else the chance to fix it.

Such a shame but I will say it has been nice seeing more of the Slater's this year, despite the lack of quality. On another note, I cannot stand that Bea storyline and it's a shame they finally gave Billy and Honey a storyline and it's so poor.