Log onto Digital Spy's Soap forum at the moment, and you'll find a plethora of threads speculating about the week of upcoming events which begin in little more than forty-eight hours.
On almost every one of these threads, despite whatever points are being raised and discussed, almost all of them are being hijacked by the convoluted arguments of the eponymous forum member known as monalisa32008.
Mona, for those who don't know her, is a Shirley fan. She's also convinced that Phil and Shirley are love's young dream. She argues and frets so much about their relationship, trying to convince all and sundry that Shirley is the love of Phil's life, that she can get pretty nasty off-forum to various people who prove her incorrect.
For Mona's benefit, here's the scoop on Phil and Shirley. It's simple really - tragic, but simple:-
Shirley loves Phil, but Phil doesn't love Shirley.
Sure, Phil liked Shirley. She worked as a barmaid, and they bantered a great deal. But she was not the sort of woman to whom he was attracted. The only thing which held his interest about Shirley, in the wake of the Stella tragedy, was that Ben, for some strange reason, bonded with Shirley.
That was totally weird, because Shirley isn't a maternal person. This is the woman, remember, who walked out on three young children - one of them disabled - in order to go back partying with her BFF Heather. Heather never felt guilty in the least about Shirley abandoning her own small children, but she sure as hell wept copious tears when Shirley left Heather and George sitting on the Square bench homeless in order to minister to Phil Mitchell's addictions. Heather, I seem to recall, was even jealous of Shirley's attention to Dean, her own son.
Be that as it may, Ben chose Shirley as his maternal figure. That still didn't aid in Phil's attraction to her. Indeed, during 2009, at the height of Archiegate, the only way Phil was even able to bed Shirley was if he got drunk. Shirley knew this. She also knew that Phil was an alcoholic, yet she plied him with drink and drank with him in order to keep him in her bed.
Phil and Shirley, as a couple, began out of necessity, when Shirley lied to Social Services about the fact that she and Phil were living together in order for Phil to obtain custody of Louise. That later fell apart when Louise was taken back to her mother, ironically by Peggy, and Ben was sentenced to juvy for his assault of Jordan Johnson, and Phil fell into the crack den with Rainie Cross.
The star-crossed lovers didn't fall into each others' arms again until after the Vic burned and Phil's miraculous recovery from his addiction, in the autumn of 2010. They sealed their union by stealing the last of Roxy's inheritance money; but within months, Phil was bonking his Auntie Glenda, whilst Shirley was parading her newly-found influence around the Square, challenging anyone with the surly question of "Do you know who I am?"
Well, when Shirley discovered Phil's infidelity and his refusal to apologise for his behaviour, coupled with his failure to commit to her alone, Shirley knew deep-down exactly who she was, in relation to Phil. She was a warm body, a friend with benefits. She was someone who lived in his house, cooked his meals and looked after his son and the waif-and-stray he'd convinced to adopt the name of Mitchell. In return, he gave her the sex she wanted and allowed her to let her BFF live with the family for awhile (in return for cleaning for them), but only under the understanding that Heather would have to endure Phil's taunts.
Phil's betrayed Shirley through infidelity, and he'd betray her again. However, he's also effected an even bigger betrayal by covering up for his son who killed Shirley's best friend. It's creepily ironic that Shirley's lived for months under the same roof as the object used to brain Heather to death. When Ben is revealed as Heather's killer and when Phil's part in Heather's death is revealed to Shirley, there is absolutely no way she, or any woman for that matter, would remain in such a relationship.
Yes, Phil kicked Shirley out of his house on Ben's whim, because Ben was afraid she'd suss what happened; and, yes, he asked her to return - but it wasn't love which made him do it. He wanted to keep her close at hand and on side in order that she didn't go asking questions and delving into the murder and, perhaps, inadvertantly discover the truth. The fact that Phil told Shirley, in that instance, that he "loved" her, was something uttered totally out of necessity and not emotion or conviction. He needed her to come back to live with him and so he told her what she wanted to hear.
There was a scene in Friday's Eastenders, when Phil and Shirley were sitting in the car at the Arches and Shirley said she felt that she had nothing for which to live any longer. Her assessment of herself was pretty accurate: she had been a crap BFF to Heather, forcing her to choose between hers and Andrew on the night before she died, when Shirley had made a habit of dropping Heather for the odd man. She had been an even crappier mother, ignoring her children to the point that her daughter "introduced" Shirley's grandchild to her stepmother, Denise, and totally froze Shirley out. As much as Phil tries to convince Shirley she's been a mum to Ben and Jay, she's right that, at the moment, both boys avoid her like the plague, but not for the reason she thinks: Ben fears her finding out what he's done. Jay feels guilt and remorse.
Until she finds out the empty shell of morality that Phil Mitchell is, she'll love the bones of him, but she knows deep down that there's only one woman in the world whom Phil loves unconditionally (and, still, he's even lied to her); and that's the woman who'll turn up on his doorstep on Monday.
Mona and other doubters need to realise that sometimes actors convey a plethora of emotion and intention in what they don't say, rather than uttering some line of dialogue. That much is conveyed in this clip from Friday's Daybreak with an interview with Letitia Dean which includes a couple of clips from Monday's episodes.
Take a particular look around the 2:13 mark, when Sharon tells Phil she's been back a "couple of weeks." When Phil remarks in disbelief that she's been back for a few weeks and didn't call him, Sharon asks pointedly what he would have done had she called. Phil's silence speaks volumes. The answer is obvious: He'd have dropped Shirley in a New York minute and gone to Sharon's beck and call.
Sorry, Mona ... Phil does not love Shirley. Phil loves and always will love Sharon.
On almost every one of these threads, despite whatever points are being raised and discussed, almost all of them are being hijacked by the convoluted arguments of the eponymous forum member known as monalisa32008.
Mona, for those who don't know her, is a Shirley fan. She's also convinced that Phil and Shirley are love's young dream. She argues and frets so much about their relationship, trying to convince all and sundry that Shirley is the love of Phil's life, that she can get pretty nasty off-forum to various people who prove her incorrect.
For Mona's benefit, here's the scoop on Phil and Shirley. It's simple really - tragic, but simple:-
Shirley loves Phil, but Phil doesn't love Shirley.
Sure, Phil liked Shirley. She worked as a barmaid, and they bantered a great deal. But she was not the sort of woman to whom he was attracted. The only thing which held his interest about Shirley, in the wake of the Stella tragedy, was that Ben, for some strange reason, bonded with Shirley.
That was totally weird, because Shirley isn't a maternal person. This is the woman, remember, who walked out on three young children - one of them disabled - in order to go back partying with her BFF Heather. Heather never felt guilty in the least about Shirley abandoning her own small children, but she sure as hell wept copious tears when Shirley left Heather and George sitting on the Square bench homeless in order to minister to Phil Mitchell's addictions. Heather, I seem to recall, was even jealous of Shirley's attention to Dean, her own son.
Be that as it may, Ben chose Shirley as his maternal figure. That still didn't aid in Phil's attraction to her. Indeed, during 2009, at the height of Archiegate, the only way Phil was even able to bed Shirley was if he got drunk. Shirley knew this. She also knew that Phil was an alcoholic, yet she plied him with drink and drank with him in order to keep him in her bed.
Phil and Shirley, as a couple, began out of necessity, when Shirley lied to Social Services about the fact that she and Phil were living together in order for Phil to obtain custody of Louise. That later fell apart when Louise was taken back to her mother, ironically by Peggy, and Ben was sentenced to juvy for his assault of Jordan Johnson, and Phil fell into the crack den with Rainie Cross.
The star-crossed lovers didn't fall into each others' arms again until after the Vic burned and Phil's miraculous recovery from his addiction, in the autumn of 2010. They sealed their union by stealing the last of Roxy's inheritance money; but within months, Phil was bonking his Auntie Glenda, whilst Shirley was parading her newly-found influence around the Square, challenging anyone with the surly question of "Do you know who I am?"
Well, when Shirley discovered Phil's infidelity and his refusal to apologise for his behaviour, coupled with his failure to commit to her alone, Shirley knew deep-down exactly who she was, in relation to Phil. She was a warm body, a friend with benefits. She was someone who lived in his house, cooked his meals and looked after his son and the waif-and-stray he'd convinced to adopt the name of Mitchell. In return, he gave her the sex she wanted and allowed her to let her BFF live with the family for awhile (in return for cleaning for them), but only under the understanding that Heather would have to endure Phil's taunts.
Phil's betrayed Shirley through infidelity, and he'd betray her again. However, he's also effected an even bigger betrayal by covering up for his son who killed Shirley's best friend. It's creepily ironic that Shirley's lived for months under the same roof as the object used to brain Heather to death. When Ben is revealed as Heather's killer and when Phil's part in Heather's death is revealed to Shirley, there is absolutely no way she, or any woman for that matter, would remain in such a relationship.
Yes, Phil kicked Shirley out of his house on Ben's whim, because Ben was afraid she'd suss what happened; and, yes, he asked her to return - but it wasn't love which made him do it. He wanted to keep her close at hand and on side in order that she didn't go asking questions and delving into the murder and, perhaps, inadvertantly discover the truth. The fact that Phil told Shirley, in that instance, that he "loved" her, was something uttered totally out of necessity and not emotion or conviction. He needed her to come back to live with him and so he told her what she wanted to hear.
There was a scene in Friday's Eastenders, when Phil and Shirley were sitting in the car at the Arches and Shirley said she felt that she had nothing for which to live any longer. Her assessment of herself was pretty accurate: she had been a crap BFF to Heather, forcing her to choose between hers and Andrew on the night before she died, when Shirley had made a habit of dropping Heather for the odd man. She had been an even crappier mother, ignoring her children to the point that her daughter "introduced" Shirley's grandchild to her stepmother, Denise, and totally froze Shirley out. As much as Phil tries to convince Shirley she's been a mum to Ben and Jay, she's right that, at the moment, both boys avoid her like the plague, but not for the reason she thinks: Ben fears her finding out what he's done. Jay feels guilt and remorse.
Until she finds out the empty shell of morality that Phil Mitchell is, she'll love the bones of him, but she knows deep down that there's only one woman in the world whom Phil loves unconditionally (and, still, he's even lied to her); and that's the woman who'll turn up on his doorstep on Monday.
Mona and other doubters need to realise that sometimes actors convey a plethora of emotion and intention in what they don't say, rather than uttering some line of dialogue. That much is conveyed in this clip from Friday's Daybreak with an interview with Letitia Dean which includes a couple of clips from Monday's episodes.
Take a particular look around the 2:13 mark, when Sharon tells Phil she's been back a "couple of weeks." When Phil remarks in disbelief that she's been back for a few weeks and didn't call him, Sharon asks pointedly what he would have done had she called. Phil's silence speaks volumes. The answer is obvious: He'd have dropped Shirley in a New York minute and gone to Sharon's beck and call.
Sorry, Mona ... Phil does not love Shirley. Phil loves and always will love Sharon.
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