Thursday, June 13, 2013

Tanya's Leaving Is All About Lauren

Digital Spy Forum shows the extreme end of intelligence and stupidity.

There's a thread up revealing how Tanya eventually leaves the show, which - it turns out to be - is one step up from Zainab's departure and one step down from Peggy's, with a dash of Ray Dixon's non-event.

I say non-event, because as Ray's departure was more about Kim than Ray, so Tanya's is more about Lauren than Tanya, which is grossly unfair.

I'm the first to admit that I've never been a fan of Tanya. I can't abide the woman and regard her as jumped-up white trash; but there's no denying that she's been one of the major female characters in the show for the past six years that Jo Joyner's played Tanya.

Tanya deserves a wallop of a storyline. I'd suggest someone find out about how she tried to kill Max by burying him alive; but it transpires that Lauren gets hepatitis A (which you get from alcohol and contaminated food and water) as opposed to hepatitis B (which you get from unprotected sex and is the next thing to HIV), has some liver damage (no shit, Sherlock), gets sick and blames Tanya for all her problems - which isn't exactly fair, but is ironic, because Tanya never assumes responsibility for any of her actions, and most of the female characters now in the show see themselves as perpetual victims, whose past/parentage etc is to blame for their inappropriate behaviour. They're either dirty girls who have been victims of sexual abuse as children (Kat, Whitney, Ronnie) or they're poor and put-upon (Bianca) or they had a bad first marriage (Zainab) or they were in care (Lola), but nothing is ever their fault.

On the right side of interpreting Tanya's departure, the commentator Keeki gives a succinct and brilliant appraisal of the Tanya-Lauren dynamic, especially for all of those people whining about Max taking equal blame for Lauren's problems as well:-

She gets the most blame because she has assumed all control of parenting her children. Since her arrival Tanya has consistently undermined Max's attempts to discipline Lauren, encourages both her daughters to keep secrets from their father and only allows Max to intervene when all else has failed. Tanya is also the only parent with a drinking problem and has never sought help for it. Using alcohol as a coping mechanism is something Lauren learned from observing her mother. Cora has no blame for Lauren's alcoholism as Lauren is not her responsibility.

The last bit is especially true, but I would say that Cora has some responsibility. Tanya (and certainly Rainie) learned drink dependency from Cora, who is also a functioning alcoholic. Cora has been known to ply an underaged Abi with liquor and laugh about it as a rite of passage; she has also been known to neck a bottle of booze with Lauren when she knew that Lauren was having trouble controlling her drinking habits. Alcohol dependency is a generational issue amongst the Cross women. Cora, Rainie, Tanya and Lauren are all alcoholics of varying degrees.

On the other hand, here's a not-so-bright remark, which - at least - references continuity. From SecretLifeofBees:-

If Lauren is anything like Janine when she was told the same thing ears ago, she'll be ack drinking in the Vic with no worries by Christmas 
This is true. Janine once had a drinking problem, shortly after Frank abandoned her the last time. Peggy kicked her out (at sixteen) and she had to fend for herself. She descended into cocaine addiction and, subsequently, alcohol abuse, until she collapsed at the allotments, in 2002, being hospitalised with hepatitis A and pancreatitis. 

Even though Janine has drunk since this occurrence, she drinks sparingly, and you rarely see her drunk. Even so,. her collapse wasn't meant to be as serious as Lauren's is going to be. So comparing Lauren's experience with Janine's is false equivalency.

It still doesn't change the fact that Tanya's departure is all about a remaining character, whom TPTB are desperately trying to force onto the viewing public.




2 comments:

  1. My belief is that Lauren will heap all the blame for her situation on Tanya (for a change) and will demand she leaves Walford, in much the same way as she and Abi have forced Max to leave in the past.

    Following Max's example, Tanya will just pack her bags and go with barely any argument.

    I'd love to know what power it is these selfish, entitled little princesses have to order their parents to leave their respective homes and jobs simply because they want them to.

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  2. My thoughts on Tanya are equal to yours on Lauren. I detest this horrible smug, stuck up, snobbish, disgrace of a mother.

    I cannot stand that awful patronising voice that she uses..

    "But Mum, she's ma baby, what am I meant to do"

    She then goes on to prove that she knows nothing of her daughters illness by revealing that she hopes that by the end of the day Lauren will be "over the worst of it" yeah right you ignorant woman.

    Next she declares that she'll go get something to 'help her get through it' non other than some PAINKILLERS ! OMG FFS your daughter has got the shakes. Drunks once at the shakes stage are not going to be over the worst of it by the end of the day. Nor will painkillers make much difference - she needs Valium & possibly Librium.

    (I am a recovering Heroin addict & have known plenty of alcoholics including some much further gone - at the pancreatitis stage)

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