The House Divided Against Itself Episode, all about loyalties. I'm surprised that people thought it was good-to-middling. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I thought this episode was damned nigh on pitch perfect, with everyone stepping up to the plate.
Mick and Linda: Stuck in the Middle with You.
Mick and Linda soldier on. Well, Linda soldiers on. Mick talks a good game. I know some people have an aversion to All Things Carter, and I'm opposed to wall-to-wall saturation, but the more I see of Mick and Linda, the more I like the couple.
Mick is totally right in his assessment of Linda - she is the stronger of the two, and he acknowledges this. All she wants, in the wake of her report to the police, is to get back as much of her normal life as possible. The longer she keeps herself out of the public eye, as landlady of the Vic, the more Dean will have won the day; so Linda does what Linda does best: She organises a karaoke night.
Yet another pub do.
But then, that's what Linda does. She soldiers on, carrying a child she can't help but convince herself is Mick's child, and willing her family to think so as well. Nancy and Lee aren't certain, and as much as Mick tries to dismiss their concerns by insisting that the baby is his, he's not sure either, as he later admits to Lee, but with the added proviso that he'd love the child like his own anyway, because the baby was Linda's. The child had Linda in him or her.
I've just added Mick Carter to the Association of Walford Male Sainthood, whose charter members include Alfie Moon, Patrick Trueman and the late Bradley Branning.
Mick is chomping at the bit, however, at the very thought of Dean, foot-loose and fancy-free, not exactly skipping through the Market, but just being out there with a significant chance of seeing him hovering about at least once a day. Once again, Lee cautions Mick against any action.
The Carters remaining in the Vic, however, have to gird their loins against gossip circulating about Walford regarding what exactly went on between Linda and Dean, because word up on the streets is that there was an affair.
Linda puts on a brave face for the karaoke evening, but Lee doesn't invest too much interest or energy in Whitney, suddenly appearing tonight after a long absence. Whitney's supposed to be his girlfriend, and I know he has things on his mind, but there is absolutely zilch chemistry in the pair to the point that she looks as though she's pushing herself on him most of the time. (She probably is);
Additional Observation: This karaoke wasn't an embarassment of bitches, more like an embarrassment of riches. Who'd have thought that Nancy, Tina and Kim could sing so well?
The Lines Are Drawn.
Meanwhile, over at the B and B, Kim and Denise prepare Patrick for a night on the tiles. Kim plans on singing, until Shirley comes in to sour the air with her demeanor.
Look, I'm no Shirley-shipper, but I felt quite sorry for her in this episode. She's failed Dean so much and for so long as a mother, she's standing by him now determinedly, but with a sharp edge that makes her deluded devotion something more than it really is.
For Shirley, this is still all about Linda and the lies Shirley thinks Linda's propagating. With Lee and Nancy closing ranks around Mick and Linda, Denise, stepmother of Dean, and Kim close ranks around Shirley and Dean. The Fox sisters encourage Shirley to come out with them, but Shirley is resentful of having to go to the Vic without Dean. Doing so would mean that Linda had won the day, because too much was being said about Dean about the Square.
Denise encourages Shirley to talk Dean into coming to the Vic, and the scene in the cafe between Shirley and Dean was quite revealing - revealing in the sense that Dean knows exactly what he did to Linda. He knows he raped her, and - inadvertantly - he's been acting like a guilty man: keeping his head down, not going to work, lying low.
He's not too keen to go to the Vic either, even though Shirley keeps encouraging him, admonishing him by saying the more he acts as if he were guilty, the more people would think him guilty. He's got nothing to hide from Linda, he's telling the truth. It's Linda who's lying. In fact, Shirley advises Dean to take a step back in time - before Christmas, when Dean had a thriving business and a nice girlfriend. Time to get that back and get back on track.
First, Dean goes back to a noticeably empty Blades, with only Lola (another scarcely-seen character) dancing about and talking selfies of herself. Interesting to note that Dean, who hasn't got many friends in his pockets, still treats Lola like "the Help," dishing out orders for her to sweep the floor and wipe down the mirrors. This is after he runs into Lily in the street, on the way to her home with Auntie Whitney, who's quick to remind Dean that she's been hearing rumours about him, which he is quick to dispel. Lily's glad to see him, and he takes heart from the fact that Whitney says she'll say hello to Stacey for him.
Lola's heard stories about Dean as well, and she teases him lightly and offers him hope with Stacey, all the more so when Stacey actually turns up - but only to inform Dean that she's been to the police and he's to stay away from Lily.
When Dean doesn't show at the Vic, Shirley sulks and then leaves, with Denise in tow, to find him. When Dean brasses it out at the Vic, Shirley comes hunting him, to bring him home. Now.
Seems like the Old Bill want to arrest him.
The Carters think justice has been done, but has it? Watch this space.
The Real Mitchell.
Boy, Phil's going to be angry with the world when he gets out of the slammer - and he willas soon as Steve McFadden finishes pantomime.
Sharon's none the wiser about Max the Sleaze as she goes off to visit Phil, promising Ben that Phil will never know the Arches was lost. However, Sharon doesn't know where Max has been (eeeeuuuuw) or what he's said to Phil until Phil tells her and assumes she's behind signing the Arches over to Max ... and, surprisingly, Sharon doesn't correct his assumption.
That's bloody mettle.
Think about it.
Sharon's taken the hit for Ben because she knows Ben isn't strong enough to take his father's ire. When Ben whines about Phil hating him when he gets out, Sharon tells a flabbergasted Ben and Jay that Phil thinks she signed the papers, and she didn't tell him differently. Ben wants to know why she did it, and she tells him it was because she's stronger than Ben. So there you go. Sharon would risk her marriage and Phil's opinion of her to protect Ben ... because she knows Ben is the closest thing to Phil's heart.
Of course, we know what will happen there. Ben will step up to the plate and admit what he's done, when he sees Phil rail at Sharon.
Phil's going to have a lot of scores to settle, notwithstanding amongst his kin - Ben, for signing away the Arches; Ronnie, for creating this mess, by disregarding his advice and stealing from him; Roxy and Billy for doubting him. Then there's Max. Who'd want to be in Max's shoes with Phil Mitchell on the loose?
So there you have it ... the only real Mitchell in the room is Sharon. Peggy would be proud.
Baby Love.
Whoda thunk it?
Shabnam had a baby. She said she'd given her daughter away, but the newspaper article was entitled "Doorstep Baby." So are we to infer she had a child and abandoned her on a doorstep? That would explain the fitness regime of running whilst in Pakistan; it would explain the comfort eating. It would explain what is essentially Shabnam hiding behind the literal veil of religion, whilst berating herself for being a hypocrite of the first degree.
And how beautiful is the Shabnam-Stacey friendship? Stacey's been on a journey of maturity since she left Walford and returned. The old Stacey would have turfed Shabnam out onto the street, snarling after her, but not anymore. Stacey, herself, knows what it's like to conceive on a one night stand - Lily is living proof and no less loved. I'm liking the non-judgemental Stacey, the budding natural successor to Pat in the Square, chasing after Shabnam, standing at her front door, determined to knock and ring until Shabnam let her inside. She sees her friend hurting, and she wants to be there for her, on her side, fighting her battles.
For Angie, we saw Linda tonight, squaring her shoulders and putting on the lippy to present a strong front.
For Pauline, we saw Sharon out-Mitchelling the Mitchells to protect Ben.
And for Pat, we saw Stacey step up for a friend and step back not to judge.
This is natural progression. EastEnders is coming along very nicely.
Mick and Linda: Stuck in the Middle with You.
Mick and Linda soldier on. Well, Linda soldiers on. Mick talks a good game. I know some people have an aversion to All Things Carter, and I'm opposed to wall-to-wall saturation, but the more I see of Mick and Linda, the more I like the couple.
Mick is totally right in his assessment of Linda - she is the stronger of the two, and he acknowledges this. All she wants, in the wake of her report to the police, is to get back as much of her normal life as possible. The longer she keeps herself out of the public eye, as landlady of the Vic, the more Dean will have won the day; so Linda does what Linda does best: She organises a karaoke night.
Yet another pub do.
But then, that's what Linda does. She soldiers on, carrying a child she can't help but convince herself is Mick's child, and willing her family to think so as well. Nancy and Lee aren't certain, and as much as Mick tries to dismiss their concerns by insisting that the baby is his, he's not sure either, as he later admits to Lee, but with the added proviso that he'd love the child like his own anyway, because the baby was Linda's. The child had Linda in him or her.
I've just added Mick Carter to the Association of Walford Male Sainthood, whose charter members include Alfie Moon, Patrick Trueman and the late Bradley Branning.
Mick is chomping at the bit, however, at the very thought of Dean, foot-loose and fancy-free, not exactly skipping through the Market, but just being out there with a significant chance of seeing him hovering about at least once a day. Once again, Lee cautions Mick against any action.
The Carters remaining in the Vic, however, have to gird their loins against gossip circulating about Walford regarding what exactly went on between Linda and Dean, because word up on the streets is that there was an affair.
Linda puts on a brave face for the karaoke evening, but Lee doesn't invest too much interest or energy in Whitney, suddenly appearing tonight after a long absence. Whitney's supposed to be his girlfriend, and I know he has things on his mind, but there is absolutely zilch chemistry in the pair to the point that she looks as though she's pushing herself on him most of the time. (She probably is);
Additional Observation: This karaoke wasn't an embarassment of bitches, more like an embarrassment of riches. Who'd have thought that Nancy, Tina and Kim could sing so well?
The Lines Are Drawn.
Meanwhile, over at the B and B, Kim and Denise prepare Patrick for a night on the tiles. Kim plans on singing, until Shirley comes in to sour the air with her demeanor.
Look, I'm no Shirley-shipper, but I felt quite sorry for her in this episode. She's failed Dean so much and for so long as a mother, she's standing by him now determinedly, but with a sharp edge that makes her deluded devotion something more than it really is.
For Shirley, this is still all about Linda and the lies Shirley thinks Linda's propagating. With Lee and Nancy closing ranks around Mick and Linda, Denise, stepmother of Dean, and Kim close ranks around Shirley and Dean. The Fox sisters encourage Shirley to come out with them, but Shirley is resentful of having to go to the Vic without Dean. Doing so would mean that Linda had won the day, because too much was being said about Dean about the Square.
Denise encourages Shirley to talk Dean into coming to the Vic, and the scene in the cafe between Shirley and Dean was quite revealing - revealing in the sense that Dean knows exactly what he did to Linda. He knows he raped her, and - inadvertantly - he's been acting like a guilty man: keeping his head down, not going to work, lying low.
He's not too keen to go to the Vic either, even though Shirley keeps encouraging him, admonishing him by saying the more he acts as if he were guilty, the more people would think him guilty. He's got nothing to hide from Linda, he's telling the truth. It's Linda who's lying. In fact, Shirley advises Dean to take a step back in time - before Christmas, when Dean had a thriving business and a nice girlfriend. Time to get that back and get back on track.
First, Dean goes back to a noticeably empty Blades, with only Lola (another scarcely-seen character) dancing about and talking selfies of herself. Interesting to note that Dean, who hasn't got many friends in his pockets, still treats Lola like "the Help," dishing out orders for her to sweep the floor and wipe down the mirrors. This is after he runs into Lily in the street, on the way to her home with Auntie Whitney, who's quick to remind Dean that she's been hearing rumours about him, which he is quick to dispel. Lily's glad to see him, and he takes heart from the fact that Whitney says she'll say hello to Stacey for him.
Lola's heard stories about Dean as well, and she teases him lightly and offers him hope with Stacey, all the more so when Stacey actually turns up - but only to inform Dean that she's been to the police and he's to stay away from Lily.
When Dean doesn't show at the Vic, Shirley sulks and then leaves, with Denise in tow, to find him. When Dean brasses it out at the Vic, Shirley comes hunting him, to bring him home. Now.
Seems like the Old Bill want to arrest him.
The Carters think justice has been done, but has it? Watch this space.
The Real Mitchell.
Boy, Phil's going to be angry with the world when he gets out of the slammer - and he will
Sharon's none the wiser about Max the Sleaze as she goes off to visit Phil, promising Ben that Phil will never know the Arches was lost. However, Sharon doesn't know where Max has been (eeeeuuuuw) or what he's said to Phil until Phil tells her and assumes she's behind signing the Arches over to Max ... and, surprisingly, Sharon doesn't correct his assumption.
That's bloody mettle.
Think about it.
Sharon's taken the hit for Ben because she knows Ben isn't strong enough to take his father's ire. When Ben whines about Phil hating him when he gets out, Sharon tells a flabbergasted Ben and Jay that Phil thinks she signed the papers, and she didn't tell him differently. Ben wants to know why she did it, and she tells him it was because she's stronger than Ben. So there you go. Sharon would risk her marriage and Phil's opinion of her to protect Ben ... because she knows Ben is the closest thing to Phil's heart.
Of course, we know what will happen there. Ben will step up to the plate and admit what he's done, when he sees Phil rail at Sharon.
Phil's going to have a lot of scores to settle, notwithstanding amongst his kin - Ben, for signing away the Arches; Ronnie, for creating this mess, by disregarding his advice and stealing from him; Roxy and Billy for doubting him. Then there's Max. Who'd want to be in Max's shoes with Phil Mitchell on the loose?
So there you have it ... the only real Mitchell in the room is Sharon. Peggy would be proud.
Baby Love.
Whoda thunk it?
Shabnam had a baby. She said she'd given her daughter away, but the newspaper article was entitled "Doorstep Baby." So are we to infer she had a child and abandoned her on a doorstep? That would explain the fitness regime of running whilst in Pakistan; it would explain the comfort eating. It would explain what is essentially Shabnam hiding behind the literal veil of religion, whilst berating herself for being a hypocrite of the first degree.
And how beautiful is the Shabnam-Stacey friendship? Stacey's been on a journey of maturity since she left Walford and returned. The old Stacey would have turfed Shabnam out onto the street, snarling after her, but not anymore. Stacey, herself, knows what it's like to conceive on a one night stand - Lily is living proof and no less loved. I'm liking the non-judgemental Stacey, the budding natural successor to Pat in the Square, chasing after Shabnam, standing at her front door, determined to knock and ring until Shabnam let her inside. She sees her friend hurting, and she wants to be there for her, on her side, fighting her battles.
For Angie, we saw Linda tonight, squaring her shoulders and putting on the lippy to present a strong front.
For Pauline, we saw Sharon out-Mitchelling the Mitchells to protect Ben.
And for Pat, we saw Stacey step up for a friend and step back not to judge.
This is natural progression. EastEnders is coming along very nicely.
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