Arthur's Theme, for Fatboy ...
Notice that I said "Arthur?" The best Denise can do for Fatboy is to get him to shed the annoying Fatboy persona and become more of Arthur. Arthur is a well-spoken, softly-spoken young man, who's kind, considerate, responsible and caring. Fatboy is a dolt, who's regularly taken advantage of.
Denise and Arthur will work because it's one of the most original storylines upon which EastEnders has chanced in the last few years.
Yes, we've had the older woman-younger man scenario before - Kathy was eleven years older than Phil, Roxy was 30 when she married 24 year-old Sean Slater, and even though she was only five years older than Saint Dennis Rickman, Sharon appeared positively maternal in her love and consideration for him ...
I mean, can't you just hear Sharon singing this?
But we've never had a bona fide cougar-type relationship on the programme. Sure, fiftysomething Glenda had a tryst with horny 17 year-old Leon (who looked more like the 24 year-old the actor was) in the backroom of the bookies' and grandmother Carol had a relationship with twentysomething Connor, but that was a relationship based entirely on grief.
Denise and Arthur is based, on his part, from genuine attraction. Granted, Denise wore an outfit, the likes of which we'd never seen her wear before, and she was blazingly attractive - moreso than she usually is. Until she turned around and looked at Arthur, he had no idea who this woman was; but the fact that it was Denise didn't dampen his interest in the least. For most of the evening at the pub, Denise was engaged in snaring AJ's interest, but Arthur subtly kept up his pursuit, asking Denise for a dance, until she was being assaulted by the group of immature thugs who'd crashed the stag party, and walked her home.
He was even worried, when she reciprocated his kissing gesture that perhaps Denise may have been responding either drunkenly or unknowingly, that maybe if they slept together, it would only be a spur of the moment thing for her that she might regret. It was the rare but classic instance of a man fearing that he was about to be used sexually - rare but believeable, and it made a change to have the male in that sort of predicament.
True, Denise may have been lonely for male companionship since her last and disastrous experience with Lucas, she may also have been horny and attracted to Arthur's more mature behaviour when compared to AJ's idiocy, but attracted to Arthur, she was, and this is something that does happen in real life. And EastEnders was originally supposed to be grounded in reality.
Of course, since Denise is sort of a black widow figure in relation to what subsequently happens to men who involve themselves with her, one might fear that Arthur will leave the Square in a box and six feet under, but for the moment, their attraction works and isn't as incongruous as the fortysomething Billy Mitchell marrying not one, but two women in their twenties.
The coupling works because it's realistic, it's not based in any way on sensationalism, and - as we'll see in coming weeks - the way Denise is striving to keep their relationship discreet, that she's worried about the repercussions this will have both on her character and on Arthur's. People might think this sort of behaviour would better suit ageing party girls like Roxy or Kim in an effort to hold onto that soupcon of youth, but there's obviously a connection and a spark that's been lit between Denise and Arthur.
I hope they are successful as a couple.
Notice that I said "Arthur?" The best Denise can do for Fatboy is to get him to shed the annoying Fatboy persona and become more of Arthur. Arthur is a well-spoken, softly-spoken young man, who's kind, considerate, responsible and caring. Fatboy is a dolt, who's regularly taken advantage of.
Denise and Arthur will work because it's one of the most original storylines upon which EastEnders has chanced in the last few years.
Yes, we've had the older woman-younger man scenario before - Kathy was eleven years older than Phil, Roxy was 30 when she married 24 year-old Sean Slater, and even though she was only five years older than Saint Dennis Rickman, Sharon appeared positively maternal in her love and consideration for him ...
I mean, can't you just hear Sharon singing this?
Denise and Arthur is based, on his part, from genuine attraction. Granted, Denise wore an outfit, the likes of which we'd never seen her wear before, and she was blazingly attractive - moreso than she usually is. Until she turned around and looked at Arthur, he had no idea who this woman was; but the fact that it was Denise didn't dampen his interest in the least. For most of the evening at the pub, Denise was engaged in snaring AJ's interest, but Arthur subtly kept up his pursuit, asking Denise for a dance, until she was being assaulted by the group of immature thugs who'd crashed the stag party, and walked her home.
He was even worried, when she reciprocated his kissing gesture that perhaps Denise may have been responding either drunkenly or unknowingly, that maybe if they slept together, it would only be a spur of the moment thing for her that she might regret. It was the rare but classic instance of a man fearing that he was about to be used sexually - rare but believeable, and it made a change to have the male in that sort of predicament.
True, Denise may have been lonely for male companionship since her last and disastrous experience with Lucas, she may also have been horny and attracted to Arthur's more mature behaviour when compared to AJ's idiocy, but attracted to Arthur, she was, and this is something that does happen in real life. And EastEnders was originally supposed to be grounded in reality.
Of course, since Denise is sort of a black widow figure in relation to what subsequently happens to men who involve themselves with her, one might fear that Arthur will leave the Square in a box and six feet under, but for the moment, their attraction works and isn't as incongruous as the fortysomething Billy Mitchell marrying not one, but two women in their twenties.
The coupling works because it's realistic, it's not based in any way on sensationalism, and - as we'll see in coming weeks - the way Denise is striving to keep their relationship discreet, that she's worried about the repercussions this will have both on her character and on Arthur's. People might think this sort of behaviour would better suit ageing party girls like Roxy or Kim in an effort to hold onto that soupcon of youth, but there's obviously a connection and a spark that's been lit between Denise and Arthur.
I hope they are successful as a couple.
No comments:
Post a Comment