I see someone's already branded Kirsty a "whore" on Digital Spy Soaps forum.
Let me just remind people that when Tanya met Max, she wasn't a shrinking violet innocent virgin. She'd been around the block more times than anyone would care to remember and had a history of drug abuse. She may not have known Max was married when she met him, but she certainly didn't back off pursuit of him when she did know.
She was actively trying to entice a married man into abandoning his wife and child; and she succeeded.
When she found out about Max's entanglement with Stacey Slater, she kicked him out. Instead of focusing on her children and her business, she prostituted herself to the local psycho (Stacey's brother) in an effort to get him to help her kill Max (and hoping to land the blame on him as well). When that didn't work, she moved brer Jack in for an entire year and pretended he was babydaddy to her kids, denying Max access and even planning on absconding abroad with them.
For the record, Max does not love Tanya. He doesn't love her anymore than he loved Rachel or Vanessa. If he did, he'd never have been unfaithful to her ... ya know, like Alfie was never unfaithful to Kat? For a a man to stray, it's obvious that something is missing on the home front.
I'm not defending Max, but Max is at once bored and comforted by domesticity. He's a nuanced character, and Tanya is as shallow as a mud puddle after a spring shower. He gets a thrill from a chase and diversity, but when he's bored by that, he finds the fact that Tanya's there a comfort. He probably felt the same thing about Rachel.
What bonds Max to Tanya, however, is their children. Even to Rachel, ultimately. Max's dad married his mum because he'd got her pregnant with Derek (originally with April, but that's retconning for you). They stayed married but the relationship was fraught with abuse and mental manipulation. Jim was an awful father, and Max likes to think he isn't.
When Max was exiled from Walford by Tanya and Lauren in August 2011 (on the basis of Tanya's lie), Max was single. Tanya wasn't. That's right. Do your maths. Greg Jessop had just found out she'd been unfaithful. He left, but they were still married. A divorce could not be obtained until April 2012.
If you'll recall, Lauren tried to get Greg to return to Walford and Tanya right after Max left, by telling him Tanya had cancer. Greg didn't want to know.
While he was away, Max met and married Kirsty.
What prompted his return was Carol spotting Tanya rat-arsed in the Vic, buying drinks for an under-aged Lauren. She told Jack, who alerted Max that things weren't right with Tanya and the girls. Also, Abi had just been nicked for shoplifting.
When Max returned, it was initially a flying visit on his way to a new life with Kirsty, just stopping by to see what all the bother was about. Remember Max remarked how blissful it was not to have heard the word "Dad" during the past three months.
And Max was on his way out of Walford when Lauren, prompted by the old gray hag Cora the Bora, was told to tell Max to return because of Tanya's cancer - her being in the loo, trying to overdose with tablets.
Max stayed because of his kids and because he was needed there more, he reckoned, than being with his wife. And so Max does what all the Brannings do and gives his wife a quick phonecall, telling her that their marriage was a mistake and it's over. So, until April, when Greg files for divorce, you've got Max and Tanya, married to two different people, living together.
The question being debated is: Is Max really that serious about discarding Kirsty?
Well, if you listened to the dialogue on Christmas Day, he told Kirsty that he didn't face her to tell her the facts, he couldn't face her to tell her the facts because he still had feelings for her. Max, as amoral as he is (and he owns his amorality) is still one of the few Brannings to feel compassion and guilt. He also shares their trait that if something or someone is out of sight, it's easier to put them out of mind. If Max could have obtained a divorce from Kirsty on the strength of the money he shoved through her letterbox, he'd be fine with that. She'd be wiped from his mind - the same way Jack thinks he's a good dad for sending Selina and Sam Mitchell cheques each month for Penny and Richard. The same way he does with Amy to a certain degree that he has to have his arm twisted and his conscience twinged to remind himself that she's his flesh and blood.
The fact is Kirsty didn't sign the divorce papers - and to the self-supposing legal eagle on Digital Spy, a divorce isn't established until both parties sign the papers; Kirsty can hold out for the rest of her life if she thinks Max is worth it - and she showed up in Walford, wanting to know the reasons Max wanted to end the marriage to her face. Once she ascertained that he still had feelings for her, she dug in.
Max isn't telling Kirsty to leave Walford because he wants her out of his life. He doesn't. That's why he kissed her. The attraction and the desire are still there. It's just her leaving would make things easier for Max's comfort zone - he'll have his kids, his house, his business and Tanya will still be there.
If you don't believe this, read EastEnders' own interpretation of the Kirsty-Max dynamic. You can find it here on their website - first backstory given a new character since Matt Robinson was EP. But in case you can't be bothered, for fear of dispelling any preconceived illusions about Kirsty's sluttability, here's what the people who created Kirsty say about her relationship wiht Max:-
The bit in red ... there you have it. And that's not me, peeps, that's the BBC; that's EastEnders, and that's the direction in which they are taking this dynamic. As for Kirsty being a whore, I daresay she's probably been as much a whore in her lifetime as Tanya has been.
The fact is that Kirsty is Max's wife, and Tanya, once again, is his mistress.
Let me just remind people that when Tanya met Max, she wasn't a shrinking violet innocent virgin. She'd been around the block more times than anyone would care to remember and had a history of drug abuse. She may not have known Max was married when she met him, but she certainly didn't back off pursuit of him when she did know.
She was actively trying to entice a married man into abandoning his wife and child; and she succeeded.
When she found out about Max's entanglement with Stacey Slater, she kicked him out. Instead of focusing on her children and her business, she prostituted herself to the local psycho (Stacey's brother) in an effort to get him to help her kill Max (and hoping to land the blame on him as well). When that didn't work, she moved brer Jack in for an entire year and pretended he was babydaddy to her kids, denying Max access and even planning on absconding abroad with them.
For the record, Max does not love Tanya. He doesn't love her anymore than he loved Rachel or Vanessa. If he did, he'd never have been unfaithful to her ... ya know, like Alfie was never unfaithful to Kat? For a a man to stray, it's obvious that something is missing on the home front.
I'm not defending Max, but Max is at once bored and comforted by domesticity. He's a nuanced character, and Tanya is as shallow as a mud puddle after a spring shower. He gets a thrill from a chase and diversity, but when he's bored by that, he finds the fact that Tanya's there a comfort. He probably felt the same thing about Rachel.
What bonds Max to Tanya, however, is their children. Even to Rachel, ultimately. Max's dad married his mum because he'd got her pregnant with Derek (originally with April, but that's retconning for you). They stayed married but the relationship was fraught with abuse and mental manipulation. Jim was an awful father, and Max likes to think he isn't.
When Max was exiled from Walford by Tanya and Lauren in August 2011 (on the basis of Tanya's lie), Max was single. Tanya wasn't. That's right. Do your maths. Greg Jessop had just found out she'd been unfaithful. He left, but they were still married. A divorce could not be obtained until April 2012.
If you'll recall, Lauren tried to get Greg to return to Walford and Tanya right after Max left, by telling him Tanya had cancer. Greg didn't want to know.
While he was away, Max met and married Kirsty.
What prompted his return was Carol spotting Tanya rat-arsed in the Vic, buying drinks for an under-aged Lauren. She told Jack, who alerted Max that things weren't right with Tanya and the girls. Also, Abi had just been nicked for shoplifting.
When Max returned, it was initially a flying visit on his way to a new life with Kirsty, just stopping by to see what all the bother was about. Remember Max remarked how blissful it was not to have heard the word "Dad" during the past three months.
And Max was on his way out of Walford when Lauren, prompted by the old gray hag Cora the Bora, was told to tell Max to return because of Tanya's cancer - her being in the loo, trying to overdose with tablets.
Max stayed because of his kids and because he was needed there more, he reckoned, than being with his wife. And so Max does what all the Brannings do and gives his wife a quick phonecall, telling her that their marriage was a mistake and it's over. So, until April, when Greg files for divorce, you've got Max and Tanya, married to two different people, living together.
The question being debated is: Is Max really that serious about discarding Kirsty?
Well, if you listened to the dialogue on Christmas Day, he told Kirsty that he didn't face her to tell her the facts, he couldn't face her to tell her the facts because he still had feelings for her. Max, as amoral as he is (and he owns his amorality) is still one of the few Brannings to feel compassion and guilt. He also shares their trait that if something or someone is out of sight, it's easier to put them out of mind. If Max could have obtained a divorce from Kirsty on the strength of the money he shoved through her letterbox, he'd be fine with that. She'd be wiped from his mind - the same way Jack thinks he's a good dad for sending Selina and Sam Mitchell cheques each month for Penny and Richard. The same way he does with Amy to a certain degree that he has to have his arm twisted and his conscience twinged to remind himself that she's his flesh and blood.
The fact is Kirsty didn't sign the divorce papers - and to the self-supposing legal eagle on Digital Spy, a divorce isn't established until both parties sign the papers; Kirsty can hold out for the rest of her life if she thinks Max is worth it - and she showed up in Walford, wanting to know the reasons Max wanted to end the marriage to her face. Once she ascertained that he still had feelings for her, she dug in.
Max isn't telling Kirsty to leave Walford because he wants her out of his life. He doesn't. That's why he kissed her. The attraction and the desire are still there. It's just her leaving would make things easier for Max's comfort zone - he'll have his kids, his house, his business and Tanya will still be there.
If you don't believe this, read EastEnders' own interpretation of the Kirsty-Max dynamic. You can find it here on their website - first backstory given a new character since Matt Robinson was EP. But in case you can't be bothered, for fear of dispelling any preconceived illusions about Kirsty's sluttability, here's what the people who created Kirsty say about her relationship wiht Max:-
When Derek was released from prison, he introduced Max to Kirsty. The pair were instantly smitten Having been thrown out by Tanya (unaware of the onset of her cancer) Max was at his lowest ebb, while Kirsty was trying to extract herself from an incredibly destructive relationship. The attraction was instant but grew into something much deeper very quickly. It was electric.Don’t expect sympathy from meKirsty BranningKirsty wore her heart on her sleeve with Max. Chaotic and vulnerable, she laid everything on the table. No holds barred. Caught in a whirlwind romance, Max bared his soul – well, most of it, anyway! Neither had anything to lose. In a moment of shared madness the pair had a shotgun wedding in a registry office. It was spontaneous and hedonistic but Kirsty had finally found ‘The One’, while Max was determined to put his past behind him. With Derek’s criminal activities down the toilet, Max and Kirsty resolved to move away from London (to Manchester) a week later and start a new life together.Max and Derek planned to meet Kirsty there but during the move, Max was called back to Albert Square and discovered that Tanya had been diagnosed with cancer and was refusing treatment. Realising he'd been sent away under false pretences, Max stayed to look after Tanya and rescue his family. Unable to face Kirsty - and afraid that if he even saw her again he would be powerless to resist - he simply informed her by phone that it was over. In the few months Max was with Kirsty, a real bond was forged and it's something he’s run from ever since, hoping it would fade. It hasn’t.Devastated by his apparently-callous abandonment, Kirsty had no way of finding Max. Derek – happy with his new-found family life - was in regular contact with Kirsty but gave misleading information in a bid to ensure she couldn’t find him. Broken-hearted, this confirmed all Kirsty's worst fears about love. It was around this time that she made the shocking discovery that she was pregnant.Kirsty contacted Derek to pass the news of her pregnancy onto Max but Derek selfishly lied and insisted that Max was not interested. The truth: Max was never told. The ordeal sent Kirsty into a spiral: pregnant in a strange city and rejected by the one man she’s ever truly loved, Kirsty was forced to make a difficult choice and opted to have an abortion. Max was never party to this information but Derek knew – and even stooped as low as paying for it behind his brother’s back.Kirsty was incensed when an envelope of money and divorce papers were pushed through her letterbox (by Max). Kept at bay by Derek, Kirsty was determined to find Max and let him know exactly what he'd done to her but it was only when an angry Derek turned on Max on Christmas Eve that she finally found out where Max lived and decided to reclaim her man… Christmas Day has never been very good for Max’s love life!
The bit in red ... there you have it. And that's not me, peeps, that's the BBC; that's EastEnders, and that's the direction in which they are taking this dynamic. As for Kirsty being a whore, I daresay she's probably been as much a whore in her lifetime as Tanya has been.
The fact is that Kirsty is Max's wife, and Tanya, once again, is his mistress.
Very well said.
ReplyDeleteLet's hope the assorted morons and Saint-Tanya-shippers on various fora read and take note.
I'm sick and tired of foul-mouthed adolescents (and others who are almost certainly old enough to know better) throwing around the words 'slut' and 'whore' indiscriminately.
I think it's more to do with the way Kirsty looks and behaves. Look at her- big hair, slutty cloths, puffy lips and then look at Tanya- she dresses like a mother and a wife should do. I can see why viewers are on Tanya's side.
ReplyDeleteKirsty came to get answers from Max, she got them, the fact that Max was about to marry the mother of his 3 kids should have been enough to tell her that it's over and she is not wanted, but she sticks around, hanging there. To me it's quiet pathetic and desperate.
The last comment (above) on this blog really boils my urine. This isn't medieval times, a woman is entitled to dress however the merry hell she likes without idiots judging her for it. If they do judge her, it says a hell of a lot more about them and their own hang-ups than it does about the woman in question. Ugh. ''Dresses like a mother and wife should do'', my brown backside. Have a word with yourself, Katya.
ReplyDeleteI can't stand either Kirsty or Tanya, they're both as pathetic as one another. Nothing to do with the way either of them chooses to dress, but everything to do with their behaviour. Tanya's makes out she's some sort of independent free thinker who made it on her own, when in fact she has got everything she has by skanking off blokes. Kirsty seems, so far, like a complete desperado. If I were anything like either of them, I'd be ashamed of myself.
Why any self-respecting female would fight over a creature like Max in the first place is beyond me. As my grandmother would say, he is of neither use nor ornament.