I've never been one to mince words about EastEnders. It's my favourite soap, and it always has been, which is why, when it's rotten, I take no quarter in calling out the stink, even though many people don't like to hear it; but when it's good, it makes me happy to watch it. It doesn't become a chore of loyalty, and this autumn, I've actually looked forward to watching the show.
However, it still needs to cut some deadwood, and it's on a serious hiding to itself in potentially ruining characters of great promise.
And the Friday episode is still the weakest of the week, even when it's written by Daran Little.
The Carters: Secrets and Lies. I bloody love Elaine, and I'm wondering if the character hasn't been given the name "Elaine" in homage to Elaine Page. Linda's a big fan of musicals, and the actress who plays her has extensive background in West End musicals, so I'm wondering if her character might be a take-off of Page, but that's beside the point.
Elaine fits right in. She's a natural to that set-up and I hope that isn't the last we've seen of her; but - oh, my Lord! - poor Linda! To say I was shocked that Elaine had conjectured that Linda had been having an affair with Dean would be an understatement. This was Linda's mother, who, in her own words, was more like a friend than a mum. But maybe that was it, as was later disclosed - Elaine was projecting her own experience onto that of her daughter.
Elaine had an affair, and Linda's behaviour mirrored hers at the time of her affair. Elaine recognised the guilt, and, yes, Linda is feeling a great modicum of guilt. She's feeling guilty because she didn't cry out at the time of the attack. She's feeling guilty because she's afraid of Mick's reaction or if he would even believe her tale. She's feeling guilty because Dean's twisted her mind so much that Linda now sees how he could easily present this as a consensual act. She's frightened and she's feeling guilty, but not for the reason Elaine thinks.
Her advice to Linda nearly had me falling off my chair. She tells Linda not to tell Mick. Consider this conundrum: on the one end, you have Sharon advising Linda to tell Mick; then you have Elaine advising Linda not to tell Mick; but Sharon thinks Linda has been accosted by a punter who was out of line, and Elaine thought she was having an affair with Dean. Worse, Elaine wasn't blaming her. Instead, she was understanding her, or so she thought - 24/7 working in the pub, with Mick all the time. And even worse, when Linda was vehemently denying she was having an affair, Elaine refused to budge and reinforced her commitment that Mick should not be told.
At least, she knows that Mick and Linda aren't married, but even so, she's advocating Linda keeping secrets, when, as Linda stated, she had always told Mick everything. Elaine is right - about an affair in a marriage or relationship. Something does change. Trust is lost. Elaine takes the advice one step further, making an analogy between working in a pub and a marriage - leave your troubles at the door, and paint a smile on your face.
Sorry, but that's her advice for her daughter who's reached a traumatic point in her relationship? Stiff upper lip - make sure you paint it red - pip pip, cheerio and get on with it and all that. Make a cup of tea, as Danny Dyer said in a previous episode because that's what the Brits do in a crisis. But never never never talk about what's bothering you - not to your partner, at any rate.
I'm wondering if Elaine really believed Linda, after Linda's meltdown in the lounge, even though Elaine assured her that she did, and even went as far as warning Dean off Linda's family.
The gist is that no one still knows that Linda was raped, and Linda is left with the assurance that Mick loves the bones of her, so she should just live off that, and forget the Dean's bothering her. Except that Linda can't. She simply cannot let Mick touch her, and now he knows something is seriously wrong.
On the other hand, Elaine is very perceptive. Until she made that last comment to Linda about Babe, I thought the two of them were on good terms. If anyone can, Elaine has Babe fooled, and that piece of advice was brilliant. Linda really shouldn't trust Babe at all.
Elaine likes the Vic. Why is it I can see her as its landlady one day?
Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard. Line up for slapping, Abi and Lauren Branning and Nancy Carter. Along with the obvious, these three were the downside of the show.
What happened to not showing parents through the eyes of their children? Not only do we have to put up with Abi Branning's spoiled and sullen looks, her overtly rude remarks to Max and Emma Summerhayes, we also have to put up with Nancy Carter, usually one of the most likeable youths in the show, referring to her mother as a "cow" and calling her out on racism. The latter may be debatable, considering various questionable remarks made by both Linda and Mick at the time of Nancy's lamentable association with Wayne the Chav; but the way she spoke to Linda in front of Elaine was despicable, further compounded by the fact that she's actually going to have sex with Dexter
in one of the cars at the Arches. Pardon me while I puke, because Dexter's lecherous look on his face at Nancy's suggestion was just as despicable as the character, himself. Also, is DTC seriously suggesting a love triangle between Dexter, Nancy and Tamwar? Tamwar?
Are they seriously trying to get the public to hate Nancy? Or is she really that much of a jerk?
It's nice to know that Max's next serious relationship begins with a lie, except this time, the lie is being told by the woman in question. Abi, as much as I hate her, was right tonight - Max and Summerhayes deserve each other. They're both cheaters, and they're both adept liars. Now Max's big lie and secret is that he shopped her to her boss about their relationship, and she's lying about the man who's stalking Lauren and Peter - Cameron Bryant.
Why is he stalking them? Is Peter finally going to be exposed as a suspect in this murder investigation, or is this a way of intimidating Summerhayes or Max's family? I may be the only one, but I found it funny that Bryant had cheated on Summerhayes with a stripper or pole dancer or whatever, and Summerhayes cheats on Bryant with ... Max Branning? Just as sleazy. If Summerhayes thinks Max Branning, serial adulterer and crippler of vulnerable women bringing them down to his amoral level, is a step up from DS Bryant, she's got another think coming.
The Branning girls never cease to amaze me, however. What do they want from Max? A life of celibacy where he works his fingers to the bone, whilst drinking whiskey laced with saltpetre, and hands over money into their grubby little hands to keep them from working themselves? What is Abi doing now that she's written off university, besides sitting around the house with a face like thunder, being rude to Summerhayes for no reason. At least Lauren showed a bit more maturity.
Abi seriously wants a smack.
Run, Aleks, Run. Once again, the highpoint of the episode was the romcom that features Ronnie, Charlie, Roxy and Aleks. It's good to see Ronnie smile genuinely, and I'm liking the Mitchell sisters again, now that they've reverted to their original personae of light and fun-loving girls, but there's not avoiding it - Ronnie's killed a man, and as amazing as Charlie thinks she is, what will he think when he finds out what she's done? Or has he done the same or worse?
The highlight of the episode was when Aleks returned with the alcohol, taking longer than expected because, as we know, he'd been with his wife and child. He's on a hiding to nothing, because we know that the ticking timebomb that is his family will surface in Walford sooner, rather than later. Ronnie clocked his immediate text message, written in Latvian, and followed him into the corridor, for the chilling scene of the night.
Aleks: You still don't trust me, do you, Ronnie?
Ronnie: I don't want anyone to hurt my sister.
Aleks promises to prove to Ronnie that he won't hurt Roxy. He gets one chance. We know he'll fail, and Roxy's about to suffer a major let-down again. Ronnie won't forget, however. Be afraid, Aleks. Be very afraid.
Another good episode, even if it was the weakest of the week.
However, it still needs to cut some deadwood, and it's on a serious hiding to itself in potentially ruining characters of great promise.
And the Friday episode is still the weakest of the week, even when it's written by Daran Little.
The Carters: Secrets and Lies. I bloody love Elaine, and I'm wondering if the character hasn't been given the name "Elaine" in homage to Elaine Page. Linda's a big fan of musicals, and the actress who plays her has extensive background in West End musicals, so I'm wondering if her character might be a take-off of Page, but that's beside the point.
Elaine fits right in. She's a natural to that set-up and I hope that isn't the last we've seen of her; but - oh, my Lord! - poor Linda! To say I was shocked that Elaine had conjectured that Linda had been having an affair with Dean would be an understatement. This was Linda's mother, who, in her own words, was more like a friend than a mum. But maybe that was it, as was later disclosed - Elaine was projecting her own experience onto that of her daughter.
Elaine had an affair, and Linda's behaviour mirrored hers at the time of her affair. Elaine recognised the guilt, and, yes, Linda is feeling a great modicum of guilt. She's feeling guilty because she didn't cry out at the time of the attack. She's feeling guilty because she's afraid of Mick's reaction or if he would even believe her tale. She's feeling guilty because Dean's twisted her mind so much that Linda now sees how he could easily present this as a consensual act. She's frightened and she's feeling guilty, but not for the reason Elaine thinks.
Her advice to Linda nearly had me falling off my chair. She tells Linda not to tell Mick. Consider this conundrum: on the one end, you have Sharon advising Linda to tell Mick; then you have Elaine advising Linda not to tell Mick; but Sharon thinks Linda has been accosted by a punter who was out of line, and Elaine thought she was having an affair with Dean. Worse, Elaine wasn't blaming her. Instead, she was understanding her, or so she thought - 24/7 working in the pub, with Mick all the time. And even worse, when Linda was vehemently denying she was having an affair, Elaine refused to budge and reinforced her commitment that Mick should not be told.
At least, she knows that Mick and Linda aren't married, but even so, she's advocating Linda keeping secrets, when, as Linda stated, she had always told Mick everything. Elaine is right - about an affair in a marriage or relationship. Something does change. Trust is lost. Elaine takes the advice one step further, making an analogy between working in a pub and a marriage - leave your troubles at the door, and paint a smile on your face.
Sorry, but that's her advice for her daughter who's reached a traumatic point in her relationship? Stiff upper lip - make sure you paint it red - pip pip, cheerio and get on with it and all that. Make a cup of tea, as Danny Dyer said in a previous episode because that's what the Brits do in a crisis. But never never never talk about what's bothering you - not to your partner, at any rate.
I'm wondering if Elaine really believed Linda, after Linda's meltdown in the lounge, even though Elaine assured her that she did, and even went as far as warning Dean off Linda's family.
The gist is that no one still knows that Linda was raped, and Linda is left with the assurance that Mick loves the bones of her, so she should just live off that, and forget the Dean's bothering her. Except that Linda can't. She simply cannot let Mick touch her, and now he knows something is seriously wrong.
On the other hand, Elaine is very perceptive. Until she made that last comment to Linda about Babe, I thought the two of them were on good terms. If anyone can, Elaine has Babe fooled, and that piece of advice was brilliant. Linda really shouldn't trust Babe at all.
Elaine likes the Vic. Why is it I can see her as its landlady one day?
Children Should Be Seen and Not Heard. Line up for slapping, Abi and Lauren Branning and Nancy Carter. Along with the obvious, these three were the downside of the show.
What happened to not showing parents through the eyes of their children? Not only do we have to put up with Abi Branning's spoiled and sullen looks, her overtly rude remarks to Max and Emma Summerhayes, we also have to put up with Nancy Carter, usually one of the most likeable youths in the show, referring to her mother as a "cow" and calling her out on racism. The latter may be debatable, considering various questionable remarks made by both Linda and Mick at the time of Nancy's lamentable association with Wayne the Chav; but the way she spoke to Linda in front of Elaine was despicable, further compounded by the fact that she's actually going to have sex with Dexter
in one of the cars at the Arches. Pardon me while I puke, because Dexter's lecherous look on his face at Nancy's suggestion was just as despicable as the character, himself. Also, is DTC seriously suggesting a love triangle between Dexter, Nancy and Tamwar? Tamwar?Are they seriously trying to get the public to hate Nancy? Or is she really that much of a jerk?
It's nice to know that Max's next serious relationship begins with a lie, except this time, the lie is being told by the woman in question. Abi, as much as I hate her, was right tonight - Max and Summerhayes deserve each other. They're both cheaters, and they're both adept liars. Now Max's big lie and secret is that he shopped her to her boss about their relationship, and she's lying about the man who's stalking Lauren and Peter - Cameron Bryant.
Why is he stalking them? Is Peter finally going to be exposed as a suspect in this murder investigation, or is this a way of intimidating Summerhayes or Max's family? I may be the only one, but I found it funny that Bryant had cheated on Summerhayes with a stripper or pole dancer or whatever, and Summerhayes cheats on Bryant with ... Max Branning? Just as sleazy. If Summerhayes thinks Max Branning, serial adulterer and crippler of vulnerable women bringing them down to his amoral level, is a step up from DS Bryant, she's got another think coming.
The Branning girls never cease to amaze me, however. What do they want from Max? A life of celibacy where he works his fingers to the bone, whilst drinking whiskey laced with saltpetre, and hands over money into their grubby little hands to keep them from working themselves? What is Abi doing now that she's written off university, besides sitting around the house with a face like thunder, being rude to Summerhayes for no reason. At least Lauren showed a bit more maturity.
Abi seriously wants a smack.
Run, Aleks, Run. Once again, the highpoint of the episode was the romcom that features Ronnie, Charlie, Roxy and Aleks. It's good to see Ronnie smile genuinely, and I'm liking the Mitchell sisters again, now that they've reverted to their original personae of light and fun-loving girls, but there's not avoiding it - Ronnie's killed a man, and as amazing as Charlie thinks she is, what will he think when he finds out what she's done? Or has he done the same or worse?
The highlight of the episode was when Aleks returned with the alcohol, taking longer than expected because, as we know, he'd been with his wife and child. He's on a hiding to nothing, because we know that the ticking timebomb that is his family will surface in Walford sooner, rather than later. Ronnie clocked his immediate text message, written in Latvian, and followed him into the corridor, for the chilling scene of the night.
Aleks: You still don't trust me, do you, Ronnie?
Ronnie: I don't want anyone to hurt my sister.
Aleks promises to prove to Ronnie that he won't hurt Roxy. He gets one chance. We know he'll fail, and Roxy's about to suffer a major let-down again. Ronnie won't forget, however. Be afraid, Aleks. Be very afraid.
Another good episode, even if it was the weakest of the week.
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