This was a good filler episode, building up to the summer of lurve and a couple of other storylines which might prove interesting. There were even a couple of famiiar features in different guises.
Peggy-Lite Puts the Kush In.
As much as Danny Dyer channels Shane Richie, Bonnie Langford certainly channels Barbara Windsor. Close your eyes, and it could be Peggy talking. Carmel is a flame-haired version of Peggy and just as interfering. However, her insistence on engagement parties and big weddings tonight had its purpose, which was eventually revealed byPeggy Carmel, herself.
For all Shabnam is insisting on a small, traditionaly wedding, Kush's first wedding to Safirah was small and traditional. Kush (who looked sheepish throughout the entire proceeding and said nary a word), according to Mummy (who did all of the talking) wanted something completely different - big party, bit wedding, big dress, big hair, the works!
Oh, and by the way, the dead wife's parents wanted to come to the engagement party and wedding in order to put their seal of approval on the new wife. This puts an entire new meaning to the phrase "one foot in the grave."
Carmel thinks that after Kush's first wife died, Kush totally broke down. Kush told Shabnam that he went on a veritable ogy of one night stands, totally off the idea of marriage - which Shabnam has helped him change, he hastens to add.
Thanks to Carmel, and a little bit of subtle passive aggressiveness on Kush's part, Shabnam rushed into the awkward gap to push aside her wishes regarding her engagement and wedding, and put what Kush wanted first.
Let me explain something: As much as I like Kush, I relish the thought that we're having truly nuanced characters thrown our way at the moment. For all too long, we've had nothing but cartoon villains, caricatures and damsels in distress we've been asked to like and failed. On first appearance, Kush is a nice guy. You really felt for him when he opened up to Shabnam about his wife's death and his reaction to it. Then, he used the dead wife and his love for her as an excuse not to make his relationship with Shabnam serious in any way. Kush wasn't ready to commit - in face, he wouldn't commit, didn't think he ever would. Yet he was happy enough to maintain the status quo with Shabnam - a girl who'd had a traditional and religious upbringing - of friends with benefits.
It was then I sorta kinda got the idea that Kush had used the "grieving for the first wife" excuse to cut a swathe amongst a plethora of young women amidst whom he came, saw, conquered and dropped. I've no doubt he didn't love his first wife, and there are many faces of grief, but when does the actual grief end and Kush become yet another character who uses a past trauma as an excuse to behave inappropriately.
When he perceived that his new-found fuck buddy actually wanted a commitment - without understanding the real motive and fear behind her behaviour - and he thought he'd been dumped, he began acting like the proverbial lounge room lizard around Stacey, his girlfriend's best mate.
Now, I'm not so sure about Kush again. His mother was all over the place as his mouthpiece. He doesn't know which way to turn so he keeps his mouth shut. He knows what Shabnam wants - something small and traditional - and he knows what he/his mother wants - something big and flash. Instead of speaking to Shabnam on her own and coming to a compromise, he lets Carmel put the "kush" in about the former inlaws, the big shindig so as not to be reminded of the small, first wedding with the first wife. If I were Shabnam, I'd be getting a bit itchy here, wondering if I were going to live in a dead woman's shadow and be compared to her in my every move.
On the other hand, there's Masood, who isn't giving her nearly as much support as she should have in undermining her behind her back, droning on and on at Tamwar - the only adult in the room - about making contact with a child he believes is his granddaughter and a child to whom he has no right to have access. Here's a kid who's been raised in a culture alien to Masood's, and whom he hopes, somehow, to bring back into his household, no matter what his daughter's (the child's mother) wishes are. Tamwar is wise enough to remind Masood of what he's risking - losing Shabnam, herself, and she certainly doesn't deserve that.
Tamwar got a fist pump from me tonight for the gumption he showed in reminding Masood exactly who is involved in the Roya saga.
Masood: She told her family that she was dead.
Tamwar: What family? Shirley Carter? And Dean, who - by the way - is a rapist.
Halle-bloody-lujah! Thank GOD for Tamwar! Masood has droned on and on about the Carters mourning Roya's death, when the Carters, proper, are more concerned with Ollie's progress. The only people pissed off about Shabnam's lie are Shirley and Dean - who, as Tamwar brilliantly pointed out - is a rapist, and what kind of future is that to bang onto a child?
But then, Masood is grasping at straws, and when Carmel bleats on and on, having scored a victory about getting the big engagement party, about parents knowing better than children and coyly talking about "nudging" adult children in the right direction (that is, using passive-aggressive bullying), Masood goes about looking on EastEndersLand's version of Google Maps to find exactly how to get from his house to the house belonging to the foster family of the child he thinks is his granddaughter.
A Little Insight. There was a brief scene tonight with the creepy Beales, and we got a bit of insight into who's the dominant and who's the recessive partner in that sick relationship. Masood went into the cafe to give his notice to Jane, and instead, ended up dealing with Ian, who was slapped down immediately by Jane, with the aside to Ian that Masood was "putting his children first."
Really? Masood, like Ian and Jane, is putting his own selfish interest first, seeking a child whom he can raise and who will redeem him for the failures he feels he endured with, at least, Syed and Shabnam.
Phil Mitchell De-Balled and When Babi Met Pen. Well, up to a point. Sharon's calling the shots now, but this is all about Lola losing her job. You know, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and Phil flubbed it when he urged Lola just to drop what she was doing at the salon and go drinking, courtesy of Phil, at Sharon's bar.
The absolute line of the night went to Shirley when Phil first showed up at Blades to speak with Dean about Lola's job:-
Cut and blow-dry?
This is the Shirley I love - the one of one-liners and side remarks. But Dean is right. He was well within his remit to sack Lola. He's hired a new trainee now, and she's history. What he plans on doing now, strong-arming Shirley into coercing Dean, is anyone's guess. Sharon's also right about Phil wanting to do the right thing, and then getting it wrong.
This was all played out against that insipid bar wars' storyline between Sharon and Kim. The search for Gavin has obviously been put on hold until sometime in the summer/autumn/winter - whenever Gavin is cast and Gillian Taylforth begins filming in earnest. Until then, it's the Battle of The Albert. Letitia Dean deserves better, and Diane Parish shouldnt't be the straight man to Tameka Empson's bad comedy.
Nice to see Patrick's expression when Kim sidled into the lounge and started smooching Vincent as Patrick was trying to watch television. Rudolph Walker is a gem.
Also connected to this was the classic scene in the pub where Babi met Pen. Abi's rival for Ben's affections is Paul Coker, and she couldn't have helped but notice how, when Paul dropped by their table in the Vic, Ben gave him his undivided attention. In fact, Ben was positively drooling. Abi's comedown is going to be fun.
Fa Fa Fa FA Fa Fa-Fa-Fa FA Fa.
Understatement of the year goes to Charlie Cotton's remark about Ronnie:-
I know she's done some pretty exteme things in the past ...
Not half, Charlie, like killing a man and watching a crusher crush his body or kidnapping a neighbour's child and dumping your dead child in his place.
What's niggling Ronnie is that she's lost control of the two people closest to her in her life - Roxy and Charlie. Sometime, during her comatose period, Charlie managed to find his balls again, and she hates that. She knows about his and Roxy's ONS, but she isn't convinced that it's over. It is, and it isn't.
Because both Ronnie and Charlie have feelings for each other, but they've stepped back from them, and they're trying to make things right for Ronnie. Well, Roxy is. Charlie, on the other hand, was the one who told Roxy he'd married the wrong sister, and Charlie doesn't love Ronnie - not that she really deserves that love anyway.
People can disabuse themselves of the notion that Ronnie is a strong woman. She's weak and cowardly and hides behind her psychopathy. The moment something goes wrong, Ronnie thinks she can snap her fingers and someone - usually a man - will come running. Her first instinct is to call Vincent and order him to hurt Charlie and Roxy. Without any proof that things are still going on between them. Vincent refuses.
She then starts going through all of Charlie's ill-fitting clothing until she finds a receipt for a restaurant where he and Roxy had eaten.
One of the best scenes of the night was the kitchen scene between Ronnie and Roxy, when Ronnie admitted something we've known for years - that she's jealous of Roxy. There was the point when she told Vincent that Roxy had bagged Ronnie's boyfriends before (Jack, with Amy as the result), and then there was the curious line in the kitchen with Roxy claiming she would never do that. Roxy is seriously trying to step back from the situation, but I think the fact that Roxy and Charlie care about each other is too obvious. Now, I'm beginning to see that Roxy's "love" for Ronnie is based on fear. When Ronnie set up the creepy dinner with "Babi" doing the cooking, as an excuse for Ben to hide a webcam within the house, and she apologised for her jealousy, that hug that Roxy gave Ronnie, telling her she loved her, sent a chill down my spine. Ronnie needs Roxy telling her these things. After all, she's built Roxy's "sistah" dependency.
We had a weird moment of foreshadowing tonight when, in another kitchen scene, Roxy had yet another epiphany, when she told Charlie that she thought Ronnie had been spying on them as they left the house, when she was staring out the window.
If Roxy only knew that she was being watched as she and Charlie shared a laugh about "Babi" whilst Ronnie creepily watched on the computer screen upstairs.
Karma can't come too soon for Ronnie.
Peggy-Lite Puts the Kush In.
As much as Danny Dyer channels Shane Richie, Bonnie Langford certainly channels Barbara Windsor. Close your eyes, and it could be Peggy talking. Carmel is a flame-haired version of Peggy and just as interfering. However, her insistence on engagement parties and big weddings tonight had its purpose, which was eventually revealed by
For all Shabnam is insisting on a small, traditionaly wedding, Kush's first wedding to Safirah was small and traditional. Kush (who looked sheepish throughout the entire proceeding and said nary a word), according to Mummy (who did all of the talking) wanted something completely different - big party, bit wedding, big dress, big hair, the works!
Oh, and by the way, the dead wife's parents wanted to come to the engagement party and wedding in order to put their seal of approval on the new wife. This puts an entire new meaning to the phrase "one foot in the grave."
Carmel thinks that after Kush's first wife died, Kush totally broke down. Kush told Shabnam that he went on a veritable ogy of one night stands, totally off the idea of marriage - which Shabnam has helped him change, he hastens to add.
Thanks to Carmel, and a little bit of subtle passive aggressiveness on Kush's part, Shabnam rushed into the awkward gap to push aside her wishes regarding her engagement and wedding, and put what Kush wanted first.
Let me explain something: As much as I like Kush, I relish the thought that we're having truly nuanced characters thrown our way at the moment. For all too long, we've had nothing but cartoon villains, caricatures and damsels in distress we've been asked to like and failed. On first appearance, Kush is a nice guy. You really felt for him when he opened up to Shabnam about his wife's death and his reaction to it. Then, he used the dead wife and his love for her as an excuse not to make his relationship with Shabnam serious in any way. Kush wasn't ready to commit - in face, he wouldn't commit, didn't think he ever would. Yet he was happy enough to maintain the status quo with Shabnam - a girl who'd had a traditional and religious upbringing - of friends with benefits.
It was then I sorta kinda got the idea that Kush had used the "grieving for the first wife" excuse to cut a swathe amongst a plethora of young women amidst whom he came, saw, conquered and dropped. I've no doubt he didn't love his first wife, and there are many faces of grief, but when does the actual grief end and Kush become yet another character who uses a past trauma as an excuse to behave inappropriately.
When he perceived that his new-found fuck buddy actually wanted a commitment - without understanding the real motive and fear behind her behaviour - and he thought he'd been dumped, he began acting like the proverbial lounge room lizard around Stacey, his girlfriend's best mate.
Now, I'm not so sure about Kush again. His mother was all over the place as his mouthpiece. He doesn't know which way to turn so he keeps his mouth shut. He knows what Shabnam wants - something small and traditional - and he knows what he/his mother wants - something big and flash. Instead of speaking to Shabnam on her own and coming to a compromise, he lets Carmel put the "kush" in about the former inlaws, the big shindig so as not to be reminded of the small, first wedding with the first wife. If I were Shabnam, I'd be getting a bit itchy here, wondering if I were going to live in a dead woman's shadow and be compared to her in my every move.
On the other hand, there's Masood, who isn't giving her nearly as much support as she should have in undermining her behind her back, droning on and on at Tamwar - the only adult in the room - about making contact with a child he believes is his granddaughter and a child to whom he has no right to have access. Here's a kid who's been raised in a culture alien to Masood's, and whom he hopes, somehow, to bring back into his household, no matter what his daughter's (the child's mother) wishes are. Tamwar is wise enough to remind Masood of what he's risking - losing Shabnam, herself, and she certainly doesn't deserve that.
Tamwar got a fist pump from me tonight for the gumption he showed in reminding Masood exactly who is involved in the Roya saga.
Masood: She told her family that she was dead.
Tamwar: What family? Shirley Carter? And Dean, who - by the way - is a rapist.
Halle-bloody-lujah! Thank GOD for Tamwar! Masood has droned on and on about the Carters mourning Roya's death, when the Carters, proper, are more concerned with Ollie's progress. The only people pissed off about Shabnam's lie are Shirley and Dean - who, as Tamwar brilliantly pointed out - is a rapist, and what kind of future is that to bang onto a child?
But then, Masood is grasping at straws, and when Carmel bleats on and on, having scored a victory about getting the big engagement party, about parents knowing better than children and coyly talking about "nudging" adult children in the right direction (that is, using passive-aggressive bullying), Masood goes about looking on EastEndersLand's version of Google Maps to find exactly how to get from his house to the house belonging to the foster family of the child he thinks is his granddaughter.
A Little Insight. There was a brief scene tonight with the creepy Beales, and we got a bit of insight into who's the dominant and who's the recessive partner in that sick relationship. Masood went into the cafe to give his notice to Jane, and instead, ended up dealing with Ian, who was slapped down immediately by Jane, with the aside to Ian that Masood was "putting his children first."
Really? Masood, like Ian and Jane, is putting his own selfish interest first, seeking a child whom he can raise and who will redeem him for the failures he feels he endured with, at least, Syed and Shabnam.
Phil Mitchell De-Balled and When Babi Met Pen. Well, up to a point. Sharon's calling the shots now, but this is all about Lola losing her job. You know, even a broken clock is right twice a day, and Phil flubbed it when he urged Lola just to drop what she was doing at the salon and go drinking, courtesy of Phil, at Sharon's bar.
The absolute line of the night went to Shirley when Phil first showed up at Blades to speak with Dean about Lola's job:-
Cut and blow-dry?
This is the Shirley I love - the one of one-liners and side remarks. But Dean is right. He was well within his remit to sack Lola. He's hired a new trainee now, and she's history. What he plans on doing now, strong-arming Shirley into coercing Dean, is anyone's guess. Sharon's also right about Phil wanting to do the right thing, and then getting it wrong.
This was all played out against that insipid bar wars' storyline between Sharon and Kim. The search for Gavin has obviously been put on hold until sometime in the summer/autumn/winter - whenever Gavin is cast and Gillian Taylforth begins filming in earnest. Until then, it's the Battle of The Albert. Letitia Dean deserves better, and Diane Parish shouldnt't be the straight man to Tameka Empson's bad comedy.
Nice to see Patrick's expression when Kim sidled into the lounge and started smooching Vincent as Patrick was trying to watch television. Rudolph Walker is a gem.
Also connected to this was the classic scene in the pub where Babi met Pen. Abi's rival for Ben's affections is Paul Coker, and she couldn't have helped but notice how, when Paul dropped by their table in the Vic, Ben gave him his undivided attention. In fact, Ben was positively drooling. Abi's comedown is going to be fun.
Fa Fa Fa FA Fa Fa-Fa-Fa FA Fa.
Understatement of the year goes to Charlie Cotton's remark about Ronnie:-
I know she's done some pretty exteme things in the past ...
Not half, Charlie, like killing a man and watching a crusher crush his body or kidnapping a neighbour's child and dumping your dead child in his place.
What's niggling Ronnie is that she's lost control of the two people closest to her in her life - Roxy and Charlie. Sometime, during her comatose period, Charlie managed to find his balls again, and she hates that. She knows about his and Roxy's ONS, but she isn't convinced that it's over. It is, and it isn't.
Because both Ronnie and Charlie have feelings for each other, but they've stepped back from them, and they're trying to make things right for Ronnie. Well, Roxy is. Charlie, on the other hand, was the one who told Roxy he'd married the wrong sister, and Charlie doesn't love Ronnie - not that she really deserves that love anyway.
People can disabuse themselves of the notion that Ronnie is a strong woman. She's weak and cowardly and hides behind her psychopathy. The moment something goes wrong, Ronnie thinks she can snap her fingers and someone - usually a man - will come running. Her first instinct is to call Vincent and order him to hurt Charlie and Roxy. Without any proof that things are still going on between them. Vincent refuses.
She then starts going through all of Charlie's ill-fitting clothing until she finds a receipt for a restaurant where he and Roxy had eaten.
One of the best scenes of the night was the kitchen scene between Ronnie and Roxy, when Ronnie admitted something we've known for years - that she's jealous of Roxy. There was the point when she told Vincent that Roxy had bagged Ronnie's boyfriends before (Jack, with Amy as the result), and then there was the curious line in the kitchen with Roxy claiming she would never do that. Roxy is seriously trying to step back from the situation, but I think the fact that Roxy and Charlie care about each other is too obvious. Now, I'm beginning to see that Roxy's "love" for Ronnie is based on fear. When Ronnie set up the creepy dinner with "Babi" doing the cooking, as an excuse for Ben to hide a webcam within the house, and she apologised for her jealousy, that hug that Roxy gave Ronnie, telling her she loved her, sent a chill down my spine. Ronnie needs Roxy telling her these things. After all, she's built Roxy's "sistah" dependency.
We had a weird moment of foreshadowing tonight when, in another kitchen scene, Roxy had yet another epiphany, when she told Charlie that she thought Ronnie had been spying on them as they left the house, when she was staring out the window.
If Roxy only knew that she was being watched as she and Charlie shared a laugh about "Babi" whilst Ronnie creepily watched on the computer screen upstairs.
Karma can't come too soon for Ronnie.
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