I'm guessing we're supposed to feel for Ben, Keegan, Isaac and Jean but I couldn't have less sympathy for any of them.

 

Just needed Whitney to appear and we'd have a full house!

Keegan in particular is just so unlikeable. This story simply doesn’t work because he’s always been pretty unlikeable.

 

Isaac is too old to be having such a strop but he’s also been let down by the story lining. Patrick and Sheree drop a bombshell and then disappear on holiday for weeks? Emerald Fox teas.

 

Ben abuses his boyfriend but then always wins him back with the crocodile tears. I’m not interested in his special episode. I don’t want to hear that sound effect for thirty minutes but I also have no interest in this job they’re planning.

 

Jean, I did feel sorry for her. Until the very end.

Yep, agreed with everything there. A part of me wants to full-on rant about the show right now but I can't find the words and another part of me just doesn't care enough.

 

What's more about the Isaac storyline is that Patrick and Sheree probably won't be on the show even longer than anticipated due to social distancing measures. Is Isaac meant to stick around until they finally appear on-screen again so they can pick the story up again?

Do we need another Jean and her bipolar storyline?

Max and Ruby, is there a point to them as a couple ?

I’m loving Suki!

 

Ben isn’t very likeable though although he is well acted but I did love the you were dead half of it line to Kathy!

 

I hope Keegan gets a new story soon though and Jean tbh!

Ruby is utterly FABULOUS but criminally underused.

 

Edited May 19, 20205 yr by Andrew.

Ruby, Max and Martin seem to be stuck in some sort of limbo until Stacey comes back.

I did lol at Ben tho ‘you were dead for half of it!’ Kathy, the joke that keeps on giving *.*

 

I was crying at this!! 🤣

I LOVE that they keep throwing that back in Kathy's face. It's so much more realistic than never mentioning it again because it was an awkward plot point that never should have happened.

I disagree. I know the execution of the storyline was a shambles but the point is Kathy was abused and controlled. She suffered for her actions since too. If the show keeps using it as a stick to beat her with or using it as a punchline, then what's the point of her being there? Also, to have Ben of ALL CHARACTERS judge her... no thanks.

The problem for us as viewers though is that they didn’t do enough to show us that Kathy was abused and controlled. It’s one thing to say that’s what happened but when Gavin made it to our screens, he was a complete joke and had almost no control over Kathy on screen. I think we needed to see at least a short period of time on screen with Kathy and Gavin as an actual couple and showing his manipulation-like they do really well with Gray and Chantelle.

 

From what we got to see on screen, it’s really difficult to see Kathy agreeing to fake her death and lose Ben for almost as decade. And because it hasn’t been justified well on screen, it is impossible to take her seriously when she starts lecturing to Ian and Ben about the importance of family.

There was 10 years of abuse and control that we didn't see at all so we have to accept what we've been told and use our imaginations ourselves. True, Gavin was a total joke from what we saw of him, but what we saw of Kathy was someone so weak and submissive, a complete shadow of her former self, which we can view as the effect of being slowly chipped away at by Gavin. He didn't really need to appear manipulative and scary when we saw him because the damage had already been done to Kathy.

 

Either way, if the show isn't going to take itself seriously then how can anyone be expected to? If it's just going to be a running joke that Kathy faked her death then what's the point of her being there?

It’s hardly a running joke though, it hasn’t been mentioned for ages and it was said by Ben, someone who literally never cares about what he says to anyone. In fact, the few times I do recall anyone bringing it up, it was played quite seriously. Characters like Ian were affected by her actions and it’s ok if they can’t justify these effects with her actions. It’s treated as a joke with us viewers because it was a frankly terrible story development and it all came across appallingly onscreen.

 

And I disagree about Gavin. We did need to see him how he supposedly was. They were constantly having Kathy say things like ‘you don’t know what he’s capable of!’ And we really didn’t. Kathy was portrayed as terrified of him but we never really knew why. The writers were more interested in getting Kathy back rather than explaining any of it. Maybe one day we will get an episode of Kathy reflecting on that time and giving us some more information. But for now, it flopped and I think it’s fair game for viewers to treat that period as a joke.

I notice it getting brought up quite a fair bit, perhaps because I'm not a fan of it. I find it's usually said in the same flippant way too. If they want to go there and get to the heart of the issue, exploring the feelings of everyone involved, then fantastic. But if they're not going to, I'd rather they just let it go. I don't see why Kathy should be constantly shamed by the show after all the disgraceful things Ben has done in the past year and not been held accountable for.

 

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one. The return story for Kathy definitely was terrible, no doubt about it, but I'd rather interpret what happened into something that can allow me to move the character on. I can see why viewers would might see it as a joke but I don't think the show should. They made a decision in bringing Kathy back and portraying it the way they did, now they have to get on.

It's quite realistic for something quite so dramatic as FAKING YOUR DEATH to be mentioned on the odd occasion, particularly when you are trying to lecture somebody (which is kind of Kathy's thing.) To think otherwise is a bit odd.

 

It's quite realistic for something quite so dramatic as FAKING YOUR DEATH to be mentioned on the odd occasion, particularly when you are trying to lecture somebody (which is kind of Kathy's thing.) To think otherwise is a bit odd.

It's how it's mentioned though. Take last night, where Kathy is nothing but supportive and concerned about her son, to which eternal victim Ben throws back in her face. Whatever Kathy's done doesn't stop Ben being an arsehole and she's right as his mother to call him out on his BS.

It's how it's mentioned though. Take last night, where Kathy is nothing but supportive and concerned about her son, to which eternal victim Ben throws back in her face. Whatever Kathy's done doesn't stop Ben being an arsehole and she's right as his mother to call him out on his BS.

Ben is Ben though. And is written as such. I think it's realistic. Of COURSE somebody like Ben would constantly throw it back in her face.

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/eastenders...oapstwitterpost

 

Do we really need this? :drama:

 

"Viewers will get to experience his hearing loss through his perspective."

 

Don't we experience that in EVERY bloody episode :lol:

Forget 2020 EE, Classic EE now has 8 year old Sonia :cheeseblock: